Here's a release sent to me recently! Reproduced here for readers.
UK: With the popularity of social networking platforms such as Twitter on the rise, cyber criminals have found an easy target among unsuspecting users. BitDefender offers advice on how Twitter users can avoid falling prey to some of the most common tricks regularly employed by hackers.
One of the biggest spam related security problems facing Twitter are the many link-shortening services utilized for hyperlink posting. Users are limited to 140 characters per tweet; these URL-shortening services allow tweeters to post a longer link under such tight character limitations.
Hackers use these link-shortening services to disguise malicious links. Some infections could be easily prevented by allowing users to see the real URL before clicking on it.
BitDefender’s senior antispam researcher Catalin Cosoi says, “Another big problem is the fact that search engines, such as Google, index Twitter profiles. This allows malicious pages that are built and marketed with good social engineering tactics to end up high in the rankings. Additionally, because Twitter messages are so short lived, users could unknowingly send spam messages without having the opportunity to notice that someone else is using their account.”
Some of the common types of Twitter spam include:
1. Tweet spam: Tweet spam comes from someone a user is currently following and everyone following that user will see the tweet.
2. Direct Message: A direct message comes from someone a user is currently following and only the user will see the message.
3. ReTweet Spam: ReTweet spam searches for legitimate tweets and reposts them in the system but with a different, malicious URL.
4. Trending Subjects Spam: Trending subjects spam searches for hot topics on Twitter (like Michael Jackson’s death) and posts similar tweets with different, malicious URLs.
5. Following Spam: Following spam happens when a user’s profile receives a lot of followers he/she doesn’t know. If the user does not start following them back within a week, they stop following the user.
Statistics show that one in two users will follow back. Usually, these profiles are bots which are programmed to acquire as many followers as possible before they can start broadcasting spam.
Fortunately, Twitter users can protect themselves from falling into spam traps by following five tips:
1. Install a comprehensive security solution on your computer - preferably a suite containing antivirus, firewall and a phishing filter.
2. Follow the spam profile on Twitter: http://twitter.com/spam. Users can find good advice here. For example, a recent post states: "If you gave your login and password info to TwitViewer, we strongly suggest you change your password now. Thanks!"
3. Don’t click on all the links you receive.
4. Disable the "auto followback" option. This will allow you to pick and chose who you want to follow.
5. Make sure you know who you are following.
Cosoi adds: “By following these simple tips, users of social networking sites like Twitter can protect themselves from spammers and other cyber criminals.”
Showing posts with label Twitter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Twitter. Show all posts
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Thanks to Maxitweet, 140 characters no longer Twitter limit!
A new service, called Maxitweet, seems to have found a way to extend the limit of your tweets to beyond 140 characters. Read on...
CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND: Type "140 characters" into Twitter's search box and the resulting tweets come flooding in -- predictably the majority of them lamenting this constraint. A new Twitter service, has found a way around the restriction by clever use of letter-like symbols called Unicode characters.
"Maxitweets" are up to 200 characters long, an increase of nearly 50 percent, and have opened up new possibilities for the fast growing Twitter communications platform.
For example, tweeted recipes ("twecipes") are easier to read with the extra space available. A number of poets have also responded enthusiastically. A limerick aficionado, who had given up on trying to tweet the humorous five-liners because they tend to be around 180 characters long, now posts them several times a day as @limerik. And breaking news services -- among the more prominent users of Twitter -- are able to tweet the news item, rather than just a link to it.
How does it work?
Twitter caters for users in many countries and therefore transmits in a universal font language called "Unicode." It contains over 100,000 glyphs in hundreds of languages. Maxitweet was the first to realize that glyphs resembling two or more normal letters can help to transmit text more efficiently.
In the word "lions," for example, two characters are saved by replacing the vowels with a Cyrillic letter resembling "io," followed by the Unicode symbol for nanosecond "ns."
"We spent weeks combing through thousands of glyphs in many languages -- Cyrillic, Thai, Arabic, Hiragana," says Wytze Hoekstra, project manager at FrisianStyle Productions, which runs Maxitweet.com. "We then wrote a javascript engine that compresses text in the background and delivers a user-friendly experience."
