January 31, 2012
Teens Migrating to Twitter… for Privacy?
First published on Technorati by Adrianne M. P.
We all know teenagers in general since all of us have been in that age period. In every generation, they are an easy target when it comes to introducing items and concepts that would eventually become the latest, long-running trends.
Anything the media promotes as the latest, hottest trends to arrive this year, teenagers get easily hooked in to these trends for various reasons, mainly just to keep with the times and to survive peer pressure. One of the major Social networking communities such as Facebook, MySpace, and lately Google+ have been taking internet communication by storm, but microblogging services such as Twitter and Tumblr are not falling behind.Even if that was the case, the term “microblogging” is still not quite part of the teens’ technological vocabulary just yet due to various reasons: privacy issues, too many older users, and most of all, it’s way too public.
But who is to say that social networking as a whole would not catch on towards older users, in particular, parents of teenagers from age 40 and up? Though larger social networking services, Facebook in particular, have the advantage of keeping every profile page as private as they can with only access to trusted friends.
The only disadvantage to Facebook is that once they set up a username for their URL, it can no longer be changed, no matter how many times that users change their display names in their profiles to avoid getting discovered through search results. As a result, not-so-wanted individuals, such as parents, siblings, or any family member, can easily track them down and “add” them in their Friends list.
In addition to that, not very many individuals are familiar with Facebook’s sometimes not-so-user-friendly features in terms of customizing security and privacy, which can be really frustrating for the non-tech-savvy user. Lastly, a user can’t have more than one account; in order to have multiple accounts, that user must also have multiple email addresses in order to create these other accounts.
Lately, teens now turn to simple microblogging services, in particular Twitter, in order to make their presence in the internet without being discovered by certain close loved ones, like family and some close friends.
Twitter allows users to change their usernames as many as they want without limits, have multiple accounts, still share photos and videos in different ways, not to mention that they can follow their favorite celebrities on their happenings without any form of restriction. Best of all, a user’s tweets doesn’t have to be completely public and have the power to provide access to anyone whom they trust. Twitter’s customizing settings are also easy to use and to navigate, making the service one of the most user-friendly for the non-tech savvy folk.
In a study conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a nonprofit organization monitoring tech-based habits of the general public, 16% of youth from ages 12 to 17 used Twitter as of last July. Two years before, that same percentage was just 8%. Another survey conducted by the organization also showed that nearly one in five 18- to 29-year-olds have grown to using Twitter on a regular basis.
One teen at a study stated that being on Facebook is like shouting to a crowd, while Twitter is like speaking to a room. Teens also stated to the Pew researchers that, like peer pressure in school, they feel social pressure on Facebook, in which they have to feel obliged to “friend” someone whom they don’t know very well or may feel uncomfortable with.
Twitter, on the other hand, helps teens maintain their privacy and easily be able to share their thoughts, their photos and videos or any cool discoveries to their most trusted friends without having it spread to friends of friends or even family members.
Today, teens use Twitter for a variety of reasons. Privacy and security has become the primary reason why.
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January 30, 2012
Twitter’s Country Specific Censorship May Be Good for Human Rights
First published on Technorati by Craig Blaha.
Twitter announced a new censorship policy recently that would allow the company to block Tweets on a country by country basis. If, for example, Germany wanted to block a Tweet it believed violated copyright, that Tweet would only be made unavailable to Germans. Twitter will block Tweets in a country “In the face of a valid and applicable legal order.”
This new policy initially met with negative reaction, including calls for protesting Twitter on January 28.
Some are saying the new policy is actually one of the best ways a global social media company can protect free speech. Twitter has been required to remove offending material for some time, DMCA complaints in countries like the U.S. are one easy to understand example. Once removed, these Tweets are no longer available to anyone. The new policy would allow Twitter to block offending content in only the country that is complaining about that content, based on IP address.
Here is where most supporters agree that Twitter has gone above and beyond in this new policy. While the Tweet is removed from the new country, it is listed on a new section of the chilling effects web site – www.chillingeffects.org/twitter . This action essentially allows the rest of the community to be aware not only that the Tweet was removed, but the content of the Tweet. Tracking the actions of oppressive regimes would be possible with this type of scheme.
