Monday, March 22, 2010

Facebook for news?

I came across a few very interesting statistics today, from mediapost.com, which show that Facebook directs more traffic to news sites than Google Reader and Google News. More importantly for news websites, 78% people linked to a news site from Facebook will visit the site again, compared to a 64% return rate from Google News.

The trend continues when broadcast news sites are examined (e.g. CNN)- 77% return from Facebook, and 64% will return if linked from a Google site.

I was shocked to read that Twitter only directs 0.14% of a news site’s traffic, until I read that the survey only examined links from twitter.com, when most Twitter users use software or another client.

Google.com still directs more traffic to news sites than any other site, but I think news sites will concern themselves mostly with the loyality of visitors, and according to this piece of research, the loyal visitors are being linked from Facebook.

[Via http://ciaranighabhann.wordpress.com]

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[Via http://officialhotspotla.wordpress.com]

Friday, March 19, 2010

Edgewood Chamber of Commerce’s Welcome Wagon

POSTED AS A COMMUNITY SERVICE BY GADABOUT-BLOGALOT

Edgewood Chamber of Commerce’s Welcome Wagon

Hello Chamber Members! What a beautiful day God blessed us with today!! We have 2 new members to the Edgewood Chamber of Commerce! Please add them to your contact lists so you can network with them.

The Edgewood Chamber of Commerce would like to welcome Little John’s Towing! Little John’s Towing has 24-hour service including weekends. They not only tow they provide tire changes, lock-out service, storage, jump starts and gas runs. Add this number to your cell phone: 832-9457 or 259-7744. Trust me…when you need these services, you never have a phone book handy! Little John’s Towing also has a web site: www.littlejohnstowing.com . We are so pleased to add Little John’s Towing to our membership.

The Edgewood Chamber of Commerce would like to also welcome Park & Shine. Park & Shine is a mobile automobile appearance service. Their services include: detailing, scratch & dent repair, windshield star repair, headlight restoration, and interior repair. What a great service since we don’t have a car wash in Edgewood…they come to you!! Park & Shine’s contact information is: 281-3010 or 321-3599. They also have a great web site: www.parknshine.com . Welcome to the Edgewood Chamber Park & Shine!   Wishing you all a great day!

Robin Foshee, Executive Director

Edgewood Chamber of Commerce

505-286-2577 office   505-948-6963 cell

Check us out on Facebook!!!

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[Via http://gadabout-blogalot.com]

New password-stealing virus targets Facebook

Hackers have flooded the Internet with virus-tainted spam that targets Facebook’s estimated 400 million users in an effort to steal banking passwords and gather other sensitive information.

The emails tell recipients that the passwords on their Facebook accounts have been reset, urging them to click on an attachment to obtain new login credentials, according to anti-virus software maker McAfee Inc.

If the attachment is opened, it downloads several types of malicious software, including a program that steals passwords, McAfee said on Wednesday.

Hackers have long targeted Facebook users, sending them tainted messages via the social networking company’s own internal email system. With this new attack, they are using regular Internet email to spread their malicious software.

A Facebook spokesman said the company could not comment on the specific case, but pointed to a status update the company posted on its web site earlier on Wednesday warning users about the spoofed email and advising users to delete the email and to warn their friends.

McAfee estimates that hackers sent out tens of millions of spam across Europe, the United States and Asia since the campaign began on Tuesday.

Dave Marcus, McAfee’s director of malware research and communications, said that he expects the hackers will succeed in infecting millions of computers.

“With Facebook as your lure, you potentially have 400 million people that can click on the attachment. If you get 10 percent success, that’s 40 million,” he said.

The email’s subject line says “Facebook password reset confirmation customer support,” according to Marcus.

[Via http://newshyderabad.wordpress.com]

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Facebook gets search auto suggest feature

Top US site Facebook is finally cutting down on the need to type whole words (BEd: It’s reall annoyin in thi day an age) when searching by integrating an auto complete function. What this means is that, after entering a few letters into the search bar, a drop-down menu will appear with suggestions on people, events, groups and Pages you’re connected with or on more general results.

