Blog

August 2010

Flock – The social browser

By Cheryl | Posted in Social networking, Twitter at 12, website | August 31, 2010 – 12:01 pm

Flock BrowserIs it a bird, is it a plane, no it’s a…flock?

Flock is a Mozilla based web browser that integrates the sharing of photos, news and blogging into the browser interface.

The browser lets you easily drag and drop to share videos, text or links and is equipped to keep you up to date with your contacts from Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, Twitter, etc; while also allowing easy subscriptions and management of RSS feeds. From the browser you are able to track information from friends including status updates.

Other features include a powerful web search toolbar that provides a quick results and a quick glance at the most relevant results.

The web browser doesn’t have many extensions, but users are able to use the add-ons from Firefox as this is a Mozilla development.

What makes it different to other browsers?
Flock is an ideal browser for keeping you up to date with your online social contacts. It currently supports Facebook, Twitter, LiveJournal, Flickr, Photobucket, del.icio.us, WordPress, Movable Type, Blogger and other online services, as well as any RSS feed.

Will Flock overtake other browsers?
It’s unlikely. Flock is better as a secondary browser to keep in touch with friends rather than a main web browser. That’s not to say it’s a bad browser, it may just be a bit too much for general internet browsing.

Stay Connected
Facebook
MySpace
Twitter

Find
YouTube
Flickr
Truveo

Webmail
Gmail
Yahoo
AOL Mail

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Facebook Places

By Cheryl | Posted in Social networking, Twitter at 12 | August 27, 2010 – 12:01 pm

facebook placesLast week Facebook released their new application, Facebook Places.

Taken from the idea of Foursquare, which Facebook had originally tried to acquire, the application allows people to share their location with friends. As part of the concept, you can:

  • Tag your friends in places you regularly visit
  • Leave comments about your favourite place for everyone to view
  • Tag friends that are with you
  • See other users that are at the same place
  • View other users in the same location



    • Tag me!
    When you ‘check in’, you can tag your friends like you would do with a photo or status update. If your ‘place’ doesn’t appear, you can manually add it in to the application.


    Protect me!
    Data privacy on Facebook has been a huge talking point in recent times so how are you protected with such a public application?

    There has been some friction over having to “opt-out” of the service rather than “opt-in” to use it but Facebook seems to have covered most security worries. These include:

  • When a user is tagged at a place, they are notified immediately, and are given the option to opt-out of ‘places’ tags.
  • Users under 18 are only able to share their location with their immediate friends, and their real-time location can only seen by friends at the same location.
  • De-tag notifications, remove yourself from locations that you have been tagged or disable Places altogether.



    • Currently, Facebook Places is only available within the US, with a roll-out to the UK expected in the near future.

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    Fact Friday – How many visits does it take?

    By Jemma | Posted in Fact Friday, Internet, website | August 20, 2010 – 2:27 pm

    globeEver wondered how your favourite websites fare in the world wide web, and what it takes for a website to reach the top ranking?

    The amount of visitors that popular websites receive each month is enormous, let’s take a look at how big the numbers are…

    1. Facebook – 540,000,000
    2. Youtube – 490,000,000
    3. Yahoo – 450,000,000
    4. Live.com – 370,000,000
    5. Wikipedia – 310,000,000
    6. Msn.com – 280,000,000
    7. Microsoft.com – 210,000,000
    8. Baidu.com – 170,000,000
    9. qq.com – 130,000,000
    10. Mozilla.com – 130,000,000

    To see the difference between 10 and 100 just look at Dell.com, which is the 100th site on the list with 21,000,000 visitors.

    How do you get there?
    To get into the Top 1000 sites you would need at least 4.1 million visits per month, with 7.4million for the Top 500 websites visits.

    To reach the Top 100 you would have to achieve 22 million visits a month, and to be number 1 (the tip top of the list), you would need a massive 540 million visits. Should be easy, right?

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    Online Scams

    By Jemma | Posted in Internet, website | August 20, 2010 – 11:32 am

    scamcardOnline scams are not an irregular occurrence and they are vastly becoming a more serious issue. Most people are aware when they are trying to be scammed, but what about people that aren’t?

    Facebook dislike button
    A recent scam included the infamous Facebook ‘dislike button’, which tricked users into allowing an application to access their profile and post spam messages on their account.

    I’ve won!
    There is always an amazing prize to be given away and guess what, YOU’VE won it. Don’t be fooled. If you haven’t entered anything, you definitely haven’t won anything.

    Lottery wins are one of the most common email scams and if you respond to these mails it asks you to pay a fee to cover expenses for the ‘winnings’ to be delivered. You could also become a victim of identity theft.

    Spam attack
    Most people agree that getting ‘spam’ is annoying and a lot of people have lost money to bogus emails that have arrived in there inbox. A few ways to protect yourself are:

  • Don’t give out personal details e.g. credit card details to companies you don’t know and trust
  • Read the small print – don’t sign anything without reading it thoroughly.
  • Resist the urge to ‘act now’ despite the offer, it’s important to take your time.
  • Basically if it sounds too good to be true it probably is….
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    World’s most expensive websites

    By Jemma | Posted in Internet, website | August 19, 2010 – 11:34 am

    websiteThe world’s most expensive website is Google.com (as if you didn’t know) and is valued at a huge $29,474,299,422.

