The Banjo App Is The New Vision Of Social Discovery
March 14th, 2013 by Rod
What is the Banjo App?
Banjo is not new but more than likely new to you. It is a social discovery app that uses GPS data along with social network info to find nearby contacts/friends. You might ask why would I want to use this?
How Does the Banjo App Work?
Banjo populates info from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, FourSquare, Google+, and LinkedIn and keep you updated with your contacts/friends. It also provides a map view to locate any of your connections near and far, all in real-time. Banjo even notifies you of any nearby friends. The app seeks to replace your need to use the fore mentioned apps separately. Banjo is now 4 million users strong!
“Banjo is the fun way to explore what’s happening anywhere in the world right now.”
In time for the many live events, and friend meet-ups at SXSW, Banjo announced version 3.3 of their app. With this update, event location and content are synced to provide a more “real time” feed. Just because you’re not close to an event, it doesn’t mean that your feed won’t show it. It shows real-time information from all the social networks at the same time.
In case you didn’t make it out to SXSW this year, you can follow Divas and Dorks Publisher Christen Rochon or any other friends to give you a social feel of what you missed.
New York Fashion Week Explodes (and Almost Breaks Twitter?) #NYFW
September 14th, 2012 by Tech Staff
Whether you attended any shows during New York Fashion Week or were entertained via Instagram, Facebook or Twitpics, you’ve contributed to one of the biggest, fashionable social media explosions via Twitter EVER! Twitter volume about New York Fashion Week, which ended Thursday, was up a third from Fashion Week in February and double compared to the number of tweets sent during Fashion Week in September of last year, according to New York-based social media agency Whispr Group.
Total tweets numbered above 670,000. It was largely an American affair: 72% of tweets originated in the U.S., followed by the U.K. with 5%.
Victoria Beckham, who showed in New York for the first time this season, captured the most attention with 17,173 tweets, followed by Marc Jacobs, whose livestream was hosted by popular fashion blogger Leandra Medine. Diane von Furstenberg, who surprised audiences by trotting Google Glass down the runway, took the third spot above Alexander Wang.
Talk That Talk: Four Social Media Types To Avoid (According To Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare & Instagram)
March 23rd, 2012 by ChristenWe have come a long way in this brave new world of social media. Just when you think society has got over the taboo of online dating (according to match.com the ratio to men vs women online in search of finding someone is 52:48) a new form of online courtship has emerged, social-freakin-media. In a mobile world where one has access to hundreds of friends, associates and more via their smartphone, it’s no wonder that more relationships are formed & broken because of socializing online.
Have you ever heard any of the following phrases before?
“Take a twitpic so I know it’s real.” | “I can’t believe she DM’d that ratchet mess!” | “OMG! Did you see that instagram pic?”
If you still think social media is an all ages playground where all is played fair, think again and make sure you check out the first in this list social media types to avoid.
The “Stunner” -
Facebook: On Facebook, the “Stunner” usually “friends” whomever will accept their friend request. They typically look at having a large amount of “friends” (be it strangers or not) as a status symbol of social popularity. Once given a large enough audience, the “Stunner” will immediately begin “stunner showmanship” of bragging on jewelry, cars, money or anything else that he/she believes will get them noticed online. (In rare occasions, the “Stunner” will resort to using inspirational quotes just to receive status “LIKES” online.)
Twitter - Tweets filled with Hip Hop lyrics, Twitpics of watches, bling, money & designer labels… (see a pattern here…) 80% of the people they follow are rappers, video vixens, etc and 75% of they’re tweets consists of “Follow Me” pleas and #FollowBack hashtags.
FourSquare - They usually check in to places that establish some sort of status, ie hotels, four star restaurants, designer shops etc. “Yo! I’m poppin bottles at the club” “We’re out here buying out the mall” “You know how I do it, Presidential suite baby!” etc.
Instagram – The “Stunner” (typically male) timeline is filled with all photos of watches, bling, money & designer labels. The follower/follow ratio is usually 1:6 – with the “Stunner” following a lot more people than the amount of followers he has. “Stunners” can sometimes be identified by the types of people he follows on Instagram (Hint: They rarely ever follow fully-clothed women… but we’ll tackle that “social media type” specifically next time.)
Social media doesn’t have to be scary…Check out these Top 10 Tips on enjoying social media time online…
1. Be Aware (and sometimes beware) of New Technologies…
2. Do NOT post anything that will damage the reputation of yourself, friends or family.
3. Get Followers the Positive Way!
4. Share Opinions – but don’t be judgmental.
5. Show The Real You!
6. Engage With online friends, but Only Positively.
7. Be Careful What You Share!
8. Never Share Access To Your Accounts
9. If you share it, it’s there forever. (The delete button doesn’t always do what you think…)
10. Own Your Social Media Identity
To be continued…
What are your tips to enjoying social media? How do you identify social media “friends” versus social media “fakes”? Can you guess the remaining Social Media Types To Avoid?