Will the new limit improve the Twitter experience? Even though 140 was enough to produce many memorable tweets, like those collected by http://www.besttweets.com -- "Museum for the Art of Micro-Elegance" -- it remains to be seen whether the expanded limit will take Twitter to new heights. Some say 140 characters is too many. "I'd only call about 30 of them 'characters.' The other 110 are quite boring." -- Aimee Brock (@Aimee_B_Loved on Twitter).
Perhaps, the argument is best summed up by Jason Shellen (@shellen): "When people ask me about the brevity of Twitter I always tell them 'You can really say a lot in just 140 characters. More than you would th '."
CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND: Type "140 characters" into Twitter's search box and the resulting tweets come flooding in -- predictably the majority of them lamenting this constraint. A new Twitter service, has found a way around the restriction by clever use of letter-like symbols called Unicode characters.
"Maxitweets" are up to 200 characters long, an increase of nearly 50 percent, and have opened up new possibilities for the fast growing Twitter communications platform.
For example, tweeted recipes ("twecipes") are easier to read with the extra space available. A number of poets have also responded enthusiastically. A limerick aficionado, who had given up on trying to tweet the humorous five-liners because they tend to be around 180 characters long, now posts them several times a day as @limerik. And breaking news services -- among the more prominent users of Twitter -- are able to tweet the news item, rather than just a link to it.
How does it work?
Twitter caters for users in many countries and therefore transmits in a universal font language called "Unicode." It contains over 100,000 glyphs in hundreds of languages. Maxitweet was the first to realize that glyphs resembling two or more normal letters can help to transmit text more efficiently.
In the word "lions," for example, two characters are saved by replacing the vowels with a Cyrillic letter resembling "io," followed by the Unicode symbol for nanosecond "ns."
"We spent weeks combing through thousands of glyphs in many languages -- Cyrillic, Thai, Arabic, Hiragana," says Wytze Hoekstra, project manager at FrisianStyle Productions, which runs Maxitweet.com. "We then wrote a javascript engine that compresses text in the background and delivers a user-friendly experience."
Will the new limit improve the Twitter experience? Even though 140 was enough to produce many memorable tweets, like those collected by http://www.besttweets.com -- "Museum for the Art of Micro-Elegance" -- it remains to be seen whether the expanded limit will take Twitter to new heights. Some say 140 characters is too many. "I'd only call about 30 of them 'characters.' The other 110 are quite boring." -- Aimee Brock (@Aimee_B_Loved on Twitter).
Perhaps, the argument is best summed up by Jason Shellen (@shellen): "When people ask me about the brevity of Twitter I always tell them 'You can really say a lot in just 140 characters. More than you would th '."
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Is Twitter hyped? Research indicates otherwise!
UK: Underneath all the hype about Twitter, evidence is emerging that it can bring genuine value when used in the business environment, particularly for the younger generation.
Business-to-business industry researcher AIIM found that 27 percent of 18-30 year-olds agree that Twitter is an important rapid-feedback tool for business use, compared to only 7 percent of those over 45.
Users feel it gives them unprecedented access to answers from experts, and they find it useful for running mini polls, sharing opinions during conferences and events, and making contacts whilst travelling. In total, 34 percent of the survey population has a Twitter account.
The survey also found that business users of Twitter are much more engaged than personal users, with half of the business users actively contributing and posting, rather than merely following.
As regards following, 55 percent of users feel it has given them a useful insight into other professional's lives and businesses. However, even among committed users, there is a concern that Twitter might steal too much of their time, with 74 percent using it during working hours.
“We’ve been tracking the rapid growth of Enterprise 2.0 -- the business use of social media - for a couple of years,” comments Atle Skjekkeland, VP of AIIM, “but Twitter has grown much faster than anything we’ve seen before. It seems to me that Twitter brings back such quick answers from any expert community that it cannot fail to have a lasting place within the general business toolbox.”
The AIIM survey, which polled 788 respondents, indicates that LinkedIn is twice as popular as Facebook for business networking, with over 50 percent of participants having an account.
Two thirds feel that professional networking on the web is vital to their career progression –- even more so in the current difficult times. Pressure is growing on IT departments to replicate social networking tools within the work environment, with a third expecting to use the same type of networking tools with their business colleagues as they do with friends and family, and 71 percent finding it easier to locate knowledge on the web than it is to find it on internal systems.
The AIIM research report is entitled “Collaboration and Enterprise 2.0: work meets play or the future of business?” Part of the AIIM Industry Watch series, the report is free to download from the AIIM website,
www.aiim.org.uk. It is underwritten by Allyis, Ektron, EMC Corporation and
Oracle.
