Geek Meee!!!

How to enable facebook Timelines

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 20:27:00 +0000

Here’s how to do it:

1. Log into Facebook

2. Enable developer mode, if you haven’t already. To do this, type “developer” into the Facebook search box, click the first result (it should be an app made by Facebook with a few hundred thousand users), and add the app.

3. Jump into the developer app (if Facebook doesn’t put you there automatically, it should be in your left-hand tool bar)

4. Create a new app (don’t worry — you wont actually be submitting this for anyone else to see/use). Give your shiny new app any display name and namespace you see fit. Read through and agree to the Platform Privacy agreement. This is the step you need to be verified for.

5. Ensure you’re in your new app’s main settings screen. You should see your app’s name near the top of the page

6. Look for the “Open Graph” header, and click the “Get Started using open graph” link.

Create a test action for your app, like “read” a “book”, or “eat” a “sandwich”

7. This should drop you into an action type configuration page. Change a few of the default settings (I changed the past tense of “read” to “redd” — again, only you can see this unless you try and submit your application to the public directory), and click through all three pages of settings

8. Wait 2-3 minutes

9. Go back to your Facebook homescreen. An invite to try Timeline should be waiting at the top of the page

And you’re done! We’ve seen this work quite a few times now, so it should work without a hitch for just about anyone.

How To Add a Custom Form to your Facebook Static FBML Tab using JotForm

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 10:24:00 +0000

This is a tutorial on how to create a contact form using JotForm.

Getting Started with JotForm

There is a free option and a paid option. Both have the same features, but the paid option allows more forms, more submissions, etc. Here's a comparison chart.

Getting Started with JotForm

Set up account (free or paid);

Click New Form

You can create a form from scratch ("Blank Form"), select a form template (for this tutorial I chose "Contact Us"), or import a form from another website or another form previously created on JotForm. After making your selection, click "Continue"...

"Contact Us" Template

Assuming, for the purposes of this tutorial, you chose "Contact Us," you'll see it has: Name (separate first and last name fields), Email, Message.

Add Drop Down (aka Pulldown Select)

To add your drop-down options, click the small icon to the right of the pulldown box

Add Radio Button

Enter the question, then click the individual options to edit:

Editing Properties (the gear icon)

You can change the size of the field, or change its order in the form (which can also do by clicking and dragging), or delete or duplicate the question.

Add a Checkbox

The Checkbox configuration options are the same as the Radio Buttons:

Toolbar

The toolbar options change depending on which field you're editing. This is the main toolbar for "Form Style":

Themes - Attractive one-click theming options. I chose the "Default" theme for its simplicity.

Clean up

I got rid of the header and just kept the form.

JotForm Setup & Share

After you have created your form, you then need to set some options for the email that is sent with the form data, as well as generate the code you will need to insert into your Static FBML tab.

5 Ways Mobile Will Transform Commerce

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:59:00 +0000

David Sims covers the payment and data sectors for O’Reilly Radar and is the author of “ePayments: Emerging Platforms, Embracing Mobile and Confronting Identity.”

Given everything your smartphone does for you now, from mapping the skies to tracking your rides and delivering your website analytics, isn’t it a bit surprising how difficult it is to buy stuff with it? Mobile commerce — like flying cars or domestic robots — is one of those promises that has long seemed just around the corner; a logical next step, but one that has receded into the future before us, like a financial mirage.

At the risk of getting fooled again, I think that’s about to change. Twitter lights up every time Apple hires an engineer with expertise in near field communication (NFC), the wireless technology that will most likely power wave-and-pay mobile systems, and Eric Schmidt showed off tap-and-pay capability in an Android phone at the Web 2.0 Summit last fall. The fastest growing smartphone platform seems determined to roll out payment capability soon, and BlackBerry and WebOS are not far behind.

So what? How will that change your life if, instead of reaching into your wallet or purse to whip out a credit card, you instead wave or tap your mobile? Here are a few thoughts on how this shift will change the way you shop.

1. It Will Make You a More Fascinating Customer

By mashing together geolocation, check-in services, mobile payments and social media, merchants and payment companies will no longer see you as an inert — if well-funded — lump of credit risk sitting at a desk, but as a story of errands, outings, activities, friends, restaurants and bars. The same device with which you check in at Chili’s and upload your party pics now becomes something like your wallet, only more fun — and with a few skeletons in the closet. Credit card companies have long pieced together bits of your charge trail, just to get to know you better and figure out what odds they should place on getting their money back. They know, for example that if you charge frequently at a home improvement center, you’re more likely to pay on time than if, for example, you suddenly start charging at bars and casinos.

