twinfluence - home

twInfluence can be very useful for budding social media experts due to the statistics it reports. First is the absolute rank, which is the twitterers rank on the basis of his activity compared to all the twitterers analysed on twInfluence. Next is a relative rank, which is the absolute rank expressed in percentiles. Then is the reach, which is the total number of (first and second degree) followers the twitterer has.

twinfluence - statistics

Then, twInfluence also calculates your Velocity, Social Capital and Centralization scores. Velocity is the rate at which the twitterers network (first and second degree followers) has grown since they joined Twitter. Social Capital is the average influence of the twitterers reach. Centralization is a measure of how distributed are the conversations of the twitterer.

twInfluence is a very handy tool to keep track of a twitterers progress at Twitter. Check out at twInfluence.com

Linked In has now added a new feature – one oft repeated by group managers – Subgroups. What does it allow you to do? Define groups within your groups, thus creating more stronger focus groups. A subgroup is a space within your group where members can collaborate based on a function, project, topic, location or anything you wish. Subgroups have many features including Discussions, News, Jobs and Digest Emails, etc.

This post was originally posted on Digimantra

On June 2nd, 2009 EA released the next chapter for one of the most popular gaming series – The Sims. The Sims 3 brings a lot of new stuff to the table, while improves on what was already there. We have a look how.
The pivotal change brought about in the series by The Sims 3 is the opening up of the neighbourhood. Never again will you go claustrophobic looking at the same set of walls every day. There is more to life than being stuck at home isn’t it. Well, that’s what EA decided and delivered a gamers’ delight. Yup! Ten minutes of Sims 3 later you will wonder how you ever played the game without the neighbourhood.

This post was originally published on Digimantra

In the previous post we introduced, Drupal the Content Management System. We also made a fleeting remark that Drupal is so powerful a CMS that it is also called a Content Management Framework. This time around, we will look at what makes Drupal THE content management framework.

This post was originally published on Digimantra

What is launchy? “Launchy is a free windows and linux utility designed to help you forget about your start menu, the icons on your desktop, and even your file manager. Launchy indexes the programs in your start menu and can launch your documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes!” (by Josh Karlin via launchy.net)

This post was originally published on Digimantra

Twitter is a great app to find new and like minded people – cool people, to network with them, to have great conversations and yet a lot of people fail to get the best out of Twitter. They get lost in the numbers and fade away, or keep struggling to achieve their dreams of Twitter glory. In this post, we will look at some things that people do in hopes of finding a shortcut to Twitter glory. Yep – Don’t do this on Twitter. Respect the medium, and it will earn you respect.

This post was originally published on Digimantra

Before reading this post ask yourself: “Do you know what Drupal is?” If yes, you are at the wrong place. If no, (even though it’s a sin to not have heard of Drupal) sing “Hallelujah”. Drupal is a Content Management System aka CMS. (In fact, it is so powerful that it is commonly referred…

This post was originally published on Digimantra

In this post, we will talk about how to hack the Mediawiki Template to include Google Analytics without tracking the sysop user. The better way is, obviously, to use the GoogleAnalytics Extension (which would be discussed in a later post). This hack applies to Mediawiki 1.9.3+ In the mediawiki…

This post was originally posted on Digimantra

Sims 3 - the Whole Neighbourhood

The basics of the game are still the same: you begin with a Sims, manage his life, nurture him into a competent being who aspires and achieves his dreams, falls in love, gets married, has a family, and lives happily ever after. That or gets bankrupt paying his bills.

The most obvious change that you will notice is the new polished, sleeker and richer in detail presentation of the game. The graphics are just so wonderful, and vivid. Add to that a better performance of the game (though needs a bit powerful system) than the previous versions and the open neighbourhood (which means good bye load times) and you can see that Sims 3 in many ways is a visual delight.