Business-to-business industry researcher AIIM found that 27 percent of 18-30 year-olds agree that Twitter is an important rapid-feedback tool for business use, compared to only 7 percent of those over 45.
Users feel it gives them unprecedented access to answers from experts, and they find it useful for running mini polls, sharing opinions during conferences and events, and making contacts whilst travelling. In total, 34 percent of the survey population has a Twitter account.
The survey also found that business users of Twitter are much more engaged than personal users, with half of the business users actively contributing and posting, rather than merely following.
As regards following, 55 percent of users feel it has given them a useful insight into other professional's lives and businesses. However, even among committed users, there is a concern that Twitter might steal too much of their time, with 74 percent using it during working hours.
“We’ve been tracking the rapid growth of Enterprise 2.0 -- the business use of social media - for a couple of years,” comments Atle Skjekkeland, VP of AIIM, “but Twitter has grown much faster than anything we’ve seen before. It seems to me that Twitter brings back such quick answers from any expert community that it cannot fail to have a lasting place within the general business toolbox.”
The AIIM survey, which polled 788 respondents, indicates that LinkedIn is twice as popular as Facebook for business networking, with over 50 percent of participants having an account.
Two thirds feel that professional networking on the web is vital to their career progression –- even more so in the current difficult times. Pressure is growing on IT departments to replicate social networking tools within the work environment, with a third expecting to use the same type of networking tools with their business colleagues as they do with friends and family, and 71 percent finding it easier to locate knowledge on the web than it is to find it on internal systems.
The AIIM research report is entitled “Collaboration and Enterprise 2.0: work meets play or the future of business?” Part of the AIIM Industry Watch series, the report is free to download from the AIIM website,
www.aiim.org.uk. It is underwritten by Allyis, Ektron, EMC Corporation and
Oracle.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Is the PR industry challenged by social media?
I came across a very interesting discussion on LinkedIn, titled: A Tale Of PR And Social Media. Apparently, the message is: for many PR agencies, working or even grasping social media is a nightmare.
So, is the PR industry really challenged by social media? Perhaps, yes!
Can it overcome this challenge? Of course!
Business social media, or even social media, surely helps speaking in the language your target audience appreciates and understands.
However, it seems that PR folks haven't really come to terms with all of this. The PR industry should realize that bombarding press releases to bloggers don't help at all and neither do requests to write about specific companies and their initiatives.
In fact, I haven't even seen PR take help of bloggers and other social media platforms immensely.
What I did find some PR folks doing was to try and send media invitations over some social media networks, or even open some specific page for a particular company and then send requests to join that page or group!
Maybe, these will work in the short run, but definitely not in the long run. Friends in the PR, that's definitely not going to help you meet your needs!
On a personal note, I sometimes get tired of PR folks asking me for leads so they can make new clients. I have helped a few in the past, but that's when I used to be part of the media.
Well, would such PR folks pay me -- if I did provide solid leads? No, they would not! And well, would PR agencies share their client details with me? No, unless, I have a particular story to write, which would feature that company, and well, am part of a big publishing house.
A lot of PR folks and even companies get in touch with me daily with some request or the other. However, the moment I speak about some payment, I receive mixed responses. Perhaps, they all are not ready yet to pay bloggers since we are all used to content being available free. However, this free thing won't stay for long... :)
This is also a reason why bloggers like to avoid PR firms and probably, even some companies, for that matter! Why publicize someone when that person getting publicity won't even pay you? Fair enough!
If you also notice, some of the best content is available on blogs. That's the reason why companies are now having bloggers on their payrolls, or have independent blogs! Not only is it cheaper to host content, you are also assured of real quality content from top-notch bloggers.
I'd like to highlight a case here, and this one is not from me, but from a well known blogger covering DAC 2009.
ATRENTA BLOGFEST
Why are we doing this?
We want to reach out to the press/bloggers at DAC, but not with a traditional press conference. Rather than discuss new product announcements, etc., we’d rather discuss design trends and have a lively debate about what they mean!
A panelist discusses a point of view on the topic for three minutes (and no more). No slides, but strong opinions are solicited. We then open the floor to the bloggers for a spirited discussion.
Wow! I am really elated to even read this! Wonder when we can have such events or blogfests here in India!
