We all have those Facebook friends that constantly ping us for no reason other than to distract you. You tried ditching AIM and Google Chat to avoid encountering them online, but they remained persistent.

Hey Tony!
Whatcha doin?
How was your day?
What’s you favorite color? Mine is brown. Because it’s the color of your eyes.

But if ditching Facebook isn’t an option for you, what can you do?

Mashable(ugh) noted in an article that Facebook can allow you to selectively hide yourself from chat. Start a Facebook chat as you normally do, and then click on the cog icon on the top-right of your chat box. You will find an option that says “Go offline to [name].” And like that…you’re gone!

Mashable also has a more detailed walkthrough for this process if you are interested in hiding from multiple people. You can check it out here.

My sister finally joined LinkedIn recently. Unbeknownst to her, every update she makes is shared with all of her connections. Distraught with this unanticipated exposure, she pleaded to me to fix this injustice. Visit the privacy settings I suggested to her. Good luck I smirked.
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In this hard economy, one can never be too careful about what they put on the web, and this holds especially true for (would-be) employees.

Here’s a question for you to ponder: Can employers, potential or not, ask you to divulge your Facebook profile login information?
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In what many is calling the deal of the year (possibly even the century), social networking behemoth Facebook is reportedly planning to file papers with the SEC to go public as soon as Wednesday (yes, that’s tomorrow).

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg salivating about a potential $100 billion IPO

As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, Facebook’s planned IPO could value it anywhere from $75 to $100 billion, which would make it the biggest Internet company offering ever.

Assuming the company sells the majority of its 7-10% of available stock, that means it could raise as much as $10 billion. That amount would place it fourth all-time amongst U.S. companies.

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I recently noticed one of my friend’s Facebook update was a tad bit…peculiar. Under the message, the status said that it was posted “via Gameboy Color.” I was confounded, curious, and ultimately madly envious. A quick Google search led me to the answer posted in a reddit thread.
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After 111 seemingly pointless checkins on foursquare, which had up to that point awarded me with 7 virtual badges and three mayorships at places that no one ever visits, I have finally obtained the Holy Grail of foursquare: the special.
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I don’t purport this tutorial as being the ideal way to download Youtube videos to your computer. A simple Google search will lead you to an assortment of options that requires less technical expertise. However, if you’re like me, and are relatively new to the command-line (think your OS without the GUI and a mouse), this might be an interesting way to accomplish something relatively useful (download Youtube videos to your computer) and also learn how to directly communicate with your computer.
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As Twitter continues to grow in popularity, the number of hacked accounts multiplies. Whether due to a weak password or following a malicious link from a tweet or email, it even more difficult than ever before for users to keep maintain the security if their privacy online.
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