Sims 3 - Roaming Around the Town

But, Display is not the only front where there are changes. Presentation is just the tip of the iceberg here. EA has, also, made some very subtle changes deep down inside, which take the fun to a whole new level. The most noticeable elements are the ‘Mood Bonuses’, ‘Sims Traits’ and the ‘Aspirations Systems’.

Mood Bonuses are small bonuses and penalties awarded to your Sims that affect their mood for a certain time period. Falling in love gives you a high for two days; a good meal doesn’t make you hungry for a couple of hours; caffeinated drinks keep sleep at bay for another couple of hours; not having slept properly will make you uneasy and sleepy for a day and so on. What these mood bonuses help in adding to the game are that now there are ways to bypass the needs system – to override it. This adds a whole new layer of gameplay.

Sims 3 - Building A Life

While creating your new Sims, you can select up to 6 traits. In case of a Sim born within the game, these traits are gradually nurtured. These traits, now, define the psychology of your Sims and how they interact with others and their environments. Your art loving Sims will gel better with a Sims who loves art than someone who is childish and can’t stand arts. Geddit?

These traits, also in turn, direct the Sims thought process – his dreams and aspirations. Now the aspirations system has also got a major overhaul. It is way much simpler to manage your Sims Aspirations – as they are now divided into long term and short term aspirations. Long term aspirations are like your Sims goal in life, while short term aspirations are things he wants to achieve in the near future. So to paint a picture is a short term aspiration, be a world famous painter a long term aspiration. Also, you can promise your Sim the fulfilment of some of his aspirations, which will further add to the mood bonuses.

The Needs system doesn’t add anything new to itself. Though, how the needs are determined in the gameplay mechanics has changed – it is more realistic now. But the major difference in the Sims 3 Needs system over previous games is the effect Mood Bonuses have on your needs. That is sweet.

Sims 3 - We Like to Party

Then is the major boost in the Relationships Model. Sims 3 is practically all about relationships of your Sims with everyone else. The neighbourhood being open to your seems now, there are so many new Sims to meet and so many activities to do that you will be overwhelmed managing your relationships (aren’t we always ). Additionally, the Aspirations and the Mood Bonuses system are very tightly integrated with your relationship. So is your career. Flattering your partners and being in the good books of your boss will see you jump up the corporate ladder quickly (wasn’t Sims supposed to be a Sim? It’s so realistic now!)

Sims 3 also adds a lot of stuff from the previous games – you now carry cell phones, have a personal inventory, and don jewellery, amongst others. In addition, the game has a lot more content than before.

Sims 3 - Nurturing Relations

The Online Community is also very closely integrated within the game. You can share all teh customised items with friends, purchase more official content or trade customised user designs. On The Exchange, you can also share movies you have recorded during your gameplay.

All in all Sims 3 is a fun ride. It adds some new dimensions to the series gameplay and takes it to the next level with the open neighbourhood. Yuo can spend hours and hours perfecting the lives of your sims and not get bored of it. However, You have to have the taste though. If you are more of an action game type of a person, who likes the adrenaline to kick in you would be disappointed. But if you can appreciate a well made game and have some hours at your disposal, you will definitely love Sims 3, even if you wont make it your favourite.

Display: 9 | Sound: 7 | Game Play: 8 | Replayability: 10 | Online: 7 | Innovativeness: 8 | Overall: 8.2
(On a scale of 10, Overall score is an average of all scores)

Set in Renaissance Italy, Assassin’s Creed 2 tells the story of Ezio – a nobleman out there to avenge his family by assassinating their murderers, being helped by Da Vinci with weapons and equipment. Ezio carries now dual hidden blades (without losing any fingers, big thanks to Da Vinci), a primitive gun, can swim, can fly (with Da Vinci’s Ornithopter), and do loads more.

The game is visually more appealing, has more style and oomph, Ezio has learned many new tricks Altair never knew, the guards have gotten smarter – a lot has changed in the 300 years that have passed. The game looks so yummy, that I might die drooling before the game launches. Come holiday 2009 and save me.

Here is the video: