A profile picture is one of the most important elements of your social media profile. It's the first thing people will see when they visit your page, and it's a good way to make a strong first impression.

That being said, not all profile pictures are created equal. Each social network has its specific requirements for what makes a good profile picture, and failure to follow these guidelines can result in a less-than-ideal image that doesn't represent you in the best light.

Here are some tips for taking a great profile picture for each of the most popular social networks:

LinkedIn: Your LinkedIn profile picture should be a professional headshot appropriate for a business setting. Avoid casual or overly-stylized photos, and make sure the background is simple and free of distractions.
Facebook: For Facebook, you can go with a more casual photo than you would on LinkedIn. However, it's still important to avoid anything that could be seen as too staged or artificial. A good rule of thumb is to choose a picture that you would be comfortable sharing with your friends and family.
Instagram: On Instagram, your profile picture should be an image that represents your personal brand. This can be a photo of you engaged in a hobby or activity that you're passionate about or something that showcases your unique sense of style.
Snapchat: Snapchat is all about fun and spontaneity, so your profile picture should reflect that. Don't be afraid to get creative with your snapcode (the image people use to add you to the app). You can even use a funny or memorable picture from a past event as your profile pic.
Twitter: Since Twitter is all about brevity, your profile picture should be an image that can be easily seen and recognized in a small size. A simple headshot or logo is usually best for this social network.

Remember that your profile picture is an important part of your online presence, no matter which social network you're using. Take the time to choose an image that represents you well, and you'll be sure to make a great first impression on everyone who visits your page.

Snapchat usage grows among teens

June 5, 2018GeneralEdward Kiledjian

Pew Research publishes interesting surveys, and they recently shared results about what teens use most. Contrary to public opinion, Snapchat is still king with teens, followed by Youtube. Facebook usage amongst teens is down 71% compared to the 2014-2015 Pew report.

45% of teens admitted to being online "almost constantly."
24% of teens admitted to being online "several times a day."

Girls are more likely to be "almost constantly" online (50%) compared to boys (39%).

Instagram is still going strong and 72% of teens now use it (up from 52% in 2015). 70% of teens use Snapchat (up from 41% in 2015).

Most platforms have an equal amount of creation and consumption except Youtube, where the most significant proportion is consumption.

You will notice that Snapchat and Instagram have higher usage than Facebook. Interestingly you will note:

Instagram/Snapchat are designed to post pictures, whereas Facebook supports photos but videos, links, text updates, etc.
Instagram/Snapchat are designed to be used on a smartphone, whereas Facebook is multiplatform. This is confirmed when the stats show that 95% of teens have or have access to a smartphone (88% of teens have access to a computer at home).

31% of teens believe social media has a positive impact on their lives while 24% think it has a negative one. 45% believe it has a neutral effect on their lives.

Was Google, Apple, Facebook & Microsoft traffic redirected to Russia?

December 14, 2017GeneralEdward Kiledjian

TL;DR: Internet traffic to and from major tech companies (Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitch, NTT Communications and Riot Games) were redirected through a Russian provider Wednesday. This appears to have been a deliberate hijack and not an error.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BGP is a routing and reachability protocol used on internet backbones around the world. It is what allows carriers to find routing information between each other (in simple terms).

2 BGP monitoring services have reported short changes to the routing of key internet giants, and they do not believe this was a mistake.

BGPMon recorded two three-minute hijacks affecting roughly 80 address blocks.

“One of the interesting things about this incident is the prefixes that were affected are all network prefixes for well known and high traffic internet organizations. The other odd thing is that the Origin AS 39523 (DV-LINK-AS) hasn’t been seen announcing any prefixes for many years (with one exception below), so why does it all of sudden appear and announce prefixes for networks such as Google? ”

— BGPMon

Qrator Labs recorded a two-hour hijack affecting 40 to 80 address blocks.

As mentioned in the BGPMon release, AS39523 is a Russian organization that has been inactive for years. The last time we saw them, they were involved in another BGP "incident" that involved Google.

Luckily most of the traffic that passes through these providers is encrypted at a level that is believed to be currently unbreakable. The concern is that a state-sponsored attacker could have new decryption algorithms that are not yet publicly known and it does means the traffic "could" have been decrypted (however unlikely it remains a possibility).

Best 360 degree camera for consumers

May 17, 2017GeneralEdward Kiledjian

360 degree videos are the new THING because they capture more of the experience you are trying to share. Facebook, Youtube & Twitter all support this new more immersive medium. So the question is "What's the best 360 degree consumer video camera available?" Good question considering your local BestBuy has over a dozen in store and on display.