Well, how many PR firms, or even companies, would be bold enough and like to do such a thing? Both of them should try to find a win-win situation where they can make full use of social media and bloggers, and also help bloggers make some money too!
I feel that a huge opportunity is out there for companies, PR, bloggers, etc.
So many well known bloggers have their own tweets...those can be made use of so successfully! Why, even placing a Twitter or Facebook link on a print magazine or newspaper would help immensely! :)
So, is the PR industry really challenged by social media? Perhaps, yes!
Can it overcome this challenge? Of course!
Business social media, or even social media, surely helps speaking in the language your target audience appreciates and understands.
However, it seems that PR folks haven't really come to terms with all of this. The PR industry should realize that bombarding press releases to bloggers don't help at all and neither do requests to write about specific companies and their initiatives.
In fact, I haven't even seen PR take help of bloggers and other social media platforms immensely.
What I did find some PR folks doing was to try and send media invitations over some social media networks, or even open some specific page for a particular company and then send requests to join that page or group!
Maybe, these will work in the short run, but definitely not in the long run. Friends in the PR, that's definitely not going to help you meet your needs!
On a personal note, I sometimes get tired of PR folks asking me for leads so they can make new clients. I have helped a few in the past, but that's when I used to be part of the media.
Well, would such PR folks pay me -- if I did provide solid leads? No, they would not! And well, would PR agencies share their client details with me? No, unless, I have a particular story to write, which would feature that company, and well, am part of a big publishing house.
A lot of PR folks and even companies get in touch with me daily with some request or the other. However, the moment I speak about some payment, I receive mixed responses. Perhaps, they all are not ready yet to pay bloggers since we are all used to content being available free. However, this free thing won't stay for long... :)
This is also a reason why bloggers like to avoid PR firms and probably, even some companies, for that matter! Why publicize someone when that person getting publicity won't even pay you? Fair enough!
If you also notice, some of the best content is available on blogs. That's the reason why companies are now having bloggers on their payrolls, or have independent blogs! Not only is it cheaper to host content, you are also assured of real quality content from top-notch bloggers.
I'd like to highlight a case here, and this one is not from me, but from a well known blogger covering DAC 2009.
ATRENTA BLOGFEST
Why are we doing this?
We want to reach out to the press/bloggers at DAC, but not with a traditional press conference. Rather than discuss new product announcements, etc., we’d rather discuss design trends and have a lively debate about what they mean!
A panelist discusses a point of view on the topic for three minutes (and no more). No slides, but strong opinions are solicited. We then open the floor to the bloggers for a spirited discussion.
Wow! I am really elated to even read this! Wonder when we can have such events or blogfests here in India!
Well, how many PR firms, or even companies, would be bold enough and like to do such a thing? Both of them should try to find a win-win situation where they can make full use of social media and bloggers, and also help bloggers make some money too!
I feel that a huge opportunity is out there for companies, PR, bloggers, etc.
So many well known bloggers have their own tweets...those can be made use of so successfully! Why, even placing a Twitter or Facebook link on a print magazine or newspaper would help immensely! :)
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
TwitGeek? Follow geeks like yourself on Twitter!
TwitGeek! What will these folks (or web developers) think of next?
I was quite amused to come across this site, which clearly states: TwittGeek is a Twitter application that automatically follows 200 targeted people based on keywords you write!
I haven't tried it out though for a simple reason: I am quite selective as far as my choices and interests are concerned. In Twitter's case, I've basically decided only to follow those web sites/industry associations that are of interest -- or 'of a technical nature' -- to me!
As a friend mentioned jokingly over chat to me -- "I just added you on to my Twitter -- love that you said that you are a 'simple' guy when your interests are so technical!" God bless this friend of mine! :) I find that 'simple guy' and my 'interests being technical' bit quite open to interpretation! :D
I have another friend, who calls herself PR Chick! Funny names!! Recommended she change it to Ozbabe or something, since she hails from Australia.
Anyhow! I wonder, what will I encounter, if I do indeed sign up with TwitGeek? While it may automatically make me follow 200 people based on the keywords I type, I really don't want to be following people having fancy, and funny names! At least, their names should be clear enough for me to understand! How will I know who's say, BrokenMac, KillOpera, or even, I Hate Windows??
