Nigerian Oil Workers Threaten Nationwide Strike From Monday

Scarcity of fuel may likely spread across the nation from Monday as oil workers brace themselves for a confrontation with the Federal Government on numerous unresolved labour issues.

Premium Times reports that the oil workers, under sponsorship of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association [PENGASSAN] and their counterparts in the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers [NUPENG], are set to begin a nationwide strike Monday.



The strike is taking place as a result of the expiration of the notice given to the government for the resolution of some labour issues affecting their members as well as other national issues affecting the operation of the petroleum industry.

An official of PENGASSAN, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, told PREMIUM TIMES that some of the contentious issues include the decision of the management of Total Nigeria to sack the PENGASSAN zonal Secretary in Port Harcourt and the lack of promotion for workers of the Petroleum Trust Development Fund (PTDF).

According to the official, the unions are concerned that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) sent to the National Assembly for consideration and approval more than two years ago is yet to be passed.

“We (the oil workers) have sufficient reasons, based on information available to us, to believe that the law makers are not prepared to pass the law, even as the state of the country’s petroleum industry has continued to deteriorate as a result of the absence of a regulatory and legal framework for the industry,” the official said.

Information available to the oil workers, he said, has to do with a plot by the Senate to move a motion on resumption this week to demand the setting aside of further considerations and deliberations on the PIB till the next legislative session.

The PIB was one of the key draft laws entrusted by the previous legislative assembly for deliberation and approval by the incumbent legislators.

“This does not augur well for the future of the country’s oil industry, as new investments would continue to elude the country, to the benefit of other oil producing nations around the continent, if the law is not passed. This is not acceptable,” the official said.

The oil workers said they have uncovered plans by the government to go ahead with the sale of the country’s four refineries, which has always met a hard struggle by Nigerians in recent past.


For some time now, the oil workers said crude oil allocation to the refineries for local petroleum products refining have consistently reduced from 60 to 30 per cent and then to zero.

The plan by government, the unions said, is to make the refineries appear unviable and their rehabilitation impossible as a way of making their eventual sale attractive to Nigerians.

The unions are also protesting against alleged poor funding to the Petroleum Training Institute [PTI], which was established as the technology training institution for the country’s petroleum industry.

It would be recalled that last week PENGASSAN was going to embark on a three day warning strike in protest against the delay in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and other anti-labour activities of employers in the oil and gas sector.

Sources;naij.com

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A Story Of How Tenants Live As Prisoners In A 500 Room House

The poor and extreme conditions of living of tenants as prisoners in this vast and hugely populated building is really heartbreaking and calls for deep concern.

An entrance into one of the blocks in the ‘estate’ Photo credit: Punch Newspaper

Okoli Nwabueze (not real name) covered in sweat as he made for the narrow entrance leading outside the block, cursed and grumbled angrily.

He was deep in slumber by the time the fan in his room stopped rolling that afternoon and so couldn’t make it out on time to enjoy cool, ‘precious’ breeze.

Lacking proper ventilation, electricity supply was the only means to keep the temperature within the room normal. Last year, when he paid N140, 000 as rent and related charges for 12 months to move into Agboye ‘Estate’, a gigantic structure with over 500 rooms stretching on about four plots of land on Oduntan Street, Ketu, Lagos, this was not what he expected. The situation leaves him deeply frustrated.

“The heat inside my room is crazy,” he said, nodding his head in complete dejection. “There is no ventilation and so whenever there’s power outage the place becomes very hot. This was not what I expected when I paid for the house last year. I never knew I was moving into a prison yard. I can’t use generator or other household appliances even after paying so much as rent. This is really crazy,” he fumed.
Sources;naij.com

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Etisalat Internet Plans And Activation Code with their duration.(smartphones)

Etisalat Internet Plans And Activation Code with their duration.Etisalat 24hrs day data plan
Monetary value:N100
Mb available: 10mb
Plan validity :1 day plan 24 Hours.
Activation Code(assud):Text MI1 to 229 or dial *229*3*1#

Etisalat 1 week data plan
Monetary value: N500
Mb available: 50MB Etisalat data
Plan validity:1 week plan (7 days)
Activation code (ussd):Text MI2 to 229 or dial *229*3*4#

List of 1 month data plan

Etisalat 1 month data plan
Monetary value: N1000
Mb available:
Plan validity:Etisalat data
Activation code(ussd):Text MB2 to 229 or dial *229*2*1#.