Now the story gets more interesting. Let’s say your current weakness is Mexican food, and you’ve become a lunchtime regular at a burrito shop near the office. Come Saturday, if you find yourself driving past a new taco joint on Main Street, you might get a mobile notification inviting you to lunch with a half-off coupon.

If any of this sounds creepy, it might just mean you’re a few years older than the target demographic. In order to avoid alienating customers, all the companies involved in the system — from the telco, through the payment company, and on to the merchant — will want to make sure you’ve opted in to the system. In exchange for that, we can assume you’ll be getting, at the least, discounts on food and merchandise. But don’t count on it: think how many people check in on Foursquare and Gowalla with no hope or expectation of getting anything more than a colorful, 100 pixel badge.

2. Shopping Will Become Even More Social

Social shopping is big; get ready to watch it get bigger as it gets mobile. Groupon’s mobile chief Mihir Shah said in late January that 5 million Groupon iPhone and Android apps had been downloaded in the nine months they had been available. But receiving mobile coupons is only the start of something big. Now imagine if a critical mass of shoppers within a certain range of a store could trigger a bargain.

This comes on the heels of a few experiments already underway, like Foursquare-powered loyalty programs and rewards for first-time or frequent visitors. But there are new benefits, especially for merchants. Imagine if a coffee shop could offer a mobile coupon to someone who checked into its competitor just down the street. That’s a new type of marketing warfare.

This transition will stretch the bounds of what we believe is acceptable for third parties to know about us. As with any economic transaction, it comes down to what you get in return. Where people once complained that it was creepy if an Internet service knew too much about you, we may be about to crash right through that barrier to the other side where users will begin to complain if the service doesn’t know enough about them.

3. It Makes Brick-and-Mortar Digital (and Vice Versa)

When you’re in Best Buy wondering if that’s the best price you’re going to find on an Xbox Kinect, and you scan the barcode with your smartphone, it pulls up a list of online sites offering the same product for a little less and a little more. At that moment, are you shopping in the real world or shopping online? Both, of course. Retail stores know they’ve lost an advantage against online retailers when you no longer have to phone home to comparison shop against Amazon’s best offer.

Things become even more interesting when retailers begin to use the phone to bring you to their physical space. Some of the best examples are roving gourmet catering trucks that tweet not only their menu specials but their location to customers every day, so diners know where to find them and what to expect when they arrive. Geolocation ads are following close behind, inviting likely prospects to retail doorsteps just because they’re in the neighborhood. I may not have a relationship with Trione Vineyards, but ever since I met their marketing person at a party a few months ago and became Foursquare friends, I get an offer to drop by their tasting room any time I check in at a restaurant near their location. Social, just barely, but there it is.

Offers and invitations are only one way that merchants can leverage mobile traffic to make things happen. Analysis of Twitter and checkin stats increasingly provide valuable customer service data that businesses can use to plan and promote.

And of course, the mobile device as a payment tool works both ways. Intuit, Square and other companies offer simple payment hardware and software that lets sellers big and small collect payment over the mobile phone. Square and Intuit’s target audience includes very small vendors — farmers markets, house cleaners, the Etsy crowd — who may not want to fork out for full fledged credit card processing systems. And once merchants get used to collecting payments over the phone, who’s to say that mobile won’t free them from the register the same way it frees office drones from the cube? Remember the first time the Apple sales person checked you out with their iPhone, right where you stood? Beyond the cool factor of not having to line up to pay, there’s no doubt that having more floor space for merchandise rather than registers is a plus.

4. Attackers and Incumbents Will Tussle

Disruptive technologies often serve as a wedge used by attackers to work their way into markets, and not incidentally to edge incumbents out of the action. One of the most striking examples in the mobile industry been the recent dethroning of Nokia as the world’s most popular mobile platform. Nokia, which rose to the top of the market by creating sleek phones with great reception and long battery life, blinked for a moment and found that the game had suddenly changed. The playing field had shifted from practical functionality to phones with apps that can do fun things, like help you find cool places to go, shop, and share stuff with your friends. Now, Nokia must leap from a burning platform (in the words of its new CEO Stephen Elop) into icy waters if it wants to thrive again.