Well, in case you are a geek, and wish to follow fellow geeks like youself, TwitGeek is just meant for you! Best of luck Tweeple!
I was quite amused to come across this site, which clearly states: TwittGeek is a Twitter application that automatically follows 200 targeted people based on keywords you write!
I haven't tried it out though for a simple reason: I am quite selective as far as my choices and interests are concerned. In Twitter's case, I've basically decided only to follow those web sites/industry associations that are of interest -- or 'of a technical nature' -- to me!
As a friend mentioned jokingly over chat to me -- "I just added you on to my Twitter -- love that you said that you are a 'simple' guy when your interests are so technical!" God bless this friend of mine! :) I find that 'simple guy' and my 'interests being technical' bit quite open to interpretation! :D
I have another friend, who calls herself PR Chick! Funny names!! Recommended she change it to Ozbabe or something, since she hails from Australia.
Anyhow! I wonder, what will I encounter, if I do indeed sign up with TwitGeek? While it may automatically make me follow 200 people based on the keywords I type, I really don't want to be following people having fancy, and funny names! At least, their names should be clear enough for me to understand! How will I know who's say, BrokenMac, KillOpera, or even, I Hate Windows??
Well, in case you are a geek, and wish to follow fellow geeks like youself, TwitGeek is just meant for you! Best of luck Tweeple!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Freelance jobs available on Twitter
I didn't know there were a whole lot of jobs out there on Twitter, till I bumped into this site, thanks to one of my fellow Tweeter.
One of the tweets you can follow is right here -- freelance jobs on Twitter!
There is yet another site, which lists 50 people on Twitter that job seekers should follow!
Then, there is also the Freelance Supermarket!
Right then folks! Here are three links that you may find useful. I haven't tried any so far, and therefore, look forward to your feedback.
Good luck with your search for freelance jobs!
One of the tweets you can follow is right here -- freelance jobs on Twitter!
There is yet another site, which lists 50 people on Twitter that job seekers should follow!
Then, there is also the Freelance Supermarket!
Right then folks! Here are three links that you may find useful. I haven't tried any so far, and therefore, look forward to your feedback.
Good luck with your search for freelance jobs!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Who should I follow on Twitter?
I am sure this is a question most of us ask ourselves. At least, I do! Since my interests are very specific, I find it challenging to determine who to follow. In that dilemma, I actually end up following very few! Now, I don't know whether this is good or bad. However, like a friend told me recently -- it is not in the quantity you follow on Twitter, or your followers, but the quality!
Indeed, a very wise suggestion! If I have less than 100 followers, but if I find that they have a genuine interest in what I write, my day's done! At least, I know that those who read my blog posts seem to have an interest in the subjects I write on.
Who Should I Follow
Right! I also came across a web site called: Who Should I Follow! This web site asks you to put in your Twitter user ID, and promises to give you suggestions on interesting people to follow.
Well, I did try with my own user name, but I don't think I received the desired results. As I said, my needs are very specific. I'd like to follow those who write on topics of my interest, and well, at least, write something new all the time, so I get to learn even more. However, that's me. I have a suggestion for this site -- please add a line for interests, besides, searching by the Twitter username, for example, cooking or photography or mobile phones. Maybe, that will lead to delivering more quality results.
Perhaps, it may not be a bad idea for you to try out this web site. You may find those you'd like to follow and make new Twitter friends.
By the way, may I add here that among those who are following me on Twitter, I've managed to strike up some sort of friendship as the interests are quite common. In fact, a few have even gone ahead with some business related discussions.
So, those new to Twitter, there's more to having followers or simply following others. Think business, think relationships -- and long term! Best of luck
Indeed, a very wise suggestion! If I have less than 100 followers, but if I find that they have a genuine interest in what I write, my day's done! At least, I know that those who read my blog posts seem to have an interest in the subjects I write on.
Who Should I Follow
Right! I also came across a web site called: Who Should I Follow! This web site asks you to put in your Twitter user ID, and promises to give you suggestions on interesting people to follow.
Well, I did try with my own user name, but I don't think I received the desired results. As I said, my needs are very specific. I'd like to follow those who write on topics of my interest, and well, at least, write something new all the time, so I get to learn even more. However, that's me. I have a suggestion for this site -- please add a line for interests, besides, searching by the Twitter username, for example, cooking or photography or mobile phones. Maybe, that will lead to delivering more quality results.
