Tag: Social Media

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Reviews

Metro Styled Twitter Client for Windows – MetroTwit

Metro style tiles are catching a lot of attention, thanks to the Windows 8 adopting it so whole-heartedly. One service which can really work well with tiles is Twitter. Lists in the form of columns is a natural way of organization for almost every desktop client for Twitter. MetroTwit also takes advantage of that format.

Metro_Twit

MetroTwit Features

  • The twitter client requires runs on Windows but requires .net 4.0 framework. Read this post on how to go about downloading Microsoft .Net 4.0 Framework.
  • The lists can be added to show up as tiles which can be moved around easily.
  • Alerts showing up on the desktop can also be extensively tweaked by allowing only tweets from a particular list showing up.
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I like using TweetDeck which is based on HTML5 but MetroTwit seemed interesting enough for me to try it for a day. I would have swapped it for TweetDeck, except it does not have the option of using multiple Twitter accounts and no option of scheduling tweets.

If you have Windows 7, do try out MetroTwit and drop in your views in comments.

Link: MetroTwit

Related: Use Twinbow to manage Twitter with a color-coded strategy

Categories
News

Facebook Timeline not supported by Internet Explorer 7

The latest profile design update by Facebook was Facebook Timeline profiles. It has a good user interface but a confusing design. You can use these profiles with Firefox, Chrome or even with Internet Explorer 9.0. But unfortunately these Timeline profiles are not supported by Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 which is an older version of I.E.

Well if you are using Internet Explorer 7.0 (just in case) and want to use Timeline profile then you have to upgrade your browser. If you activate Timeline in IE 7.0 then it will be activated and anyone on Facebook can see your Timeline profile except you and those who are using IE 7.0.

Hate Timeline? In that case a solution for you is to downgrade your browser to I.E 7.0 or simply install IE 7.0 with your regular browser. That way you can continue using your old Facebook profile layout as there’s no other option of switching back to normal profile once you activate Timeline.

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Tips

How to hide updates from a particular friend in Facebook Ticker

Facebook Ticker, a feature that was launched in second half of 2011 shows you Facebook news feed updates in real-time on your sidebar. It’s a good way of staying updated with what your friends are up to on Facebook as it gets refreshed quickly. But if you have too many friends on Facebook then this Ticker starts flooding your sidebar with so many updates and most of them might not be useful for you. Let’s see how you can hide Ticker updates of some friends and continue to show others.

How to Hide Ticker updates of some friends:

#Method 1:

Open your Facebook homepage and click on a friend’s update you want to hide in future. Then click on the arrow on top right of that story and select ‘Hide all by ____’.


#Method 2:

Another way of doing this is by using ‘Restricted List’ feature of Facebook. This ‘Restricted List’ method will hide your friend’s update from Ticker but it will also stop showing your updates to your friend on their News Feed.

To add a person in your ‘Restricted List’ use this method. Once you add someone to this list you will no longer see updates from him on your Ticker or your News Feed.

Don’t forget to give it a try. This will definitely make Facebooking better for you. Stay connected for more Facebook Tips.

Categories
Analysis

10 Facebook statistics for 2011

2011 is gone and we’re talking a lot about what was most trending, most searched, popular tech events and all in 2011. Now let’s have a look at some Facebook user base and statistics till the end of 2011. This is an official data by Facebook which tells about the total number of users and their online interaction.

Statistics:

  1. There are more than 800 million active users on Facebook.
  2. More than 400 million users log in to Facebook on a single day.
  3. An average user on Facebook has around 130 friends.
  4. Facebook is available in 70+ languages.
  5. 75% of the total Facebook users are outside of United States.
  6. 900+ million pages, groups and events are there on Facebook.
  7. An average of 250 million photos uploaded everyday to the site.
  8. More than 20 million apps installed everyday by users.
  9. 7 million websites and applications are integrated with Facebook.
  10. More than 350 million users access Facebook through Facebook mobile.

2011 was a good year for Facebook and important too because of the launch of their Timeline profiles. Though some people don’t like the new Timeline profiles but still we have to use it anyway or alternatively one can switch to Google+. Let’s see how Facebook is gonna do in 2012, will it continue to gain popularity or Google+ is going to overtake it.

 

Categories
Tips

How to save images from Facebook for BlackBerry [Without App]

Facebook for BlackBerry; a technically not so good application with some bugs and lots of missing features but still millions are using it as they are using BlackBerry devices and they don’t have any other option. Of course they can use mobile browser for accessing Facebook but Facebook for BlackBerry is a better option.

A very important feature which is missing in this application is that you can’t save an image from Facebook. Suppose that your friend uploaded your picture and you want to use it as your profile picture then you have to take a Screenshot of that pic and then upload it as profile pic. But here’s a good alternative of saving pictures from Facebook using Facebook for BlackBerry, let’s see how you can do this:

How to save images from Facebook for BlackBerry:

  • Open Facebook for Blackberry application on your BlackBerry smartphone.
  • Now open any picture you want to save on your device.
  • Press BlackBerry/options key, from the menu select ‘Set As Home Screen Image’. Please note that this will change your Homescreen wallpaper, don’t forget to change it again to the older one.

  • Finally open your device pictures to see that pic. It will be automatically saved there once you use it as your wallpaper.

Use this method to save images and you don’t have to use any applications for taking screenshots and use pictures with watermarks on them.

{The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.}

Categories
News

Prediction: Google+ To Have 400 Million Users In 2012!

Since Google got into the social media business in a serious way with Google+, there have always been a few question marks on its ability to keep people hooked. Yes, it raced to 10 million users only in a couple of weeks and according to Paul Allen (the unofficial statistician of Google+) it has now more than 62 million users.

