Here we will tell you how to use the VKontakte social network, help you take your first steps, collect useful tips, instructions, and give hints about things that are sometimes difficult to guess. Visitors often ask to teach them how to use Contact, to help them understand it, and we meet them halfway. How to avoid getting into trouble? How to use Contact to its full potential? We will write about all this here, information will be gradually added. Don’t forget to regularly visit the Login start page (vhod.ru).
I have a question
Restoring access to the page
- How to recover your VKontakte password and access to the site
- Restoring access to VKontakte if the phone number no longer exists
- How to find out and change your VK password if you forgot your old password
- What to do if you forgot your VKontakte login (or login and password)
- What to do if you forgot your last name, first name VKontakte
- Someone else's VKontakte page and my phone number. Why does he throw it on someone else’s page?
- What to do if your VKontakte page is hacked
- The VKontakte page was frozen. What to do? Solution
- The working page has been blocked. What to do?
- The VKontakte page was blocked forever. What to do?
- What to do if the VKontakte code does not arrive
- The code was sent to personal messages on VKontakte. Why? What to do?
- VKontakte: quick password recovery is not available. Why? What to do?
- Flood error on VKontakte when recovering your password. What to do?
- Server error when logging into VKontakte. What to do?
- What to do if you don’t have a passport, but VKontakte requires it to restore access?
- What to do if VKontakte does not accept photos in the background of an application for restoration?
- The application to restore the VKontakte page was rejected. What to do?
- How to recover a deleted VKontakte page
Platform
For us, of course, the architecture of the project is of particular interest: how the main components of the system interact, what in-house developments were required, what tricks we had to use. But before moving on to it, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic things - the technologies and products used.
Debian Linux is used as the main operating system - a time-tested solution, one of the oldest and most stable modern distributions. To balance the load between application servers, the nginx HTTP server operating in reverse proxy mode is used. His responsibilities include maintaining a connection with the user’s browser and transmitting requests to servers responsible for executing the PHP code, as well as monitoring the delivery of the result back to the browser. PHP code is executed using the mod_php module for Apache - there are quite a few alternative options, especially based on the FastCGI protocol, but VKontakte management took a more conservative path in this matter, using the most time-tested solution. No special systems for optimizing the performance of PHP code are used (for example, Facebook wrote its own PHP to C compiler called HipHop), the only external optimization is op-code caching using the publicly available XCache solution.
The situation with data storage looks quite vague: on the one hand, its own database management system, written in C and created by the “best minds” of Russia, is actively used, on the other hand, MySQL was often mentioned as the main storage. I will tell you more about my own VKontakte database below. Speaking about data storage, one cannot fail to mention such an important aspect as caching frequently used information (locating it in RAM for quick access). For this, a very popular product in this area is used - memcached. If you haven't heard: this system allows you to perform very simple atomic operations, such as locating and retrieving arbitrary data by key. The main feature is lightning-fast access and the ability to easily combine the RAM of a large number of servers into a common array for temporary storage of “hot” data.
Third-party projects that are not key to VKontakte are often implemented either using rather exotic solutions, or, conversely, using the simplest technologies. For example, the instant messaging service is implemented on node.js (you can read more about this development in the article "" in) using the XMPP aka Jabber protocol (we will return to it later). Video conversion is implemented using the simplest and most effective library - ffmpeg, which also runs the very popular VLC video player.
Problem solving
- What to do if you don’t get into Contact
- What to do if you created two pages for one VKontakte number
- What to do if VKontakte says “This number has been recently used”?
- VKontakte error “User not found”. What to do?
- There is no VKontakte page associated with this phone number. What to do?
- VKontakte access error. What to do?
- What to do if the first name or last name on VKontakte does not change, or the application is rejected?
- How to recover a deleted VKontakte photo
- What to do if I can’t add a person as a friend on VKontakte
- What to do if VKontakte messages are not sent
- What to do if the recipient is blocked
- How to write if your VKontakte personal account is closed
- How to contact VKontakte support
Register an account
How to use Contact
When VKontakte first appeared, it was easy to register there. All you had to do was provide your email address and create a password. A couple of years later, when the social network gained popularity, the registration rules were changed. It has become necessary to obtain a recommendation from a registered user so that the account being created is approved by the administration.
But today the registration process on the site takes a few minutes and does not require confirmation from third parties.
To start registering on the site, follow the link vk.com. On the page that opens, select and click the “Instant registration” button. Enter your first and last name in the form provided and click “Register”.
You'll spend the next three steps filling out information so your friends can find you.
First step : choosing the school where you studied. There, enter your years of study and graduation date, and select the letter of your class. From the list of graduates that appears, you can add all your classmates as friends.