    The Google search engine receives about a billion search requests per day and the name ‘Google’ was actually an accident, a spelling mistake made by the original founders who thought they were going for ‘Googol’.

    In second place is Yahoo.com which estimated value is $18,551,630,085. Yahoo first appeared in the Internet in 1994 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

    David Filo and Jerry Yang found Yahoo in a campus trailer in February as a way to keep track of their personal interests on the internet. The site started out as “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web.”

    Amazon.com is next and valued at $11,501,285,068. Unlike Google and Yahoo, Amazon is a shopping site that sells anything from clothes to electronics. It is America’s largest online retailer with nearly three times the internet sales revenue of the runner up, Staples Inc, as of January 2010.

    Fourth is Myspace.com, valued at $7,122,577,773; Google paid $900 million to be MySpace’s search provider. The company currently employs around 1,000 employees, after laying off 30 percent of its workforce in June 2009.

    Ebay.com, valued at $5,622,551,932, comes in fifth. The online auction and shopping website was founded in 1995 and now has over 14 million active users. The first ever item listed on Ebay was a broken laser pen and the most expensive purchase is a Jet.

    The facts…

    1. Google – $29,474,299,422
    2. Yahoo – $18,551,630,085
    3. Amazon – $11,501,285,068
    4. Myspace – $7,122,577,773
    5. Ebay – $5,622,551,932

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    Search Engine Optimisation

    By Cheryl | Posted in SEO, website | August 18, 2010 – 11:46 am

    SEOWant to be noticed? Tired of being left at the bottom of the pile? No, this isn’t an advert for a dating agency; this is about getting your website to the top of the list.

    What is Search Engine Optimisation?
    SEO is the process of using keywords to improve the visibility of your website on search engines, such as Google, which use ‘web crawlers’ that browse through the web to provide up-to-date information. Using the keywords contained in meta tags, websites are put in order of relevance and website placements are defined.

    The use of SEO is a lot more strict than it used to be, it was common for people to “abuse” the system by adding random keywords all over their website so they would be picked up by a search engine.

    Some people used the invisibility trick; this is when keywords are made the same colour as the background or are changed to a small font

    How does it work?

    Meta tags
    You can use the meta tags within your HTML to add the keywords which are relevant to your business.

    Cross Linking
    Links can have an effect on your ranking and having links to other websites can push you up and may improve your visibility.

    Keywords within text
    Using relevant keywords within your website text will tend to increase traffic.

    Do we offer this service? Of course we do! Many companies charge extra for this, but we believe it should be included in the work we do. So when we build your website, we SEO it up!

    http://www.quadronation.com/pr/content.php

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    Internet addiction – Like a drug?

    By Jemma | Posted in Internet, website | August 17, 2010 – 11:44 am

    internetAlthough internet addiction is not an official disorder, it is a growing problem in today’s society which is effecting more and more people.

    18.3 million households in the UK (70 per cent) had internet access in 2009, an increase of 4 million households (28 per cent) since 2006.

    According to research, 6-11% of people are addicted to the internet and find it hard to disconnect at the end of the day. Many suffer from depression and social isolation as they spend hours in their own ‘virtual world’.

    The internet is an amazing tool; over one billion people in the world have access to it and it is understandable how someone can rely heavily on it and eventually become addicted.

    In some cases the addiction can have a devastating outcome.

    A South Korean couple were convicted earlier in the year of abandoning their newborn daughter, who starved to death while they addictively played an online game raising a virtual child. They spent on average 10 hours a day on the web; and although this is an extreme case, it shows how harmful this illness can be.

    There is also a growing concern for our current society; some research suggests that internet addiction is linked to depression in teens.

    A recent study in China has shown that teens spending at least five to ten hours a day on the web, are one and a half times more likely to develop depression than moderate users. They additionally found that some teens show signs of anxiety while away from the computer.

    Teenagers are now more likely talk to their friend’s on Facebook than they are to speak to that same friend face-to-face or on the phone. People can sit on the computer and the next thing they know, hours after past in what felt like minutes; the internet is a amazing tool but the key to stop overuse is balance.

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    iPod touch – The ultimate media player

    By Cheryl | Posted in Application | August 16, 2010 – 10:08 am

    AppStore-iPodTouchThe iPod Touch has been another successful launch for Apple, with the player becoming one of the most sought after on the market. So, does this iPod match up to the hype?

    Sharing the same look and feel of the iPhone, the ‘touch’ is available in 8GB, 32GB and 64GB models and is available in black and silver.

    Music
    Listen and watch your favourite music. The iTunes store now has a feature called ‘Genius Mixes’, which consists of synching the iPod up, the application will search your library and find songs that sound good together. It will then create up to 12 mixes for you.