Perhaps, it may not be a bad idea for you to try out this web site. You may find those you'd like to follow and make new Twitter friends.
By the way, may I add here that among those who are following me on Twitter, I've managed to strike up some sort of friendship as the interests are quite common. In fact, a few have even gone ahead with some business related discussions.
So, those new to Twitter, there's more to having followers or simply following others. Think business, think relationships -- and long term! Best of luck
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Tried Tweetdeck and Twazzup?
All you Twitter lovers, users and fans, am wondering whether you've had the chance to use TweetDeck and Twazzup!
First, TweetDeck! This is a very simple and a fast way to experience Twitter! It acts as a browser, and allows you to stay in touch with what's happening on Twitter real time, besides connecting you with your contacts across Twitter, Facebook, etc.
The latest version, v0.25, is said to have a fix for a memory leak issue, and new features such as short URL previews, Twitpic thumbnails, recording of 12s video clips and Facebook integration.
Twazzup is a search engine that allows you to search Twitter and find relevant information. For example, I searched for my account on Twazzup and was elated to find all of my recent tweets listed there, even nicely arranged as per topics -- such as AMD, Intel, MCUs, PV, etc.
In case, you've uploaded any images using TwitPic, it shows up on the right side of the page. And so do the most popular links of articles that you may have posted!
Well, enjoy using Twitter, friends! Power to micro blogging!!
First, TweetDeck! This is a very simple and a fast way to experience Twitter! It acts as a browser, and allows you to stay in touch with what's happening on Twitter real time, besides connecting you with your contacts across Twitter, Facebook, etc.
The latest version, v0.25, is said to have a fix for a memory leak issue, and new features such as short URL previews, Twitpic thumbnails, recording of 12s video clips and Facebook integration.
Twazzup is a search engine that allows you to search Twitter and find relevant information. For example, I searched for my account on Twazzup and was elated to find all of my recent tweets listed there, even nicely arranged as per topics -- such as AMD, Intel, MCUs, PV, etc.
In case, you've uploaded any images using TwitPic, it shows up on the right side of the page. And so do the most popular links of articles that you may have posted!
Well, enjoy using Twitter, friends! Power to micro blogging!!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Twitpic -- upload your pictures on Twitter!
Folks, if you haven't tried, Twitpic, suggest you do!
First, if you have a Twitter account, which I believe most of you do, please use that to log into Twitpic. Once there, you have several options to upload photos on to Twitter.
According to Twitpic, you can upload pictures to TwitPic from your mobile phone, or use Twitpic's API, or through the website itself. It is as simple as that! There are some popular twitter clients that have built-in support for TwitPic.
So, with your micro blogging, you can also share images for everyone to see. Now, won't that make your posts look great? I've tried it, and it really looks marvellous.
First, if you have a Twitter account, which I believe most of you do, please use that to log into Twitpic. Once there, you have several options to upload photos on to Twitter.
According to Twitpic, you can upload pictures to TwitPic from your mobile phone, or use Twitpic's API, or through the website itself. It is as simple as that! There are some popular twitter clients that have built-in support for TwitPic.
So, with your micro blogging, you can also share images for everyone to see. Now, won't that make your posts look great? I've tried it, and it really looks marvellous.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Looking for jobs? Try TwitterJobSearch! Where jobs meet Twitter!
I haven't written any of this really! It is from a wonderful press release sent to me! What happens when jobs meet Twitter? Read below to find out nore!
OK, I also tried this out! Wow! I am really overwhelmed! This has to be the MOST efficient job search engine! OnTwitterJobSearch my first search was "Jobs in Semiconductors." Hey, TwitterJobSearch threw up a whopping 14,221 results found in 0.047 seconds!
My next test was "Jobs in Embedded"! Well, no surprises!! It threw up 14224 results found in 0.062 seconds! And "IT jobs in Bangalore" returned 6,548 results found in 0.062 seconds!
The release on TwitterJobSearch
Rounding off the buzz at this year’s SXSWi is the launch of TwitterJobSearch, the first ‘smart’ search engine that extracts meaning from Twitter content to create a real-time, global online resource of all jobs posted onto the platform.
Using relevancy algorithms developed by Workhound, the UK's largest job search engine, the technology will build out into further social media channels and topics, providing semantic intelligence capabilities for social media platforms, business and consumers.
