Archive for the Category ◊ tips ◊

Author: Leif
• Monday, March 23rd, 2009

FacebookThis is what happening with the people who are using facebook all around the world: facebook disables the accounts of users who’s submissions are suspicious. Usually as it sounds, suspicious, often means just using the facebook too much. Usually they are warning people and gives them the second chance to change themselves and sometimes they just terminate the account suddenly and permanently. Most of time they turn back the disabled accounts, automatically after a cool down or after sending them the humble request to the facebook authorities. But sometimes they just ban the account and forget it.

Facebook has not sharply outlined about what bad behavior looks like that leads for getting account disabled, and this is the most important reason which makes people confused, angry or  desperate when they gets the message ACCOUNT DISABLED. I have tried to list the most common reasons on  “why the facebook accounts are disabled?” to help people avoiding their accounts to be disabled by facebook. Remember, this list is not surely complete and as the policies will be keeping changing according to the time, we will have to live with a bit uncertainty when using Facebook.

Here are the reasons that will get you kicked off facebook:

•    You didn’t use your real name
Don’t try to use a nickname (or initials)in lieu of the name on your birth certificate, because Facebook will find you and spit you out.

•    You joined too many groups
Remember that the maximum limit is 200 groups per user. More than that just looks desperate, don’t you think?

•    You posted too many messages on a wall or in a group
Even one of my close friend  had his account disabled–in his case for “excessive evangelism.”

•    You posted in too many groups, too many user’s walls
You may be axed for being too verbose in too many places. That’s what spammers do, silly. On Facebook it is better–or at least safer–to be seen than heard.

•    You friended too many people
Not so long ago this was a prime cause of disabled accounts, but Facebook has instituted a maximum of 5000 friends that should protect you from yourself.

•    Your school/organization affiliation is doubtful
The overlords are sometimes not very trusting, and they may accuse you of not graduating from Harvard (or Plum Senior High School). The impertinence! Better have your diploma ready.

•    You’re poking too many people
We’ve heard this from multiple sources, and it’s easy enough to avoid. Save the pokes for people you *really* like, as mum always said. But beware the odd FB app that pokes on your behalf.

•    For advertising your app on wall posts
The line between spam and self-promotion is a thin one, but let it be known that pimping your shiny new Facebook app is definitely considered SPAM.

•    Using duplicate text in multiple messages
Some people paste a generic welcome message into friend requests to save time. DON’T DO THIS! It makes you look like a spammer. (Ironically, pro spammers are probably randomizing their messages to avoid this trap)

•    You are a cow, dog, or library
Being a real person is not enough, you must be a homo sapien. Accounts have been deleted for cows, dogs and libraries.

•    You are under eighteen years old
According to one report a user’s account was suspended when they suspected her of being under 18. She was required to enter a work email address to prove her maturity, at which point her account was reinstated. [note: other users have pointed out that being under 18 is fine if you're part of a High School group, though underage home schoolers have been told to bugger off]

•    You wrote offensive content
Reports of “sudden death” on accounts have been reported by users who were told they had posted offensive content, but were not provided details of the offense.

•    You scraped information off Facebook
They have a zero tolerance policy for page scraping (i.e. pulling content off their web pages via a script). Unfortunately, they don’t have a reliable way of proving it’s you who’s doing the scraping (IP matching is probably as good as they can get), so you may find this a difficult charge to defend yourself against.

Finally, you may be disabled for no clear reason at all. One Australian member reported this staggering experience:

“I was blocked for a little while because I was ‘misusing certain features of the site’ Naturally I closely examined their conditions of use etc for some insight as to what I must have done wrong. I couldn’t for the life of me find anything…

“Upon request for clarification I was told that they were not at liberty to divulge which features or of course any thresholds of use. Then they warned me not to do it again or I would be banned permanently without recourse to reinstatement.”

You have been warned. Remember that the hand of justice is swift and merciless.

I’m living in fear :(

If you find your account disabled for one of these (or other) reasons there is only one resource: you must email Facebook at one or all of these addresses:

- disabled@facebook.com
- appeals@facebook.com
- info@facebook.com

Related Post: Why my Orkut account is Disabled?

Author: Leif
• Saturday, February 14th, 2009

It rarely happens when they phone or send an email. Sometimes, late at night when they’re looking for information or help, they’ll drop by for a quick visit.

For sure, they’re not your grown-up kids. They are your web guests.

What disturbs is, in most cases, you won’t even know they’ve visited and “shopped” at your site, or whether you helped them find what they were looking or searching for.

And, if you’re like over 95% of North American businesses with traditionally
designed websites, your website isn’t really helping or impressing your web guests, which means you aren’t taking advantage of their visit.

