Snapchat will soon overtake Instagram and maybe Facebook as well

The future of social media, “Snapchat” was launched in 2011, it is a photo and video sharing application just like the rest but what really makes Snapchat stand out from the rest is its most unique feature of self-destruction. The photos and videos you share with your friends get self-destructed after 24 hours. Within a year of its launch, the app became popular among teenagers and selfie-obsessed individuals.

Snapchat is all about sharing a daily life, like telling a story. It gets thousands of stories. The most random stuff is shared on snap chat every day. The easy access makes it simple for its users to use snap chat on the go while feeling secure as their snaps won’t get copied. It gives its users a chance to express themselves freely, like with the full range of human emotions.

Only photos can be saved from stories by other users and you get to know easily about it as snap chat sends an immediate notification to the person who’s snap is being saved. But there is no way a user can copy someone’s video from his story.

Snapcat team is working very effectively to maintain the application in this fast growing era. New filters are updated every day! The crazy fan following  has made snapchat a big deal. A deal so big that even facebook offered $3million to snapchat but it didn’t accept.2

Keeping in mind Snapchat is only about pictures and videos, no comments and no group discussions.

Studies suggest that there are more than 100 million active snapchat users. After facebook and Instagram, it is the most famous social media application of all time. I don’t think that it will take long before snapchat beats Instagram, and later maybe facebook as well. .

As this application is already famous among teens and adults, and everyone has the oath to visit snapchat at least once a day, now companies and brands have stepped in to market their products using this application.  Daily promotions and deals are put up it the stories for their customers and clients to see. We will have to agree that in a little time, snapchat has become the king of social media and soon it will rule over it.

Facebook Messenger: The Chamber Of Hidden Secrets.

Everyone has used facebook messenger I suppose but most of us just use it for chatting with friends and family.  There is a lot more to facebook messenger other than this. This messenger is trying hard to become one-stop shop for everyone whether you use facebook or not, this facebook messenger can be installed and activated with just entering your phone number.

From sending Gifs to requesting and Uber, facebook messenger is installing new features every day!

There is a website for messenger which allows you to connect with a friend without being distracted by the newsfeed. Furthermore , you can mute conversations, access calls and see photos you have shared.

Just like the Uber app, facebook messenger allows you to call a cab by simply selecting more from options and then clicking the transportation button.

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You can easily find your group conversation with friends by pinning it to the top so that next time you can find them easily.

Facebook has made everything easy for you, the new silence option is for your ease. If you are busy at a specific time you can adjust the silence mode accordingly. Like 15 minutes, 1 hour etc.

Messenger’s photo magic uses facial expressions to make it easy for you to send photos to friends over messenger.  It will detect faces and will notify you to share photos whenever you have a new photo with a friend.

Send your location to a friend in a message or any other location by just dropping the pin on Apple map.

The new fun update allows you to completely change the appearance of any friend. You can customize and edit the names, colors, outline of icons and as well as the chat bubbles.

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How to Add A Lightsaber to Your Facebook Profile Picture to Celebrate ‘The Force Awakens’

Facebook is now letting you show your passion by adding a light stabber in your profile picture. All you have to do is to choose which side you are at.  If you choose to be with Finn , you can over lay a blue stabber and if you choose Kylo Ren instead then you have the red stabber.

The new star wars filter is easy to use. After choosing the color for your stabber, navigate the facebook post for Finn or Kylo. Then press the “Try It” button below the movie poster above the comment section.

By clicking the star wars icon, it will switch the stabber. The stabber can be adjusted anywhere by just repositioning the photo.

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Facebook allows you to keep the stabber for an hour, one day or as long as you want.  Just choose the “Never” option and let the stabber stay on your photo forever.

After choosing the best options for your profile photo, you can save the change and let everyone know which dark side you support.

Now You Can Choose Who Will Inherit Your Facebook Account After Your Death

Do you often wonder what will happen to your facebook account when you will die?

