The Rising Culture Of Startups- Are You With It?

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Growing economy with startupAs stated by Paul Graham on his site “Startup=Growth” which means if there is no growth for an enterprise venture it is not a startup! So, startups are always good for personal as well as National growth.

Definition of startup

As stated in this source, startup is- “Early stage in the life cycle of an enterprise where the entrepreneur moves from the idea stage to securing financing, laying down the basis structure of the business, and initiating operations or trading”.

In another , Steve Blank states as- “A startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model”.

Some argue that startup is just confined to starting something in the technological field and others think it should be more inclusive. Whatever be the definition, many employees find ways to kick their boss in the a*s and get self-employed and love the word “entrepreneur” on their profile!

The question is- why people are getting so much obsessed with this startup culture? Is is just about money or is there more to it?

Why are people going ga-ga over start-ups?

  1. People think of startup as it gives them the creative freedom. A startup begins with a great idea and grows without leaps and bounds not only making huge business and money but also bringing in entrepreneurial satisfaction.
  2. People also get into this new culture purely for money. If things go right and the atartup business clicks it is likely that an established company will acquire it either to kill the competition or to make more business out of it. Thus you will earn a huge lump sum and also the required fame for your next atartup! Yes once you are in this culture you will follow the chain reaction and end up starting, owning and selling companies to companies.
  3. Do you have a dream job but do not know how to find it? Then a good option is to go for a startup. Here’s why? You are starting an enterprise which will give you your dream job, you are the owner of this business, you are the terms setter, you are the profit owner, meanwhile you are also making monitory benefits out of your aptitude, interest and hobby (may be!).

Is this culture disrupting the economy or helping it grow?

  1. Looking at the employment opportunities created by start-ups things look positive for sure. Directly or indirectly most of the start-ups once getting into the growth arena hire employees helping in bringing down the unemployment rate. For example: Facebook which was once a startup is now a family of 4,331 employees at the end of September 30, 2012 as disclosed by the Facebook newsroom. Apart from this direct employment it has created jobs for apps designers and business co-ordinates in-addition to small businesses worldwide making their living virtually through fan pages!
  2. Startups also contribute to the economy of the country through public stakes and keep going even during recession. Most of these start-ups grow like mushrooms during the down time of economy and surprisingly make good companies in future! In-fact according to Justin Moore, CEO of Axcient, startups aid in economic recovery.

Continuing this argument that the startup legends have started let us put in our thoughts on why startups are essential and how they contribute to the economy. Now is your turn…

iPad Vs Surface- Is The Surface Tablet A First Real Threat To iPad?

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Microsoft Surface versus Apple iPadApple has almost swallowed the tablet world with its iPad. iPad has all the incredible features any tablet can ever offer to its users. It gives the most incredible experience and reliability any tablet freak may ever expect. Yet, iPad is more a luxury to invest with little ability of using it for productive work. You can browse, play, use social media, network and do business with 3G/4G connectivity and indulge in fun. If this is what you are going to use an iPad then by all means you can invest in it.

The Apple’s iPad USPs are:

  1. Universal compatibility with other ios devices.
  2. It’s all about apps. With an awesome dev support system the huge apps market on itunes brings in quality tested apps to the end users.
  3. No USB port or hardware connecting alternatives and hence no risk of virus infection.
  4. The retina display of iPad kills its competitors!
  5. Though expensive it gives value for money.

iPad is mostly suitable for content absorption and entertainment which can hardly be used for productive purpose; where as in a Surface tab absorption as well as production is highly possible. Really I even struggle to type an article on my iPad with so little space for ten fingers on the screen to move. A light key pad would come in handy any time. With a built-in CPU, Surface is a tablet computer and the real work for real working freaks is really possible!

The Microsoft’s surface USPs are:

  1. Surface is definitely going to be a hit with people who love working on laptops over tablets (anyways working on tablet is a challenge!). It is a touch screen tablet which can be easily converted to a laptop computer making it a workaholic friend on the go.
  2. Surface makes it easy for people who do not like to carry two devices (MacBook air and iPad).
  3. It has USB ports for external hardware connectivity.
  4. Fully loaded with office 2013 which I guess people would love to use.