It’s time to get your online visitors excited about your website! Whether new or existing, your site can be turned into an engine that improves the growth of your business. It can help you sell products and services, attract leads, widen your customer base and improve your bottom line. Here’s how.

Grab Their Attention Right Off the Top

First impressions are measured in milliseconds on the web. A boring home page means they have already moved on.

Your home page needs to hook and hold your customer. A strong marketing message and powerful imagery can make all the difference. Right away, they know who you are and what you have to offer them.

Compel Them To Take Action

Once they are in your website’s front door, motivate that customer to take
action. Give them something to do where they can feel the part of your site. Get them to sign up, register, take a quiz, or email you for a consultation.

Give them a website experience that engages them to interact, chat, and,
ultimately, to buy.

Show Them That You Know Them well

Are your customers affluent retired men or working women with small children? Figure it out, then target that customer very clearly. Speak their language. Show them you understand their needs and interests.

When they see themselves on your website, they will also see themselves as one of your customers.

Make It Personal

Include features that create personalized experiences for returning member customers. Every time they log on, ensure your website addresses them by name and shows them only what interests them.

A friendly website will put customers in the buying mood.

Do The Work For Them

Create an easy-to-use website. Be consistent from page to page and use clear navigation tools.

Be straightforward. Tell your customers what you want them to do; buy here, review this, or book now.

Be sure to show pictures, offer crisp descriptions, and list prices. If you deal with U.S. and Canadian customers offer both currency options. Make it easy for them to shop and buy.

Give Them More Than They Bargained For

Your website doesn’t just have to be a place to shop. Make it a useful resource for your customers. Offer them links to related websites. Share free advice, tips, inspiring stories, or e-cards. Send them a monthly newsletter.

Become their very own, personal expert.

Keep It Fresh

There is nothing worse than visiting a website that has not been updated in a decade. Keep your website alive and kicking. Add an article or new survey once a month. This gives your customers a reason to check in. It also let’s them know you are there, working for them, keeping your website relevant.

Make Them Believers

If your website builds trust, it builds business. Don’t hide behind fancy graphics. Let your customers know who you are by including pictures and biographies of your team.

Use testimonials, reviews, awards and media coverage of your company to
reinforce your credibility and expertise.

Make sure your website is professionally written. Nothing turns off a customer more than poor spelling and boring copy.

Create Great Experiences

Win your customers over, one at a time. Word of mouth from one satisfied
customer can travel far and wide on the web.

Do the little things that, surprisingly, not everyone does. Make it easy for your customers to contact you. Respond to their inquiries right away and deliver what you promise.

Ask Not What They Can Do For You, Ask What You Can Do For Them

Creating a website that generates new sales and new leads is all about your customers. What matters is what happens when they step inside your online shop. Do they buy or not? You can create a website that ensures they do buy, and often!

Make sure your website grabs their attention, encourages them to take action, speaks their language, gets personal, keeps it simple, adds value, stays relevant, projects credibility and treats them right.

Utilize these tips to change your website into a money maker and flip that virtual sign from closed to open for business.

Author: Leif
• Thursday, February 05th, 2009

Proxy ServerA lot of surfers who use Proxy Servers frequently complain that they do not work at their school/office computers because their Web proxies are blocked by the system administrator.

A way of circumventing this is to make your own proxy server. Your proxy server should be hosted by a Web hosting service provider that maintains CGI or PHP at no additional fees.

Before you begin, you have to download a copy of cgiproxy and phpproxy.

To set up cgiproxy, your web hoster should be cgi enabled. Some free hosters do not provide cgi. A little set of preinstalled scripts will also be helpful. You should see to it that the hoster is enabled before you begin installing.

Afterwards, download cgiproxy and unload it to a local directory. Once you have opened the file, you can modify a lot of settings. For instance, you could set up the script in a manner where it would only enable text to go through the proxy and no image will be displayed.

Flick through the file. Change the options and save the new file. Next, upload the script to the directory of your cgi.

If you open your browser, you can then surf the net anonymously. To validate that you really are anonymous while browsing, open a website like whatismyip.com and try to see if the IP is same with the installed server script and not the IP of your computer. In this case, you have done it right and can browse the net without worrying about your privacy.

To set up phpproxy, you must first download it. Next, unload it to a home index in the hard drive. What you should do next is to upload the script to your webspace. Afterwards, open the new URL and check if it’s doing right.

Some filters might forbid files that contain ‘proxy’ in the filename. To stay away from these kind of filters, you need to rename your file.

When you open your script, just enter the IP of your client to ascertain that it is your client alone who will be able to hook up or could append a .htaccess file to the directory. This will oblige all else who desire to begin the script to type in a username and a password.