Nik Kingsman 
Want more LIKEs on your Facebook page?
It’s easy… Log into Facebook and check out Social Sweepstakes. Social Sweepstakes is a free tool to create, well, sweepstakes!
Creating a sweepstake is easy, visit https://apps.facebook.com/ma_sweepstakes/ and click onto the “Create promotion” button at the top of the screen, add the app, agree to the permissions and fill out the required fields to set up your promotion and watch the new LIKEs roll on in to your Facebook page…
So you have a Pinterest account but you want to get some statistics on your account? Check out this beta program by Pin Authority. Simply sign up via your Twitter or Facebook account and your Pinterest account will then log you in.
So what do you get? Lots…
It will show statistics on your followers, who you are following, number of pins, number of boards, likes and Repins. Pin Authority will also rank you and provide a “Pin Authority Score”. The statistics in which Pin Authority will show you is based on a week, month and 3 month lost of stats and all plotted out in a graph.
Another nice feature it will show you your trending pins.
There are some other nice features of the app, you can pay to recruit more followers, plans start at $9.00 per month. You can connect with the top 100 most followed – it makes it easy to connect with the top influences and will also display the current trending pins.
If you are interested in following the creators of Pin Authority, you can do this via twitter, follow @Pinauthority_ and @Anikendra.
Check out Pin Authority at http://pinauthority.com/ today and let us know what you think!
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| For those tired of Facebook, there is a new friend in town by the name of Google Plus. It has taken off by storm with over 10 million users signing up the first week. People are now familiar with sights such as MySpace and Facebook, so new users are not uncomfortable with navigating around a new social network. I find that people who are tired with the privacy issues of other social media sites are finding Google+ a refreshing new find.One of the coolest things about Google Plus is the feature known as “Circles”. You can now classify people into certain circles such as “friends”, “work” and “family”. You can read the feeds from everyone with one main feed or you can just read the updates from a certain circle. This is a nice streamline feature so you have the option to just keep up with the feeds of your choice. While in a one circle, you will get notifications below to let you know you have messages from other circles. Also, a great feature of the circles is that when you post a status update it will give you the option of which circles you want the update to post to. You can also select for it to post to a single circle, person or multiple circles. This is perfect if you don’t want your comment to be seen by work aquaintances and only shared with your friends or family. The chat feature is great and you can choose to chat within a certain circle or with the entire group.The streaming of the conversations is awesome with the fact that all new posts will show up at the top of the feeds with no need to search through all the pages to get the latest updates.
Photo sharing is easy and you have the choices of which circles you want to share your photos with. You can just drag and drop photos straight from your desktop into Google Plus, use their upload feature to browse pictures from your computer or upload straight from an Android or IOS app. Two great features that the other social media sites don’t offer is something called Hangouts and Sparks. Hangouts takes chat to a whole new level with the option to video chat with a group of friends or a circle all on one screen. You will start a hangout and then invite friends or an entire circle to join, however only 10 can video chat at one time. With Sparks you can read content from the web that you are interested in without leaving your social network. Both of these make Google Plus stand out above the rest. To download Google Plus, go to www.Google.com and type in Google Plus. On the top right hand corner, you will see a red sign up box. Follow the instructions to download Google + to your computer and you are on to a whole new, fresh social network experience. |
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| Website | http://plus.google.com/ |
| Download Link | http://plus.google.com/ |
| Cost | FREE |
| platform | Browser, Android, IOS |
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What is Twitter?Twitter is a social media platform that allows users to post messages of up to 140 characters. These messages are then sent to whoever happens to be following your feed. There are many reasons why a person would want to use a service such as Twitter. Social Media Helps Connect YouUsing a social media site such as Twitter allows you to connect with others who think like you. For example, say you were a lawyer. You could follow other lawyers, judges and anyone else who was an expert in the legal profession. In return, these people would then follow your feed. Those who follow you could send you links, direct messages regarding job opportunities or just have a conversation about current events. Spread The Word About Something BigYou will notice that there are certain words and phrases that are trending. A trending topic is something that many people are talking about at the same time. It could be that a celebrity died, the Supreme Court issued an important ruling or another anticipated event was taking place.