Etisalat N2000 data plan
Mb available:500mb
Activation codeText MB3 to 229 or dial*229*2*2#

Etisalat N4000 data plan
Mb available:1.5g
Activation Code(ussd):Text MB4 to 229 or dial *229*2*4#

Etisalat N6500 data plan
Mb available:3g
Activation code(ussd):Text MB5 to 229 or dial *229*2*3# .

Etisalat N8000 data plan
Mb available: 6gb
Activation code(ussd):Text MB6 to 229 or dial *229*2*5#.

Etisalat N10000 data plan
Mb available:10gigs
Activation code(ussd):Text SM1 to 229 or dial *229*4*1#

Etisalat N15,000 data plan
Mb available:15gigs
Activation code(ussd):Text SM2 to 229 or dial *229*4*2#.

Etisalat N4000 Data Plan
Monetary value:N4000
Mb available:it is limited o.
Plan validity: Night and weekend plan.
Activation code:Text MB7 to 229 or dial*229*3*3#.

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CHEAP DATA PLAN FOR AIRTEL ANDROID USERS

How To Subscribe For Airtel New Data Plans For Android Users

Some of you Nigerian Android users must be aware of the mass petition which was fowarded to the NCC about data plans for android and how network and data providers should help in reducing the cost of acquiring data for their android device instead of the usual cost which is the same as that of computer and laptop users pay for data. Airtel has finally provided its users with a reduced cost of acquiring data for their android device.

 

So if you are a android user which also has a airtel sim or you are a full airtel user than this will be good news for you, as now you can get higher data for reduced prices, Now to get straight to the point, there are two kind of the android data package and they are;
Airtel Android 2.0 Bundle : N2000 for 2 Gigs
Airtel Android 4.5 Bundle: N3,500 for 4.5 Gigs

Yea, not so big a change right? I know that but what can we say, we need data on our android devices, so let just keep hoping and praying that one day it will be lesser as to help everyone to be able to subscribe for data for their mobile phones and be able to surf the internet like how other countries are doing.

BURN RATE
1 kobo/kb from 9:59pm - 5:59am & 1.5 kobo/kb from 5:59am - 9:59pm

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Windows Tablets For $65

What does a good cup of Java cost you these days? A couple of bucks, right? So all you need to do is give up coffee for a little over a month and you could save up enough cash to buy a new Windows tablet.

Granted these machines are not going win any speed prizes, but they are real and they are cheap. The Emdoor I8170 is 7 inch and the Ployer MOMO8 is 8 inches and they are both priced at just $65, which makes them considerably cheaper than an OEM copy of Windows OS.

I must admit, I hadn’t heard of Emdoor or Ployer before this, but they are the firms behind these two new dirt-cheap tablets. So, what do you get for $65? The Emdoor I8170 is a 7-inch tablet and Ployer’s MOMO8 is an 8-inch tablet. Both tablets feature an Atom Z3735G chip and 1GB of RAM. Their quad-core Atom Z3735G processors are superior to previous Atom processors, but they are still not quick by any stretch of the imagination. The machines come with 1GB of RAM and both come with 16GB of onboard storage. There is also a Micro SD slot included too.



You will not receive a Surface Pro-like experience from these Windows tablets, but then again, that is not what they are designed for. Hats off to Emdoor and Ployer for putting together a nifty pair of little devices for a small price.

A little gratitude also must go to Microsoft for giving manufacturers free Windows licenses to use on low-cost devices like these and also a huge Atom price cut from Intel means we are going to be seeing lots more tablets and laptops such as these coming to the table in the near future.

As always, if you would like to leave a sensible comment, then please do so in the comments section below.

[Image via umpcportal]

SOURCE: http://www.geek.com/microsoft/65-windows-tablets-cost-less-than-a-copy-of-windows-1606696/

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MasterCard to Come with Biometric Sensor

The pairing of iPhone 6 & NFC is great news for iPhone users, albeit a little behind the times, as some Android models have had this tech for a while now. But what about more standard methods of payment, like credit cards? Sure contactless payments are great for small purchases aren’t they? But are they as secure as you think?