Mark has thought about that too. Your online after life will continue to go on if you choose someone trustworthy to manage your social media account. Previously when anyone passed away, users could ask Facebook to convert the social media account into a memorial page but now Facebook has put its users in partial control of what happens to their accounts after they pass away. Facebook users have been given a choice to decide from, whether they want their account to be deleted after death or use the “Legacy Contact” option to choose someone to manage their account.

This option is great but it also comes with some restrictions as the legacy contact won’t be able to post new status or even edit what the deceased already posted, the private conversation/messages will also remain under lock down. However the legacy contact will be able to change profile pictures and download – archive your photos, posts and profile information. They will login from their own personal accounts on behalf of the deceased.

 

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Legacy contact can be designated by going into, Settings, then Security, click Legacy Contact at the bottom of the page. Once there and after editing the pre-filled message, sent to the contact telling them that you’ve chosen him/her to inherit your Facebook account after your death. However you can only choose one person as a legacy contact so choose wisely.

For the time being this option is only available in the US. Let’s see when this will roll in other countries as well.

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Option to ‘Save’ content to check out later on Facebook

So Facebook has upgraded its user interface with a good addition. Adding “Save”, A Read-It-Later List For Links, Places, And Media Pages.

The idea of Facebook Save is pretty simple. It allows users to create a list of Places, Events, Movies, TV Shows, Music and Articles they can check out later. It’s basically for those who are too busy to go through all of the news on a Facebook News Feed, setting stories aside to be read later at the user’s discretion. The links saved are completely discreet and only visible to the user.

Let us have a look how Facebook Save actually works:

When ever your Facebook News Feed is refreshed and new stories pop up, for instance you have liked a page which reviews new cars, you can easily click on the drop down menu button in the form of an arrow on the top right corner of that news and then save the article for a later time and this works for both the mobile and personal computers. But there is one thing to be remembered regarding saved links, you need to have live internet access in order to open those saved links as Facebook does not cache the saved content. Another good thing about all this is that Facebook reminds you of all the saved links in your News Feed.

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Save might not be caching the read-it-later feature, instead the main focus may be on teaching Facebook what you and everyone thinks are high-quality stories and should be displayed in the News Feed. The Saved list is organized by category.

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All in all this add-on seems especially relevant now that the average News Feed has become so cluttered and the chronological order of posts is almost lost.

Although Facebook is too late to add this feature after the success of Pocket but none the less we are happy to have it 🙂 

 

Social Networks That Ultimately Failed

Something’s are destined to fail no matter how much effort has been put into them.

Social media has been nothing short of a phenomenon, with the success of platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter which continue to inspire people around the globe along many businesses and corporations to keep up socially interactive.

There is glory but not for everyone or everything. Some experience major success stories, on both an individual and brand basis, while others eventually fade away never to be remembered again and the same goes for most of the social networks, too. Fall of many recognized social networks will keep giants like Facebook and Twitter on their toes because you never know what people may like/dislike in this demanding world.

The Hub

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It took just a few months in 2006 for America’s largest retailer Wal-Mart to both launch and shut down its social network website which was targeting teens for its growth. Marketed as a “School Your Way” promotion, Wal-Mart tried to cash the opportunity to connect with the youth who preferred the store’s products. As everyone is serious about their privacy, especially teens, Wal-Mart made a blunder by sending user information to parents for approval and making fake profiles which was a major flop to attract more people to shop at the mega store. Also the Hub was indeed “The Hub of Advertisements also”

iYomu

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August 2007 in New Zealand a social network specifically for the older demographics was launched. People under the age of 18 were restricted from joining the social network, but seriously 18 doesn’t sound like much of an ‘old person’ to me. It acted too similarly to the other networks out there, especially Myspace because it was designed in Flash. The social network lasted less than a year before it went offline forever.

ITunes Ping

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Launched in September 2010 by the Tech Titan Mr. Steve Jobs himself. The idea for this social network was very simple, all the music junkies could socialize with each other online. In the event of attraction, more descriptive tips jogos caca niquel gratis. Sadly the demise was inevitable because Facebook and Twitter had gained so much popularity that even music artists switched from iTunes Ping. So finally after 2 years of struggle, iTunes Ping sank into oblivion without any possibility for a life line.

