Minnesota, USA -September 26, 2011 - The buzz word online lately is 'Facebook'; in an update on Facebook's page this morning -in the U.S. - a message proclaimed, "A rumor on the internet caught our attention. We have no plans to charge for Facebook. It's free and always will be." Just like in the past as Facebook makes changes, words fly around that eventually we will need to pay for it services; Facebook finally will put an end to this trend by its official statement. Now that we know we will never need to pay for it, it is time to get familiar with the services that it offers right now.

The most noticeable change to the Facebook page is the small box on the top-right hand side, referred to as the 'ticker'; it is the real-time news feed, which people either hate or love. This tracks users' movements whether it is listening to music on Spotify or watching a video or posting a comment or any other activity. It even shows posts and likes that show up on public walls or on users' pages that have specific security settings. Do not be fooled by the new look though because this tool is not new; Facebook always had the 'real-time' news option, but now it is changing to introduce such activities like video viewing.

You may need to be extra careful when posting; if you do not want others to see your location, remember to look below your comment or status box and click the X next to the city name. In addition, remember to check the settings of each post. By default it will follow your security settings, but that does not mean it could switch to 'public' accidentally. Unless you have subscribers to your page who you want to see your posts, ensure that 'customize' or 'friends' is marked on the post settings. If you mess up on this, your friends and friends of friends will be able to see your activity in their 'tickers'. If that does not get your privacy nerve going, we are not sure what will.

Another important note to remember about the new ticker is that it will not display your activity. Basically, you must remember what programs you run that are connected to Facebook because all of that activity will broadcast and you will not even realize it. Do not worry too much about this though because in the next few weeks Facebook will be releasing a 'timeline' feature, which will help you track all of your activity. In addition, you could choose to have this displayed for all of your friends to see.

For those who will do any 'defriending' anytime soon, it is important to realize that these people will remain as 'subscribers'; this means that they will see all of your posts that you mark as 'public' for subscribers. People will always have access to your page in some way or another; it is just a matter of what content they see. Again, be cautious of what you post, how you post, and what you are doing while you are logged into Facebook or another program linked to Facebook.