funduBytes

HOW TO: tweet via SMS if you don't have an Airtel number - Part 2/2

2009-10-15T15:49:00.000+05:30

The previous post demonstrates how to update your twitter status using facebook mobile. That's one way communication. Receiving SMS notifications when someone sends you a tweet completes the dialog which is pretty simple and free of cost.

1. Twitter Search: Go to search.twitter.com and look for any tweets referring to your twitter handle; @fundubytes in my case. Note the feed for the query.

2. Configure Google SMS channel: Create a private SMS channel on Google SMS channels and set your twitter search query feed as source.

Now, you are all done to receive free SMS notifications when someone sends you a tweet!

HOW TO: tweet via SMS if you don't have an Airtel number - Part 1/2

2009-10-15T15:04:00.000+05:30

So the news Airtel brings twitter via SMS in India is all over now. In an exclusive deal, only Bharti Airtel subscribers can send and receive tweets via SMS for the next 4 weeks. Afterwards it will be open to all. But, non-Airtel subscribers need not envy this. You too can tweet via SMS with a small trick as follows:-

1. Create a facebook page: Assuming twitter users are mostly early adopters, they must be having a facebook account too (Get one if you just woke up!). Now, create a fanpage. Select Website under Brand, Product or Organization category and if you don't have a website, let your twitter profile act the same. Publish the page.

2. Activate facebook mobile for the page: Edit page and activate Facebook Mobile to publish status updates to your Facebook Page on the go.
*Note: Doing such will break any previous linkage of facebook mobile with your account and you won't be able to update your profile status (facebook mobile allows only one status updating at a time). But, don't panic!

3. Link your facebook page to your twitter account: Visit http://www.facebook.com/twitter/ and link your twitter account with your facebook page.

Doing such will make sure that the status message of your facebook page is reflected back on your twitter profile.

Now, you are ready to tweet via SMS. All you need is to send an SMS to 92FACEBOOK (9232232665) to update your fanpage and thus your twitter status. And the best part is, it costs approx 50 paise to do so (national SMS charges). Read more if you want to sync the same message as your facebook status too.

4. Twitter to facebook: Add the twitter app on facebook and set it to update your facebook status whenever you tweet.
Alternatively, you can add Selective Twitter Status and update your facebook status only when your tweet ends with a #fb.

Now, you are all set to tweet and facebook on the go.

Next part of this series will illustrate how to receive SMS when someone sends you a tweet. Say thanks to facebook by sharing or re-tweeting this!

First Cricket Game on YouTube – A social media experiment to find the feasibility of TV like Advertising model for YouTube

2009-04-21T16:00:00.008+05:30

Ahem… finally investing 10 days - staying back after office hours, including 2 sleepless nights, messing up with 96 videos, the first playable Cricket game on Youtube is ready for beta release.

How to play?
1. It’s a game of 2 overs. You need to score your maximum runs.
2. When a ball is delivered, it pauses for a while and gives you an option to click on buttons labeled – A,B C, D…
3. You click a button and guess your hit. Add the hits manually to your total score and remember it.
4. At the end of each hit, it displays a button and clicking on it takes you to the next ball.
5. At the end of 2nd over, you can share your score by writing it in the video itself.

Since the game is based on streaming of YouTube videos, you might find the UI a bit glitchy.

Now, apart from the game, the real motive behind this personal project was to find the feasibility of a TV-like advertising model where multiple advertisers can bid for time slots within youtube videos.

Currently YouTube offers the following advertising options:-
1. Create your own brand channel
2. Sponsor a brand channel
3. Participatory video Ads that are shown on homepage
4. Contextual Google Ads and banner Ads

YouTube statistics show that around 5.8 billion video clips are watched each month, with average time spent per person is 54 seconds. Complete report

While watching a YouTube video, the full attention is within the dimensions of the video player which need to be leveraged by giving advertisers a TV like platform to buy time slots within a YouTube video and unlike TV, viewer can interact with the Ad and ROI can be correlated directly with the video views.

I shared the same hypothesis to Shishir Mehrotra, Director of YouTube monetization to find the feasibility of following advertising options using YouTube Annotations feature:-

1. Advertisers can buy time slots for FOURS and SIXES. You can find “Your Ad Here” links. It let you compose a message where advertisers can inquire for a time slot. e.g. Castrol can bid for the FOURS as it is a four-stroke engine oil (just for demo purpose)
2. A secret link can be shared with the advertisers, which will enable them to write their copy, brand name right on the video on the exact timeline.
3. After 1st over there is a drink break and advertisers can buy that space to play a video ad (maximum 10 sec).

