On October 29 of that year, for perhaps the first time, a message was sent over the network that would eventually become the Web. Leonard Kleinrock, a professor of computer science at the University of California-Los Angeles, connected the school’s host computer to one at Stanford Research Institute, a former arm of Stanford University.

Forty years ago today, the Internet may have uttered its first word.

Twenty years later, Kleinrock chaired a group whose report on building a national computer network influenced Congress in helping develop the modern Internet. Kleinrock holds more than a dozen patents and was awarded the National Medal of Science last year by President Bush.

In an interview with CNN, the 75-year-old looks back on his achievements and peers into the exciting and sometimes scary future of the Web he helped create.

CNN: In basic terms, what happened on October 29, 1969, and what was its importance to the Internet as we know it today?

Kleinrock: Millions of people helped create this Internet. I basically supervised the creation of the Internet at the first node, both in the first connection and the very first message. We had just by then connected the first two host computers to the Internet. The first one was on September 2, 1969, when UCLA connected its host computer to the first packet switcher, the first router if you will, ever on the Internet.

But there was no other computer to talk to. So a month later, Stanford Research Institute received its interface message processor, or IMP, connected it to their host computer, and we created the first piece of the backbone network when a 50-kilobit-per-second line was connected between UCLA and SRI.

What we wanted to do was send a message essentially from UCLA to SRI’s host. And frankly, all we wanted to do was log in — to type an l-o-g, and the remote time-sharing system knows what you’re trying to do.

So we typed the “l,” and we asked over the phone, “Did you get the ‘l?’ ” And the response came back, “Yep, we got the ‘l.’ ” We typed the “o.” “Got the ‘o?’ ” ” ‘Yep, got the ‘o.’ ” Typed the ‘g.’ “You get the ‘g?’ ” Crash! SRI’s host crashed at that point. So the very first message ever on the Internet was the very simple, very prophetic “lo,” as in lo and behold.

And, you know, we weren’t aware that this was a significant event that would be recorded in history. We did not have a very effective message like “What hath God wrought” or “Come here, Watson, I need you.” Or “One giant leap for mankind.” We just weren’t that smart.

When the host computers talked to each other, I like to say the Internet uttered its first words on that day.

CNN: Before October 29, 1969, was no computer talking to any other computer?

Kleinrock: Well, typically not over a data connection, no. What was going on at that time was that many users sitting at terminals were connected to time-sharing systems with a local connection. But that was just connecting to a single computer.

CNN: UCLA sent a press release about your work in July of 1969, just a few months before your October breakthrough. At the time, did you have any idea how far-reaching all this was?

Kleinrock: Basically, I said the Internet will be always on, always available, [and that] everybody with any device could connect to the Internet from any time and any location, and it would be as invisible as electricity. What I missed was the social aspect, namely that my 99-year-old mother would be on the Internet, as she was until she passed away two years ago. And by the way, at the same time, my preschool granddaughter would be on the Internet.

CNN: What is feature shock?

Kleinrock: Feature shock is a term I coined some years ago. Systems [such as Windows or Safari] contain an enormous number of features, each one of which may be valuable by itself, but no one is really able to use all the features. However, because you’ve essentially paid for all those features, you feel guilty if you don’t exploit them. So you spend time learning to use them.

I’m a power user of PowerPoint. I spend thousands of hours learning how to use it effectively. If someone came along with a new version of PowerPoint that has a different interface than the one I’m used to, and [even] if it were twice as good as PowerPoint, I wouldn’t bother installing it.

We’re overwhelmed by [features]; we don’t know how to use them. It slows down the rate at which new applications and features are accepted by the public because of this investment they have in their thousands of hours of learning.

And I consider that a good thing. It allows a little more mature thinking in how we start hopping around in technologies and thereby losing the experience and history we had before. There’s a kind of a measured way in which people will adopt new technology, and I think that’s helpful.

CNN: What are you up to these days in the development of the Internet?

Kleinrock: I’m working on what we call smart spaces, whereby the cyberspace comes out from behind the [computer] screen, where most people consider it residing, and moves out into your physical space so that there will be intelligence and embedded technology in the walls of your room, in your desk, in your fingernails, in your eyeglasses, in your automobile, in your hotel rooms all across the world as you move around.

CNN: If computers will be doing so much of our thinking for us, does that mean our brains will get less of a workout?

Kleinrock: It’s always been the goal and desire of we technologists that as we provide capability that computers are good at — number crunching, file storage, massive databases that can be searched — that it would free us up to do the things that humans do so well, like pattern recognition and putting thoughts together, intuition and innovation.

So it may relieve us of some of the mundane things that we don’t do well. On the other hand, I personally regret that the youth of today are depending so much for their simple arithmetic calculations on these handheld calculators or wristwatch calculators that they don’t know how to make change in the supermarkets anymore.

CNN: What other dangers could be ahead?

Kleinrock: There’s a very dark side to the Internet, which we’re all familiar with. It started with a worm in 1988, and it became spam in 1994, and now we have pornography, we have denial of service [attacks], we have identity theft, we have fraud, we have things like botnets [pieces of software that cyberthieves use to remotely and secretly control your computer], which really worry me.

One of the problems of the Internet is that we didn’t install what I like to call strong user authentication or strong file authentication. We didn’t anticipate the level of the dark side we see today. The culture of the early Internet was one of trust of all the users.

I knew every user on the Internet in those early days. It was an open culture. We shared everything we did. We got our gratification by putting things out there, which people could use. And there was an etiquette — net etiquette if you will, which people behaved.

CNN: What about privacy? Is it dead?

Kleinrock: Yes, in a word. Yes.

And it was voluntarily given up in many cases. I mean, when someone lists their telephone number or uses their credit card or makes a cell phone call or even carries around a cell phone, that’s an awful lot of info about where you are, what you’re doing and some of your private matters.