We’ll also see disruption among the players who handle financial transactions. Apple, Google, and Paypal — hardly lightweights as is — will begin to take more and more of the transaction pie from current transaction leaders Visa, MasterCard, and the banks. They have a ways to go on this. PayPal’s transaction volume is far behind that of Visa and MasterCard, and PayPal may never offer lines of credit. Still, the convenience of mobile payment systems baked directly into phone platforms will ultimately entice many users to put down the plastic in favor of using debit or credit systems processed through their mobile phones. The growth curve of phones running Google’s Android operating system is inspiring, and no one is dismissing Apple’s 160 million iTunes customers or Amazon’s 130 million (give or take a few million). And let’s not forget that telecoms like Verizon, AT&T, Vodafone, Telefonica and T-mobile will all want their cut of mobile commerce pie, too.

The incumbents aren’t laying down, but the momentum could be with the attackers, and given the hurdle that any mobile payment will need to cross to convince users to shift from the wallet to the phone, it seems likely that the companies already most experienced at getting us to love our devices could be more successful in getting us to use them this way.

5. Your Mobile Phone Will Become Your Identity

Since the day you unfolded your first Nokia brick phone or raised the antenna on your Motorola, mobile phone use has been a courtship. Your phone is your diary of sentimental text messages, photo albums, e-mails, your music library, fitness tracker and Angry Birds scorecard. In a very short time, it is likely to be your wallet as well, enabling purchases not only online but in the physical world. It will provide a record (no doubt filtered, processed, and synched with Quicken or Mint) of these transactions.

With all this personal data and financial transaction history, it becomes pointless to argue that your mobile number isn’t as much a proxy for your identity as, say your social security number or driver’s license is. Those government issued cards may be more official, but your mobile-financial identity is certain to be more representative of who you really are – it’s used more frequently and more closely tied with the things, places, and people you love. It’s also tied more closely with your social graph and the map of your connections and haunts, thus bridging the gap between your mobile and other online identities.

Given how important the paying mobile phone will become, we’ll want to ramp up the security on it. Passcodes to unlock, methods to find, and systems to “blow up” the data in mobile devices are already in place. Deeper levels of security are not far behind, including biometric recognition (thumbprint or retina) and methods that employ multiple levels of scrutiny – for example, your password, location, and some private bit of data. And if that’s not enough, work is underway into voice recognition and “gait analysis,” the ability to acquaint your phone with the way you walk so that if someone else tries to walk away with it, the device locks up.

How are some of these mobile trends affecting your lifestyle? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Comic book University

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:36:00 +0000

Full collection at College Humor.

If Websites were Pets

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:36:00 +0000

Full collection at College Humor.

How to find targeted community using Buzzom Premium?

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 05:36:00 +0000

Social Media is about conversation with community. The world is no more under a single brand, we have multiple brands and multiple communities. All thanks to the emerging Internet Society. Even businesses are starting to become a niche player in the Internet. People are producing goods and services based on specific interests, increasing the importance of community.

But how do you track community in the Internet. Basically, there are many kinds of community spread over different platform. Forums, Facebook Groups, Yahoo Groups, Google Groups, blogs and so on. But there is one platform which somehow has the potential of giving information about all these groups, and it is twitter.

Twitter has become an omnipresent channel for everything. Where ever you go, you will always find communities having their own Twitter profile. This makes Twitter an interesting platform for community hunting. But there are very few platforms that allows you to do so.

Some of the essentials of tracking community in Twitter are :

1. Finding especial keywords related to community.

2. Finding hastags (#design, #tech) for the community.

The keywords research is an important part of community hunting, similar to keywords research for Search Engine Optimization.

There are many applications that will allow you to track keywords but there are very few that allows you to follow targeted people. Buzzom Premium provides an efficient system to target people and track down communities.

Buzzom Premium is a paid based Social Media application which has many features to it. You can track your tweets, download data, manage DM, Track your growth, create campaigns and track your brand.

Among these, a section under Manage Network-> Keyword Based Follow is the one that is most helpful for your community search.

Log on to the system and click on Manage Network. In the keyword section, you can add keywords based on criteria like TweetBased, Location Based and Bio Based.

TweetBased Search allows you to search and follow people based on what they are talking about.

Location Based allows you to search and follow people based on where they are located.

Bio Based allows you to search and follow people based on what they have written on their bio.

Once, keywords are saved the system continuously monitors the network and follows people. This gives you the benefit of following people based on your interest and cause.

You can regularly check the system to see your new following.

For more advance criteria buzzom premium allows you to unfollow people based on what they are tweeting about. This adds extra layer of criteria and helps you refine your network.

I hope this post has helped you understand how to do community search in the Twitter Network. If you have any more suggestion, please drop by the comments.

