TWITTER-ING IT RIGHT!

Twitter is the latest craze! It is a very easy-to-use social networking website that has become the rage these days. Once you sign up with Twitter, you answer one simple question: What are you doing right now? Your answer is an update of your life and is read and "followed" by your contacts, signed up with twitter as well. "Following" is mutual and the cornerstone of keeping people in touch with each other. Here is how you can twitter for maximum fun and benefit...

1. Create a Twitter Account: Visit www.twitter.com and sign up. The best part: It's free! It is a good idea to put up your picture to help people identify you. You can even use twitter from your phone, standard SMS rates apply. It is best to cross check the same with your mobile network provider.

2. Develop your Twitter Personality: Twitter-ing comprises of short and interesting updates of your life. No update can be longer than 140 characters. In order to catch and retain people's attention, it is vital to make your update crisp and appealing. Depending on your target audience, you can tailor your statements.


3. Get Your Family and Friends to Sign Up: You can add contacts to your twitter account from your address books on mail servers like yahoo, hotmail etc., if they are already on twitter. In case they are not, you can invite them to join. You can even search people on twitter who interest you and follow their updates!

4. Connect and Network: It pays to be interesting to your "followers", but it pays more to be interested in your followers; so communicate and network to your hearts content. Even certain institutions, organizations and publications are present on twitter. You can follow them and stay in touch with whatever it is that interests you.

5. Re-Tweet: Even the most attentive follower will not read all your posts. Repost updates you feel are particularly interesting or valuable, spacing them broadly across time. When others do the same, it will become much easier for everyone to stay in touch and twittering will not even eat up too much time.

You can use twitter to connect to people and increase your presence online, be it for business or pleasure. In fact, you can make twitter the centre of your online universe. All profiles across the social media universe can list and link to your twitter page as your primary page. Eventually, it can help you grow your client base, spread the word about your business, advertise, make new friends and more, if you use it right. So go ahead, and explore the endless possibilities!

COPYRIGHT LAWS FOR BLOGGERS

From opinions and ideas to stories and photographs, you can publish anything online, anytime. You can upload material on your own blogs, web pages and social network sites or leave comments on other people's web pages. But there still are some rules to the game. Remember these basic copyright laws to insure that you are protected against plagiarism and libel:

1. Quote someone's work carefully
The Copyright Act defines that short quotations of another person's work for the purpose of criticism, commentary or news reporting are considered “fair use”. Along with the quote you can credit the author as well as provide a link to their website or blog. Never copy and paste an entire article of someone else's - this is plagiarism.

2. Use materials not subject to Copyright
There are many classes of materials that can not be protected under the Copyright Law. These include names, familiar symbols, listing of ingredients or contents, short phrases, titles, slogans and procedures. Some of these might be protected by trademark, though. You are free to use any work that is in public domain as well.

3. Work with facts and ideas
Copyright Law protects the expression of facts and ideas, not the facts themselves. You are free to use facts and ideas reported by others. You can even use a company's name or logo to criticize or analyze it as long as you are not deceiving people into believing that you are speaking on behalf of the company.

4. All published work is right protected
Do not copy material just because it does not show a copyright message. The Copyright Law states that every published work, be it on paper or digital media, automatically gets copyright protection. Also, do not assume that if you credit the author there is no copyright infringement.

5. Images are covered by law
Photographs and videos are governed by the same law that governs the publishing of words. Even if it is not for commercial use, do not copy images and words. You can only use copyrighted material if you have explicit permission from the author to do so.

When you comment on a blog for the purpose of public display, you are probably giving an implied license at least for that display and the incidental copying that goes along with it. This does not, however, permit one to defame another, or entirely copy someone else's work. The bottom-line is: be cautious and blog away!

DISORGANIZED DESK SYNDROME: ARE YOU SUFFERING FROM IT?

Studying can be quite a handful, more so if you're intending to spend your exam packed week at a cluttered desk. If your desk looks like the common playground of the entire class, you need some serious help right now. Here are some quick tips on de-cluttering and organizing your study space.

1. Plan your desk out
Before you begin studying, lay out your desk. Ideally, you should have a concentration space i.e. your main desk space where you lay your text down and study, and a recreation space, which you utilize when you want to take a break.

2. Use simple distractions
Every once in a while you'll probably want to glance away from your text book and look at something else. So, why not keep a simple distraction handy? This can be anything that interests you; an interesting book to read, a Rubik's Cube, a Moleskine book where you doodle, anything that could provide you a brief break from your study table.

3. Keep the essentials handy
Every time you study, there are things that you are always going to need, so make space for them at your desk. These include a bottle of water, a packet of biscuits, a pen stand and some rough papers (for notes or just plain scribbles when you get bored).

4. Systematically stock your study material
During the course of the exam week, you'll find your table getting cluttered with extra study material and sheets of papers that you've already written on. This happens because you probably never thought of any space to stock it. To avoid this, create a separate space for all study material; bring it out and put it back as and when required.

5. Customize your space
Make your desk your exam zone. Make sure it's well ventilated and well stocked. Customize it if you want with a few post-it reminders of your time table or your exam card or something as simple as a motivational quote by your favourite author. It'll help you relax, stay motivated and study better.
Remember, while some ingenious minds can claim that they can't work without chaos, if you're a student, clutter is definitely going to affect your thoughts, mood and consequently your learning. So, clear you space and clear your mind. Happy studying!