by: Robert Wang Twitter's new integration scheme has made it easier than ever manage your social media marketing campaigns. Following setup (instructions below), with one simple click you will be able to communicate your micro-message across multiple platforms simultaneously. In a generation where speed is everything, Twitter is quickly becoming an indispensable tool. Now compatible with Facebook, LinkedIN, and Evernote (to name a few), integration will allow your message to populate across platforms every time you post a new tweet. Here's how to set it up:   TWITTER FOR YOUR PERSONAL PROFILE: Create a Twitter account, here. Follow this link. You should see a prompt similar to the following:   Click allow. Login to your Twitter account and tweet away! TWITTER FOR YOUR FAN PAGE: Follow this link. You should see a prompt similar to the following: DO NOT CLICK INSTALL. Go to http://facebook.com/pages/manage Click 'Edit Page' beneath the name of your Fan Page Find 'Twitter for Pages' in your Applications list and click the pencil icon Click 'Edit' Allow Involver to install.   Though this isn’t highly advisable as the social media applications of Twitter and LinkedIn don’t really overlap, we’ve included a tutorial just in case you decide to do it anyway. We know how stubborn you are. Create a Twitter account here. On LinkedIn: Scroll to the bottom right-hand corner of the page and look for the [ + Add an Application ] box. Hover over the box, scroll down the resulting menu and click “Tweet” (left thumbnail) Click the "Add application" button (right thumbnail) Login to your Twitter account via LinkedIn. Choose the settings that best suit your needs.     Create and login to your Twitter account. Go to this URL: http://twitter.com/badges   Pick where you want to place your Twitter Widget. Select the look and options that best suit you. Copy and paste the code provided into the body of your site. Once you’ve completed any of the above operations, you’ll be able to update your Twitter and synchronized account simultaneously through Twitter.com.

It’s true - there is a clear trend we are abandoning our desktops and hopping on phones and tablets to access the Internet. 2014 figures range from 23 - 55% of users Interneting via mobile, with the heaviest mobile useage, 55%, occurring in the United States. So we don’t need to spend any time convincing you: You need a web option for your business. A percentage of users will access via mobile device. Phew, that’s out of the way. The conversation, rather, is around how you want your users to interact with your site - mobile web or native app. Mobile web is typically the cheaper upfront option, which allows space for small businesses to find reason to avoid the expense of building a native app. Yet the app is increasingly taking over the mobile market, largely due to superior UX, are generally more powerful and are very much a hip trend. 2014 research in a much cited Flurry study shows that apps, “commanded 86% of the average US mobile consumer’s time, or 2 hrs and 19 minutes per day.” Most of that time, 60%, is spent on gaming and social media sites, clearly demonstrating the entertainment component of the native app. That's right, we haven’t completely forgotten about wonderful wastes of time like playing Angry or Floppy Birds. Fun components aside, at what point does your growing business need a native app - or do you even need one? If we know that internet users are increasingly accessing via mobile, and most of that time is spent via native app, the last thing you want to do is get left behind without providing the option users are clearly demanding. Here are some considerations to help you make the decision to go app or opt not: Your Specific Business Needs As with anything, the decision is based first on careful consideration of your particular business and customers. What do you sell and what are your clients like? Social? Utilities? Marketplaces? Then let’s be crazy honest, an app is for you. But if you, say, work with clients primarily on a face-to-face basis as a small restaurant, coffee shop, or even as a lawyer, you can likely get away with a well thought out responsive design. Additionally if you rely on search engine traffic, that’s a good indicator you can perhaps stick with mobile web. Commerce Mobile commerce (mcommerce) is anticipated to continue trending upward as we march on through the 21st century. A recent study predicts that 25% of commerce will take place on mobile by 2017, which again is a helpful reminder that your users are on mobile. If you have a commerce option, there certainly are ways via mobile web to effectively facilitate transactions. But if you are selling, you want users to consistently keep buying - and the native app has been found to be linked to brand loyalty. Customer and Brand Loyalty Get real with yourself - do you have loyal customers and/or solid brand recognition? Native app is best for when you have a loyal customer base. For example, I have a smartphone like most breathing Americans, but it can take me a while to make the commitment to download a mobile app. Often when I visit sites I’ll be asked to “Download our App!” which I often bypass the first time I see this suggestion. You may behave differently in your Interweb mobile browsing, but to me, often times I just want the information I’m looking for and to be done with it. But as time goes on and I use a service more than once, I’ll make that 2 minute commitment to download an app. I eventually come to the realization the app will be much easier for me to access if I’m going to continue visiting. While I still deal with download commitment phobia, it is clear that engagement on the native app is increasing as, “the average time spent with mobile apps in the U.S. grew 35% in 2012 to 127 minutes per day, while average time on the web declined 2.4% to only 70 minutes per day.” Responsiveness How important is it to provide your users with a fast response? Yes, anyone would say, “Very important!” Yet in all honesty, not every site needs a speedy user experience - but you might. One of our favorite things about Native apps is how one tap will instantly move the user on to where they want to go. Much faster than irritatingly pausing for that please-wait-while-we’re-connecting-to-the-internet spinner to finally stop. The other consideration is if you do want the superior responsiveness of a Native app, you will likely be trading for a lower accessibility than you can achieve with mobile web. End Goals At the end of the day, what are you after? Whether it’s to sell more, increase engagement, or communicate in a more targeted way, arguments can be made for either native app or mobile web. The superior UX of a Native app will likely encourage greater activity as they encourage a deeper engagement with the user. But if you are trying to get as many people to your site as possible without a significant number of features available, you can likely get away with a mobile site. Remember, responsive is not just about fitting everything on the screen. Native app is not just about joining the trends. Your company has a specific set of needs and so do you. As we continue to track mobile usage, it seems clear that users will continue to download apps - and if you have an idea for an app, yours should be one of them. by Joni Erdmann            

Finding a non-detestable person to share a meal or a life with can be tough. The montage of small talk and awkward pauses lead many a dater to both dating fatigue and cat-buying tendencies. In other words - dating is awful. Finding partners seemed easier in the years of forced socializing, such as primary school and college, wherein meeting new people was a required way of life. Adulthood on the other hand presents the weighty challenge of forcing oneself to swim in whichever sea of strangers one feels tolerable that day. Social clubs, churches, and gyms are popular places - but adding extracurricular social activity can be a struggle for the busy working professional. Enter online dating - the only way to meet people on the comfort of your couch or the solace of the toilet. Scores of singles’ portfolios scatter the myriad of paid or unpaid dating apps, some intended for casual hookups, others for serious commitment. Popular dating apps like OKCupid or Match are based on the idea of entering partner preferences and personal information, then allowing the app to select matches based on your personality and ideal partner traits. Some apps use this same idea but are more selective, such as E-harmony. E-harmony is an app so committed to assisting users in long-term relationships that persons who do not meet a certain set of requirements can be expelled from the app entirely. Further still is Tinder, a newer app popular with young daters. Tinder helps users find individuals they perceive as visually attractive as a primary means of connection. Secondarily are personality traits such as hobbies or personal preferences, which has since caused the app to earn a reputation as a means for finding short-term relationships or one night stands. The great challenge these and most other online dating apps is this - it’s strangers trying to find love among strangers. As popular online dating blogger Single Steve laments, “I’ve always hated online dating. But I’ve always done it….[and am] going to keep doing it, because that’s just what you do. And you know what I hate most about it? It’s the philosophy of online dating. It’s the process of going on dates with strangers.” Granted, getting to know anyone from a friend to a colleague to a romantic partner is always awkward - but there’s something extra special about the bumbling awkwardness surrounding online dating. Strangers looking to find the greatest commitments of humanity with strangers. Weird. Eliminating the Cyber Stranger The landscape of online dating is an expansive valley of self-written profiles, professing how interesting, charming, or hipster-geeky-chic one is. Daters tweak said profiles regularly in hopes of ensnaring a person with a pulse who will find the lie-laden profile convincing enough to give a real life meeting a shot. But people aren’t stupid - everyone knows everyone is lying. For example, shoppers are more likely to give business to a company referred by a friend over a company they learned about via advertisement. Through a similar vein, wouldn’t daters trust dating recommendations from friends instead of the self-advertised, falsified, often ridiculous portfolios that clutter the dating world online? That’s what Pear Friends is hoping. The Dating App Based on Real Friend Introductions In mid-December 2014, a new type of dating app was launched, aimed at getting rid of unwanted stranger danger. Pear Friends is a free mobile app available on Android and iOS connecting friends-of-friends for long-walks-on-the-beach dating purposes. Once downloaded, the app syncs with the user’s Facebook profile. As the largest and most used social network on the internet, Facebook profiles are usually complete with profile pictures, work history, age, and personal preferences...the essential elements of an online dating profile. All the user needs to do is allow the connection. From there, the app works in two ways: Find a Pear - Your Facebook friends have their own Facebook friends with whom you don’t share a direct connection with. Once friends allow Pear Friends to access their contacts, the user can browse through friends of friends to find a person dateable. Find someone intriguing? Tap the profile and the app will ask your Facebook friend to introduce you.   Pear Friends - Here’s the big difference with Pear Friends. Not only does the app allow users to actively search for a date, but people who aren’t even interested in dating can use the app as well. If any friend truly is a friend, most of the time they are interested in matching together people they like, connecting their own network and helping people they care about find people to care about. By tapping into innate human desires to 1) find a romantic partner and 2) help friends, our prediction is Pear Friends is going to change online dating significantly. The reason is the app moves online dating strategy away from the proactive profile hunt done alone, but into a space that includes friends in the match-making experience. Social opportunities in the real world tend to revolve around who knows and introduces who, meaning Pear Friends is moving the online dating game much closer to the real life dating game.   What do you think? Will Pear Friends change online dating? Let us know what you think in the comments below.