Facebook friends to help unlock accounts

Facebook members locked out of their accounts will need security codes from three friends to get back in. Picture: Paul Sakuma Source: AP

FACEBOOK on Thursday began letting people locked out of their profiles get back in with the help of "friends."

A new Trusted Contacts account recovery feature lets Facebook users set up lists of friends who can provide codes to unlock accounts.

"With trusted contacts, there's no need to worry about remembering the answer to your security question or filling out long web forms to prove who you are," Facebook said in a security blog post.

"You can recover your account with help from your friends."

People can manage lists of trusted contacts using Facebook security settings. Members of the social network locked out of their accounts will need security codes from three friends to get back in, according to Facebook.

"Once you've set up your trusted contacts, if you ever have trouble logging in, you'll have your trusted contacts as an option to help," Facebook said.

"You just need to call your trusted contacts and let them know you need their help to regain access to your account."
 

View the original article here

Facebook friends to help unlock accounts

Facebook members locked out of their accounts will need security codes from three friends to get back in. Picture: Paul Sakuma Source: AP

FACEBOOK on Thursday began letting people locked out of their profiles get back in with the help of "friends."

A new Trusted Contacts account recovery feature lets Facebook users set up lists of friends who can provide codes to unlock accounts.

"With trusted contacts, there's no need to worry about remembering the answer to your security question or filling out long web forms to prove who you are," Facebook said in a security blog post.

"You can recover your account with help from your friends."

People can manage lists of trusted contacts using Facebook security settings. Members of the social network locked out of their accounts will need security codes from three friends to get back in, according to Facebook.

"Once you've set up your trusted contacts, if you ever have trouble logging in, you'll have your trusted contacts as an option to help," Facebook said.

"You just need to call your trusted contacts and let them know you need their help to regain access to your account."
 

View the original article here

Facebook friends to help unlock accounts

Facebook members locked out of their accounts will need security codes from three friends to get back in. Picture: Paul Sakuma Source: AP

FACEBOOK on Thursday began letting people locked out of their profiles get back in with the help of "friends."

A new Trusted Contacts account recovery feature lets Facebook users set up lists of friends who can provide codes to unlock accounts.

"With trusted contacts, there's no need to worry about remembering the answer to your security question or filling out long web forms to prove who you are," Facebook said in a security blog post.

"You can recover your account with help from your friends."

People can manage lists of trusted contacts using Facebook security settings. Members of the social network locked out of their accounts will need security codes from three friends to get back in, according to Facebook.

"Once you've set up your trusted contacts, if you ever have trouble logging in, you'll have your trusted contacts as an option to help," Facebook said.

"You just need to call your trusted contacts and let them know you need their help to regain access to your account."
 

View the original article here

Vietnam embraces My Best Gay Friends

My Best Gay Friends creator Huynh Nguyen Dang Khoa (R) posing in a promotional image in Ho Chi Minh City. Picture: AFP PHOTO/HUYNH NGUYEN DANG KHOA Source: AFP

• Comedy looks at 20-something gay, lesbian and transgender people
• First episode of web series has been viewed over one million times
• Highlights growing support for marriage equality

VIETNAM'S first gay sitcom has become a YouTube sensation, racking up millions of views as support for legalising same-sex marriage strengthens within the communist government.

Homosexuality was once seen as a social evil in Vietnam and the success of My Best Gay Friends, a low-budget series about three people sharing an apartment in southern Ho Chi Minh City, has taken even its creator by surprise.

"I thought it would only interest Vietnam's gay community - but we're hearing that parents, grandparents, whole families watch and love the shows and long for new episodes," Huynh Nguyen Dang Khoa, who also stars in the series said.

Watch the introduction to the hit YouTube soap in Vietnam, 'My best gay friends'. Video: YouTube/dangkhoadeptrai

From moving out of home to work and relationship trouble, the series details life as a typical perpetually-broke twenty-something in Vietnam - but the characters are mostly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

Khoa decided to make the show after hearing about the weird but often very amusing situations faced by a close friend - who also stars in the sitcom- as he came out and began living an openly gay life in Vietnam.