If you want to join in the conversation, you can use a hash tag next to your message. For example, you could put the # symbol next to a certain word or phrase to help get it noticed. Anyone who types that word or phrase into the search bar will see your message among thousands of others. Why 140 CharactersWhy can’t your messages be 142 characters? The answer to that lies in the fact that Twitter was designed to be like a text messaging service for the world. The standard text message on a cell phone is 140 characters long. However, you can compress your link using different link condensing services. There are also third-party services that allow you to exceed the limit. How Do I Sign UpSigning up for a Twitter account is easy. All you need to do is provide your name, email address and a username. You will then click on a confirmation link sent to the email address that you have provided. Once you click the link, you are all set to start using the service. Using Twitter is a fun and unique experience. It allows you to talk to others around the world from the comfort of your own home. Social media allows you to grow your professional network, connect with others to advance social causes or just be social. How you use it is all up to you. |
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| Website | www.twitter.com |
| Download Link | www.twitter.com |
| Cost | FREE |
| platform | Browser, iPhone, Android, iPad, Blackberry, Windows Phone 7 |
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What is Pinterest?There are many unique social media platforms out today which allow you to share different types of media and share common interests with other people. A new innovative social network known as Pinterest has allowed users to share their favorite photos with other users. Pinterest’s main function is to allow you to share photographs and images across a pinboard. A pinboard is usually the main page of their website, where pictures can be pinned by other users in order to share them. To pin an image, a user must simply find a photograph they wish to share and submit it to the website. One of the ways Pinterest has created a unique user experience is by creating the pinning system. This new innovative system allows users to share what they enjoy rather quickly, and receive a user response. This allows for users to share their own creations, or other user’s creations in a matter of seconds. People are attracted to this new social media sharing website because of it’s unique and easy to use design. One of the ways Pinterest allows for easy user access is by using a trending page. A trending page is when the pin that has received the most likes is moved to the front page, allowing for easy viewing of the most popular subject. Many users who partake in the use of social media love to know what is the most popular subject at hand, and Pinterest delivers it quickly. This social media website has also gained popularity due to the fact it is perfect for exposure for artists, bands, and even unique companies. Artists often have trouble getting their work noticed, and most artists fail to become noticed due to lack of exposure. One of the best ways for a new artist to get exposure is by putting their artwork up on social media platforms such as Pinterest. Social media networks have always been an easy way to get an artist’s creations to go viral, giving them instant exposure. Companies can also make use out of this new social media platform by posting some of the useful or creative products they have to offer. The main demographic of Pinterest is usually young men and women, so a catchy and hip product will usually catch their attention! Pinterest has also been used for sharing good experiences with buying products such as clothing, and many users often post pictures of their newly purchased clothing and where to get it. Pinterest can also help you keep up with the latest fashion trends; as stated before users posts some of the clothing items they have purchased. Pinterest has been gaining interest extremely quickly and continues to gain new users everyday. |
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| Website | www.pinterest.com |
| Download Link | www.pinterest.com |
| Cost | FREE |
| platform | Browser, IOS |
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What is LinkedIn and How is it Beneficial in Today’s Modern Society?Whether you are the owner of a business or if you are seeking a way to grow your professional network as an individual, LinkedIn is an ideal network that is useful for various purposes, including meeting potential business partners or even obtaining a new job position or career.
How to Use LinkedIn With Social MediaUsing LinkedIn with social media is possible by registering for an account and then by connecting all of the current social networking accounts you have (from Facebook to Twitter) to help with sharing your professional updates. This will help to gain traction to your LinkedIn profile which may bring new job opportunities or even help you with meeting new associates and networking contacts. Who Can Use LinkedIn?Anyone from an individual looking to build a professional reputation or network to the CEO of a multi-miliion dollar corporation can use LinkedIn and can also benefit from doing so as well. Using LinkedIn is a way to find relevant contacts and potential partners to steer clear from linking up with people who are not involved in the same industry as you. The Benefits of Using LinkedInOne of the major benefits of using LinkedIn is the ability to stay in touch with anyone you have worked with in the past week, month, or even in the past decade, regardless of the type of business you had done together. When you use LinkedIn, you are also able to search for potential business partners or networking contacts who may be able to help with expanding your own company. You can use the network to not only promote your personal and professional profile, but also as a tool to help with making introductions to other potential affiliates and future partners or associates as well. Additionally, when you use LinkedIn, you can make new virtual “connections” with others based on your current networking connections and partners. If you are connected with someone from a fast food corporation who is connected with the CEO of that company, you will be able to request a “connection” between the two of you from your friend who works in the fast food industry. This allows you to bridge the gap and break the ice when you want to present new business ideas or if you have a specific person in mind you would like to connect with relating to your business. Using LinkedIn allows you to stay in touch with your professional network while keeping your virtual resume and portfolio up-to-date. With consistent updates, you are able to stay relevant and continue to grow your website or business with the help of networking and working with social media within the network itself to help you grow even more. |
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| Website | www.linkedin.com |
| Download Link | www.linkedin.com |
| Cost | Free and subscription pricing |
| platform | Browser, IOS, Android |
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| Facebookis the largest social network on the internet. Created at Harvard in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, the network now has over 900 million users in every country all over the world.Of all the social media sites on the web, Facebook is definitely the place to go if you want to connect with as many people as possible. The chances are very good that at least 50% of everyone you know already has an account. The point of the site is to connect with friends, family and loved ones so that it is easier to keep up with what’s going on in each others’ lives. It also makes instantaneous communication possible, which is especially important for those who don’t like to use their phone all the time.
The way it works is quite simple. Users set up a profile, which contains as little or as much personal information as you want, including relationship status, schools attended, place of work, and more. Searching for other friends to add can be done by typing in a location, school or even another person’s name. Once someone is your friend they will see everything you do, whether you change your status or share a photo of your dog. Your friends will see this information on their news feed. You can also instant message with friends or send them notes via the Facebook messaging system. You can also add as many photos as you want and create endless albums, because Facebook has no cap on storage. Another great feature the social network offers is Facebook pages. If you own a business, or even want to get more exposure for your child’s football team, the best thing to do is to create a page. This allows friends and family, and their friends, to ‘like’ the page. If you want to let everyone know about a new product or an upcoming football game, just post it on your page. This is one of the best and most affordable ways to interact with users and potential customers if you own a business. Sharing items has become very popular on Facebook. Almost every article you read or picture you look at on the internet now has a Facebook ‘share’ button. Click that button and the item will automatically be posted to your profile wall and all your friends will see it on their news feed. Facebook continues to expand and grow at an amazing rate. With almost a billion users, it is more populous than most nations. Facebook has started to buy different internet properties such as the popular photo sharing app Instagram, which they bought for a billion dollars. If you want to keep up with your friends, family, or colleagues, Facebook is definitely the easiest and most fun way to do it. |
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| Website | www.facebook.com |
| Download Link | www.facebook.com |
| Cost | Free |
| platform | Browser, Android, iPhone, iPad |
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