“If you don’t see what you are looking for in the drop-down menu, you can go to the search results page by selecting “See More Results” from the bottom of the drop-down menu. You’ll be taken to the full results, where you can sort by different categories and refine your search further,” explained Facebook engineer Wayne Kao.

The search auto suggest feature is currently being implemented so it can take a few days before it becomes available to you

[Via http://vladsim.wordpress.com]

Facebook surpasses Google in the US

Online competitive intelligence service Experian Hitwise has concluded that the week ended March 13 has seen Facebook pass Google in terms of popularity, in the US.The super popular social network (Facebook) has claimed the top spot in the US before but only on certain days (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’ Day), so beating Google for a whole week is certainly a big milestone.

Both sites were head-to-head though, with Facebook.com capturing 7.07% of all visits made by US web surfers, while Google.com held a 7.03% share. Looking at growth, Facebook has jumped 185% compared to the same week in 2009, but Google only went up 9% and the trend is likely to continue. Google will probably just have to get used to being number two.

[Via http://vladsim.wordpress.com]

Monday, March 15, 2010

How to Avoid Spoiling Your Audience's Appetite

Back in grade school, children and teens alike took to trends as fads. Whether it was the MC Hammer Pants or the throat-constricting turtlenecks, we’ve all been there. At the time, these fads were the center of our worlds but I’ve since them learned that they always end up in the Salvation Army bin by the end of the year. Like fruits, fads often spoil when you least expect it, even when you’re aware that it’s still there.

Spoiled fruit can upset a stomach, but what about spoiled methods? Is your way to communicate outdated if not expired? Why not give your audience something new to taste?

Cross-networking in the twenty-first century has become an easy way for businesses and groups to broaden the borders of their website. Networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Ning allow users to hold events in their local communities, promote their products or services, and encourage followers to “fan” their pages. Bloggers on WordPress and Blogspot can add widgets to track their followers and add links of their other networks to the sidebar so that their audience may be directed to one of their other designated sites. Each site works hand in hand with the other, allowing followers and fans alike to jump from one destination to another, tasting every possible stream of information that you share. These interconnected networks are like cross-bred hybrid fruits: new and refreshing for the parched throat. Definitely a fruit to be savored, not left out to rot.

 

[Via http://socialmediafruit.wordpress.com]

CBS' free throw for March Madness

With free live streaming, CBS has managed to collect $37 million in ad revenue with 2010 NCAA March Madness on Demand (MMOD). It’s the “only major sports event that is broadcast live and in its entirety for free on the Internet“. With 7.52 million unique visitors in 2009, no wonder advertisers like Warner Bros. are willing to spend the big bucks. But how does MMOD attract so many users?

First of all, there is a share tab that connects to all major social media including Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo! Buzz, StumbleUpon, Digg, and an RSS feed. It’s about giving consumers what they want, and for free. A high quality video option with picture-in-picture capabilities is available in addition to the standard player. And the Developer Platform allows any publisher to link directly to the MMOD video player. CNN, ESPN, and Facebook are ready to take advantage of this, as well as many smaller publishers.

And then there’s the Boss Button. If you click on it now, the above image will appear on your screen informing you that it has not been unveiled yet. However, it promises to provide a “business-like” image to instantly hide the video player from your boss if you are watching at work.

If this isn’t good enough, you can download the Premium NCAA MMOD iPhone app for $9.99.

[Via http://saracaissie.wordpress.com]

Friday, March 12, 2010

The Conversation That Never Sleeps....

Social media is a conversation; it’s a number of platforms, a set of tools that enables conversation, engagement, transferal of thoughts, ideas and information…

It’s New York New York…the City that never sleeps

Its Old Man River…it just keeps rolling 

It’s a neverending networking event!

So many times I hear ‘I’d like to try Twitter, give it a go, see what it’s all about, but I don’t have the time’ and I say ‘just dip in and join in the conversation…you can dip in and out, or you can stay around a bit longer, make some contacts, read some interesting stuff you won’t see anywhere else’ 

I believe it changes the way we communicate, because there’s no end! If you phone someone – a client, a candidate, a contact – then there’s a beginning and an end to the call, and if you want to move forward you need to conclude with an action. You can’t just pick up the phone an hour later and say something else. 