However, the apps store does not look very attractive for the developers. Less number of quality apps may keep people wondering on the investment. The battery life may be a little disappointing factor if you really need to worry! Screen resolution is not very great either. But as for most of the first generation devices there are some loop holes (if I may call them so) for sure. But the OS Windows RT on surface tablet ought to do its bit in impressing the users.

You have a full-fledged touch screen mobile device i.e. iPhone 5 which also has bigger screen than its ancestor iPhone 4, then why invest in a tablet like iPad 3 or mini again! Macbook-Air falls in the league of lightest laptops which is bulkier as compared to surface. Ultimately the better option would be to consider buying a tablet come laptop i.e. Surface. Still better I would watch out for the surface-pro which is yet to be released! Surface Pro please take my money but limit it to $1000 or below!!!

Unless you have all the bucks to invest in a touchscreen phone, a tablet, a laptop and desktop it’s anytime a good idea to look for a device loaded with most of the hardware and software features of these devices.

Taking on and beating a company is another thing when the real question about usability, affordability, mobility or luxury arises. Which one are you planning to buy or think is a good investment?

5 Questions Answered On Which Gadget To Buy This Festive Season iPhone 5, iPad mini or Microsoft surface?

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November and December are the months when people across globe celebrate festivals and make merry by buying electronics either for personal use or to gift to their loved ones. Since the market at present is flooded with endless goods and gadgets making a choice becomes very difficult. The brand, cost, features, operating system, usability and the purpose of buying such devices are all accountable to making the best possible decision. You have multipurpose smart phones, tablets, budget tablets, and OS specific gadgets to choose from (let’s leave laptops alone as of now!).

Here is a simple list of selected gadgets you might want to consider for your next buy followed by some guidelines on how to make your decision in the form of questions and answers:

  1. Apple’s – iPhone 5, iPad 3 and  iPad Mini
  2. Google’s- Endless Android mobile phones and  Nexus 7 Tablet
  3. Amazon’s- Kindle Fire HD
  4. Samsung’s- Galaxy Series Mobile Phones, Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Note
  5. Omnia’s W Phone
  6. Microsoft’s- Windows 8 Mobile Phones and Microsoft Surface
  7. Motorola’s- Xoom and Razr XT910 Phone
  8. Nokia’s- Lumia 800, E6 and 808 Pure View Phones
  9. Acer’s- Iconia Tab
  10. HTC’s- One X, Radar and One S Phones
  11. LG’s- Optimus 4X HD
  12. Sony’s- Tablet S
  13. Xperia S and Xperia Go Phones
  14. Black Berry’s- iberry Auxus AX02, Playbook Tablet and Bold Touch 9900
  15. Asus’s- Eee Pad Transformer TF101G and Eee Pad Slider

You have to keep several factors in mind or else you will end up buying on of the most useless gadgets of all time. It’s time to mind map and find answers to some of the common questions, here we go.

Q1- So the first question that arises is- Who is the big-boss of them all?
Is it Apple, Google, Amazon, Samsung, Microsoft, Acer, Sony or Motorola?

A-  As far as I believe, there is no such big-boss or maybe there is one! But that does not really matter. The best might not be the right fit for you. Yes, I mean it. The best of them all might be offering the most aspired device but that might actually be of little use for you and your needs.

Whether you are considering buying a product from one of these companies to fulfil your professional needs or you are buying one from a brand just for fun is what matters. Your needs must be in-line with the features offered by the device and the price you are paying for the gadget. More over it must be affordable for you and so you must literally try to get more for as little money as possible when it comes to economical buy!

Hence, all the guys mentioned above have something nice to offer in the range for what you are looking for. The ball is in your court now.

Q2- Which touch screen gadget serves you the best and add value to your money?