Google Buzz

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Google is tech giant with so many achievements under its belt but, sometimes with fame comes shame! Google+ is not the first attempt at tying all its services together through a social media portal. Google Buzz was launched in February 2010. Sadly Google has been known to release new products before they are completely ready for public and then continue to develop that product which causes huge problems for the users. Soon after the launch there was a privacy backlash when Buzz made certain Gmail information public without the knowledge of its users and any prior warning. The final in the coffin was put by Facebook and Twitter. Thus on December 15, 2011 Google buzz was discontinued.

Orkut

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Orkut launched in 2004 by the tech giant Google. Social networking was on the verge of evolution and Orkut made its entry into social media. Orkut was an instant hit after its launch and managed to make a strong following from users all over the world. Before the wall in Facebook, the concept of Scrapbook was introduced by Orkut. Like many other social networks, the demise of Orkut because of Facebook, unlike Facebook Orkut was slow as a tortoise! The social network did not bother to up its game to compete with the rivals and the launch of Google+ made sure that the Tech Giant is preparing to let go Orkut. Thus in 2014 after ten long years, Google pulled the plug and all that remained was memories.

Friendster

Launched in 2002, this particular social network gained popularity rapidly, so much so it was the first social networking website which gained 115 Million users in 2008. Sadly as the users connected with Friendster, the social network did not put up with the load which frustrated the users thus paving way for Facebook and Twitter. After crashing down in 2009, Friendster was re-launched in 2011 but as a gaming site which gained in popularity in Asia.

EONS

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Launched in 2006 and straightaway targeting internet users 50 was a given fail from the word get go! So it was supposed to be a social network but why the age restrictions? Really bad on part of EONS. The social network focused only on elderlies and could not get a grip, failing to attract users for building an online social community. Eventually in June 2012, the site was shut down and the reason given by its founder was, “their team is working to resolve the business issues with [their] service provider.” He goes on to say that their providers were demanding financial commitments that cannot be made at this time.

Diaspora

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Just as Ello is trying (or I dare say, Tried and Failed Miserably) to derail Facebook at present, Diaspora was dubbed as a Facebook rival or killer, it was created in Nov 2011 as the answer to Facebook’s much publicized privacy issues. Built on an open source social networking software, it was designed to be simple to use. But lack of functionality and features ultimately made it a quiet dull experience. Although the Diaspora is still active at the moment but rarely sees any kind of activity or traffic in its domain.

There are tons of new social networks being introduced every year, with some having the capacity to take on the giants while others dramatically fail to gain any audience. As the technology and social trends continue to evolve, there will always be a gap in the market for something new. Following some key elements the networks should constantly innovate, adapt and evolve, offering something different that will make a fan base and users can engage on topics that they feel passionate about.

Social-Media Sources of Testimonials for Your Business

Every good organization has a page dedicated to testimonials by consumers so that every person who opens the website can read about the products benefits and their awesomeness. People usually read these testimonials to make up their minds about the products and services, whether they satisfy everyone’s needs and wants. These testimonials are reviews from those people who have used the products and services.

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Let us have a look how social media can help you boost your business buy getting feedback from people in the form of positive testimonials.

Facebook Reviews

Now a days every company maintains a Facebook page because it is the best source of free marketing and advertising of products and services. Companies put up their products with images and gather information from customers and consumers, any positive reviews are then shifted to the company website on the testimonials page. When you set up your company page with Facebook, it automatically gives you the option of reviews. You can share your products and services on your timeline or share it publicly so that people can view it for a feedback.

YouTube Video Reviews

Everyone has heard that a Picture is worth a Thousand Words! What about a Video? Sounds interesting right. What if your customers use your products and services and the post a video review for those products and services? It will definitely give your business a great boost because people tend to watch videos more rather than reading a long paragraph. So you can always give a start-up line and then post the video link in your testimonials or even you can make a separate tab for video reviews which will make finding the required product video testimonial easy for new customers. Another option is you can make your own companies YouTube official page and ask people to give reviews about the products they have used. Then you can favorite the most positive ones and share on your company website.

