Unit III

3.1 

Definition - What does the Social Networking Site (SNS) mean?

A social networking site is an online platform that allows users to create a public profile and interact with other users on the website. Social networking sites usually have a new user input a list of people with whom they share a connection and then allow the people on the list to confirm or deny the connection. After connections are established, the new user can search the networks of connections to make more connections.

1. Ease of Connectivity.

The entire point of social media is a way to bring internet users together. Before the invention of the concept, the internet was just one vast “planet” of sorts that everyone navigated alone. Of course, our innate human need for connection found this to be extremely uncomfortable and ever since have discovered new ways to create convenient and quick connectivity between users. Social media allows you to keep in touch with friends, family, and idols all over the world.

To build a successful social media app you will need to maintain or build upon this ease of connectivity. Your app would need seamless navigation features. There should be little or no stress in signing up, login in or socialize as it is. All the major social media apps require little effort from users to connect, and your app would have to follow suit to attract a fanbase.

2. Ability to Extensively Customize Individual Profiles.

One significant advancement experts have come to observe in social media is the gradual ability for users to create customized profiles in other to stand out.

Once upon a time, chat rooms allowed users only to use avatars in their image displays. Today, apps allow and expect you to use an image of yourself on their platforms. In addition, users now have the ability to upload image or videos of their personal lives, where they have been, what they ate, or who they are with. Of course, the latest in this trend is live videos; Facebook live, Instagram live, Snapchat and Twitter Periscope allow users to give live updates of what they are doing. It seems the more ability users have to customize their social media pages the happier they are.

To this effect, it maybe work in your best interest to add filters, special fonts, or other groundbreaking effects to your app that will help users create unique and exciting profiles.

3. Ability to Expand User Following.

This is one of the primary reasons Instagram has experienced so much success with its app. Instagram gives you the easiest access to millions of people all over the world. As a result, it is easy to build a following on the platform, and anyone can gather thousands of fans in a relatively short period compared to other social media apps.

Mobile app developers should take a cue or two from Instagram and make it as simple as possible for users to find a following on their platform at least at the beginning. This will not only enhance the social image of the app but also encourage users to post content which keeps the app relevant.

4. Choosing the Right Platform.

Mobile app developers now have the option of launching their apps on several popular platforms such as Windows, iOS, Android, and more. It is not exactly advisable to launch on all platforms particularly in the beginning stages of your app development.

Choose a platform that supports your features best, especially one that affords the best interactive medium for your social media app. Also, choose a platform that supports various devices so as to enhance the performance of the app.

5. Easy Integration With Other Social Media Platforms.

For your social media app to quickly become popular it is important to integrate it with other top social apps like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Outbound sharing not only increases the popularity of your app, but also grow users organically, and drive adoption. In addition to this users should be able to directly invite their friends to use personal messaging channels like Email, Whatsapp, SMS, Facebook and more. Deferred deep linking should also be used to develop a personalized experience for each invitee.

6. Privacy and Security.

As much as social media revolves around interaction, without the proper level of privacy and security lines can be crossed. People can end up losing their personal information to other users with the wrong motives. As such, advanced levels of privacy and security must be provided to keep users trust. Any breach in this can completely destroy the reputation of a social media app, especially at its beginning stages. Therefore, using the best methods for maintaining security is highly essential.

7. Notification and News Feed.

Any successful social media app must have the ability to compress all of a user’s many activities into a single view. Allow easy discovery of other users contents, and must be powerful for retention. As for news feed, it is important for any social media app to generate a constant flow of relevant content including photos, videos, and articles to enhance discovery and interaction between users.

Objectives of social networking website :

1. Creation of brand awareness: Increased brand awareness will shorten the sales process and increase market share. It will help to increase brand reputation as well.

2. Strengthening the engagement of strategies to increase the loyalty for customers: The major ambition of this is the creation of a long-lasting relationship between the target audience and the brand.

3. Increment in the size of social communities and accurately targeted audience

4. Monitoring the customer feedback: It is necessary to capture the consumer opinions and measures customer satisfaction and evolution over time

5. Conversion of social followers into qualified leads: The ultimate goal of any business is to get more sales and more leads. Interactions with social media followers help to increase customers.

