Facebook: whose postings can you see?

Oh, lovely. Another lot of tosh that's doing the rounds at the moment.

This one says:

"Facebook has changed its News Feed AGAIN, so that by default, you can only see updates from people with whom you've recently interacted. To change this, click on 'Account', then 'Edit friends' then at the top left, click "All Friends.""

NO. The Account > Edit Friends setting is simply to display the list of friends you want to see listed at that time. It's a way of conveniently filtering your contacts - helpful if you want to find somebody quickly (e.g. by group, recently added, recently interacted or whatever). It makes no difference to updates you see on your wall. You can prove this by going back to the setting after you have ostensibly changed it (go back to your wall, then back to the Account > Edit Friends setting again); you'll find that it still says the same as it did before.

To change the 'who you see postings from on your wall' setting, you need to click on where it says 'most recent' (as opposed to 'top news') on your front page; choose Edit Options from the drop-down list; and *there* you'll see the choice between 'all friends' and 'those you interact with the most'. That's the setting that will make a difference to what you see on your wall.

PLEASE - check these messages properly before reposting. This one is inaccurate, but I've seen it several times in the last few days.

***

I do get a bit uptight about these postings. It seems to be that they are most prolific when the users can scream 'FACEBOOK HAS DONE IT WRONG AGAIN'. Don't get me wrong - I completely agree that there have been many occasions when the default settings could potentially compromise privacy; when they've made yet another change to the interface without giving suitable guidelines; and much more. However, this sort of run-round-in-circles-screaming nonsense doesn't help anybody - especially when, as in this particular case, it's completely inaccurate and misleading. The funny thing is that the business about 'whose updates you see' is a genuine issue, and was correctly flagged up as such on postings a while back. Why on earth, then, do people feel the need to put up incorrect advice like this?

Like all other 'send this to all your friends' postings, I always beg, plead and request on bended knees: DON'T. At least, not until you've taken the trouble (and it truly doesn't take long) to establish the truth of it. If you're not sure of the verity of a posting - be it a virus warning, a setting on Facebook or whatever - then find somebody who will know. There are plenty of excellent sites - HoaxSlayer, FaceCrooks, Snopes and the rest - who will probably be able to help you out; and most of them have groups or pages on Facebook, so you can easily post a query there, and somebody will be able to help you.

Or find a passing friendly geek-queen. Like me. I don't bite.

Stuff and storage

One of my clients sent me a link she thought I might be interested in. Published on the BBC website, it expresses the concerns about the 'craze' for self-storage.

People are leaving their possessions in self-storage warehouses for longer than ever. But why are people paying to store stuff they rarely use? It's a monument to our acquisitive society - the brightly lit shed on the edge of town offering "storage solutions".

This rang lots of bells. I've written on this topic in this blog before, last April. Everything I said there still holds true: I still firmly believe that, used appropriately, storage options are a valid way of helping us to deal with 'stuff' - as long as it's with a realistic approach. When either the practical or the emotional considerations mean we need time and space - physical and mental - then this is a sensible option; when we simply don't have the room in our living quarters to accommodate items that we have valid reasons for keeping, renting storage space is no different from renting a garage to keep your car safe.

However, this article flags up very correctly the other side of the story - and the reason for it being an increasing pitfall in modern consumer society. My fellow apdo-uk member, Cory Cook, is quoted in the article:

"More and more stuff comes in and it's not going out. I want to say it's a throwout society, but it's not the case because people are keeping their things around."

Exactly so. We might be living in a recession, but that doesn't mean we are buying less 'stuff'. On the contrary: my observation of the 'stuff' that I help my clients to sort through is that we're more likely to buy more items of a lower value. It can give a lift out of the doldrums induced by dismal economic times, terrible summer weather and back-to-work blues: hey, look, I've got a new toy! And if that 'toy' - whether an electronic gadget, an item of clothing, a kitchen gizmo or a DVD - has been bought at a cheaper price than we might previously have afforded, it's often less likely to last than its slightly pricier alternative.

We all know the scenario in the wardrobe: given the choice, would you spend the same amount of money on one well-made, classy item, or on ten things from the sale rail? And before you ask, I'm as guilty of this sin as the next woman. The obvious result - after the adrenalin rush of I've got a new toy - is that, at a later date, the multiple items are not only more likely to be thrown away (how many of your favourite clothes came from the sale rail?) but there are more of them to be disposed of - when you eventually get round to it.