The attraction to contactless payment cards is understandable, all you do is just wave your credit or debit card over a terminal and that’s it you’ve paid. This does have it’s downside however, as it also removes the PIN from the scenario. No PIN, means less security, ergo it is easy for someone to steal and then use your card for numerous small purchases until you block it.



How do we get around this issue? MasterCard is on the case. To combat this quandary and at the same time keeping contactless payments as easy as possible, MasterCard has recently announced the first credit card with a built-in fingerprint sensor for biometric security.

In theory the action of paying for goods or services should remain the same. When making a contactless purchase the card owner only needs to make sure their thumb is placed on the biometric sensor during the transaction. The card will obviously have the owner’s pre approved thumb print stored on it and if the thumb print isn’t detected during a transaction, then the purchase will not be processed.

The firm behind the technology, Zwipe will be releasing a version of their card for MasterCard in 2015 following on from a recent successful trial in Norway. The prototype carriers a battery attachment, which is too bulky, but in order to keep it as slim as the credit card already have in your wallet, Zwipe are working on a card that will be powered by energy from the payment terminal being used.

As always, if you would like to leave a sensible comment, then please do so in the comments section below.

[Image via absolutegeeks]

SOURCE: http://gizmodo.com/mastercard-will-offer-a-credit-card-with-a-fingerprint-1647567991

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Apple SIM Quietly Launched with iPad Air 2

After the recent Apple event, it has come to light that the new iPad includes a software-controlled SIM card, which will make it a great deal easier for consumers to change their network. Because of this, mobile carriers could be looking at a new threat to their reign of the networks.

Apple SIM has been in the pipeline for several years now and it will allow individuals to select a mobile network and pay on-screen. Apple themselves have said that it will allow people to switch networks more regularly and thereby get hold of the best deals. The iPad’s SIM is obviously marketed at those who travel, as it will be particularly useful for them. The Apple SIM will enable them to join a localised network abroad other than paying (usually high) roaming fees to their operator at in their home country.

Whenever you need it, you can choose the plan that works best for you – with no long-term commitments. And when you travel, you may also be able to choose a data plan from a local carrier for the duration of your trip…The Apple SIM gives you the flexibility to choose from a variety of short-term plans from select carriers in the US and UK right on your iPad,” said Apple.


Could Apple SIM make waves for operators and their customers?

This seems like a warning shot off the bow from Apple, in an attempt to cause a rift between mobile subscribers and their operators. I know what you are thinking, ‘tablet subscriptions only account for a small portion of revenues’ and you would be correct in thinking so. But, and this is a very big but, it is expected the technology will be introduced to the iPhone, which in the UK alone accounts for approximately a third of customers.

France Telecom’s EE is Britain’s biggest mobile operator, which has collaborated with Apple on new technology before, will be the only UK network to support Apple SIM. In the US AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile are supporting Apple SIM. Carriers may resist for a while, but they could soon face pressure from customers. If I were any of the other carriers, I would be afraid. Very afraid.

As always, if you would like to leave a sensible comment, then please do so in the comments section below.

[Image via ru.aliexpress]

SOURCE:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/telecoms/11168544/Mobile-operators-face-threat-from-Apple-iPads-SIM-card.html

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Hackers Put Nude Snapchat Pictures Online

It’s not been a good past couple of days for Snapchat or their users. Approximately 200,000 photos which users thought had been deleted have reportedly been put online by hackers, some of them believed to have been of nude underage children, since half of Snapchat’s users are between the ages of 13 and 17. It’s believed the hackers had been collecting the photos since 2011. They allegedly leaked the photos to 4Chan – the same site where images of nude celebrities appeared. The Snapchat images have allegedly now been taken down, but the hackers have threatened to leak more photos.

If you know next-to-nothing about Snapchat, it’s an app that lets you send short video and photo messages that delete within a few seconds of sending them. (At least that’s how it’s supposed to work…) As we all know by now though, nothing is ever “deleted’ forever. It’s believed the leaks came from the use of a third-party app which allowed users to save the deleted photos, and Snapsaved.com has allegedly taken responsibility for hacking the photos.





Snapchat has been very vocal about the fact that this leak is not their fault, stating,

“Snapchatters were victimised by their use of third-party apps to send and receive Snaps, a practice that we expressly prohibit in our Terms of Use precisely because they compromise our users’ security…We vigilantly monitor the App Store and Google Play for illegal third-party apps and have succeeded in getting many of these removed.”