Second step : finding classmates. Here you need to enter into the form the name of your university, graduation date and faculty where you studied. A list of those who graduated from this university at the same time as you will appear again; you can immediately make friends.
Third step : finding colleagues. Here, in the search field, enter the name of the organization you worked for and years of work. If there are several organizations, at the bottom of the form click on the “add” button and enter the details of the next place of work. The algorithm for adding friends is the same as in the previous steps. Select colleagues from the list that opens and send them an invitation to be friends.
You have now reached the “Complete Registration” stage. Here you indicate the country in which you live and your mobile phone number. Wait for an SMS with an access code to the site, enter it in the “confirm registration” column.
Congratulations, you have passed the first test in VKontakte: how to use the registration page.
Other instructions
- VKontakte: what does “Page deleted” mean?
- How to see friends' birthdays on VKontakte
- How to change VKontakte password
- How to block a person on VKontakte
- VKontakte blacklist: how to see how to remove a person from the blacklist
- How to find out that you have been blocked on VKontakte
- How to change the VKontakte font
- How to return the old version of VKontakte
- Where in the new version of VKontakte... are the settings, my answers, exit, player...?
- How to log into the full version of VKontakte
Personal page interface
Once you learn how to use the registration field in contact, don’t relax. Now you need to fill your personal page as much as possible in order to increase readers’ interest in it.
If, after reading our instructions on VKontakte: how to use your page, you are still in doubt, watch the video that will help you understand the intricacies of the social network and start taking action!
We've released a new book, Social Media Content Marketing: How to Get Inside Your Followers' Heads and Make Them Fall in Love with Your Brand.
In 2021, VK launched a new format for publishing posts. Now you can create beautiful text with media files and the design of headings and quotes without having to worry about wiki markup. The editor you need to work in is simple, convenient and saves your time! Your energy will only go into writing content. But the main thing is that your material will look perfect on any device. It will load instantly even with a weak Internet connection. What’s even nicer is that it will be read by a large audience, since the longread can be opened even by those who are not logged into the social network.
Are you ready to try this publication format in action? Let's get started right now! It's not difficult and you won't notice how you'll master all the functionality in a few minutes.
Helpful Tips and Tricks
- How to see who is online on VKontakte? How to find out who visited the page?
- How to find out when a person visited VKontakte and how to hide the time of visit
- VKontakte messages - new, unread, deleted
- How to edit (change) sent messages on VKontakte
- How to delete a sent message on VKontakte
- How to recover deleted VKontakte messages, dialogue, correspondence
- How to remove a like (“I like”) on VKontakte
- How to find a person on VKontakte
- How to find a post (wall post) on VKontakte
- How to find out VKontakte ID
- How to find the page of a person or group on VKontakte by ID (id)
Share
Tweet
Architecture
The most noticeable difference from the architecture of many other large Internet projects is the fact that VKontakte servers are multifunctional. Those. there is no clear division into database servers, file servers, etc. — they are simultaneously used in several roles. In this case, the redistribution of roles occurs in a semi-automatic mode with the participation of system administrators. On the one hand, this optimizes the efficiency of using system resources, which is good, but on the other hand, it increases the likelihood of conflicts at the operating system level within one server, which entails stability problems. However, despite the use of servers in different roles, the project’s computing power is usually used by less than 20%.
Load balancing between servers occurs in a multi-layered manner, which includes balancing at the DNS level (the domain is served using 32 IP addresses), as well as request routing within the system, with different servers used for different types of requests. For example, generating pages with news (now called a microblog) works according to a clever scheme that uses the capabilities of the memcached protocol to send requests in parallel to obtain data from a large number of keys. If there is no data in the cache, a similar request is sent to the data storage system, and the results obtained are sorted, filtered and discarded at the PHP code level. This functionality works in a similar way on Facebook (they recently exchanged experience), only instead of Facebook’s own DBMS they use MySQL.
A large amount of software has been developed within the walls of VKontakte, which more accurately meets the needs of the project than available opensource and commercial solutions. In addition to the aforementioned proprietary DBMS, they have a monitoring system with notification via SMS (Pavel himself helped design the interface), an automatic code testing system, and statistics and log analyzers.
The project uses fairly powerful equipment; the following server characteristics were tentatively named:
- 8-core Intel processors (two per server, apparently);
- 64 GB of RAM;
- 8 hard drives;
- RAID is not used (replication and backup are carried out at the software level).
It is noteworthy that the servers are not branded, but are assembled by a specialized Russian company. Now the project equipment is located in 4 data centers in St. Petersburg and Moscow, with the entire main database located in the St. Petersburg data center, and only audio and video are hosted in Moscow. There are plans to replicate the database with another data center in the Leningrad region, as well as use the Content Delivery Network to increase the speed of downloading media content in the regions.