In addition, Twitter has shared information on how to circumvent it’s blocking policy by manually changing your country setting, essentially associating your IP address with a different country.
This has led one well-respected blogger to comment “In this particular policy, Twitter has done everything it can do to help free-speech advocates around the world except deliver coffee and bagels in the morning.”
The devil is in the details, so we will need to wait and see how Twitter implements the policy and whether oppressive regimes block the site entirely because of the easy circumvention and public awareness of censorship.
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January 27, 2012
Google, Facebook and the Question of Privacy
First published on Technorati by Leslie Kossoff.
Google recently announced that it’s changing its privacy policy. This is big news.
Sure, there’s lots of legalese involved (although they’re promising that the new policy will be more ‘transparent’) and they’re consolidating what were previously sixty (yes, that’s 60) separate policies into one (yes, that’s 1) – but, according to them, they’re doing it so that the user experience will be improved.
Yes and no.
Google has been under the gun for privacy concerns lately – both in the US and Europe. But what’s really interesting is why it has become such an issue.
And that takes us to Facebook – the grandaddy of all privacy violators…not that they see it that way, of course.
The question is: Should you?
Facebook’s business model has nothing to do with your enjoyment. Sure, they’ve got their extensive selection of games and apps, and, of course, you can keep up with everyone in your group…and others whom you may or may not know and who may or may not know you. You can post your photos and do the news. You can promote your business.
You can put all the information in the world about yourself out there for anyone to see. And there’s that question again: Is that okay with you?
(This, by the way, is why their new Timeline function is so contentious.)
One of the most interesting trends in Facebook-land is that in the US, they’re losing users. Granted, with their numbers (over 800 million worldwide), it’s not a big deal. But, in fact, it is – because the reason they’re losing users in their most mature market is because the students who were willing to put their drinking habits, partying and comments about their ‘friends’ online for everyone to see are now realizing that those data are available for recruiters and HR organizations to review.
Big oops. Big, big problem.
From the Facebook corporate perspective, of course, it doesn’t matter – because you’re not human to them. You’re a demographic. You’re available data that they can sell to improve their advertising revenues. You’re the profitability that is about to make them one of the biggest IPOs of all times.
Google, particularly with the advent and growing success of Google+, is no different – other than the fact that they did their IPO years ago. Quite successfully, too. And in the ensuring years, its revenues and profits have continued to grow.
Now, under the guise of ‘transparency’ and a more seamless user experience – and, most particularly, because they’re in direct competition with Facebook for your eyes and attention – you need to be as actively concerned about your Google experience (on all their platforms) as you are on Facebook and using other social media tools.
And that leads us to the human question – and it’s one that only you can answer:
What do you want people to know…whether about you or your organization?
The given is that you’re going to be using these platforms. Whether it’s for promoting your business, keeping in touch with family and friends or finding people from your past, chances are you’re going to log on to one or more of them.
So, when next you take a look at your Facebook or Google+ or YouTube or Vimeo or Twitter or any other account that has a ‘social’ component – take a look at their privacy policy, too.
Because what you can’t escape is that they’re looking at you
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Investing in Social Media Means Keeping a Careful Watch on Accounts
First published on Technorati by Lisa Stephens.
Financial advisers can draw a wealth of information from following clients and leading edge businesses on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. These advisory firms typically keep secure features such as filters and secure firewalls in place on their systems to protect internal computer networks. These precautionary measures may not be enough to monitor profiles, especially if profiles are being stalked by hackers.
The risk may be beyond the customary fear that a disgruntled or dissatisfied user might decide to post false or misleading information out of spite or to create some competitive breach within a daily internet workstream. It could be that some connections a firm may allow are designed to infect or hack a system in order to inflict harm and disrupt an adviser’s computer network, say technology professionals.
“I don’t think advisers have given much thought to protecting themselves from hacking on social media sites,” says Korrine Kohm, vice president at Ascendant Compliance Management. Although these firms may have safeguards in place for internal computer networks, these do not extend to applications which create access to social networking sites on various portable devices, according to Kohm. The fear is that advisers may neglect the guarded vigilance it takes to notice a potential for risk.