But with social media, there’s always a chance to pick up the conversation, anytime! Whatever you talk about, you’re engaging with people. As long as you’ve got something interesting, engaging, informative or just plain funny to say, then people won’t mind hearing from you. 

There are very few HR professionals and recruiters from the UK on Twitter, which is a shame. I would love to be able to build an online rapport with them. I speak to many in the US and chat about all sorts of things. I have often asked them ‘if I was US based, then you could well be my client or my candidate – if that was the case, how would you feel about the conversations that we have?’ 

They usually tell me that it wouldn’t make any difference, that the business and personal can easily mix…this is who I am, take me or leave me. They feel the same about Facebook. In the UK though I think it’s a bit different, it’s more…

No Facebook Please, We’re British! 

Will it change? I think it will, eventually! 

So for this post I’m going to throw down the challenge to everyone from the UK reading this who is not blogging, tweeting, contributing to groups on Linked In, or generally joining in the conversation… 

Come on in, the water’s fine….!

[Via http://mervyndinnen.wordpress.com]

What Will The Employers Think?

After being ousted from my last writing job, I decided to pull a Conan and take my act on the road, er…Internet….via my own blog.

Naturally, it’s not going to rub all potential employers the right way. After all, I often rift on the entire concept of finding a job because I find the whole concept pretty ridiculous.

I mean here you have millions of people out of work vying for like 2,000 jobs.

And there are a lot of hypocrisies with finding a job:

- Employers demand error-free cover letters and resumes, yet I find typos in their own job ads.

- We’re told as job hunters to always show up on time for an interview, yet interviewers are often late.

- Some employers want samples before granting an interview, yet if you give them an inch, they want a mile.

In this day and age of Google, Facebook, and background checks, you have to be careful what you put online.

I mean, hey I’m not stupid. Whoever is going to consider me for a job will do a search online see what comes up.

They’ll find this blog, and hopefully they’ll see that Willblogforlols is an unemployment blog that takes a look at the lighter side of finding a job.

Now like I mentioned before, not everyone’s going to like what I write. They may find some of the content on my blog offensive and not appropriate for someone who’s seeking a job.

Some may even say that this blog could sabotage my chances of getting a job.

But you know what I say?

You have to have a sense of humor about all this.

They have a have a sense of humor about all this.

It’s sort of like rushing a fraternity, where you have to suck up in order to get in, and take whatever crap comes your way.

I think most employers will get that, and those that don’t, well, maybe I just don’t belong at a company that doesn’t believe in having a sense of humor.

This is a forum where I can express myself, be creative, and blow off some steam about this career nightmare.

I know this particular post wasn’t particularly funny…more of an editorial.

So I’ll leave you with an LOL.

Why’d the chicken cross the road?

It had no choice. It got hit by a Prius and the owner couldn’t stop .

*****

[Via http://willblogforlols.com]

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Foursquare og Gowalla er pionerer

…for mobilens relevans-potentiale i Danmark

Mobilen som høj-relevant medie

I dialogbranchen hvor Undertegnede samt min medskribent er opvokset og pt. boltrer sig, tales der meget om relevans. Det er en af disciplinens vigtigste byggeklodser. Der sigtes således oftest på kommunikative elementer, som med størst sandsynlighed har relevans for den enkelte – eller i hvert fald lugter af det. Det kunne i praksis være segmenterede tilbagemeldings-mails på baggrund af surveys, direct mails på baggrund af bopælskommune eller tilrettede mysites på baggrund af online adfærd. Mulighederne er mange.

Hvor on- og offline mailings, surveys, Mypages og SMS er disciplinens grand old men, vil jeg plædere for, at mobilen som seriøs kanal først nu er ved at bryde igennem for alvor og i den grad er brugbar i en relevans-kontekst.

