So without further ado, here are (in no particular order), the 10 best ways to get defriended (at least by me) on Facebook.

Checking in EVERYWHERE.

I honestly don’t mind the occasional check-in update from FourSquare or Gowalla.  However, when I log in and am greeted by every place you have visited in the last 3 days, we have a problem.

‘Sentences’ like: “m3 & g0D boUt 2 giT tIgHt liK3 cRediT cArD dWn $tRiPPa b00Ty”.

True story.  Really happened.  Honestly, though, we’re still friends because her statuses are so entertaining.

Tagging me in “which one of your friends this best describes” pictures.

I’m not a Pokemon.  I’m not an Amstel Lite.  I swear, the next person to tag me as an alcoholic beverage, cartoon character, or sex position gets blacklisted.

Posting garbage on my wall.

I treat my Facebook wall like I treat my car (I can stick whatever I want on it) and like you should treat my fireplace mantle - don’t post anything you wouldn’t want Grandma and the family to see when they come over.

This also applies to Mafia Wars, Farmville and Restaurant City requests.  It’s bad enough I have to deal with those stupid requests - don’t post that ish to my wall.

Excessive swearing.

I strongly believe there is a time for harsh words.  Dropping 10 F-bombs per status not only makes you sound like an internet 9th grader who just got his heart broken, but it drains you of any respect and credibility I may have once granted you.  Refer to previous item when contemplating this nonsense on my wall.

Religious Views:  ”God.  2Pac.  Lil Wayne.”

We get it - you have no morals, you’re an internet thug, and you just made it to high school.  Stop being an idiot.  On a related note, I’d love to sit down and discuss how you can serve both God and Weezy F Baby at the same time.

Self-Taken Pictures.

There are a few reasons as to why anyone in their right mind would post dozens of self-taken mirror shots to Facebook.  Political correctness would restrict me from detailing any of these…but when have I ever adhered to that anyway?

1. You are vain.  This applies to 90% of the shots.  If you have…um…assets and want to show them off, please do so in the privacy of your own home and not via a self-taken shot from above.  Don’t forget we can still make out your muffin top.
2. You are trying to create an online identity.  The sad fact is that by taking a picture of yourself in a flat-brimmed hat holding stacks of money and a toy AK-47, you’re actually negating the very imaging you’re trying to put off.
3. You’re in 7th grade.
4. You’re in 8th grade.
5. You’re in 9th grade.

Please keep in mind that one or two self-taken shots is OK.  However, if you have an album entitled “ME (t00 pRe$H! <3)” that contains 55 photos of yourself…it’s time to quit.

Druuuuuuuuunken picturessssssssssssssss.

Rule:  If you were too drunk to remember it, we don’t want to either.

Liking every page you see.

If a page’s title is a conversation or full-out thought, please do not clog up my wall.  You’re not as deep as you think you are.

Changing your name every 3 days (or having a ridiculously stupid middle name phrase).

I know “Swaggalicious” ain’t the middle name yo’ momma gave you.

*Honorable Mention:  Calling me an ape.

Yes, this has happened to me before.  Tip:  if you want to stay fake-Facebook friends with someone, don’t publicly refer to them “picking bugs out of [their] hair”.

As an afterthought, I’d like to say that I love writing posts like this for a few reasons. First, they don’t require too much thought, and the research/work done to publish is usually pretty entertaining. Also, these posts generally get the most traffic, and they look like they took a lot of effort (due to pictures or formatting, they’re usually a lot longer).

Lastly, I’m a pretty sarcastic and cynical person.  Posts like this, while they might not gain me much tech credibility, allow an outlet for that type of unhealthy thinking.

In the same manner that Facebook power-pages like Big Prize rely on user-sharing, the practice of “Re-Tweeting” updates on Twitter can make your content visible to unknown hundreds.  The main thing standing between you and this unreached, information-searching population?  Brand identity.

In regards to social media, there is a myth that one must be easy going and personable when sharing links on Twitter.  That’s just not true.  While it is often the best approach, there are many web giants (blogs, news sites, and corporations) that use Twitter to great success without a personal approach.  This is often partly due to fame but often, it’s because they have created a great brand identity - one that is trusted by the masses (see Google, Mashable, etc).

So, how do you create brand identity in 140 characters or less?  One of the easiest ways is to have your own custom short URL - especially if you do lots of link sharing.  Until recently, users were limited to a small selection of short url sites - Bit.ly, Is.gd, etc.  While these services provide great usability and features, they don’t provide the end-user (i.e., the one clicking the link) the comfort of knowing what exactly they are clicking.  Obviously, the best method is to have created an online identity that is trusted - though this is becoming less and less important with account hacking and spam.

Apart from the simple cool factor, having your own custom URL can help establish a trusted online identity - whether you are a power blogger or simply an everyday link-sharer.  For you to post the link, you must have had access to both your shortening service AND Twitter.  Hopefully this will help ensure others that they aren’t clicking spam.

There are a few options (most of which I have tried), but the easiest to set up and maintain, at least in my opinion, is YOURLS.  The best thing about this service is that it’s self-hosted - meaning if the YOURLS site ever gets shut down, your links will still work. It provides great traffic statistics and sharing options as well.

