Facebook 'Like' farming. Have you fallen for it?

This is another version of an online post by me in The Hindu Business Line

Are you on Facebook? Okay. How many times have you come across a post that entices you to “type 1 and see what happens” or “click Like and see what happens”.

Or it may just ask you to comment and "see what happens"

If you have fallen for it and clicked, well, nothing would have happened. Now you would have clicked a couple of times more just because nothing happened - “May be I didn’t click properly?”

Nothing happens because nothing is supposed to happen. What you (and thousands like you) have done by clicking on the ‘Like’ button or typing ‘1’ in the comment box -- is to help the post go viral. It would have also got into your Facebook wall, irritating your friends.

There are also posts that play with sentiments. They usually come with a picture of a cute kid who “is suffering from cancer” and with a fervent request to ‘Like’ it or ‘Share’ it if you want to help fight cancer.

Most of the time, the pictures are fake - like the “my sister Mallory” post that had a picture of a child who had Down’s Syndrome. The parents of the kid - whose real name was ‘Katie’, were shocked when they realised their child’s photo was going viral on the Internet with a fake name. The only truth was that Katie had Down’s Syndrome, but her parents had not posted her picture online or sought help.

But why do people do this? Facebook’s algorithm for popular posts measures ‘Likes’ and comments. The more Likes or comments a post gets, Facebook thinks the post is getting popular and pushes it more.

There is no real monetary benefit as of now if a page or post gets Likes, but being up there with a few lakhs of Likes, however useless it may be, gives the person who has posted it, a high.

So, the next time you come across a picture of a scantily clad woman that urges you to “click and see what happens”, just ignore it. Or if you still believe in such miracles, you can try sharing this piece on your Facebook wall. If you don’t, your Facebook will get infected by a virus and crash.

How to get rid of Twitter notification error

If you have allowed notificaitons in Twitter for Android settings, but if you are not getting them, or if you are not able to save your settings after you select the notifications you want, there is a way out.

Sometimes, even reinstalling the app doesn't help.

The solution is simple.

Go to the Twitter website (not mobile app). 

Click on your profile picture

Go to settings

Select apps - you will find the list of apps that can access your Twitter account. Don't be shocked if you find hundreds of apps. These are the apps you have, at some point of time, allowed acces to your Twitter account.

Click the button that says REVOKE next to Twitter for Android.

Now, if you open Twitter in your Android mobile, it would have logged off. There is nothing to worry.

Now sign in again in the app.

Go to settings in the app and select notifications, and check whatever you want.

That's it :)

But why does the error happen in the first place? If you have (or had) multiple Android devices and have the Twitter app installed in them, may be Twitter gets confused. There is no other explanation.

Was this helpful? You can contact me at on Twitter: @dinakaran 

Mi4i review: More than what meets the ‘i’

Xiaomi follows up on the Mi4 with a handset that is more value and better build

When Hugo Barra, Xiaomi’s Vice-President International launched the Mi4i, he described it as the ‘Mi for India’. The global launch of the device was in India, but we’re not exactly sure what he meant by ‘for India’. May be he was just playing with the model name ‘Mi4i’, which is the successor to the Mi4 launched a few months ago.

Though Mi4i is a successor to the Mi4, it has lesser RAM (2GB against 3GB in Mi4) and a lower megapixel front camera. But Hugo went on to emphasise the high quality components that go into the Mi4i. Even the processor is the second gen version of Snapdragon 615. Though Xiaomi disappointed its fans with the predecessor, it has come back with aplomb with the Mi4i - at a price that’s perfect to take on the competition.

Read the full review at http://goo.gl/sABwEV

Beware of Matrix

If you are travelling abroad and considering taking a Matrix Global SIM, avoid it.
I almost had a bad experience last time, but Matrix managed to solve it, as it was a billing related issue. I also gave a good review in sites like MouthShut.
This time, I took a card for Thailand, as I would be spending several hours there while in transit.
When I landed in Swarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, I switched on the mobile with the Matrix to inform my family that I had arrived safely. But all I got was a recorded message from the Thai mobile company saying my SIM card was not valid. The message asked me to contact ‘customer care’ but no number was given.
As I had taken the Matrix card, I had not bothered to activate roaming in any of my mobiles. I tried to use the airport WiFi, but the connectivity was extremely poor.
I spent the entire transit time of around four hours unable to contact my family.
It was the same during the return transit. What was worse, there was no way to contact Matrix as the SIM itself was not valid.
My family was also trying desperately to contact me. They had no way of knowing whether I had landed safely.
The shocker came when I returned to India and complained to Matrix. “We could have done something had you complained from Thailand. Sorry, we can’t waive your rental.”
I immediately went on Twitter tagging Matrix. Soon, I got a call and an email asking me to wait till the generation of bill. I replied to them that apart from the bill waiver, I was also expecting some compensation from Matrix for the mental trauma of losing all contact with my family.
When there was no response even after the generation of the bill, I sent Matrix an email. I got a reply that they would “look into it”.
But there was one more shocker the next day. Matrix had debited my credit card for the bill amount. I shot off another email to Matrix. I was assured that the rental would be waived. I again reminded about the compensation part. Matrix refused.
I once again went on Twitter and Facebook against Matrix. I filed a complaint with core.nic.in and alerted Akosha.
Soon, there was a call from Matrix asking me what compensation I expected. I said I was expecting a reasonable sum of Rs 5,000, considering the mental trauma faced by me and my family. After some time, I got an email offering me Rs 2,500 worth Matrix voucher.
Here was a customer getting fed up of Matrix, and Matrix was offering me a Matrix voucher. That too for half of what I had sought.
I replied to them rejecting the offer. Matrix replied back saying “As suggested, we have issued a compensation of Rs.2500 worth free talk time here, valid till 30th April, 2014, which is actually the best possible resolution we can offer. We do not issue cash rewards or cash discounts as a compensation and I am sure with you being well versed with Industry standards and norms, would be aware that product compensation is not rewarded in cash in such industry practices.”
I replied back: “I have not accepted the Rs 2,500 Matrix voucher for two reasons:
1. I am not a frequent traveller, and even if I travel on reporting assignments, I don't think I am going to spend that much. You must also understand that I will go for Matrix only if I am satisfied with the response to my complaint.
2. Rs 5,000 is not big for a corporate like Matrix. I am not dealing with an individual who can't pay. If it had been the case, I would have readily reduced the amount. I might have not even asked for Rs 2,500.
The amount is not much, as I had already said, considering that my family made numerous ISD calls trying to track me, and you would know how much ISD calls cost. So, the amount I have sought is not unreasonable.
I am not asking for rewards and discounts as you have mentioned. I am asking for compensation. If you don't have a policy of compensating by cash, you can offer it by talktime in other networks (which is your area of operation), or gift vouchers. 
And by offering a Matrix voucher, you are forcing a dissatisfied customer to go for a Matrix product again, which is not fair.”
That was the end of the conversation.
Matrix has come out as a totally insensitive company. I am waiting for the response to my complaint to core.nic.in and Akosha. The next step is to go to a consumer forum.

So, what do you do if you are travelling abroad? The best way is to buy a local SIM in that country. Most countries have SIMs for travellers with some ISD minutes free. At least, you can call their customer care and get your problem solved. But with Matrix, you are screwed.

Here are some alternatives to Matrix:

worldsim.com

http://www.uniconnect.in/

http://www.rcom.co.in/Rcom/personal/globalcalling/travelerphone_SIM.html

http://www.ximcard.in/

http://tsim.in/

https://www.clay.co.in/

http://www.kitphone.in/

http://gosaffron.com/global_sim_cards.php