Note: current YouTube policies do not allow any commercial activity of your videos. Thus, the pointers mentioned above are just a proof of concept. But, YouTube partner channels can join the project.

Now, various other possible advertising options could be derived from the same:-
1. In-video advertising - “A 10 seconds time slot within most viewed videos on YouTube”. Tell me how it sounds?? So, there is a possibility of media buying on youtube.
e.g. Branding of a condom brand within a videos tagged as sex related (which generally get high views), of course with a message for safe sex, where multiple advertisers bid for the same time slot. Kiwi and Cherry Blossom shoe polish brand can bid for a time slot in a highly viewed video of Charlie Chaplin for a scene of “polishing a shoe”.

2. Integrating Google AdSense with YouTube Annotations feature, a revenue sharing model for video publishers where advertisers bid and buy time slots dynamically based upon the tags and description of the video.

3. Improvement of YouTube annotations feature might enable you to integrate images, videos in future.

Let’s see how the face of online video advertising changes!

Why lkadvani.in AdSense Ads is Nonsense?

2009-04-10T21:54:00.003+05:30

You can find him anywhere. Like in mythology we say "Aakashvani", it's now "(Ad)vani". Recently noticed that the ads found place into porn blogs too.

(image source: http://blinking-eyes.blogspot.com)

Currently the lkadvani.in ads seem like slap on your face. But, one fundamental thing to note is - electing Indian Prime Minister is different from US presidential poll. So, instead of bugging an internet user from Indian demographics by showing the damn ads of promoting L. K. Advani as brand, what they could have done is - tracing your locality from your IP and showing you the respective BJP candidate for the nearest constituency, showing manifesto for local development and then asking to vote, thus promoting BJP as brand. Tackling the most common issue during elections - of not knowing "who is the candidate in your constituency?". Ultimately, if BJP gets majority, L. K Advani's dream too will be fulfilled.

Another coincidence with the recent Varun Gandhi incident is that L.K. Advani's facebook page has a powered by "RSS Connect" tag.

I hope this is not Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh which is considered as as reactionary group of Hindu fanatics with Fascist tendencies.

Let me try if anyone from BJP or Congress is reading this (are they listening to the online buzz)? Mark your presence with a comment below if you are listening to.

Do you know the correlation between SPAM & orkut demographics?

2009-03-23T17:22:00.000+05:30

Recently Symantec released stats of SPAM messages which says the top 3 regions of origin are - US (25%), Brazil (9%) and India (5%). (Download PDF Report)

Now, if you analyze the orkut demographics, the top 3 source of traffic are - Brazil (49.64%), US (20.82%) and India (17.14%). (orkut demographics)

Pretty interesting, isn't it! So, what's your take on this?

Tzomet Sfarim Bookstore Targets Avid Facebook Users

2009-02-05T13:08:00.008+05:30

"Disconnect for a while. Read a book."

This is how a recent print ad of Tzomet Sfarim Bookstore targets the avid facebook users to go offline and read a book. Pretty simple and clever! (More details)

Stand UP Take ACTION Orkut Community, RSS, App & Youtube Game

2008-10-14T00:12:00.009+05:30

You know me as a professional blogger and a social media evangelist.
So, while driving the United Nations Millennium Campaign across social media, I have successfully accomplished some exclusive tie-ups and work to spread the words through social media. Rahul Bansal and Divyansh Sharma helped me a lot in the process:-

1. Exclusive orkut community:- http://orkut.com/endpoverty This exclusive public URL community page can be accessed without even logging into orkut. To participate, of course you need to join the community.

2. RSS feed for the community:- By default orkut does not provide RSS feed for an orkut community. But, we have developed an online service that provides an RSS feed for any orkut community. You can track the activities of the above exclusive community without logging into orkut, by subscribing to http://orkutfeeds.com/endpoverty2015 in your Feed Reader.

3. An orkut app is coming soon. (check unreleased preview)

4. Youtube video Game:- youtube game built using the video annotation feature based on a pacman kind of game where poverty monster is chasing you and you need to click on the goal buttons for level up before the poverty monster eats you. Similar to 8 UN MDG (Millennium Development Goals) this game has 8 levels and failing in a level it educate you about the Goal in details.

(Do not cheat by rewinding the video)

5. Blog badge:- Bloggers and site owners can put the following blog badge on their sidebar to spread the words to their site visitors.

Thus, requesting all readers to take action to help eradicate poverty on 17-19 Oct and register your count at http://standagainstpoverty.org/
Also, this is an appeal to other similar causes, campaigns to unite and join this cause.
Together we can make a difference.

orkut Demographics: India Slips To 3rd Slot Again

2008-09-25T12:01:00.002+05:30

Following table shows the orkut demographics for past few months.