There are cameras all over the place, and they’re increasing in number. I like to say the only privacy we can expect is to go to the edge of the ocean, strip down and jump in and hope there’s no sonar down there tracking you, by the way, which there will be soon.

CNN: Do you like to play video games over the Internet?

By Philip Rosenbaum, CNN

Windows 7, which went on sale Thursday, promises a smoother user experience, multi-touchscreen capability and more seamless networking with other computers.

Early reviews have been good.

“We think it’s a far superior product to the previous Microsoft operating systems,” says Vishal Dhar, co-founder of iYogi, a tech services company. “It’s got a more intuitive interface.”

Great. But it is right for you? Which version of the software best fits your needs? And are there tricks to installing Windows 7 and navigating its new features?

We anticipate seven of the most common questions about Windows 7 and offer some advice:

Will my aging computer run Windows 7?

Maybe. If your PC can run the much-maligned Windows Vista, it can probably run Windows 7. Check your computer’s specs: To install Windows 7, you’ll need at least a 1 gigahertz or faster 32-bit (x86) processor, plus at least 2 GB of RAM and at least 16 GB of available hard disk space.

Yes, that sounds like a foreign language to most people. If you’re not sure what all that means, try downloading a free Microsoft tool called a Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, which will scan your PC, report any potential problems and offer ways to fix them.

Is upgrading to Windows 7 worth it?

That depends on your budget and how you use your computer. The software will cost you from $120 to $220, depending on which version you buy. If you’re broke and you’re happy with your Vista or Windows XP system, then there’s probably no rush.

But keep in mind that Windows XP is eight-year-old software, and that it will eventually stop running new applications. Newer operating systems also offer better security against hackers. You’ll need to upgrade someday.

Depending on how old your computer is, you may be better off buying a new laptop or PC, preloaded with Windows 7, instead of trying to refresh your aging machine. Retailers such as Best Buy and Dell.com are offering Windows 7-loaded laptops for as low as $499.

Which version of Windows 7 should I buy?

Most casual computer users will probably be satisfied with the Home Premium edition ($119.99), which includes most of the basic features you’ll need. That includes Home Group, which makes it easier to share music, video and documents — a common printer, too — between Windows 7-enabled computers in a home.

Small business owners and people who work from home may opt for the Professional edition ($199.99), which supports all the Home Premium features while automatically backing up all your data to a networked hard drive.

If you guard corporate secrets or work for the CIA, you’ll want the Ultimate edition ($219.99). It comes with BitLocker encryption, which prevents thieves from accessing your files if your laptop is stolen.

How tricky is Windows 7 to install?

If you’re upgrading from Vista, it’s supposed to be a breeze: Insert the disc, and it does the rest. “It’s the easiest upgrade I’ve ever seen,” says J. Peter Bruzzese, who writes about tech for InfoWorld. “All of my settings carried over.”

Upgrading from Windows XP is more complicated. Users will need to back up their files, format their hard drive, install Windows 7 and then reinstall browsers, reimport bookmarks and so on. Microsoft has a wizard called Easy Transfer that uses a USB cable to help you transfer files and settings.

It’s not officially recommended, but Bruzzese says XP users also can install a borrowed copy of Vista, then upgrade easily from there to Windows 7.

What if I need help?

If you don’t have a tech-savvy friend, nephew or neighbor, try Microsoft’s online Windows 7 Solution Center, which will walk you through the installation process.

You may also want to consider hiring a tech-support service such as iYogi, whose technicians connect to your computer remotely to diagnose problems, help you install Windows 7 and show you how to migrate your old applications onto your new system. Services start at about $30.

Will Windows 7 run my old XP programs?

Most likely. Heeding complaints about Vista’s compatibility problems, Microsoft is introducing something called XP Mode, which creates a virtual, or “shadow” Windows XP operating system running inside Windows 7.

Once XP Mode is running, it fools your older apps into thinking they’re on Windows XP. Here you’ll find an XP start menu and all your familiar XP features — all of which should work as they did before. XP Mode is only available in the higher-priced Professional and Ultimate editions, though.

Does Windows 7 have any cool new bells and whistles?

• Well, it’s got trippier desktop wallpaper, for one. Microsoft has replaced much of its blandly pretty nature shots with colorful psychedelic images.

• A Library feature allows you to gather files — documents, photos and video — from different places on your computer and group them together in new folders by topic, such as “beach house,” or “Grandpa Fred.”

• A new feature called AeroPeek displays outlines of your open windows behind the window you’re working in. A related feature, AeroSnap, allows you to move, shrink and enlarge windows on your screen so that you can see several at once.

• Finally, Windows 7 needs less processing power than previous Windows versions, meaning that in theory, you should be able to work faster and in more windows at the same time. In other words, it’s built for today’s warp-speed, multi-tasking lifestyle.

(CNN)

Among the promotions Microsoft tried with Windows Vista was an outdoor human billboard.

It’s true of the product, which is as notable for its everyday performance as any one new feature. It’s also true of how Microsoft plans to launch the new operating system on Thursday October 22.

Rather than go for flash, the company is focused on making sure that all of its partners are ready to sell lots of PCs and copies of Windows 7.

“We’re living in a different world today,” Microsoft Vice President Tami Reller said in an interview with CNET News.

Microsoft is hoping to strike a contrast with the launch of Vista, which was marked by ambitious marketing (Remember “The Wow starts now”?) but a product that wasn’t fully baked, nor were other software and hardware makers ready for the big changes that came with Vista.

Windows 7, meanwhile, offers only minor changes to the Windows core from Vista, and aims to be faster and easier to navigate than its predecessor.

Reller said the goal with the marketing of Windows 7 is to let the product speak for itself. Early ads have featured Kylie — the perfectly precocious preschooler — reading some of the product’s positive reviews.

“We’ll stay true to that on October 22, and we’ll stay true to that post-October 22, which just results in sort of less acrobats, and more customers,” Reller said, adding that there will be more than just Kylie.