What do you think? Do they share in some of the responsibility? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. And, please remember to use extreme caution before putting anything personal out there for the online world to see.

[Image via imore]

SOURCE: BBC

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Windows 10 Will Be Free for Personal Users‏

All eyes are on Microsoft next year, in 2011 the team screwed up by offering a mobile-like experience to Windows customers with Windows 8, alongside pricing it rather highly, compared to Apple who decided to drop the price of OS X and make it free to all desktop users on the platform.

It looks like Microsoft will take a note from Apple’s book and make Windows 10 (also Windows 9) free for all consumers. Notice the last bit? Yep, Microsoft will still offer paid features and upgrades for enterprise, the one market they can count on.

Enterprise has been stuck in this time-lapse where Windows XP is still acceptable, but throughout the past half decade, we have seen a steady move to the new age-old option: Windows 7, which will probably last longer than Windows XP if Microsoft doesn’t hit a home-run with Windows 10.



Microsoft will make the initial upgrade to Windows 10 free for enterprise, but offer paid privileges like only having to update annually, better admin controls, more enterprise level help on basic functionality – allowing a company to install the system without having issues.

It is about time Microsoft dropped the price for Windows, especially when they offer Windows Phone – their mobile product which will become Windows 10 in 2015 – for free to smartphone users.

Microsoft will talk more about Windows 10 at BUILD in April next year. Until then, we will get to see the latest updates via the Technical Preview, launched last month by Microsoft.

source: filehippo

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15 Powerful Twitter Promotion Ideas

Twitter can be a powerful marketing platform when you apply the right Twitter promotion ideas and apply them properly.

The secret is not to always be pitching and selling, but instead to communicate and deliver value.

The most powerful marketing does not feel like marketing.

Check out the article below and discover 15 powerful Twitter promotion tactics to help you build your brand and execute effective micro-blogging marketing campaigns.

1. Use Twitter’s New Header Feature

Twitter now enables you to add a header image to your Twitter profile.

Adding this is easier than you might think.  Simply go to “Settings” and then “Design” and upload your image.

The recommended dimensions are 1200×600 and the maximum file size is 5MB.

Here’s what my header image looks like:

This image will also display on most Twitter mobile applications.

2. Choose Your Twitter ID Carefully

Your Twitter handle can either help or hurt you build your Twitter brand, so choose wisely.

Shorter is better because of RTs, but catchy is better than short due to memorability.

Get a catchy, short, username and you’re golden.

3. Promote With Your Profile

Your Twitter profile is highly visible so if you include a link

Ask yourself: where do I want to send traffic the most? The answer to this question is the link you should use in your bio.

In addition to the main URL spot Twitter provides if you mention other Twitter usernames, or include other URLs beginning with http:// in your bio, these will become click able links as well.

4. Link it Up

Promote your twitter presence by adding links to your Twitter profile on your website, your other social media profiles, in your email signature, and everywhere else it is relevant to do so.

5. Use Your Real Name

People connect with people better than they do with brands.

Present yourself as a person rather than a brand and this will make your promotion efforts much easier.

6. Promote with #Hashtags

Use the # symbol in front of a keyword to add your tweet to a stream of tweets all using the same #hashtag.

If you have a small audience this can be a powerful way to attract new people to your content.

Be wary of going overboard with hashtags. #When #you #use #alot #of #hashtags #it #looks #ugly.

7. Connect With People Who Have Shared Interests

When you connect with people who have shared interests

I use Twitter marketing software to connect with people who have keywords in their bio that are related to topics I tweet about (Twitter, Social Media, Marketing, Facebook, etc.)

8. Use Twitter Directories to Promote Your Twitter Profile

Here is a list of some of the best Twitter directories for expanding your network.

9. Cross Promote with Influencers

Follow the influencers related to your business or industry and retweet them to get on their radar.

After a few retweets reach out to them with a mention and some will feel compelled to connect with you since you have shown that you are willing to help them.

If you connect with and help influencers there is a good chance they will return the favor and help you with your promotion.

10. Space Out Your Promotional Tweets

Use a Twitter profile management tool like Hootsuite or Buffer to manage multiple twitter accounts & schedule your updates.

