Suggestions for this blog

Dear readers,

Need some suggestions. I am totally confused about the right hand sidebar of this blog. Is it important to keep my photo and About me section on the top because currently it is somewhere in the middle. I recently added a text box that gives an overview of this blog, cause the header really doesn't explain what the blog is about.

Let me know your thoughts!

Warn Regards,
Priyanka

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Across the Social Networks

Being on various social networks, often leads to weird scenarios where I find myself copy pasting my tweet onto facebook! :D Some ways to sync your various status updates on your various social networks.

- Ping.fm
Ping.fm gives the option to choose various networks where you can post your updates. The options are really a large number, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Gtalk, Ning groups, Digg and more!

- Facebook - Twitter sync
If these are the two major social networks you use, its pretty simple to sync them!
Application Twitter lets you access Twitter on Facebook and gives you the option to sync all twitter updates to Facebook too. Replies to tweeple are not published on facebook. Since people tend to tweet a lot more than update Facebook, it is possible that their tweeets would flood FB.

Another selective Twitter application allows you to update Facebook selectively from Twitter. I like this one! Basically you put #fb to any tweet that you want Facebooked. Quite simple!

- LinkedIn - Twitter Sync
Recently LinkedIn and Twitter updates can be synced. There is a check box near the LinkedIn status update box where you can select whether you want the update to be tweeted.
In Twitter settings panel you can selectively pass updates to LinkedIn by putting a #in or #li to the tweet. Pretty Cool! Read more about it.

Twitter API's like Tweetdeck, Seismic, Hootsuite allow sending facebook updates too.. so everyone is looking at ways to reach out onto other social platforms from the same device that is made for only one platform.

These methods of syncing the various networks are useful. On one hand while using social media we want to generate conversations with people across different channels, but we still require some way to collaborate on those conversations and maybe pool them together somehow.

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Are you with the right people

Socialness brings in many people in our lives. Many of these people become closer than the rest. Many a times its needed to ask ourselves whether we are with the right people. They could be our in-laws or office colleagues or some new friends. These are some insights I got while I was in such a situation, at the Isha Yoga Center. (Read my experiences there). Some signs to look out for....

- Are they promoting the right people?
See which people are being promoted within the group. Whether they are 'right' or not is subjective. However if a lot of the people being promoted or encouraged or liked are not 'right' according to you. Then probably the group is not 'right' for you either.

- What happens after a conversation with them?
Do you feel left out, unheard or disturbed after talking with these people? If you do then it is not a good sign. It is not necessary that you agree with them but even if you don't meetings, talks, conversations should end on a positive note where you have understood the other side. You should feel heard and trustful about their reasons.

-The Unexpected factor
How often are actions by the group unexpected for you? If the things that they are doing are too unexpected then you are not able to gauge these people. Especially if they are disturbing incidents then its a red alert that you need to reconsider being with this bunch of people.

- Can you talk well about them?
Can you easily gush out some positive and interesting aspects of these people or organization? If not then maybe they are not a positive or interesting influence in your life.

- Is there bonding happening beyond your sphere of work or relationship matters?
If it is office colleagues then you should be bonding over a talk of movies or Mafia Wars. With in-laws there are tons of ways to extend the relation into some friendly chit-chat. Go traveling with them etc.. Even with a boss you can bond over a geeky talk abt Google or something. These are the aspects that bring closeness and warmth between people.

However if all or most of the above aspects are simply not happening then the people are not right for you and life is too short to spend with the wrong people! Best thing you can do is wish them all the best and Leave! :)

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Social Network Games Reloaded: City of Eternals

zis is so cool....



This game is fully online so no downloads or huge disc space requirements! The people have to 'Facebook connect' for login. It is possible to connect with characters in the game on their Facebook! This is sort of a mix of multi-player online RPG's like Age of Empires, WoW etc.. and pure social network games like Mafia Wars and Fishville.

