First of all, is can and should you trust anyone when it comes to the internet? I mean, we all know whatever goes on there stays there so why bother? Well, the fact doesn’t change that Facebook and Google are two of the most effective marketing tools a company can use out there. Whether you find them safe or not- if you want to compete, YOU MUST USE THEM!

This being said, the question is which of the two deserves to be trusted more? Well, many would answer Google and I do agree with them. Think about these simple facts that really make you think twice before you trust Facebook.

• The man behind the book. When you compare the men behind Google and Facebook, it’s quite clear who deserves to be trusted more. I mean, how can you compare the ‘college guy’ Mark Zuckerburg to the two MEN who founded Google? It’s discriminating or anything, it’s just that it matters. Facebook is basically a ‘college project’ that happened to become popular. The only reason why businesses seem to flock to it is just because of the audience it’s been able to reach-nothing more.
• The trend in privacy settings. We all heard about the issue that came about because Facebook added the new face tagging thing without informing users first. Now if you ask me, someone who can do those things behind my back really is’t someone I’d like to trust. Compare that with Google, well let’s say they’ve never been any privacy issues.

Whatever happened to being fair, giving the benefit of the doubt and not judging you may ask? When it comes to privacy, you really have to take sides. Your reputation is at stake-that’s definitely not something you’d want to gamble with.

Read more here.

If you’ve already got all the social media sites that you think you need, you may not be quite interested in getting one more. Google +  currently has about 5M users in the short time it has been introduced. Is it just like the other social media sites though? There are a couple of features that make it quite unique.

Circles not Just Friends

With Facebook, we all know how it works- it’s either you’re friends or not. Though you can share specific things with specific people, the process of editing every one of these settings and customizing who gets to see them is really cumbersome.

Google + has come up with a really interesting and practical solution to this problem. You can create your own circles and share different things with each or your circles. With your High School friends, all those party pics would be something to share. For closer friends, you can share your updates, feelings or whatever. Only those in that circle get to see what you share with them!

This is a huge revolution when it comes to how you share stuff with. The good thing is they don’t get to know under what circle you’ve put them in so it really stays personal and is far more realistic.

Keeping Privacy up

With the way Google + works, you can really sift the groups of people you want to share stuff with. Down to  your updates! Instead of having a single status message, you can have several that can be seen by different circles. This will help you keep your ‘private’ information PRIVATE.

Updates with Spark

This is a feature that allows you to get information on whatever things interests you. It as good as brings the power of Google alerts into your site. This is definitely something other social media sites don’t have.

All in One

If you’re thinking Facebook still has an edge with the video thing it’s started-think again! You can both chat and video chat with friends using ‘Hangouts’. And so can you connect your Google+ account to your mobile phone just like all the other Social media sites.

You may have thought that Google+ is a super professional site that will be no fun at all but this isn’t at all the case! It’s everything all your social media sites have to offer and much more. It isn’t JUST another social media site.

Read more here.

Facebook has 750 million confirmed users, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Skype has the world’s largest network for online voice and video calling services, so they are teaming up to put the two programs together, allowing Facebook users to dial directly from within their Facebook browser, avoiding having to download and activity separate Skype operating software to make calls.

This is a major PLUS for Facebook. The application is both useful and everybody will be sure to want to try it out as soon as they can. The application is also really easy. All you do is click on a friend and ‘call’ them without even launching Skype!

With the new Google+ released and Myspace under new management, Facebook really shouldn’t ‘sit back and relax’ though it still is the mostly used social media site. Zuckerberg thinks this new application is what Facebook needs to put it on top of all the rest-does he have a point?

Let’s see what Facebook has for now. There’s instant messaging which isn’t so unique. Then there’s the text messaging with no charge. And finally the recent Video and Voice calling which will eventually be functional even when friends are offline. So you would basically be able to call anyone you wish on your Facebook and their phone would ring with your call!

In conclusion, for now, there is no doubt Facebook has got an edge. If it keeps up its innovation and creativity, all other networks may have a hard time catching up.

Read more here.

What’s the connection between Facebook and finding a job in the first place? With the popularity of Social Media, many companies are actually using these sites to carry out background checks on applicants. The information they find on your Facebook can therefore be a huge factor in deciding whether you would make a good addition to the company or not. And how exactly do these companies do this?What kind of things should you ‘clean up’ then?

Social Intelligence is the answer. Many companies hire social intelligence companies to filter out ‘needed’ information that is ‘legal’ for them to access. How about Google you may ask? We all know that a simple search on google will reveal loads of information about any person. CEO of Social Intelligence Corp.  gives the reason:

Because a Google search provides too much information, says Drucker. It can turn up things like your ethnicity, religious background, or sexual orientation – factors an employer can’t legally consider when hiring you.

What kind of information then is considered ‘safe’ to check into? They look for four things:

Racially insensitive remarks

Sexually explicit materials

Flagrant displays of weaponry

Other demonstrations of clearly illegal activity

Whatever information is found in these four areas is then sent to the Company for review. If you have some photo with arms for example, the report will include a picture of this.

Invading privacy?

The question that we may all have now is whether it is even legal to access all this information? The thing about these Social Intelligence companies is that they will only access what you have allowed to access with your privacy settings. Stuff that is only for your friends’ view will stay that way. They won’t ‘break into’ your site just to derive this information-THAT is what is illegal.

Other than that, whenever companies plan to carry out background checks on their applicants, they are informed about this. In short, they already have asked permission to gain access to the profiles but simply get pros to do the dirty job of filtering through all the info.

How long do they keep the info?

Once the company gets the report back from the social intelligence sites, it keeps it for 7 years. Why? Because these social network background checks are as good as criminal records that need to be kept by for 7 years according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It’s for the company’s protection. If you get into any illegal behavior while under their ‘wing’ they may use this information to know if there was any hint of this in the past.

Does it matter?

So does this mean that if you have any information on any of the four aspects, you have no chance in getting a job? Well, not exactly. It will really depend on the kind of position that you are applying for and kind of job. The more ‘respectable’ the ‘cleaner’ you ought to be. The bottom line is whatever is on your profile will have a huge impact on your present and future employment prospects.

The message is clear: CLEAN UP THAT FACEBOOK PROFILE NOW!

Read more here.