THE FACEBOOK DOMESTIC TURKEY

Today, I have come up with so many names to name those people on Facebook who are so gullible in letting scammers win. Either that or they are plain stupid hence, I call them... The Facebook Domestic Turkey .

A huge number of people number of people have been lured to pages and "so-called" Facebook applications  and requests. The most recent once again is the "Facebook Profile Viewer" app claiming to give you access as to who is spying or visiting your profile.

It gets to be annoying but I am fully understanding why people repeatedly let scams like this succeed. The rogue apps and requests are brilliantly created and of course, the creators are banking on human gullibility owing to the fact that always... "curiosity kills the cat".

I did my fair share to stop these even spreading information that LINKS pointed to or coming from friends' Facebook status updates are not to be trusted and REQUESTS by people to direct you to an application are also not to be trusted. Also, I spread information on layman's term that Facebook asks us to verify our accounts or anything else via e-mail and mobile but clearly, not through friends.

Despite all the sharing of links from experts and hoax-busters explaining that these links are nothing but a scam, people still get to touch those links! On this day alone, I have 2-3 victimized friends every 5 minutes! Thus; I thought of them as Facebook Domestic Turkeys!

Why? Because domestic turkeys are known to drown in a heavy rain shower because they didn't realize that it would be dry and safe inside their hutches. Other domestic turkeys are so brainless that they can't even remember how to eat and must be fed by the farmer. These gullible people on Facebook are meant to be called such for not using their brains or, they are just purely brainless.

Facebook Domestic Turkey... It's a fun and apt name! Through my dedicated poster for them to be spread on Facebook, I hope this will help stop further clicking of rogue apps affecting and infecting others. Just like the message on my poster, "We should never under-estimate the power of stupid people in large groups".

A DOG IS NOT A HOG!

I primarily stumbled upon this photo on Facebook of a freelance make up artist from Baguio City who were able to take some more images.

Placed in a sack for hogs... with a plastic rope on his mouth. Even if is is presumed, a rabid dog, it still deserves a better treatment and way of transport. 

Dezzy Belle wrote: "This is so cruel. We're on our way to SM Baguio then we saw this car with the poor dog on the back of it, with a chain on his mouth, poor dog. Then I took pictures of it then we went to the nearest Police Station and reported it. Luckily, they caught the owner and let the dog be free."

These men needs to be identified. They were the ones seen with the dog!

Good thing Dezzy did a remarkable thing and the poor dog is now in good hands however, I am posting this blog to make another awareness that any animal must not be subjected to cruelty and anyone who does it is not gonna get away with it scott free. The owner of this Nissan Safari with Plate No. BDK 617 is a SWINE!

The cruelty shocked a pedestrian.

A dog is not a hog... even hogs were placed in better transport before they get butchered to provide food to humans. This reminds me of the inherent animal cruelty in the US... and they refer dogs subjected to cruelty as hog dogs... which angers me. Cruelty to dogs must be stopped and that goes for all the other animals as well!

The sad plight of an innocent dog.

Images are courtesy of our heroine from Baguio City, Dezzy Belle.

UPDATE:
The power of social media has proven itself once again... DOG TIED TO SUV CAUSES ONLINE OUTRAGE

IT'S NOT TRUE THAT FACEBOOK CEO BLAMES PHILIPPINES FOR PORN ATTACKS

The message that Facebook CEO blames Philippines for porn attacks is an ABSURD HOAX and MUST NOT BE REPOSTED. Mark Zuckerberg has made no such statement. 

Hoax-Slayer... one of my very helpful Facebook friends, has been debunking email hoaxes and exposing Internet scams since 2003 and has been one great Facebook watcher.  Whenever I get suspicious links, I go to his page and verify. Hoax-Slayer published this on his website:

"This message began circulating soon after the November 2011 Facebook porn attack began to subside. According to the message, which presents itself as a statement from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, security experts have now identified the Philippines as the location where the porn attack originated. The message warns that, if the spam attack should continue, then Facebook will have "no choice" but to ban all users in the Philippines from accessing the network. 

However, the claims in the message are utter nonsense and should not be reposted. Mark Zuckerberg has made no such statement. Nor has anyone else from Facebook. There are no credible news reports that support the claims in the message in any way whatsoever. 

Media reports do indicate that the team dedicated to investigating the attack has identified those responsible but has not yet named them. At the time of writing, Facebook has not stated where in the world the attackers are located. But, even if some or all of these attackers did happen to be in the Philippines, then Facebook would certainly not be so foolish and discriminatory as to ban the entire nation from using their network. The claim is simply ridiculous. 

