Get Your Own Google+ Vanity URL

Unlike Facebook and Twitter, Google + does not offer vanity URLs for user profiles, making it more difficult to share your profile + Google with your friends. Instead, Google uses a long string of numbers to designate the users (for example, 12345678987654321).

The reason for not using Google + vanity URLs because the spammers could lead to find the email addresses of millions of Google users + (as many accounts linked to Google's Gmail account).

Of course, this leads to a problem: you do not want to tell people to write in a long string of numbers to find your profile + Google. That's where comes in. This small simple application Gplus.to lets you create a short URL for Google + page, making it easy to share with your friends. Mine, for example, is Gplus. to / benparr, which is much easier to remember than a strong random numbers.

Gplus.to fills a gap that Google + not currently addressed.

Public profiles

The aim of the profiles of Google is to allow you to manage your identity online. Today, almost all Google profiles are public. Google believe that using Google profiles to help people find and connect with you online is the way the product is best used. Do not allow private profiles, so Google decided to require all profiles to be public.



Note that your full name and gender are the only information required to be displayed in your profile, you can edit or delete any other information you do not want to share.

If you currently have a private profile, but do not want to publish your profile, you can delete your profile. Or simply can not do anything. All private profiles will be deleted after July 31, 2011.

Twitter Now Valued at $7 Billion

Rating Twitter has doubled in the past seven months, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper says that Twitter is busy raising hundreds of millions of dollars, with a valuation of $ 7 billion. In December, the same company was valued at just $ 3.7 billion in a round of $ 200 million of funding led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Why the increase in valuation? Twitter, once a site without much of a business plan, is now a staple of social media with an increasing number of revenue sources.

Twitter tweets promoted and presented the trends of last year, which was the company's first notable source of income. Recently, eMarketer predicts that Twitter could triple advertising revenue of $ 150 million in 2011. Last month we learned that plans to introduce the tweets Twitter promoted in terms of users by the fall.

In October, it announced it would develop a tool for self-service, which would also allow small businesses to enter the game of advertising on Twitter.

Like their peers in the social world - like LinkedIn - going public, Twitter is, instead focusing on strengthening its executive team and build a strong advertising business.

The next platform will work a bit like Google AdWords to Twitter. If the report is accurate WSJ (the role of sites an anonymous "person familiar with the subject"), it seems that investors believe that the platform has more in common with Google's products - the potential revenue.

Twitter Town Hall

Tomorrow at 14:00 ET, the White House will have its first city hall Twitter, and U.S. President Barack Obama respond to questions from Twitter users on the U.S. economy - live askobama.twitter.com. Twitter can be found in real-time conversations and information on every topic imaginable from around the world, including a robust debate on the economy. In fact, a study announced today by Salesforce.com 's Radian6 found that financial security is one of the most frequent topics of political conversation on Twitter. City Hall tomorrow is a White House invitation for anyone on Twitter to participate in an open exchange on national and global economic problems facing the United States.

Questions addressed at the Town Hall will be selected both up front and in real time during the event. To reduce the list of popular questions relevant to ask in the name of the users of Twitter, we are doing the following:

• We have partnered with overall importance of conservation, display and integrate the talks for the event.
• Search algorithms Twitter tweets After identifying who are most committed to the environment retweets, favorites, and their answers.
• A team of experienced users discuss Twitter experience will help the economy to questions from the flag of their communities through retweets.

To make your voice heard, tweet your questions about the economy and be sure to include hashtag # AskObama. You can follow the conversation in three ways: Watch the event live on http / / askobama.twitter.com follow live Tweets from @ City Hall, or search the hashtag # AskObama.

Twitter Begins Allowing Direct Messages With Verified Accounts

The coming and going between the representatives of the brand who manage accounts on Twitter and people trying to communicate with those marks could become a little less complicated. It seems that it is not checked Twitter accounts must follow new Twitter users who want to send direct messages.

The Next Web reports that Twitter is more moderate on the need to continue to users with a verified account, you will not follow a user who wants their message, have a direct and unfollow later after the communication is over.

This makes perfect sense to us. Consumers increasingly to Twitter to communicate with representatives of the attendance mark - for example, trying to rebook a flight after a snowstorm. @ But the process of messaging, then request a DM and let forward is unnecessarily complicated for the accounts that are designed to handle customer service issues.

Microsoft signs search pact with China's Baidu

Google has left the market the Chinese market for online search, but two of its major rivals, Microsoft and Baidu, have signed a cooperation pact in the populous country.
Specifically, Microsoft will provide search results for English-language queries in the Chinese search engine, according to representatives from both companies who spoke to The New York Times and Dow Jones today.



