The message states that “you will see all phone numbers from your phone (FB friends or not) are published that you have stored in your mobile phone”.  Now it’s true that Facebook does list phone numbers that your friends have shared in the list of your contacts, but that information has been listed in users’ private views of Facebook since launching “Phonebook” a few years ago.

If you’ve synced your phone with Facebook, those contacts will appear as well.  The claim that Facebook has published all your stored numbers (Facebook or not) however, is just a rumor.

To Address the rumors, Facebook put up the following statement on the company’s page.

“Rumors claiming that your phone contacts are visible to everyone on Facebook are false. Our Contacts list, formerly called Phonebook, has existed for a long time. The phone numbers listed there were either added by your friends themselves and made visible to you, or you have previously synced your phone contacts with Facebook. Just like on your phone, only you can see these numbers”

Facebook provides a link to let you remove the mobile contacts that it has synced from your phone, though your account will still display any numbers your friends have provided on their accounts. The site also gives instructions on how to stop syncing your iPhone with your account. To do that, head to the Friends icon in the main menu and you’ll see your Sync setting in the upper-right hand corner.  Unfortunately, I cannot find a way to do that on my Android phone, but then I did not see any phone numbers listed that were not on Facebook.

To remove your Imported Contacts follow the instructions below:

• Click the link “Edit My Profile” below your Profile Picture on the left sidebar

• Up on the top right, click on “Account” drop-down and choose “Edit Friends”

• On the left Sidebar click on “Contacts”, then once your Contacts populate click on the link “this page” on the far right under “Phonebook Contacts”

• A new page will open called “Remove Imported Contacts”, click on the blue “Remove” button

• That’s it…you’re done!

• If you want to remove your own phone number from Facebook, you can do so by heading to the “Edit Profile” link below your name and editing your contact information.

Facebook does have it’s evil side however, and it comes in the form of annoying people.  The ones that post, but never respond to comments.  The ones that invite you to events every other day.  The ones that use their profile as a political forum.

We’ve all got them, and at some point, we’ve all been them, so the question is — which one are you?

Brandon Griggs over at CNN, very eloquently descripes his top 12 annoying Facebookers (full article) .

The Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-of-My-Day Bore:  “I’m waking up.” “I had Wheaties for breakfast.” “I’m bored at work.” “I’m stuck in traffic.” You’re kidding! How fascinating! No moment is too mundane for some people to broadcast unsolicited to the world. Just because you have 432 Facebook friends doesn’t mean we all want to know when you’re waiting for the bus.

The Self-Promoter:  OK, so we’ve probably all posted at least once about some achievement. And sure, maybe your friends really do want to read the fascinating article you wrote about beet farming. But when almost EVERY update is a link to your blog, your poetry reading, your 10k results or your art show, you sound like a bragger or a self-centered careerist.

The Friend-Padder:  The average Facebook user has 120 friends on the site. Schmoozers and social butterflies — you know, the ones who make lifelong pals on the subway — might reasonably have 300 or 400. But 1,000 “friends?” Unless you’re George Clooney or just won the lottery, no one has that many. That’s just showing off.

The Town Crier:  “Michael Jackson is dead!!!” You heard it from me first! Me, and the 213,000 other people who all saw it on TMZ. These Matt Drudge wannabes are the reason many of us learn of breaking news not from TV or news sites but from online social networks. In their rush to trumpet the news, these people also spread rumors, half-truths and innuendo. No, Jeff Goldblum did not plunge to his death from a New Zealand cliff.

The TMIer:  “Brad is heading to Walgreens to buy something for these pesky hemorrhoids.” Boundaries of privacy and decorum don’t seem to exist for these too-much-information updaters, who unabashedly offer up details about their sex lives, marital troubles and bodily functions. Thanks for sharing.

The Bad Grammarian:  “So sad about Fara Fauset but Im so gladd its friday yippe”. Yes, I know the punctuation rules are different in the digital world. And, no, no one likes a spelling-Nazi schoolmarm. But you sound like a moron.

The Sympathy-Baiter:  “Barbara is feeling sad today.” “Man, am I glad that’s over.” “Jim could really use some good news about now.” Like anglers hunting for fish, these sad sacks cast out their hooks — baited with vague tales of woe — in the hopes of landing concerned responses. Genuine bad news is one thing, but these manipulative posts are just pleas for attention.

The Lurker:  The Peeping Toms of Facebook, these voyeurs are too cautious, or maybe too lazy, to update their status or write on your wall. But once in a while, you’ll be talking to them and they’ll mention something you posted, so you know they’re on your page, hiding in the shadows. It’s just a little creepy.