8 guidelines for usability testing

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 07:55:00 +0000

In professional web design circles, the usability testing session has become an essential component of any major project. Similar to focus groups in brand development and product launches, usability testing offers a rare opportunity to receive feedback from the very people the website is aimed at - before it's too late to do anything about it.

But how can you get the most from these usability testing sessions?

1. Choosing your subjects

As with any market research project, the results will only be as good as the people you test. Do not test people from your own company, or friends and family. Go to a market research firm or temp agency and ask them to source participants to a certain profile. Make sure the market research firm does not provide the name of the company or any other details that will cloud the judgement of the participants.

2. Before the usability testing

As with everything in life, first impressions are vital. Each participant must be put at ease. Remember, the usability testing session is often an extremely artificial environment and, for the most beneficial and informative results, we want them to behave as if they were using the site at home or work.

Provide clear instructions on how to get to the usability testing location, and if necessary meet the participants at local stations. Do not use terms such as ‘usability testing’ or ‘market research’, as these can confuse and put people on edge. Also, ensure that participants know how long the usability testing will take, and the type of tasks they will be expected to perform.

After the initial greeting and welcoming drinks, there are always legal forms that must be signed. It is essential that these are written in plain English, and are as short as possible. The last thing any nervous usability testing subject wants is to be given a contract that looks like they're signing their soul away. All you want is for them to be reassured that the tests are completely confidential, and for permission to use the data generated during the test as part of our results. So tell them that.

3. Beginning the usability testing

Before diving into key tasks, get the user familiar with the environment. Tell them the website's name and URL, and ask them for initial feedback on what they would expect from the site or what they would like the site to be. Make note of any terms or phrases they use - this not only demonstrates you are taking their feedback seriously, but may provide useful tips as to possible labels for key functionality or navigation.

Next, let them look at the website they are testing. Gauge their first impressions before allowing them to familiarise themselves with the site.

These few simple tasks will help convince the participant that the usability testing will not be difficult and, perhaps most importantly, that they're not the ones being tested.

4. Choosing tasks

Set tasks that are essential to the new site's success, such as:

Buying products
Paying bills
Contacting the client

Remember, you're not looking for an ego massage. The site was built for a reason - can your target audience do what you need them to do?

It's also a good idea to ask the user to suggest tasks. While this gives another indication of their expectations and requirements, it may suggest new functionality or priorities.

5. How to word tasks

People tend to perform more naturally if you provide them with scenarios rather than instructions. When giving them tasks, you should use phrases like ‘Scenario A has occurred, and you need to ring the company urgently - find the telephone number’. This is far better than ‘find the contact us section of the site’.

6. Presenting tasks

Only give participants one task at a time. More than this may intimidate them, or alter their approach to the test.

If the user is required to use inputs from outside the test (e.g. an email giving them a password to the site), give them these inputs in the form they will be presented. This will provide useful feedback on all elements of the process, rather than simply the site.

7. How to behave during the usability testing

It's essential that you remember that it's the website that is being tested, not you or the subject. Any feedback you get is valuable - make sure the participant knows this. If they can't do something, make sure they know it's not their fault.

You must stay quiet and out of sight during the test. You must not alter the test results by providing clues, suggesting directions or by reacting to things they say or do. All feedback you give must be neutral. Do not start shaking your head or huffing, however tempting it might be!

The only time you should speak is to help the participant give an opinion, or to clarify a response. If in doubt, shut up!

Given the investment made in the project, clients often find it difficult to be quiet during tests. If your client wants to be present, put them in another room with an audio/video link.

8. After the usability testing

After all the tasks have been completed, you should gather as much information as possible. Asking for overall impressions of the site will allow you to judge whether expectations have been met, and whether the participant's view of the client or site has changed during the process.

Always ask for suggestions - this not only demonstrates the value you place on their thoughts, but may provide insights into how the site can better support the user.

Finally, ask the participant what they remember about the site structure and functions of the site. Clear recollection will confirm that the site is structured logically and help identify any labelling issues you may have missed.

There may be a lot of other ways and techniques used for usability testing. Please feel free to share your experiences and raise anyquestions by commenting on this post.

10 Innovative Ways To Use Twitter For Business

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:04:00 +0000

Increasingly more companies use Twitter for business – to do market research, do brand advocacy and reputation management and provide selected highlights from a conference or event. Twitter allows them to expand their brand and thus generate new opportunities.

But to be more innovative in the use of Twitter for a business setting, here are 10 useful tips.