A-  First of all decide and be clear of what type of gadget you are interested in i.e. a smart phone or a tablet computer or a luxury touch screen device. For example- A smart phone with touch screen loaded with reasonable OS can be your best bet over choosing a tablet if you are looking for a gadget that meets your phone requirements as well as assist you with rich features like navigation, gaming, 3G accessibility, among other features you are looking for. You are getting everything you are aspiring to buy, you are getting all of them in one device and also you are paying little less than what you might pay for unwanted features by choosing a tablet against your requirements.

Q3- Which hardware and Operating System should I choose?

A-  There are two aspects of choosing the modern day’s touch screen devices. One is the hardware i.e. which handset or tablet brand should you go for and the other is the software namely the Operating System i.e. iOS, Android or Windows 8. iOS is specific to Apple devices only i.e. if you want iOS operating System then you ought go for Apple’s hardware. Whereas if you choose to buy devices with Android OS then you will have a range of choices as far as the hardware brand is concerned. Google, Samsung, HTC, etc all have smart phones and tablets with Android OS. Same is the case with Microsoft’s new Windows 8 OS.

Therefore it becomes crucial to decide on which Operating System you would like to go with so that you can choose the hardware wisely.

Q4- Are you buying a device for your personal use or for a small company that you run or for your family?

A-  Be very clear about whom is this device meant for and what age group people would be using the gadget. For example: Your tablet will perhaps be used by your wife and your kids if your option is to buy a tablet for your family. Kids these days are smart and even toddlers are not to be taken lightly when it comes to using touch screen gadgets. You are using it for fun and work, your wife would use it to browse the internet and play and your children would use it for education purpose and gaming.

So, the versatility and usability becomes the important part of your list of must have features. Likewise may be you need more prolific features if the device is meant for your personal use to meet your professional needs or something versatile would suit if the gadget is meant to be used by more than one person.

Q5- Finally, what is your budget?

A-  You have a list of features that a gadget must have for you to buy it but you have so little money to spend or you just don’t give a damn to how much it costs but you need the best you can get or maybe you are ready to stretch and your budget is flexible but are looking for something that adds value to your money. Whatever be your budget, the good news is most of you can own one device that fits you the best. Just be sure of how much you are ready to spend and what do you want for that much of money. It is also important to be ready with a list of things you may agree to compromise if need be so that you end up buying a device for the money you have.

Take an informed decision and be responsible for what you have decided. Whether you are paying less or more the truth is you are anyway paying a price. If you go for an economical gadget you may compromise on the product quality or features and if you are buying it for more money that’s it you have already paid a price with your bucks!

Do you have more tips to share, we are eager to hear them from you. Drop your tips and queries.

Getting up-close and personal with Twitter Header for business!

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The magic of 1200X600 size header image is going to rule the social media at-least for sometime from now, I am talking about the new feature added to the twitter profile design i.e. a header image. It might just mean fun for many tweeples but it is little more for people doing business on twitter and for those who rely on twitter for earning their part of living!

Following the tradition of cover photo started by Facebook and then Google+, now Twitter too feels “you have more to show”! Of course, who doesn’t like adding a dash of image to present the dish of profile in a customized plate of feed to their prospects and costumers?

Here are the two big reasons why brands and businesses should quickly grab this opportunity and update their profiles with a customized header image:

1. Header image gives you the way to show what you have to serve. As always said, picture speaks a thousand words; a right header can convey the message thoughtfully and attract many more followers giving them a professional impression about your brand and business. More followers means more advertising and hence more business!

2. The twitter header image can be used more effectively as compared to Facebook’s cover photo. Here are few differences:

  • The size of Facebook cover photo is more spacious, panoramic and center of attraction.
  • Whereas twitter’s header image has no pleasing size with little space as compared to Facebook’s cover photo and yet, twitter image has all the possibilities to rock.
  • Really, size doesn’t matter. Facebook has legal restrictions on what you can display on your cover photo and what you cannot. For example: you can not write you website address, you cannot ask people to like with an arrow pointing to the like button or you cannot display your business offers like 30% off, etc.
  • Whereas twitter header image can be anything and everything that you want it to be. You are free to promote your products, offers and any stuff, you are also free to include call for action like follow with an arrow, you can disclose offers or contact information, you can give links to your site or just do anything, its truly your space

If you are a web designer or make your living by selling your graphic designs then it’s time to pull your pants and get ready to sweep the twitter header designing assignments that might come your way. Twitter has become a huge business marketing media and with that every small and big brands want to give best to make their presence felt. Like twitter background was in news and designers had chance to make business out of it, header images are slowly gaining their pace demanding professional designs.

