Sneak Preview of Facebook Career Site Application

At myStaffingPro, we’ve been diligently working on a facebook app that makes it easy for myStaffingPro customers to embed their career sites into their facebook pages.

The app is simple to use: after the admin user of a facebook page selects and installs the facebook app, s/he will be prompted once to login using a myStaffingPro user name and password. The app will then automatically embed the organization’s branded career site into the facebook page:

Public users of the facebook page can click on the Jobs tab to search for an active job and apply. Interested applicants can even sign up to be automatically notified of new job openings.

Applicants can easily share the job with their friends via the Share Opening tool. Those who apply are tracked with a source code in the applicant tracking system, so recruiters can see which applicants applied through the facebook app.

A big shout out to Jeremy for all his effort in learning facebook API-speak, and creating this useful app!

To see a live demo of it, go to: https://www.facebook.com/meetingplaceonmarket

What do you think?

Base64 URL Decode Function using VBScript

A co-worker and I just spent some frustrating time trying to figure out how to write a base64 URL decoder in vbscript (for a facebook app).  We thought someone else might have the same issues – so here you go.  You need both functions to make it work:

decodedString= Base64URLDecode(encodedString)

Function Base64URLDecode(stringtodecode)

   stringtodecode = replace(stringtodecode,"-", "+")
   stringtodecode = replace(stringtodecode,"_", "/")

   select case (len(stringtodecode) mod 4)
      case 0: stringtodecode = stringtodecode
      case 2: stringtodecode = stringtodecode +"=="
      case 3: stringtodecode = stringtodecode +"="
      case else:    Err.Raise 1, "Base64Decode", "Bad Base64 string."
   end select
   stringtodecode=Base64Decode(stringtodecode)
   Base64URLDecode = stringtodecode
End function

Function Base64Decode(base64String)
  'rfc1521
  ' Decodes a base-64 encoded string (BSTR type).
  ' 1999 - 2004 Antonin Foller, http://www.motobit.com
  ' 1.01 - solves problem with Access And 'Compare Database' (InStr)
  Const Base64 = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/"
  Dim dataLength, sOut, groupBegin

  'remove white spaces, If any
  base64String = Replace(base64String, vbCrLf, "")
  base64String = Replace(base64String, vbTab, "")
  base64String = Replace(base64String, " ", "")

  'The source must consists from groups with Len of 4 chars
  dataLength = Len(base64String)
  If dataLength Mod 4 <> 0 Then
    Err.Raise 1, "Base64Decode", "Bad Base64 string."
    Exit Function
  End If

  ' Now decode each group:
  For groupBegin = 1 To dataLength Step 4
    Dim numDataBytes, CharCounter, thisChar, thisData, nGroup, pOut
    ' Each data group encodes up To 3 actual bytes.
    numDataBytes = 3
    nGroup = 0

    For CharCounter = 0 To 3
      ' Convert each character into 6 bits of data, And add it To
      ' an integer For temporary storage.  If a character is a '=', there
      ' is one fewer data byte.  (There can only be a maximum of 2 '=' In
      ' the whole string.)

      thisChar = Mid(base64String, groupBegin + CharCounter, 1)

      If thisChar = "=" Then
        numDataBytes = numDataBytes - 1
        thisData = 0
      Else
        thisData = InStr(1, Base64, thisChar, vbBinaryCompare) - 1
      End If
      If thisData = -1 Then
        Err.Raise 2, "Base64Decode", "Bad character In Base64 string."
        Exit Function
      End If

      nGroup = 64 * nGroup + thisData
    Next

    'Hex splits the long To 6 groups with 4 bits
    nGroup = Hex(nGroup)

    'Add leading zeros
    nGroup = String(6 - Len(nGroup), "0") & nGroup

    'Convert the 3 byte hex integer (6 chars) To 3 characters
    pOut = Chr(CByte("&H" & Mid(nGroup, 1, 2))) + _
      Chr(CByte("&H" & Mid(nGroup, 3, 2))) + _
      Chr(CByte("&H" & Mid(nGroup, 5, 2)))

    'add numDataBytes characters To out string
    sOut = sOut & Left(pOut, numDataBytes)
  Next

  Base64Decode = sOut
End Function

How To Create Your Own facebook.com/yourname URL

I’ve been envious of companies with a facebook.com/coname URL for a while now.  Because I didn’t do any research online – assuming only big bucks purchased such a URL – I didn’t realize how incredibly easy, and free, it is to setup one up.

Here’s how:

1. Log into facebook
2. Browse to: http://www.facebook.com/username/
3. Enter a user name for your personal profile, and for each business/ non-profit/ etc.,  page that you are an admin for.  Choose your name wisely.

If only everything was so easy!  http://facebook.com/meetingplaceonmarket

Use the WordPress Publicize Feature To Promote Social Media Sharing

If you have a WordPress blog, it’s a good idea to turn on a new feature they call “Publicize”. This new feature allows you to automatically push your blog posts to Facebook, Twitter, etc. It also, and I like this feature the best, will add “Share This” icons to each of your blog entries, including, “Tweet”, “Facebook”, “Email” and more, so that your readers can share your blog on their own social media sites with just a click or two.

Two Ways to Turn the Feature On:

1st Option: When you post a blog entry by clicking the “Publish” button, WordPress will prompt you with “Post published. View post | Want more traffic? Turn on the Publicize feature“.  Click on the “Turn on the Publicize feature” link.

2nd Option: I often post via Microsoft Word, so I couldn’t get the above link without having to un-post and then re-post a blog entry. I think that’s strange, so I found this shortcut – just cut and paste the following link into a new browser window, and replace [your blog here] with the name of your blog: http://%5Byour blog here].wordpress.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=sharing (you have to be logged into WordPress to use this feature).

Configuring the Publicize Feature

You’ll be prompted with a page entitled “Sharing Settings”.  The top section, “Publicize”, allows you to push your new blog entries automatically to your own Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, and Messenger sites.  I already use TwitterFeed to do this, so I left this section alone.  (But if you’re interested, read this.)

The Share Button section is what we really want.   The available Share Buttons are listed to the right of “Available Services.”  For each one you want (I recommend using them all), click on it, and drag it to the right of “Enabled Services.”  You have to click and drag for each button individually.  

 Screen shot after you drag the buttons you want to “Enabled Services”:

You can re-order the buttons by clicking and dragging them.  I recommend putting Twitter & Facebook first, followed by Email.  Those seem to be the most popular options for readers.

At the bottom of the page click on the Save Changes button, and now all of your blog posts will have the ability to share your entry on Twitter, Facebook, et al with just a few clicks!

Screen shot of the buttons at the bottom of your blog posts:

What Makes Google So Great?

Google is one of the biggest success stories of the dot net boom.  What is it about the software that attracts millions of users?

It Works
When a user enters a keyword into Google, she trusts that the results displayed are very thorough, and that Google has delved into the depths of the world wide web.  Google was arguably the first search engine to bring such powerful software to its users.

It’s Transparent
Google doesn’t filter the data based on a guess of what you want (at least not without telling you first).  You decide what to filter on.  Plus, it doesn’t sneak ads in among the data, making it hard to discern between sponsored information and “organic” searches.  Sources of information are clearly labeled.

Little Brain Effort Required
The user doesn’t have to understand exactly what he is looking for to find information.  He can use Google without having to think.

Simplicity & Ease of Use
Like facebook, Google streamlines it’s user interface to require no training, and to hide advanced features from the novice user. 

Many other factors have attributed to its success as a company, the above just touches on the success of the software.  Google raised the bar all of the other software companies must strive to achieve.  Are we there yet?

What is it About Facebook That Caused Its Rapid Adoption?

What is it about Facebook that caused its rapid adoption?  There isn’t ground-breaking technology behind facebook.  Technically speaking, it’s a pretty basic web site.  So where does its success come from?

Simplicity
To setup an account, you just have to enter an email, name and password. You are then ready to go. You can import your contacts, and immediately find some friends.

Ease of Use
Anyone can use it, no training required. Because many of its advanced features are hidden from the novice user, s/he isn’t overwhelmed by too many options.

It Connects Us
A basic human need is to feel connected.  Facebook meets that need, with minimum effort on the user.  Communication is its primary function, and we all love to communicate.

It Pushes the Data to Me
I don’t have to go out and search for the data I want (thought I can), it pushes my friends conversations, photos and events to me.  How easy is that?

It Promotes “Me”
We all want to feel special, and share part of ourselves with our friends and acquaintences, and facebook does that.  It helps us feel good about ourselves.  We can “show-off” without really showing off, just by uploading a few pictures, or typing a few words.  And by the way… they are very wise to have a Like button, but not a Dislike button. 

Peer Pressure
Yes, peer pressure has played a part in its success.  The question, “Are you on facebook?” has encouraged many reluctant users to join.  The ability to easily email a friend from facebook encouraging him/her to join has helped too.