Huynh Nguyen Dang Khoa (C) seen here in scene from the popular YouTube gay sitcom, My Best Gay Friends. Picture: AFP PHOTO/HUYNH NGUYEN DANG KHOA

"We didn't have much money so everyone chipped in - we had a little cash to cover equipment, and buying food for when we were shooting all day," said Khoa, who used his own digital SLR camera to shoot the whole series.

Most of the characters are played by Khoa's friends - both gay and straight - but Cindy Thai Tai, a well-known transgender singer who was one of the first Vietnamese celebrities to have sex-change surgery, also makes an appearance.

"I wanted to show people that homosexuals have ordinary lives, full of emotion, friends, family - very normal lives," said 22-year-old Khoa, who is himself gay.

While it is not illegal, homosexuality has long been a taboo in Vietnam, where Confucian social mores- with their emphasis on tradition and family - still dominate.

But in a surprise move last year the authoritarian government said it was considering legalising same-sex marriage - a proposal that recently won the support of the Ministry of Health.

"People of the same sex have the right to live... love, find happiness (and) get married," said Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Viet Tien.

The move would make Vietnam the second country in the Asia Pacific region to legalise such unions after New Zealand.

Some symbolic but non-legally binding same-sex weddings have already been held in Vietnam, with footage of one such event going viral in 2010.

Sociologist Le Quang Binh told AFP that social attitudes towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community were changing rapidly in Vietnam at the moment but it was hard to know how much "My Best Gay Friends" had helped.

"We are lobbying the government on (same-sex weddings). I hope good change will come," said Binh, who has worked on numerous research projects on Vietnam's LGBT community.

Even if Vietnam stops short of allowing gay marriage, any legal change to recognise same-sex unions would catapult the country to the forefront of gay rights in Asia, where traditional values dominate many societies and sodomy is illegal in some.

My Best Gay Friends tackles the issue in episode nine - the most recent episode which has already been watched half a million times - when a lesbian wedding ceremony runs into problems.

"The couple is female! This wedding goes against Vietnamese traditions and customs," the manager of a restaurant says as she forces the wedding party to leave the establishment. "They are violating the law."

When one flamboyant member of the party - played by Cindy Thai Tai - protests, asking "so you think that the homosexuals have no rights to love and wed each other lawfully?" the manager quickly explains the establishment has no choice.

"Please madam, local authorities called us and forced us to cancel this wedding. If we go against the order we'll get a serious fine!" the manager adds.

The wedding is quickly moved to an alternative venue and goes ahead - to the delight of the couple's friends and family present.

The first episode of the low-budget series recently passed the one million views mark and the further eight completed episodes, out of a planned 15, are swiftly accruing hits.

"I feel a lot of sympathy, and admiration, towards the friendship and love they show for each other. I think they live a more beautiful life than ordinary people," read one typical comment from a viewer, posted on YouTube.

In 2011, curious Vietnamese filmgoers streamed into cinemas to catch Lost in Paradise, which chronicled the doomed love affair between a gay prostitute and a book seller, providing a rare glimpse into a usually hidden side of the country.

Despite the online popularity of My Best Gay Friends Khoa said there were no plans to broadcast the series on television as it was "rather sensitive" and did not appeal to networks or their advertisers.

View the original article here

Vietnam embraces My Best Gay Friends

My Best Gay Friends creator Huynh Nguyen Dang Khoa (R) posing in a promotional image in Ho Chi Minh City. Picture: AFP PHOTO/HUYNH NGUYEN DANG KHOA Source: AFP

• Comedy looks at 20-something gay, lesbian and transgender people
• First episode of web series has been viewed over one million times
• Highlights growing support for marriage equality

VIETNAM'S first gay sitcom has become a YouTube sensation, racking up millions of views as support for legalising same-sex marriage strengthens within the communist government.