Here are few examples   , and  to gain some inspiration and get started with your header image design strategy! You can even help yourself to fix any dimensions related queries by just downloading the twitter header template, click here to download.

Adding header image just takes few moments:

1. Login to your twitter profile and click on Me.

Twitter header-1

2. Click on Edit your profile.

Twitter header-2

3. Choose Design option in the left menu.

Twitter header-3

 4. Scroll down and you will see ‘Change Header‘ button, click it.

Twitter header-4

 5. Choose the photo/background image you wish to upload and save.

Twitter header-5

6. You will be greeted with the message “Your header was published successfully“, that’s it.

Twitter also known as microblog now literally gives you the feel of a blog with its header image and the details like Tweets, Following, Followers which represents tabs on the menu (!) as every blog has its header and menu, don’t you feel so?

What I see in twitter header image is the huge potential to make wise marketing strategies for small and large businesses. Have you switched to new header image profile yet? We would love to get a glimpse of it. You are free to drop in your twitter handle so we could see more inspiring media messages.

Importance Of Disaster Management In Cloud Computing Technology

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Lot has been said and discussed about how cloud computing technology can be a boon when it comes to disaster management. But, I see there is no much discussion going on about how can disaster hit even the remote servers or hardware platforms and how can it be managed. After all clouds are responsible for thunder and lightning; they too disappear after the rain!

Best examples are 9/11 and Japan’s Tsunami 2011 which were the greatest examples of recent times man-made disaster and nature thrown disaster. It’s interesting to know that cloud computing itself is the solution for businesses and companies to manage disaster but then disaster can hit even harder to cloud resources and ruin multiple businesses all at once if proper backup and disaster recovery measures are not taken. Here’s what can be done:

  1. It is excellent to find a cloud computing company who can offer first hand backup plans for their clients. It is a good move to invest and collaborate with such companies even if it means paying little extra bucks for quality and assured back up options.
  2. The other option would be to invest with a second cloud computing for minimum resources so that you keep your backup data updated frequently so as not to miss any of your data in case if you have to recover from an uninvited disaster taking place with your first cloud services company.
  3. Apart from relying and engaging cloud resources you should maintain critical data like your stake holders associated with different clouds, your in-house employees whom you can trust when in disaster for added value to recovery process, etc in your private resources to come handy when in cloud crisis.
  4. Additionally your PR department employees and customer service personnel should be good enough and trained well before hand to handle media hazels and customers nerves!
  5. Costumers are believed to be Gods in disguise! Once if your costumers are turned off due to any of your clouds failure or if you cannot recover early from a disaster then you may have to forget your business. Have more than one ways to reach your customers and keep them informed of your crises and what is being done about it. Surely, social media is a great weapon that can be used to reach masses in less time.
  6. Your associates, investors and partners have all the rights to get first hand information about cloud failures or any disasters. Maintain valuable database with quaint essential contact information so as to alert any crises or calamities.

So initially it might look like it is a little too much to invest and manage for recovery and backup processes but only that can help you stay calm and contained while in disaster. Clouds have failed many times before and still they bet a chance to fail again! Cloud computing is no doubt a trending business choice to save funds and get work done remotely and this is why companies like Syntax has managed it so effectively. But still this technology stands a fair chance to put you in disaster like any other technologies can do.

What do you think? How important it is to plan for disaster management for the technology which itself is used for disaster management?

Why is Social Media Optimization so important?

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Internet is no more a luxury once it used to be; it has become the means for many people on this planet to earn their bread and living. Some are even making handsome money by working from home and being their own boss. With the increase in web users’ population, internet has seen many revolutionary changes.

