Items by Josephine Nekesa Were

Hit Your Note

• Happy New Year!

  Posted: January 9, 2012, 11:28 am by Josephine Nekesa Were

  Happy New Year everybody!

  The year is off to an interesting start with lots of exciting things to think about.

  People are loving or loving to hate the new Facebook timeline.

  Google+ is fast gaining popularity with some people forecasting that it will have more than 400 million users by the end of 2012.

  We all got the iPad2 for christmas 2011 and now there’s talk of iPad 3 and iPad 4.

  Toshiba has launched the world’s thinnest 10 inch tablet .

  And , if this works as advertised, you will soon need only water to recharge all your devices!

  I’m also excited about the footage I took with my Samsung Galaxy Ace. I edited it in iMovie.

  What cool tech stuff are you excited about in 2012?

• Filling in your new Facebook timeline.

  Posted: December 19, 2011, 12:46 pm by Josephine Nekesa Were

  The Facebook timeline is here!

  ‘So what?’ you ask.

  Well, your personal profile will be replaced with your new timeline on 21 December 2011. Right now though, you should see an invitation to try Timeline at the top of your Facebook screen, or you can go ahead and activate it here.

  The timeline is a real-time stream that shows you all of the events, images and posts that are important to you, while hiding the items that it feels are not important. A sort of ‘automatic autobiography’.

  Check out this video; Introducing Timeline – A New Kind of Profile

  “Timeline is the story of your life: all your stories, all your apps and a new way to express who you are.” – Mark Zuckerberg

  Filling in your timeline

  Menu Bar
  As you scroll down your new Timeline, a floating menu bar will appear at the top of your screen. Use it to add new events.

  Life Events
  When you click on life events, which should be on the right of your screen, you will get options to fill in the kind of stuff that has been going on in your work education, in your family and relationships, in your home and living, health and wellness and travel and experiences.

  Remember that how much information you reveal is really up to you.

  Adding an event
  When you add an event, a pop-up window appears for you to complete simple fields relevant to your event. You can attach a suitable photo from the event.

  Privacy
  
  The default setting for events that you post is ‘public’. You can change this by clicking the drop-down menu and picking your preferred privacy level.

  Featured events
  Once you post an event, it appears very large on your time line display. The assumption here is that you have added it here because it is important to you and so you want to feature it. If that is not the case,you can minimise it by clicking the star on the top right side of your picture. You can click on the pen right next to the star to hide or delete a photo all together.

  Recent activity
  Remember that all the changes you make on your timeline are being added to you recent activity. This means that all your friends can see what you’re up to. If you would like to fill in your timeline without alerting everyone, go to your recent activity, hover over the relevant alert and hit the X to hide the activity from you timeline.

  As you wrap your head around what you’d like to include in your timeline, check out these awesome timeline designs and let me know what you think of the Facebook timeline!

• Everything you need to know about the Facebook updates you hate

  Posted: September 25, 2011, 10:35 pm by Josephine Nekesa Were

  Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote at the fourth f8 conference introduced some major updates to Facebook, which many people seem to dislike.

  Timeline
  The timeline has been described as the heart of the Facebook experience. It provides a space for all your stories, all your apps and a new way to express who you are. It is a stream of information about you containing your photos, your status updates and even has places that you have visited shown on a world map.

  The timeline allows you to tell all the important stories of your life on a single page. It allows you to control what you show, how you display it and who can see it.

  Check out the new timeline here.

  Timeline is in beta and Facebook users will have to opt in to start. Eventually though, it will become the new default profile page. If you would like to use the new timeline right now follow these instructions.

  I have already changed mine.

  Facebook gestures
  You will now be able to connect to anything you want in anyway you want other than just ‘liking’ it. You can now read a book, or eat a meal, or listen to a song. Facebook will roll out the “watched” “listened” and “read” buttons. Developers will also be able to make their own actions.

  Ticker
  You can now share stuff without annoying your friends. The ticker will provide an avenue for all ‘lightweight’ information. There is a lightweight stream on the side of your screen, which provides a real time update of what your friends are posting on their Facebook pages.

  Things like change in relationship status or photos from your wedding will still appear in your newsfeed, but the new level that your friend has reached in Cityville, or Mafia Wars or what you planted in Farmville will now only appear in your ticker.

