Update : Along with account types, we have also introduced an “Industry/Cause” indicator in your profile information. You can specify which industry you are working in. For the new account types, this is a compulsory field. For the default/normal type, this is optional.

Ever wondered this? Who are you on SlideShare?

Well till recently, we gave everyone the same kind of account (i.e. the default/normal account). So if you were a teacher, a university, a company or a lone user, you had to use the same account type (and have to specify your gender & DOB as well!) Not any more. We have released 7 new types of accounts. This was preceded by an exhaustive research exercise to understand our community. And the research indicated that these seven types of accounts (along with the default/standard one that has always existed) should cover the main sub-sections of SlideShare users.

Account types are free, off course. If you want to change your account type, just log into your SlideShare account, change your account types, fill out the options and you are all set to show the world WHO YOU ARE.

Why are we doing this? SlideShare has grown into a vibrant community and (behind the scenes) we are building custom features for different accounts. As and when these features are launched, we want you to best positioned to leverage on them.

Check out this quick slide deck for a walkthrough.

Here are the seven new account types for your quick reference:

Company: The Company account type is meant for professional organisations & firms.

Non Profit/Gov: The Non Profit/Gov account type is meant for non profit institutions, non government organisations, central or provincial governments (or government departments) etc.

University/School: The University/School account type is meant for educational organisations - schools, universities, colleges, classrooms, educational institutions.

AD/PR/Marketing Agency: The AD / PR / Marketing Agency account type is meant for firms dealing in advertising, public relations, marketing etc.

Professional Speaker: The Professional Speaker account type is meant for people who speak frequently at conferences, seminars, events etc.

Presentation Design Firm: The Presentation Design Firm account type is meant for professional firms dealing in presentation design services, trainings etc

Event Organiser: The Event Organiser account type is meant for professional firms that organise events, conferences, trade shows etc.

Let us know what you thought of this new release.

SlideShare is recruiting software developers for its New Delhi (India) & San Francisco (USA) office.

Working at SlideShare can be a hugely rewarding experience. Building social software is a whole lot of fun. The fast changing web landscape, the constant feedback from users, the technical challenges when millions of people use the site every month. Most of all, you can actually show your friends and family the stuff you work on. All this make being a part of the SlideShare team a different ball-game than the usual technical work.

Benefits include:
- Experience with cutting edge open-source technology
- Working with a team of hackers & geeks, in a “No-BS” environment where you can focus on building great technology that is used by millions of people everyday
- Opportunity to play a decisive role in building a global website
- Competitive Salary + Stock options

We are currently recruiting for the following engineering positions:

Web Application Developer / Frontend Developers
Location: San Francisco & New Delhi
Profile: We’re looking for web-savvy hackers who know JavaScript, AJAX, HTML, Flash and at least one server-side scripting language, and can use them to full effect in crafting amazing web applications. We use Ruby as a programming language. Experience with Ruby is a plus, but not a necessity; PHP, Python experience is fine as well.
Desired Background: Degree in Computer Science, 2-5 yrs exp in similar role in tech / internet company
Type: Full Time position

Backend Software Engineer
Location: San Francisco & New Delhi
Profile: If you LOVE writing code and are comfortable hacking on Linux systems, doing deep algorithmic work (e.g., search, semantic analysis, recommedation), SQL tuning and optimization, data mining, hacking media & document formats/APIs to create new mashups, generally modifying open-source code to your own twisted purposes, then you might be a good fit for a back-end position.
Desired Background: Degree in Computer Science, 2-5 yrs exp in similar role in tech / internet company
Type: Full Time position

If you are interested, apply using the application form on this page or send your resume to jobs AT slideshare DOT com

Here’s a quick peek into what goes on behind the scenes at SlideShare

We are launching Social AutoShare. This is a feature that allows users to automatically publish their SlideShare activity - commenting, favoriting, uploading and following to Twitter & Facebook.

Check out this quick tutorial. The process is really easy. It will not take more than a few minutes to link your accounts together. And you can disconnect at will.

Note: This feature in in beta. And we have heard from some users about problems in linking with Twitter. We’re working on this.

With LeadShare, some users have expressed curiosity about how the lead generation forms works on documents embedded on blogs. Here are examples to help you with this. Three cases are possible:

Case 1: Lead Generation form after the 1st page in the document; form is COMPULSORY for further viewing (users cannot skip it) : Use scroll bar or forward/back buttons to view this.

Case 2: Lead Generation form after the 1st page in the document; form is NOT COMPULSORY for further viewing (users can skip it) : Use scroll bar or forward/back buttons to view this.

Case 3: Lead Generation form after the last page in the document : Use scroll bar or forward/back buttons to view this.

With LeadShare, some users have expressed curiosity about how the lead generation forms works on blog embeds. Here are examples to help you with this. Three cases are possible:

Case 1: Lead Generation form after the 3rd slide in the presentation; form is COMPULSORY for further viewing (users cannot skip it) : Use forward/back buttons to view this.

Case 2: Lead Generation form after the 3rd slide in the presentation; form is NOT COMPULSORY for further viewing (users can skip it) : Use forward/back buttons to view this.

Case 3: Lead Generation form after the last slide in the presentation : Use forward/back buttons to view this.

This is a quick reminder that the World’s Best Presentation Contest 2009 is in its home stretch. The entries were submitted till 8th Sep, and the voting will continue till 15th Sep. So you have four more days to get votes for your presentations. This includes the weekend - ideal to spend a few hours on your computer emailing your friends, posting on Twitter, Facebook etc to get votes.

This has been a great contest so far. Here are the stats as on Saturday morning (12th).

# Entries 2997
# Votes 10847
# Participants 2495

Also want to mention that like previous contest, we are keeping a close look on any voting malpractises. Once the voting is over, we shall do a exhaustive check on voting patterns, any hints of rigging etc. Fraudulent votes & entries will be disqualified straightaway before the final shortlist is sent to the judges. We want this to be a clean & even contest, and we’ll ensure that.

The SlideShare Facebook app has lately been getting some love from business bloggers & commentators. Check these out :

BeAWealthyEntrepreneur.com in its write up How I Grew My Client Base with FaceBook says -
“…..slideshare is know as the largest community for sharing presentations. I upload my powerpoint, openoffice, Keynote or PDF files and view presentations shared by others. This is a great way to spread thought leadership and expertise through presentations you may have delivered locally.”

frenchcreekpress.com in its write up Five tips for a successful Facebook fan page says -
“Raid your archives: Content is king – so what to do if you don’t have any content to share? Don’t underestimate yourself. If you’ve got PowerPoint presentations, use slideshare.net and an RSS feed to leverage them on your FB page….” .

Then again, in a subsequent writeup, it says “….Well, this is a no brainer. Instead of using Involver’s Slides for Pages app, just use SlideShare’s own app to share your presentations on your page. Link your Facebook account with your SlideShare account and fans will see your latest presentations as well as those you’ve marked as a favorite. Don’t forget to add both a tab and a box to the page to make it easier for fans to find your presentations.”

Taragana.com in its blogpost Top 10 Facebook Apps for Business writes “…This is world’s largest community for sharing presentations where you can upload your PowerPoint, OpenOffice, PDF files or Keynote. Further you can view presentations by others. It’s provides a great way to share your presentations on your profile.”

Sitewire.net in Top 5 Apps For Your Facebook Profile has this to say “…The Slideshare app is the world’s largest community for sharing digital presentations. You can upload PowerPoint, OpenOffice or PDF files and view presentations shared by others. This is an awesome way to spread thought leadership and expertise through new or existing presentations.”

Big thanks to these folks. In case you haven’t added SlideShare to your Facebook profile, go here to do so.

Just a quick reminder- this is the last week for submission of contest entries in WBPC2009. Entries can be submitted till the 8th of Sep, while the voting will continue till 15th. We already have about 3000 entries. Let’s see how many get added in the remaining period.

If you want to participate, don’t wait for the last moment. Upload your entry now. One disadvantage for last minute entries - you are likely to get a shorter voting cycle.

We’d also like to share something that will take you down our previous contests. This is the link for the screenshot below. We have created a page from where you can browse all previous slideshare contests (and we’ve had quite a few- WBPC 2007, WBPC 2008, Credit Crisis Contest, Fuze Meeting Tell a Story Contest). All previous contests are linked from this page.