1. Expand Your Network

Using Twitter, you can join topic groups related to your business and career and gain valuable information from scanning others’ tweets. Your company will gain new customers and potential partners. Do a search for keywords related to your product on Twitter Search and then follow the users.

Anyone can use Twitter to build a personal brand. Your customers and prospective clients will perceive you as an approachable social personality. Twitter is designed to establish consistent and deeper relationships for future benefits.

2. Share Expertise to Build Credibility

If you hold free workshops, seminars or web meetings; let people know that it’s starting soon, how to participate and join in by tweeting about it. You can also link to your presentations and videos. Twitter can help direct people’s attention to your events.

Offer solutions to those who are struggling with something in your field of expertise. Share your ideas internally in a very efficient manner and broadcast links and headlines that can drive traffic to your website.

3. Highlight what’s Special

Twitter allows you to share the latest news and events related to your business in 140 characters. Set up a Twitter feed for the specific purpose of notifying customers when new products come in. You can use this free platform to inform event participants and highlight what’s special. Sharing valuable information and useful tips helps you build a strong web presence and gain visibility on the Internet.

4. Look for Leads on Twitter

Twitter can be used to direct traffic to your websites. You can share information that is useful for prospective clients or employers to enhance your reputation. Avoid hard-sell tactics: focus on building relationships. Don’t be afraid to take full advantage of Twitter and gather information about what customers, competitors and others are saying about your business.

Don’t think of what you can get, but rather what you can learn and what you can offer. Use free applications like Mr. Tweet to check your profile and finds relevant connections for you.

5. Communicate With Employees

Twitter is a great collaboration tool, which can be successfully used to save time and money. Forget about sending endless emails and calls – you can rather release short tweets to your team members describing what you have to say. Share what you’re doing so people learn about the type of work you do.

6. Run Special Deals & Promotions

Offer incentives to those who follow you on Twitter. You can give them free coupons, discounts, package deals and samples. Twitter is a great way to create interest and secure attendees.

Social networking is excellent for those who want to promote products, services and ideas directly to a target audience. Twitter marketing is a task that involves two-way audience engagement.

7. Receive Customer Complaints

By accepting customer complaints in the open, other consumers can see what kind of company you really are. Twitter allows you to respond quickly to shut down any impending service or complaint received. Communicate effectively with each of your clients and ask for their honest opinion. Make your goals public to compel you to reach them.

8. Interact With Your Competition

You can read the tweets of your competitors daily and stay in touch with them. Although this rarely happens in the real world, Twitter has changed it all. This free platform allows you to follow companies, experts, leaders and competitors in your industry. It’s not enough to monitor the latest projects released by your competitors. Tracking their mistakes is even more useful, because you can analyze their moves and see what exactly went wrong.

9. Organize a Local Tweetup

Twitter can help you organize meetups. All you have to do is to send a message announcing the time and place of the meeting. It’s an informal and effective way of planning a meeting. You can get in touch with vendors, suppliers and other people with whom you can form partnerships.

10. Create Brand Loyalty

With Twitter, you can always stay in touch with your followers. All these people are potential customers, so you must help them get used to your products and services. Participate actively to conversations and tweet constantly. This way, increasingly more people will find out about your business, while you will gain loyal clients.

Using Twitter for business, you can convert conversations into actions. A fresh and interesting personality attracts followers. Share information that is helpful for potential customers or employers to gain recognition.

Do you use Twitter for your business? Have you any Twitter tips to effectively reach out to your customers and business partners? Share them in the comments.

Top 10 Reasons Your Company Probably Shouldn't Tweet

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 05:58:00 +0000

Mainstream media has gone ga ga about Twitter, which grew more than 1,200% in the past year, doubled its members in the past few months and attained 14 million members in March, according to Compete.

Everyone and his dog seems to be tweeting, from CEOs, celebrities and not-for-profits to venture capitalists, banks, business services, government and, well, dogs (and cats and the random parakeet, too). Should your business be tweeting? Twitter is not for everyone. Here are the "Top 10 Reasons Not to Tweet."

You think using Twitter is a social-media strategy. It's a tactic, a tool, not a strategy. It works if you already have an online following who'll view your Tweets as a way to interact with your company on a human level.
Every tweet has to be approved by legal. Twitter is a social network where conversation is fast and interconnected. If you have to wait a day, or even a few hours for your 140 character Tweet to gain legal approval, Twitter will be the wrong platform for you.
You plan to use Twitter for nothing but broadcasting headlines or deals. People follow people they find interesting. Followers are earned on Twitter. Be interesting, make only every 10th tweet about you, and you'll gain and keep a following. If all your tweets are a one-way street: Block!
You think a ghost tweeter for the president of your company is OK. Authenticity and transparency are the keys. It's fine if someone besides the CEO tweets for your company, as long as they say that's what they're doing.
You are not going to respond when people direct tweets at you. Twitter is like the new water cooler. If you walked out to the water fountain and talked nonstop to people gathered there, they'd certainly be happy when you left. Ditto for Twitter.
You think Tweeting as XYZ Corp. and using the company logo as your avatar might be a good idea. Identify the person or people tweeting for your company or don't tweet. The days of hiding behind the faceless corporation are over.
You think all that matters on Twitter is getting a lot of people to follow you.Quality trumps quantity.
You want to protect your updates. If people have to ask permission to see what you're posting on Twitter, you're defeating the purpose, which is conversation.
You plan to track Twitter with Google Analytics. Google Analytics won't give you true tracking. You can track the URLs you post with a service like BudURL or bit.ly, but you'll need to use one or more social-media tracking tools to monitor your corporate reputation and influence on Twitter.
You think you can just jump in and start tweeting. Listen first. Monitor what's being said about your brand, your industry, your products. Then join the conversation and become part of the community. Then your occasional marketing messages will be accepted, or at least tolerated because you also add value to the community.

Top 10 Twitter Tools for Business Users

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:14:00 +0000

“Twitter Marketing” must be the buzz word for 2009/10 in Twittersphere. But how many applications are out there that actually support Twitter Marketing? There are more than hundreds of twitter applications claiming to be the best app to track and manage your business in Twitter.

But one application cannot fulfill all your business needs, hence I have listed down the major Top 10 Twitter Apps which I thing will leverage any twitter account for business.

1. Tweetmeme http://www.tweetmeme.com/Tweetmeme is the aggregation of all the content being shared in the Twitter. You can find the latest trends and popular content being shared in Twitter.

2. Wefollow http://wefollow.com/

WeFollow is the directory of all the people in the Twitter, who have added themselves to the list. It provides an easy way for you to find relevant people in twitter and connect with them.

3. Socialtoo http://www.socialtoo.com/

Socialtoo is a paid service that lets you manage your twitter account by autofollow and unfollow tool. It also provides you basic statistics about your followers count and tweet count. It helps you manage your account and reduce the spam in your network.

4. stocktwits http://stocktwits.com/

StockTwits is an open, community-powered idea and information service for investments. The service takes financial related data and structures it by stock, user, reputation, etc.

5. TweetDeck http://www.tweetdeck.com/

Tweetdeck is the most popular desktop application for Twitter developed in AdobeAir. Tweetdeck provides easy way to group your friends into different tabs and clean up the twitter stream.

6. HootSuite http://www.hootsuite.com/

Hootsuite is the most popular web application which allows you to add multiple account from different networking sites and manage them under one head. It also has basic campaign and team management work flow.

7. SocialOomph http://www.socialoomph.com/

SocialOomph is a feature packed service which has lots of necessary vale addition to your Twitter Campaign.

8. ObjectiveMarketers http://objectivemarketer.com/

Objective Marketers is a popular application for managing your Twitter Campaign. You can schedule tweets at multiple platform, manage users and keep tracks of your campaign.

9. Co-Tweet http://cotweet.com/

Co-Tweet is very similar to HootSuite. It allows you to manage your twitter streams from different users and manage your campaign and team. It also has a enterprise edition which is much sophisticated.

10. Buzzom Premium http://premium.buzzom.com/

Lastly, but not the least Buzzom Premium is a great tool for managing Twitter Campaign and keeping track of them. It also has a brand monitoring feature that allows you to keep tracks of important keywords and engage with people.

Twitter, Facebook Can Improve Work Productivity

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 07:14:00 +0000

By Carrie-Ann Skinner, PC-Advisor-(UK)

Using Twitter and Facebook at work will make you a better employee, says the University of Melbourne.

According to a study by the Australian University, 70 percent of office employees use the internet at work for personal reasons. Of them, nine percent were more productive compared to employees that didn't use the web for fun.

"Workplace internet leisure browsing (WILB) can help sharpen workers' concentration," said Brent Coker, from the University's department of management and marketing. "People need to zone out for a bit to get back their concentration."

Coker defined WLIB activities as browsing the web for information and reviews of products, reading online news sites, playing online games, keeping up-to-date with friends activities on social networking sites and watching videos on YouTube.

"Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days' work, and as a result, increased productivity," he added.

"Firms spend millions on software to block their employees from watching videos, using social networking sites or shopping online under the pretence that it costs millions in lost productivity That's not always the case."

Cooker said the study reflected people who browsed the web of 20 percent or less of their working day.

"Those who behave with internet addiction tendencies will have a lower productivity than those without," he added.

The Twitter Ramayan

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:07:00 +0000

I Just got a mail from twitter saying Bhagwan Ramachandra @Lord_Ram is now following you on twitter. As i open Bhagwan Ramachandra's twitter account to check his profile i realize that even Lord Hanumantha @Lord_Hanuman is on twitter. Offcourse not real gods on Twitter but some really creative people have started a new age Twitter Ramayan.

Lord_Ram profiles reads:

Name: Bhagwan Ramachandra

Location: Omnipresent

Bio: Perfect HumanA and Ideal Man. I love SitaA. I hate RavanA. HanumanA is cool. LaxmanA is Nice. I always add an extra A.

Some of his hilarious tweets to Lord_Hanuman

@Lord_Hanuman Hello Brother. When did you arrive on earth and onto this virtual world?

@Lord_Hanuman Indeed. Well said. I see that you have picked up what people call, "Internet Slang". You are fast on the intake o HanumanA.

@Lord_Hanuman We shall lodge a complaint with the Godly behavior regulatory committee. The shall pay for this insult.

Lord_Hanuman twitter profile is the coolest, here is what it reads

Name: Lord Hanumantha

Location: Mt. Himalaya

Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanuman

Bio: I'm Lord RamA's devotee (you should be too). I like people who sing Hanuman Chalisa. In my heart are Lord RamA and Goddess SitaA.

His 1st tweet says @Lord_Ram Wassup!

@Lord_Ram Wherever you go, the "Divine Network" follows.

@Lord_Ram All because of your blessings My Lord. Bheema from Mahabharata was teasing me that I won't be able to even create an account.

This is completely insane I seriously LMAO going through these profiles.

The Blog Song

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:53:00 +0000

I Had to put this song on my blog...this is the most hilarious and creative shit i have seen so far. This song is composed by Wilbur Sargunaraj who is one of the most original musicians to grace this industry. His super hit song "Blog Song" is just one of the killer dance tunes that is having people across the globe begging for more music. You should check out his website http://www.wilbur.asia/ for more super videos

Facebook's new Beta language settings - Pirate English and upside down English

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Tue, 25 May 2010 06:09:00 +0000

Facebook has introducted some really interesting Beta language settings the best ones are Facebook English (Pirate) and English (Upside down).

The latest language to be added is Facebook English (Pirate) and it pimps your profile by turning everything into pirate speak! Facebook English (Pirate) changes almost everything on your profile - posting photos becomes 'hoisting portraits', being poked becomes 'Arrr! Ye have been skewered by' and you have 10 friend requests becomes '10 sorry louts think they're yer mates.

In this all your text turns upside down except for status messages. I think Batman is still out there testing this one.

How to go about it...

Go to the language settings at the bottom of the page

The pop up allows you to change the language settings - select either English (Pirate) or English (Upside down)

Google honours the birth of ‘Pac-Man’ - 30th Anniversary of Pac-man

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Fri, 21 May 2010 17:14:00 +0000

Google honours the birth anniversary of the favourite childhood game ‘Pac-Man’ on its 30th anniversary. Google puts the image of its search page with the game of Pac-Man which can be played.

Hit the Insert coin button and start playing the game instantly.

The official Google blog Stated ‘Pac-Man’ fits for the Google homepage as it symbolizes the company. “They’re both deceptively straightforward, carefully hiding their complexity under the hood. There’s a light-hearted, human touch to both of them. And we can only hope you find using Google at least a quarter as enjoyable as eating dots and chasing ghosts.”

‘Pac-Man’ was released in the arcades in 1980, and is still a popular game until this moment.

Comics on Twitter addiction

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Mon, 17 May 2010 13:18:00 +0000

I came across a lot of twitter comics on the web and these are one of the best collections and portrays how much people are addicted to Twitter

Make Free phone calls from Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Wed, 12 May 2010 12:32:00 +0000

Social Media Telephony Solution -- @call -- Open for Twitter Users -- Use Twitter to Talk to Friends, Family and Followers

@calls are made without revealing your number and without needing to know the number of the person you wish to call -- all you need is their Twitter username.