The Crank:  These curmudgeons, like the trolls who spew hate in blog comments, never met something they couldn’t complain about. “Carl isn’t really that impressed with idiots who don’t realize how idiotic they are.” [Actual status update.] Keep spreading the love.

The Paparazzo:  Ever visit your Facebook page and discover that someone’s posted a photo of you from last weekend’s party — a photo you didn’t authorize and haven’t even seen? You’d really rather not have to explain to your mom why you were leering like a drunken hyena and French-kissing a bottle of Jagermeister.

The Obscurist:  “If not now then when?” “You’ll see…” “Grist for the mill.” “John is, small world.” “Dave thought he was immune, but no. No, he is not.” [Actual status updates, all.] Sorry, but you’re not being mysterious — just nonsensical.

The Chronic Inviter:  “Support my cause. Sign my petition. Play Mafia Wars with me. Which ‘Star Trek’ character are you? Here are the ‘Top 5 cars I have personally owned.’ Here are ’25 Things About Me.’ Here’s a drink. What drink are you? We’re related! I took the ‘What President Are You?’ quiz and found out I’m Millard Fillmore! What president are you?”

Not everybody has received this change and there is no way of knowing what your default setting is without physically checking it. The downside to having your News Feed setting to “friends and Pages you interact with most” is, if your friends have not commented on your posts, you will not appear on their News Feed and vise verse.

So if you’re like me and want to continue to see what is going on with all your friends, here is the easiest way to check your setting and manually change it:

1. You can either scroll all the way down to the bottom of your page and click “Edit Options” or stay at the top of the page and click the drop down arrow next to “Most Recent”
2. Choose “Edit Options” at the bottom of the pop-up window
3. Click on the drop down arrow next to “Show posts from”
4. Choose to see all your friends and Pages by  checking “All of your friends and pages” or choose to only see your most active friends and pages by checking “Friends and pages I interact with most”
5. Check the button “Save” and you’re done!

BCC stands for “Blind Carbon Copy” and although we don’t actually send carbon copies, it’s the same basic idea.

Historically — before the internet — a BCC refereed to “the practice of sending a message to multiple recipients in such a way that conceals the fact that there may be additional addressees from the complete list of recipients”.

You might be thinking “who cares if all the recipients see each others addresses, isn’t this the age of sharing on the internet?” Well, yes and no. This is the age of sharing on the internet, but it’s illegal to share somebody else’s private information without their knowledge and/or approval. And it’s rude.

Think of it this way… If you owned a business would you give away your contact list to a random stranger? Would you write your friend or colleagues phone number on the wall of a public building? Absolutely not, right? Then why would you share their private email address with a group of strangers?

If that’s not enough to convince you to start using the coveted BCC field for your mass emails — or to make you aware of their evils so it can become a pet peeve of yours — here is a list of why you should start using it:

>  Using BCC protects your recipients’ private email addresses from being spread to strangers (I.E. being released into the public domain)

>  Using BCC helps prevent SPAM

>  BCC is often used to prevent an accidental “Reply All” that was intended only for the originator (hint…what if you said something personal to the originator and it went to everybody? Akward!)

>  Using BCC shows your consideration of others by not publishing hundreds of your contacts to strangers (also SPAMMERS and maybe even stalkers!)

>  Lastly… If you are a business you have to follow the CAN-SPAM laws, any email in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act is subject to penalties of up to $16,000. The law is defined as “any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service

If you were one of those people that just threw all the addresses in the “TO” field, pressed send, and called it good — hopefully this will convince you to respect the privacy of others and start using the BCC.

Facebook accidentally went live with a few new features that included a complete transformation to their business Pages.  According to Facebook  “some internal prototypes were exposed to people and resulted in us disabling the site briefly, it’s now back to normal”.

The biggest change they made was matching their Pages to the new look and feel of Profiles and Places.  This included replacing Tabs with a left sidebar menu, and completely eliminating the ability to change your default landing tab — that’s right, because there were no tabs!

What I did like however, was the option to “Switch Accounts” for Page admins.  Admins could click the button to pull up a menu giving them the option to log on to any of their accounts.  I was also thrilled to see status alerts for Pages.  In the past if you did not check your page often you risked missing a comment or post from a fan.

Immediate after exposing the changes Social Media sites were all a buzz with developers and business owners wondering how this was going to impact their business.  I think what stunned the community the most was that Facebook would make these significant, business impacting, changes without letting their public know in advance.