LinkedIn Recommendations

when you run a company you have many employees who work with their clients on your behalf. This can benefit you because the individual employees if working excellently, can gather recommendations from their clients which in turn you can use on your testimonials page on company website. People can always visit the company profile and employee page on LinkedIn for the authenticity of the recommendation and testimonial. More employees leads to more recommendations.

Twitter Tweets

Using twitter to gather recommendations is very healthy for your business. You can hashtag your company name and its products and keep monitoring the re-tweets and which tweets are favorite. You can ask people to tweet anything that relevant to your company and products, this way your business will have more marketing and lead to new customers and target market.

Google Alerts

One of the best ways to keep track of what people are saying about your company and products. Not everyone who uses your products and services comes and writes about it on your official social media pages or company profile. Many people use private blogs to review products which sometimes go unnoticed by the company. You can set up Google alerts by mentioning your name, your company name, your products and services so that whenever someone is writing about your products you get an immediate alert about it.

The most important thing about reviews and testimonials is that with good you also get bad. You cannot always monitor your public pages and forums and maybe someone writes something negative about your company’s product behind your back. What to do in that case, you should respond to it positively and try to solve the problem because this will portray an image about you and your company that you care about your customers and you will never abandon them.

Age Of Social Networking – How We Are Better Than Our Ancestors?

Social networks has taken away one thing from us….. Socialising with real friends/family!

The aspect of actually going out there to socialize, has been replaced with updating statuses & liking pictures. I sometimes wonder if this is actually that negative or an exaggeration?. To be honest, there are quite many benefits of social networking which we are taking for granted.

internetKids are more confident after interacting with people online, which give them exposure on how to greet new people, in situations such as going to college, joining a team or meeting new friends.

Social networks, like everything else online – is constantly evolving. Due to ease in dissemination of information, even non-techy are becoming more familiar with new and emerging technologies, and with whatever is happening around the globe.

Many people find support in online communities; this is especially true for those who have mental disorders or feel isolated. One should encourage those who are dealing with crisis to connect with similar people & share the burden.

Online communities are very diverse and expose you to many new viewpoints, ideas, and opinions that you may not be familiar with. It opens your mind to countless possibilities, which you might not have thought of, with your few friends & family circle.

Lastly, Keeping in touch with family members that live far away can become much easier through the use of online social networking. By sharing updates, photos, videos, and messages, family members can stay connected even if the live across the country—or the world.

Next time, let’s not get overly pessimistic when someone mentions “#ageofsocialnetworking”

Picture Source: Anonymous

Oh you are dying? Let’s take a selfie quickly!

What Is A Selfie?

It’s a self portrait photograph, typically taken with a hand held digital camera or mobile phone.

But who don’t know that? Oxford officially named ‘Selfie’ the word of the year in 2013!

We live in that digital age where even a 3 year old respond to word selfie by…. “pouting”.

Mobile companies are also cashing in on the selfie trend.

Is The Selfie Disorder Fake or Real?

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All of a sudden, everyone started sharing about the announcement made by American Psychiatric Association (APA), that taking  ‘Selfies’ is a mental disorder named ‘Selfitis’.

News was surprisingly unbelievable yet it spread like a fire in the forest in virtual community.

Yes, it was fake – hoax created by the Adobo Chornicles, a website which spread unbelievable news to get more likes. No such news was found on the official website of APA or confirmed through any other credible source.

What Is So Cool About Selfies?

The psychological phenomenon of the ‘Selfie’ culture is quite simple, It is the basic desire of human race — to be noticed, even if it doesn’t elicit the most appropriate type of recognition.

In this era, people feel appreciated by receiving just a few likes from  Facebook or Instagram friends.

It even leads to fake rolex for sale better results in workplace. (weird right?)

Thus, no matter who it is.. Celebrities, President ( Our very own Obama) or a plumber, almost everyone has fallen into this trend of Selfies.

Let’s see if it will be a short lived fad or a way of life 😉