All posts in Networking

Like Facebook, Instant Messengers and the likes, it’s often incredibly hard to notice when someone disconnects themselves from you and being able to find out who has disconnected and why, is the basis to doing things better.

Qwitter is a Rails exception tracker, which sends out an email when someone unfollows you on Twitter. It’s not 100% accurate, but it seems to be getting more and more popular and when that happens, we all know that things just get better.

I wonder how well this website will do, word has it that within the first half an hour of going live, there were 300 odd sign ups and over 3000 hits – that’s not bad going at all!

I’ve been watching the bloggisphere over the past couple of weeks and have heard a number of people mentioning how they suddenly have an extra 100 followers and that it’s most probably spam. This assumption is spot on!

What Twitter spammers are doing, is running around following as many people as possible hoping that these people will then add them in return and this will result in a new channel to market something or paste a URL, etc.

How do you spot a Twitter spammer?

1. The person is following hundreds of people, but only a few people are following in return.
2. The person only has one tweet, which often consists of a marketing pitch or URL.
3. Does the person have a URL linked to their Twitter profile, which lands up at a website which is clearly about adverts only.

These are 3 ways in which I tackle a situation when someone adds me on Twitter. You might ask yourself, does it matter if you are followed and don’t follow in return?

Well, I guess it depends what your aim is, if you’re just a random Twitter users who talks to friends, then it won’t matter in terms of privacy, but it will affect your Twitter Stats. If you publish your blog posts to your Twitter stream, then it might be a good idea to block these spammers, as they will probably grab your URLs and cURL your hard researched information onto a spamming website.

I guess at the end of the day, it depends what your aim is from using Twitter.

Follow iMod posts via twitter – click here
Follow me via twitter – click here
Get your daily horoscope via twitter – click here
Get the weather via twitter – click here

I found a lovely little trick for blocking those applications, which you accidentally accepted forever.

Here’s the process:

1. Start off by selecting the Settings Menu at the top of your Facebook account on the toolbar, upon clicking on Settings, select the ‘Privacy Settings’ option.

2. The next page you’re presented with is the Privacy Overview page, here you need to select the Settings link, as shown by the blue arrow:

3. You’re next stop is at the Provacy page, which will allow you to handle various privacy settings for your account. In our case, let’s select the Applications link, as shown by the blue arrow:

4. Below, you’ll see that you have select the Privacy Settings option in step one and then the Settings link in step 2. Click on the image below to enlarge it and notice the 3rd blue arrow, which points at the applications which you already have installed. You will be given the option to block any applications you have installed and if you make a mistake, you can undo your selection. Remember to SAVE everything once you’re done by clicking the ‘Save Changes’ button at the bottom.

That’s it, 4 simple steps to block those unwanted applications!

The Geeks Guide to Promoting Yourself with Twitter is an online book, which goes through everything about Twitter and how to promote yourself using it.

The main topics covered in the book are:

- Why you need to join Twitter right now
- How to use Twitter as a mini blog
- Using Twitter to enhance your online business
- Twitter Tools

As mentioned, it’s an online book, which means you can browse through it and won’t have to pay a single cent for the information. It’s definitely worth the read to anyone interested in social media.

If you’d like to follow me on twitter, my account is ChristopherM, so click here and follow me.

Twitter Starsigns and Twitter Weather are other wicked services.

SocialGO creates a flexible, fun social networking website for you and your group. It is stand-alone or can simply be bolted onto an existing site if need be. No-one you’d like in the group is left out. No-one you’d rather not is let in. Private or public, it’s your choice.

Everyone in your group is included and can get involved in a website where you’re in control. Your members run the site… They create the content, invite other friends, message each other and use all the other fantastic features of SocialGO. Features that people actually use all brought together under one roof.

SocialGO gives your group a thriving community in 2 minutes.

The one drawback is that the free version includes adverts on your social network, however, if you pay $9.99/month you’ll be able to remove those adverts.

The system is still in beta mode, so you’re able to head over, create a social network and test out all the features as if you have a premium account, but come 1st Jan 09, you’ll be asked to either pay for a premium membership or move onto a free membership..

Have you ever been chatting to a friend on MSN Messenger and really liked their display picture or a voice clip they used?

Enter WLM Ripper.

WLM Ripper is a useful little application which relaxes in your system tray and stores all your friends MSN Messenger content, such as display pictures, emoticons, voice clips and so on. This content is stored into a folder of your choice, so you can to the folder and take what ever you need!

Download..

** The download link is now fixed!

More than one in five employers search social networking sites to screen job candidates, according to a survey of more than 31,000 employers released by CareerBuilder.com this week.

Of the hiring managers who use social networks, one-third said they found information on such sites that caused them to toss the candidate out of consideration for a job, the survey said.

The study found that the number of hiring managers that are turning to social networks like MySpace and Facebook to delve into candidates’ online behavior is increasing quickly: Some 22% of employers said they already peruse social networks to screen candidates, while an additional 9% said they are planning to do so. Only 11% of managers used the technology in 2006.

The top areas of concern found on social networking sites include:

- Information about alcohol or drug use (41% of managers said this was a top concern)
- Inappropriate photos or information posted on a candidate’s page (40%)
- Poor communication skills (29%)
- Bad-mouthing of former employers or fellow employees (28%)
- Inaccurate qualifications (27%)
- Unprofessional screen names (22%)
- Notes showing links to criminal behavior (21%)
- Confidential information about past employers (19%)

The study did find that 24% of hiring managers found content on social networks that helped convince them to hire a candidate. Hiring managers said that profiles showing a professional image and solid references can boost a candidate’s chances for a job.

“Hiring managers are using the Internet to get a more well-rounded view of job candidates in terms of their skills, accomplishments and overall fit within the company,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder.com, in a statement. “As a result, more job seekers are taking action to make their social networking profiles employer-friendly. Sixteen percent of workers who have social networking pages said they modified the content on their profile to convey a more professional image to potential employers.”

CareerBuilder recommends that job seekers:

- Remove pictures, content and links that can send the wrong message to potential employers.
- Update social networking profiles regularly to highlight latest accomplishments.
- Consider blocking comments to avoid questionable posts; avoid joining groups whose names could turn off potential employers.
- Consider setting profile to private so only designated friends can view it.