Check out this post about timing your tweets for more tips on this topic.

11. Offer Special “Follower Only” Promotions & Coupons

Increase sales using twitter by giving special offers and coupons to your followers.

One way to do this is to give a special offer to anyone who retweets one of your tweets.

12. Run a Twitter Traffic Contest

Create a viral contest by offering a prize to whoever sends the most traffic to your contest page.

Make entrants use a contest hashtag and a bit.ly link so you can track who sends the most traffic.

You can track bit.ly link clicks by adding a + to the end of any bit.ly link.

13. Use Offline Marketing to Drive Your Twitter Promotion

Just because a promotion is happening on Twitter does not mean you can;t promote it with offline marketing materials.

A traditional ad, a billboard, or twitter business cards will get you real results online.

14. Tweet Promotional Pictures

Post pictures of your products, business cards, and other items related to your business.

If you are on Instagram send your pictures to Twitter whenever it is relevant to do so.

A picture says a thousand words and can be a great way to get your audience engaging with you.

Make sure to respond as often as possible to the people who mention you, since ignoring your followers can cause your followers to feel alienated.  Engaging with everyone gets harder to do the bigger your following grows but do your best and you’ll get great results.

15. Get More Twitter Followers

The more followers you have the easier your Twitter promotional efforts will be.

Check out this article I wrote with 75 tips for getting more followers and learn more about organic online and offline methods for building a following.

If you want to turbo-boost your social proof and Twitter following  check out the services offered by Grow my Twitter Network.

Bonus Tip: Keep Your Account Secure

If your Twitter account is compromised this can seriously damage your brand, cause your to lose followers, and ruin your Twitter promotional campaigns.

Use a strong password to protect your twitter account from hackers, and make sure to always log out of your Twitter account if you are using a shared computer.

If you find any security issues, change your password immediately without fail.

Be wary of suspicious direct messages from your followers since there are several malicious applications send direct message without consent.

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7 Powerful Twitter Account Management Tools

Twitter Account Management Tools are essential for anyone who wants to manage their micro-blogging without wasting time.


For business owners time is money, and most busy people don’t have all day to dedicate to social media.


Luckily the Twitter management tools in this post are here to save the day!


If you want to manage multiple Twitter accounts with ease the following twitter management tools will make your Twitter management efforts much easier.
1. Hootsuite


Hootsuite is the ultimate Twitter account management tool, and my personal favorite.


There are so many characteristics and features to commend in Hootsuite.





The ability to schedule tweets is an essential if you tweet often and do not want to spam your network with tons of posts at once. With Hootsuite you can control when your tweets go out, or use the auto-schedule feature to automatically space them out.


It scores high on the organization department. Posts, mentions, wall feed and so forth are organized in columns.


Hootsuite enablers you to post to Twitter accounts, Facebook Profile, Pages & Groups, LinkedIn and LinkedIn Groups.


Hootsuite offers up to five connected accounts for free, and unlimited accounts for PRO members.


At the top is a tab bar. Here you will see tabs for all your registered accounts in various social media sites. When you click on a tab, you will be presented with columns of posts, feeds, etc.
2. Bottlenose


The main advantage that Bottlenose has lies in their powerful social search engine which reveals real-time news and social trends.


It is very similar to Hootsuite in structure and navigation.





Users can customize what feeds (called “streams” in Bottlenose) will be shown in the columns of each Twitter account.





If you want to get the inside scoop about what stories are trending in your network bottlenose is a great way to go!
3. TweetDeck by Twitter


TweetDeck is very similar to Hootsuite, and comes with a desktop version in addition to the web based version.


The distinctive feature of the TweetDeck desktop app is the desktop notifications. These can be customized and will pop up in the corner of your screen to inform you of fresh Twitter activity.



4. Tweepi


Tweepi is a network management tool that helps you make sense of your Twitter network.



Flush the unfollowers – Unfollow people who do not follow you with just a few clicks. Tweepi’s Geeky Flush is a simple utility for quickly spotting tweeps that you follow but do not follow you back.
Reciprocate – It takes a really long time to find all the users you’re not following on Twitter and then following each one back individually! This tool helps you find all the users that follow you, but you do not follow back, so that you can follow them back with a click of a button.
Cleanup inactive accounts – Many users do not engage in conversations, never retweet anybody, or simply just ramble about nonsense stuff all day long. You can use the cleanup tool to filter these people out and unfollow them.
Clean-up – Filter out those inactive and unwanted tweeps by checking out their details and deciding for yourself!
Force people to unfollow you – Undesirable people are following you? You can use Tweepi’s Force Unfollow tool to block these people and force them to unfollow you.