Jo, jo, der har i mange år været tale om Mobile Marketing, med SMS som drivkraft, ligesom WAP netværket har leveret spil og andre web-tjenester. Men mobilen har været betragtet som et værktøj i en isoleret niche, hvor en en inbound og/eller outbound SMS er grundelementet i kampagnen. I den integrerede marketing-proces giver dette bestemt visse muligheder i en given kampagne. Men som relevant tværmedialt dialogværktøj er mulighederne få. Og det er naturligvis ikke kun en mangel på forståelse for dialog eller kreativitet hos de mange mobil-løsnings leverandører, vi kan bebrejde – den teknologiske udvikling bærer også en del af skylden. Vi er blevet lovet guld og grønne skove af diverse mobil-selskaber længe, men som med så meget andet der kommer derfra, har det været varm luft.

Men vi har nu påbegyndt en ny æra, hvor mobiltelefonen i bedste Macluhan- stil i sandhed bliver en forlængelse af det menneskelige legeme. En æra hvor ringefunktionen er blevet et tertiært produkt. Jeg betragter da heller ikke længere mit Iphone abonnement som et mobilabonnement men derimod som et medie-abonnement. Det er først nu, at mange af vores våde drømme om mobilen som brugbar dialog-utility går i opfyldelse – også i et marketingperspektiv. De mange smartphones og de yderst brugbare applikationer i den fyldige Itunes app-store er konkrete eksempler på udbredelse. Ja, selv det stigende antal af smartphones-besøg på min arbejdsplads hjemmside er et solidt hint.

De 4 elementer der har udløst mobilens relevans-potentiale i Danmark

Vi har vidst længe, at mobiltelefonen havde et uudløst potentiale her i Danmark. Vi har jo kunne skæve mod Østen og USA, hvor mulighederne (som altid) er mange flere. Men det er altså først nu, at en egentlig potentiel høj “relevans-værdi” i brugen af mobilenheder i Danmark er blevet udløst. Jeg har i den sammenhæng identificeret de fire grundelementer, som jeg mener , har gjort dette muligt:

1. Teknologien fungerer godt nok til uproblematisk og gnidningsfri brug

2. Applikationerne er (vel-)udviklet

3. Brugerne er beviste om mulighederne og kender konventionerne

4. Brugen af de sociale medier har skabt en kultur, hvori der findes et naturligt behov og ønske om instant messageing. Med udbredelsen af Twitter og Facebook er logikken på plads: Ord som “status opdatering”, “What are you doing right know?” og “real-time” hænger uløseligt sammen.

Som sidste punkt antyder, spiller kulturen omkring de sociale medier og on-the-go, efter min mening, en afgørende rolle. Og hvor første bølge af applikationer og sociale utilities gjorde det muligt at sende ex Tweets via en appliaktion (før og nu også via SMS) fra mobilen, kombinerede anden bølge dette med brugerens geografiske position. Vi er efter min bedste overbevisning et sted i den tredje bølge, hvor ovenstående social location sharing kombineres med direkte word-of-mouth i form af anmeldelser/tips og et ekstra deltagende incentive-niveau i form af fx et spil/konkurrence-element.

Og så de to eksempler

To applikationer som er indbegrebet af tredje bølge er Foursquare og Gowalla. (som jeg selv nyder godt af). Og ingen grund til her at koble flere ord på disse to sociale netværk. Via nedenstående links kan du blive meget klogere (jf. naturligvis også evt. de officielle sites). Og så er det jo som bekendt bedst at prøve dem selv.

1. Foursquare

2. Gowalla

Når vi holder foredrag om tilgangen til de sociale medier i et marketingsperspektiv, runder vi af med et kig i krystalkuglen: Hvilke tendenser ser vi i DK? Hvad kommer der mere af? Og lur mig om disse to applikationer ikke er med næste gang, vi skal på turné, som repræsentanter for denne tendens. Jeg vil i øvrigt poste brugs-eksempler her på bloggen. For der findes allerede gode cases på den kommercielle brug af både Foursquare og Gowalla.

Mulighederne er mange – så brug dem.

[Via http://advertisingparadigm.wordpress.com]

Facebook to know your location

Location services will soon be implemented to probably the most popular social network today, Facebook. Or, in other words, you will be able to post your current location online when changing your status. This feature should become available to its users during the next few months.