Some points to note:-
1. India which overtook US for the 2nd position in May 2008 has slipped to the 3rd slot again.
2. US has increased 2.47% from Aug to Sept to reclaim the 2nd position.
3. Canada out of the race in Aug, Australia being the new entrant.

What may be the reasons for this?

A Comprehensive List Of Alternative Twitter IM Bots

2008-09-13T00:11:00.026+05:30

Twitter IM bot twitter@twitter.com, which enables you to send tweets right from your Gtalk, Yahoo Messenger .etc. is facing downtime due to heavy usage and the current status shows - "Offline. Working on additional capacity."
Lets find out some alternatives that work in this crisis period.

Tweeting through IM includes two steps - LISTEN and RESPOND.

Apart from ego-surfing i.e. checking for any tweet targeted to you, Listen helps in tracking trend of keywords and topics of your interest. To listen through IM, you need the following earplugs:-

1. iNezha - Add inezhabot@gmail.com in your Gtalk contact which let you read any RSS feed right in your IM chat window. Update the notification frequency to 1 minute.

2. IM Feeds - Similar to iNezha, you can add imfeeds@gmail.com as a Gtalk buddy which notifies you whenever a subscribed feed updates.

After you are done with any of the above, search for any tweet that mentions your name or any keyword you want to monitor using search.twitter.com and subscribe to the RSS feed in your IM. Some other twitter search e.g. tweetscan have advantage over the default search as they display the originator of the tweet too in the RSS. E.g. RSS feed for any tweet that mentions my name is - http://tweetscan.com/rss.php?s=%40fundubytes

Now, it notifies you with any updates for your chosen feeds at regular intervals. The second part is to respond to them by blowing these horns:-

1. Excla.im - A jabber bot that allows you to update your twitter status by verifying your twitter account and adding tweet@excla.im as your Gtalk buddy.

2. IMified - A very powerful tool that does much more than mere updating your twitter status. To send tweets, you need to add imified@imified.com in your friend list and add the Twitter widget in your account settings.

3. twitt'd - You can send (also receive) tweets by adding twittd@jabber.org as your Gtalk buddy and verifying your twitter credentials. Tweets sent by twittd are displayed as being sent by web interface.

4. Ping.fm - Sign-up for a ping.fm account and integrate your twitter profile. Add pingdotfm@gmail.com as friend and update your twitter status by sending a message starting with @tt

5. TwitterIM - msn@twittermsn.com and TwitterIM for Windows Live Messenger and ICQ respectievely seem to be broken since quite some time.

6.SMSgupshup (India only) - This is a bit tricky. First sign-up for SMSgupshup and create an SMS group. Integrate your Gtalk account and add webaroosms@gmail.com as a Gtalk buddy. Now, you can send message to this SMS group right from your gtalk.
The next step is, sign-up for twitterfeed and add your twitter account and RSS feed for the SMS group. E.g. RSS feed for my SMS group is http://www.smsgupshup.com/feeds/fundubytes
Now, whenever you update your SMS group your twitter status automatically gets updated, though there are some limitations like only 8 SMS/hr and twitterfeed minimum update frequency is 30 min.

Apart from the above IM bots, there are some other options too:-

1. Yahoo Messenger Twitter Sync Plugin - This synchronizes your Yahoo Messenger status message with your twitter status.

2. Jabber Twitter Bridge - Java application to update Twitter with Jabber's status (Gtalk).

3. Twit4Live - A Messenger Plus! Live Script that adds twitter interaction to Windows Live Messenger. Interact with Twitter from Windows Live Messenger.

4. Twitter plugin for Pidgin - Pidgin is a multi-protocol IM client where users can log in to multiple accounts on multiple IM networks. Along with the twitter plugin, use the character count plugin for Pidgin that displays the character count of the current message in a Pidgin chat window.

Now, if you liked this story retweet it! or reply @fundubytes.

Also read: Find who ditched your or un followed you on Twitter

Google Chrome Firefox Theme For Windows, Linux And Mac OS X

2008-09-09T18:00:00.001+05:30

Recently launched Google open-source browser, Google Chrome has got much appreciation for its looks.
Now, Firefox addicts like me have got a reason to flaunt it with Chromifox - an experimental Firefox 3 theme inspired by bright and soft blue Google Chrome.

Since, Google Chrome is not available for Linux and Mac OS yet, you can use it as an alternate till the release. Download Chromifox

Tyroo Migrated Ad Network To New Platform Without Any Prior Official Notification

2008-09-09T00:36:00.004+05:30

December, 2007:
I was looking for advertising programmes that can be run along with Google AdSense, when I interacted with Sidharth Shukla from Tyroo and discussed its compatibility issues with Google Ads. Also, while googling I noticed Tyroo being bad-mouthed by few blogs.

