Encounter with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg…

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Yesterday was certainly no ordinary day. I had the good fortune to be able to visit Facebook Headquarters after some meetings in Palo Alto, California. (Silicon Valley). After taking a few photos in the front foyer of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg walked right by us with 2 of his colleagues discussing some problem they were trying to solve…

O.K.  I have had my fair share of celebrity sightings over the years, but to see the most influential person of our generation just casually walking in to his office, with grey T-shirt, jeans, white reeboks, & his security pass to the worlds largest social network – was definitely a moment I will never forget.  600 million say he’s done a great thing, it’s working…that’s how many users Facebook now has.

Don’t Join The Mad Scientist Facebook Group?!

…I’m not sure why that heading emerged from my head…because I really hope you do join the Mad Scientist Social Media Group but I got your attention right?

Joining the GROUP will guarantee you wont miss any humourous Mad Scientist happenings along the way, we also promise to keep you informed of all the latest Social Media news and developments. You’ll be on the crest of the wave with us.

If you get ultra excited we also have a FAN page. So do some ‘like’ing (I think I just invented a new facebook spelling)…

How to change your Facebook Vanity URL for a second time!

In 2009, when Facebook introduced custom URLs (also known as vanity URLs) for your profile and fan pages, Facebook claimed that the custom URL you choose can be only set once. Once the custom URL (example http://facebook.com/MadScientistSM) has been set, it cannot be changed to another URL. But it looks like Facebook is giving a second chance to people who didn’t wisely choose their custom URLs for their profile page.

To change the custom URL of your profile page, simply go to Account –> Account Settings –> Username and click the link change. You will be now able to change your username for your profile page.

If you want to change the custom URL for your fan page for a second time, then you may be out of luck. I haven’t figured out how to do it.

Transferring the Profile Page URL to Fan Page URL

When Facebook introduced custom URLs last year, I secured the custom URL (MadScientistSM) for my profile page as I couldn’t secure it for my fan page. In 2009, you should have at least 100 fans in order to get a custom URL for your fan page. Now this number has been reduced to 25.

Given that Facebook allows me to change the username for a second time, I was able to change my existing username (MadScientistSM). By changing my username, I was able to release the URL MadScientistSM.

Soon after I changed my username, I went to http://facebook.com/username and set the URL techthinker as the URL for my Facebook fan page!

The ability to change username for a second time gives you a chance to trade usernames with others. It also gives you a chance to transfer your profile page URL to your Fan Page URL.

(Courtesy Of TechThinker)

“If you’ve got nothing good to say…

…don’t say anything.”

Even before computers, the internet, or social media existed, mum’s across the world were lending this phrase to their children. My mother definitely said it on many occasions and if she understood the ins and outs of social media, I reckon she’d say it applied here too, particular in promoting your business online. It’s so tempting to just talk about nothing in particular and neglect to engage people in some riveting topic of conversation. If you can’t do this, it’s best to put that topic or idea on the back burner until you think it’s got something special to offer. Otherwise your social media presence becomes a big bag of hot air. A pretty dull place to be. You don’t have to say something every day, just make it quality and no less than once a week.