Posts Tagged ‘Twitter’

Five iPhone apps that I swear by!

Posted in Social Media, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on October 1, 2011| 3 Comments »

Recently, I suggested one of my favourite apps to a gentleman on Twitter. His response and enthusiasm towards the app has triggered this post today.

All of us iPhone users have a few apps that we just cant do without in our everyday lives. Folks in Australia who use the trams will tell you that the Tramtracker  app is like a boon. It has changed the way we use public transport in Melbourne. Same applies for the banking apps like those of NAB and ANZ. We use them for most everyday banking queries and these actually keep us from the need to call or visit a bank physically.

I have a few favorite apps too. To keep it fair, I am only going to mention the apps that apply to everyone in general irrespective of the country you live-in. These are used by me on a daily basis and are FREE! 🙂

If you know me well, you have learnt of my love for Twitter and its only obvious that this list will begin with my favorite app for the chirpy social media site.

App 1: Twitter for iPhone– The official app :Social media

I have used quite a few tools for Twitter and many apps in the past 3 years that I have spent on this wonderful social media site. But the most user-friendly and practical app is the official Twitter for iPhone app, on its own.

Its ease to use, design integration with the official site and notifications makes it the best for me. To compare this, I have used Twittelator, Tweet-deck, Uber social, Echofon among many others.

2. My Pregnancy today by the BabyCenter:  Health (Pregnancy tracker)

When I discovered the wonderful news that I am going to be a mommy, I was obviously keen to get an app that will help me both track my pregnancy as well as keep me enlightened about what to expect in the future. The baby-center’s official pregnancy app beats competition hands-down!

Quoting from Babycentre “My pregnancy today is the most comprehensive daily pregnancy app from the world’s most trusted pregnancy and parenting resource. Simply enter your baby’s due date, and BabyCenter My Pregnancy Today turns your phone into an expert guide for each day of your pregnancy. Feel more prepared for your baby’s birth and get the answers you need, whenever you need them.”

This app helps you track your pregnancy day by day, keep you informed about the general fetal development images, maintain a pregnancy checklist with activities and reminders to keep you on track with decisions, doctor appointments, and more.

The highlight of the app are its award-winning videos: Watch what’s happening inside the womb with breathtaking 3-D animations, or, get informed (and inspired) about your own delivery day with live-action birth videos. It also comes with birth clubs, a due date calculator and a nutrition guide.

3.Desi Radio: Music

For lovers of Bollywood and Indian music in general, this app is a pleasant surprise. This comes with Background/Multi-Tasking,Stations Sync, a Timer, Themes & YouTube Song Search. Desiradio has a comprehensive playlist for every station and my favourite is the Evergreen Bollywood songs playlist that I listen to before going to bed every night. The timer function makes it easy for me to take a nap peacefully without having to worry about turning it off after I’m in my pleasant dreams. I loved this app even more when I was away from home in Melbourne, Australia. Nonetheless, whether you are at home in India or abroad, I suggest giving it a go.

4.Instagram: Photography

I call it the ‘Picture Twitter’.Helps you take pretty pictures on your phone at any time and share it with your friends on most social media sites today. Whether you are a fan of their filters or you just wish to share a moment with your friends, this app makes photo-sharing a pleasant surprise! The closest any app has come to being a great source of instant photo-sharing is the “Picplz” app- mostly for users who don’t have an iPhone like the ever increasing android users in the consumer market. But if you have an iPhone and a twitter account- nothing beats the feeling of being an Instagrammer.

5.Viber: Calling

Call/Text anyone, anywhere in the world without having to pay for a phone-call at all! The voice quality is to swear-by and so is its ability to tell you who you can directly call from your existing phone-book contacts and lets you add/inform the rest via a text invite message. This is the best free voip calling app today with no strings attached.

All of these are available for free at the Apple app store. I’m happy to share my favorites with you and keen to learn of yours. What am I missing?

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Cheat (tweet) for a living?

Posted in Social Media, tagged , , , , , , on September 23, 2011| 1 Comment »

Woke up this morning to a rather comical article on the front page of a serious (at least I thought so) financial newspaper and this immediately got me pondering (again) about the cultural differences impacting the use social media sites, globally.

Like I have always said, Twitter is my first love. But, to remain in love with it while in India is another matter. Two things have always annoyed me here-  firstly, DM (Direct Messages) asking you for “frandship” and secondly the gender bias. Women in India are supposed to behave in a certain fashion and arranging tweets-up to meet random strangers on a regular basis is a social taboo here. There goes my vision for @socialBLR. As much as I would have loved to meet and greet new people and share common experiences, things work diffrently here and keeping yourself “safe” from ulterior motives might just be a better option. I’m not here to network but just to share but the thin line of difference is somehow lost in this part of the world.