“ TwitterJobSearch is an early example of how social media search needs to evolve and signals how solid business models can be built;” commented Howard Lee, CEO of Workhound. "The pronounced shift into social media and cloud computing is already changing the Internet landscape and evolving consumers’ expectations. Search and social network providers are in real danger of losing their relevance and traction unless they can get this right.”
Twitter now attracts more visitors than Digg, with traffic increasing over 974 percent through 2008 (Hitwise) suggesting it will soon become a mainstream, mass market proposition.
According to the GigaTweet counter, there have been over 1.3 billion tweets posted on Twitter, yet this wealth of raw data has previously only been searchable via keywords, trends or popularity. Hashtags are useful for the categorisation and searching of subjects but there is no way of controlling the number of tags created or used per topic, while popular tags such as #jobs have quickly turned into
catch-alls for anything vaguely ‘job’ related.
“If the value of Twitter is going to extend beyond one's social graph, better search tools are required;" added William Fischer, Director of Workhound. “By applying contextual search to billions of really quite random tweets, we're helping social networks to evolve from communication tools to become powerful publishing platforms."
TwitterJobSearch looks at the content of every tweet in context to determine its intent and break out filterable data. Getting beyond the 140-character limit of Twitter by going beyond the tweet, the technology also looks at biography information and crawls the destination URLs to find additional information and context.
The real-time relevancy engine and algorithms determine everything from whether the source of the post was a feed, retweet or original message, what language was used, whether the tweeter has previously posted job vacancies and how the words used categorize the content. Additional context is added wherever possible to ensure the tweet appears in search results if it is missing vital data such as location.
A couple of example searches show the difference in results attainable if contextual search is incorporated. “Sales director London job” on search.twitter.com brings back four results, while the same search on TwitterJobSearch provides 6,202 opportunities, while “Marketing manager New York job” provides 19 and 4,122 respectively.
This initial launch means that anyone online can now access the wealth of job opportunities posted onto Twitter, regardless of whether they are a member. There were 26,090 unique English language vacancies posted onto Twitter over the last seven-day period, which equates to around 3 percent of live vacancies.
Due to the immediacy and ease of use of the platform, Twitter is often used as the primary communications channel, meaning that vacancies posted can be found and applied for before they even reach blogs, job boards or other online resources. In light of the increasingly alarming global unemployment figures, which could rise from 179 million in 2007 to 230 million by the end of 2009 (International Labour Organisation), any tool that supports re-employment and recruitment will become of greater importance as the recession bites harder.
TwitterJobSearch requires no registration, is free to use and automatically incorporates all unique vacancies posted onto Twitter at no charge. A range of low cost, premium positioning features will be added in the future to provide an opportunity for recruiters and employers to ensure extra exposure on the service.
Based on Workhound’s search technology, the suite of recruitment services will evolve to incorporate iPhone-specific applications and further highly-trafficked networks such as Facebook and FriendFeed. The company is also using its core infrastructure to create intelligent semantic services in a number of other popular search categories which will be brought to market over the course of the year.
For those of you looking for jobs, best of luck! And, if you find one, using TwitterJobSearch, please do remember to share your experience with me! And well, hats off to TwitterJobSearch! You just made searching for jobs so much easier!!
OK, I also tried this out! Wow! I am really overwhelmed! This has to be the MOST efficient job search engine! OnTwitterJobSearch my first search was "Jobs in Semiconductors." Hey, TwitterJobSearch threw up a whopping 14,221 results found in 0.047 seconds!
My next test was "Jobs in Embedded"! Well, no surprises!! It threw up 14224 results found in 0.062 seconds! And "IT jobs in Bangalore" returned 6,548 results found in 0.062 seconds!
The release on TwitterJobSearch
Rounding off the buzz at this year’s SXSWi is the launch of TwitterJobSearch, the first ‘smart’ search engine that extracts meaning from Twitter content to create a real-time, global online resource of all jobs posted onto the platform.
Using relevancy algorithms developed by Workhound, the UK's largest job search engine, the technology will build out into further social media channels and topics, providing semantic intelligence capabilities for social media platforms, business and consumers.
“ TwitterJobSearch is an early example of how social media search needs to evolve and signals how solid business models can be built;” commented Howard Lee, CEO of Workhound. "The pronounced shift into social media and cloud computing is already changing the Internet landscape and evolving consumers’ expectations. Search and social network providers are in real danger of losing their relevance and traction unless they can get this right.”