What You Will Need:

• Domain Name - preferably something short (I chose http://rybo.us)
• Webhost
• Database

Installation is easy.  Simply follow the steps below and you’ll be sharing links in no time.

1. Purchase your domain and set up hosting.  If you have a Deluxe account at GoDaddy, you can just host the domain on your account and point it to a new folder.  If you do this, make sure you are hosting the domain and not simply forwarding it to the folder - otherwise your URL’s won’t work!
2. Set up a SQL database.  If you have a hosting account, there’s a good chance you have a few extra databases you are allowed to create.  Simply choose a name, login username and password.  Remember this information for step 4.
3. Download YOURLS from Google Code.
4. Unzip this folder and navigate to includes/config.php.  Open this file in a text editor.  Fill in the following information:

• YOURLS_DB_USER
  your MySQL username
  Example: ‘joe’
• YOURLS_DB_PASS
  your MySQL password
  Example: ‘MySeCreTPaSsW0rd’
• YOURLS_DB_NAME: The database name
  Example: ‘yourls’
• YOURLS_DB_HOST
  The database host
  Example: ‘localhost’
• YOURLS_DB_PREFIX
  The name prefix for all the tables YOURLS will need
  Example: ‘yourls_’
• YOURLS_SITE
  Your (short) domain URL, no trailing slash
  Example: ‘http://ozh.in’
• YOURLS_HOURS_OFFSET
  Timezone GMT offset
  Example: ‘-5′
• YOURLS_PRIVATE
  Private means protected with login/pass as defined below. Set to false for public usage (on an intranet for instance)
  Example: ‘true’

5. Save config.php and upload all of the files to the directory you created.
6. Navigate to http://example.com/admin - and you’re ready to start short-linking!

This month’s giveaway is from LargeFormatPosters.com. As the name suggests, LFP specializes in banners, large posters, and other sorts of wall graphics. Whether your company needs a wall graphic of the logo printed up, or you just want an attractive, large sticker to keep someone’s mouth shut (kidding!), this product from Large Format Posters will do the trick.

Specs:

• (1) 24×24 Adhesive Wall Graphic
• Shipping: FREE UPS Ground Shipping
• Eligibility: Limited to US Residents only
• Must be 18 or older to enter

The winner will be chosen on April 26th at 8pm - so you’ve got 2 weeks to enter!  As always, there are multiple ways to enter.

To be eligible, just post a comment below letting me know what you might want printed.  You can earn extra entries (1 each) by subscribing to the blog, ’sharing’ the Facebook status, following me on Twitter, or tweeting the giveaway - just be sure to let me know in your comment!  If you decide to tweet about this, try to use “@rybo” and “#techpadawan” in your update.

Good luck!

Now, I realize I haven’t blogged in a while.  School is getting hectic and my side project is starting to take off.  I don’t want to turn into one of those bloggers that slows down blogging, only to come back once every 4 months to post an announcement about the latest Apple product.

Anyway, someone sent this to me a few days ago.  Since then, I’ve watched it 8 times.  Fantastic.  The Star Wars geek in me is satisfied, and the shockingly *good* rap verses nearly make me squeal in white boy excitement.  Enjoy.

Before going any further, let me say that I realize I’m behind the times.  Like 90% of the posts I write, I’m bringing old news, reviews and haikus.  I have actually yet to bring a single haiku to the blog - but that will change.  Anyway, I know there are people who have yet to discover some of the cooler things the internet has to offer.  And that is why I write.

For those that don’t know, Last.fm is a website that allows you to listen to customized internet radio stations.  Simply pick a band, song or genre tag and you’re good to go.  From there, you can fast forward, love or ban tracks from your station.  Every artist you play is automatically added to your library, and Last.fm tracks how many times you have played each artist and song, as well as how many playlists and “loved” songs you have.

If it sounds a lot like Pandora up to now, this is where it really takes off.  First, Last.fm is much more user-friendly and user-fueled than Pandora is.  Users are much more interactive, thanks to things like tagging artists and songs, voting on band photos and analyzing friends listening compatibility.  Sure, knowing who listens to the same music as you isn’t a huge deal.  But it is cool.  Take Lucy, a local friend who is a Last.fm junkie.  Upon adding her as a friend, I saw this:

Incredibly useful?  Maybe not.  But still neat.

If you’re not sold just yet, I’ve saved the best for last.  Thanks to my friend (and past guest blogger) Jimmy,  I’m now scrobbling.  With a few clicks and a little piece of software, you can start scrobbling too.

Scrobbling is what makes Last.fm so great.  Basically, it crawls through your iTunes library (or Windows Media Player library) and your iPod to gather information on your listening habits.  Check out a list of supported devices here.  Once completed, it adds this information to your online Last.fm account.  It’s a great way for new users to quickly build a large library.  If you use the Audioscrobbling software, you can synchronize your listening with your account automatically, so as you listen your songs are displayed in your online account and immediately added to your library.

To sum up, you should try it.  It’s real swell.  Check out a few more screenshots below or get up some courage and dive right in.