Though a neat little feature, most profiting from it will be the users using their cellphone (or iPad?) to access Facebook. Others can probably do the same just typing the city name in their laptop.

[Via http://reviewedtutorials.wordpress.com]

Monday, March 8, 2010

Norman Rockwell-Perfect For His Time

 

Norman Rockwell Illustration on Gossip

Norman Rockwell…what can I say?  He was such a wonderful illustrator.  The way he illustrated life was genuine.  A whole story could be told in a single illustration without one word being written.  All you had to do was really look at the picture, and you could somehow relate to what he was trying to tell you through his art. He was perfect for his time.

I often wonder what he would be illustrating if he were still here and illustrating daily living today!  It would definitely not be the same!

Like the illustration he did of the girl getting ready for her prom. Instead of a girl looking innocently in a mirror,with her dress in hand, I picture a girl running off to a tanning salon, a nail salon, possibly sitting in a limo with friends.etc.  How would he illustrate that today?

Okay, cell phones!  I could picture him illustrating someone walking with a cell phone…better than that…shopping while talking on the cell phone!  Yes, can’t you picture this illustration-a person standing in a checkout line at the store, maybe the 12 items or less line, and he’s got the counter cluttered with grocery items (more than 12 obviously)and he’s holding up the line, completely oblivious to the fact of all the disgusted looks on  peoples faces in the background! Yes!  I’ve even experienced that one!

How about illustrating a woman putting on makeup while driving to work, I can definitely see that one.  Hey, I have seen that one…in person!

Or instead of an illustration of a child sitting there quietly reading his book, he’s  now being illustrated at the kitchen table or on his bed on his laptop!    How about a group of friends sitting around playing a war game on their huge, flat screen tv… all their eyes intent on the screen, snacks all around and arms flying every which way.

I can picture an illustration of guys watching the super bowl on television with fists and angry faces up to the tv!  Oh yes, with snacks and beer everywhere!  

It would definitely be a different world to illustrate today!  I’m just glad Norman Rockwell was here for the time he was meant to be here, even though his illustrations will continue to be popular in any time period. It’s nice to just thumb through his illustrations and see a less stressed and down- to- earth America and I’d like to remember his illustrations this way.

Now, can you picture what he would have done with this “gossip” illustration I posted here, if he were to illustrate something like this today?  I shudder at the thought…mmmm…cell phones, facebook, blue tooth…

I prefer not to think about it!

Thank you, Norman. We love you and I think we would all agree you were perfect for your time!

[Via http://cherylmcnulty.wordpress.com]

I Keep Promises

I said I would, and I did. But it wasn’t easy, something about Windows Movie Maker just didn’t like the aspect ratio of my clips and made my Zune look super skinny. I don’t want anorexic Zune HD.

I think the video is pretty good for a little chopped and trimmed production. It features two made-up Facebook peoples for privacy reasons, and their dialogue is pretty funny. At least I think so, cause I was the one who wrote it. The video basically goes through everything you can find in the Facebook app, which is not as much as the one on the iPod/iPhone, but it’s only version 1.0. More will come, mark my words.

This video also marks the launch of Three My Thought’s YouTube channel, which can be found here. I promise I will make it look nicer.

[Via http://threemythoughts.wordpress.com]

Friday, March 5, 2010

13 Reasons Social Media works

Good morning, Social Rabbit here with your guide to the world of social media.

13 reasons social media works is responding my the post 13 excuses for social media not working, I can’t really give you 13 excuses and let you loose on the world, so here are the responses with facts and figures to back it up, no more excuses people!

1) No Time…  All it takes is an hour a  day, as this article shows you how… 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening

2) Facebook fan pages don’t work for my industry.  Facebook pages are used by a huge number of different industries out there (I don’t want to say all, as I haven’t checked to be honest!).  There are case studies on Movie releases, Police stations, Charities, cafes, non-profits,  restaurants, pizza places, small businesses, it’s not just products, but services as well.  As a service you can promote special offers, position your business as an expert and use your fans as a mini focus group.