Unfortunately, once you have more than 60k followers you cannot use Tweepi unless you buy a premium account.
5 Commun.it


This new discovery is a fascinating tool that analyzes your Twitter following to help you find the people you influence most and the most influential people that you follow.


It’s a great way to get the biggest bang for the time investment you put into Twitter.



6. ManageTwitter


ManageTwitter enables you to rapidly unfollow people you do not follow you back.


With ManageTwitter you can easily unfollow people after sorting them by several different criteria, such as inactivity, followers, etc.





The nice thing about ManageTwitter is no matter how large your Twitter network grows you can still use them for free.


ManageTwitter is free, but offers as premium version with a few more features.
Twitter Management Tools Save You Time


Managing social media accounts is important, but surely that’s not the only aspect of your business.


You’ll have other important matters to attend to, not to mention your own personal affairs.
Maximize your Social Media Efficiency


If you use even just one of the tools above it becomes much easier to manage even up to five different accounts.
Quickly Monitor Your Network Activity


Using a social media management tool is very useful for checking for spam and rants from your organization’s harshest critics.


These tools should help you make multiple account management on Twitter a breeze. Good Luck!
7. TweetAdder


TweetAdder is an awesome network building tool that I use daily to grow my Twitter network.


With TweetAdder you can create a list of people to follow automatically based on many different criteria, such as:
Location
Keywords in Bio
Keywords Tweeted Recently
Location
Followers of a User
Followed by a User
Twitter Lists
and more!

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Best Twitter Tools to Get More Twitter Followers [Tweet Adder Alternatives]

website traffic is a dream of every marketer.


The only trouble with that dream is the fact that it doesn’t always play nicely with reality.

Especially when it comes down to social media traffic.

And even more specifically, Twitter traffic.

Twitter has recently restricted use of its API significantly, causing several Twitter tools to follow/unfollow users to shut down.

My favorite Twitter tool, Tweet Adder, which I’ve been using and recommending for the past two years, had also gone through a major overhaul, removing most automation features that made it a social media traffic generation dream come true.

Which Twitter tools are still worth their salt?

Which ones provide the most time-efficient way to get more Twitter followers?

Which Twitter tools allow you to get more Twitter followers at the best price – the best being free or as close to it as possible?

Yes, we are on a quest to find the best Twitter tools to get more Twitter followers.
Best Twitter Tools Criteria

To generate traffic from Twitter, we need more responsive followers who are interested in what we have to say.

How do we get such Twitter followers as efficiently as possible?

The criteria I’ll be looking at when exploring the tools to get more Twitter followers are as follows:
1. How well can I target new followers?

This is not a numbers game.

Ten targeted and engaged Twitter followers might help you to carry your business message a lot farther than 100 or even 1,000 Twitter followers who could care less about what you have to say.
2. How quickly can I follow them with each tool?

Here’s Twitter’s official policy on Automated Following and Un-Following:


The only auto-following behavior Twitter allows is automated or bulk follow-back. This refers to following a user after they have followed you. Please review our Follow Rules and Best Practices for a detailed discussion of following recommendations.

Also note that per the Twitter Rules, “get followers fast” applications and services are not allowed. Do not surrender your username and password to them, or otherwise grant access to or control of your account to any third party apps that claim to provide such services.

And just in case you missed this very important point:


Also note that per the Twitter Rules, “get followers fast” applications and services are not allowed.

I used to love using Tweet Adder to automate some of the tedious tasks of getting more Twitter followers: following and unfollowing, to be more precise.

To be clear, I was never a fan of fully automating the process. I still fired up my Tweet Adder on a daily basis manually setting it to follow/unfollow a certain number of people. I called it “manual automation”.

However, with new Twitter API rules, automatically getting more Twitter followers is just not possible any longer.

So now I am on the quest to get the best tool to make the task of following/unfollowing people as quick as possible – without full automation.
3. How easily can I unfollow people?

Why do you need to unfollow anyone?

