adminUndoubtedly, there has been a lot of hype about the use of the social network Facebook.
Almost everybody and their dog have been using it, with Econet even going so far as to allowing you to access your friends from a simple dumb phone that can’t log on to the internet.
Telecel has partnered with the over one billion-user platform and is providing FREE access for its subscribers (albeit there are no pictures and videos that are shown, in the hopes that you click on those pictures and videos using your airtime and pay for it).
So, for you guys (and girls) that are on a budget and don’t want to pull out another cent, whether you’ve bought Facebook bundles or are accessing it through Telecel’s Facebook Zero, here’s how to enjoy the internet through Facebook and not incur extra charges:
Internet through Facebook
1. Create a Facebook page: The process is not too difficult and should take you about a minute or two. There are many options; local business or place, brand or product, cause or community, it doesn’t really matter, just choose one. Skip through all the options that it presents, as they are not necessary.
2. Like the page that you have set up. This is a necessary set in order for you to set the following option.
3. Get Notifications from your page that you have set up.
Hover your mouse over the “Liked” button or click on the drop down arrow. A list of options will appear and you will want to click “Get Notifications” so that whenever a new post is published you will receive a notification. You can do without this step, but I’d recommend that you have it set.
4. Get the RSS Feeds of the websites (mainly news services like Herald, Newsday, DailyNews and even the lovely TechZim) that you would like to read through Facebook. Usually it is the www.WebsiteName.co.zw/feed or www.WebsiteName.co.zw/rss that will get you sorted. Just Google search the domain name together with ‘RSS feed’ and see what comes up.
5. Go on over to a business automation web service like IFTTT or Zapier where you will set an instruction for it to take a certain action once something else happens. IFTTT derives its name from the coding instruction “if this then sthat”.
In this particular instance, when a new article is publish on a particular website that you like and follow, IFTTT must post it to your Facebook page that you have created.
6. Create a “recipe” (in the instance of IFTTT) that will instruct it to post to the Facebook page of your choice (N.B. You need to be an Administrator of the Facebook page that you choose) when a new article is published. This is essentially a Feed to Facebook Page recipe that you will need to create.
Viola!!! Done. That’s it. If you have done anything like this then you are well on your way to enjoying accessing your favourite websites all through the pleasure of Facebook.
Check out the magic working on a Facebook page that I had that was lying idle and just started to make use of this fun ‘‘hack’’ recently. Hope it works for you too.
Do you have another method, that’s automated, that will allow us all to enjoy the internet from the comforts of Facebook? We’re against the dangers that Facebook and WhatsApp bundles poise for start-ups here in Zimbabwe (in fact the world over) and have shared our thoughts. Wonder if the mobile networks will have a change of heart about the bundles. — Techzim.
Online Reporter