Among the promotions Microsoft tried with Windows Vista was an outdoor human billboard, which left spectators — quite literally — out in the cold on a very nippy New York day.

Microsoft said this time around, it is putting nearly all its energy on getting the product in front of as many people as possible. As has been the case with past Windows launches, there will be plenty of specials and promotions tied to the Windows 7 launch. Customers, she said “can expect great, great deals.”

“This is where we’ve put a lot of coordination effort to make sure that customers more than ever get some great, great value, starting on October 22 and continuing.”

And, of course, Microsoft is planning a massive advertising campaign to promote the product. The launch of Windows 7 is key for Microsoft, which gets a huge chunk of overall sales and profits from Windows.

Although some PC makers have already started introducing their Windows 7-based models, Reller promised there are other machines yet to be announced.

“You’ll see a few more PCs for sure in all categories, whether they’re gaming machines, whether they’re new notebooks, a few new Netbooks,” Reller said. “You will see more.”

Some stores will also open at midnight, Reller said, without offering specifics. Microsoft itself is opening its first retail store — in Scottsdale, Arizona — to coincide with the launch, although that store opens at 10 a.m. on Thursday. Sources said to expect a celebrity or two, plus some nice goodies for whoever happens to be the first to walk out of the store with a copy of Windows 7.

Microsoft is also opening a “Windows Cafe” in Paris, though that location will be selling lattes rather than laptops.

As for formalities, Microsoft plans launch events around the globe, with Windows unit head Steven Sinofsky in Japan kicking things off, followed by Julie Larson-Green at an event in Britain and finally, (due to time zones) Steve Ballmer presiding over the main event in New York.

Microsoft will also ring the opening bell on Nasdaq on Thursday, while Microsoft will join with its computer maker partners to end the day’s trading.

Unclear is whether Microsoft will be making a return appearance to late-night TV. With the launch of Vista, Bill Gates took to the Daily Show stage, talking tech with Jon Stewart.

“You’ll certainly see a lot of coverage from us that day, but no commitments on the exact venue,” Reller said.

You can also choose to follow other Twitter community members’ posts, either by navigating directly to the Twitter site, subscribing to that particular Twitter RSS feed, or getting Twitter posts sent to your mobile device (text messaging fees will apply for this option; check with your provider).

What do people use Twitter for?

There are many different uses for Twitter. Some of the most common are:

• Instant updates. For instance, the Los Angeles Fire Department uses Twitter to keep the community apprised of fire emergences (LAFD).
• News. You can get up to the minute news updates from many news agencies; for instance, Sky News (SkyNews).
• Friends and family. The majority of Twitter users use it to keep friends and family apprised of what they’re doing at any given moment. It’s a great way to fire off a quick jolt of news if you don’t have a lot of time to write anything more substantial (you can see my Twitter feed at gachiejosphat).

Why should I use Twitter?

Personally, I use Twitter as a quick journal of what I’m doing day to day. For instance, looking back at the last couple weeks of my Twitter feed, I noticed that I had a lot of baseball games, lots of talking to my cat (don’t ask), and interactions with my kids. People are finding new uses for Twitter all the time – what will you use it for?

If you don’t know what Twitter is, then you really have been in the dark. Sorry to be so blunt however, if you are new to Social Media, this is one of the first networks I would sign up to. Some refer to it as their Social Networking Virtual Water Cooler… and then there is Twitters version:

Twitter is a micro-blogging service where you have only 140 characters to express yourself and share online in a creative way

I have been using Twitter now for over a year which has enabled me to meet some really cool people online who are in marketing, business, blogging, networking, and it has brought me traffic and exposure to my sites, enabling me to build my Personal Brand all the while.

As an Internet Marketer, Twitter is my source of never ending news and resources to help me with my online research into Social Media, what works, what doesn’t work and ultimately, it is up to each one of us to test and measure what works best for our own unique situations.

There are many sites offering Twitter tips on how to use this service and they all share some great advice. Personally, I use it to keep up with fellow tweeters and see what’s going on in the world and with Social Networking.

I type in what I am doing (as Twitter asks), whether it be reading, watching or listening to something on the web and providing the link – and occasionally I have a little back and forth conversation with other tweeters. I also tweet when I have updated my blogs with a link to the post. A little of everything.

Getting Started with Twitter

Twitter quite simply asks: What are you doing now?

The homepage of Twitter is where you sign up and create your profile. It’s a simple process of providing a few details like your name, email address and choosing a username for your profile. Remember, this will be your Personal Brand so choose wisely.

Once in, go into settings where you can upload your avatar, add a short bio and change your design if you wish, to the colour and style you like. Use your creativity and show the Twitterverse who you are as an individual or business.

How To Use Twitter

Twitter is a great tool for keeping up with family and friends as well as building an online presence for Internet Marketers.

Keeping up with family and friends is pretty straight forward however, when establishing relationships online, it’s great to provide value to the conversation.

You will notice once you start tweeting that Twitter has a language all of it’s own which you can explore at Twittonary.

The Twitter Dictionary aka Twittonary provides explanations of various Twitter related words.

You can select a letter of the alphabet and it will provide a list of words which are commonly abbreviated into Twitter language.

Tweeting Effectively

A few things to note when you are using twitter. You may see an @reply with your username in it. This means one of your followers (or not) has tweeted something to you. You can choose whether to @reply back to them remembering of course when you use the @ symbol, it makes the link to their profile live which is a good thing for anyone wanting to have a look at that users profile. It also shows up on the user’s timeline you sent it too making them aware of your @reply.

You can also send a DM (direct message) to anyone who is following you. A DM is a private message which can only be viewed by the recipient. Go to their profile and over to the right, you will see a message link. Click on it and type your message and send. The same applies here with the 140 characters.

