6 Apps You Don’t Want To Miss

Foursquare

Fousquare saw an overhaul this week. The update to the app offers personalized recommendations and deals based on where you are, as well as where your friends have been. The app also got a fun redesign, changing the way you see where your friends have checked in and who is located around you.

FixYa

FixYa released an update to its HTML 5 mobile app this week, which allows you to get free expert solutions for problems you may have. Questions on the site range from what the right filter size is for your camera to how to unclog your washing machine.

Android users gained an exclusive new feature in the update: the ability to ask and answer questions by uploading videos and pictures directly from their phones without needing to download an app.
You can check out FixYa's app by going to its website from your mobile browser, FixYa can also be accessed from the web.

Cause.it

A Foursquare of sorts for good deeds, Cause.it is an app that allows users to earn points for doing things like volunteering at local food banks, animal shelters or other similar organizations. Points can later be redeemed for deals and free items at local merchants.

Thumb

If you've got a question, then Thumb has an answer. The opinion-based social network allows you to pose a question to the masses -- or a select demographic of people -- and then receive real-time answers in the form of a thumbs up or down. It also offers the ability to add a comment as well.

Version 3.0 of Thumb also adds the ability to communicate with people who have commented on your question. You can post likes and dislikes to your profile on the service. And, it offers more options for sharing your opinion via Facebook, Twitter and SMS.

InstaCC

InstaCC — Calendar and Challenges for Instagram turns your Instagram photos into a daily creative challenge. The app also organizes your Instagram pictures on a calendar, and lets you like a comment on photos just as you might through Instagram.

Live OCD Free

A therapist who specializes in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has created an unusual ally for treating patients: an app. The $79.99 app is designed for children and adults with OCD helping them practice and overcome some of their challenges.

The product of three years of work by therapist Dr. Kristen Mulcahy, the app has OCD patients practice tasks, ultimately making those tasks less anxiety-inducing.



It can be tough to keep up with all the new apps released each week. But you’re in luck: We take care of a lot of that for you, creating a roundup each weekend of some of our own highlights from the week.

This week we found an app that lets you instantly get the opinion of a group of people on everything — from what shirt you should wear out tonight to what you should have for dinner, and another that will help get expert advice on any problems you might have, such as a broken computer or clogged toilet.

A new app for good Samaritans rewards you for volunteering in your community, and an update to a popular app helps everyone find deals and friends located around them.

If you love to take pictures, another new app helps turn Instagram into a game, and organizes your pictures in calendar form.


































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5 Things to Consider Before Applying for a Job

Mona Abdel-Halim is the co-founder of Resunate.com, a job application tool that tailors and optimizes your resume for a specific job. You can find Mona and Resunate on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Your skills and experience certainly lend themselves to certain types of jobs, but they aren’t the only things you should consider when applying for a new position. Your satisfaction in a new job goes beyond simply being able to utilize your skills each day — you also need to consider who you’ll be working with, what the company is like and if you’ll be happy in the job, should you land it.

So what else is important, you ask? Here are a few other aspects of a new job you need to consider before applying:

1. Type of Management: Everyone thrives in a different type of work environment, and much of that environment is about how you’re managed on a day-to-day basis. Do you need a manager who allows you to work independently? Or do you prefer someone checking in with you on a daily basis? If you’ll be working remotely most of the time, are you able to successfully self-manage?

Think back to what worked and what did not work in your last position. Who is your ideal manager? What type of work environment will they encourage each day?

2. Corporate Culture: What is the office environment like? What values are important to the company? Do you agree with them? How do they affect the day-to-day environment at the organization? You can investigate these aspects of an organization by visiting its website. You can also gain additional insight by browsing employee reviews on Glassdoor and Vault.

Another aspect of the culture is the leadership. Do you admire and respect the top management at the organization? Do they make you want to work there? If you don’t, you may want to rethink your decision to apply at the company.

3. Your Personality Type: There are many things you can learn about your work style from discovering your personality type. Do you have a preference for extraversion or introversion? Do you require a quiet working environment or do you thrive in a bustling environment with more distractions? How your personality type will mesh with colleagues and supervisors plays a part in job satisfaction, too.