Without deviating further from the reason for my post today, let me get straight to the point: Tweeting for money (using your personal handle)

Call me naive, but I was rather amazed to read that people actually talk about products and events in their everyday tweets not just because they are genuinely interested in them but because they are paid to do so. I am not commenting on the personal choice made by people here (That is none of my business) but on the “trust-factor” we lay on Twitter, as a whole. This makes me think, makes me laugh at myself and makes me believe my favorite place on the web a lot lesser than before. Not everything people say on Twitter is to be taken seriously. Someone I follow because we share common interests suddenly looks like a Shahrukh Khan selling a hair oil that he has never used. Alas!

I suddenly missed my Twitter friends in Melbourne. Didn’t we all tweet about the restaurants we frequent, the events we attend and just the awesome people we meet everyday? I’m not sure I’d like to learn that they were all tweeting about them because they had  to and not because they want to. That said, I am not saying Twitter is not used for promotional purposes (of course that’s the main purpose twitter exists, for most of us) but to promote something without tagging it as an #ad or #promotion would tantamount to cheating, for me. Promote a brand- happily do it, but from its OFFICIAL twitter handle, if you may. That way I know that you are saying good things about a brand you stand for.

To think of it, using popular names likes Miss Malini, @rajeevMasand, Madmanweb, @beastoftraal etc to get the word out is a VERY good choice but paying them for it? I’m not sure.

It’s best when Twitter remains a personal experience (good or bad) shared with people who are genuinely interested in “what you are up to” and follow you with love, than to influence their mind because someone paid you for it.  I really want to continue going to the movies Ravi Kapoor suggests and the restaurants @Madmanweb ticks as good, please let it remain so.

Just my two cents there, what do you think?

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Join the Twestival Global LIVE stream

Posted in Events, The Everyday Awesome, tagged , , , , , , on March 24, 2011| Leave a Comment »

The day is finally here, TWESTIVAL kicks off in less than an hour today and aren’t we all excited?

Over 200 cities are over the globe are participating in thier own cities to raise for for a nominated local charity and 60+ Cities will be joining  the world-record setting global live stream!

If you’d like to link, watch, or even join in the global discussion go here:  http://urdb.org/twestival

Click “join event” and login with twitter – and you can then join the chat, ask a text question or even a video question if you want to appear on camera!

Good Luck to all the cities participating and I can’t wait to see everyone from around the world on this historic day!!

Update post event in Melbourne:

The Twestival in Melbourne was a huge success and we were able to raise almost $7000 for our chosen charity at Streat. You can watch this video by the awesome folks at @1000Lux to see a glimpe of the night!

Love and peace xo

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Hey there! I heard Twitter helped your business grow. Did you return the favour?

Posted in Events, Social Media, tagged , , , on March 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »

You have seen many posts telling you “Why Your Business Needs Social Media” but let me take this opportunity to tell you why Social Media needs your business and how you can help.

  • How many of you have created leads for your business using Twitter/Facebook and other social pages?
  • How many clients have you created a personal relationship with because of your interaction with them on various social media sites?
  • How many times have you thanked social media for giving you the most up-to-date information about your competitors and helped you step up your own act?
  • How many compliments have you got from your clients for always being online and available for them, because of social media?

If you have answered yes to at least one of the questions above- Have you thought of how you can pay-back?

Social media is free and available to all but it’s all a give and take. You cannot expect to keep receiving from it if you don’t initiate a “giving” from your end too.

Twestival (or Twitter festival) Melbourne 2011 is your chance to give back to the community. The Twestival is a great night to network with like-minded social media advocates over some drinks and bid for some cool goodies in a public and silent auction. This is your chance to let the community know that your business is social-media savvy and ready to go an extra length for the community.

This year Melbourne Twestival is raising money for STREAT, an Australian social enterprise providing homeless youth with a supported pathway to long-term careers in the hospitality industry. STREAT runs street cafes in Melbourne where youth get their hospitality training. The food is inspired by street hawker food from around the world. More information about them here

By being part of the Melbourne Twestival you can make a real difference to the lives and livelihood of someone currently living on the street.

The Twestival organized for Melbourne will be held at the STREAT offices on Thursday evening 6-9pm on March 24. We encourage you and/your business to be a part of the Melbourne twitter community and raise awareness and worthy funds for this project. Get your tickets here

Think of all the support and connections you have in the Twitter community, now is the time to reach out to your local community and give them some support

To find out how your business can be a part of this great initiative and to keep updated with the latest news before the 24th March, tweet us on Twitter @TwestivalMel or join us on facebook here

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