One of the best ways to connect with friends and family – as well as stay on top of everything going on in the world today – is by using social networks such as BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™), Facebook®, Twitter® and more. I was recently asked to provide some tips to a friend of mine who is constantly updating her statuses, so today I’d like to share five tips to help you get the most out of your social networking experience while using a BlackBerry® smartphone!
1. Add your own Bit.ly account details to Social Feeds
The next time you want to share a link with friends using the Social Feeds app that’s included with your BlackBerry smartphone, considering adding your Bit.ly account to the Social Feeds options before hand. Doing this will allow you to measure things such as how many clicks your link got and from which countries your link was viewed (one of my favorite stats!).
To add your Bit.ly account details to Social Feeds, complete the following steps:
- On the home screen, open “Social Feeds”
- Press the Menu key and select “Options” followed by “Display and Actions”
- Enter your Bit.ly login details and select “Login”.
After doing this, any links you share using Social Feeds will now get shortened using your Bit.ly account so you can view stats on your link by logging into Bit.ly’s website.
2. Stick your BBM Barcode up
Looking for an easy way to share your contact details or BBM Group details? Consider saving the respective BBM barcodes and putting them on your website, posters, business cards, and of course, your favorite social networks so other BlackBerry device users can get in touch with you!
To save a copy of your BBM barcode(s) to your smartphone that you can then email or copy, complete the steps below.
To display a personal barcode:
- On the Home screen or in the Instant Messaging folder, click the BlackBerry Messenger icon
- On the contact list screen, press the Menu key
- Click “View My Profile” & next to PIN Barcode, select “Show”
- Press the Menu key and select “Save Barcode Image”.
To display a group barcode:
- On the Home screen or in the Instant Messaging folder, click the BlackBerry Messenger icon
- Select the group you would like to display the barcode for
- Press the Menu key & select “View Group Details”
- Click “Display Group Barcode”
- Press the Menu key and select “Save Barcode Image”.
3. Send and share from anywhere!
One of my favorite features offered by the BlackBerry smartphone is the ability to send and share just about anything with just about anyone using a variety of methods! For example, after snapping a photo using the camera, press the Menu key and you’ll notice the “Send” option. After selecting this option, you’ll be shown a listing of different ways you can share your photo. What’s really convenient is that depending on the apps that you installed on your smartphone, you’ll have even more sharing options! For example, on my smartphone, I have the following options:
- Text Message
- BBM Contact
- BBM Group
- Bluetooth®
- Tag
Note: In case you are wondering, the “Tag” option is displayed because I am using a NFC-enabled BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 smartphone. Selecting the “Tag” option allows me to share a photo using NFC technology with another NFC-enabled BlackBerry smartphone.
As you can see, sharing content is really easy and not specific to photos, as you can send other types of files and multimedia as well! I know I use the option of sharing to BBM Contacts and Twitter daily – what about you?
4. Speed along using shortcuts
Something I recommend doing when setting up a new BlackBerry smartphone or switching to a different BlackBerry device is to review the user guide for your particular device so you can learn more about it. More importantly, you can find out all the useful tips and shortcuts available to you! Within the user guide you’ll be able to learn how to fly through your favorite apps, but also get tips on how to maximize battery life and maintain your free space as well tips on how to keep your personal information safe. To view the user guide for your device, just open the Help app that’s shown on your Home screen and you’ll be able to learn a lot more about your smartphone. Super convenient!
You also have the option of visiting http://docs.blackberry.com, selecting BlackBerry Manuals followed by Smartphone Manuals. Within this website, you can select your particular device, and you’ll then be provided with links to the several useful documents such as the user guide, a getting started guide and more.
I cannot stress enough the value offered by the user guide, so make sure you check it out in order to get the most out of your BlackBerry smartphone experience!
5. Secure your account information and generate random passwords
Looking for an easy way to manage all of your account details and login credentials? If so, you need to check out Password Keeper, a free app included with BlackBerry smartphones that allows you manage your accounts in one place. On top of managing your account information, one of my favorite features it the ability to generate random passwords that contain numbers, letters, and symbols. What I like the most about the random password feature is by accessing the Password Keeper options, I can customize how a random password is generated, which is great in case you need a password that is a specific length and containing a combination of characters.
To learn more about Password Keeper, check out Heather’s post on how to set up and use BlackBerry Password Keeper.
Bonus Tip: Post an update to multiple Social Networks simultaneously
Got something you want to share with friends on BBM as well as Twitter? Instead of sending separate messages, you can send one message that gets sent simultaneously to both social networks. Here’s how:
- On the home screen, open “Social Feeds”
- Press the Menu key and select “New Post”
- Specify which social networks should receive the update
- Enter your message, then click the “Post” button
Got a question or tip you’d like to share? Leave a comment and let me know!