Allen claims that there are about over 625,000 users sign up on Google+ everyday. If the current rate is maintained then by the end of the 2012 it would reach 293 million users.

But the big prediction Allen makes is that Google+ will grow a lot faster and probably will reach 400 million users.

Google_Plus400million

What could drive Google+ growth?

Google will continue to bring about more of Google+ into its other services like it did by introducing Google+ circles within Gmail. This makes people use Google+ or atleast give it a bit of a try.

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Another factor that will drive Google+ growth is Android. Millions of Android phones get sold every month. These millions will probably end up using Google+ Apps on their phones. This will obviously drive more users.

I still think it has a long way to get people using it. Google+ has great privacy features, great apps, great design and more. But it lacks the critical mass of Facebook. For instance almost everyone we know is on Facebook.

Facebook was not the undisputed leader of social media until it hit 300 million users. That is when it really took off and it will be interesting to see if Google+ does the same if and when it reaches 300 million users.

What are your views? Do you think Google+ will manage to get to 400 million users by the end 2012? Do drop in your comments.

Categories
Tips

Use Official Desktop Messenger from Facebook for Windows!

I like staying logged into Facebook on one tab of my browser, so I can chat with my friends on it. Thanks to the option of disallowing people from certain lists to see you online, it is perfect ( thought chatting service itself is far from perfect on Facebook) . Facebook has released a new messenger for windows platform, that allows users to be logged in and chat with friends from the desktop itself.

Facebook_messenger_windows

  • The messenger is not very different from the one on the browser. As a matter of fact to use the messenger, I had to login first from the browser on to Facebook.
  • It can also be docked on the right-hand side on your desktop, just like the browser version is docked.
  • I have used Digsby to chat with friends from Facebook but if you want Facebook like chat on desktop this one is better.
  • I found the new ticker being present in then messenger a little annoying. It is one reason I prefer to use 3rd party messengers instead of the browser. I wish future updates allow turning off the news ticker on the messenger.

Download Facebook Messenger

You can read about the messenger here. It does not seem to have an official landing page but the direct download link is below.

The version number has not be declared by Facebook for some reason. Do try it out and drop in your comments.

Link: Facebook Messenger

Categories
Reviews

PhotoLive – Simplest Online Tool to Download Facebook Albums in ZIP File

I like uploading images on my Facebook account. One could upload photos from mobile phones, laptops and tablets. I like storing all my Facebook albums on my laptop from time to time. I do that incase I decide to delete the album on Facebook or even my Facebook account someday. 😉

There are many software and online tools that allow downloading photos from Facebook albums but I found GetPhotoLive the most simplest tool to download albums on your computer.

It works via a bookmarklet, which means it works on all browsers across different platforms.

PhotoLive_FB_Bookmark

Once you have the bookmarklet on your browser, login to your Facebook account and look up any album you have access to.

Click on the bookmarklet and new options show up, that allow you to download the images in a .zip file.

PhotoLive_DownloadAlbum

Download the Zip file and unzip it on your computer. It could also be used as a way to back-up your photos. (Check these tools to open Zip Files) What I liked about Photo Live is that it does not need users to share Facebook credentials with third-party users.

If you want to download all information from your Facebook account then check this article.

Do you use any other method to back up your Facebook photos? Do drop in your comments.

Link: PhotoLive

Categories
Tips

Facebook Chat hidden feature; add profile pictures while chatting

Facebook Chat is a very popular feature of Facebook but technically and feature wise it’s not good as compared to other IM services like Skype and Yahoo Messenger but still people use it only because it’s integrated with Facebook. But here’s a trick using which you can make it little exciting and add a new feature to it. Using this trick you can add any profile picture of a profile or page to your chat.

  1. Open a chat window of any friend. Now copy a profile’s id or username of a profile. See the examples below; use same method for a page:

Profile id: The profile ID for the profile https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=000000000 will be 000000000.

Username: The username for the profile https://www.facebook.com/sauravjit will be sauravjit.

2. Once you copied the profile id or username go to chatbox and type that id or username within double square brackets. For example [[sauravjit]] and hit enter. Now the [[sauravjit]] part will show my current profile picture in the chat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Use same method for pages, copy a page’s username in case it’s having one or simply copy the number from the page’s link.

Don’t forget to give it a try with your friends. You can also use these profile pictures as a smiley.

(via Mashable)

Categories
Tips

How to hide some/all family relations from Facebook profile

Sometimes your friends on Facebook just add you randomly to their family member’s list on the sidebar or info page of the new Facebook Timeline profile. People obviously like adding so many brothers and sisters or other family relations on their profile but the other person not necessarily like it whom they are sending family request. So if you are getting such ‘Family Member’ requests too, you don’t wanna reject it and neither want to show it on your profile then here’s a solution for you.

Using this method you can add anyone as your family member, you will still be there on his/her profile but the other person won’t be there on your profile or info tab. Let’s see how you can do this:

For Timeline profiles:

Go to the ‘About’ page of your profile where you can edit all the information on your profile. Now scroll down to ‘Family’ tab and click Edit. After that it will show your relationship status and all the Family members. See the image below.

  1. Click this to hide your whole list of Family member, you can show it to selected friends as well.
  2. Click this to hide some family members and show others. Please note that you will still be there on the other person’s profile even if you hide them.

That’s a simple thing but strategically placed. Unfortunately this option isn’t there on your privacy settings page. You can do the same for a normal profile by clicking edit given with family members on your sidebar. Stay connected for more Facebook tips and tricks.