When asked for clarification specifically around Pages, a Facebook spokesperson said: “While we are always experimenting with new features internally we are not making changes to Pages right now. Organizations invest a lot of time on their Facebook Pages because millions of people find them useful everyday. We remain committed to providing ways for Page owners to customize and control the experience on their Page.  If we do make changes, we will provide partners with advance notice.”

What worries me the most about that statement is “we are not making changes right now” — to me that says they intend to make those changes in the future.  So what will they offer businesses as a replacement for their Welcome tab? How will they encourage visitors to “Like” their page if you can no longer offer a custom landing page?  Whatever Facebook has up it’s sleeve I predict will be a real game changer and we will no longer be able to market our business for free on Facebook.  Only time will tell.

One of the most important elements of social networking is creating your brand and being consistent with it across your various network communities.  Your brand represents your company, defining its identity and making it possible for consumers to easily identify and find you.  People also recall images easier than text so make sure your logo is on everything!

Once you have created and established your Brand, register your username on as many social media sites as possible.   This is a good practice for several reasons; by tying up your username you are controlling your identity, thus reducing the chance of somebody stealing it and damaging your reputation.  You’re also establishing trust by consistently making yourself present and available in multiple communities, and you’re making it easy for people to find you.

We all have a favorite site we spend the majority of our social networking time on,  so don’t limit your potential audience by being selective.  Be present everywhere, but syndicate your sites for less administration.

Your social media strategy should always start with an understanding of what social media is, what you want to get out of it, and how you’re going to get it.  If you don’t know the answer to those three questions, STOP – you’re not ready start.  As with any goal, you need a clear understanding of what you want to accomplish, then you can plan your path to get there.

So what are your social media goals, what do you want to get out of it?  What does success look like to you, is it to:

• Increase customer base?
• Build overall brand awareness?
• Educate your customers?
• Reach new customers?
• Drive more traffic?
• Increase sales?

Before putting your social media strategy in place and heading down the path to achieve your goals, we need to develop an understanding of what they mean, and how we’re going to reach them.

So let’s talk about a few concepts and key points we need to keep in mind as we move forward:

• Results from Social Media Marketing (SMM) take effort, time and consistency.
• Always keep the big picture in mind to ensure you stay focused and keep your momentum going.  Social Media (SM) is incredibly addicting so keep track of the amount of time you spend on it, if you drift, remember your goals and bring yourself back.
• SM is not selling, it’s listening and engaging.  Nothing turns people off more than somebody jumping up and down saying “look at me, buy my stuff…buy my stuff!”  Be relevant, be credible and build relationships, but also be transparent.  In other words, don’t pretend you not selling something, because you are, and you should state that…just don’t be pushy and bring something more to the table than just your product or service.
• Don’t take what isn’t personal, personal.  People will come and go, some will love you, and some won’t.  Respond to everybody but look at every comment or post as an opportunity to be relevant and credible.

You’ve defined your online objectives, now let’s make achieving those objective simple by breaking SMM down into three major parts; establishing, communicating and listening.

Stay tuned for Part 2 — Establishing your Brand

In hopes of promoting my new business, I’ve spent months developing my “brand” and presence in the Social Media universe. In the process I have made some great contacts, built solid relationships and have learned the power and benefits of Social Networking. To know that I can connect with millions of people all over the world for free is truly amazing and what’s even more amazing, is that more organizations are not taking advantage of it.

While I was making friends and familiarizing the world with my name, I was not building my business.  So I read more articles, followed more people, and posted more often, but I still wasn’t getting the publicity I wanted and needed.  Then I asked myself…what is my target audience and how can I get in front of them to pitch my business? Well, since my target audience is local small businesses the best way to introduce my services to them would be to meet them face to face…what a concept!

The next day I scoured our local paper looking for business socials coming up and saw that the Chamber of Commerce was having a mixer.  I called a couple friends that are active in the community and asked if they would meet me there to introduce me to anybody they knew, and to my delight they both agreed! At that mixer I met a gentleman that pretty much spends all his time at local business events and asked if I could tag along to some of them.  I spent the next two weeks going to mixers almost nightly and was introduced to what seemed like half the town.  I traded cards with people, generally asking questions about their business and always followed up with an email simply saying “it was a pleasure to meet you last night at the…”.

The response to my efforts was immediate and surprising.  I’d gotten farther with a few handshakes than I did with hundreds of hours on-line.  The phenomenon brought to mind how authors do signing tours after their books hit the shelves, and movie stars run the talk show circuit when their movies debut.  So why do they do that?  If we like them we’re going to buy the book or see their movie regardless right?  They do it because they want us to connect with ‘them’ and not the character they’re playing or writing about.  Business is no different, we want to build a relationship with the people we do business with and we need to develop a trust.