If you want to provide a link and it’s simply too long to fit into the 140 characters space with your comment, you can shorten it by going to Tinyurl to shorten it for example, this

http://socialnetworkingnewsdaily.com/twitter/twitter-helped-fight-spam-comments/

can be turned into this

http://tinyurl.com/5cb9vj

As you can see, the Tinyurl has a much better chance of fitting into the 140 character space you have leaving room to add your comment.

So there you have a few basic tips to get you started on Twitter for Social Networking. Let me know how you get on in the comments here and/or follow me on Twitter @gachiejosphat .

1. Claim your Twitter handle

Prime domain names, especially those ending in “.com,” have long been desirable, hard to find and extremely expensive. By not reserving your domain name, your business or personal brand is at risk and you may never be able to reclaim it once you’ve lost it. With Twitter continuing its meteoric rise in popularity, it’s no surprise that Twitter account names are starting to be treated like domain names.

What happens when you don’t claim your Twitter handle:

• Exxon Mobil failed to claim their name on Twitter and was forced to deal with reputation management problems, when an imposter started tweeting using @ExxonMobilCorp.

• Jack Canfield, founder and CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul Enterprises, had to take a different user name because he didn’t act quickly enough to secure his full name (he has @J_Canfield, not @JackCanfield).

• The same thing happened to web developer community and book publisher SitePoint, which was forced to settle for @sitepointdotcom, rather than @sitepoint.

Twitter handles have become so important, that there is now even an aftermarket for them, Tweexchange, where user names are bought and sold.

Stop what you’re doing right now and claim the Twitter handle for your full name, as well as any products and/or companies that you currently own or you have plans to create in the future. You can’t truly own your personal brand if you don’t even own your Twitter handle.

2. Decide how you want to brand yourself

Before you start actively using Twitter, you need a strategy, and the first step in developing that strategy is to completely fill out your user profile. One of the goals of having a Twitter account is to gain followers and few people want to follow an account that doesn’t look legitimate (i.e. the profile hasn’t been filled out and there’s no avatar).

Take a good look at your other websites and profiles and draft a Twitter bio to match the rest of your online branding. This is how people will find you and recognize you now and in the future, so be honest. Don’t brand yourself as an expert unless you already are one. Do brand yourself based on your passions and skill set.

Once you have everything filled out, you should spend some time focusing on your Twitter background, which gives you an opportunity to extend your brand image onto Twitter and create a more cohesive experience for your followers. There are many sites that you can use to help you develop a custom background, such as Twitpaper ( and Twitterimage.

I recommend creating a Twitter background that resembles the colors, format and logo from your personal or corporate website. When you create your background, add in additional information that isn’t covered in your Twitter profile, such as pointers to more websites, contact information, or information about products or services you sell.

Three techniques for branding yourself on Twitter:

1. Lead with your company: Pete Cashmore puts his company (Mashable) ahead of himself on Twitter by using @Mashable as the account name, but uses his personal avatar and bio. This is a smart approach for Pete because he wants to build his company’s brand, while associating his own name with this successful property. This also gives Mashable a face and a personality to go with it.

2. Mutual branding: More and more companies are realizing that their employees are on Twitter and that they can be tapped to help promote their initiatives. Some of these Twitter accounts are mutually branded, so that the avatar has the person’s picture and the corporate logo. Two examples are Kodak’s Jennifer Cisney (@kodakCB) and Allison and Mike from CareerBuilder’s PR team (@CareerBuilderPR).

3. 100% personal branding: If you’re trying to build a strong personal brand, then focus your Twitter handle, avatar and bio information 100% on you, instead of your company.

3. Become known as an expert or resource

Essentially, Twitter is a shorter and more viral form of blogging, so the same rules actually still apply, and by constantly writing or tweeting about your expertise on a specific topic, you’ll become known for it and people will gravitate to you and follow you. If you already have a blog, then I recommend using Twitterfeed, so you can syndicate your posts on Twitter automatically.

For many people, Twitter has become a filter. Trusted experts are relied upon to send their followers interesting and relevant links. You can subscribe to blogs and keywords using Google.com/alerts, and then act as an arbiter for your topic, constantly pushing out the best content. Do you want to become known as a personal finance enthusiast? What about a search engine marketing consultant? The best thing you can do for your brand on Twitter is to take your current interests and activities and establish a feed on Twitter to deliver that content to your audience again and again.

If you are an expert in your field, then have Q & A sessions, where you answer questions from your followers. The more you tweet about the topic you want to be known for, the more people will remember you and when they need your expertise, they will contact you. It’s that simple!

4. Establish a Twitter marketing plan

Just like with any other website or blog, just because you build it, doesn’t necessarily mean people will come. You should have a marketing plan in place to acquire new followers.

Elements of a Twitter marketing plan:

• Email signature: You probably already place your blog or website URL and contact information in your email signature, so why not add your Twitter handle? It’s free promotion and every email you send can turn into a new follower.

• Personal/corporate website: If you already have a website for you and/or your company, then you have a platform on which you can promote your Twitter address to people who will probably be interested in following you.

• Blog homepage + posts: Your blog is a great place to promote your Twitter account because most people who read blogs know what Twitter is. You should take a two pronged approach. First, put your Twitter address in one of your sidebars and second, promote it discretely in posts every once in a while.

• Email newsletter: If you have an email newsletter, you can write about Twitter and link to your profile or put it at the bottom of your template, so that each email has a link to your account.

• Presentations: Do you do any public speaking? Why not include your Twitter account on the last slide of your presentation and tell people that they can follow you on Twitter?

• Business Card: Try including your Twitter handle on your business card. Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, did this with his card.

• Article writing / guest blog posting: Whenever you write an article for a magazine, news website or guest post on a blog, try to include your Twitter handle in your byline.

• Networking on Twitter: By using the “@” symbol and either retweeting or communicating with other people, you’ll have some of them responding to you, thus promoting your Twitter account to many of their followers.

• Promotional products: Some people take Twitter promotion to the next level: Ted Murphy, for example, created custom Twitter shirts that have your Twitter handle.

