Agility Loop

I have become an avid Android user.  Although I do have a bit of device envy at some of the new Android devices out there, my Droid 1.0 is still a great phone.  However, navigating through the maze that is the Android Market on Android 2.1 is painful.  It will get better with the 2.2 upgrade (although still bitter I don't have it.  Maybe I should have installed it myself), but there has to be a better way. Today I stumbled upon AndSpot while reading Wired's Gadget Lab.  It is the latest of several alternative markets that you can install on your Android device.  It looks like it has promise, until I read that it appears that they want to build their own social network for the app rather than leverage an existing social graph.  This is a non-starter.  I do not have enough techie friends who are willing to start another social network for a niche app.  Instead, use my friends I already have on Facebook or LinkedIn.  The app does integrate with those networks, but it appears to be only for sharing apps (please correct me if I am wrong). Yes, Facebook may be evil in some ways and take up way too much time, but it has over 500 million users.  As an app builder, that is a huge network that you can leverage to make your app spread like wildfire.

This is a somewhat refreshing approach.  Rather than ban social networking services altogether like the Marines, the British military has decided to encourage their troops to Tweet or post on Facebook their experiences in the military.  This past week the MOD issued a 13 page document outlining the guidelines for using these services.  Granted, the document has a bit of a CYA tone for the higher ups, but at least it addresses the issue head on rather than bury its head in the sand like some organizations.  Instead you have the Marines who have banned it outright, but the Joint Chiefs of Staff still tweets and has said he will continue to do so. Of course DoD has kicked off a study to determine the vulnerabilities of technologies like Facebook and Twitter.  Wish I got that cherry contract. My thoughts on this issue are fairly simple.  If you simply prohibit an effective way for people to communicate, they will find another way to do it, and it will NOT be on your terms.  Instead users will find a workaround that is probably less secure. and may even expose your data and network more.

I remembered reading about this awhile back, but didn't really think about making the change to prevent my pictures from becoming ads.  To prevent this:

1. Go to Settings -> Privacy Settings
2. Click on News Feed and Wall
3. Click on the Facebook Ads tab
4. Change the Appearance in Facebook Ads to No One.

Of course, if you want to try to be a FB star, you can just leave it alone!