Social media monitoring, archiving software, and personal responsibility can help advisers keep track of their network communications. Keeping aware of internet contact, and keeping track of every incoming or outgoing communication should make anything out of the ordinary an immediate and an obvious red flag for investigation by corporate and individual administrator, per profile. This should eliminate concerns over hacking which regulators monitor.
Currently, advisers must archive posts and messages for a period of three years, according to recent regulatory guidelines. Hackers could distort archives should they gain access, according to Conrad Jacoby, a senior attorney at Winston & Strawn LLP in Washington.
Glen Gilmore, a social media lawyer and principal at Gilmore Business Network, a consultancy in Hamilton, New Jersey, suggests monitoring communications through regular, ongoing reviews of social media profiles which should keep advisers immediately aware should a problem arise or a breach occur. This would include early response for reputation management should an embarrassing message come from a hacker.
“Companies have to anticipate there will be problems,” says Mr. Gilmore, “but how they handle it is what separates who masters social media and who doesn’t.”
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January 24, 2012
Will Twitter Better Protect Its Tweets Acquiring Antimalware Company Dasient?
First published on Technorati by Carole Ditosti.
A week ago one of the Linked In writer’s groups that I belong to and support was hacked. Our busy, unwitting group member who shares my first name, unconsciously clicked on a link bit and fouled our lovely, fur-lined and comfy thread nest. ARGHH!!! She was hacked through Twitter. Hmmm. Warned you about this! Apparently, she didn’t read my article. Mental note: send all Technorati articles related to “cloud computing, IT and social media” to LI writers’ group thread.
It was the usual hacking bot tweet: “You seen what they been saying about you…” Please observe the English. That made me cringe more than the inanity of the message. Bots are only as smart as their…”whatevers!” Well, thank you Twitter; they did locate the spammer/hacker and tied him up by his index fingers. NOT! However, “Carol” did inform the thread that Twitter notified her that she had been the victim of the predator. Then, I, of course, received funny comments about being the one who spread the plague, etc. (that little “e” tripped up a few) Actually the hacker did me a favor, indirectly, and my score was up a smidge on LI stats.
Bottom line, how can you easily have fun, do brisk business and share information when this noxious drek shows up in your tweets, compelling the curious part of your nature toward a hazardous and inauspicious click? Thank goodness, Twitter is very anxious to keep our party going. How? By purchasing Dasient and I, for one, say, “Yeah!”
Dasient, according to its site, is a cloud-based Web antimalware technology company. It was introduced in 2010 to protect advertisement networks and publishers from malicious ads.
According to reports citing Neil Daswani’s blog (Daswani is the co-founder and chief technology officer) “Over the last year, we have been very active in securing the ads and content of the some of the industry’s largest ad networks and web sites.”
The company’s web antimalware platform (launched in 2009) is capable of scanning URLs (uniform resource locators) and websites for the presence of harmful content. Twitter’s acquisition syncs with its intention to increase revenues from advertising including promoted Twitter messages and accounts.
In return securing itself in theTwitterverse, Dasient is applying technology and team to the world’s largest real-time information network by joining Twitter’s “revenue engineering” team, admitted Daswani. No mixed metaphors in Twitter’s tweet or questioning of the company’s determination that, “Dasient is joining the flock!” And this appears immediate for Dasient’s business redirection has prompted the company to shut out acceptance of new customers.
Dasient, founded by Google Ventures and others in 2008, has not yet disclosed its financial arrangements with Twitter.
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The Social Media Mind Needed for Online Success
First published on Technorati by David Amerland.
Social media is more than just a presence in social media networks and it’s more than just a continuation of some of our traditional ‘broadcast’ media forms of communication. It has become the secret sauce that’s humbled global corporations, brought down oppressive governments, is unlocking secrets science has tried to unlock for almost half a century and it continues to change our world with every passing day.
In 2011 there were so many companies lining up to fail that producing my video Top Ten Social Media Failures of 2011 became more a struggle of what I should leave out rather than finding material to put in. Since then we have seen the epic failure of brands like Blackberry with the suspicion that much of their social media failure is symptomatic, indicating deeper and graver failures which remain disguised by corporate processes until they are too late to fix.