3) It’s a fad.  Nope, NO.  Facebook has been around since 2004, MySpace since 2003 and 6/7 years on they are still growing, as well as other social networks.  The advertising spend on TV and print is decreasing and companies are moving to online.  Groundswell blogs that social networks will be like ‘air’ in five years time.  It’s not going anywhere.

4) No one I know uses it.  This is hard to believe, 400 million people on Facebook globally and growing, LinkedIn has 60 million professionals on it.  People are using it in their personal life, and they ar using it to talk to companies.  Go and ask your clients/customers, I bet more than you think are using it.

5) My friend tried it and it didn’t work for their business.  Social media is not a shoe you try on and everyone loves it, you have to build it to suit your audience.  You need to look at your audience, how old they are, what they are interested in and use this info to engage them in your social media.  It is not a one size fits all approach, look at what has worked for similar businesses in your industry.

6) People where I live don’t use it.  Check out this link, it will show all the countries globally where people are using Facebook, and that is just one social network.  Unless you are living on the Moon it’s very very very unlikely that no one is using social media.  I have just checked and astronauts have been using Twitter on their space trips since 2007!  If you are interested here is their Facebook page.

7) I have no idea what to do.  This is a lazy excuse.  There is so much information on the internet you could read about it for weeks and still not get through it all.  Good starting points are looking at the Mashable website (also available as an iPhone app) and do a search for what you want, you can also find events on here.  Check out the Social Rabbit Facebook page, as there are resources on there.  I could talk about this for hours, but a good place to start is to ask someone, even Rabbit’s are friendly!

8) I will take too long to learn.  Easy answer – outsource it!  Obviously Social Rabbit can help, but there are also lots of people out there that specialise in social media.  Just talk to them about what they have achieved for previous clients, and maybe even chat to past clients before you jump in.

9) A Facebook page does not mean sales increase.  True, if all you do is create a page and wait for people to come along, because I can tell you right now that ain’t going to happen.  One page I have just started to work on – BodyBolster, has had 18 fans since June 2009, they hired Social Rabbit this week, and overnight we doubled their fans to 36.  The secret to this is actually talking about the page and  updating content!

10) Only geeks use Twitter.  OK, harsh I know, but it depends on your definition of geek, is Ashton Kutcher a geek (he has the largest number of followers on Twitter with 4.6 million),or what about Oprah with 3.2 million followers.  Or Dell computers making $3 million from sales directly related to Twitter, or Best Buy electronics store in the USA using it for customer service.  I would say Twitter users are clever enough to know where their audience are and to engage with them.

11) People in my industry are not computer literate.  It’ all about education, social media is like email was when it first started, it took while for everyone to get it but now people can’t imagine a world without it.

12) Who’s interested in us?  The world is changing, people want to deal with people, not faceless companies.  People like the reassurance that comes with knowing the people in the company – they want to connect with them.

13)  There’s no point changing how we communicate.  That’s fine, but your audience are moving into social media, so if you don’t look at it for your business you are going to miss the boat.  Think about how frustrating it is when a company you deal with doesn’t use a certain technology that would save you time, they probably said it’s just a fad, no point in changing, so what would you do?  Move to another company that offers what you want – You don’t want that to happen to you.

 Hopefully this has helped you understand why social media is such a ‘hot potato’ at the moment.  I would love to hear your thoughts, just click on the add a comment link below.

[Via http://larasolomon.wordpress.com]

the last day

 

okay it’s over and done.

well i did say what i had in mind since ysterday.

but then it felt completely awkward.

my face felt so hot (i think i was blushing).

and the general manager said nice things about me in his speech.

dier ckp aku gigih, hardworking, rajin bertanya bila tak tahu, and so on..

the truth is, when was i ever like that?

and how does he even know?

it’s not like he really is around when i was doing the real bad-ass work like a manly girl. (ha ha).

he wasn’t even on site when i was.

he wasn’t there when i was the only girl in the processing plant.

he wasn’t there when i was the only girl in the safety meeting.

so now that i’m finally on my last day of my 12 week/3months industrial attachment, i feel just a tad bit relieved. but a lot more terrified.

because the life AFTER is the one that’s gonna be even more mind-bogglingly challenging.

if life is a journey

then how long does it take to arrive

?