It is so far unclear where this silly rumour originated. Spreading this nonsense will cause unwarranted concern and alarm among Filipino users as well as add to the general confusion and paranoia regarding the recent attack. It may also cause other users to unfairly lay the blame for the porn attack on the Philippines. If you receive this message, please do not repost it. And please take a moment to let the sender know that the message is a hoax."

SOURCE: http://www.hoax-slayer.com/porn-attack-philipines-origin-hoax.shtml

Thank you, Hoax-Slayer! You're the man!

I agree with Hoax-Slayer that it is  all but an exaggeration and Pinoys must not be gullible on these. Facebook is doing everything they can to stop these pornographic attacks. No official statement has been made yet.

Before you even click on one link, please think twice. If you read blogs about Mark Zuckerberg blaming the Philippines for such porn attacks, think twice... thrice... if you have to! Come on! Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg et al,  to get everyone in the world, connected... not ban any country. Individuals not abiding to the terms and conditions of Facebook are those served with certain punishments for violation.

Please my fellow Filipinos...

USE YOUR COMMON SENTIDO KUMON! DO NOT OVER REACT! IT IS NOT TRUE THAT FACEBOOK CEO BLAMES PHILIPPINES FOR PORN ATTACKS! 

Maraming salamat po! :-)

KNOW THE RANDOM DANGEROUS INTERNET PROSTITUTES

Facebook or FB... The social network we all know for reconnecting with old friends and new friends is the second leading source of prostitution behind escort service. I am writing this one for the menfolk!

I have been for more than 4 years, monitoring women on Facebook as I go with my daily work life on social media platforms. I often catch the interesting ones. They fascinate me! They amuse me! I have been observing their activities and/or behavior on my Facebook male friends' walls. I couldn't help it... they are after all, an additional update on my news feed. Sadly, for the years that have passed, prostitution has grown so much in the internet world especially in the Philippines and it is happening. It could be happening in your walls right now.


Yes, there are internet-savvy prostitutes in the Philippines. They have left the streets totally and now they tap on their keyboards just as much as search engine optimizers and internet marketing geeks do. They are the very interesting to observe.


I'm not talking about anyone in my list of friends... I know every single one of them on my Facebook. I don't add anyone whom I don't have at least 5 common friends with nor those I haven't had conversation with nor met at all. I have though, accepted friend-suggestions by friends I know because it is very much possible that I meet them.


I'm talking about Filipinas obviously from barrios, towns, provinces and poor areas in Metro Manila and the Philippines... women possibly met by my male friends at bars/clubs (or worse, haven't met them at all) and suddenly become friends with them on the largest social network in the world. They come in various looks... some are beautiful with fairly white skin (mestizas) and some are dark-skinned with exotic looks a.k.a. pinay native beauties... they vary from all looks, shapes, age and sizes! 


I don't outright judge these random women I don't know but for my long years of being in the internet and in social media platforms, I see the usual patterns... same personalities, behaviors and activities (M.O. - modus operandi) of these Facebook prostitutes on how they greatly get themselves in the lives of men in Facebook. The usual hard target? MEN! 


Sometimes, they come first as individuals to a man's social networking life then they come in as tandems then groups. Sooner or later, I see my friends walls flanked with so many prostitutes and I can't help but be amused. Poor clueless male friends of mine... they don't know that they are already prostitution targets and worse, cyber crime targets. After all, with the hard life for most Pinays in the Philippines the oldest profession in the book and in the world becomes their gateway for a better life.


Ladies and gentlemen, meet THE RANDOM DANGEROUS PROSTITUTES!

They don't solicit sex directly. The strategies are very subtle to begin with as you read along further. It's a long process... they study men. The most common starts with this .... Woman sends friend request to a man. Man accepts friendship and woman posts "Thank you for adding or Thanks for the add" on man's wall without mentioning of them meeting each other even with a simple, "Nice to have met you last night at _____". Common sense right away dictates that the woman has not met the man at all.


Their Easiest Target
A man 's privacy settings are "Public" which means men will be constantly monitored by these women (where he goes, where he hangs out, what days, etc.). Eventually he will be lured then with an invite to a public place, charmed in person, flanked with other prostitutes in the team then victimized once they have already gained your trust.


The common signs that they are bound to do this is that men get to be friend-suggested by the 1st virtual  friend to another virtual girl then another from their group to make men feel comfortable about their validity as human beings... that they are real people. They then tag men in their photos, they post on men's walls even when the man has nothing to do with it.... a real marketing strategy publicly shown to the man's other gullible male friends. 


Their Second Target
The man's friends are the second target. Next thing you know these prostitutes are in common friends with your friends in the Philippines and off-shore.


Their Third Target
Next thing the man will know is that these prostitutes are friends with his female friends and sooner or later, the identity of your exposed female friends get stolen.


For every single man who adds these women they don't know, the targets get to expand all the more. These women are very cunning. I'm not scaring the menfolk but it is advisable that you add in your social networking sites women or friends you know won't harm you and your friends.


Dear Men... If you think when a woman adds you on Facebook makes you hot, I'd say yes, maybe you are. However, the sad truth about it is... If you don't know these women at all, DO NOT ADD THEM! You are either a hot target for prostitution or worse, cyber crimes in the form of robbery, identity theft, hold-up, kidnapping, etc., not only yourself but your friends as well.


Check your Facebook Privacy Settings or ask a friend who is in the know to help you secure your privacy... to keep random people you have added out of your exposure to public! The internet social life can be far more dangerous than the real social life. Don't be such a loser! Protect yourself at all times! Remember that behind keyboards, is a real person.

ARE THERE DANGERS ON FACEBOOK VIDEO CALLING?

It is awesome! Launched by Facebook a few hours ago is the Skype-style video chat feature. Thousands worldwide just got the taste of this great new feature by the social media site. The much awaited feature is indeed a great improvement to messaging system.

Seconds after it was confirmed released, I immediately tested it with a friend and as I was on it, I can't help but wonder the imminent dangers of exposing yourself on such a new and cool application.


The first one that entered my mind are the criminals. Most of us don't really know most of the friends we have on Facebook. Security analysts have warned us before of the precautionary measures to avoid exposing ourselves to criminals who, have not been slow to catch on at all. When they migrated to Twitter and Facebook, I wonder now.... will there be dangers on this new feature too?

Joining social networking sites is really fun and entertaining. I am hooked on Facebook and Google+ and I don't really care about who's going to be better that these two. I'm just one who likes to get in touch with friends once in awhile. However, we do have to be concerned of some of the dangers or what-not-to-do's and the biggest issue will be PRIVACY. 


As always, it will be a problem. Although these huge social networking sites constantly find ways to make it secure for us, we are the ones responsible for our own exposures.  I can think of only 3 things that can serve as guide on how to avoid getting into trouble when using Facebook Video Calling:


1. Keeping your profile on high privacy is the best solution.
There's a writing there on the top of your FB page that says "Accounts" where you will see the drop-down menu showing you Privacy Settings. Use that. Take good time to read and understand everything. 


2. Never reveal anything private to strangers. 
As I have mentioned earlier, you never know that it could be a criminal that you are enjoying a video call with. The migration of web criminals can extend to this new feature... starting off with being nice and sweet and eventually gathering information from you... information that can be disastrous. Despite the excitement and thrill of talking to strangers, fraud problems and identity theft might soon bite your ass.


3. Be appropriately dressed when opening a video call even to friends.
Your friends just might video-call you and post an inappropriate photo or embarrassing photo of you. I tested this with my second friend. She came out and I got to capture a screenshot of her that I know wasn't to her approval. I mean, being caught off-guarded can be a disaster. We all don't want such. So, just to warn her, I shared it to her privately and so, she understood what might happen. Just be dressed appropriately and look nice. 

There are of course, a lot more as we go on living in an era of internet wonders, but I can only think of these for now....what I see that will pose imminent dangers to us. Try to keep your private life safe. Enjoy social networking! Enjoy this cool feature but...  be safe as always!

A LIFE WITHOUT FACEBOOK...

...I simply cannot imagine it now.



When I joined Facebook in May 2008, I was lonely. I felt like..."My friends are on MySpace and Friendster at the time and I'm among the millions of foreigners... seriously...People I don't know from Adam and Eve!".

Anyways, as I went through my life with Mark Zuckerberg's brilliant new world, I find myself sucked-in too deep. These are now my simple reasons because I don't want to get too "techy" for everyone (I refuse to show I've transformed from a major party animal to a geek ... which I really am now tee hee!):

1. I've seen how other friends and I dragged my own personal friends and acquaintances from other networks to Facebook since 2008. Now, they're all there! How the hell can I leave now?

2. I see more people I know from Adam and Eve now more than before. I see my own family! My sister hounds my wall constantly and my nieces are flooding my homepage all the time!

3. I see the first foreign friends of mine as my lifeline... they've become my family and best friends. Yeah... reading their posts, statuses, etc. told me a lot about their personalities and lives across the globe and that makes me feel I am part of their world too.