When, I shared the links with Sidharth, got the following reply:-

Hi Rupesh,
Like i mentioned, there is nothing wrong with using Tyroo with Google ad sense. If there was i would not have the 2000+ publishers that i do.

Regarding the links you sent i cant seem to recall the exact problem with sourabh's account but yes its possible that we may have had a bad patch at that point,its equally possible that we could have got low quality placements resulting in low CTR's and revenues.

Jeba if you notice recommends Tyroo for Indian websites and at the end of the day there will always be blogs undermining Tyroo, i could produce over a 100 by the end of the day today for Google ad sense as well :-)

I really do appreciate your feedback, and we take it seriously rest assured and if the need warrants , adjustments along those lines are made.
Which is your site incidentally.

Thanks

Sidharth

Anyways, I thought of giving Tyroo a try and signed up for it.
Though I have monetized my blog, I use Firefox Adblock Plus addon to hide my own impressions and prevent any invalid click.

September, 2008:
Recently, while I was trying out Google Chrome, I noticed blank space at the leaderboard. Initially I thought it's a browser issues but later noticed the same result with all the browsers.

I logged into my Tyroo account and found zero impressions for past few days. Here is a snippet of the Tyroo report:-

When I contacted Sidharth in this context, Neeraj from Tyroo replied as under:-

Hi Rupesh

I am Neeraj managing the Tyroo publisher network. PFA excel for migration of publishers to new platform, wherein a new tags would be provided along with login to access reports with better metrics.

It took me a few minutes to figure out the meaning of the mail. Then, I noticed an excel sheet attached with the mail. I opened the excel sheet with curiosity and found it asking for basic details like name, email along with which tags to use etc for migration to the new platform. I replied back asking for clarification of few doubts and got their respective replies as follows:-

1. Is it mandatory for all publishers to fill up the excel sheet and send it back to you and that too only when a publisher complains about no ads being displayed?

it is important for the publisher to notice his site and the changes, we implemented this some time back and wanted to see who all comes back to us. You are early still many have to revert to us

2. First and foremost, Tyroo has all the details of a publisher those being asked in the excel sheet.

we do have for ‘n’ publishers

3. Again, what about the time period where no ads being displayed?

this was publishers conscious responsibility as he should let us know the changes he is noticing, the onus and the loss is for all the stake holders, be it advertiser or publisher or network

4. Isn't it responsibility of Tyroo to notify all publishers for any outage or modification in advance so that publishers are prepared for the forthcoming changes?

An excel is provided which requires information for migration, which happens in 24 hrs of replying

Now, that's such an irresponsible behavior from a company in which Yahoo has 35% stake. This experience justifies why Tyroo was bad-mouthed by blogs earlier.

Please support with your comments and help spread this message.

Google Suggest For Search; Guess Whose Business Card Got Affected?

2008-08-30T16:38:00.004+05:30

After a long wait of 4 years, Google will finally be implementing Google suggest feature on the homepage, Google.com. Google suggest is an auto-complete for search which means as you type in the search box, related search keywords automatically appear below in a "drop-down menu" fashion. You can check out the feature at http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1&hl=en

Wait, I am not discussing here how it will affect user experience or SEO (Search Engine Optimization). A simple question - Guess whose business card will be affected with this feature?

Heard of Matt Mullenweg, who is founding developer of popular blogging platform WordPress? His business card is pretty simple and great.

But, the inclusion of Google suggest in Google search has affected him. Also, with this feature, the "I'm feeling lucky" button is hidden.

Similarly, Kiruba Shankar, a prolific personality in Web 2.0, Blogging, Podcasting & Social Media in India has got Google cards as shown below:-

But, when you try with the new search,

Since, a picture says more than 1000 words, people might click on the image just above his website listing. So, for both of them it's time to change the business card. Yahoo too has instant search ajax functionality to the search. So, the only option left is Live Search. Here is a branding opportunity for Microsoft, any folk listening?

Do you know how Google affected funduBytes?

Listen To Twitter Theme Songs (With Lyrics) By Alana Taylor And Ben Walker

2008-08-27T02:21:00.004+05:30

Now that's called Twitter Mania when someone shows Twitter love by writing a song on it!

Recently, Ben Walker who is taking up 50/90 challenge i.e. 50 songs in 90 days, wrote a song on Twitter - “You’re No One If You’re Not On Twitter" as a tribute to the micro blogging site.