4. Work/Life Balance: What type of balance do you require? Will you be working significantly more hours than you did at your last job? What will your commute to this new job be like? Will the new position require frequent business traveling or overtime hours? These factors can affect your home life and may introduce more stress if you don’t consider them before applying. Know your limits to ensure your next position is the right fit for you and your life outside of work.

5. Company Stability: In this economy, it never hurts to dig a little deeper on company growth and financial stability. This can help you determine whether or not you’ll be looking for a new job in the near future, due to the company cutting back its workforce or shutting down altogether.

Additionally, it pays to research the industry in order to figure out if it’s healthy. Is it expected to be around in the next 10 to 15 years, or is it on the decline?

Are there other things job seekers need to consider before applying for a new position? Let us know in the comments.








































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Would You Vote for Your Next President on Facebook? [POLL]

Can digitizing voter registration get more people signed up to vote before Election Day? A pair of New York lawmakers think so, and they introduced a plan on Friday to do just that.

The Voter Empowerment Act of New York would digitize the entire registration process in an effort to reduce errors caused by handwriting and typographical blunders that can leave otherwise eligible citizens off the voter rolls.

“As election season approaches, government bureaucracy continues to impede too many people from voting,” said New York State Senator Michael Gianaris in a statement. “Our proposal would remove these obstacles and maximize voter turnout while saving the state and its counties hundreds of thousands of dollars per election, thus preventing disenfranchisement and enabling better record keeping.”

The bill would also enable 16- and 17year-olds to pre-register to vote and allow government agencies to ask New Yorkers to update their voter registration each time they have an interaction with such an office.
Currently, voters in New York have to register on paper forms which are prone to several problems: People can fill the forms out incorrectly without knowing there’s a problem, they can mail them to the wrong address, the forms can be damaged and made illegible in the mail, and so on. Moving to digital ballots could help to address those issues.

Online voter registration could also have other benefits, too. Citizens could register to vote or change their address much closer to Election Day than is possible with paper registration forms, according to the lawmaker’s release.

The proposed law is modeled on the Voter Empowerment Act introduces in the U.S. House of Representatives, and similar efforts have been carried out in several other states, including Arizona, Delaware and Georgia. However, as the press release notes, the New York plan “would be the most comprehensive state plan implemented to modernize the voter registration system.”

The bill would only allow New Yorkers to register to vote online, it won’t let them actually cast a ballot on the Internet.

However, this raises a question: if it becomes possible to vote for a president on a platform such as Facebook, would you?

Answer our poll and then share your thoughts about online voting in the comments below:

Would You Vote for the Next President on Facebook?































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The Ultimate Social Media Profile

Valued at $104 billion, Facebook broke all records with its recent debut on the stock market.



With such phenomenal success, other social networks are even more determined to carve out a niche in the market place. With fierce competition for your profile page, viral and covert marketing methods may no longer be enough. These companies, unlike Facebook, are stepping out from behind the screen and into the physical world of advertising.

Two social networks in the realms of social gaming and dating have made 1,000 people’s profile a little more prominent.

Zynga,  founded in 2007  is the company behind the popular Facebook games such as Farmville, Cityville and Hidden Chronicles and with a user base of over 250 million users a month is a major player in the world of social media.

Badoo is a dating focused social discovery website that was founded in 2006 and now boasts over 150 million members and is growing at over 150,000 users every day. It is now the 59th most visited website in the world.

Zynga’s “I Love to Play” Campaign

In the run up to Christmas 2011, Zynga (gaming social network) users could upload their photos into a billboard game which were then displayed on digital screens in Times Square, New York.  Zynga commented that ‘I Heart Zynga’ was simply a ‘game’ to ‘celebrate’ their players but it also cleverly captured the essence of their brand; a gaming platform with people who ‘Love to Play’



It gave a personal touch to their advertising and graphics of the most popular games were also displayed, giving the general public a true sense of their network.