Social media is a game changer because it is a fully disruptive technology and, as such, requires an entirely new way of thinking. This is exactly the problem for many companies. It is not hard to understand that even those which are willing to embrace social media, find it difficult to do so because:
- Business is still going on, there are initiatives, drives and developments which have been some time coming, are active and they are the result of pre-social media thinking, which is clearly understood and can be guided.
- Existing company structures do not allow for the easy insertion of social media practices beyond what can easily be accommodated in the current company structure.
- The person responsible for greenlighting the adoption of social media practices does not ‘get it’.
These are stumbling blocks which create problems, certainly, but here’s the thing. Social Media is not going to go away simply because it does not ‘fit in’ with a company’s speed of change of its internal new media marketing adoption processes. As report after report after report shows it will continue to expand, grow and require more, not fewer, companies to have it in their business communication model as standard.
Those which do not get involved for fear of getting it wrong are no more immune to social media disasters than those which do (and they will suffer from their inability to respond properly when they have to). As the Davos summit leaders, currently trying to work out what should be done to help resolve the world’s global crisis, point out, this is the “age of damage”, where “social media create a world of radical transparency”. An age where what is needed to address it is the ability to develop a true social media mind.
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January 23, 2012
Why Facebook’s New Timeline Apps Will Change The Way Brands Use Facebook
First published on Technorati by George Guildford.
Last week saw Facebook announce the launch of more than 60 new integrated partner applications within the Facebook Timeline, once more bringing about a promise for a new social media experience to users. Much in the same way we saw some months ago with the integration of the Spotify music streaming service, this latest move is a further indication of Facebook’s focus upon becoming an even bigger part of people’s everyday lives and experiences. Moreover, the latest group of apps to be added including eBay, Foursquare, FoodSpotting, Zynga and TripAdvisor are only the start of what is sure to become a game-changing addition to the social network.
At the heart of the latest additions is Facebook’s focus on users sharing and interacting more, urging others to express who they are, be it “a runner, foodie, traveler, music fan, movie buff…” – all of which will undoubtedly shine as a beacon of light to brands who now have the opportunity to creatively integrate with the everyday lifestyle and interests of Facebook’s 800 million users.
Where Spotify enabled fans to share what they are ‘listening to’, Facebook has indicated that the list of activities brands and apps will be able to present to users are endless – from watching and reading, to cooking or wearing. More importantly, no longer will Facebook user activities be defined by ‘likes’ – and this is something that up until now every brand has worked towards achieving.
With smartphone apps such as Foursquare enabling users to check-in to locations and social media agencies will need to take into consideration when streamlining their approach towards both acquisition and engagement, but in fact, many brands will have to adjust their approach entirely. Before too long, current approaches to chase ‘Likes’ and comments will soon appear dated and out-of-touch with the direction Facebook and its users are heading.
The hustle and bustle of making it onto Fan news feeds is also about to get much more interesting. Brands and online PR companies will have to work even harder to capture attention and become part of user everyday lives. Wall posts and content will now need to become even more visually appealing and focused on interactivity and engagement. There’s also the question of how EdgeRank will factor in the latest changes. For example, will more weight and relevance be placed on users sharing ‘activities’ than ‘likes’ and ‘comments’?
Of course, it is far too soon to tell; however, for those brands able to take advantage of the new Open Graph activities feature, the opportunity to provide something creative and unique as well as increase visibility, engagement and acquisition throughout the platform will be impossible to overlook – with Spotify’s recent success presenting the perfect example of this. Within just six weeks of partnering with Facebook back in September 2011, Spotify saw more than 4 million new users and over 1.5 billion song shares, something that only further emphasizes the opportunities that exist for brands that are able to tap-in to the day-to-day activities and interests of fans and users.
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January 18, 2012
List of Sites Going Dark Today Over SOPA, and How Yours Can Too
First published on Technorati by Steve Woods.
Just as they’ve been warning for a few weeks now, a variety of websites, some small and others large in scope and influence, have shut down their virtual doors today in response to the possible passage of the Stop Online Piracy Act, otherwise known as SOPA.