[Lyrics]

You're no one if you're not on Twitter
And if you aren't there already you've missed it
If you haven't been bookmarked, retweeted and blogged
You might as well not have existed

In the old days it was all about achievements
Collecting all your trophies in a shrine
Then everybody came across the internet
And suddenly you had to be online

A home page was all you really needed
To seem like a success but not a geek
As long as you updated semi-annually
And checked your email once or twice a week

You're no one if you're not on Twitter...

Technology was moving rather quickly
And the next thing you needed was a blog
With intimate and detailed press releases
And now and then a photo of your dog

More recently the students brought us Facebook
And everybody has a hundred friends
The parties in the photos look amazing
They're not so great but everyone pretends

You're no one if you're not on Twitter...

Now you need to publish every movement
And every single thought to cross your mind
I'm told the Twitterverse is full of rubbish
But most of us are actually quite refined

We validate each other's insecurities
And brag about the gadgets that we've bought
We laugh out loud at every hint of jolliness
And try to self-promote without being caught

You're no one if you're not on Twitter...

Some time ago, 19-year old NYU student and tech-loving girl Alana Taylor wrote a song on Twitter

[Lyrics]

When I wake up in the morning,
The first thing I see,
Is an e-mail in my Gmail,
Sayin' you're followin' me.

And next thing you know,
I'm followin' you,
Not everybody does it,
But me and Scoble do.

Chorus:
Cuz Twitter beats Facebook any day,
140 characters is all you need to say.

Cool thing 'bout Twitter is you meet new people,
You even get to stalk the famous ones too,
We've got Veronica Belmont from Mahalo Daily,
Barack Obama and Hugh MacLeod too.

Chorus

Twitter's like a family,
As long as you're not spamming me,
We keep in touch, we share too much,
And @Garyvee meets up for lunch!

Chorus

But be careful, with you're iPhone...
Don't DM the whole worlldddddd

Chorus

Ain't it interesting and entertaining? Well, on the other hand you have iTunes to Twitter - an Applescript that can post your current playing track on iTunes as a twitter update.

Orkut Community Topics Update Notification Apps - Don't You Need It Officially?

2008-08-26T23:28:00.004+05:30

The good thing about orkut is communities - it let you express your voice, you can find a community on almost any topic. But, the bad thing about orkut is engagement in community. Due to concerns of spamming, orkut does not allow sending message to the community once it exceeds 1000 members.

And talking about human psychology, an orkut user joins a community to be associated with it but does not participate frequently. One do not go to the community page on each log on to check out what has happened, unless and until he has participated previously and expecting new replies since last time he logged into. Even the updates notification does not include this information.

Recently, I noticed an orkut apps Notification - Communities that shows 5 recent updated threads for a community being tracked i.e. similar to what the community homepage offers.

This app does not works if the community requires join to access the content. Also, it does not notifies in "My updates". So, the problem remains same - you have to explore the community manually to notice the changes. Track this community for further development in this App (requires Portuguese to English Translator)

Till some time ago, an online tool was available which converts your orkut scrapbook and community topics to RSS feed; so that you can check updates without logging in to your orkut account.

orkut to RSS converter usage

It became too popular and the developer Vikas Patial disabled the free version and put the script for sale. The last bid I noted was US$ 120.

Afterwards, using the same idea another coder Rahul Bansal developed an online tool orkutfeeds.com that make you keep track of updates for a scrapbook, community and a particular thread of a community. Currently he is working on building it as an orkut public search i.e. search without logging into and results being displayed as RSS.

He is also seeking donations for hosting charges to keep the service free, feature suggestions, feedback and possible monetization model for the same.

Noticing the usage of earlier orkut to RSS converter and orkut demographics where India is continuously growing, there is a strong possibility of contextual, behavioral and direct advertising. Think of how broad and diverse community topics are and determining behavior/character of an user based on the communities he has joined!

I strongly believe orkut should provide RSS feed for community pages

which can be subscribed by the inbuilt feed reader in orkut. That will make it true orkut 2.0.

Find Who Unfollowed Or Ditched You On Twitter

2008-08-25T03:10:00.012+05:30

Have you ever wondered these social networking sites do tell you - who befriend with you or who followed you recently, but they do not notify who removed you from their friend list or dumped you!

In the context of Twitter, this hide and seek game of followers count plays a pivotal role for:-

1. SPAMMERS - who follow you to gain your attention and then silently unfollow you as a trick to get visitor on the link on their profile or increase their followers.

2. POTENTIAL FOLLOWERS - Human psychology refrains a potential follower from following you noticing the Following:Follower ratio in your profile.

3. FOLLOWER WANNABE FRIEND - One follower asks you "hey, I noticed you are not following me back?". You do so to make him happy and get rid of his frequent requests. But, you are not interested in his talks and unfollow afterwards silently.