(and i wonder if that was ever a valid question).

i seem to be skipping lunch because i’m still full frm breakfast.

i can’t go crazy like ysterday and eat again (even whn i’m not hungry) because i’ll feel so full it’d bug me the whole day.

yesterday’s food-binging was awful.

and this morning was horrible.

my last day of working and i was so damn late it was nerve-wrecking.

i’ll be leaving with a co-worker today because i need to go for a housetour at her house. haha.

because i’m supposed to babysit her kid when she goes away for 16 days in about 2 weeks’ time.

oh

i can hear people laughing frm the pantry frm here at my table .

i’d love to go and join them while grabbing a bite, but i’m just not really in the mood for some mellow farewell conversation.. AGAIN.

because i’d feel like i don’t know what to say and end up sugar-coating EVERYTHING.

like i’m jst talking for the sake of keeping up appearances. and i hate that. i’d rather not speak.

but i did anyway.

and there goes nothing.

and the “add me in facebook” statement pops up AGAIN – frm the same person.

and of course, same answer: “i don’t facebook”.

so he tells me to add him in ym.

well

i don’t want to.

because i don’t like nice guys who are soo nice to evryone (even when that everyone isn’t the ONE that carries his ring on her finger).

i think that the roots of fidelity aren’t always so secure when there are possibilities of alternative outlets such as so-called HARMLESS friendship.

when it comes to that i don’t think anything is HARMLESS.

and so i guess this is where i draw the lines.

if you’re unavailable don’t make yourself so seemingly available.

just stick to your unavailability and stop acting that you’re not. unavailable.

don’t give people the wrong ideas and complicate the tangled web of misconceptions.

because you’re not allowed to get away with it, scott-free.

nothing is free.

please pay up with whatever dignity you have left.

[Via http://crystalights.wordpress.com]

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Ruby on Rails plugin for Facebook style selector

Awesome Selector (Ruby on Rails plugin)



For a recent project we needed to show list of users with some basic information and with multiple select options, just like  facebook friends selector for selecting friends, groups, projects etc…

This is generally a requirement in most of the social networking projects, with minor changes here and there.

So I decided to build a plug-in with some easy configuration options, which should work independent of the type of object to be shown in the list.

It’s a nice FB like user interface to select multiple elements. We can configure it easily by some parameters as described below.

The features I’d like to highlight are:
  1. FB like user interface.
  2. Word filter.
  3. Templates.
  4. Auto complete.
  5. Effortless integration and easy to customize.

For more information on setup and download click here

You just need to call the helper with required parameters, on the page where you want the list to be displayed <%=  awesome_selector  :objects => @users, :field_names => ["name","email"], :form_post_url => users_path, :template => "template_1", :auto_complete_field_name => "name", :image_url => "avatar_photo_url(:thumb)", :max_selection_limit => [5, 'Sorry, you can not select more users.'] %>

Currently there are two templates available ‘template_1′ and ‘template_2′. An example of the generated list is as follows:

template_1 template_2

After submitting the form, selected object ids are available as params[:selected_element_ids] separated by comma.

Thanks to the following for their kind contribution to the JS libraries used in this plugin.

  1. Autocomplete by Tomas Kirda
  2. jquery-filter-plugin by Kent Safranski

[Via http://sappsdreams.wordpress.com]

My mom has this way of making me think about things.

Like any college student would, I felt my heart drop a little bit when I got the notification on my iPhone: my mom had just added me as a friend on Facebook. Fortunately, I’m not stupid enough to advertise every minute detail of my life for the consumption of the Internet, so it wasn’t a matter of “oh no, mom’s going to see pictures of me from that school girl-themed frat party in freshmen year.” It was more of a, “what social life do my parents actually have that they’d need to interact on a social-networking site?” Of course, I couldn’t deny the friendship of my own mother, so I waited a couple hours and eventually confirmed the request.