  Here is some advice from Beth Kanter for anyone concerned with privacy and new changes on Facebook.

  Apps
  Remember how apps had to ask you every time they wanted to share information about you on your timeline? Now they’ll only have to ask once.

  The first time you authorise the app, a new Facebook permissions screen explains exactly what type of stories will be shared. Once completed, it will no longer have to ask for permission.

  You should be sure what you’re signing up for; know exactly what you’re giving Facebook access to.

  Movies, Music and News
  You can watch a show on Hulu (in USA and Japan), listen to a song on Spotify ( in Finland, France, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States), or check out a story on Yahoo News .

  The ticker will tell you what your friends are watching, listening to or reading, allowing you to share the experience with them by clicking on a link.

  Here are some FAQs about the new Facebook that may help answer some of the questions that I have not already answered in this post.

  I really like the new features on Facebook. I’m just disappointed that some of the services like Hulu and Spotify are not available in Kenya. What do you think of the new changes?

• Social Media Etiquette

  Posted: September 20, 2011, 8:08 pm by Josephine Nekesa Were

  Just like any other social or business forum, it is important to exercise good manners on Facebook and indeed any other social networking site. It also helps to always remember that what happens on the Internet, stays on the Internet.

  Here are a few areas, which you need to pay special attention to in order to avoid getting caught with your social media pants down:

  your appearance
  You might venture out of the house in your flip-flops and with your morning breath to get a packet of milk at the local kiosk. But you certainly would not get into your car and drive to the supermarket looking a hot mess. You never know who you might bump into right?

  Think of social networking sites as way bigger than your local supermarket. Think of it as one of those busy hot spots bang in the centre of town; the ones where you are likely to meet one of your biggest clients, or your boss.

  The avatar you use for your profile says a lot about you and you never know who’s ‘listening’. I would stay away from those photos of little babies giving the finger, or women falling out of their bikinis or you doing a keg stand. Work with half decent photos.

  Following and ‘friending’
  Don’t be shy about following and ‘friending’ people who you know or who you would like to network with, but realise that no one is obliged to follow you back or accept your friend request. So going on a tirade about it or making a public plea to them makes you look weird.
  Similarly, don’t be shy about ‘unfriending’ people or ‘unfollowing’ them. But remember that they will eventually find out what you did. There is no need to make announcements when you are about to purge friends, just go ahead and do it. In fact, it is so irritating to hear someone go on and on about purging, that some of your friends will beat you to it and get rid of you first.

  Updates, wall posts and promoting
  There is a difference between spamming your friends and followers, and giving relevant, helpful updates. Post content that highlights your personal interests and areas of expertise. This does not include facts about sitting on the loo, throwing up, getting drunk, or private plans with a Facebook friend. Save these for emails, phone calls or a lunch date.
  Leave room for retweets. Using up all 140 of your characters to promote a product or cause on twitter makes it difficult for anyone to retweet and help you spread the word.
  Be strategic about how often and when you post promotional information. Consider your target audience as well as time zones.

  Link, Like, Share
  Many times when you write a blog post, you will look for similar topics online and possibly use some of the information or images you get off blogs and websites. It is good practice to credit the author or artist or photographer.
  Share, like, tweet about and comment on blog posts that you like. Show your appreciation for other bloggers and their work.
  When you share links to other people’s posts, they are more likely to do the same for you.

  At the end of the day, all you need to remember is that one, the people and companies that you interact with on social networks are real. And two, being part of a social network makes you part of a community and this comes with certain responsibilities.

  What other goofs do people make on social media? Please share you thoughts.

  Sources
  Top 10 Facebook Etiquette Rules by Tom Miller
  A Beginner’s Guide To Facebook Etiquette by Buttermouth
  Facebook Etiquette: 10 Rules for Better Socializing by Christopher Null, PCWorld
  Facebook Etiquette: Five Dos and Don’ts by C.G. Lynch, CIO
  An Insider’s Guide To Social Media Etiquette by Chris Brogan
  [The Ultimate Social Media Etiquette Handbook] by Tamar Weinberg

• How your non-profit can make the most of Facebook

  Posted: August 1, 2011, 3:25 pm by Josephine Nekesa Were

  It is extremely valuable for non-profits to be on Facebook because of the number of active users and potential volunteers, funders and beneficiaries that they get access to. There must however be a strategy to having a presence on Facebook.