First came the revolution of search engines thanks to daddy ‘Google’! Then came the social media and social networking sites, thanks to ‘Facebook’(the biggest of them all!). Now, there is no more a definite distinction between offline and online businesses as the two have been merged by many small and big brands; all thanks to social media.

It has become important for everybody on web to make their presence felt by beating others in the same genre. Thus came the concept of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and everybody were in the battle field trying to optimize their sites, content and products sources so that they were ranked better by search engines. To this date, SEO best practices are being followed by webmasters and companies.

Promotion is always a necessary evil to businesses. Promoting products and stuff by paying for advertising or by word of mouth i.e. the free publicity is all good for business. This means you want people to spread the word and social sites are here to make it happen. As always you need to do your bit to make that happen, tada- SMO (Social Media Optimization) jumps into the picture.

What is SMO?

Social Media Optimization is the process of making your content reach as many people by means of social media. This process of publicity or advertising on social media is done by two ways:

  1. Making your content easily sharable by giving the right options to share in the right places of your business sites. For example: Adding Twitter share button to your content will make it possible for people to easily share your content to their followers.
  2. By providing number of options on your site to connect with you on various social media so as to easily reach your followers and people directly with your content. For example: Your facebook fans get your updates directly in their timeline so must be able to allow people to easily like your fan page by giving them a visible link on your site.

To make it precise, SMO is nothing but making your content easily sharable!

Types of social media that many businesses are making part of their marketing campaign

  •     Social Networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, etc.
  •     Social News and bookmarking sites like Digg, Reddit, etc.
  •     Blogs like wordpress, blogspot or dot com, etc.
  •     Wikis, Magazines and Article submission sites like WikiHow, WikiPedia, EZine, etc.
  •     Videos
  •     Content creations through sideshows, etc.
  •     Podcasts
  •     Forums
  •     RSS Feeds
  •     Email and Instant messaging
  •     Photo sharing sites like Flicker, Picassa Web, etc.

Why is SMO important for businesses?

Assuming you know the importance of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), I begin to share my views on how important it is to start SMO for better business.

SMO is different from SEO and yet it is an integral part of SEO.

As search engines are increasingly utilizing the information (recommendations by users which is believed to be non-profit and honest recommendation!) on social media like Google Plus, Facebook, etc to rank the site and pages. The more you reach your audience through social media the better SEO advantage you get by the way of social search.

Not to mention other advantages like:

  1.      increase in your sales as you reach more potential audience,
  2.      increase in traffic to your blogs or sites by which you can make more money,
  3.     increase in social networking and contacts which may open up more business in future,
  4.     it has great marketing and brand building advantages,
  5.     builds live customer relationships and allows to address any issues thereby gaining the reputation for customer satisfaction,
  6.     an excellent way to make any announcements directly to your customers and followers,
  7.     the stronger the fan base for you the better social influencer you are considered,
  8.     the huge fan following you build, the more likes and votes you get it implies the more trusted you are on web!
  9.     your strong online presence means more business offline.

With so many advantages at hand there is no doubt why big brands and individuals are buying sponsored reviews for their products, sponsored tweets to spread the word, etc. SMO is also an important part and strategy for Online Reputation Management (ORM) and also you can to some extent measure Return On Engagement (ROI). Therefore, make your content easily sharable and also make your presence on social media so people can connect with you for more content.

Just a Tip: There is no way out to beat the great content people always want to share. Content is king and it will always be so no matter what. So create great content and amazing products so that your prospects and potential customers are instigated not only to buy or invest in you but also recommend the same to their friends and followers by sharing it.

Are you Social Media Optimized? Share more tips with us.

10 Things What Not To Do On Twitter

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Twitter-Funny-Images
What not to do on twitter?

Twitter is an amazing stress buster for some and it is the most effective business and marketing tool for others. This microblog which allows you to tweet your thoughts in 140 characters looks clean and simple. People learn about what can be done and how it needs to be done. But just like everywhere else in this world, twitter is bound by it’s own etiquette. It’s not enough to know ‘what to do with your twitter account’, it is equally important to know ‘what not to do on twitter’?