Just like with any social network or blog, the more people who follow you, the easier it is to grow your already existing community. Retweets and following other people are two essential ways to get new followers. However, content is king on Twitter, so it is vital to make sure you produce consistent, quality tweets.

5. Utilize third-party applications

There are literally thousands of Twitter applications out there, but only a few that can really help you build your personal brand. The apps below will help you stay in touch with your industry, find people you can network with, save you precious time, and push out your content.

Note: If you have additional Twitter applications that aid in personal brand building to recommend, please tell us about them in the comment section.

• Twellow : Find people in your industry to follow and connect with using this Twitter yellow pages guide.

• Tweetbeep: Keep track of your brand reputation by getting alerts through email when your brand is mentioned on Twitter.

• Tweetmeme: Put a button on your blog that allows your readers to more easily retweet your posts.

• Hashdictionary: Keep track of conversations that include hashtags on Twitter.

• Ping.fm: Save time by sending messages to all of your social networks at once.

• Twitter Grader: A site that ranks your influence in the Twitter world based on an algorithm. You can see where you stand in your town, city, state or country, as well.

• Tweetlater: Schedule tweets so that they are published automatically in the future. It’s a real time saver.

6. Form a Twitter “Mastermind Group”

As you may suspect, certain groups of people on Twitter constantly promote and retweet each other. Some of them are in what are called “mastermind groups” — groups of individuals who are committed to helping each other and sharing knowledge amongst themselves. They are communities of supportive colleagues who seek to mutually help each other become more successful. On Twitter, by finding people who share your interests, you’re able to help each other out and cross-promote. There are a few Twitter applications that help you form these special interest groups.

Group applications:

• Grouptweet: This app lets users create groups and broadcast messages to each other via direct messages sent to the group’s Twitter account.

• Twitter Groups: This site allows you to tag your followers and place them into different groups. You can then send messages to those groups without needing to send them to each person individually.

In fact, the answer may surprise you. There are business-to-business companies that are utilizing the social web to find customers, to build up a reputation, and to get the upper hand on landing the big deal. There’s a great deal that social media offers to the non-consumer business. Here are four of the best ways to use social media when you’re in enterprise:

Step 1. Build a reputation of expertise

What use is a company blog if you only have 10,000 customers, rather than 10 million? While it may be true that a B2B’s blog or Twitter is not going to be followed by as many people, it doesn’t change the fact that it will affect the decisions of your customers. Say a potential customer becomes aware of your software solution, and goes to your website to find out more about you. How can you stand out from the crowd? By building a blog with your expertise in focus.

If a potential customer comes to your company’s website and sees an active blog with insightful posts on how your company’s product helps customers, reads detailed posts demonstrating your company’s knowledge, and comes across a few case studies, they’re going to be far more inclined to come to you for their needs.

Social media provides an outlet for displaying who you and your company are. Talking about your industry in an intelligent way via Twitter and a regularly-updated blog can raise your company’s profile and brand it as a thought leader and expert in its specific business area.

37Signals, the maker of Software-as-a-service business collaboration products, is a prime example of this philosophy in action. Their blog is regularly read by thousands of people, shared among businesses, and has even opened up another revenue stream in the form of a popular job board. Social media builds reputations.

2. Research your customers

Everyone thinks of social media as a communication tool, but not enough people think of it as a research tool. With the ridiculous amount of data produced every day on social networks, blogs, and in conversations, it should be apparent that you can learn tidbits or spot major trends by tracking the social universe.

Know what your customers are saying: If you’re trying to secure a contract from a big business, then they are probably talking to their customers via Twitter, Facebook, and more. Learn what they’re saying to their customers and read the blogs of decision makers to learn what they value and how they think.

Know what your customers’ customers are saying: Your customers don’t care about you – they care about their customers and their bottom line. If you can find behavior patterns in their customers that your product can address, your pitch will resonate more. Driving the point that their current solution doesn’t work, and then proving that with social chatter is even better.

Track industry trends: Think about the keywords that define your industry, and then track them so you know what’s changing in it. If you’re a medical company creating devices for spine fusion surgery, then you’re going to want to track any developments in spinal fusion technology. Use Twilerts and Google Alerts to track keywords by email, or create an RSS feed of new information via the Content Keyword RSS Yahoo Pipe.

Step 3. Ramp up your networking

If you are competing with another company to land a big deal, it always helps to have connections and friendships within the company you’re trying to woo. You should always be networking, because you never know when a contact can become your advocate or even the decision-maker. And that’s where social media can help.

There are a lot of things you can do to get started on the networking front. They key, though, is that you have to reach out. Otherwise, how will people know to listen? While there are literally hundreds of ways to network with potential partners, vendors, clients, businesses, customers, and decision-makers, the truth is it doesn’t matter which tool you use as long as it is one that the other person values. LinkedIn, Twitter, Plaxo, etc. are always great places to start, but if you can network with him or her on niche social sites, you’ll stand out just a bit more.

Step 4. Learn from others

In the end, you want to come out sharper, more knowledgeable, and better prepared than your competitors. It doesn’t matter if you have 60 or 600,000 customers, and it does not matter whether or not you sell to general consumers or Fortune 500 companies. Almost everyone is using or tracking social media and it provides you a prime opportunity to make you and your business a leader rather than a follower.

- Seek out blogs and publications in your industry and subscribe via RSS
- Network with relevant experts, including those who may only be partially related
- Follow the insights of business leaders on Twitter
- Connect with commenters on your own blog
- Make yourself very easy to find on the web – if people search for your name or your business, you should be at the top of Google’s results. Building a blog, using a Twitter, and creating a decent corporate website always helps
- Keep an open mind

Don’t underestimate how much information is on the web. It’s stunning what you can learn just by reaching out. If you and your business have a strong social presence, it’s simply easier for potential partners, customers, employers, and businesses to find you. In enterprise, it’s about closing the deal and standing out; social media’s one of the easiest ways to achieve this goal.