Homosexuality was once seen as a social evil in Vietnam and the success of My Best Gay Friends, a low-budget series about three people sharing an apartment in southern Ho Chi Minh City, has taken even its creator by surprise.

"I thought it would only interest Vietnam's gay community - but we're hearing that parents, grandparents, whole families watch and love the shows and long for new episodes," Huynh Nguyen Dang Khoa, who also stars in the series said.

Watch the introduction to the hit YouTube soap in Vietnam, 'My best gay friends'. Video: YouTube/dangkhoadeptrai

From moving out of home to work and relationship trouble, the series details life as a typical perpetually-broke twenty-something in Vietnam - but the characters are mostly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

Khoa decided to make the show after hearing about the weird but often very amusing situations faced by a close friend - who also stars in the sitcom- as he came out and began living an openly gay life in Vietnam.

Huynh Nguyen Dang Khoa (C) seen here in scene from the popular YouTube gay sitcom, My Best Gay Friends. Picture: AFP PHOTO/HUYNH NGUYEN DANG KHOA

"We didn't have much money so everyone chipped in - we had a little cash to cover equipment, and buying food for when we were shooting all day," said Khoa, who used his own digital SLR camera to shoot the whole series.

Most of the characters are played by Khoa's friends - both gay and straight - but Cindy Thai Tai, a well-known transgender singer who was one of the first Vietnamese celebrities to have sex-change surgery, also makes an appearance.

"I wanted to show people that homosexuals have ordinary lives, full of emotion, friends, family - very normal lives," said 22-year-old Khoa, who is himself gay.

While it is not illegal, homosexuality has long been a taboo in Vietnam, where Confucian social mores- with their emphasis on tradition and family - still dominate.

But in a surprise move last year the authoritarian government said it was considering legalising same-sex marriage - a proposal that recently won the support of the Ministry of Health.

"People of the same sex have the right to live... love, find happiness (and) get married," said Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Viet Tien.

The move would make Vietnam the second country in the Asia Pacific region to legalise such unions after New Zealand.

Some symbolic but non-legally binding same-sex weddings have already been held in Vietnam, with footage of one such event going viral in 2010.

Sociologist Le Quang Binh told AFP that social attitudes towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community were changing rapidly in Vietnam at the moment but it was hard to know how much "My Best Gay Friends" had helped.

"We are lobbying the government on (same-sex weddings). I hope good change will come," said Binh, who has worked on numerous research projects on Vietnam's LGBT community.

Even if Vietnam stops short of allowing gay marriage, any legal change to recognise same-sex unions would catapult the country to the forefront of gay rights in Asia, where traditional values dominate many societies and sodomy is illegal in some.

My Best Gay Friends tackles the issue in episode nine - the most recent episode which has already been watched half a million times - when a lesbian wedding ceremony runs into problems.

"The couple is female! This wedding goes against Vietnamese traditions and customs," the manager of a restaurant says as she forces the wedding party to leave the establishment. "They are violating the law."

When one flamboyant member of the party - played by Cindy Thai Tai - protests, asking "so you think that the homosexuals have no rights to love and wed each other lawfully?" the manager quickly explains the establishment has no choice.

"Please madam, local authorities called us and forced us to cancel this wedding. If we go against the order we'll get a serious fine!" the manager adds.

The wedding is quickly moved to an alternative venue and goes ahead - to the delight of the couple's friends and family present.

The first episode of the low-budget series recently passed the one million views mark and the further eight completed episodes, out of a planned 15, are swiftly accruing hits.

"I feel a lot of sympathy, and admiration, towards the friendship and love they show for each other. I think they live a more beautiful life than ordinary people," read one typical comment from a viewer, posted on YouTube.

In 2011, curious Vietnamese filmgoers streamed into cinemas to catch Lost in Paradise, which chronicled the doomed love affair between a gay prostitute and a book seller, providing a rare glimpse into a usually hidden side of the country.

Despite the online popularity of My Best Gay Friends Khoa said there were no plans to broadcast the series on television as it was "rather sensitive" and did not appeal to networks or their advertisers.