10) Do you Tweet every moment of your day:

       7:00 a.m.  What a lovely sunny day? Good morning

       7:01 a.m.   I am in loo with iPad in hand!

           .

           .

      12:30p.m.  Lunch looks good, I love my meat!!! Here is the pic…

          .

          .

     11.00p.m    I am dead, off to bed!

We all know that. Each one of us on this earth or atleast people on twitter do the same through out the day. Eat, sleep and pass! Why do you think other person is interested in knowing stuff like this?

9) What’s that #junk filled #jargon of #tweets with all the #possible and #impossible #hashtags in a #single tweet???

Hashtags and trending topics on twitter are important notes to be hit to make your tweets visible and come alive to the audience outside your list of followers. This will help you gain more friends (!) on twitter. But, you cannot just ask your current followers to jump into the ocean of hashtags and swim against the current of trending topics. They will just ignore your tweet or worse click the unfollow button against your twitter handle.

Using hashtags wisely and effectively is the key to success. Relevant and important two hashtags per tweet is fine, so relax!

8) The oh so desperate tweets begging to follow all live on twitter!

@YouKnowMe @YouDoNotKnowMe please follow me!

Stop being a desperate kid asking for Halloween candies! Prove yourself, be creative and bring some waves to catch the attention. People wants to follow interesting people and tweets with stuff.

7) RT if you agree tweets are yet another way of begging for ‘please I want followers so retweet mine’!

“Ain’t the politics sucking, RT if you agree?”

 If your tweets are irresistible then your followers will automatically retweet them, so chill.

6) Found fun tweets in your feed which says- “@#&ing and **(^ing with blah blah….LOL” or loved a quote in your feed?

Wait, think before hitting retweet. This may be fun for you but the same may be disgusting for your followers especially if you are trying to build followers for your business or for the sake of some strategy. Always tweet and retweet what interests your audience (followers) not the ones that inspires.

5) Amazingly annoying tweets are the ones that are sequels and carry the story for 2, 3 …. tweets!

 @IamIdiot I have a lot to say and I want to say it all on twitter…..

 @IamInsane …. but the twitter is not allowing me to complete my words….

 @KillMe …. it says the maximum limit to number of characters is 140…..

 @spareme …. omg, I need to take a restroom break but will continue once I am back….

 @OMG….. but I am not done yet……

Wow! This is amazing, isn’t it? Twitter is specifically designed to convey the message in short and you are trying to write blog posts on it! I think you need to sign up for tumblr and try writing your heart’s content on it! All the best.

4) Etiquette is everywhere, so don’t be under the notion that twitter is different. One such is Followback etiquette.

Are you one of those who follow people only with a hope that they might follow you back? Or, you follow back people only because you think they might unfollow you if you do not follow them? Then don’t worry you are not alone who do so to get or retain followers. Following back people is like an old and traditional etiquette of twitter. Many individuals and even big brands and companies do the same. But believe me, this is not really going to help you.

You may take pride in looking at the figure against the word followers on your profile but then that is the only false advantage you will get out of it. I have tried doing it but soon realized I was just another fool among others! The moment I unfollowed all the possible followees, I lost as many as 80 followers in hardly 10mins! Such followers are not at all interested in what you have to say, sell or give them.

Stop yelling at people through direct messages for not following back. Rather try and be interesting so that people are forced not just to follow you but also listen and act to your tweets.

3) Integrating social media with one another has become a need for many social media experts, PR personals and niche people.

Facebook integration for automated updates of tweets on your facebook profile or fan page is little tricky and at times becomes messy!

While you have an option to update your profile status with your tweet automatically by doing the needful, you may however screw it up if undone with appropriate reasons and methods. You may have followers who follow you both on twitter and facebook. By integrating the two medias you are providing them duplicates for every tweets. However, if you feel the need to save time and you think your audience will appreciate then go ahead and do it the right way!

2) Without a complete profile on twitter you are nowhere! Never under do your profile.