I actually surprised myself with how not-embarrassing it was to see my mom in a domain that I’d typically reserved for college kids seeking a distraction. She’s always been a pretty cool mom, in her own right. I smiled looking at her pictures — shots of my dad, brother and dog (and of course, a few less-than-glamorous ones of me) — memories I haven’t visited in the bustle of my busy collegiate life.

From: http://myparentsjoinedfacebook.com/



I’ve never been one to truly accept the idea of the generation gap, until today. In my nightly phone call to my parents, my mom made a point that piqued my interest. “You go on Facebook and talk to all these people you just met. When I go on there, I’m coming across all these people from the past.” No huge breakthrough, I suppose. I guess it’s just something I’d never thought about. Of course, my stupid reporter instincts were like “Ma, you need to write a column about that or something.” I just find it so interesting to think about the way social media affects the 20-somethings compared to our 50-something parents. She told me that she’d found a few of my grandma’s cousins’ children. No one has heard from them in years. Talk about shrinking the size of the world through the Internet. I might take back those horrible things I said about that stupid series of tubes in my last post. Even I’ll admit, that’s pretty cool how connected we can be to each other (until it gets creepy, of course).

Oh, and of course, a few hours later, I get the friend request from my dad. My brother refuses to add him, but how could I say no? These people changed my diapers and helped me through every single life crisis of the last 22 years. I couldn’t possibly reject that.

So here’s to the people who love us the most, regardless of what our “Jobs/Education” and “Relationship Status” sections say.

[Via http://jencalantone.wordpress.com]

Monday, March 1, 2010

Become a Fan of MODA on Facebook!

Are you on Facebook? Do you love brand new luxury retail and residential buildings? Become a fan of MODA on Facebook! With approximately 45,000 square feet of retail space and 346 apartments, MODA sits in the heart of Jamaica, Queens at 89-14 Parsons Boulevard. The property has easy access to several transportation options, a 500-space underground parking garage, and is neighbored by national and international retailers like The Home Depot, Old Navy, and Walgreens.

King Polo/Associated Supermarkets has already signed onto the project as an anchor of the building, but there is still room for your restaurant, daycare center, nail salon, or other retail use! Hurry and call 212-213-6480 while there’s still space available. In the mean time, log onto your Facebook page and become a fan of this amazing new development.

-Caitlin

[Via http://besenretail.wordpress.com]

Facebook Statistics Will WOW You

Ever wonder how many people are on Facebook?

Facebook does a great job of posting their Stats.

Here’s their current stats:

Facebook Statistics

Company Figures

  • More than 400 million active users
  • 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
  • More than 35 million users update their status each day
  • More than 60 million status updates posted each day
  • More than 3 billion photos uploaded to the site each month
  • More than 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each week
  • More than 3.5 million events created each month
  • More than 3 million active Pages on Facebook
  • More than 1.5 million local businesses have active Pages on Facebook
  • More than 20 million people become fans of Pages each day
  • Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans

Average User Figures

  • Average user has 130 friends on the site
  • Average user sends 8 friend requests per month
  • Average user spends more than 55 minutes per day on Facebook
  • Average user clicks the Like button on 9 pieces of content each month
  • Average user writes 25 comments on Facebook content each month
  • Average user becomes a fan of 4 Pages each month
  • Average user is invited to 3 events per month
  • Average user is a member of 13 groups

International Growth

  • More than 70 translations available on the site
  • About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States
  • Over 300,000 users helped translate the site through the translations application

Platform

  • More than one million developers and entrepreneurs from more than 180 countries
  • Every month, more than 70% of Facebook users engage with Platform applications
  • More than 500,000 active applications currently on Facebook Platform
  • More than 250 applications have more than one million monthly active users
  • More than 80,000 websites have implemented Facebook Connect since its general availability in December 2008
  • More than 60 million Facebook users engage with Facebook Connect on external websites every month
  • Two-thirds of comScore’s U.S. Top 100 websites and half of comScore’s Global Top 100 websites have implemented Facebook Connect

Mobile

  • There are more than 100 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices.
  • People that use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice more active on Facebook than non-mobile users.
  • There are more than 200 mobile operators in 60 countries working to deploy and promote Facebook mobile products

[Via http://marketingwatchwithkimberly.com]