"More people here are looking for English terms ... but Baidu has not done a good job. So here's a way to do it," Baidu said a representative of the Times.
Baidu is the leading search engine in China, with Google in second place. Microsoft, which acquired the assets of Yahoo search, is working hard to gain influence search. Search has been economically powerful for Google, which sells ads based on search terms people.
Search these associations are not unknown in the industry. Ask Jeeves uses results from Google, Yahoo and Microsoft uses search results Bing. Usually, the provider of the search term receives a share of advertising revenues derived.
Google China, withdrew its Web site after raising specific concerns about censorship and other issues a year and a half ago.
Microsoft did not adopt the position of Google, to maintain a policy that was established years ago. "I certainly think it's better for us to be present throughout the world, not instead of," said Microsoft, Brad Smith, after a 2006 incident in which Microsoft was criticized for censorship.

GoDaddy sold to Silver Lake, KKR, and TCV

Even the laziest bum can look busy in a hurry with this adaptation of many of the interactive features of Facebook. Just go to HardlyWork.in click "Gimme Dem spreadsheets", enter your Facebook credentials, and there's your Facebook news feed, everything is made to look just like an Excel spreadsheet.

Not just a static graphic, or - HardlyWork.in lets you search Facebook friends by entering a name in the formula bar, the burden of more items, see the wall of your newsfeed, or tag photos, go to see who would like a job, and is there even a head switch (space bar), immediately, everything changes in a vast sea of ​​numbers spreadsheet of all nestled within its legitimate-looking cells.

The only thing missing? Photos of full size. However, links are clickable, and you can see thumbnails when hovering over their descriptions. In addition, large photos would be a gift to the fact that, uh, not working.

Better Online Customer Support

Customer satisfaction has been the Holy Grail for retailers. Social media and has a whole new meaning to customer satisfaction. Unleash friends arrive, and friends of friends, and friends of friends of friends on an unprecedented scale. It is the word of mouth on steroids.

The social web has also made customer support a collaborative effort that provides new tools of online community that allow customers to find their own answers and help each other. While self-help forums and the community can be an integral part of the total support package, online marketers should not overlook the power of direct participation when it comes to customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Here are some of the main forms of an online store may look to increase levels of satisfaction through customer service.

1. Be useful

The first tip may seem obvious, but can easily be forgotten in customer service today. It is important to realize that is available does not equal useful. It is not enough simply to have someone available to answer a live chat or telephone.

The quality of each of the interaction. Modern consumers are busy, not to mention the possibility of alternatives to choose from hundreds of other stores. Customer Representatives should be driven to help customers, answer questions and solve problems, not just focus on parameters such as waiting time and the rate of rotation.

It is also a great policy to engage proactively to customers who are in need of assistance. For example, if a person is at rest on the same page as the average payment, or a visitor still jumping through three pages of products, knowledgeable online marketers can start a conversation to help a customer when more needed.

2. Be honest

Transparency is the letter of the social web. Each customer service representative should strive to be open and honest in every conversation. If a mistake is made, the customer should feel comfortable to admit error. If the answer is not available, it is okay to say "I do not know" and create a well-defined plan of action to find the answer. It is also okay to say no, for example, a customer who has an unrealistic expectation of delivery time. More promising will only lead to disappointment, frustration and road rage.

3. Over-delivery

Customer service representatives should seek to offer more than one answer. Consider surprising your customers with a gift, free shipping upgrade, discount of privileged information, etc. A simple offering can go a long way toward solving a problem customer and repair a damaged relationship. Of course, bonus gifts not only should be reserved for dissatisfied customers. Surprising new customers and loyal to unexpected gifts and are more likely to spread the word about your great experience.

4. Being an expert

Each customer support interaction is an opportunity for a company to be an easy guide and advisor to its clients. If a customer enters a brick and mortar store, you can instantly tell the difference between knowledge and uninformed sales associate. This interaction often shapes the quality of the entire shopping experience. The same is true in virtual stores. Each person responsible for answering the phone or live chat to an online store must be updated with the latest products and services. Each service representative should serve as an essential resource for customers.

5. Keep it simple

All aspects of your website and purchase process should be built around customer needs. The least friendly place, less customer satisfaction will be. Critical information such as pricing, shipping and easy return to find. Above all, keep your website updated to reflect exactly what the customer is about to receive.

6. Offer Easy Returns

According to StellaService, a company that controls the online customer experience, companies committed to a policy of easy return has high marks from customers. In addition, a customer-friendly return policy improves the brand without necessarily leading to a greater number of returns.