The controversial legislation, before the House of Representatives, has caused nothing less than outrage from Internet service providers and their customers. The legislation, meant to stop companies from copying, or “pirating” content or software from others and reselling it, has been seen by many as over-reaching, a “sprawling new regime” of laws which will “stifle investment” and further “chill free speech” across the Globe.
Seems a bit hypocritical, to see such a law, created by a governing body which has refined to an art the practice of copying each other party’s stale ideas, covering up under the thin veil of a new name, then reselling the canned content to the masses every four years. No single SOPA-threatened site can match the profits derived from our own government’s freedom-infringing practices.
So Who’s Down Today?
Here’s a list of sites that have provided informational links explaining SOPA’s issues, or will go partially or completely dark sometime today, in hopes to raise awareness by its users, exhorting them to action.
If you believe SOPA will wither at the roots of a free Internet, please take the time to respond to the many petition links you’ll find at the sites on this list. If you find a site whose unrestricted content you can’t live without, please respond in the comments below with a link, and Technorati will add it to the list.
Want to black out your own site?
Want to black out parts of your own site in protest? CloudFlare has a free, simple app for that, and Sopa Strike has site code snippets available to copy and paste to your WordPress or other site.
Showing your support with your Social Network Profile
Want to share with your online “peeps” your dread over SOPA possibly passing? Change up your Facebook, Twitter or Google+ avatar to show your solidarity with the growing list of sites going down today.
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January 17, 2012
IBM Adds to its Social Business Tools with New Analytics
First published on Technorati by Adi Gaskell.
Lotusphere 2012 launched last week, with Big Blue solidifying their position as leaders in the social business software space. The event has seen IBM unveil a ranch of new software and services to help companies deliver social networking capabilities to employees that increasingly demand them.
The most interesting thing for me however was the launch of new analytic tools. They will allow customers to see at the touch of a button insight into their social networking activities, anytime, anywhere.
That IBM were set to launch this kind of feature is a pretty badly kept secret given the aggressive acquisition strategy they have been on. In the last 5 years IBM have spent over $14 billion on analytics companies. That investment is set to pay off, with the company suggesting that they expect analytics to bring in $16 billion in revenue by 2015.
The social analytics software scours blogs, wikis, email, activity streams and the other social functionality provided by IBM and flags data for action. The new IBM Connections is expected to also allow for instant collaboration with one simple click and the ability to build social communities both inside and outside the organization to increase customer loyalty and speed business results.
Jeff Schick, vice president of social software at IBM, said “What you’ll see at Lotusphere is analytics, analytics, analytics and mobile, mobile, mobile”.
Today, at Lotusphere 2012, IBM is announcing new cloud services and the next-generation of its social networking platform, IBM Connections, which Schick refers to as “Connections Next.” The new software incorporates sophisticated analytics capabilities, real-time data monitoring, and faster collaborative networks both inside and outside the organization through IBM’s secure SmartCloud services.
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Obama, Cantor: SOPA Stalled Until We Have Consensus
First published on Technorati by Craig Blaha.
The controversial piracy legislation, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) has met some strong resistance over the last few days. The White House has come out against a one-sided solution to piracy in a blog post on Saturday, saying:
While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.
In addition, Representative Issa has said that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has assured him that the SOPA vote that was scheduled for this week has been canceled, and the bill removed from the floor until consensus has been reached.
While some have taken this to mean SOPA is dead, Forbes points out that the companion legislation to SOPA, the Protect IP Act, has already been passed by the Senate and could move forward, with modifications to appease the White House, in short order. In addition, Lamar Smith had already moved to take the DNS provisions out of SOPA, which is the part of the bill that technologists were saying would break the Internet and create a censorship firewall around the U.S.
With three piracy bills still in play; PIPA, SOPA, OPEN, and the tech community feeling as if they have defeated the one bill everyone has been focusing on, will Wikipedia, Reddit and others move forward with their planned service blackout tomorrow?
Image: http://www.newswhip.com/U.S.
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January 12, 2012
Facebook Shuts Down Nevada History Project
First published on Technorati by Craig Blaha.