How does it work?

To make a call simply send a Twitter message (tweet) with "@call @username" where the 'username' is the Twitter name of the person you wish to call. If that person follows you on Twitter, a free two-minute call -- the verbal equivalent of a tweet -- will be initiated. Both Twitter users need to be JAJAH users as well.

JAJAH@call works no matter how you use Twitter, whether it's on a computer or mobile phone, at Twitter directly or using a Twitter-client such as Seesmic (web and desktop), TwitterBerry (BlackBerry), Tweetie and Twitterfon (iPhone), and Twidroid (Android).

Here is a demo as to how it works

Follow me on Twitter : @hemanshujain

How to make your own twitter book

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Tue, 11 May 2010 11:56:00 +0000

For all you twitter addicts who have wasted their time tweeting, heres is something intresting for you "The Tweetbook" Tweetbook, as the name indicates, is a free web tool converts your tweets into a PDF. The format is beautiful in a nice magazine ,diary-like PDF ebook of all your tweets as well as tweets that you may favorited or retweeted on Twitter.

To generate your tweetbook, just click on sign in (via oAuth) to access to your twitter account and give access and within short time you will get your own copy of twitter book converted on the spot

This can be used to create Twitter book of your own account and does not allow anyone else to make one.

Happy Tweeting!!!

How to do multitasking on Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Mon, 10 May 2010 07:04:00 +0000

If you were to send out multiple DM's (Direct Messages) or follow multiple people in a list or check friends on twitter, it would take a lot of time to do that manually. Twitter does not allow you to do this in one go.

Here is the perfect solution to all the problems of multitasking; a very simple and tool which lets you do multiple DM's (Direct Messages) or follow multiple people in a list or check friends on twitter. You should check out http://tweetguru.net/

Some of its additional features are Twitter realtime roll for offline events like TwtRoll for TEDx, TwtRoll for Ignite and TwtRoll for Twestival its has a perfect series of twitter tools , auto tweeting bots and services

Note : Maximum number of people you can DM is 12 at a time

Gabbar Singh's orkut profile

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Thu, 06 May 2010 09:53:00 +0000

This is a nice example of how creative kids can be. A school kid drew Gabbar singh's orkut profile in a drawing competition show ow addicted kids are with social networks like Orkut and Facebook

Facebook lets your "friends" give away all your information to applications you don't even use

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Wed, 05 May 2010 06:22:00 +0000

How comfortable are you giving your information on social networks? do you want spammers to spam your mailbox with irrelevant stuff? how much do you trust a social network?

Ask as many questions to yourself before you join any social network. You will find it hard to believe that Facebook lets your "friends" give away all your information to applications you don't even use and here is the proof

Superheros on Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:12:00 +0000

Superheros status updates on Facebook

Digg's new experiment with Digg Trends

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:32:00 +0000

From digg's official blog ~ by Kurt Wilms

Digg has been working on new ways to expose the most interesting stories to more people. Today Digg launched a new homepage voting experiment called Digg Trends which will surface certain highly active stories as they’re trending to Digg’s homepage so people can vote on whether or not they feel the story actually belongs there.

How does it work? Digg Trends identifies and highlights upcoming stories that have a high volume of activity (think Diggs, comments, favorites, shares, etc.). Once Digg detects a new trending story, it will appear on the homepage for ten minutes. Based on the Digg and bury activity in those ten minutes the story will either become popular or not. To make it easy to follow the action, Digg has also setup a Twitter account to tweet out when a new Digg Trend is up for voting on the homepage. Here’s an example of what a Digg Trend might look like:

The goal of Digg Trends is to put high activity stories in front of the community quickly and to present a fun new way for people to express whether they like the story or not. Digg only show the most basic information for each story so as to ensure that voting is as unbiased as possible.

Twitter India gets an official account @twi

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:38:00 +0000

Twitter India now gets an official twitter handle @twi . क्या हो रहा है? (Kya ho raha hain? -Whats happening ? in Hindi ). This was the first tweet sent out from the official Twitter India account on Feb 18, 2010 . This was sent by Pankaj Gupta @pankaj, a computer Scientist/engineer doing research at Twitter.

Nobody really believed till the account is now verified.The updates are jointly done by @anamitra, @pankaj & @keerthi , all employees of Twitter Inc.

10 Things You Need to Stop Tweeting About on Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Hemanshu Jain) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 08:10:00 +0000

Great compilation by Oatmeal. Ten things that you should not tweet about .. Happy Reading

Thanks for Sharing Oatmeal