Microblog Your Things To Do Alive

How to Create a Private To Do List

noreply@blogger.com (Jack) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 03:30:00 +0000

There are times when you do not want to share your ToDoAlive to do list with anyone or maybe you just want to share it with only a couple of friends. Good news, we have been beta testing this new feature for a while now and have released it a couple of weeks ago.

When we first started thinking about working on this, we wanted it to be really simple and flexible to use, i.e. make the list private and yet able to share it with selected people without going into managing complex permission or friend lists... LOL.

Here is what we ended up doing, which we think is super easy to use and share... :-)

Step 1 - Making a List Private

Login to your Todoalive account.

Step 2

Go to your Todoalive.com "Profile" page by clicking on the "Profile" link at the top right corner of the page.

Step 3

Next, scroll down to the "List" section.

Click on the "eye" icon to make your list private or public. All "private" list will be indicated with "(private)", see following screen.

That's it! You have successfully made a list private. But there is a catch! The private list is only private when you do not share the list URL with anyone.

The next section will show the steps on how you can share and un-share your "private" To Do List.

Step 1 - Sharing Your Private To Do List with selected friends

After you have successfully made your to do list private, you can still share them with anyone you like. All you need to do is let them know the URL of the list. Just as simple as that... :-)

Let me reiterate again.... should you want to, you can share your "private" to do list with anyone you like by sending them the URL of the list.... simple right? (Check out the security note below for more info.)

Step 2

Now lets say that after you have shared out the URL of the list, you want to make it private again. Go to your Profile. Under the list section, select the list you want to "Edit".

Click on the "pencil" icon to edit your list name and descriptions, and the following "edit" screen will pop-up.

Step 3

To make your list private again, all you need to do is change the "Name" of the list. In this example, "1234" is added as a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to the list name. Or you can change the list name to any alphabets, numbers or alphanumeric combination.

Next, click "Save" to complete the changes. In this example, please note that at this point the list URL has changed from "http://todoalive.com/todoalive/party-to-do-list" to the new URL, "http://todoalive.com/todoalive/party-to-do-list-1234".

The cool thing is that no one will be able to view your list again until you share with them the exact URL :-) Depending on your needs, you can repeat the above process whenever you like to share or un-share your to do list... LOL.

That's it, end of the How-to. If you have any comments, please do not hesitate to let us know :-)

Security Note

Please note that if you want to always keep your list private, do not share the URL of the list with anyone. Our implementation is based on the following assumptions:

As long as the list URL is not posted anywhere (website, twitter, documents, etc.) it will always remain private.
If point number 1 is true, no search engine crawlers or robots will be able to index the private to do list.

The reason we implemented the "privacy" feature of the to do list this way is because, we wanted an easy way for users to create private list, and then sharing or removing the share as and when they like by just changing the name of the list... :-)

Comments are welcomed. Thanks and good cheers!

Happy New Year from the Busybodies

noreply@blogger.com (Jack) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 08:16:00 +0000

It has been a while since we last updated our blog. All of us have been very busy with our day jobs and just like everyone else, have been running around making arrangements for the holidays and the new year.

Rest assured, we are working on several exciting items that we think are missing from ToDoAlive. A number of feedback that we have received have been on our integration with Facebook. One of the main request was that users prefer their ToDoalive activities to be posted on their Facebook Newsfeed page automatically. Tricky, but we are working on it... :-)

The other much requested feature is mobile support.... especially on iPhone and Android devices. We have looked at it and found out that there is much work to be done... relative to our current available resources.. of course ;-) But we have made a decision (hopefully a wise one) to wait for jQuery Mobile to be released (at least in Beta) before we start working on it.

Another requested feature is for a Chrome/Firefox browser extension or addon that allow users to receive and post updates. All we can say is that it is in the pipeline... again pending availability of time and resources... LOL.

All in all, since its Beta launch in July this year, ToDoAlive has had a damn good start! We hope to continue the momentum and build something exciting and fun to share with you all!

From the busybodies at ToDoAlive...

Have a PROSPEROUS and HAPPY NEW YEAR filled with EVERYTHING NICE!!!

A Reputation System for Todoalive

noreply@blogger.com (Jack) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 05:03:00 +0000

Recently, one of our users asked us, "What is the "XP points" for To Do Alive? And what is the reputation system for To Do Alive?"