The matter of whether we store unneeded things or not is a worry; the roots of why this kind of storage is necessary at all is a far greater cause for concern. It's usually because we've bought it in the first place... and we are slaughtered with guilt about how much stuff we have. If we do manage to get rid of it, it feels like a waste. "I couldn't possibly throw that away - it cost me good money." Disposing of the item is like admitting that we got it wrong in the first place.

It's also true to say that there is a lot of association with our identities: we are, often, our stuff. In the same article, this valuable observation is made by Oliver James, author of the superbly-named Affluenza:

Our identity has increasingly become associated with products, and not just the mortgage and the car, but smaller items. "We've confused who we are with what we have," he says. It explains why we're so reluctant to throw things away. "We feel it might come in handy one day. It feels like it's a little part of yourself even though it's just tat. You wouldn't want to throw yourself away, would you?"

This isn't a new scenario. During a recent holiday in France, I visited an eighteenth-century château, complete with the authentic furnishings, décor and bric-a-brac of that era. The Victorians were just as bad: their homes were full of clutter and dust-traps. However, these indulgences were the province of the wealthy. Now, with the help of the high street and the pound-shop, we can all surround ourselves with 'stuff'. And we do.

So: how do we deal with it?

• We accept the purchasing mistakes we've made in the past, and put it down to experience
• We pass on the stuff we really no longer need (or, in some cases, even like) to benefit somebody else - and refrain from fretting about the money we paid out for it
• We use the learning when we next shop for something - and we shop mindfully, not emotionally
• We take a long hard look at the space we are paying for - whether it's in the context of the house we're renting or mortgaged for, or external space - and ask ourselves whether it's genuinely worth it

We might not get it right all the time. I certainly don't.

But it's well worth a try.

A secure session on Facebook?

Here's another Facebook frightener that is doing the rounds again.

"Apparently Facebook has changed and said nothing (again). Take a look at your URL (top box on your screen.) If you see "http" or just "www" instead of "https" you DO NOT have a secure session & can be hacked. Go to Account Settings - Click Security on the left top corner - click Edit, Check box (secure browsing), click Save. FB has automatically set it on the non-secure setting! Do everyone a huge favour, copy & re-post."

Here we go again. For a start, Facebook has not 'changed and said nothing' - the inference here is that it was previously secure and it isn't now. In fact, it's the other way round: Facebook introduced the ability to have a secure connection (https) as an additional feature in early January 2011. Before that time, all Facebook browsing was http (non-secure) and there was no choice in the matter. This useful article on Mashable gives the full story.

NB: If you do choose to use an https setting (as explained in the Facebook help pages here) there are some applications that will not work (for example, I can't play my favourite word game of Lexulous on this setting).

More to the point, do you need the secure browsing setting? It does (as the Mashable article explains) protect you from hacking in an unprotected environment: "Without it you’re exposed to sniffing attacks on the network; for example, if you’re using a public Wi-Fi to access Facebook via plain HTTP, someone using the Firesheep add-on for Firefox can easily retrieve your data. HTTPS makes it a lot harder to do that." However, if you're sitting at home, using your own password-protected wifi network, this is not the case.

I'm not saying that you should be cavalier about your security settings - far from it. There are plenty of hazards lurking on Facebook (and in many other places on the internet) - hoaxes, phishing attacks, malware and much more - and we all need to be clued up about them. However, this means that misleading and sensationalist postings can (in the manner of the 'boy who cried wolf') deflect our attention from the genuinely dangerous stuff. It's much important that you realise what these settings really mean - rather than perpetuating the myth that 'Facebook does everything wrong', 'they never tell us anything' and the rest.

Please, please - before copying and pasting these warning messages, take just a minute or two to have a proper look at the facts. Type the phrase into Google, look in the Facebook Help section, or ask a passing geek. Then make your decisions based on facts, rather than on a game of Chinese Whispers.

It would, by the way, be far more accurate to post:

"Facebook has implemented a new security measure, which you can take advantage of if you want to. Take a look at your URL (top box on your screen.) If you see "http" or just "www" instead of "https" you do not have a secure session, and it's possible that you may be hacked [but only if you are using an unsecured public network; this doesn't apply if you are using a password-protected private network]. Visit the FB help page for more information here: http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=215897678434749. Please note: FB has automatically set it on the non-secure setting, as many applications do not work on the HTTPS setting, but you can change it if you wish."