Badoo’s Ultimate Profile Campaign

Badoo, the fast growing online dating site, uses a similar method of integrating user’s pictures into their adverts. Initially the ‘Badoo project’ photographed 1000 New Yorkers (who had to sign up to Badoo) and picked 26 winners ‘based on personality, energy and individuality’ for their billboard campaign that was launched in April 2012.  This campaign was displayed on billboards, taxi tops and underground trains.



The Badoo blog states that for these 26 users who will be plastered across New York.

‘it’s like starring in the ultimate profile picture.’

The number ‘150 Million’ is just as important as the photos. It gives Badoo ‘the world’s largest and fastest growing social network for meeting new people’ a sense of value.

It encourages others that there will be a perfect match for them in this large population. Building on this idea, they also have a counter on their home page, showcasing how many people are already using Badoo.

Of course this is a prime example of the network effect theory; in essence, the more people that use the service, the more valuable the service is to the user.

Building a Community

Both Zynga and Badoo are creating value and a sense of community by choosing ‘real’ users to represent them.  It’s especially interesting how Badoo invoked a sense of excitement amongst their audience through the potential of being picked for an advertising campaign. They’ve included their users at every step and this is vital – they have got their feedback, created a buzz and made their audience feel part of the campaign which translates into more log-ins and viral chat.

What can we Learn from These Campaigns?

Buying premium advertising space in New York might not be in your budget but how could you adapt these techniques to your own business?

• Just as Badoo highlights the size of its membership to create credibility don’t be afraid to display your credentials (such as number of followers, awards etc) to the world. Even simple elements such as share buttons that display the number of “retweets” and Facebook “likes” provide social proof that does get noticed.
• All businesses should have ‘followers/fans/friends’ via a Facebook page and blog, so why not test out some potential campaign ideas? People love to give their opinion and even more so when it’s taken on board.
• Could you pick a ‘follower’ of the month? Ask them some fun questions about themselves and dedicate a day to them. Give them a higher platform within your business. It gives your website a personal touch.
• You might not have 150 million people on your website but be proud of the number you do have, make your audience feel valued. Thank them! Remember 100,000 followers started with 100 of them. 
• Hold a caption competition where clients could tell you what your brand means to them. Could you reward them with a discount or a gift?

Is there an interesting (and cost effective) way to present your brand and profile  to the world?

Think how Zynga used gaming, how could you be innovative with your business?

What About You?

Despite millions being spent on eye catching logos, platform design and compelling copy, both businesses and social networks need to grab the attention of a public who, having been inundated with data requests, aren’t now so easy to convince.

Could you unlock some refreshing marketing initiatives with techniques that involve your existing audience?
Look forward to hearing you ideas, stories and experiences.





























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The Internet Changes Wednesday, But Most People Won’t Notice

With IP addresses now depleted, the Internet Society is leading the launch of IPv6 to allow the web to continue growing.

Without adopting IPv6, people surfing the web will have to go through a transitional gateway before entering a non-updated site using IPv4, making the experience slower. On launch day Wednesday, website owners are encouraged to permanently enable IPv6 — the next generation of Internet protocol.

“World IPv6 Launch Day is a lot larger than people understand,” John Curran, president and CEO of the American Registry for Internet Numbers, told Mashable in an email. “IPv6 is the single largest upgrade in the history of the Internet. It’s not a small decision for the major content providers to turn on IPv6 and leave it on.”

“Going forward, Internet users will be forced to go through transition gateways to reach businesses that do not similarly upgrade by adding IPv6 connectivity, with the result being slower connections and services for their customers,” Curran added. “The good news is that done properly, Internet users globally will not notice any significant difference in their daily lives.”

Hundreds of organizations are making the switch — Google, Facebook and Time Warner Cable, to name a few.

Internet Service Providers will be able to use IPv6 to connect new customers to the web, while existing customers are unlikely to notice a change. Companies and websites should speak with their ISP or hosting company to get IPv6 turned on their existing Internet connection.

News of IPv6 and the lack of available IP addresses with IPv4 was announced in February 2011.

































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