View the original article here

Facebook makes your friends hate you

Think, before you "like". Picture: Thinkstock Source: Supplied

• Facebook feed filled with what your friends "like"
• Technical term is EdgeRank
• Businesses that clutter feed will be "unliked"

WANT to keep your Facebook friends? Think carefully before you next click the "like" button.

Here's why.  

Ever noticed how your news feed can be filled with pictures or pages that your friends have recommended? 

Imagine that you have a friend called Mike and he "likes" the My Kitchen Rules Facebook fan page. You will then get an announcement on your news feed that says “Mike likes My Kitchen Rules”.

Most of the time, that’s OK because - let's face it - you are probably watching My Kitchen Rules too. The problem is that Mike might not want you and everyone else in his news feed to know that he likes My Kitchen Rules.  

More to the point, he'd probably not intend for you to be able to see it and he really wouldn’t want to annoy you by clogging up your news feed, but that is what ends up happening. 

The technical term for this is EdgeRank. According to Paul Kaan of the Social Larder, it's the set of rules Facebook uses to filter what you see. 

"It shows you more of things that you've liked or interacted with in the past and less or none of those things that you haven't liked or there have been complaints about," Mr Kaan said.

"It also factors in how popular content is amongst your Facebook community. The more popular the more of it you will see."

From Facebook's point of view, it maximises the potential of the post by ensuring it gets out to the most people possible.  From the users perspective it gives you access to sites and pages and information you otherwise may not have discovered. 

But, as Mr Kaan told news.com.au, the system is still maturing.  

"Smart businesses will seek to engage with their consumers, provide content that they value and care about, content that they are willing to freely share with their friends," he said. "Businesses that clutter people's feeds with unwanted messages will be unliked with one quick click and lose the opportunity to engage. The system will sort itself out in time."

While we’re waiting for that to happen, the best way to keep your Facebook friends happy is to be mindful of what, and how much, you "like" on your page. 

Have you experienced this problem on Facebook?

View the original article here

Facebook makes your friends hate you

Think, before you "like". Picture: Thinkstock Source: Supplied

• Facebook feed filled with what your friends "like"
• Technical term is EdgeRank
• Businesses that clutter feed will be "unliked"

WANT to keep your Facebook friends? Think carefully before you next click the "like" button.

Here's why.  

Ever noticed how your news feed can be filled with pictures or pages that your friends have recommended? 

Imagine that you have a friend called Mike and he "likes" the My Kitchen Rules Facebook fan page. You will then get an announcement on your news feed that says “Mike likes My Kitchen Rules”.

Most of the time, that’s OK because - let's face it - you are probably watching My Kitchen Rules too. The problem is that Mike might not want you and everyone else in his news feed to know that he likes My Kitchen Rules.  

More to the point, he'd probably not intend for you to be able to see it and he really wouldn’t want to annoy you by clogging up your news feed, but that is what ends up happening. 

The technical term for this is EdgeRank. According to Paul Kaan of the Social Larder, it's the set of rules Facebook uses to filter what you see. 

"It shows you more of things that you've liked or interacted with in the past and less or none of those things that you haven't liked or there have been complaints about," Mr Kaan said.

"It also factors in how popular content is amongst your Facebook community. The more popular the more of it you will see."

From Facebook's point of view, it maximises the potential of the post by ensuring it gets out to the most people possible.  From the users perspective it gives you access to sites and pages and information you otherwise may not have discovered. 

But, as Mr Kaan told news.com.au, the system is still maturing.  

"Smart businesses will seek to engage with their consumers, provide content that they value and care about, content that they are willing to freely share with their friends," he said. "Businesses that clutter people's feeds with unwanted messages will be unliked with one quick click and lose the opportunity to engage. The system will sort itself out in time."

While we’re waiting for that to happen, the best way to keep your Facebook friends happy is to be mindful of what, and how much, you "like" on your page. 

Have you experienced this problem on Facebook?

View the original article here