Facebook, after all, has 300 million active users compared to about 44 million for LinkedIn, and even though the atmosphere is clearly not as focused on business, there are still a ton of opportunities for professional networking that business users would be remiss to pass up. Once you look beyond the obvious social features like sharing pictures and poking friends, there are plenty of ways to tap into the professional community on the world’s largest social network.

In this post we’ll talk about how to setup your Facebook for professional use, how to find others to network with, Facebook features that work for professional networking, and ways to maximize the value from those features.

Setting up your Facebook for business networking

If you’re like most people, your personal and professional lives have already blended. You share your personal stories and pictures with your work colleagues, you discuss both work and your personal life on your blog and Twitter, and you’ve probably let go of the notion that professional and personal must be kept completely separate.

But even with that blurring of our work and social lives, most of us still want some separation, and I would recommend actually splitting the two on Facebook. Once split, you can continue to reap the social benefits of Facebook with your friends and family while simultaneously connecting with your professional colleagues.

Here’s how to split the two.

– Go to your friends list by clicking on the Friends tab at the top of your Facebook page.

– Click the “Create a New List” button and create one called Professional.

– You can now go through your entire friend list and add all of your professional contacts into this new and separate business list.

– Once you’re done, navigate to your profile privacy settings by clicking on the Settings link in the top right corner of your Facebook; then click on privacy; then click on profile.

On the profile privacy settings page you can begin slicing and dicing your Facebook world into personal and professional segments by restricting access to various parts of your profile using your newly created friend list. For example, if you don’t want your professional friends to see any of your pictures, click on “edit photo album privacy settings.” In the “who can see this” drop down, click on “customize” and then in the “except these people” field type in your newly formed professional friends list. Now only your personal friends will be able to see your pictures.

Though these settings can get fairly complicated because of their granularity, you can control your entire Facebook experience from this area of the site and decide what parts of your personal life you would like your professional friends to be able to see. Bear in mind that there are no best practices here. Meaning, if you don’t want your professional friends to see your wall comments, don’t let them. If you don’t want your professional friends to see your pictures, don’t let them. It’s your world and you can set it up exactly how you like.

Using Facebook groups for networking

One way to professionally benefit from Facebook’s enormous user base and to grow your professional network is to participate in Facebook Groups. Facebook Groups is a feature that allows Facebook users to connect, discuss and network with each other within the context of a common interest or topic.

Finding groups

There are groups on Facebook representing just about every topic under the sun. To find the right group for your professional aspiration, think of topics that will motivate you, allow you to connect with others of professional interest, and will allow you to gain insight into your industry/skill set – groups around these topics are the ones where you’ll find professionals you can network with.

Now that you have a direction in mind, enter your keyword into the search box on Facebook, and click on the “Groups” filter to the left of the results. You can also filter down the displayed groups by drilling into a number of sub categories, including business (a good bet for many professional groups), common interest, geography, Internet and technology, and organizations.

There are, of course, other ways to find Facebook Groups. Here are a few techniques that should give you plenty of groups to get started with.

– If you have friends whose professional advancements you respect, go to their profile page and click on their info tab. Towards the bottom of the page, you’ll see links to all of the groups to which they belong.

– On the main page of any Facebook Group, there are links to several other similar or related groups.

– Conduct an Internet search for “popular Facebook Groups” coupled with some of the keywords that interest you. You’ll often uncover blog posts, articles and people tweeting about a variety of groups, some of which may interest you.

Once you find a group that interests you, it’s a good idea to evaluate whether or not it will be a good fit before joining and pouring too much time into it.

What to look for in a professional group

There are millions of groups on Facebook, so how many should you join and which ones? Joining too many might prove to be unmanageable, so it’s a good idea to only join the ones that you can actually see yourself participating in.

Below is a list of the features you’ll find in each Facebook Group and what to look for in each to determine whether a group is quality enough to be worth joining.

Recent News – This section contains news from group administrators that is either about the group itself or is about a topic that might interest the group. Is it up to date? Is it useful information or just self-promotion?

Member Listings – Lists all group members including their profile photos, location and link to their profile page. This is an easy access way to send a message to a specific group member OR to request them as a friend. You can also use this tool to evaluate the group before joining. Does the group attract people with similar backgrounds and interests to yours? Can you see yourself giving information to and appreciating information from these other members? Do they seem like people you would value interacting with?

Discussion Board – The group’s discussion board allows members to engage in a discussion about topics listed by other group members. Before joining, use the discussion board to measure group activity and member engagement. Are discussions recent? How many are there? Are they interesting and on-topic? You should contribute to an existing discussion or start your own, once you’ve joined.

Wall Posting – This section is usually for member introductions or job postings. This is a great way to introduce yourself and your interest in this group. How recent are the latest postings? If there is any spam, how quickly is it cleaned up?

Groups also often have photos, videos, links sections, and event listings. You should evaluate these areas for recency and quality of information, as well.

Group participation

Once you’ve joined a group, it’s time to start participating. This is where the real fun begins and the true business value will happen. Below is an example workflow I would recommend following upon joining a group for professional purposes. It’s a great way to show your presence in the group and get some professional networking activity under your belt.

Post an introduction on the Group’s Wall stating your interest in the group. If you’re looking to network, say so. If you’re looking for a job, say so. If you can offer advice, say so. The key here is to make this a simple introduction so the group knows who you are – not an advertisement for yourself or services, which may come across as spam.

Add links to interesting events, pieces of news or blog posts. Anybody who reads them will know you posted them, which will add to your professional branding efforts.

Go to the discussion board and comment on a few topics; don’t be generic. Find a discussion where you could truly add value and help some fellow members with their questions or contribute to some discussions with your thoughts.

Post a topic for discussion. Ask a question or propose a thought-provoking topic of discussion and share your thoughts — the object is to engage your fellow group members. Check back on this discussion often so you can participate and remain an active part of it.