So am I saying social networking isn’t worthwhile? Not at all, I’m saying you have to do both.  With social media you have a voice that spans the world enabling you to connect to people you wouldn’t be able to otherwise, but nothing will ever replace the power of a handshake and a smile.

This email went out to a group of parents whose kids are involved in organization that hosts band workshops.  We’ve been in the program for a couple of years and maybe get an email update once every couple of months; they definitely aren’t spammers and its always relevant info.

The original email was addressed to a single group in the “to” field, just moments after the email went out the first response came back; what happened after that can only be described as electronic mass hysteria.

Original Email:

Hi Everybody,

We’re excited to announce that the Pro band, <band>, will be hosting their first CD Release Party!  Their CD “<CD Name>” was recorded this past summer and contains five original songs that really rock! (There was a flyer attached but this was really pretty much it…no big deal right?

Responses in order of appearance and exactly as they were written (with the occasional comment from me in red):

1.      Please unsubscribe me. Thank you.

2.      Why am I getting all of these notices that people want to unsubscribe?

3.      Me also

4.      Me too, thank.s

5.      “Reply” – replies to the whomever sent the email.  “Reply All” – replies to EVERYBODY on the mailing list.  Please use accordingly.

6.      I did not send this.

7.      I know – me too!?!

8.      (ill stay subscribed..)

9.      Me too!  Please stop hitting reply to all everyone.

10.  Bloody hell would you guys give it a rest?

11.  Please take me off too.

12.  Can everyone just stop this thread now and send her a message individually and seperate from this one if you wanna unsubscribe?

13.  Please unsusbcribe me

14.  Me also

15.  My ? As well

16.  because people are hitting “reply all”!!!  thanks for including EVERYONE on your unsubscribe requests….jeez.  the whole world doesn’t wanna know.

17.  You guys have the wrong email, I’m receiving all these email in error! please remove me from your list.

18.  Pls take me off your email list.  This is too scary. (Scary? As in conspiracy theory scary?)

19.  Please remove me from your list! (this is the same guy that wrote #17)

20.  This is a huge email address population…stop replying and go directly to their website to unsubscribe.

21.  PLEASE UNSUBSCRIBE ME. THIS IS A NIGHTMARE OF EMAILS.

22.  this is ridiculous on how you have sent a massive email please unsubscribe!

23.  would all please refrain from hitting “reply all”  with their unsubscription request – adding insult to injury…  Thanks. (I like it, making your point by doing exactly what you are asking people not to do)

24.  Stop replying to all if you want to stop receiving emails from other people!

25.  NO NEED TO REPLY TO EVERYONE PEOPLE!

26.  Yes please!!!! Do not reply to all!! I’ve recieved 20 emails within 10 minutes. (And…you just sent yourself another one, awesome)

27.  Thank you.

28.  Sheesh, people! This is just a nice announcement about a great event concerning some very talented kids. Just delete and move on if you don’t care. Give me a break.

29.  You too (who me?)

30.  Actually, it’s amusing to see how many of you get so upset about these emails. I agree with Emily. Delete, move on and put your passion into something that makes a difference. I know…work on feeding the poor! or something. PLEASE! (Yes, because there are people all over the world that don’t even have the internet!)

31.  I have only sent mine to “groupname@emailaddress.com“…yet you are all still getting?

32.  I think a virus may be causing this to happen. Maybe the <organization> server is infected or something? (Scary)

33.  Me too (oh, you)

34.  I think the ‘groupname@emailaddress.com‘ is actually an email list.  When I initially replied to ONLY that email, it went to everyone apparently, including me.

35.  GET A LIFE PEOPLE! At some point, you or your child was involved in <organization>, which is why you are on the list. Just be happy for these kids and move on.  Stop the animosity. It’s a simple DELETE button.

36.  LOL Hello everybody. Welcome to SpamWorld!

37.  Clearly THIS is the case!

38.  groupname@emailaddress.com is a mailing list, with all students and, it seems, anyone who has ever sent an email to <organization>.

39.  I have tears rolling down my cheeks I’m laughing so hard…thank you all for this string, it’s the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time! (This is mine…I couldn’t resist, and I really was crying)

40.  I believe this is correct. They surely have a ‘group’ list of all previous and current students and upon receiving the email, someone, (you know who you are) accidently pushed ‘reply all’ which copied each and everyone EVER affiliated with <organization>.

41.  Please take me off this list

42.  I think its swine flu! (Had to be said)

43.  I have no idea why I am getting all these emails – has nothing to do with me–

44.  i have to agree. it is so silly! enjoy the evening. i am!