All of these features and benefits can be integrated into business software as well, and wise technology companies will do so.  (At myStaffingPro, we do just that for HR folks).

Share Yourself, and Let Your Light Shine

The wildly rapid growth of social networking sites like facebook and twitter reveal that we want to share of ourselves. It’s not about fame, or popularity, more than it’s about our desire to reveal our true selves, and have someone say, “that’s cool”, or “you brightened my day today”, or “I didn’t know that, I’m glad you taught me that today!” Whether the feedback is through a click of a mouse on the “like” button on facebook, or just an old-fashioned face to face smile, we thrive on the ability to make an impact on others.

Unfortunately, we quickly find out that the feedback we receive from others is not always positive. In grade school, we learned to hide our true selves because we could quickly become the target of ridicule. Some of us are still hiding, still hoping for the approval of others. Some of us think that we have just don’t have anything to offer. But you do have something to offer.

George Smed, Bass Player

The coffee house I own with my family books Saturday nights concerts by local musical talent. I am often astounded by the talented musicians and singers who perform for the audiences for free.  I enjoy listening to them as much as I do Grammy winning artists.  I am impressed with their willingness to share their music, even when they receive little accolade.  They may not play to adoring crowds of thousands, but they sure brighten the day of the audience in our local coffee house.

No one else in this world can offer what you can. So brave the naysayers, because they are people who really want to share of themselves like you do, but their insecurity or their fears cause them to discourage others. Share something of yourself even though only one other person in the world may benefit from it – you might be the only person to shine a light in their day. Be yourself, shine your light, share your experience, knowledge, your smile, your music, art, or writing, share your uniqueness.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”  – Marianne Williamson in A Return to Love.

Tips for Leveraging Social Media as a Marketing Tool

The terms Social Media or Social Networking can inspire fear into those unexperienced. But don’t let those big, bad terms discourage you. All they really mean is that internet technology is wrapped around communicating with your friends, acquantainces, and their friends and acquaintences. If we removed the internet from it, the original social media would be telling stories in the town square. Now, the town square has moved to the internet.

To get your name or organization into social media, I’ve put together the below tips. I’ve started with the basics, because social media really only works well if the basics are there.

Must Haves:
• Public website (website example )
• Facebook page (use a page for the public/ a group if you want to limit membership, facebook page example)
• Twitter account (twitter example)
• Linked In (personal profile, example: linked in example)
• Profile on Google maps (if you have a public location, click for example)

Recommended:
• Blog (wordpress.com or blogger.com)
• Linked In group
• Email newsletter (I recommend ConstantContact.com)

Interesting Options:
• FourSquare.com – good for retail/ event spots/ restaurants, your customers will use their mobile phone to “check in” when they visit your establishment.  They can become the “mayor” by checking in more than anyone else.
• Flickr.com – good for photos with descriptions (google indexes it), just upload your photos and use keywords to tag them
• Focus.com – growing B2B social networking site
• Google earth - add videos and photos about your organization

Tips:
1. Make sure each site and profile includes your businesses primary contact information, a short description about the business, a website, and hours of operation
2. Duplicating basic information is ok, and in fact can increase search engine rankings
3. Time your posts throughout the day to increase coverage
4. Make sure the information you post is entertaining or informative. For example, your sales, specials, events, and informative how-to articles are good.  The knowledge you think is basic will probably be very useful to your prospective customers.  For example, for a coffee shop blog, pages on “How to Make Froth” and “How to Brew Coffee” are popular.
5. Use HootSuite.com to post to both Twitter and Facebook at the same time (plus others), and to schedule posts.
6. Use Twitterfeed.com to setup RSS feeds to automatically post into facebook or twitter or both. For example, if you have a blog, use the RSS URL to feed new blog entries into both twitter & facebook. If you have information on your web site, like a calendar of events, a programmer can create an RSS link that can be used to feed events automatically into twitter &
facebook.
7. On Facebook, when typing in status updates, type @ to see a list of other people/ pages that you can refer to.

Twitter screen shot with hash tags

8. On Twitter, type @[name] i.e. @AlterEgoComics to mention another person or business. Use #[something] to “tag” your tweets so that others might find them in a search, i.e. #lima #ohio.
9. Use AddThis.com to add facebook/ twitter/ share buttons to your website, including a Facebook Like button to your website
10. Always be on the lookout for new social media and social networking trends, since they change constantly. Ride the wave of what works while you can!