Now, how to know who are no longer following you?
If you have a so-so equal but small number of following and followers count, i.e. you follow most of your followers you can check your Twitter Karma and trace who is hiding from you. This works only if the total count is small and you have a sharp memory to notice the change.

How do you find a needle in a hay stack?
If you have a subsequently greater number of followers and let say 1/2 unfollowed you. In this case, Tweetake comes handy to backup a list of your followers in .CSV file format.

For the experiment, I used a dummy profile to follow few random people including my original profile and then unfollowed it.

The .CSV file has columns - type, id, name, screen name .etc. Edit this file in Microsoft Excel or Google Docs and delete all columns except the "id". Save this file and keep as archive. If you are using Google Docs, export the file as a .CSV.

When you notice decrease in followers count, import a new list, process i.e. delete the unwanted columns and save it as a new copy.

Now, Download and install csvdiff, an open source tool to compare two .CSV files.
Copy the old list from archive and the new list to the folder of installation.
Goto Start -> Run and type cmd. Navigate to the folder of installation. Execute:- csvdiff -e old.csv -a new.csv > result.txt

It compares the old and new lists and generates the report as result.txt file.
Open the result.txt file to note the change i.e. expected data (old file) and actually data (new file).

Copy the expected value (say XXXX) and open the link http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/XXXX.atom in your browser to get the feed of that profile.

Note: Even this process might get a bit messy if you have new followers in between unfollowers. For exact results, you need to perform a set operation MINUS betwen old and new list i.e. A-B = data available in A but not in B.

TweepleTwak is another such service (currently in private alpha version) that solves the purpose.

Extending this idea, you can trace which orkut profile removed you from his friend list by importing your friendlist as .CSV and making a comparison between the email ids.

Interestingly, Facebook does not allow officially to import your contact list. But, it can be done using the apps - Fonebook and Friend CSV.

Now, if you liked this story retweet it! and reply @fundubytes - what will you do once you catch the runaway follower?

Most Popular Bookmarking & Sharing Activities - What Should You Learn From It?

2008-08-23T17:10:00.005+05:30

Ever wondered on sharing activities though bookmarking tools? Recently, ShareThis released an insight on how your visitors share your content and what are the popular content sharing activities.

The above pie chart shows the dominance of Email which reminded me of a post from the archives of GigaOm titled "Is Email The Ultimate Social Environment?"

No wonder, "Send by Email", "Tell a Friend" .etc. lead to a chain of Forwarded Mails and Email-SPAM!

According to comScore, Facebook overtook competitor MySpace to become the leading social networking site based on monthly unique visitors in April-June 2008 period which is clearly reflected in the pie chart above as Facebook sharing taking up the second slot.

Now comparing with AddThis bookmarking trends 2007, you can notice:-

1. Downfall in Google and Delicious bookmarks. May be that's the reason behind new face-lift of Delicious.

2. People prefer sharing on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace than regular social bookmarking sites like Digg, Delicious .etc. Is it due to change in their popularity ranking algorithms?

Now, the learning curve based on the above trends
LISTEN, EVALUATE, ADAPT

How?
If you are using AddThis bookmarking widget on your blog/site, customize the button to rearrange the buttons accordingly. Please have a look at my older and current arrangement below:-

Before

Now

And if you are using ShareThis widget, choose your bookmarking services manually being displayed in the order of selection.

If you notice, I have chosen Twitter as a service in my AddThis widget gazing it a fast growing communication and sharing tool. ~~But, ShareThis does not offer this service yet, so you can submit your request for twitter to ShareThis.~~ (see update)

*Note: Apart from the trends above, tweak your AddThis/ShareThis bookmark button analyzing the demographics, content and sharing activity report for your blog/site.

orkut SMS Scrap Available In India, Silly Bugs Found

2008-08-21T16:31:00.007+05:30

Some time ago, orkut launched their mobile version http://m.orkut.com and recently they added SMS as a way to communicate in India. Though orkut has launched the SMS feature in India, it does not include Airtel, Vodafone and BSNL that eat up the bigger pie in the mobile market.

( TRAI Report for quarter ending January-March 2008)

Now, when you try to register your mobile in the settings page,

it asks you to verify your mobile number by sending the verification code to 56555.

But, when you click on "Having problems?" link, guess what it displays!

It says - "Currently orkut SMS works only in Brazil". That's bug #1. But, it guides you to the orkut help section where it tells about the pricing details for your carrier in India.