Online marketers can certainly increase levels of customer satisfaction by facilitating the return process. It also offers better support pre-sale (in the form of the product pages live chat and useful) can be instrumental in reducing the need for profitability in the first place.

WordPress Theme Websites

If you have a WordPress site and that you are looking for a great topic, your search is over because now you're in the right place. No need to search the web for markets WordPress theme or by asking your friends. This article has 37 stores you can find the topic where his favorite subject.



elegant themes
template sold
themefuse
press75
kreative themes
theme jam
up themes
obox themes
diy themes
wp shower
gorilla themes
aloha themes
wp bundle
theme hybrid
premium wp
flexi themes
theme baker
studio press
wonder themes
pagelines
wp zoom
chimera themes
templatic
wp-mojo
theme warrior
solostream
theme garden
themeshift
gabfire themes
themeforest
ithemes
themify
organic themes
panda themes
graph paper press
woothemes
theme team

How to get the new Gmail right now

Google says that Gmail will air over the coming months, and is "part of an effort by Google to offer all an experience that is more focused, supple and effortless." Users can also expect changes in Google Calendar, which will run over the next few days.
It is unclear whether the new Gmail interface will take over, but until then you can start using this trick:

The new Gmail has a cleaner, more refined look.
First, access Gmail and head to the mail settings. Then go to "Themes" and you will see two new songs, "Preview" and "Preview (dense)." Select one, and your inbox will immediately be adorned with a cleaner, more refined look.

MySpace Sold to Ad Network for $35 Million

The day was animated web has finally arrived: MySpace was sold to an advertising network called Media specific for just $ 35 million. Mike Jones CEO leaves the company, and it seems that this will be a good staff. Jones said in an email: "In connection with the offering, we are conducting a series of restructuring initiatives, including a significant reduction in our workforce. I will help the specifics of the transition in the next two months before I left my role as CEO of MySpace. "

News Corp. said that MySpace was ready to sell in a call results in February. The media company reportedly hopes to receive $ 100 million from the sale.

In 2005, News Corp. bought the site for $ 580 million of its original owners, but the MySpace traffic has plummeted in recent years. All Things Digital reported that News Corp. will still have a 5% to 10% in the company.

Other reports this week said that nearly 50% of site staff may be cut after the sale, and it is likely that any iteration of the service will focus on music.

5 Things You Need to Know About the Security of Google Apps

Here are five tips to make sure that Google Docs and IT managers can coexist efficiently and safely. Even in companies that have disappeared from Google, IT administrators have more power than ever. At Google, users and their data are condensed into a single "virtual" local: a big change from distributed data, structured expansion through hundreds of network devices. In addition, this information is accessible through data access and management APIs. Companies with resources for development can write their own applications to integrate data stored in Google Docs with other processes and internal applications.

1. Sharing permissions are up to the user

Google Docs model delegates control and responsibility of the users. It all depends on end users, but rather that, in determining to whom the data is shared, so that information can potentially be made available to the wrong people or groups within a company, outsiders outside the domain, or the public Internet.

2. Location data

In Google Apps, information is created by users and is in their individual accounts (as opposed to a central location). Also, if you delete an account, so it is all data from that user. There is no concept of a shared central file server in charge of IT. Companies that use Google Docs need to understand what data users have and own before any deletion of accounts.

3. Access Privileges

Companies that use Google Docs need to identify and report on who has access to sensitive data. This is necessary not only to help secure the data in a collaborative environment, but to adhere to the audit and compliance. Keeping track of who is accessing and using information with an audit trail becomes a critical component in the protection of data against misuse of end users and administrators.

4. Data leakage

Companies using Google Docs should be able to inspect their data and receive alerts when action is required. For example, suppose a company has a top-secret project called "Project Monkeyfeet" that only authorized personnel want to know. Be alert every time you use the term in a Google document and change access permissions as needed. This helps protect data from internal and external threats.

Google Apps does not currently have this functionality baked in.

5. Data Loss

In addition to protecting their data, companies must be able to retain the records, data migration and backup without losing anything. Since the control is in the hands of users, enterprises need to protect themselves and deleted users and malicious wrong caused by human error. There is a much higher risk that an employee unknowingly delete a document or an administrator deletes a user - along with all the details of your property - that a system outage of Google Docs or failure.

Founder of Twitpic Noah Everett Arrested - @noaheverett

Twitpic founder Noah Everett (who has 2.8 million followers) tweeted that he was getting arrested and in the back of a cop car. To prove it, Everett decided to tweet a picture from the back of the cop car.

We can’t independently confirm what he was arrested for yet, or if he even was arrested. If true though, Everett has taken oversharing to a whole new level.

MasterCard taken over by hackers in support of Wikileaks

Hackers have attacked MasterCard website in protest against the blockade of the company Wikileaks. "! MasterCard.com down, that's what you get when you mess with @ @ wikileaks Anon_Central and enter the community of individuals lulz love: D" wrote @ ibomhacktivist, which seems to be related to the anonymous hacker collective. While MasterCard's site is online, there are reports that he was completely disconnected at one point because of the DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service).

In December 2010, hackers got Mastercard website, along with Postfinance and PayPal, for exactly the same reason: block WikiLeaks.

Shortly after the attack on MasterCard, Wikileaks acknowledged in his official Twitter account that many banks still do business with the organization. "The illegal blockade against WikiLeaks bank in the sixth month: The culprits: VISA, MasterCard, PayPal, Bank of America, Western Union, "said tweet.

LulzSec, the group of hackers that wreaked havoc on corporate websites and government in the past two months, recently disbanded. However, the group Anonymous hacktivist vowed to continue his hacking activities, and we can see evidence that they were not kidding.

How To Get Customer Feedback Online

Successful business owners know that no matter how busy you are, it is important to take time to get feedback from customers. Understanding what your customers think about their products and services can not only help improve quality, but can also give ideas on what new products and services their customers want so you can diversify their offerings.

While information was limited to a suggestion box or form on their website, there are now many low-cost approaches to obtain customer information and take the pulse of the customers. Here are four easy ways to make customer feedback an integral part of your business.

1. Conduct an online survey


If you have email addresses for their clients, conducting an online survey can be a great way to get variety of different opinions in a short period of time.

One of the most popular tools for online surveys is SurveyMonkey, whose low-cost, Web-based survey solutions are a natural fit for small businesses on a budget.


2. Create an online customer community


All businesses thrive in the comments, but some are more distant from direct experience and contributions of its customers. And according to Thor Muller, co-founder and CTO of Get Satisfaction, "these are the companies that are absolutely essential to have a constant flow of information."


3. Feedback Forum Use Organized


Another approach to obtain customer feedback on an ongoing basis is an opinion forum organized as UserVoice. Simple UserVoice hosted forums and widgets allow customers to submit and vote on ideas for the company, which then can become a priority list of feedback. You can also use the product to communicate with users when the ideas that have voted to be acted upon. And because UserVoice offers a free version of the product, any company with an online presence and an interest in the continuous feedback can provide a forum for comments.


4. Ask for feedback on Facebook and Twitter


Of course, if you are looking for quick customer reviews, obtaining this information can be as simple as posting a question or a survey on your Facebook wall or via Twitter - you can use this method to get quick ideas for new products, new brand or new store locations or business lines.

How to Get Facebook Users to Like Your Page

Properly managed, your Facebook page can quickly become second home for your business on the web, both in how well it takes on Google and the frequency with which it is accessed by its customers and the public.

Because their customers are already on Facebook (spend an average of 25-30 minutes each day on the site), which are significantly more likely to see messages from your brand within your News Feed that do often return to visit their website or any other means on their own initiative.

As fans engage with your page commenting, taste or content exchange, the brand awareness extends to the friends of that person, helping you to reach more customers. Once a user granted permission to contact them by the friendliness of its website, the market may continue for infinity, essentially for free.


The following ten tips for unpaid Favorites:

Basics
Username sure your page
Create a custom landing page
As incentives for participation in competitions
Install a box like on your website
Take advantage of the database and contacts
Suggest your existing Facebook friends page
Promote your Facebook page everywhere
Do not ignore your Biggest Fans
Update, Listen and Participate

What Do You Love: Google’s Love Website

Google has launched a new service, called What's mysterious like that. It is a simple search box, similar to the Google home page, but returns the result of over 20 different Google services, like Google Translate, Trends, YouTube, Maps, Groups etc.
The results are presented in small boxes that can, in some cases, you can enlarge by clicking the icon in the lower right corner, and if you need more results, you can click the button in the upper right corner of the box and go directly to the chosen service.

The concept reminds us of iGoogle, a service that lets you add simple applications to your personalized portal. What do you like, however, instantly creates a mini-site on any term you choose, making it a good choice for users who do not have time to play with the options and simply want access to many Google services on one page.

The service, located at the address and google www.wdyl.com. com / whatdoyoulove /, you mark Google's copyright, but very little explanation, and so far has not been announced in any official Google blogs. Tell us what you like in the comments!