Everyday you post pictures, updates and things that are important to you, on Facebook. If
you think about it, you’re basically writing the story of your life as you go. Now how
cool would it be if you could keep a copy for yourself? Actually, you can. Just log
into Facebook, click settings, and look for the option to download a copy of your Facebook
data. This way you’ll have an interactive copy of all your pictures, videos, messages
and posts, saved right to your computer.
Thinking outside the box a little can get you some really amazing deals. For example,
the next time you go buy something on eBay, try searching for spelling mistakes on the
items you’re looking for. Listings like these, aren’t going to be found by very many people,
so they’re less likely to get bid up in price. So get in the habit of searching misspelled
words, and see what kind of savings you can score.
There’s a fast and easy way to save online receipts, pictures, and basically anything
else that pops up on your computer screen. It’s called screen capping and it’s unbelievably
quick and easy to do. If you’re on a Mac, hold shift, command, and the number 4, then
select the area on the screen you want to save. As soon as you let go, you’ll have
an instant picture saved to your desktop. Now if you’re using a PC, just press the
“PrtScn” button to copy the screen to the clipboard, then go ahead and paste the
image into a program like windows paint.
We’re halfway through the web tricks now, so let’s take a quick break and tell Google
to “do a barrel roll”. Surprisingly, you can see it really does.
Hundreds of people are using public computers every day, and if you’re in a situation
where you have to use one, it’s really important to protect yourself. One of the simplest things
you can do is called private browsing. Almost all modern browsers have a feature for private
browsing or "incognito mode", which basically means, nothing will be saved from your online
session. When you’re done, close the browser, and now there won’t be any history, or anything
else about you for the next person to find.
Did you know there’s a way to record your computer screen and make it into a video?
Just open up "QuickTime", and select "New Screen Recording". You can select which microphone
you want to use, and hit record, and now whatever you see on your screen next will be made into
a video. This way you can make gaming tutorials, record special highlights, or do video commentaries,
and, of course, upload them to share your perspective with the world.
YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, so here are a few tricks to
make it work better for you. First of all, click the gear icon beside the “Subscribed”
button and select “Send me updates”. Try it with mine right now, and you’ll get an
email notification the next time I upload a video. Now you’ll never miss an upload
again. Secondly, if you don’t like the closed captioning on videos like this, you can click
the text and drag it off the video, or you can even turn it off altogether by clicking
the "cc" button and selecting “off”. And finally, when you’re trying to load a video
and it’s gets stuck buffering, just press the down arrow on your keyboard to turn the
dots into a game of snake. This will help keep you occupied until your video loads up.
Well there are 6 simple tricks you can start using right now, that will help save you time,
money, and bring you closer to your goals of mastering the internet. If you’re ready
for more, go to lynda.com/thekingofrandom right now. There’s a complete list of these
tips, and more tutorials that go into a lot more detail.