University of Nevada Special Collections Director Donnelyn Curtis and staff spent considerable time researching the lives of two UN alumni, Joe McDonald and Leola Lewis, with financial support from the McDonald family. McDonald and Lewis were dating back in 1911 when they attended the University, and Curtis thought Facebook would be a great way to educate people not only about the couples lives, but about the time period and history of the campus, according to the University web site.
University staff began to create Facebook posts using the profiles of the two alumni, discussing their relationship, the campus, and the history of Reno. After coverage by the Chronicle of Higher Education and other media outlets, the couple gained over 3,000 friends.
Facebook deleted the profiles this morning because they violated Facebook’s terms of service:
You will not provide any false personal information on Facebook, or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission.
According to the Chronicle, Curtis may try to recreate the couple using Facebook pages. A more appropriate option may be Microsoft’s new social media site, So.cl, designed by Microsoft’s Fuse labs specifically to explore the use of social media in learning.
We have seen similar action taken against Salman Rushdie in November, but after rallying his Twitter followers, Rushdie was able to get his account reinstated. The removal of these fictional accounts underscores the risk that historical records created using social networking services like Facebook can be lost. At least Twitter records would be preserved by the Library of Congress.
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Reddit Declares War on SOPA
First published on Technorati by Craig Blaha.
Social news aggregator Reddit has announced their plan to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act, SOPA, by blocking access to the Reddit service on January 18th from 8am – 8pm Eastern Standard time. Visitors who try to access the site will see a message about how the proposed legislation will effectively shut down sites like Reddit. The message will also have a list of resources, and will play the live video stream of the House hearing organized by Representative Issa.
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Representative Issa (R-CA) will hold a hearing on January 18 to discuss the potential implications of SOPA on the DNS system, American innovation, and job creation, according to a press release. Witnesses include Lanham Napier: Chief Executive Officer, Rackspace Hosting, Alexis Ohanian, Co-Founder, Reddit.com, and a number of other tech industry representatives.
Technorati reported that major tech companies such as Google were talking about a blackout to protest SOPA at the end of December. So far, Reddit is the first to issue a press release and set a firm date for a blackout, but CBS is reporting that Wikipedia may join the protest.
Reddit has asked community members to contribute ideas about what to do with all of their “extra cycles” on January 18th by contributing to r/SOPA.
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January 9, 2012
Social Discovery Sites, Next Big Thing?
First published on Technorati by Geoff Simon.
You might of heard buzz about the new social discovery site Pinterest recently, how it’s the next big social media site, poised to take off. Recently the site broke the top 10 social sites for the month of November 2011 based on total visits. According to a report by Experian Hitwise, Pinterest received 11 million visits for the week ending December 17th of 2011. This is impressive growth for a site that still requires an invitation to join.
It makes you wonder if the demand is for social discovery sites in general or if it’s secondary demand for the Pinterest brand specifically. You have to think that Pinterest is the leader and who everyone wants to write about, but there are other social discovery sites out there, perhaps with some advantages over Pinterest.
20blinks.com, based in Amsterdam is another social discovery site that lets users track art, music, crafts, recipes and other trends in collections that lend themselves to images as opposed to bookmarks. Think of these sites as a sort of delicious, but with images instead of text. 20blinks is still in beta but doesn’t require you to have an invitation to join. It also seems to be more popular in different demographic, geographic and psyhographic circles. Based in Amsterdam, a good portion of UK folks visit 20blinks, it also seems popular with an younger, edgier art crowd, and it allows sharing from more outlets.
For instance, Pinterest only allows YouTube videos, 20blinks lets you import videos to your collections from a range of video sites. They also have a “Blink it” button that allows users to easily add sites/images to collections right from their browser. So if you don’t have a Pinterest invite or want to check out similar social discovery sites, 20blinks is open to the public and worth checking out if you’re looking for a visual billboard to keep your collections of ideas or maybe resolutions for the new year?
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The 4 Questions: Social Media and a Strategic Plan
First published on Technorati by Bruce Newman.
A January 1st, 2012 article in the New York Times discussed the four questions that IBM’s outgoing president, Samuel J. Palmisano, developed and strongly adhered to during his highly successful tenure. These four questions (quoted below from the article), are very applicable to almost every business.