Add friends. Because Facebook was intended to be an online extension of your offline social graph, it is proper etiquette to know somebody before adding them as a friend. While being in the same group might satisfy that requirement for some people, I think it’s a good idea to have some sort of further engagement with a member before requesting them as a friend. Once you’ve engaged someone (such as in a discussion board topic), request them as a friend but include a personal note letting them know you appreciated the interaction. That way, they will have some context for the request and will be more likely to accept. Once you’re friends, make sure to add them to your professional friend list so that you are able to maintain that line between social and professional.

Now that you’ve gone through this workflow for each group you’ve joined, you can now consider yourself to be an active member. So what’s next? Networking! Come back to each group often to post new links and videos, engage in discussions or start your own. You should also invite other existing contacts to join the group as a way to help spread the word and keep the group active. Also remember to befriend those with whom you’ve been active and take your professional relationship to the next level.

Once you have the basics down, professional networking on Facebook is very similar to professional networking in real life. The same rules and etiquette apply. As you build your professional network on Facebook you’ll be able to use those contacts for job hunting, business development, and more.

Conclusion

Although Facebook was built as a social network and most people treat it as such – there is a tremendous amount of professional value that can be gained there. Once you’re a member of a few groups and have completed the introductory workflow for each one, the professional value of Facebook should be evident and ready to be fully realized. Be creative, have fun, and remember: What you put into things is what you get out of them, so always try to stay active!

If you have any other tips for professional networking on Facebook, please share them in the comments.

Boris Epstein AskBinc.com.

There is an increasing number of people who use computers more often than they use papers especially in offices for keeping records, doing calculations, data processing, composing and even chatting.

Due to the way these machines help people to be more efficient and effective, many individuals are now keen on acquiring computer skills to be able to use them more regularly.

This need has raised the demand for ICT courses. And in a bid to cash in on this, many colleges – some inadequately prepared to offer market-aligned computer courses – are leaving the hapless learner unsure of what to go for when looking for a college that meets the basics.

When looking for a computer course that will equip you with the right market-relevant skills, you’ll find courses across a range of subjects; from general computer skills and hardware trouble-shooting to office software, business and financial programmes, website design, internet skills, desktop and web publishing, multimedia, digital photography, networking, databases and programming.

Within these, there will be a finer focus on perhaps the computer architecture or peripheral devices, a programming or scripting language such as C or Javascript, network cards and the network operating system, data and information flows with a suitable database to support such activity, or managing resources for computer-based projects.

Many short courses which students or working class want to take run over semesters that coincide with school and university terms. Therefore, the best time to look out for new courses is around the end term. Some colleges also run more intensive tuition that involves a week of full-time classes during school holidays.

Look for courses that will reinforce your career. If the outline provided by the training institute doesn’t describe the course content in detail, you may need to speak to a career counselor who will match your needed computer skills to your profession. After all, it is important to get a clear picture of what you’re paying for at the outset.

Don’t assume you know what’s covered in a course just by looking at the name. Web publishing isn’t the same as website design, for example.

You may notice some colleges and training centres advertising the International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL). This is a programme that assesses basic computer skills such as managing files and using word processing, spreadsheet, database and presentation software.

It is a useful means of recognising and rating your level of computing skills. Alternatively, studying to pass the ICDL is a good way to fine-tune your basic skills even if you only use your computer at home.

Unless you’re an IT professional, experienced computer user or someone looking for a career in IT, certified courses that are often expensive and lasting many months or years, will probably make your eyes glaze over.

They’re aimed at advanced users and professionals who want to refresh their skills or learn how to use new technical things. You’ll often need to prove your skills or complete some pre-requisite training before enrolling. These courses tend to be the most expensive and lengthy, but you’ll often receive recognised certification on completion.

But before paying up, a little investigation is important. It is worthwhile checking the number of students in the class, whether they have a computer each and the professional experience of the tutor. Some colleges only employ teachers with training certification, which may ensure a better experience on your part.

The teaching methods are also important. In any computer courses, practical, hands-on classes are best. You can re-enforce what you’re learning then and there. You may find classes with a large number of students, usually more than 20, using a projector connected to the tutor’s computer to demonstrate tasks.

Alternatively, some courses use a system that allows students to switch their monitor over to view what’s happening on the tutor’s screen. Similarly, the teacher is able to flick their monitor over to any student’s machine to check their progress.

On registration, remember to ask what you can take home at the completion of the course. Besides the certificates, manual and training discs are handy resources to have when problems occur on your home computer. So look for a course that gives out a manual or other take-home support material.

By SAM WAMBUGU Nation media group

Whenever one enters a cyber-café patronised by youthful clientele and looks around, the most striking thing is finding them almost uniformly glued to Facebook or to a lesser extent, other social sites like MySpace.

Unknown to many of them, these now vastly huge sites were the products of youths like them, mostly in the US, who came up with these ideas and developed them through hard work and a great deal of ingenuity.

It may not be easy for Kenyans to come up with a Facebook with over 200 million followers any time soon but if a local IT company has its way, a good start may be in the offing in the field of software development, the very backbone of the ICT industry everywhere, but which has not seemingly been much of a priority in Kenya.

Internet Communications Technology (or ICT) Consultants, a Nairobi-based information technology firm, is set to change this to a great degree, when it launches a software development platform meant to ease the creation of new programmes and business operations.

Prospective

The firm has partnered with FreeCode International, a company based in Norway that offers ‘open source’ software or free software, which any prospective software development aspirant as well as established companies can obtain from the Kenyan firm.

The Norwegian company also has a franchising or joint ownership option, which in the fast-growing Kenyan ICT field could prove to be a lucrative business in the not-too-distant future. Besides, it gives a convenient platform for those getting into content and data creation, either through the PC-based internet or increasingly, the mobile telephone.

According to ICT Consultants’ technical officer, Mr Alex Mutinda, open source software is ‘free’ such that once you posses it, you can create all sorts of programmes without worrying about restrictions usually imposed by the creators of such software or paying steep license fees.