  Fan page not personal profile

  Set up a Facebook page for your non – profit; not a Facebook personal profile. This is because a profile will not allow you to see how your fans engage with your content. Fan pages allow you to see this through insights. This video by John Hayden shows you how you can measure Facebook page fan growth and engagement with insights.

  With a personal profile, you are asking users to be your friend and share their personal information with you. On the other hand, asking a Facebook user to like your fan page does not cross any personal boundaries. For example, I may not necessarily want a lingerie company to know what I did over the weekend or whether or not I am married, but I will probably be interested in liking their fan page to find out what kind of stuff they stock.

  Most importantly however, fan pages trump personal profiles because using a personal profile to market your product or organisation violates Facebook terms of service. Facebook could delete your profile because you spammed people with friend requests or information about your organisation.

  Roll out the red carpet!

  Non-profits should customise their welcome tabs to give information, which encourages people to like their fan page. The welcome tab could be a call to action or it could be customised for a specific campaign. Be sure to make this welcome page the default landing page for your fan page. Offering gifts to people who like the page is a great way to welcome new fans. It could be T-Shirt or a wrist band or access to a link with information, which fans would find valuable.

  The profile picture for your landing page should be well designed and visible.

  Have a look at these welcome pages for example:

  ONE is a grassroots advocacy and campaigning organization that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.

  GENERATION KENYA is a project which documents outstanding contributions by a nominated selection of Kenyans, profiling Kenyan success, talent and generosity. The goal is to provide role models for young people by featuring stories of challenge and achievement.

  Make it a riveting experience!

  Once you have an audience, you have to keep them engaged. Give them avenues and opportunities for them to stay connected. You can do this through open ended questions. Also remember that conversations are two way; be sure to respond to questions and observations.

  You can also have contests on your page occasionally.

  Integrating your Flickr, YouTube and twitter accounts also helps to keep your audience engaged.

  Consistency

  It is important that the person updating your non-profit’s fan page understands the voice of the organisation and is able to communicate on behalf of the organisation well. Assign one, if necessary two people, to follow the stream and do the posting. You do not want to have too many people with access to the fan page administration. This would make it harder to keep track of what information is being shared on the organisations behalf and by whom. It is important not to over post on your page. One or two updates a day should do it. I personally remove pages from my news feed which are constantly flooding my personal profile.

  Yap! Lots of work goes into having a Facebook presence for your non profit, but it is definitely worth it at the end of the day.

  How do you make your Facebook work for your non=profit?

• Why your company needs to be on Facebook

  Posted: April 26, 2011, 2:33 pm by Josephine Nekesa Were

  Have you written off Facebook as just another social networking site for youngsters? Here are some reasons why you might want to rethink things and jump aboard!

  1. It will not cost you anything to join Facebook and it takes about 15 minutes only.

  2. There are more than 500million active users and counting. A good number of your clients and prospective customers are already on Facebook so why not ensure that your company information is right there where they can see it?

  3. There is already a conversation going on about your company or at least your industry. Using Facebook allows you to be aware of that conversation and be part of it.

  4. Facebook allows you to receive feedback and constructive criticism from your clients. You also get a chance to present your point of view and interact with clients or prospective clients.

  5. 50% of Facebook’s active users log on to Facebook in any given day and the average user has 130 friends. If you have a Facebook page, any updates you post show up on your ‘fans’ walls. If friends of your fans ‘like’ your update, it shows up on their walls as well. Your update has a good chance of going viral.

  6. Facebook allows you to create brand awareness on a low budget. This will depend on how often you interact on Facebook.

  7. Facebook allows you to create events for your business, which you can easily invite fans to.

  Here are some stats about Facebook and its users. While you’re here, Hit Your Note is now on Facebook here. Please take a moment to join our community.

  While Facebook may not be ideal for every business or initiative out there, its reach is so wide that it is definitely worth considering. Is your business taking advantage of Facebook? If not, why not?