I had blogged earlier that social network gaming is a good market to start something up. This game is from a company called Ohai. I think it has a lot of potential to be something huge!
Currently it is in private alpha phase. Only invitees can play/test it. I have applied for my invite lets see when I get it!

Apply for an invite here.

(source: TechCrunch)
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6 tips to improve your Twitter profile

Again I got Google Wave invites to send out, and this time it is a large number of invites! Lot of people have asked for invites especially on Twitter probably cause they were searching for tweets on Google Wave invites. Most of these are strangers. I visit their profile before sending them an invite, wouldn't want to invite a spammer. Some tips to make your Twitter profile look genuine and reliable.

- Location: Its really good to read the location. That is something I can instantly connect with. London, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, NZ, Australia, Miami, Bali, Toronto, Hampi... these make sense to me. Not having a location is kinda creepy! It makes me question why you are on twitter! You obviously don't want to connect with tweeple from same location, you are not here for business coz you need location for that etc..

- Following/Followers ratio: If you are following a large number of people and if very few are following you. Then definitely its not a good sign.

-- Tweets: I see whether they are all status updates, RT's, replies or is it too much of rants, swear words, sexual implications..... or are your tweets interesting, sensible and good stuff.

- Display Pic: Your own pic is good, however many people have funky pics so almost anything goes there.

- Web address: Having a blog or LinkedIn profile links are the best options. They have a good interest factor. I often visit these links on twitter profiles to see what their blog/linkedin profiles are like.

- Lists: Now with the list feature out, I look at what kind of lists they have created if at all and are they on any lists.

- Background: Generally anything is fine, either the default twitter background or if you have customized ones. Backgrounds with the website, business address and telephone numbers do make the profile look more genuine.

So all these factors add up when evaluating a profile! Do you see any other aspects to maintain in Twitter profiles?

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Essentially Communicating - Marc Benioff, Salesforce

Marc Benioff, the CEO and co-founder of Salesforce talks about how essential communications is in his company! Salesforce is a pioneering company providing SaaS applications. It started with an idea in 1999 and is now a 1 billion dollar industry. One of the first SaaS companies that is profitable. The tips are worth not only a read but also implementation!

Commit to transparent communication. Customer relationships take work, and a big part of that work is dedicating yourself to constant communication with customers and prospects, says Benioff. "We invited them to come in and see what we were working on. We asked them to test it, and we made changes based on what they said. Having this kind of inclusive communication—sharing and listening— from the beginning set the tone for our entire company." According to Benioff, salesforce used this feedback to make fast changes—"intelligent reaction."

Tell classic stories. Most reporters don't care about a tiny startup, and that's why Benioff never positioned himself as such. He told a classic David-vs.-Goliath story. "We gave the media something different. We gave them something new. We always positioned ourselves as revolutionaries. We went after the largest competitor in the industry or the industry itself. We made our story about change. We were about something new and different that was good for customers, and good for the community. We talked about the future." Although the media landscape is changing, Benioff believes there will always be a need for content. The delivery model might be changing, but exchanging and sharing stories and information remains as important as ever.

Make your own metaphors. According to Benioff, simple metaphors are a terrific way to communicate your message. "I spend a lot of time creating metaphors to explain what we do. For example, early on I explained what we did with the metaphor "salesforce.com is Amazon.com (AMZN) meets Siebel Systems." Later when we launched AppExchange we called it "the eBay (EBAY) of enterprise software." Anyone can create their own metaphors, says Benioff. "Just remember to test them before you put them out there. Try a few and run them by customers, analysts, and people in your network to make sure they work."

Read More.

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Firefox Birthday Time

Mozilla Firefox was first launched today in 2004, since then it has really changed the way we browse the internet. If you are using Internet Explorer, maybe you should check Firefox out! Download for free here.

Interestingly a large number of net users do know what a browser is! Check this you tube video where 50 people in Times Square are asked what a browser is....



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