Archives: April 25, 2012

The Return of SMS to ApnaComplex!

Your favorite portal now supports sending important SMS to any mobile number – including those present in the DND list. Also, gone are the time restrictions when you can receive an SMS. No more 9AM-9PM restrictions.

Types of Messages:
Going forward you have two “types” of messages you can send through ApnaComplex

Template Based SMS
Non-template Based SMS
Template based SMS – as the name indicates – are pre-defined messages with some placeholders. You will have option to fill these place holders and send to members. These message formats are pre-defined – they are already scrutinized and approved by relevant authorities. Hence, they will reach all members – including those in DND and at any time. All system generated messages such as Meeting Reminders, Complaint Escalations, Invoice/Payment notifications etc. will all fall under this category.

Non-template based SMS – as the name indicates – these messages have no restrictions on the text. It is free text and one can type any thing. However, these will have restrictions that they cannot reach all members. These messages will only reach people who are not on the DND and that too only from 9 AM to 9 PM.

Explicit Opt-in to receive SMS:
As per TRAI regulations, it is mandatory for ApnaComplex to maintain the records of the approval given by a member to receive SMS before we attempt to send an SMS. Hence, every member has to login to ApnaComplex and update their SMS opt-in preference before being able to receive template based SMSs. Members who have not opted in, will get an alert as soon as they login. It is very simple to update the preference – got to Home->My Profile->Edit Profile, select “Yes” for SMS Opt-in and update.

With our smart routing logic, we attempt to send a message scheduled by you in multiple channels to ensure the member receives it – we fist deliver a template based SMS to all members who have opted for receiving SMS. Next, we try and deliver SMS through another channel for all the members who have not updated thier opt-in preference – these members would get the SMS in case they are not on DND list.


Enhancements to ApnaComplex Polling Booth

From now onwards, administrators and poll creators can see the list of members and thier flat-numbers who voted on a given poll. If the poll is open poll (not secret poll), they can even see who voted against which option. This viewing is possible only after the poll is closed.

Also, the email that gets sent upon closure of a poll shall include the final results of the poll – voting options and votes for each option.


Launching New ApnaComplex Classifieds

We are happy to announce the launch of a new ApnaComplex Classifieds Section for our members to post their needs and reach out to wider audience. You can access the classifieds section at https://www.apnacomplex.com/classifieds.

ApnaComplex Classifieds will replace the earlier mechanism of posting notices with “Every one on internet” visibility. With this feature, admins need not be spending time approving buy/sell/rent type of notices from members and keep the noticeboard clean. ApnaComplex Classifieds is also tightly integrated with Facebook for members who want to post these classifieds to a wider audience in their respective networks.


New Looking Discussion Forum released!

We now have a new looking discussion forum available for all our customers. Some of improvements we have included apart from the color schemes and other intagibles:

1. Show last 3 comments by default for every topic. See more with less clicks!

2. Open the entire discussion in a separate window to go through all the comments in details. Very useful for long running threads

3. Improved experience due to pagination of topics. Helpful in case of very large and active communities where there can many discussion threads running in parallel.