  This list is by no means exhaustive, what other advantages have you found while using facebook for your business?

• How to maximise battery life of the Huawei IDEOS U8150-D

  Posted: April 11, 2011, 11:49 pm by Josephine Nekesa Were

  Many people, including me, have bought the Huawei IDEOS U8150-D smart phone.

  Battery life has proved to be a huge concern for me, and I found out that this is actually the case with most android phones.

  The most basic solution, I guess, is to turn the phone off when you do not need it. But that will not work for me. I like to have my phone on even when I’m asleep, or in a meeting.

  I have considered getting a second battery for my phone, but before I do that, I want to try out the ideas I got from this you tube video from MyIdeos.com .

  This video shows you how to do the following:

  Press the on/off button
  When not using your phone, press the on/off button at the top of the phone. This will lock the screen. The phone consumes battery life when the screen is unlocked and so locking it when not in use will buy you some more battery time.

  Set the screen timeout to the smallest value
  Setting the screen time out to the smallest value will allow your phone to enter sleep mode quicker but this also means that your phone may keep shifting to sleep mode while you are using it.

  Set the screen brightness to a lower degree
  You can control the brightness of your screen. The brighter the screen, the more battery it requires.

  Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
  Leaving your bluetooth on to accept data at all time eats up a lot of battery. Similarly, keeping WiFi turned on at all times in hopes that an open hotspot will appear is a sure way to drain your battery life.

  Disable background data synchronization
  This means that the phone will only check your email, facebook and twitter when you direct it to and not all the time

  Disable data service
  This means that you will not be able to browse on your phone and your mail will not come through in real time. You can still check your mail manually by connecting just long enough to check your inbox. Don’t worry, you can make and receive calls even when your data service is disabled.

  Disable GPS
  Disabling GPS will only improve your battery life when you are using apps that use your location like maps, navigation and so on. You will know when location is on when you see the little satellite dish with green lines on your screen.

  Use only 2G networks
  Using 3G requires more battery life to get the quicker speeds. It can be irritating to go slower, but if you need more battery, you will have to turn off 3G and just use EDGE. Your battery will last longer.

  Try these tips out and let me know if you notice any difference in your battery life.

• 10 reasons to join Facebook

  Posted: February 7, 2011, 3:02 pm by Josephine Nekesa Were

  1. It is disgustingly easy to use.
  2. You are guaranteed that someone will finally remember your birthday.
  3. You can find other people who actually love High School Musical.
  4. You can keep in touch with your grandma and your niece because they are on Facebook already.
  5. You can see what your primary school bullies are up to now.
  6. You can finally figure out what your brother did with those embarrassing photos of you…and what his friends think about them.
  7. You can finally confirm if that girl or guy you really like is single.
  8. It’s a great place to find everything from baby’s clothes  to cars.
  9. It is an extremely cheap way to promote your business or your cause.
  10. It is easy to share ideas with many people at a time and get constructive feedback; thus initiating great conversations with people all over the world.

• What is twitter and how do I join it?

  Posted: January 26, 2011, 10:53 am by Josephine Nekesa Were

  What is twitter?

  Twitter is a relatively new form of online communication. It is a great way to keep family and friends updated on what you’re up to. Many companies use it to update clients on what new products or promotions they have. Companies also use it to get feedback from customers, and some companies co-workers use it to communicate with each other.

  Twitter posts are restricted to 140 characters or less. This means that each time you send a message out, you have to do it in 140 characters or less. This encourages easier quicker communication.

  Twitter allows you to find your friends or products that you’re interested in and follow them. By following them you can read their updates every time they post something new. Your friends can also find you and follow you on twitter. You can communicate with your followers either in through a public message or you can send them a private message.

  Still don’t get it? Check out this ‘twitter in plain English’ video

  How do I join twitter?

  1. Open a new browser on your computer and type in twitter.com. It should take you to a page similar to this one below:
  

  2. On the top right, you will see a ‘sign up’ button. Click on that. Sign up not sign in! You can use the sign in button once you have activated your twitter account.

  3. Fill in your name, username and password. A username is a name that uniquely identifies you. I opted to you my middle name, Nekesa, for my twitter account username.