Despite of having a Vodafone connection, I tried to register selecting MTNL as carrier and sent the verification code to 56555, I received an SMS saying "This service is not enabled yet" and the very next message was

"Congrats, you now have orkut SMS. Reply with help for more info. Standard charges apply. Reply with "off" to turn off SMS notifications." That's bug #2.

I tried whether it works or not and it does, as I received an SMS notification for a new scrap in my scrapbook as under:-

Following is the screenshot of the mobile settings page after successfully setting up my mobile number:-

Previously, I had blogged about accessing orkut on mobile (when the xhtml version was not available) and receiving SMS notification for your email (selected operators) before this feature was available.

With these bugs, it seems like a half-baked cake. Moreover, the official orkut blog is silent. Any orkut folk listening?

Update Aug 23, 2008: orkut Team replied on this issue

and now Vodafone is officially supported in mobile settings page.

Irrfan Khan's K.I.L.B Teaser Campaign Revealed, BigAdda Pokes Its Nose With Aggresive Guerrilla Marketing

2008-08-11T21:03:00.005+05:30

This story consists of 3 folds.

Fold #1:
Recently, you might have noticed a campaign (OOH, TVC, Print) featuring Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan, an "unknown brand" with an tag line - "Kya Apko K.I.L.B Hai?". Another Ad in the series, where Irrfan Khan acts as a doctor asking if you have K.I.L.B?

As expected the teaser left people pondering upon curiously and generated interest to search online. People started exchanging their wild guesses on the secret behind the campaign. Some interesting strong speculations were -
It's a Vodafone Ad; reason being previously Irrfan Khan was never seen endorsing any brand apart from Vodafone.

Another entry was for an AIDS/Cancer awareness programm, since Irrfan is seen wearing a doctor’s mask.

Besides this, the teaser started spreading and gaining popularity in online search to the extent that it made its way to top 10 Google searches in India on Aug 5, 2008.

Fold #2:
Sniffing the trends, Opportunistic BigAdda implemented guerrilla marketing tactics and created a hoax that K.I.L.B stands for "Kkyonki I love BigAdda".

A blogger called ChiefBrutus not only spoofed the acronym, also aggresively commented on other blogs. I discovered ChiefBrutus as AVP & Head - Web Development at BigAdda.com. Well, Reliance is well known for these kind of tricks. But, furthermore bloggers started receiving emails from fake identities with revealing the secret. Digging more, I noticed that the fake profiles were not present in BigAdda. Possibly, the unknown brand is behind this Push-Too-Spam move.

Fold #3:
K.I.L.B has stopped teasing and unveiled the identity of its brand as AEGON Religare Life Insurance and solved the mystery behind K.I.L.B as "Kum Insurance Lene Ki Bimari". Well following are some Twitter reactions on the reveal of the hoax:-

The campaign was conceptualised by Contract Advertising, produced by Apocalypso Filmsworks and directed by Pradeep Sarkar of the Parineeta and Laaga Chunari Mein Daag fame (Courtesy: afaqs). The reveal TVC is as under:-

Morale of the story:
There was a communication gap between Fold #1 and Fold #3 i.e. between the offline and online synergy of the campaign. The disconnect between the offline buzz and online visibility because online/social media search for the campaign has no official presence.

Was the campaign adequately insured? Because BigAdda did a "chance pe dance" trying to divert the attention with their part of acronym i.e. Fold #2. But, they tried too hard with spam email marketing. One lesson for them - Don't F**k people in Social Media!

Cartoonify texts and IM chats using ChatFu!

2008-05-19T18:31:00.005+05:30

Are you looking for some tool to cartoonify texts for presentations .etc? Well, ChatFu solves this as it can convert texts & IM chats into cartoons.

Just type the texts or copy-paste the IM chat transcript & hit "Cartoonify Chat" button. That's it!

Well, I found only one problem, i.e. it doesn't understand your emotions or shows the characters accordingly. Also, it doesn't let you choose the characters manually. So, you have to go back & repeat the process to get a cartoon that matches the words. May be, the Google Ads are the reasons for this limitation!

You can share your chat cartoon, save it & embed it on your blog. You need to log in to read others' cartoons & if you can draw, you can contribute your cartoon frames too.

ChatFu.com

Bollywood Rivalries Go Web 2.0 Way - Bitching & Backstabbing Through Blogs & Wikis!

2008-05-17T13:55:00.008+05:30

It is said that "There is no business like show business". Also, it is known as "no friend or enemy is forever" in Bollywood. But, recently the rivalries have taken the Web 2.0 approach -

1. Amitabh Bachchan being paid Rs 100 Crore to blog? Bitch about Shahrukh? Create controversy?

WTF, Amitabh Bachchan is reportedly paid Rs.100 crores to blog on BigAdda! No idea whether he is actually writing or have been ghost written, but surely Bollywood bitching is on - In a recent post he has termed "Paanchvi Pass" as "Paanchvi Fail" comparing the TRPs.