Reputation System

Well, when we first designed To Do Alive, we knew that we needed some sort of mechanism to encourage our users to use the system more. We thought that by including a "reputation" system in To Do Alive, we could achieve that.

We wanted our "reputation" system to be based on how much activities the user generated in the system. Certain activities are rewarded with more points than others, and certain activities will reduce the points accumulated by the users... :-P

In order for us to do this, we needed an algorithm that will effectively award and calculate the points in a justifiable manner. The new algorithm has been implemented and we are testing it for a couple of months to monitor the results.

Experience Points and Leveling Up

In To Do Alive, the activities of the users are recorded. As the users progressed, they earned "experience" points (or XP points) allocated to the respective activities that they performed. The accumulated points are tabulated to equate to a "level", with each level earning the user a special "title". We will publish more information on this as our "reputation" becomes more firmed up.

To Do Alive Marketplace

So, what can a user do with all the XP points earned, leveling up and getting a fancy title? Well, the good news is that, one of our big plan is to setup a To Do Alive marketplace, where all our users will be able to use their Fame points to redeem gifts, deals and many other goodies. We hope to publish more information on this later.

Please stay tuned. More information on the XP points, Fame and market place later... huhuhu :-)

How to Edit Your To Do Items

noreply@blogger.com (Jack) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:26:00 +0000

To edit your to do item, just click on the to do item number or the text of your to do item as shown in the following screen.

You will be taken to the to do item detail page. From there, mouse-over the to do item and then click on the "pencil" icon to edit.

The to do item will be editable as shown in the following screen.

When you are done editing, click on the "Save" button to save your edited to do.

To move your to do item to another list, just click on the drop-down list.

Select which list you want to move your to do item to.

You will be prompted with a confirmation to move the to do item to another list. Click on the "Ok" button to confirm.

That's it. All you need to know to edit your to do items. Cheers :-)

How to Copy a To Do item to Your Own To Do List

noreply@blogger.com (Jack) — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 09:10:00 +0000

Did you know that you when you see an interesting To Do item, you can choose to copy it to your own To Do List? Well, here is how.

Step 1

When you see a To Do item, just mouse-over the To Do item and a "+" icon will appear. Click on the "+" icon and the To Do item is automatically copied over to your own To Do page.

Step 2

All you need to do next is to click on the "Add to List" button and that's it, the To Do item is saved to your list.

But if you like, you could have also change the To Do item's text or select a different List to save the To Do item into.

If you are looking for things to do, head over to The BIG To Do List page, and copy as many To Do items to your own list as you like.

Have fun. Cheers!

Share your To Do List with the Todoalive Gadget

noreply@blogger.com (Jack) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 11:40:00 +0000

You have created a few To Do lists on Todoalive.com. Did you know that you can share your To Do lists and To Do items with your friends and readers on your blogs or websites. Here are some examples of how you can use the Todoalive Gadgets.

Getting Started

Here is how you can generate a script for the Todoalive gadget to be placed in your blog.

Step 1

Login to your Todoalive account.

Step 2

Go to your Todoalive.com "Profile" page by clicking on the "Profile" link at the top right side of the page.

Step 3

Next, scroll down to the "List" section.

From here, you can click on the "gear" icon to start creating your first Todoalive gadget.

Step 4

In the following screen, you will be able to make various customization to the gadget to suit your preferences.

To preview the gadget each time you make changes, click on the "Apply" button.

Step 5

When you are satisfied with your changes, under the"Embed Code" section, select and copy the Todoalive gadget script.

Step 6 - Blogger.com

If you are using Blogger.com, log into your blog account and go to the "Design" section.

Select "Add a Gadget" and select the "HTML/Javascript" Gadget by clicking on the "+" icon.

A pop-up window will appear. Here is where you paste the Todoalive gadget script.

When you are done, click on the "Save" button.

Next, go to Blogger.com and view your blog. The Todoalive gadget should be showing up immediately where you placed it.

Other Blogging Platform and Websites

The Todoalive gadget is designed to be placed in any blogging platform or site. Please drop us a comment if you need clarifications or more information. The following are some of the platforms that support the Todoalive gadget. Cheers.

