News - Ogawa Design Agency

Top Twitter Ranking Sites

July 17, 2009 By Martin Ogawa Leave a Comment

Even if you don’t have aspirations to become an elite member of the world-wide Twitter community or the Twitterati such as Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk, it is important that you protect your beachhead in your local community or industry Twittersphere. For example, WeFollow.com provides a ranking of by city such as http://www.wefollow.com/twitter/miami. I noticed my profile, http://www.twitter.com/martinog appears in the top 25. On a handful of the myriad of Twitter ranking sites, some that worked and others that didn’t, I checked my ranking. There are some sites that rated me on a scale of 1 to 10 similar to the Google Page Rank and others that provided a Reach rating similar to Comscore or Quantcast. A number of the sites also give you a custom profile such as www.Twinfluence.com/?u=martinog.

There were also some sites that required a credit card to check your ranking or offered a free trial. Those sites were not included in my top 10.

So here’s my list of Top Twitter Ranking sites.

For a complete list go to the SocialMedialists.com Wiki Top Twitter Raking Tools.

Google Voice – Sign Up Now!

June 29, 2009 By Martin Ogawa Leave a Comment

If you are a power phone user or have a business without a phone number, you may consider signing up for Google Voice since it’s now available to the public. It’s also free except for out-bound International callling (alternative to Skype). Here are some benefits:

Free Local DID Number – You get a free local number in your area code.
Call Routing – You could forward your direct office or home phone number to Goolge Voice to give you more control over forwarding. You can configure Google Voice to ring at an unlimited number of destinations.
Cell Phone Number Privacy – If you don’t want to give out your cell phone number, you can give your Google voice number out and forward it to your cell phone.
Blocking – One of the most powerful featues, you can block specififed phone numbers including 800 numbers. The current Telcos don’t allow you to block 800 number so if you’re getting an annyoying 800 number that you want to block, forward it to Google Voice for a few weeks and your problem will be solved.
Text Messaging with Voice Mail Transcription – If you get a voice mail message, you can configure Google Voice to send you a SMS message with the text transcription of the voice mail. This is very cool!

Here’s the Google Voice signup page.

https://services.google.com/fb/forms/googlevoiceinvite/

Get your Facebook Username on Sat June 13, 2009 at 12:01 a.m. ET

June 11, 2009 By Martin Ogawa Leave a Comment

If you have a Facebook account and you have a common name such as John Smith and you want the website address http://www.facebook.com/johnsmith for your profile rather than http://www.facebook.com/john.smith or jsmith or jsmith99999, then at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 12, 2009 you need to log on to Faceboook.com and grab your profile name. Yes, it’s on a first-come, first-serve basis just like you are buying online tickets to a concert or a sporting event! See the info below from Facebook.com.

Good luck!

From Facebook.com
Starting at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Saturday, June 13, you’ll be able to choose a username on a first-come, first-serve basis for your profile and the Facebook Pages that you administer by visiting www.facebook.com/username/. You’ll also see a notice on your home page with instructions for obtaining your username at that time.

http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=90316352130

Google Profiles is the New Global Directory

April 22, 2009 By Martin Ogawa Leave a Comment

It appears that Google Profiles could be the new Global Telphone Directory or Global White Pages. Today I created my Google Profiles entry and in less than a 30 minutes, when I searched on my name it showed up in the Google Search Results with the other Martin’s in the world.

When you search on a person’s name and scroll to the 11th search result, Google will now display a special “onebox” that shows links to people with that particular name and links to their Google profile.

It took me about 30 minutes to enter my Google Profile information. Before you start entering your “public” profile information I would suggest the following:

1. Go to http://www.google.com/profiles and browse the example profile pages such as the profile of Felicia Day. You should try and get a general idea of wht type of information about yourself that you want to show such as your company, your blog, your personal contact information etc. Google profile allows you to store your personal contact information such as your Instant Messaging Accounts, emails, phone numbers and decide who can view this information. You can even let your Medical Contacts / doctors from Google Health could have access to your mobile phone and email address, if they were members of Google Health.

2. Get your list of all your Social Media Profile accounts such as your Twitter, LinkedIn. If you don’t have a list, now is a good time to create one.

3. Get the picture your will be using for your Google profile.

4. If you have don’t have a Picasa or Flickr photo account, now would be a good time to sign up for and upload eight public photos to display under your profile. If you already have one of these photo accounts with a Public Galley, then you should review any public photos before linking your public Picasa or Flickr galleries. The issue is that the Google Profile Photo widget is mandatory and if you don’t want a big white space of blank photos on your profile page, you’ll need to upload at least eight of them. In my case, I uploaded eight scenery photos of Miami.

4. So go to http://google.com/profiles to sign-up for your Google Profiles account today. My profile page is http://google.com/profiles/martinog

Enable SMS for Your Twitter Direct Messages, Updates for Selected Members

April 17, 2009 By Martin Ogawa Leave a Comment

I have an iPhone with a Twitter client so I never felt there was a reason to enable the SMS messages from Twitter. However, I recently enabled the SMS service to see if I could configure it to receive direct messages only and was surprised when it worked perfectly, even for users that don’t have unlimited SMS service phone contracts. When I enabled the service, my phone didn’t start continuously shaking from the flood of SMS messages from the Twitter members I am following. You can opt-in to any Twitter user you would like to receive SMS updates using the Twitter SMS command On username. So here are the instructions I used to setup my Twitter SMS service and the Twitter SMS commands you need to know.

1. From your Twitter Account, Click Settings, Devices. Enter your Mobile Phone Number and select the checkbox for Twitter to Send Text Messages to your phone.

2. Twitter will send you a verfication code. Using your phone, send a text message to 40404 (United States) with that code. You will receive a SMS message back from Twitter that your device and sms alerts are enabled.

3. You should use the Twitter SMS command “ON” to enable your phone notifications texting it to 40404. Your Phone is now enabled to receive Direct Twitter messages only. To test this, have a friend send you a direct Twitter message. Here are other useful commands:

ON
OFF
STOP, QUIT
ON username
OFF username
FOLLOW username
LEAVE username

4. Here are commands for sending a message and other commands.

@username +message
D username +message
WHOIS username
GET username
NUDGE username
FAV username
STATS
INVITE phonenumber

A link to all the Twitter site listing these command is at: http://help.twitter.com/portal

5. Finally, Twitter has a Device Setting that allows you to turn on and off your updates via the web and to stop them at night.

How to Delete a Twitter Update

April 13, 2009 By Martin Ogawa Leave a Comment

Did you mistweet or send a Twitter update that you now want to delete? If you want to remove an update that you posted to Twitter, it’s very easy. Here are instructions.

From Twitter.com

1. From your Twitter.com Home or Profile page, click “updates”

2. Put your cursor over the tweet you want to delete. You will see a trash can icon to the right of the message below the star or favorites icon as shown below.

3. You will receive the following dialog box, click [OK].

From TweetDeck

4. Click Other Actions –> Tweet –> Delete

Twitter Abbreviations and Twitter Acronymns

April 5, 2009 By Martin Ogawa Leave a Comment

Here is a list of Twitter Abbreviations, Twitter Acronymns and Twitter commands. If you have been reading your daily tweets form the members of the Twitter community you are following, you’ve noticed that people are using various message commands such as @username, hash tags such as #miami and abbreviations or shorthand because Twitter is limited to 140 characters. Inasmuch as some of these commands are the same as those used when text messaging such as BTW or or ur, there is also a myriad of Twitter terms such as Twitterati (elite members of Twitter) or Tweetin (when a group of Twitter users agreet to get together ata set time to twitter). Hopefully this list will help you get the maximum benefit for you and your local business when using Twitter.

Twitter Message Commands
@username = Reply to
D @username = Direct message
DM @username = Direct Message
PRT = Partial Retweet or Please Retweet
RT = Retweet
#followfriday = A list of recommended users to follow on Fridays.

Top Twitter Acronymns, Twitter Abbreviations

1 = one, won
2 = to, too, two
4ward = forward
4 = for, four
abt = about
ab = about
b/c because
b4 = before
BFN = bye for enow
bgd = background
BTW sort { |a, b| }By The Way
CelebrityTweet = A tweet by a Celebrity.
chk = check
cld = could
clk = click
da = the
deets = details
Drunktwittering = Tweet while drunk
Dweet = Tweet while drunk
Eml = email
Em = email
fab = fabulous
fave = favorite
fav = favorite
FB Facebook
Followers = Twitter members that follow your updates.
FTF = Face to Face
FTL For the Loss or For the Lose
FTW For the Win
fwd = forward
FYI = for your information
Geotwitter = The geographical location of the most recent tweets.
GR8 = great
Hashtag = Adding categorical metadata to your tweets by using the # tag such as #sports.
IC = I see
IMHO In My Humble Opinion
IM = Instant Message
IOW = In Other Words
IRL In Real Life
itz = it is
JK j/k = just kidding
JSYK = just so you know
JV = Joint Venture
kewl = cool
K = okay
L8er = later
L8 = late
LMAO = Laughing My Ass Off
LMAO = Laughing my ass off
lmk = let me know
LMK Let Me Know
LOL = laught out loud
mil = million
mistweet = A tweet that was sent in error or that one later regrets.
njoy = enjoy
Nudge + user name = A Twitter command used to remind a Friend to update their Twitter status or be active on Twitter.
OH = overheard
OMG = oh my god or oh my gosh
OMW = on my way
peeps = people
plz = please
pple = people
PPL = People
props = proper respect
PWN = Own
ROFL = rolling on the floor laughing
RU? = are you?
R = are
shld = should
thx tx = thanks
TIA = thanks in advance
TIA = thanks in advance
ttyl = talk to you later
ttys = talk to you soon
Twadd = To add someone as a friend.
Twaffic = Twitter traffic
Twaggle = A gaggle of followers.
Twaiglist = To sell something on Twitter like Craigslist.
Twaiting = Twittering while waiting.
Twardware = Twitter hardware.
Twashdot = News for Twitter similar to Slashdot.org.
Twaunt = To taunt someone over Twitter.
Twead = To read a tweet.
Twebay = To sell something on Twitter like Ebay.
Tweekend = Spending your weekend reading and posting on Twitter.
Tweepish = Feeling sheepish or regretful about something you tweeted.
Tweeple = Twitter people, Twitter members, Twitter users.
tweeps = People on Twitter.
Tweeps = Twitter updates
Tweeps = Twitterites that follow each other from one social network to another.
Tweet Pushers = Bloggers whose ideas are featured on The Wall Tweet Journal.
Tweet-back = Referencing a previous Twitter conversation.
Tweet-dropping = Eavesdropping on another member’s Home page in With Friends mode.
Tweetaholism = The uncontrolled use of Twitter similar to an addiction.
Tweetard = A Twitter retard.
Tweeter = A user of Twitter.
Tweetheart = A Twitter sweetheart.
Tweeting = The act of posting on Twitter.
Tweetin = When a group of Twitter users agree to get together at a set time to twitter.
Tweetsulted = insulted
Tweetsult = insult
Tweets = Posts on Twitter by Twitter members.
Tweet = Twitter updates
Twerminology = Twitter terminology
Twexplanation = Sending a nebulous tweet and having to explain it while offline on Twitter.
Twhepherd = The Twitter employee that finds and restores lost followers to your twaggle.
Twhiner = A twitterer who only ever posts whiney, negative tweets.
Twideo-cronicity = When you’re watching someone’s videos and they are simultaneously leaving a comment or tweet for, at or about you.
Twiends = Twitter + Friends
Twike = To ride a bike with Twitter.
TWinkedin = Inviting friends made on Twitter to connect with you on Linkedin.
Twistcuffs = Fighting with a fellow twitterer over twitter.
Twistory = Any history of Twitter
Twis = To dis a fellow twitterer.
Twitcrush
Twitosphere = Community of Twitterers.
Twittastic = Fantastic, wonderful, superb, coined by the folks at Twitterholic when referring to their robots.
Twittcrastination = Twittering in the form of procrastination.
Twittduit = If you need to tweet a friend that does not follow you, post a Twittduit asking your followers to pass a message.
Twittectomy = unfollowing friends.
Twitter-ku = Those who either post on both Twitter and Jaiku.
Twitter-Light Zone = When you are when you return to Twitter after any time away and feel disoriented and lost.
Twitterati = The elite members or A-list members of Twitter that everyone wants to follow and be followed by.
Twitterbate = To masturbate to another user’s tweets.
Twittercal mass = A community that has achieved a critical mass of twitterers.
Twitterer = A user of Twitter.
Twitterfly = A social butterfly on Twitter as evidenced by the extreme use of @ signs.
Twitterholic = A person who is addicted to using Twitter.
Twitterific = A really good Twitter thing. It’s also a third party application for Twitter.
Twittering = To send a Twitter message.
Twitterish = Erractic behavior with short outbursts.
Twitteritas = Women who play with their twitters.
Twitterject = Interject your tweet into an existing tweet stream of conversation.
Twitterlooing = Twitting from the bathroom.
Twitterloop = to be caught up with your friend’s tweets and upon the conversation.
Twittermob = An unruly and ragtag horde of people who descend on an ill-prepared location after a provocative Twitter message.
Twitterories = Clusters of twitterers that follow and friend each other with little overlap with other clusters.
Twitterpated =To be overwhelmed by Twitter messages.
Twitterphoria = The elation you feel when the person you’ve added as a friend adds you back.
Twitterpreneur = An entrepreneur on Twitter
Twitterrhea = The act of sending too man Twitter messages.
Twitterstream = The Twitter timeline (public or friends).
Twittertude = Bad Twitter attitude. Or a state of being, like solitude only with other people present.
Twitterverse = The Whole Community of Twitter
Twittfeinated, Twigged Out, Twired = To be so hyped up on twittering that you cannot sleep.
Twittfessional = A confession made on Twitter.
Twitticisms = Witty tweets.
Twittilate = To arouse with tweets.
Twittish = Too skittish to twitter.
Twittonary = dictionary of twitter terminology.
Twittsomnia = Twittering due to inability to sleep, thus compounding inability to sleep.
Twittworking = Networking with Twitterites using Twitter.
Twit = Twitter updates
Twixt and tween = Can’t decide who or what to tweet.
Twode = to hack on the Twitter API.
Twofor = Replying to two unrelated Twitter messages with a single tweet.
TwoingTwoing = To twitter about wonderful things.
Twollower = Twitter + Follower
Twoogle = Twitter as the human Google. Pose a question, get near-instantaneous results.
Twoops = When you accidently send a private sms to Twitter.
Twoosh = A full 140 character twitter.
Twopsies = When you drop things because you are twittering.
Tword = Words forms by appending TW to the original word.
Twouche = Someone acting like a big fat jerk via Twitter.
Twurvey = A survey sent out over Twitter.
Twype = To type on Twitter.
TYT = Take your time.
TYVM = Thank you very much.
TY = Thanks
u’ve = for you have
ur = your
U = you.
V2V = voice to voice (chatting on the phone)
W or w/ =with
wazzup? or whatddup? = what’s up
wld = would
wOOt! = an expression of joy or excitement.
woz = was
wtf = what the f***
wth = what the heck
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary
yr = your
YVW = you’re very welcome
YW = you’re welcome

Twitter for Your Biz – First Step 15 Character Twitter Name

March 25, 2009 By Martin Ogawa Leave a Comment

Twitter is smoking hot right now — and in the past several months, most of my friends, former classmates and family members have asked me about Twitter. If you haven’t created a Twitter Account for your local business or personal blog yet, now is the time — it’s like the late ’90s when the Internet took off and many of us began to think about buying our domain name to ”protect our beachhead in our market'”.

Here is the very first steps to creating a Twitter account or getting your business on Twitter.

User Name 15 Characters or Less — Think of a Twitter user name that is 15 characters or less for you or your business. Most individuals, Celebrities and Athletes will use their First and Last Name as their twitter name, their business name or their stage name/brand. Here are some examples:

Athletes: LanceArmstrong, dwight_howard, THE_REAL_SHAQ
Celebrities: 50cent, snoopdogg, Emeril, algore, MarthStewart, kathyperry, johncmayer, MariahHBF, iamdiddy, britneyspears
Professionals: BarackObama, SteveJobs, guykawasaki, andersoncooper, SenJohnMcCain, Gstephanopolous, martinog
Businesses: TheEllenShow, YelpMiami, readersdigest, MHEAT, nytimeshealth

2) Do I create a Twitter name using my first and last name or using my business name? I would start by creating a Twitter user name for your first and last name. You will probably end up creating an additional one for your business name.

3) Upper/Lower Case, Punctuation in your Twitter Account

Upper and Lower Case Letters – It’s like an email address, you can use upper and lower case letters. So the twitter account MartinOgawa is the same as martinogawa.
Underscore Key “_” – The underscore [_} key is allowed like in THE_REAL_SHAQ.
Spaces – Using spaces in your Twitter user name is not allowed.

4) Changing Your Twitter User Name –Once you sign-up , it is possible to change your Twitter user name including modifying the upper and lowercase letters.

5) So here is the Twitter Signup form.

https://twitter.com/signup

Note: I would recommend using your real first name and last name rather than an alias. I will talk about this issue later in one of our blogs.

6) After you signup, here is some important information:

Your Twitter Profile Page is: http://www.twitter.com/yourusername
To Login, click the Login link at the top of your pofile page or go to http://twitter.com/login
User Name: You can login with your Twitter user name or email address, the user name field is not upper and lowercase sensitive so I can login with MartinOgawa or martinogawa.

Good luck! See you on Twitter. And don’t forget add follow @martinog and @OgawaDesign!

« Previous Page