Twitter now attracts more visitors than Digg, with traffic increasing over 974 percent through 2008 (Hitwise) suggesting it will soon become a mainstream, mass market proposition.
According to the GigaTweet counter, there have been over 1.3 billion tweets posted on Twitter, yet this wealth of raw data has previously only been searchable via keywords, trends or popularity. Hashtags are useful for the categorisation and searching of subjects but there is no way of controlling the number of tags created or used per topic, while popular tags such as #jobs have quickly turned into
catch-alls for anything vaguely ‘job’ related.
“If the value of Twitter is going to extend beyond one's social graph, better search tools are required;" added William Fischer, Director of Workhound. “By applying contextual search to billions of really quite random tweets, we're helping social networks to evolve from communication tools to become powerful publishing platforms."
TwitterJobSearch looks at the content of every tweet in context to determine its intent and break out filterable data. Getting beyond the 140-character limit of Twitter by going beyond the tweet, the technology also looks at biography information and crawls the destination URLs to find additional information and context.
The real-time relevancy engine and algorithms determine everything from whether the source of the post was a feed, retweet or original message, what language was used, whether the tweeter has previously posted job vacancies and how the words used categorize the content. Additional context is added wherever possible to ensure the tweet appears in search results if it is missing vital data such as location.
A couple of example searches show the difference in results attainable if contextual search is incorporated. “Sales director London job” on search.twitter.com brings back four results, while the same search on TwitterJobSearch provides 6,202 opportunities, while “Marketing manager New York job” provides 19 and 4,122 respectively.
This initial launch means that anyone online can now access the wealth of job opportunities posted onto Twitter, regardless of whether they are a member. There were 26,090 unique English language vacancies posted onto Twitter over the last seven-day period, which equates to around 3 percent of live vacancies.
Due to the immediacy and ease of use of the platform, Twitter is often used as the primary communications channel, meaning that vacancies posted can be found and applied for before they even reach blogs, job boards or other online resources. In light of the increasingly alarming global unemployment figures, which could rise from 179 million in 2007 to 230 million by the end of 2009 (International Labour Organisation), any tool that supports re-employment and recruitment will become of greater importance as the recession bites harder.
TwitterJobSearch requires no registration, is free to use and automatically incorporates all unique vacancies posted onto Twitter at no charge. A range of low cost, premium positioning features will be added in the future to provide an opportunity for recruiters and employers to ensure extra exposure on the service.
Based on Workhound’s search technology, the suite of recruitment services will evolve to incorporate iPhone-specific applications and further highly-trafficked networks such as Facebook and FriendFeed. The company is also using its core infrastructure to create intelligent semantic services in a number of other popular search categories which will be brought to market over the course of the year.
For those of you looking for jobs, best of luck! And, if you find one, using TwitterJobSearch, please do remember to share your experience with me! And well, hats off to TwitterJobSearch! You just made searching for jobs so much easier!!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Cut the chirp! Get Filttr, with Twitter!
How many of you, like me, are on Twitter? Possibly, everyone! How many of you feel there is an overdose of information on Twitter? Again, possibly, everyone!
So, here's a chance to cut the chirp and get to the relevant! I guess, that's what Filttr sets out to achieve!
According to the Filttr site, its amazingly intelligent birds fetch you, the user, only those tweets that are relevant for you.
Interestingly, I could not sign up, as the "NEXT" link on the sign-up page refused to work. Maybe, it is a beta flaw or something. Hence, I was unable to test the system. I will surely try again later, so nothing much to report otherwise!
Nevertheless, more power to micro blogging!
PS: Later, I was able to email Filttr, and get a response as well. And yes, the site did work. Thanks Swaroop!
So, here's a chance to cut the chirp and get to the relevant! I guess, that's what Filttr sets out to achieve!
According to the Filttr site, its amazingly intelligent birds fetch you, the user, only those tweets that are relevant for you.
Interestingly, I could not sign up, as the "NEXT" link on the sign-up page refused to work. Maybe, it is a beta flaw or something. Hence, I was unable to test the system. I will surely try again later, so nothing much to report otherwise!
Nevertheless, more power to micro blogging!
PS: Later, I was able to email Filttr, and get a response as well. And yes, the site did work. Thanks Swaroop!
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