Check out some blogs that are already using the Todoalive Gadget:

Adding To Do Items Using The Twitter Hash Tag

noreply@blogger.com (Jack) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:29:00 +0000

Do you have a Twitter account? Did you know that you can add To Do items to your Todoalive Account using Twitter's hash tags (#)? Here is how... :-)

Step 1 - Todoalive Profile Setup

Login to your Todoalive account.

Step 2

Go to your Todoalive.com "Profile" page by clicking on the "Profile" link at the top right side of the page.

Step 3

Next, scroll down to the field, Twitter Username, and type in your actual Twitter username.

Please make sure that the username in your profile matches the Twitter username exactly.

Step 4

Next, click on the "Save" button and you are done. Now you are ready to add To Do items to your account via Twitter.

Adding To Do Items using #todoalive

Now log into your Twitter account. (Please ensure that your Tweets are not protected.)

Next, type in a To Do item description. Make sure you add "#todoalive" somewhere in your tweet.

When you are done, click on the "Tweet" button. Todoalive will poll Twitter.com every 5 minutes for the hash tag, "#todoalive". When detected, it will add your To Do items accordingly.

Now, browse back to your Todoalive page and you will see a new list called, "Twitter". Inside the Twitter list you will find the To Do items you added via Twitter.com.

Next, you might want to edit the To Do item and move it to another list that you deemed suitable.

That's it, done! Also, you might want to know that you can use any Twitter client to add To Do items using #todoalive :-)

Please do not hesitate to leave us a comment if you need clarifications. Cheers.

Latest Update:

Apologies, we neglected to mention earlier that before you can add To Do items from your Twitter account, you will need to make sure that your Twitter account is public. If not your tweets will not be available for Todoalive to process. Thanks to Adinda Sue for testing and bring this to our attention.

Create Lists of To Do Items and Earn Adsense Revenue

noreply@blogger.com (Jack) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 04:47:00 +0000

When Todoalive was still in the concept stage, we envisioned a microblogging platform that would allow our users to be able to generate revenue from advertisements through the To Do lists that they have created and maintained.

Our plan was to support as many ad platforms as possible. Currently, for our beta release, we have only implemented ad support for Google Adsense. Other ad platforms will be added later :-)

If you already have a Google Adsense account, here is how you can quickly add Google ads to your To Do lists.

Step 1

Login to your Todoalive account.

Step 2

Go to your Todoalive.com "Profile" page by clicking on the "Profile" link at the top right side of the page.

Step 3

Next, scroll down to the Adsense section and you will find the following screen.

Just fill in your Adsense Publisher ID, Adsense Ad Slot for 468x60 and/or 120x600 Vertical sizes.

Step 4

Next, click on the "Save" button and you are done. Now you can go back to your personal homepage.

Step 5

By now, you will have advertisements on your To Do lists.

Remember, do not click on your own ads, Google will not hesitate to ban or suspend your Adsense accounts.

Promote Your To Do Lists

What you need to do next, is to promote and direct traffic to your To Do lists. One of the ways is to link to your To Do list from your websites or blogs.

Or you can use the Todoalive Gadget to display your To Do lists on your sites and then redirect traffic to your lists.

If you have any questions, please post them in the comment area.

Cheers.

Todoalive After Hours

noreply@blogger.com (Jack) — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:04:00 +0000

It's after hours and the guys at Todoalive are hard at work.

The work starts after we have had some food and a couple of freshly brewed Starker German bier.

Cheers!

Welcome to Todoalive Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Jack) — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 08:55:00 +0000

Welcome to our blog. In case you are not familiar with Todoalive.com, it is a specialized microblogging platform for users to create and share their lists of things to do.

Todoalive is developed by 3 guys, whom are keeping full time jobs and could only work on Todoalive after work and during weekends. The beta version of Todoalive.com was launch for public beta in July 2010. Since then, we have updated and add exciting new features to the platform.

We will be using this blog to publish information on what we have recently developed and added to the platform. In the upcoming posts, we will be publishing how-tos, tutorials, tips and tricks on using Todoalive.

We do hope that you will join us on our journey to make Todoalive.com into a useful, user-friendly and most importantly, a fun and easy platform to use.

Best regards from all of us.

TDA Team