“A company or software developer’s freedom of choice is secured with the use of free software, since it removes the vendor-lock imposed by proprietary owners”, says Mr Mutinda.

“What people have experienced is that the Microsoft Windows software commonly used — due to its hitherto tight lock on the software market worldwide — is expensive to run, especially for small and medium enterprises, it is prone to costly viruses and it’s not that secure from hacking. You have to buy virtually every piece of software the company comes up with and you don’t have much leeway with it”.

One totally owns this FreeCode software and it comes with the technical and systems back-up from the parent company.

Some ICT industry watchers contend that one of the biggest hindrances to the growth of software development in Kenya is that besides not having been a priority area in many computer studies with most learning only the basics of computing such as Windows, even those who have studied advanced courses such as JavaScript have had to depend on closed software options whenever they intended to use it for real business.

This has made it difficult and quite expensive for individual or small upstarts to make meaningful use of them.

Mr Mutinda says that whereas the FreeCode software is not itself expensive, its free nature allows companies to run the software for any purpose including human resources, enterprise resource planning (ERP), payroll systems and development of products among many others.

This, he says, is a boon not just to companies but also to those creative individuals wishing to enter into software development, especially those outsourced for by major companies.

A dynamic one which can be modified, updated, improved, or re-designed, he says it is a perfect tool for e-commerce, or for other aspects of data and content creation.

Fully-fledged

For the enterprise-minded, FreeCode International offers the option of owning a fully-fledged franchise, which gives one exclusive rights to a geographic area.

While it is also possible to have a joint venture or become a subsidiary of the Norwegian company, it says that “those entrepreneurs seeking to retain maximum control and profit of their operations, should opt for the franchise model after an initial licensing fee and franchise fee pegged on 10 per cent of gross revenue.”

This model, they say, is especially suitable in virtually virgin markets such as Kenya where computing requiring all manner of customised software is poised to grow enormously.

Although they do not indicate the cost for the free software preferring direct contact with clients, ICT Consultants itself, which presently has a franchise with FreeCode International to sell and promote this open source software, is already training its staff in preparation for roll-out and, according to its officials at a workshop held at a local hotel recently, targeting IT specialists and managers in the private and public sectors to highlight this software.

By ALLAN NGUGI Nation media group

It was a big blow to the man who, like other cell phone users, banks on the gadget to keep contacts of hundreds of friends, relatives and businesses, diary, reminders of anniversaries and meetings.

Luckily for him, he had Mobile Tracker, a programme by the phone company that helps track a lost cell phone to its user. His biggest challenge was dealing with the police at Kasarani police station who, he said, did not seem to know the existence of the technology that has been around since 2007.

“What left me baffled is the realisation that no police officer was aware that such a technology exists,” Mr Kamau told the Sunday Nation.

The cell phone was tracked and a suspect, who had sold it, arrested.

The persistent theft of cell phones has had players in the information and communications industry racking their brains to come up with ways to combat it.

Samsung and East Africa Data Handlers seem to have made a breakthrough in the tracking technology.

East Africa Data Handlers developed Ujanja three months ago to track stolen phones and laptops. Managing director George Njoroge said the Ujanja technology has so far helped them recover 20 stolen cell phones and four laptops.

And Samsung marketing manager Gloria Anampiu said they have been helping the police deal with crime with the technology, something that police spokesman Eric Kiraithe hailed as a positive development.

Mr Kiraithe said cell phones have been useful in helping the police track down suspects.

Computer applications

Mobile Tracker comes with the handset while Ujanja can be installed in any 3G phone. These phones have a wide range of features and an operating system that supports computer applications.

Both programmes have similar ways of tracking a stolen phone. The user activates the device on the phone and provides numbers of two persons who will be notified as soon as the stolen phone is activated. It automatically sends text messages to the two numbers.

“If your handset is stolen and someone inserts another SIM card, your specified numbers would get an SMS message containing the phone’s IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identifier). This should be shown to the police who may utilise the information to catch the thief,” said Ms Anampiu.

In the case of Ujanja, the SMS shows the new number, the SIM card’s serial number and the serial number of the phone being used and the location of the user.

Ujanja software is also installed in laptop computers. In the event such a computer is stolen and a new user connects to the Internet, the East Africa Data Handlers support centre is notified.

“We will see the Internet protocol address being used by the laptop, and we will know to whom that IP address belongs,” he said.

Mr Njoroge said there are some buyers who, when they notice that a handset is stolen, prefer to hand it back to the rightful owner.

The idea of developing Ujanja hit Mr Njoroge after he was carjacked on his way from the airport and lost his phone, laptop computer and other valuables.

“I was very bitter. I really felt the need to know the real identities of the robbers,” Mr Njoroge said.

A forensic computer expert, Mr Njoroge began to research on ways of tracking a stolen mobile phone and a laptop computer.

Smart or crafty

“Together with my team, we developed the application,” he said. Ujanja in Kiswahili means smart or crafty.

The annual fee for the application is Sh1,900 for a cell phone and Sh7,500 for a laptop.

The Ujanja software can be downloaded on the website www.ujanja.co.ke and is also available in retail shops across the country.

Nokia, a leading phone manufacturer, relies on the mobile service providers to track stolen phones after they are reported stolen and the serial numbers are provided. Nokia’s communication manager for East and Southern Africa Dorothy Ooko said when a handset is reported stolen, it is blacklisted on the networks’ computers and disabled.

In East Africa, Zain, Safaricom, MTN and Vodacom share the same database and track any mobile phone on request.

“We believe in the system as it is controlled by the operators in the specific country where the consumer is based. The first thing to do when you buy your mobile phone is to keep your IMEI number safely. Press *#06# to access it.”

When a phone is stolen it is the IMEI number that is used to disable it and render it useless, whether or not the SIM is changed.

By JOHN MAKENI Nation media group