Do You Use Facebook Less Than You Did a Year Ago?

Reports suggest the iconic social media site last lost 9 million monthly visitors in the U.S. over the last six months. But the site is still huge and mobile growth continues.

Facebook had 1.1 billion worldwide users at the end of March — up 23 percent from the same time last year — and reported other positive signs of growth. However, one social media analyst suggested that the iconic site has lost 9 million monthly visitors in the U.S. in the last six months, and experienced drops in other parts of the world. That may only reflect PC users and not mobile, however. Of course, anything as ubiquitous as Facebook is a target, and users log complaints about games, changing privacy settings, the timeline and so much more. Meanwhile, younger generations spend more time on Twitter, Instagram and other social sites. Are you spending less time on Facebook than before, and if so, why? Vote in our poll and then discuss in…

•  17 Comments
• Photos (1)

Should Online Commenters Be Allowed to Remain Anonymous?

The ability to hide your identity gives some people more courage to speak out, but that courage often sparks vitriol that others believe would be curbed by being required to use real names.

The internet has allowed instantaneous conversation and exchange of ideas unlike any tool man has seen. But the anonymity that comes with it turns some people off. Rees Roberts penned a Local Voices post for Patch this week that expressed his desire to require article commenters and posters to use their real names. Two Republican legislators in New York are introducing the Internet Protection Act, requiring state-based websites to have online commenters identify themselves. Not every anonymous commenter is also venomous. Some just want to speak freely on a topic and a user name makes them feel safer. But when Boston.com sought to interview many of its most active commenters for an article, it found the most angry users — the “trolls,” as …

•  473 Comments
• Photos (1)

Police Investigate Man Posing Online as a New Berlin West Student

Waukesha police officers investigated an incident where a man posed as a New Berlin teenager and sent a girl a picture of his genitals, according to a search warrant affidavit.

An out-of-state man suspected of posing on Facebook as a New Berlin West High School student to chat with underage girls won't be arrested by Waukesha police. Waukesha police investigated an incident where a man may have posed as a teenage boy in an effort to meet with a Waukesha 13-year-old girl. The police department is not referring charges because of jurisdictional issues. However, the case is being turned over to authorities in California. According to a search warrant filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court on Nov. 19, officers were informed by the girl’s mother that her daughter received a friend request on her Facebook account from a person who said they were a New Berlin West High School student. The girl accepted the friend …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

40 Facebook Pages Muskego Residents Should 'Like'

Check out some of the top Muskego-centric pages available on Facebook.

Slowly but surely the population of Muskego businesses that appear on Facebook is growing, especially with newer (and let's admit, younger) business owners coming into the city. If you're active on the social media page, include your local merchants and organizations - as well as Muskego Patch - so they can pass along great deals and other information to you, right where you live. Some businesses are set up as personal accounts, so you become a friend, rather than liking the page, and these have not been included. Others (like below) are set up as pages, but some could use a nudge in taking the next step in posting updates to their sites.   The following list is in no particular order. Know a really great Muskego-related Facebook page …

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)

National Unfriend Day: Jimmy Kimmel's Facebook Crusade is Saturday

For the third year, Facebook users across the nation will participate in this national day — Nov. 17, this Saturday — to remove"friends" who don't really belong on the list.

"This is a day I invented to save the United States," Jimmy Kimmel said during his "Jimmy Kimmel Live" show, referring to the National Unfriend Day for Facebook users that he started in 2010.  "There are 150 million Facebook users in America alone — which is half the population," he continues in this video clip on TV.com. "And many of these people have hundreds, if not thousands, of what they call friends." Kimmel then goes on to highlight the useless information found on one particular user's profile, and encourages people to "unfriend" such users on Nov. 17. This year, that day is Saturday. "Don't pretend to be interested in these people, they're not your friends," he said. "NUD is the international day when all Facebook users shall …

•  16 Comments
• Photos (2)

Parent Need to Understand Dangers of Social Media

Facebook can be fun, but kids need supervision on this and all sites to avoid dangers from 'friends' with less than ideal intentions.

What's Everyone Recommending on Facebook?

What are people reading on Muskego Patch's Facebook page? Here is a list of the top stories.

Are you missing out on the conversation? Or does your business have a page on Facebook that you'd like us to know about? Like us on Facebook and see what all the fuss is about!

• Photos (1)

Falk, Barrett Use Different Tactics When it Comes to Social Media

Milwaukee mayor uses Facebook, Twitter to inform while his foe in Democratic recall primary believes in more interaction with follower and fans. Meanwhile, incumbent Gov. Scott Walker expected to use some of his campaign cash to beef up his efforts.

If you want to know where Democratic gubernatorial primary candidate Kathleen Falk is, "liking" her FalkforWI campaign page would be a good place to start. On Monday, one post on the page read, "On Air with The Ed Schultz Show right now." Shortly before that, a photo of Falk talking into a microphone accompanied this caption, "Calling for Scott Walker to replace DNR head Cathy Stepp." Democrat Tom Barrett, on the other hand, isn't so much about location as he is about issues: ads about job losses under Republican Gov. Scott Walker, links to news articles about politically hot topics in Wisconsin and comments such as, "Thanks to your dedication and support, grassroots individuals across Wisconsin helped us raise $750,000 in just 25 days to …

•  5 Comments
• Photos (1)

Muskego Police Say You're Not Likely A Winner

This week's 'scam spotlight' focuses on celebrity emails that aren't what they seem.

The general gist of the email is, “You’ve won a whole lot of money, and in order to claim it you have to send us a smaller amount of money. Keep it confidential!” According to Muskego Police, this past year’s top sweepstakes scam was undoubtedly the email claiming to be from Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, announcing that the recipient was the winner of $1 million from the popular social networking site. "These kinds of scams often use celebrities or other famous names to make their offer seem more genuine," explained Lt. Dave Constantineau. He cautioned that if you're not sure about the legitimacy, don’t click on the link. "Go directly to the homepage of the company mentioned. If they are really giving away $1 million, there will be …

• Photos (1)

Muskego Expands Its Social Presence

The city hopes to reach more residents on Twitter and Facebook

Jeff Muenkel, city planner, announced that the city has officially launched sites on Twitter and Facebook. "It is something that I’ve thought about for some time from an economic development perspective for Muskego," Muenkel said. "Over the past years I’ve attended many conferences where we’ve seen other communities slowly move to using these new tools in order to reach out to businesses and residents.  Facebook and Twitter are an exciting new path of bringing better transparency to the good things we do in this community and I hope we all embrace it. By doing this we are being innovators and are ahead of the curve than other municipalities which is another plus to making Muskego a better place." You can follow the city on Twitter

• Photos (2)