Many projects faced with a large number of photos often invent their own solutions for storing them and delivering them to users. This was the first question asked to Pavel from the audience: “How do you store images?” - “On disks!” One way or another, representatives of VKontakte said that this whole bunch of photos of all colors and sizes is simply stored and served from the file system (they use xfs) of a large number of servers, without additional frills. The only confusing thing is that this approach didn’t work for other major projects - they probably didn’t know the magic word :).
No less magical is that very own database in C. This product, perhaps, received the main attention of the audience, but at the same time almost no details about what it, in fact, is, were ever made public. It is known that the DBMS was developed by the “best minds” of Russia, winners of Olympiads and TopCoder competitions, and also that it is used in the most heavily loaded VKontakte services:
- Private messages
- Messages on the walls
- Statuses
- Search
- Privacy
- Friends lists
Unlike MySQL, a non-relational data model is used, and most operations are performed in RAM. The access interface is an extended memcached protocol. Specially composed keys return the results of complex queries (most often specific to a particular service).
The system was designed taking into account the possibility of clustering and automatic data replication. The developers would like to make this system a universal DBMS and publish it under the GPL, but so far it has not been possible due to the high degree of integration with other services.
Interesting facts about VKontakte
- The development process is close to the Agile methodology with weekly iterations (cycles), within which all stages of development take place: planning, requirements analysis, design, development and testing.
- The operating system kernel has been modified (to work with memory), and there is its own package base for Debian.
- Photos are uploaded to two hard drives on one server at the same time and then backed up to another server.
- There are many improvements to memcached, incl. for more stable and long-term placement of objects in memory; There is even a version that ensures data safety.
- Photos are not deleted to minimize fragmentation.
- Decisions on the development of the project are made by Pavel Durov and Andrey Rogozov, responsibility for the services rests with them and the developer who implemented it.
- Pavel Durov has been saving money for hosting since his 1st year :).
Friends
The Friends tab displays the general list, and you can also additionally see people from the list of your friends who are online. As in the PC version, the VKontakte application on Android has an interactive search that allows you to quickly find a friend’s page without scrolling through the entire list. The utility also provides the ability to search for new friends using several methods:
- in the contact list of a mobile device;
- via Gmail;
- via Facebook;
- using an advanced search for VK accounts;
- on the list of potential friends.
You may be interested in: Updating the VK application on Android
Music and video
In video recordings, you can only view videos that you have added to your playlist.
It is also possible to open videos in public pages and groups.
You cannot view live broadcasts on the mobile version.
Fig. 11 – viewing added videos
The music listening window has a search field, a full list of your tracks, and a “Popular” tab.
With its help, you can select new tracks that the system will offer you based on user preferences.
Previously added audio can be deleted . To do this, click on the three dots next to each entry.
You can't open your custom playlists on the mobile version.
Fig. 12 - music
Ways to promote a VKontakte group
Having an established group is half the battle. It needs to be properly promoted - convey information about the group to social network users, inviting them to join the community. There are many options for promotion, the main thing is to bring the group to the TOP positions in search engines without blocking (ban). The number of participants, as a rule, indicates high-quality optimization. Free and paid methods are good for this purpose.
Your loan has been approved!
Free ways to promote a VK group:
- Unique filling
The uniqueness of the content and its quality have already been mentioned above. Repetition will not be superfluous. Receiving free consultations, recommendations, advice and other useful information is a powerful argument for attracting subscribers. Regular independent generation of content is important here; partial borrowing from other pages is also acceptable.
- Entertaining component
Do not neglect entertainment material, but in moderation, otherwise low quality traffic will be attracted. A little humor within the main theme wouldn't hurt.
- Everyone enjoys receiving prizes
Conducting competitions where the valuable prize is the products offered in the group or a discount on the product. The effect of such a marketing tool is one hundred percent.
- Choosing the right time to post
This helps to increase the number of participants and the number of views. It is optimal to do this in the evening, when potential “consumers” of content are at home and immersed in the Internet space.
- Communication with participants
It is useful to have feedback, that is, ask participants for advice: what additions to make on topics, what to remove, and so on.
- Send invitations
It is quite acceptable to invite unfamiliar users to the group through manual mailing. The rules of the VK website limit the number of such mailings to forty. Therefore, for proper efficiency, fake accounts are created. By the way, you don’t have to do manual mailing; you can use special programs.
- Optimize VK search
Optimize the resource in accordance with the criteria of the VKontakte search engine - introduce “keys” into all texts and signatures. It doesn’t matter what is being described (the band itself, a piece of music or a video), the main thing is what words are used as keys.
- Promotion in search engines (Google and others)
This process is similar to the one above. Here you also need to add keywords to all descriptions, but for other search systems. This is a different scale of promotion, significantly expanding the audience of potential subscribers.