Whenever people come across your twitter account they are interested in knowing about you, your whereabouts and what-abouts. So tell them and let them decide if they want to follow you or not. Let them relate to your business or affiliates. Let them know if you interests and theirs match or not. Make the right connections through your complete profile for the right benefits.

1) Beware, Dogs on board! Never react or entertain them.

Like a place elsewhere on road and internet there are dogs everywhere always waiting for that one opportunity when you might fall prey for their bullying! Spam, hoaxe and automatic bolts are active and alive in your direct message boxes. This one is recent where you see a message saying “OMG, what do you think you are doing in this video —link—?”

Are you on your toes to click and see your video? Then hold on. It’s a spam and the moment you click on it, your followers would have received the same message in their direct boxes which is sent by you!!! Care the least when you are public on medias like this so that you save your reputation with your followers by not spamming them knowingly or unknowingly. Also, retweeting rumors is one of the biggest mistakes you may do on twitter.

Do you have more to add to the list of things not to do on twitter? Let us know your good and bad experiences.

How to interconnect your various social media profiles

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How to Interconnect different social media profiles and get them dancing to your tunes!

If you are into business or an addict to social media or simply believe in keeping your various social media profile followers updated all the time then you must do it smartly. To keep your fans and followers on all of your media profiles engaged and updated you must know one simple trick and that is interconnecting your profiles. Who can know the fact better than you that ‘time is money’ and you just cannot afford to flock from one profile to another and write the same status message each and every time.

There are 100s of social media sites out on the web and it is highly impossible to be active on all of these sites. However, what can be done is automate the updates or interrelate different profiles together only to sit back and concentrate on creating stuff and not invest most of the time marketing the stuff.

Every successful company or a business owner or a blogger would at least have five to six social media profiles of which most common are Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, LinkedIn, etc wanting to be served with freshly brewed cup of updates.  Be it the updates about new launches, events, offers, or simply new blog posts or fun content.

Here are few easy to set up steps for you to win over the social media.

Twitter Settings:

Display your tweets on Facebook timeline automatically.

  1. Login to your Twitter profile (or sing up if you do not have one!).
  2. Click on the mini human icon in the upper right corner to get a drop down menu.
  3. Now click on settings.
  4. You get a list of options on the left hand side. Click on Profile tab.
  5. In the right column of the page displayed, you will get an option Facebook as your last setting on the page. Click on ‘Sign-in to Facebook and connect your accounts’ tab.
  6. A window pops up and you are asked to sign-in to your Facebook account.
  7. You can select one or both the check boxes to post your tweets to Facebook wall and/or Facebook fan page. If you have multiple pages then you may have to choose the one  on which you want the tweets to be posted.
  8. Hit the Save Changes tab and you will see your tweets automatically being updated on your Facebook.

Pinterest:

Post your pin descriptions on your twitter timeline automatically.

There are no settings required to be done on Pinterest as you are given a choice to post on twitter every time you pin something on your wall.  You must be able to see a check box with twitter option on every pin at the bottom right corner of the pinning box. Check it and you will see your pin on twitter and therefore on Facebook (Remember in the above twitter settings you have done a great job of automatically posting tweets on Facebook).

Tumblr:

Integrate Facebook and Twitter into Tumblr.

Option 1: Update your Facebook profile status and/or fan page via Tumblr.TLogin to your tumblr profile.

  1. Click on the settings icon.
  2. Click on your Tumblr blog name which is the last option in the list displayed towards left side.
  3. Scroll down and you will find two social media options namely:
  • Facebook: Check the box ‘Share posts on your timeline’. Make sure to select the right option in the drop down menu to share on your Facebook profile or one of your Facebook fan pages.
  • Twitter: Check the box ‘Share posts on your timeline’. Sign in by clicking the button and authorize the application.

You are done. Scroll down and click on Save button. Again beware of posting multiple updates of same posts through twitter and tumblr on Facebook!

Option 2: Display your tweets in the header of your Tumblr blog.