(click on the images to enlarge)

2. Aamir who supposedly has a dog named Shahrukh. Aamir's blog says -
"Shahrukh is licking my feet and I am feeding him biscuits every now and then. What more can I ask for?"

3. LoveStory 2050 Wikipedia entry defaced - Not only among established actors, there is friction between newcomers too. Just yesterday, débutante Harman Baweja & Priyanka Chopra starrer Love Story 2050's Wikpedia entry was defaced (check out the history tab).

The name of the movie was changed to LoveStory 1999. The name of the actor was changed from Harman Baweja to Hrithik Roshan. The Director as Rakesh Roshan. The budget (60 Cr.) to 60 Thousand.

The log details shows that the SPAMMER has no other activity on Wikipedia.

It seems fishy as interestingly Aamir Khan's nephew Imran Khan & Harman Baweja are all set to clash come July 4.

To add more, Aamir Khan introduced Imran Khan to his fan base via his blog.

Well, precisely speaking Bollywood is becoming Bollywood 2.0!
Whatever comes next, I would just say - the show must go on..!!

How Google has affected funduBytes!

2008-02-07T20:51:00.000+05:30

Previously, I had written a script that translates your blog in different languages using Google Language Translation (see right side below the post title). It was working properly, but suddenly Google has restricted translation from English to English (same language) which many people used as a proxy to access blocked sites.

So, if you try to translate funduBytes from English to English or even from any other language to back into English, it gives you an error.
Wait, I have a solution for this. In the code find,

<option value='en|en'>English</option>

and replace 'en|en' with

'zh|en' (zh stands for Chinese) or 'any other language|en'. That's it!

It works fine now.

Again, I do ego-surfing quite regularly. And, if you notice the tag line of funduBytes i.e.

They call it fundu Bytes, fun du Bytes & fund u Bytes.
What's your say?

Previously, Google used to define 'fundu' as intelligent. But, recently I noticed that 'fundu' is no more in Google's dictionary.

But, Live Search still defines 'fundu' as 'cool', 'awesome'.

Alas, I can't add this word to Google's dictionary. Any Googler listening...!!

Kingfisher Calendar 2008: Is there any significance of locations?

2008-01-15T12:55:00.000+05:30

Kingfisher Calendar does not require any introduction. The sixth edition of the limited edition calendar continues the same dose of hot shots. The previous years' photos can be found at Kingfisher Swimsuit Special collection at Flickr.

I had a conversation with Kingfisher team regarding usage of calendar pictures, and the significance of triangle being formed on connecting the locations where the pictures have been shot.Their reply was:-

The KINGFISHER Calendar pictures are copyrighted material and we do not allow their download or sharing. The sites which are doing so are doing it illegally and we are following up on this so that the pictrues are removed.

The latest calendar pictures will be uploaded soon. [at the above said Flickr space]

Well, there is no intended significance of the locations. Thanks for bringing it to our notice though :-)

2008 = too infinity; Happy New Year

2007-12-31T19:23:00.001+05:30

8 represents infinity. Thus, 2008 means too infinite opportunities, possibilities, hopes, dreams .etc. Sleep tonight with this note and realize them tomorrow.
funduBytes wishes all readers a Happy New year.

My Gmail Story - Free SMS alerts

2007-12-27T09:22:00.000+05:30

Gmail folks are inviting us to share our Gmail story about how we are using it. So, here's mine: Free SMS alerts for incoming mails.

Adding mobile-number-cum-email-address to accounts settings
and forward a copy of incoming mail to the same
to get free SMS alerts. More details.

orkut profiles made public to Google search results

2007-12-22T17:05:00.000+05:30

In the previous post,I have mentioned that orkut profiles are still not public. I guess some Google folk read that, and a new feature is included in orkut privacy settings i.e. orkut in Google search results. It says "show my orkut information when my orkut friends search for me on Google.com". Can't an unknown person search for you?

orkut help tells it is still in experimental mode and uses Onebox to display key details.

"A OneBox appears only when someone who is logged in to orkut performs a search on Google.com for another orkut user"
If someone is logged into orkut won't he go for orkut universal search?

So, the description is a bit confusing. Since, this feature is enabled for a small chunk of orkut users, I have tried to draw a picture of how it will look like in Google search results. (based on my imagination, actual results may differ)
But, with this step internet researchers, social media marketing people have to regenerate their report. At last but not the least, people who do not put their real name on orkut or use special characters instead of English alphabets, revert back to the name your parents have given to you.