Can You Put Layouts on Facebook?

Print this articleMore than a means to connect and share, Facebook is also a medium of self-expression for its users. With the same colors and layout on every profile, it can be hard to make your personality stand out. Check out the third-party tools available to help you prettify your profile with layouts.

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Many online blogs and social networking sites allow users to customize their pages by changing the color, background image and layout. Facebook is an exception to this. There are no personalization features in the social networking site that would let the user modify the default white and blue theme in any way. Users cannot design their own themes, and Facebook does not provide a theme library from which to choose.

Solution

Some third-party developers have found ways to circumvent Facebook's restrictions. Websites such as PageRage and FreeCodeSource offer Facebook layouts or "skins" that users can apply to their accounts. To use a third-party layout such as these, you install the developer's plug-in on the Web browser you use to surf Facebook. These plug-ins make it appear to you as if your layout has changed to the theme you chose. With a customized layout, you can do things such as add a background image to your profile or change colors. You can switch between layouts made by the same developer so long as you have the correct plug-in installed and enabled.

Use

To apply a Facebook layout for the first time, go to the creator's website and locate the plug-in you need to download. Read the terms of agreement and if you agree to it, download and install the plug-in according to the directions. Search for a theme you like -- a theme based on your favorite movie or hobby, for example -- and click the layout. Look for a "Select This Layout" button or similar to make it your Facebook theme. You may need to reload your page to see the changes. You can return to the same developer's site and choose a different layout if you want to change it.

Limitations

While third-party Facebook layouts may be visually appealing, they have a serious drawback; other users can't see them unless they have the same plug-in installed on their browsers. If a friend of yours uses a layout, you cannot see it unless you install the plug-in your friend used to apply that theme.

Warning

Beware of installing Facebook plug-ins or applications, as some contain malware, spyware or other harmful code. Check for reviews, news and feedback on the layout plug-in you want to try before you use it. Most importantly, keep your data secure and update your antivirus and anti-spyware programs regularly.

ResourcesPage Rage Facebook LayoutsFree Code Source: Facebook LayoutsRead Next:

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Can an Employer Look at a Private Facebook?

Print this articleMany employers conduct professional background checks on potential employees before deciding whether to hire them. However, some employers may also investigate a potential employee's social media profiles, such as a Facebook page. In most cases, an employer can only view your private Facebook page if you allow it.

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Facebook is a social networking site that allows users to create profiles and connect with friends and acquaintances. If you create a Facebook profile, you can upload photographs, send public and private messages, publish writings for your friends to read and post status updates about happenings in your personal life. You can also post information about your political affiliations, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, employment history, education and hobbies or interests.

Privacy Settings

Facebook updates its available privacy settings frequently. At the time of publication, you can customize your privacy settings for each portion of your profile. It is possible to make your profile difficult to find, as well as to hide every portion of it from the public. You can also customize your profile to hide certain posts or images from specific Facebook users, and you can control who you allow to post on your wall or share your information.

Job Implications

While it is possible to make your Facebook page private, some employers may attempt to connect to your profile with a friend request. However, employers can't typically see your private profile if you don't accept the request. At the time of publication, there is no law that prevents employers from refusing to hire you because of information found on your Facebook page, nor is there any law that stops them from discriminating against you if you refuse their friend requests.

Considerations

If an employer knows an individual who is your friend on Facebook, he may be able to view your private profile with the help of that person. However, if an employer accesses your private profile through fraudulent means, such as hacking, you may be able to file a civil lawsuit against him for invasion of privacy. To prevent problems with potential or current employers, you may consider carefully monitoring the content on your Facebook page.

ReferencesThe State Journal: Social Media Posts Can Have an Impact on Hiring, FiringFacebook.com: Sharing and Finding You on FacebookBusinessweek: Employers, Get Outta My FacebookFastCompany.com: If You're Applying for a Job, Censor Your Facebook PageFacebook.com: FacebookRead Next:

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Can You Put Analytics on Facebook?

You can choose from different analytics tools for Facebook depending on your budget and needs.

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In September 2011, Nielsen reported that Facebook was by far the most popular website among American Internet users. Each month, we spend 53.5 billion minutes on the social media network. To get a better idea of how those minutes play out on your own Facebook page, you can add analytics to track and measure conversations, responses and interactions. Facebook provides its own analytics tool, but you can also install other free and paid programs with various features.

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Facebook Insights is a free analytics tool provided by Facebook to page administrators and platform developers. Facebook Insights allows you to track activity including likes and unlikes, numbers of fans, page views, mentions, wall posts and comments. In March 2011, Facebook upgraded its analytics platform to provide real time data on metrics. Data can also be exported and broken down by visitor demographics like age, gender and country.

Free Solutions

Google Analytics is another free tool you can put on Facebook to track activity. Google provides you with specific code to copy and past in your Facebook page. This code measures likes, unlikes and shares. According to a March 2010 on Social Media Examiner, adding Google Analytics to Facebook can require some special tweaking. Facebook has limited support for the JavaScript code provided by Google. However, you can find additional tools online that help you better connect the two technologies.

Paid Solutions

If you are willing to pay for an analytics solution, you can invest in a platform like Webtrends, Kontagent or Attensity. Webtrends takes information from your Facebook page and applications, and provides data on campaigns, comments, fan activity, likes and shares. With Kontagent, you have the ability to measure how well you are retaining your audience over days, weeks and months. The real-time tracking application looks at user behavior and helps you define filters and funnels for more customized analytics. The Attensity product sends you real-time alerts for comments, survey responses and posts. This tool also provides sentiment analysis for you to determine if your audience is feeling positive or negative toward your brand, product or service.

Benefits of Facebook Analytics

When you add analytics to your Facebook page you can learn a great deal more about your audience and how they are interacting with you. An analytics tool can give you insight into basic information such as numbers of fans and numbers of likes, but it can also tell you much more. These tools show you what time of day or what day of the week your engagement is highest as well as which posts, surveys or apps are garnering the most attention. You can also find out how people are finding your page and how long they are staying once they land there.

ReferencesWebtrends; Social AnalyticsSocial Media Examiner; How To Add Google Analytics To Your Facebook Fan PageFacebook; Help Center; About Facebook InsightsMashable; Facebook Insights Gets Real-Time AnalyticsMashable; A Beginner's Guide To Facebook InsightsGoogle; Social Interaction AnalyticsKontagent; Social AnalyticsAttensity; Deep Facebook Analytics on Posts, Surveys and Comments Now Available With Attensity Analyze 6.0Huffington Post; Facebook More Popular Than Any Other Website -- By A LotPhoto Credit Dan Kitwood/Getty Images News/Getty ImagesRead Next:

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