You wouldn't try to drive a car without understanding the rules of the road; you wouldn't base your navigation, speed or behaviour on hearsay, rumour, part-truth and guesswork. Why should using your computer be any different?

UPDATE: Here's another useful link with more information on this situation. Of especial interest is the highlighting of the fact that "it is important not to be lulled into a false sense of security under the assumption that you are safe from attacks because you have opted for the HTTPS option, because in reality this option makes no change in the risks involved whilst using the social networking site."

Help for the clergy

Being married to a parish priest, I have first-hand experience of the daily working lives of the clergy. It's not uncommon to find that the person who has been "trained and ordained" to be a pastoral support, a liturgical leader, a preacher and a carer of souls is also, by default, required to be an accountant, administrator, legal advisor and business manager. If none of those roles has ever featured in their professional lives before, the pressure can be enormous, and the help of an organiser and declutterer can be of great benefit.

I was thrilled to receive this testimonial from one such client that I worked with some months ago.

I have benefitted greatly from the advice and support you gave during your stay here. Further to the work we did together I have reordered my study by taking out some surplus shelves, moved the desks and created a sitting area which is calm and restful – perfect for seeing people for conversation, saying the Office or reading.

There have been periods when the paperwork has looked menacing, but now I am beginning to learn that if you allow a little time for the new system to do its work, the volume is broken down into manageable chunks. It also reveals when there is simply too much asking to be done – far better to acknowledge this and do what one can than harbour an unrealistic expectation that somehow it can be done.

All of this has happened since you came – change which is both physical and psychological, so thank you.

And better still, a more recent email confirms that things are still on track:

Life is good here – incredibly busy at the moment, but working on helping people share responsibility so it bodes well for the long term.

I was privileged to be given the opportunity to help in this way.

Tax - a nasty surprise?

I was so sad today to catch up with some local news. Our small sub-post office (tiny area, nine villages, 1,400-population) had been experiencing difficult times; and sadly the postmaster has been jailed for mis-appropriating funds from the business.

One of the personal bills quoted as causing him difficulty was his tax bill. We all know how nasty these can be. When I first worked for myself, 'way back in 1997, I had a highly unpleasant time dealing with my first tax bill: I simply hadn't understood the whole setup and what I would be required to pay (including the need to pay in advance to cover the next bill). Having got through that by the skin of my teeth, I swore never to get caught out like that again - and I haven't.

We all have unexpected bills to deal with. The car breaks down at the most inconvenient time; petrol costs escalate; oil prices go through the roof; the computer dies. None of these can be predicted. However, the tax bill can and should be predictable; and anybody who has income that is not covered by PAYE needs to get that prediction right.

It isn't rocket science. Put simply, any business, small or large, has income. It has expenditure. The first sum minus the second shows the profit (or loss) of that business. You're allowed to earn a certain amount before you are taxed on it. The rest is taxed. That's pretty much it.

After that nasty shock, back in 1997, I set up a spreadsheet for myself. I entered all my client income, all business-specific expenditure (e.g. rail fares), and a pro-rata calculation for expenses that were part personal, part business (e.g. mobile phone). With a couple of automatic sums, I can see at any time how much money I should have stashed away ready for the next tax bill; and for the last few years, I've always been prepared within a few pounds of the actual total.

You might be having kittens at the very thought. If book-keeping isn't your thing, then hire a book-keeper. If you can't bear to touch your accounts at all, you need a fully-fledged accountant. However, if you think you could do it yourself, but don't know how, get me or some other similar business to show you.

But never, never let that 'scary' bill be scary again. Life throws enough unknowns at us; give yourself a better chance of dealing with those by being in control of the known quantities.

Please. Do it for you. And if you need my help, contact me today.

Working Order in the press: Norfolk Voice

Delighted to have been featured in Norfolk Voice - a local business magazine. To see read the article (you'll find it on page 44), click here. Many thanks to Jenna at MediaJems for the opportunity!

Summer clothes: the agony and the ecstasy

I was delighted to be asked by Ceri Wheeldon of the excellent Fab After Fifty website to contribute a blog posting, with the coming summer focusing our attention on the wardrobe. It turned into a rather more personal experience than I was expecting - and proves the point that declutterers don't always practice what we preach!

You'll find the article here. I hope it's a useful insight - and if you haven't come across Fab After Fifty before, make friends with them too!