This person got creative and started a new subject…

45.  please unsubscribe me right away.  Thanks,

Yet another new subject…

46.  get me off please! stop emailing me! for anything please remove me for anything stop emailing me!

47.  Remove me from this list–I am getting constant emails.

48.  get me off please! stop emailing me! for anything please remove me for anything stop emailing me! (so this person copied #46 and sent it as their own)

49.  What the hell is going on!!! STOP THE EMAILS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

50.  get me off please! stop emailing me! for anything please remove me (such a great post this person also copied #46 and sent it as their own)

51.  for anything stop emailing me!

52.  Just everyone stop with the emails. If you want to be taken of the mailing list, do it later. She got the message. COME ON PEOPLE!!! (I like it, email everybody to say stop emailing everybody after 51 people have already done the same thing…very creative)

53.  I HAVE 68 EMAILS FROM THE <ORGANIZATION>… COULD YOU FRICKING DELETE THE <FAMILY> EMAIL ADDRESS. WE NO LONGER INTERESTED. WHO THE F…. SENT ALL THESE 68 SAME <BLEEP> INFO  EMAIL AND HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO SEND AN EMAIL THROUGH THE BLACK BERRY…

54.  Hi Guys, Really, must you get so annoyed at a simple e-mail accident when there is war in Iraq & Afghanistan, no healthcare plan for the U.S., global warming, education cuts, overpopulated prisons, etc…Grow up!!  By the way, is Angelina Jolie really on this email list? If so keep me subscribed!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Seriously? You’re in the group, have you ever seen her or brad?)

55.  Nice Noah! Angelina…it that you?

And yet another new subject…

56.  Please unsubsribe me too.

And another…

57.  Did you guys just get the internet today?  <BLEEP> you, breeders. (and there it is…Wait, don’t you have a kid in this group?)

58.  No, it is I who will tell YOU to stop sending useless email.

59.  No! It is I who will tell YOU  . . . . Viva Useless Emails!   Viva Donna!   Viva <organization>!  Parents . . . grow up thyselves! (nice use of the Shakespearean language)

And another…but this one was started by the original sender…

60.  Hello Everybody, This is <Sender> from <The group>, emailing you from my home email address.

Our email server recently “upgraded” their system, and in the process obliterated our email list.  When we re-built it this afternoon & sent the message many of you have responded to, it apparently did not include the functionality that disabled all of you from receiving messages from each other.

If you want to respond to the original message you sent, please just do a reply to sender@emailaddress.com.  Please do not do a “reply all” as that will send your message to everybody on our list.

In the meantime, we will be contacting our email provider to ensure that this does not happen again. (Excellent, your email provider is going LOVE this!)

61.  Is that really angelina jolie? Keep me subscribed! (Even funnier the second time, right?)

62.  No I am not Angelina Jolie it is only my display name! remove me loll,,,

63.  stop emailing me! (this is from Angelina Jolie)

64.  That’s exactly what the real Angelina Jolie would say! LOL sorry couldn’t resist. No more emails from me I promise!

65.  me, too. please unsubscribe me as well!!!!

66.  I would also appreciate being taken off this as well.

67.  Folks, there is something wrong with the <organization> email distribution. It appears that many people are telling them to take their names off the list, but those requests are going to lots of people like me, who have nothing to do with <organization> except being on their email list. I plan to call them in the morning to let them know they have a problem. But in the meantime, please don’t reply by email to <organization>, because that appears to be perpetuating and exacrebating the problem of unwat=nted emails.  (and it only took you 67 email to come to this conclusion)

68.  PLEASE REMOVE ME FROM THIS LIST!!! YOU HAVE INADVERTENTLY CREATED A SITUATION WHERE EVERYONE IS SEEING EVERYONE ELSE’S RESPONSE TO THIS EMAIL. (excellent use of all caps, I’m really feeling it)

69.  Hahaha damn you guys this is so funny I really can’t stop laughing.  But jeez you parents really need to chill out about all this.  This is exactly why adults should not use the internet! Just kidding. It’s just funny to watch people get so hyped up over something so unimportant. (Love him)

70.  Well said John! Where are our priorities today people…hit delete…no big deal…isn’t this supposed to be kick back…open and understanding San Francisco? Have a good night…

71.  Here here! Let’s take this moment to stop thinking that we’re so dang important. Rock on, <organization>!

72.  Well said!!!

So 72 email and approximately 12 hours later the hysteria subsided.  The breeders and the one other parent went to bed exhausted after a very scary evening of responding to a group email.