4. Mafia Wars... I'm a self-confessed addict! I mean... how can you not love this simple game? It will forever make you wonder why you got hooked in the first place! Plus, I got some best friends hooked too and they're dependent on me for Q&A's as if I'm a moderator of the game! Also, I love my Mafia Wars family :) They are my dream team for Mafia Wars... My Top Mafia!

5. Reading family and friends' posts / statuses brings me joy and some few pain! Loving most and hating some especially those with bad news and pathetic shout-outs... which reminds me constantly that I'm a human being. People comment... people exchange thoughts... it's gossip and I'm loving it!!!

6. What's new and what's hot... I see it all the time there! From wall posts to events to photos to gadgets to movies to causes to news to videos to music to blah blahs... my God... how can I leave this world?

7. I don't normally complain. If Facebook is user-friendly then I call myself a friendly user. I have nothing to complain on Facebook much because I know how to read and follow instructions so that I don't really get my private life spread all over the world! Yes, there is a thing called "Privacy Settings" which I constantly update since 2008. Try searching me on Facebook Search Engine. You won't find me at all unless you see me at a mutual friend's profile. Saves me from adding people I don't know and I don't like.

8. Admit it... Facebook makes you feel you're not alone in this world and you're popular!!! At least, that's how I honestly feel. I am popular among my friends and my family and my mafia family! I am not a loser! LOL!!!

9. I have all my photos there... of my family, of my friends, of my friends' friends, of strangers, of virtual friends that I fancy meeting in real life later on, of my own photography attempts and many more!!! I even lost count of the number of albums I have which is great because Facebook seems to handle infinity! LOL!!! Apart from it, I can tag my friends and it gets a viral effect! It amuses me that even the simplest photo from me can get some prime time in my news feed!!! Fun!!!

10. I discovered I have been messaging people more and more on Facebook than use my email addresses even when it comes to business! I think that the email addresses my personal contacts use in Facebook are more up-to-date than their regular email contact list because they don't effing respond to my emails at times that I end up just doing the "PM"!

So there!!! They are my 10 simple reasons why I can't quit.

THE FRONTIERVILLE REVIEW BY J. LEDESMA

Zynga, the gaming king at Facebook recently came out with the best and most original game so far which has seriously very interesting social mechanics that gets a player hooked to the core. I have so far, no negative issue towards this new game that's growing fast.

I regularly play Friends For Sale (which Zynga only acquired from its' maker in September 2009) and Mafia Wars but in the past, I also tried Zynga Poker, Yoville, Farmville, Petville, Cafe World and Treasure Isle. Call me a Zynga-whore but I have always been a keen observer and player of their games. The latter games that I mentioned managed to keep me up until Level 30 and I let go of them due to lack of strategies to keep me playing. In short, I got bored. I usually play these during the beta stage but it is actually during beta stages that an online game can make me or break me.

Last Saturday, I accidentally clicked on a request to be a neighbor at FrontierVille and voila... my short-attention-span self was immediately captured.

In the beginning of FrontierVille alone, I felt alive! This game is not single-minded. It's complex yet I feel already that it will be more than complex. They managed to incorporate series of events that make that virtual world seem real... like the chores, the appearances of the snake that one needs to clobber to take it out and running out of life's energy just like humans.

Things I find interesting with FrontierVille which encouraged close and attentive playing:

1. FrontierVille is cute to begin with customizing your own avatar just like in Yoville.

2. One gets to buy crops, plant and harvest in certain time periods to gain coins and experiences or XP at FrontierVille.

3. The game makes the player complete tasks and actions just like in Treasure Island.

4. FrontierVille incorporated Mafia Wars' highly addicting "collection series" where one is task collect and complete items in exchange for rewards.

5. The game keeps you to make money like in Cafe World.

6. New events and real-time game play... it will just keep one going back and forth to play.

7. Bonus mechanics... they rock!!!

In a nutshell, here are the things that I am seeing myself to be doing for a long time and I mean not just up to Level 31:

1. I have to chop down trees to build structures such as barn, school, bars, churches and many more.

2. Clear grass away which by the way will keep on growing just like in the real world.

3. Plant and harvest crops to get money and food.

4. Feed the animals for food and money and also to sell them later on if I want to get rid of them.

5. Fighting wild animals like the snake which I am loving to do because it makes me feel I am actually clobbering fucked-up people I know.

6. Help my neighbors by tending their homestead and getting energy, popularity, food, clothing, etc. in return.

7. Marry a virtual spouse and create a virtual family (LOL) which makes it really really interesting and I wonder if later on, I can clobber my husband too If I catch him cheating!

There's so much more there to do just to tame the wilderness that could absolutely get you hooked! There's just no room for repeating things.... this game is absolutely brilliant!!!