The previous post is the justified opinion of the author and is not necessarily the beliefs of the Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram or the advertisers/sponsors of DivasandDorks.com.
Uncover 5 Ways To Take Control Of Your (Online) Life
January 2nd, 2012 by ChristenHappy New Year!
Last year was filled with more social media advances than ever before! We went from Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Foursquare, blah, blah, blah and blah. We’ve already uncovered how social media affects your brain and daily activity. (Read: Is Your Mind Being Ruined By Social Media Use?) It seems that keeping up with social media has become more of an obsessive chore, than an easy way to keep tabs with friends & family online. Add that on top of mobile versions of these platforms and now with emails, texts, Tweets and Facebook requests, many are starting to feel that their handheld devices and lap tops have bombarded their lives.
What if I told you that there are five simple steps that I’ll be using to take control of my online life (while keeping up with my productivity)? Check out these simple steps to gaining your social media freedom and I hope you join me on this ride for an easier and simpler online user experience in 2012.
5. Choose Your Tools Wisely.
Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Foursquare, Instagram….With so many platforms out there, you have more than enough to choose from. Pick and choose where you want to exist. You don’t have to be on every social media site, choosing one or two might be the right choice. Don’t forget that basic email, text messaging & a good ole fashion phonecall is still a great way to connect. You can communicate just as well with mostly everyone via these personal mediums versus the next great social platform just waiting to be created.
4. Stick With A Time Limit.
Create a time limit that will keep your online use productive and to a minimum. You can be extremely more productive when you have a specific purpose online versus checking your status updates every 5 mins. Next time you log onto your favorite social site, set up 45 minutes or some predetermined amount of time, then close it. Then get back to work, (see how easy it could be?)
3. Don’t Just Be Online…Be Proactive.
Don’t assume the world is going to tell you where to go or what to do. Search out information for yourself, be aware that websites – such as Google – might be noticing where you search if you are logged in to a Gmail account, for example. Logging out of Google before you search and clearing your cache keeps them from sending you more unwanted information.
2. Have A Plan, Purpose & Just Do It.
Quite often when you immerse yourself with these technologies, you can get into a very passive use of them – you look at Facebook and Twitter or RSS feeds and we let that information flow over us. You should know what it is you want to find before you start surfing can help you manage your time spent online. Don’t let the rest of the world tell you what you want.
1. Find Your Spot And Get It All In One Spot.
Many online tools allow a user to display several sites as widgets, all on one screen. Have you ever heard of NetVibes? It has an easy to read interface and it allows you to log onto all your secured sites at once. In a single browser, you can bring in a widget for your Facebook stream, one for Twitter and you can bring in your email and more. It gives you a bird’s eye view of what’s going on in your social circles without you falling lost within the rabbit hole.
I’m on my way to a simpler way of socializing online. What about you? What would you add to this list of making social media more manageable?
Is Your Mind Being Ruined By Social Media Use? (Infographic)
December 28th, 2011 by ChristenWe spend countless hours on social media, from Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and more…that’s a lot! Check out this infographic that shows us exactly how our obsessive social media use is actually taking a toll on the brain.
The New Foursquare Of Fashion?
August 16th, 2011 by ChristenToday announced the beta launch of Snapette, an application that enables fashion-savvy women to discover and share photos of in-store products by location and social recommendations.
Snapette is the first mobile fashion application that lets users browse products near their current location, allowing them to easily see what shoes and bags are in nearby stores. Women can also see what’s trending globally by viewing what users around the world are sharing from their favorite stores in real time.
Users launch Snapette from their mobile device, and the app connects them with products through social features and crowd-sourced photos and descriptions that other “Snapettes” have shared. Users can search by brand, store or description, or by what’s rated “New”, “Near” and “Hot”, and share photos and comments with other users.
“While you’re out shopping, you can snap and share photos of your great shoe and bag finds, check Snapette to discover what styles are in stores near you, and also see what’s trending right now in New York, Paris, Tokyo or anywhere around the world – it’s like window shopping right from your phone,” says co-founder Kim. “Plus, if you find another Snapette with great style you can ‘follow’ her and get updated on all her latest fashion finds.”
Each user has a “virtual closet” profile page that collects and showcases photos of items they’ve Snapped, Like and Want, and integration with Facebook and Tumblr allows for easy sharing on these social platforms as well.
In a separate section of the app entitled Featured, Snapette showcases boutiques in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and London. Snapette has partnered with select retailers to provide users an exclusive mobile view of the stores’ current product offerings.
“We know options can be overwhelming – with so many stores, each with so many products, plus constantly changing trends and inventory,” adds Paiji. “Snapette helps make sense of the endless options by helping you find what’s near you and what’s trending.”
Snapette’s all-female team is led by co-founders Kim and Paiji, who are Harvard grads separated by more than two decades. Kim also attended Parsons in New York City, and has designed for Ralph Lauren and founded an e-learning company. Paiji is a current student at Harvard Business School who previously worked at firms Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Co and Berkshire Partners advising retail and tech companies.
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