Simply put, sooner or later you’ll have to unfollow those who don’t follow you to be able to follow more people.

Twitter daily following limit is 1,000 per day.

Please note that this is a technical account limit only, and there are additional rules prohibiting aggressive following behavior. Details about following limits and prohibited behavior are on the Follow Limits and Best Practices page.

Up to a limit of 2,000 followers that is.

Once an account is following 2,000 other users, additional follow attempts are limited by account-specific ratios, i.e. you can follow 10% more than the number of your followers.

In other words, if 2,000 people are following you, you can follow 2,200, after which you have to wait till more people follow you (10% more).

However, you can be waiting forever till your follower ratio catches up with the number of people you are following.

My rule of thumb: if someone doesn’t follow me back after 5 days that usually means they are not interested in what you have to say. In this case, you need to unfollow them so that you can follow more people who are more interested in your tweets.

Here’s how it works:



I’ll be looking for a tool that allows me to unfollow with ease.
Twitter Tools to Get More Twitter Followers

After looking into several Twitter tools that offer follow/unfollow features, my final contenders for the best Twitter tools are:
Tweet Adder
Brand Chirp
Tweepi

Let’s take a look at what each tool has to offer, how they stack up against each other, as well as my final recommendations.
Tweet Adder (Paid)



Let’s start with my old favorite: Tweet Adder.

Those of you who’ve been around Traffic Generation Café for a while or are getting my free Bite-Size Traffic Hacks email series know that Tweet Adder used to be my to-go tool for Twitter traffic generation.

Since Twitter API restrictions though, Tweet Adder had to make some significant changes to comply with Twitter rules, which basically turned it from a leader in Twitter automation to just another tool to do the same basic tasks every other tool does as well.

Take a look:

Tweet Adder Version 3 – retired as of May 24, 2013



The orange arrows are pointing to the Tweet Adder features that allowed you to follow/unfollow Twitter followers automatically.

Take a look at the new Tweet Adder version 4:



Let’s take a look at how the new Tweet Adder measures up against the three best Twitter tool criteria set above.





Tweet Adder Pros and Cons
Pros

More of an “all-in-one” Twitter tool.

Offers follow/unfollow (albeit the recent removal of most automated functions).

Can add RSS feeds, send DMs (under “thank you messages”), schedule tweets/retweets, etc.

Great follower targeting.

Can research Twitter trends.

Allows to follow/unfollow now or save unlimited number of names for later follow/unfollow.

More economical Twitter tool: one-time price vs monthly subscription.

BIG ONE: So far Tweet Adder seems to be the only Twitter tool to offer running multiple Twitter accounts through proxies.

Why use proxies with Tweet Adder?

You and I know that we are using Tweet Adder to ultimate add value to our new Twitter followers, not to spam them.

Twitter doesn’t know it.

So if they catch too many following/unfollowing requests from the same IP address (yours), they might ban you first and ask questions later.

How many is too many?

Anyone’s guess.

I’ve been able to follow thousands of folks per day without getting into trouble, and then some of my readers got banned after following 50 people by hand.

So now I use proxies just to be on the safe side.
Cons

Most follow/unfollow tasks are manual (although it’s hard to count it as a con since all Twitter tools have to comply with Twitter term of service and not allow any automation).

Price: used to be a bargain because of its automation features, but now Tweet Adder is a bit pricey for what it has to offer.
Is Tweet Adder My Recommendation for the Best Twitter Tool?

Allow me to say first that I am still pretty bitter that Tweet Adder had to turn off most of its automation features.

For those of us who were using the automation features to leverage our time and not to spam anyone on Twitter, this was a major blow.

That said, it’s not Tweet Adder’s fault.

They chose to do the right thing (i.e. comply with Twitter new terms of service) and good for them.

How does it position them among other Twitter tools?

After taking a deep breath and comparing it to other tools to get more Twitter followers, I was relieved to see that in many ways Tweet Adder is still ahead of its competition.

Here are the features that make is stand out in my eyes:
Running multiple Twitter accounts by proxy – this is huge. As far as I see, Tweet Adder is still the only tool to offer this feature.
Combining follow/unfollow features with Twitter management elements, like adding RSS feeds, scheduling tweets, automated welcome messages, automated retweets, etc.
Even though the number of features went down and the price remained the same, compared to the other Twitter tools I analyzed, Tweet Adder is still ahead: one-time fee always beats a monthly subscription as far as I am concerned.