- Reposts by exchange
Select a group with a similar topic for relevant exchange on an ongoing basis. The main thing is not to choose direct competitors.
- Use the leader's opinion
Interview an authoritative person and target advertising to an audience of his admirers. A leader's repost as an additional argument will help attract his fans. An article about a famous person followed by targeted advertising settings works well.
Paid methods for promoting a VKontakte group:
- Contextual advertising option
Allows you to popularize the community on pages with a specific topic. Launched from the page of the promoted group by clicking the “Community Advertising” button. The settings are quite clear. The required user criteria are indicated (city, interest, etc.) and payment is made. Here the advertiser needs to choose what he is willing to pay for: the number of impressions or clicks. In the first case, the price is lower and the efficiency is corresponding. The whole secret is in the right settings, then the success of promotion will not be slow to manifest itself.
- Promotion using a special program
This is the so-called high-speed method for recruiting participants, increasing likes, raising the level of commentary and other elements that characterize popular pages. Just one payment and popularity comes in a short period: articles are in high positions, posts are accompanied by comments and hearts. In addition, the process is fully automated; the main thing is to choose a good software product. There is still one drawback - the page can be banned.
- Promote a new group using other communities
In fact, you need to find well-promoted communities and advertise through them. It is recommended to use the services of special exchanges (for example, Sociate.ru), where the administration willingly adds advertising to the most attractive places. In any case, an assessment of the site is needed in terms of impact.
- Order automatic promotion
Resorting to the services of a special service means ordering a full-scale advertising campaign and quickly promoting yourself in the vastness of VKontakte. The most popular are V-like and VKTarget, but there are others. Significant disadvantage: high costs. This technique is relevant for the initial stage, during the formation of the group.
Application for Android and IOS
The mobile version of the site is available not only in the browser, but also in mobile applications.
They are better suited for touch screens and have an improved interface without losing functionality.
Official client
Android link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vkontakte.android&hl=ru
IOS link: https://itunes.apple.com/ru/app/vk/id564177498?mt=8
The application has a high level of security. Also, its interface is fully adapted for smartphones and you have access to many more functions than in the browser version of the site. For example, you can search for messages in conversations or on community walls.
In the mobile client, you can view stories and live broadcasts with participation in live chat.
Fig. 16 – Official mobile client
Kate Mobile
Kate Mobile is not an official application for VK, however, it is downloaded even more than the standard program.
All because of the unique features.
For example, in it the user can remain “invisible” and can listen to music for free.
The client is secure and does not share your data with third parties.
You can download the application from Google Play or on the developer’s website (https://katemobile.ru/)
Fig. 17 – Kate Mobile main window
Thematic videos:
« Previous entry
Problems with the Get Contact application
The ambiguous interpretation of the law on the protection of personal data leads to the fact that the application is in limbo. Official representatives of Roskomnadzor state in the press about the real possibility of restricting access to the application. However, at the moment the service continues to operate as normal.
Get Contact was blocked - what to do?
In a matter of days after the blocking in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, the development company released the GetContact_ application, which instantly hit the top of the App Store. The service was subsequently renamed Pootin. If the program is blocked and closed for download, community members will promptly receive a new application to log into the service from the official developer.
Why doesn't Get Contact work?
If the service was blocked in your country, then try going to the Play Market. If the application becomes unavailable for download, it means that officials have imposed a ban on the service. Now users just have to wait for the release of a new renamed version from Getcontact LLC. You can search by developer in the Play Market.
Get Contact doesn't open
The application may not open for only one reason - the device does not meet the minimum system requirements. If you are using an iPhone with iOS 9.3 (or newer) or a phone with Android 4.0.3 (or newer), then the application should work correctly. It cannot be installed on older models.
Entertainment
The Games section of the VKontakte application displays entertainment created specifically for VK users. Here you can start playing any proposed game from the Recommended, Strategy, Puzzle categories. Also on this page the successes and activity of friends in entertainment for VK are indicated. Latest VKontakte updates for Android:
- additional options in the utility settings;
- the ability to subscribe to notifications about new posts on community and people pages;
- commenting on posts on behalf of the community.
You may be interested in: TOP 8 free programs for downloading music from VK from an Android phone
Interesting facts off topic
- The development process is close to Agile, with weekly iterations
- The operating system kernel is modified (for working with memory), there is its own package base for Debian
- Photos are uploaded to two hard drives on one server at the same time and then backed up to another server
- There are many improvements to memcached, incl. for more stable and long-term placement of objects in memory; there is even a persistent version
- Photos are not deleted to minimize fragmentation
- Decisions on the development of the project are made by Pavel Durov and Andrey Rogozov, responsibility for the services lies with them and the developer who implemented it
- Pavel Durov saved money for hosting from the 1st year