  4. Type in the CAPTCHA words from the image similar to the one below. A CAPTCHA is a program which makes sure that you are a human being and not a computer program that’s up to no good. If you have a hard time reading the words, you can listen to the words by clicking the link just to the right of the image.
  
  5. Click on the ‘create my account’ button.

  6. The next step allows you to look through your email accounts to find any of your friends who are on twitter. The ‘Skip This Step’ link just below the ‘Continue’ button allows you to skip this step, if you want to.

  7. Twitter gives you the option of following celebrities. You can skip this step too, if you want.

  8. Finally, you’re on the main twitter page. There should be a little box at the top, on the left with a question, ‘what’s happening?’ Click in this box, type in your first tweet and when you’re done, click on the ‘tweet’ button at the bottom of the little box. This will update your status.
  

  Congratulations and welcome to the twitter!

  Still can’t do it? Email me on jo dot were at gmail dot com

• Content development strategy

  Posted: January 20, 2011, 11:44 am by Josephine Nekesa Were

  Proper content development is an integral part of social media marketing. Unfortunately, many times, content is an afterthought for many organisations. Social media marketing is all about engaging people and the key to engaging people is great content, which people will want to read and share. A good content development strategy will help you develop great content.

  The aim of your content development strategy should be to connect you with media, customers, suppliers and influencers. Through your online presence, people should be able to receive information or get expertise, and they should be able to easily find the information they are looking for.

  There must be a purpose for everything that you communicate to your audience. It must be essential to your audience and it must compliment your organisation’s marketing or public relations strategy. This means that your content development strategy needs to allow you to listen and talk to your audience while effectively understanding their needs.

  Take a look at this presentation by Joe Pulizzi (Junta42) and Kristina Halvorson (Brain Traffic)
  .
  When developing your content development strategy, remember that content comes in many forms; it could be a tweet, a picture, a blog post, a you tube video and so on. There must be a purpose for everything that you communicate to your audience. It must be essential to your audience and it must compliment your organisation’s marketing or public relations strategy.

  Jason Falls lists some questions that you may want to ask yourself when developing a more broad content development strategy for an organization.

  For more information on how you can create your own content development strategy, contact me.

• Why blog?

  Posted: January 17, 2011, 3:36 pm by Josephine Nekesa Were

  So you have an active twitter account and have thousands of fans on your facebook page. Why blog?

  Simple. You are not in control of twitter or facebook or any other social site you may be using.

  Social sites like twitter and facebook will help you build a community and connect with like minded companies and individuals, but say for arguments sake, that twitter or facebook was down for one reason or another. No more notes, no more tweeting and retweeting, no more quirky facebook updates, no more you tube. How else would your community access your information? How else would your community find out what great deals you have to offer them? Or what the details of your event are?

  Twitter, you tube and facebook and other social sites are great for making initial contact, but you must have a hub, which will become the reference point for your business or for your event. You must have a channel through which to fully explain your strategies and engage with your community on a one on one basis and at length. Use your social sites to direct traffic to your blog. Tease your followers will little bits of information and then using links, shepherd them back to your website where you can have a more intimate discussion with them. Let your blog be where you finally get down to business.

  A blog will give you an opportunity to sell yourself in your own words; to personalise your pitch and listen to your clients while giving them a focal point for any and all information relating to what you do.

  Constant updates on your blog will make your company or event more accessible and even more credible. While social sites may give you awareness and attention, your blog will give you trust.

  Above all else, you have an incredible amount of control of your blog since you own and control it!

• Writing for the web

  Posted: January 4, 2011, 2:56 pm by Josephine Nekesa Were

  The content on your website must be of high quality and original.

  The quality of your content should take priority over quantity. Make the content user friendly by:

  •             Using informal language

  •             Spell checking

  •             Updating at least once a week

  •             Being concise

  Majority of web users spend very little time reading information online. To ensure that you pass on your message in minimal time, ensure that all the relevant information is available at a glance. You can do this by:

  •             Highlighting keywords

  •             Using sub-headings

  •             Using bullets

  •             Writing insightful articles

  •             Using high quality graphics

  Good writing, hyperlinks and quality graphics also help to add credibility to a website.

  You can read more about this here.

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes