Zahid Lilani – Technology and Social Media for Business

Testing MMS, Most Awaited iPhone Feature

Posted on 28. Sep, 2009 by Zahid Lilani. View Comments

Finally the days when you had to visit a special website to view MMS are gone. It took two years for Apple from the first iPhone launch to come out with MMS. That’s a long time but I guess we all know Apple likes to hype every little thing it does with the iPhone because as it brings in new customers.

I received a TXT message Friday night, it said :

Picture and video messaging (MMS) is now available for iPhone. Your existing messaging plan includes unlimited send and receipt of text, picture & video messages. To enable MMS messaging, connect your iPhone to your computer and click “Check for Update” in iTunes, then restart your phone.

Yes, this time there wasn’t a big file to download which is the usually the case with iPhone updates. I followed everything to the word and here is the result:

Once you slide to view, something like this shows up:

The scary looking guy you see is ME. My wife took a picture using LG Shine and then sent it to me via MMS. The other picture is that of State Capitol building in Sacramento, I sent that picture to my wife and it worked just fine.

Verdict: Easy update and fast delivery.

Twitter Settling for Status-Quo

Posted on 25. Sep, 2009 by Zahid Lilani. View Comments

Twitter recently announced that it is considering displaying advertisements on profiles as a source of ad revenue. Even though I believe there is really no money in displaying ads and Twitter should try other revenue models, I still think they can at least pay their office rent.

According to an article published in Montreal Gazette in May 2009, Biz Stone didn’t really want to display ads but instead wanted to create revenue generating tools that could be used by both businesses and individuals. Here is a Quote:

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said on Monday that the company is developing various add-on tools and services for the businesses and professional users of Twitter, which could create a revenue stream for the company. He said Twitter plans to introduce some of these tools by year end.

Now it didn’t really work out that way, he instead is going along with the status-quo. Twitter posted a new blog post titled “Does Twitter Hate Advertising?” explaining what it really means and that it is looking at all the possibilities.

Maybe the investors were not that happy with Twitter’s notion of let’s not annoy our users by sneaking advertising on their Twitter profiles. Even though I am not a fan of corporations dictating social media, I have to agree with the investors. Geekiness aside, Biz Stone also needs to think about making money. I love the fact that he understands Twitter users and I respect that but I want Twitter to survive and thrive.

Inserting ads on Twitter pages is the easiest way to make money for Twitter right now. They are following the Facebook approach which is not a bad strategy. Small, non-intrusive text ads on the right hand side of the Twitter page underneath the description sounds like a good idea to me.

What do you think about this? Considering the fact that Twitter just confirmed today that it received another round of funding, they don’t disclose it but it is around $100 Million. Don’t these investors want to see any ROI?

Photo by Anne Hamersky

Facebook Addiction Will Get You Busted

Posted on 22. Sep, 2009 by Zahid Lilani. View Comments

Last week a burglar who stopped to update his Facebook status while burglarizing a house was caught because he didn’t remember to logout. He is now behind bars but there is a lesson to be learned here. This story re-enforces my belief that increasingly we are getting addicted to social media.

Besides the fact that the burglar was stupid, he was also a social media addict. He was addicted to the social networking crack also known as Facebook. I talk about social media and spend most of my time surfing the web, I still feel I practice my passion in moderation but I don’t get it when someone has the urge to share each and everything that they do.

There was another similar incident that took place in Australia few days back. Two girls instead of making an emergency phone call tried to get help using Facebook during a storm. That seriously is dangerous, I mean why not just call for help using the same phone they used to update their facebook status?

I agree with the rescue Firefighter who said:

“It seems absolutely crazy but they updated their status rather than call us directly. We could have come to their rescue much faster than relying on someone else being online, then replying to them, then calling us. It is a worrying development. Young people should realize it’s better to contact us directly. Luckily they are safe and well. It’s awful to think what could have happened because of the delay.”

Yes it is crazy, yes it is not safe. I see this problem growing because unlike Facebook, on Twitter you can follow your local Police Department. Next time there is a need to call 911, are you going to Tweet your emergency? I really hope not…

Original Story: Burglar leaves his Facebook page on victim’s computer

Facebook and Twitter, Similar But Not Same

Posted on 21. Sep, 2009 by Zahid Lilani. View Comments

Over the weekend a news story caught my eye that dealt with Facebook increasing working memory and thus intelligence. In the same news story, the researcher also pointed out that Twitter is bad because it is information overload. Dr. Alloway, a Psychologist who conducted the research at University of Stirling in Scotland concluded that on Twitter

“Your attention span is being reduced and you’re not engaging your brain and improving nerve connections.”

Though I partly agree with that observation, I also have to point out here that he includes Twitter in the category of YouTube where you are sometimes browsing meaningless but amusing videos and not retaining anything.

Twitter is information overload because it is the new kid on the block. Twitter has come along way from being termed as plain “stupid” to being a tool of choice these days for most people who engage in meaningful conversation and stay aware.

It is too early for any researcher to be comparing Twitter and Facebook. It’s like comparing apples and oranges. Facebook is social networking and Twitter is micro-blogging, two different fish that look similar on the outside.

Tweeting Through Tough Times

Posted on 18. Sep, 2009 by Zahid Lilani. View Comments

Another example of Twitter making life easier for entrepreneurs and small business owners is the article “Entrepreneurs ‘Tweet’ Their Way Through Crises” by Sarah Needleman in Wall Street Journal.

Most business owners have realized that instead of using Twitter as a PR tool, it is better to use it as a customer service tool because it adds more value to the company.

Twitter has turned out to be a useful tool for some small businesses coping with customer-service or public-relations crises.

Just Tweeting when there is a problem is not useful because it doesn’t get anyone to follow you. updating your Twitter profile frequently and keeping things fresh is the way to go. If you are a small business and have employees, ask them to Tweet during business hours.

These are tough times for most businesses, Twitter sets you apart and shows customer appreciation by saying “You Care.”