Having tested about a dozen of them, the best one is still the Ricoh Theta S.

Why the Theta S? First it is easy to use. You press that big button and it starts to record. It has built in WIFI that allows you to review the captured content or control the camera with your smartphone. Last but not least, it captures good quality video.

Video is good but not great

When buying one of these devices, it is important to understand that you will get good video but it won't be an ultra sharp crystal clear 4K video (like one coming from a mid priced DSLR). The video quality will be good and acceptable but the manufacturers chose not to go super high quality because the stitching would require too much horsepower.

Some technical specs

So what kind of sensor does this little device have? It has 2 12 megapixel sensors and ultrawide 240 degree lenses. The camera then processes these two inputs and automatically created one 14 megapixel video (at 1080p) that automatically hides the camera.

Pair this 360 degree video with some kind of VR headset (even a cheap Google Cardboard) and you get wonderfully imersive video that feels like you are in the moment. You can move around and see everything. This means you (as the photographer) have to consider this immersive experience when taking the video. Be cognizant of how you are holding the camera.

Let's talk quality of video

So the Ricoh Theta S produces some very good video with good color reproduction (even is low light situations). Using the smartphone app, you can tune basic settings like exposure compensation, shutter speed, ISO and go fully manual (which I don't recommend).

Video clips can be up to 25 minutes long. Let's be honest, you videos shouldn't be longer than this anyway.

Let's talk device in hand

The Ricoh Theta S is a slim device which means it is easy to hold even for people with smallish hands. It is thin and long and a bit thick (which makes holding the device easy and comfortable).

It has a nice easy to hold onto plastic surface that has good grip. It has a standard tripod mount on the bottom which means you can easily mount this to any tripod (including a flexible Joby Griptight).

The device is easy to use and allows you to quickly switch from 360 degree videos to 360 degree pictures and back. All without having to fiddle with finicky menus or having to use the smartphone app. You can turn WIFI on or OFF (WIFI sucks battery so turn it off when not needed).

Let's talk battery life

Richoh doesn't provide good information about battery life. Assuming you are using the device for videos and have WIFI tuned off, you can expect about 1 hour of use time on a single charge. The device does not have a removable battery so you'll have to charge it with a portable battery when in the field.

It's a 360 degree video

The output from the device is either a JPG or MP4 file with metadata identifying it as a 360 degree video. You can upload this to Youtube, Facebook, Twitter or Flickr and it will identify the file appropriately and then perform all of the required processing in the background to make it immersive and navigable.

Each 1 minute of video consumes about 100MB of storage and if you transfer it via WIFI to your phone will take 3-5 minutes. During this time you have to leave the app open and therefore won't be able to do anything on your device (or you can transfer it via USB if you have a laptop).

The free Theta+ or Theta+ video apps let you edit videos and even create non 360 degree cropped output files. They are fairly basic but allow you to add text, music or trim the video length.

When possible, use a tripod (even a mini one) to hold the camera otherwise you are likely to see fingers in the shot as you press the recording button. Or use the smartphone app to start/stop recording.

It can live stream

The Ricoh Theta S can also live stream when connected to a desktop with the special Theta software loaded on it (Mac and Windows). To enable live streaming you "Press the shooting mode button and power button of the camera together".

You can live stream your 360 degree masterpiece to Youtube or Facebook. You may want to add the free OBS Studio app to the streaming mix.

Important considerations

First is the price. At roughly $350US it isn't a cheap product and it can't be your main or only recording device.
It doesn't shoot in 4K. Considering most people will be viewing this content on VR visors, smartphones or in web browsers, this should be a major problem but it is important to remember.
The built in 8GB of storage (no SD Card support) is annoying. It's major competitors (Nikon Keymission 360, Samsung Gear 360 and Insta360 all accept nano SD cards).
Without a removable SD card, you also can't just "pop out" the card and transfer data at super fast speeds using a USB card reader.
If you edit the 360 pictures, some editors will strip the 360 degree marker from the metadata and the uploaded sites won't know that it requires special handling. You can add this back but its a pain.

Conclusion

If you want to buy an affordable, easy to use 360 degree video camera, the Ricoh Theta S is the one to buy today. It offers the right combination of quality, price and features. With everything said and done, it is still early days and the experience still isn't perfect.

I wouldn't recommend my parents go out and buy this. Not yet. Not right now. If you have a desire for 360 degree video then go out and get one. You won't be disappointed as long as you remember it's not a mass market product yet.

For John and Jane Doe, the technology still needs to mature and improve a bit.

Choose the right profile picture for each of your social networks