  1. Repeat the steps 1 to 3 in Option 1.
  2. Click on Customize button under the option theme.
  3. You will get your current theme along with all the options related to the theme in the left block.
  4. Search for the option Appearance and click to get a menu.
  5. Check the box ‘Show twitter feeds’.
  6. Click Save button on top left corner.

You are ready to show your one latest tweet to your Tumblr followers.

LinkedIn:

Post your tweets to LinkedIn profile.

  1. Getting your tweets posted in your LinkedIn  timeline is as easy as rest of the above media.
  2. To get started, login to your LinkedIn profile.
  3. Hover the curser over your name in the top right corner.
  4. Click on settings.
  5. Click on profile option.
  6. Under the settings tab, click on ‘manage your twitter settings’.
  7. In the pop-up box, add your twitter account and save the settings.

All this sounds cool and practical isn’t it? But here is a word of caution. The automation and integration can be easy to use but it also easy to spam your followers and fans by repeatedly sending the same updates through two or more social sites.  Before falling prey to this awesome feature of interconnecting media, watch out and better come up with a flowchart to stay away from any confusion!

How have you been using this time-saving concept? Do share your tips to stay away from spamming.

The battle of tech giants Apple and Samsung on Patent; who won, Nokia or Microsoft?

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The two titans of tech world Apple and Samsung have been battling in courts worldwide over the violation of Apple’s patent and that Samsung has used the technology or ideas of Apple in various devices illegally.

Who won the battle and what are the consequences: 

  1. One of the Tokyo courts dismissed the Apple Inc’s claim on Samsung of its Patent infringement.

    Nokia phone with windows OS
  2. The world’s largest maker of phones, Samsung Electronics Co. Of South Korea, welcomed the decision of Tokyo District court.
  3. The fine of $1 billion was echoed in the court room of USA against Samsung. Following this was a rumor which went viral on social sites that Samsung tried to pay $1 billion fine to Apple by sending 30 trucks of 5-cent coins and that Samsung said it is how they are going to pay the fine! That’s funny but it was really not true. The court in USA questioned the company about the innovation or labelled Samsung to be an imitator!
  4. Apple’s win over Samsung brain teased Google and there might be problems for Google’s Android. Samsung uses Android OS for Galaxy series of smart phones. Also, Samsung failed to prove its point that Apple infringed on some of its essential patents which could in turn be cause for worry to Google! Does this mean Windows 8 would be the preferred OS for upcoming handsets over Android which is a kind of mimic of IOS?
  5. Since the launch of Galaxy S3 handsets in May 2012, more than 10 million sales have been reported. Apple has added this Samsung’s best selling device along with 21 other gadgets to the list saying they infringe Apple’s patents and seeks ban on sales of these devices.
  6. Samsung hit back at Apple in South Korea with 10 patent infringements. Samsung won over two patents in home turf, Seoul court, South Korea. But Samsung was also hit as it lost on one of design patent resulting in various gadgets of both the companies being banned from selling in the country.

Who might be getting the advantage of this battle?

The share market started seeing some ups and downs. Samsung’s and Google’s shares fluctuated where as Nokia’s, Apple’s stock and Microsoft’s shares are reasonably doing well after the USA court verdict.

Advantage Microsoft and Nokia! Apple revealed in a court case that it has licensed some of its technologies to Microsoft. Apple’s lawyers also showed pictures of Nokia Lumia as an example of how a phone is distinct which runs on Windows 7. Apple is also trying its hands against two other Android based mobile companies Motorola owned by Google (another problem for Google) and HTC. The verdict in USA in favor of Apple Inc can empower them to file more such lawsuits against Samsung thereby making a proxy war against Android (Google). Microsoft would be hugely benefited and Windows 8 would be able to see a new high on success.

After Nokia won the lawsuit against Apple Inc on patent infringement years back, Apple had to pay an undisclosed lump sum and royalties to Nokia. Nokia clearly emerged as winner as every Apple device sold would in turn benefit Nokia.

The best example of winning device is Nokia Lumia where Nokia mobile technology and Windows OS come together for user satisfaction.

What do you think? Nokia was hugely benefited or Windows will be taking the advantage in future!