    Also, shuffling threw your music has never been easier, give it a shake (your iPod that is) and it will jump to a random track.

    Films and TV
    Watch the latest film and TV releases anytime you want from your iPod touch. With the 3.5-inch colour widescreen you can search iTunes for hours of entertainment to load up to your iPod.

    Computer
    Most things that you do on your computer can be done on the iPod Touch. From reading email to surfing the web, the built in Wi-Fi gives you the access you need to work on the go.

    If you’re in a ‘wireless’ area, the iPod will pick up the connection and you can start your surfing straight away.

    Gaming
    With an app store that offers thousands of games you will always find something to play. From action and sports, to entertainment and social networking, you’d be hard pressed not to find something to waste those train journeys with.

    The iPod has many built-in technologies including the accelerometer, which detects when the iPod is rotated and automatically changes the screen view for a full gaming experience. The iPod also takes advantage of other technologies such as wi-fi and Bluetooth by allowing shared game play between many devices.

    What do we think…?
    If you’re looking for a cheap mp3 player this isn’t the one for you, but if you’re willing to pay that little bit more for a full entertainment device, you won’t be disappointed.

    Price:
    8GB – £152.00
    32GB – £234.00
    64GB – £306.00

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    I want candy! (TabCandy that is…)

    By Cheryl | Posted in Social networking, website | August 13, 2010 – 12:07 pm

    TabCandyFirefox is currently developing a new feature that could change the way we look at tabbed browsing.

    The developers are currently busting a gut (not literally, I hope) to make sure TabCandy is ready for release with Firefox 4 and the word on the street is that they are rushing to get some patches reviewed and approved before the deadline.

    Head of the Tab Candy team, Aza Raskin has said of the project: “How many of us keep tabs open as reminders of something we want to do or read later? We’re all suffering from info guilt. We need a way to organize browsing, to see all of our tabs at once, and focus on the task at hand.”

    Available on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms, TabCandy could change the way we use our browsers in the future and make it a must for all future releases.

    So…what does it do?
    It can be time consuming flicking through tabs, all of those vital seconds wasted before you finally find the one you’ve been looking for. But with one keystroke, Tab Candy will show an overview of all tabs to allow you to quickly locate and switch between them.

    Groups
    You can organise all your tabs in separate groups for your work, holidays, games and social sites, making it easier to switch between them. What makes it stand out is that you can then share these groups with other people. Switching to a grouped tab would mean only the relevant tabs are shown in the tab bar, helping you focus on what you want.

    Piles
    It’s not just about the web pages. The desktop feature ‘Piles’ would allow the user to put their pictures, PDFs, songs in to piles which can then be named and saved.

      Features

    1. Organize tabs into groups that you can be named and placed on the browser as desktop-like view.
    2. Save tab groups to look at later.
    3. When you switch to a grouped tab only the relevant tabs are shown in the tab bar, which helps you focus on what you want.
    4. Search through your tabs.
    5. Have multiple profiles allowing you to sign into the same site with different logins in two different tab groups.
    6. Share tabs or tab groups between different users, computers and devices.
    7. Set up a shared tab group where several users can co-browse and see what each other is looking at on the screen.
    8. Choose colours or image backgrounds to distinguish different tab groups.
    9. Rearrange tabs and drag them anywhere inside a group or between groups.

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    The Power of Facebook

    By Jemma | Posted in Social networking | August 12, 2010 – 11:51 am

    Facebook securityJust like Everybody loves Raymond, Everybody loves Facebook.

    It was recently reported in global press (and also on our blog don’t you know!) that Facebook has over 500 million active users and is continuing to grow in to a world phenomenon that people can’t live without.

    The average user currently has approximately 130 friends and people spend up to 700 billion minutes of their lives every month on the site.

    Although one of the main attractions of Facebook is that it’s a great way of contacting old friends and keeping in touch with new ones, people have also found many weird and wonderful ways of using the social networking site too. One example of this was back in December 2009 when a Facebook post led to a kidney donation.

    Matthew Burge put out a call on his Facebook page for a new kidney for his Dad, the first time he got no response but the second time Nick Etten responded. This just shows how much Facebook has evolved and just how much it can actually have a positive impact on people’s lives.

    On July 1, 2009, shortly after Michael Jackson passed away, his page became the most popular page on Facebook; a title previously held by U.S. President Obama who had just over 6 million fans. Michael’s page was eventually transformed into a memorial site.

    But with the upsides come the downsides…

    Some people might say Facebook is too powerful and is having an adverse effect on the younger generation. Stories of abuse and bullying seem to have followed the site in recent times.

    One 16 year Old teenager from Arkensas USA is suing his own mother for hijacking his Facebook account. The 16-year-old claims that his mum hacked into his Facebook account and then wrote damaging comments regarding him. The mother in question, Denise New, says she has the right to monitor her son’s behaviour online and was just acting as a concerned parent.

    Whatever anyone thinks about Facebook it has become a worldwide success and only time will tell just how big it will grow.

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