A social network is a social structure made up of individuals (or organizations) called “nodes”, which are tied (connected) by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.

and to build such social network, there are Social Networking websites. If you are not on any of the social networking websites listed here, please excuse us. (u can read other interesting articles on gadgets,  here). But if you are present on the social networking sites, especially on Facebook, theres something interesting for you!!

In celebration of its 160th anniversary, global payment services company Western Union has announced the launch of a hunt for the most networked person in the world using Facebook presence as a parameter. Western Union is calling for India’s most globally connected individuals to step forward and take the Western Union Network Challenge at www.westernunionworld.com/yourworld

Its an interactive, online application called ‘Your World’ which visualises Facebook fans’ global connections and users receive a score (“World Index”) that shows how globally connected they are. They can compare their ranking against their Facebook friends, against others in their country and against others globally.

Here’s my World Index:

Visit www.westernunionworld.com, take part in the contest mentioned below &  you could win a cool IPod Shuffle!!

Contest Mechanism:

In the comments section post the following:

1. Answer a simple question -

Which country received the most remittance in the year 2000?

2.  Post the screen shot of your World index (as shown above) on your Facebook profile and share the link of image with us

3. The contest closes on Sep 1, 2011. Sep 25th, 2011.

4. The winner will be announced on the blog on Sep 5, 2011. Sep 30th, 2011

Your answer in the comments section should be like this:

1) England

2) https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/303209_10150274032126270_626836269_8029821_5506847_n.jpg

All the best!!!

Now its time to make it win the “Best Mumbai Blog” Contest. (courtesy: Mumbai Bloggers)

Vote for umennet. It will take nothing more than few moments!!

For Voting:

1) Go to http://www.mumbaibloggers.net/wp-login.php?action=register .
Punch in your Desired Username & Id. Password will be maield to you to your inbox.

2) Use the password to login here (http://www.mumbaibloggers.net/wp-login.php )

3) Go to http://www.mumbaibloggers.net/vote-for-the-best-blog and vote for umennet.wordpress.com!!!

Already voted?? I knew you would do that !!

Thankx a lot to all those who already voted!!

The recent attacks in mumbai raised many eyebrows having questions, anger, anguish, concerns, complains . . . they found a platform in the Mumbai Group. There was a leap in the members from mere 200 to 1300+ members in just 4-5 days.

People started commenting, posting, debating, sharing pictures, videos etc. And this is just an example, how social media impacts general public.

But on a serious note, Social Media is being used by the Corporate Giants, Organizations, Celebreties, Entertainment Industry & even Media!! I being a social media enthusiast too, have some questions.

Is Social media just having a profile in Facebook/Orkut, sharing pictures using flickr, uploading videos on youtube, chatting with friends? No, Social media is much much more than these. Having these queries, I approached to Bhanu, my dear friend & colleague, who was most willingly ready to answer my queries.

My next post will be an Interview with Mr. K Bhanuprakash on some serious topics related to Social Media. (Will be posted as soon as I recieve the answers).

His brief Introduction:

K. Bhanuprakash, having an experience of more than 8 years, heads the Digital/Interactive team of Hanmer MS&L, India. Started as an Entrepreneur (owned Web-Multmedia Agency), He shifted to Corp Comm, and presently handling the Online presence and promotion of some Major clients which Include MNC’s, Lifestyle giants and even celebrities!! He is Social media enthusiast, with spending a major chunk of his time in learning and implementing the ideas and strategies. He is also in to serious singing and hoping for a big break soon. He and his wife live in Thane, Mumbai. You can also follow him in Twitter & Facebook.

And now the winning thing!!

You can win cool T-Shirt while clearing your doubts by asking questions!!

If you have any questions, doubts, queries which you want to get answered, most welcome. Just post your questions in the comment box, and I will get those answered. And the reader asking a question which would be Mind Boggling, Unique, and makes us (me and Bhanu) to have a brainstorming session to answer, will have a chance to win a cool Tshirt with a design of your choice, Courtesy Inkfruit (Thanks Priyanka!!)

Inkfruit is a place for people to submit, discover and buy amazing custom t-shirt designs by artists from around the world. Based around an ongoing t-shirt design contest, all of the designs on Inkfruit have been submitted by community members. Inkfruit is headquartered in Bombay, India. It was launched in early December 2007. And using the social media, Inkfruit is also present on Facebook, Orkut & Blog. They have a special affiliate program in which you can have inkfruit online shop placed on your site, or Inkfruit ad banner on your site or blog and EARN too!!!!

Important:
This Contest is open for Indian residents Only.
Please ask questions about Social Media (Indian scenario would be appreciated) . Questions on other topics would not be considered.
Please mention your email carefully, because winner(s) will be contacted by email.
The contest closes on Dec 16th and winners will be announced on Dec 18th.

And lastly, If we get some really good questions, we can have two winners!!