3.2  

Mobile Application

A mobile application, also referred to as a mobile app or simply an app, is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Apps were originally intended for productivity assistance such as email, calendar, and contact databases, but the public demand for apps caused rapid expansion into other areas such as mobile games, factory automation, GPS and location-based services, order-tracking, and ticket purchases, so that there are now millions of apps available. Apps are generally downloaded from application distribution platforms which are operated by the owner of the mobile operating system, such as the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store. Some apps are free, and others have a price, with the profit being split between the application's creator and the distribution platform. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on desktop computers, and web applications which run in mobile web browsers rather than directly on the mobile device. 

Features of mobile app :

1.   Simplicity

Many people have short attention spans and if you make you app difficult to navigate then they will lose interest fast. If your customer cannot access their information quickly and easily, they will become frustrated and do it another way – possibly by using a competitor’s app. Clear, uncluttered screens with obvious leads to the next step in the app process and no ambiguity improve the customer experience and will encourage them to continue to use it.

2.   Speed

Fast loading screens are vital. No one likes waiting, particularly when all they have to look at is a screen-loading symbol and this frustration soon gives way to boredom resulting in a decision to seek something better. Speed means an appropriate set of graphics and not fetching large tables and databases. Keep it simple and keep it quick.

3.   Good image resolution

While you have to balance app speed against functionality and resolution, you have to ensure that what you have on screen is sufficiently detailed to make the user experience worthwhile. We are well past the times of blocky graphics and today’s users expect to have hi-definition and 16 million colours. Anything less will limit your app sales.

4.   Flexibility

There are three main mobile operating systems – iOS, Android, and Windows – and in order to achieve the best out of your app, it needs to be available on all of these. Android apps are easy to upload to the PlayStore, but iOS needs to be tried and tested by Apple before they are allowed on the App Store. The coding doesn’t necessarily need to be different but you may be dealing with different screen sizes and resolutions so make sure to test on both systems before uploading.

5.   Security

Internet security is becoming an ever-increasing issue and the same applies for your app. With many applications storing personal and sensitive information or credit and debit card details, security is an absolute must.

Hackers may attempt to:

• Place malware into apps and onto devices where it can access data and steal screen lock passcodes
• Intercept sensitive information travelling over the network
• Steal customer data for identity theft or fraud.
• Get hold of private business assets
• All of those potential issues mean that your app security must be watertight, rather than something that you tack on as an afterthought.

6.   Search options

It sounds simple but many apps miss this important feature considering this is something that many users make use of. The ability to search either the app or the internet is important and while it’s not going to work so much for game-based apps, it’s essential for the business and social variety.

7.   Bright and bold colour schemes

Fundamentals such as eye-grabbing colour schemes are going to pull your customers in. Pay attention to complementary colours from the colour wheel and you will end up with an app that looks stylish and professional at the same time.

8.   Push notifications

Easier to send then emails and less likely to end up in a spam folder, push notifications can be text, graphic, or a combination of both to send your users content that they may be interested in. Relevant and personalised push messaging is much better than unsolicited messages since they are aimed solely at the particular user and likely to be of interest to them.

9.   User feedback

While you would want to make the perfect app first time around, there are always going to be other ways to make it better and suit the user more. The best way to understand that is to ask the user themselves. Feedback is a perfect way to get your customers to tell you what they want and to filter that feedback into what’s a must-have addition or deletion, what’s possible to do with a bit of work, and what to ignore. By putting a feedback button on the app, you enable the client to tell you what they think would make it better.

10.   Updates

Once you have your feedback, you can sort out how to make your app more relevant to your customers, and send out updates periodically. This means that you not only end up with a better product but can respond to security issues as they arise. Updates keep your app fresh and give the user more of what they want.

Features Of Whatsapp:

The newest one: 2-factor authentication in beta version 2.16.183. You can enter a six-digit code to increase security.

Send the same message to multiple people without them knowing.

Format the text in WhatsApp messages by adding symbols in front of and afterwards.

Find out who you talk to the most.

Make calls.

Mute group notifications.

Disable read receipts.

Control what personal information unknown users can see.

Share documents directly from your Google Drive and iCloud Drive into a WhatsApp chat.

Stop incoming pictures and videos automatically saving to your phone.

Add a home screen shortcut for individual chats.

Use WhatsApp on your computer.

Transfer files between your phone and computer.

Stop prying eyes from reading your messages by preventing the first line from appearing on your home screen.

Hide timestamps, read receipts, and more.

Find out the truth about where your friend is by sharing current location.

Instantly add dates to your calendar.

Back up and restore everything including videos.

Send your all Conversation to your email any time.

Google Play Store Tricks And Features

1. Update Google Play By Yourself

Updating Google Play store is an automatic process, and its maker doesn’t forget to push updates from time to time. But there are times when you may find the need of updating the Play Store, mostly after you reset your Android device.

You can update Google Play manually by going to the Settings menu in the Google Play Android app. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and look for Play Store version. Tap Play Store version for a few times. If you’re running the latest version, a message will be displayed, else, the update process will start in a few moments.

2. Restrict Content on Google Play

If you have kids at your home, you might prevent them from exploring movies and apps on Play Store that aren’t intended for them. In the Google Play settings, you can setup parental controls and put content restrictions according to the age of your kid.

3. Stop other people from buying an app on your account

Most people link their credit cards to their Google Play app, and chances are high someone else ends up purchasing apps on your device, especially small children. We have heard stories of people asking for a refund from Apple and Google.

You can restrict app purchases by enabling authentication for Google Play store purchases. Go to Settings > Require authentication for purchases.

4. Install Android apps directly from your computer

You can visit Google Play on your computer’s web browser and install Android apps and games without even touching your smartphone. This Play Store trick comes handy when you’re in a relaxed posture on your couch, and your phone is lying on the table nearby.

To install any app from your web browser, visit its app page on Google Play and tap Install. After this, enter your Google password, choose the desired device, and click Install.

5. See ratings and reviews you’ve made on Google Play

Any app that’s rated nicely has more chances of moving up the charts. So, you should rate and review the apps and games you download from Google Play. Another addition to the Google Play store tips and tricks list is the special section displaying the apps you’ve rated on Google Play.

To have a look on your past ratings in the app, swipe right from the left-hand side of the screen and tap your profile photo.

6. Install region-restricted apps from Google Play

If your country can’t get past the region-restricted filter for an app, you have to install that app except to side-load it from an APK repository. You can install such apps using Virtual Private Networks which can put you in those countries where the app available for download.

7. See the list of every Android app you’ve ever downloaded

The My Apps & Games section allows you to manage the apps installed on your device. You might already be knowing the All tab in this section enlists the name of every app you’ve downloaded using the Google account tied to your device. You can refer this list when you’ve to install your favourite apps on a new smartphone or phone resetting. Also, you can delete names from this list by tapping the cross button.

8. Manage the devices connected to your Google account

On the desktop version of Google Play, you can see and manage Android devices attached to your Google account. Click the Gear button on the top right side of the Google Play web page. Click Settings in the drop-down menu. You can untick Show in Menus option for any device name in the My Devices list, and it won’t show up in the Play store.

The following are the features of BHIM:

Send Money: Send money by entering Virtual Payment Address (UPI ID), Account number and QR Scan.

Request Money: Collect money by entering Virtual Payment Address (UPI ID). Additionally through BHIM App, one can also transfer money using Mobile No. (Mobile No should be registered with BHIM or *99# and account should be linked).

Scan & Pay: Pay by scanning the QR code through Scan & Pay or generate your to let others make easy payments to you.

Transactions: Check your transaction history and also pending UPI collect requests (if any) You can raise a complaint about the declined transactions by clicking on report issue in transactions.

Profile: You can view the static QR code and Payment addresses linked to your account. You can also share the QR code through various messenger applications like WhatsApp, Email etc. available on phone and can also download the QR code.

Bank Account: Switch between multiple bank accounts linked with your BHIM App. You can set/change your UPI PIN or check your balance.

Language: Currently BHIM is available in 13 languages, i.e., Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Odia, Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi, Assamese and Bengali.

Block User: Block/Spam users who are sending you to collect requests from illicit sources.

Privacy: Allow a user to disable and enable mobilenumber@upi in the profile if a secondary UPI ID is created (QR for the disabled UPI ID is also disabled).

Payment Reminders: Schedule payments as per your convenience.

Split Bill: Splitting bills with multiple UPI users at a click of a button.

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