So overall, yes – I still recommend and use Tweet Adder as my best Twitter tool of choice.

==> Download Your Copy of Tweet Adder Here
Use discount code AH20 at checkout

But don’t take my word for it; let’s take a look at other candidates for the best Twitter tool.
BrandChirp.com (Paid)



Brand Chirp is very similar to Tweet Adder – not only it allows you to follow/unfollow Twitter users, but also do certain tweet management tasks.

Does it do it as well as Tweet Adder?

Let’s take a look:





Brand Chirp Pros and Cons
Pros

Shows how active prospective friends are (the last time they tweeted). There’s no reason to follow people who haven’t tweeted in a while.

More of an “all-in-one” Twitter tool.

Offers follow/unfollow, as well as adding RSS feeds, brand monitoring, and scheduled tweets.

Great follower targeting.

Does have a one-time payment option vs a monthly subscription; a plus in my eyes.

Multiple accounts (could be unlimited; I am not entirely sure).
Cons

Search by keywords is extremely slow.

Overall, fewer features than Tweet Adder at a steeper price.

Monthly subscription – adds up pretty quickly (unless you want to spend $200 up front).
Is Brand Chirp My Recommendation for the Best Twitter Tool?

After closely examining all the features, I think Tweet Adder still takes the lead over Brand Chirp: more features, less expensive, and more stable.
Tweepi.com (Free/Paid)



Tweepi allows you to discover and follow new users, unfollow users, find and unfollow inactive users and block followers who send spam.

Please keep in mind that at the moment, Tweepi Premium accounts are linked on per Twitter account basis. If you wish to upgrade more than one account, you’ll need to do so for each one.

Here’s the rundown on the features you can expect to get with Tweepi.com.





Tweepi Pros and Cons
Pros

You can follow other users’ followers or friends.

You can follow semi-automatically (from 20 to 200 people at a time depending on your account).

You can “flush” the unfollows.

You can cleanup inactives.

Can run several Twitter accounts for free.
Cons

Better follower targeting is only available with premium accounts.

Premium accounts get expensive: $7.49 – $14.99 per month per account.

Can’t do any kind of tweeting (like adding RSS feeds, retweeting, DMs, etc)
Is Tweepi My Recommendation for the Best Twitter Tool?

I think Tweepi is pretty mighty for a free Twitter tool.

For those of you who are new to Twitter or still learning the ropes on how to put it to good use in your business, I think free Tweepi is a great choice.

It allows you to test the Twitter waters without any financial commitment.

However, if you are serious about Twitter traffic generation, I wouldn’t pay for their monthly subscription plan. I think it’s just too much to pay for multiple accounts and the fact that it doesn’t do much of anything else (any kind of Twitter management) makes it even more expensive.

Choose Tweet Adder in that case.
More Twitter Tools

The Twitter Tools listed above are the ones I’d strongly consider for getting more Twitter followers.

Of course, there are many more.

After a while, they all start looking the same.

Most of them offer a minimal free service and charge a monthly fee for more – and you always need more since you can’t really do much with their free options.

Here are just some of the Twitter tools I ran into:
Manageflitter.com

Manageflitter.com offers to unfollow 100 people per day for free – anything beyond that, including any following features will cost you $12 per month and up.

Granted, you can increase the unfollow limit to up to 2,000, but without being able to follow users, it doesn’t do you any good.
Justunfollow.com

Justunfollow.com is yet another unfollow tool that will let you to unfollow people and follow back those who followed you, but not follow new users.
Friendorfollow.com

Friendorfollow.com offers limited free features and the ability to unfollow/follow back, but not search/follower new users.
Best Twitter Tool Marketing Takeaway

Whether we like it or not, we have to adapt to changes.

Recent Twitter API limitations were just one such change.

Getting Twitter followers will never be as easy as it used to be; true.

But getting more Facebook fans was never that easy to begin with, yet we managed just fine, right?

I’ve given you four pretty darn good choices to do well with getting more Twitter followers, establishing your brand, and getting more Twitter traffic back to your site.

Twitter can be an incredible traffic generator (it always has been for Traffic Generation Café); it’s time to figure out how to make it work for YOU.

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