• Why would someone spend their money with you — so what is unique about you?
• Why would somebody work for you?
• Why would society allow you to operate in their defined geography — their country?
• And why would somebody invest their money with you?
They are also extremely relevant to social media 
which, to be successful in this highly competitive marketplace, requires a top-down approach and implementation of a strategic plan.
Although almost all companies have entered the online and social media space in one form or another, much of the adoption of social media has been haphazard. According to a January 5, 2012 Altimeter study of 144 large companies, only 43% of them reported having “a formalized strategy road map that addresses how social will meet specific business goals”. This is in direct contrast to the specific four question approach successfully utilized by IBM.
I recently spoke with a rapidly growing software developer who discussed this point at length. Their answer – when distilled to a few words was essentially, “we’re up on the latest software developments and frankly, we do better work than our competitors – and we can prove it”.
The proof comes from the results of their work along with client testimonials. So, to address the second question, people would work for you because of foresight, utilization of key technologies (when applicable), the quality of your work and demonstrable results – which would also make companies more inclined to hire your company. All of these accomplishments should be highly touted by social media.
Testimonials and word-of-mouth referrals are two of the most effective means of generating attention and business in social media. Their avid discussion and presence can generate enormous buzz, opportunities and sales. It is rumored that Google will – yet again – be modifying their search algorithm this spring to further emphasize these topics of communication.
One of the hottest areas of social media involves geography. Tools and platforms now provide added emphasis on local services. Both Google and Yahoo are actively promoting their local listing and advertising services. For many businesses, these have proved to be both cost-effective and successful. Interestingly, the geographic capabilities of mobile devices and such popular location services sites such as Foursquare, Yelp and Gowalla (which will be shut down by Facebook later this year) – particularly those utilizing mobile apps – have not been successful in penetrating mainstream usage despite a huge amount of press coverage. A recent Forrester Study depicted only a 5% penetration rate in which people use location apps more than once per month, up only slightly from 4% in 2010.
Since most businesses are not huge publicly held companies such as IBM, its final question could be rewritten as, “Why would someone invest their trust in you?” Since online business is about developing trust and building relationships, this is a very important question.
Social media is increasingly viewed as a social interactive medium, not as a sales platform for companies offering a service. In generating new business, companies should use several social media platforms to promote a common theme; one that will facilitate communication with them and the building of a trust relationship. Trust could come as an expert – webinars are excellent tools to achieve this goal, by reputation, testimonials, word of mouth or even by the quality of content. This pre-condition helps set the tone for future and more direct conversations.
IBM’s four questions are relevant to most businesses regardless of their size. Utilizing these questions for both traditional and social media marketing purposes with targeted goals and a documented strategy can greatly facilitate success, attention, sales and the acquisition of new customers.
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The London Olympics are the Twitter Games (Except for the Staff)
First published on Technorati by Adi Gaskell.
The British Olympic Association chief Andy Hunt wants this summers Games to be the very first Twitter Olympics. He told the BBC recently that he wants athletes to use Twitter and other social media to lift the lid on what goes on at the Games and to give supporters unheralded access to the inner workings at the event.
“We want athletes to embrace all aspects of media, including social media,” he said.
“Provided people think very carefully about what they say, it is a great way to engage with the British public.”
He added: “For some athletes, there will be very clear rules around when they tweet before, during and after competition.
“The International Olympic Committee themselves are really pushing the use of social media and we support that.
“There are going to be some real clear guidelines about what to say and what not to say.”
Sadly such requests to use Twitter are limited to athletes only. Staff working at the 2012 Olympics have been told that they should not use social media during their shifts.
The social media policy for staff working at the Games provided detailed instructions on what staff are not allowed to share online. This includes:
- disclosing their location via services such as Facebook or Foursquare
- not getting involved in detailed discussions about the Games
So the organisers of the Games fully expect athletes to share their excitement but staff, most of which will be volunteering their spare time to make the Games possible, are not afforded the same principle.
What a wasted opportunity to engage a large group of people that have clearly signed up due to their passion for the Games and what they represent. The restrictive social media policy prevents those staff from sending a tweet or a Facebook update to their friends saying they’re at the 100m final (for instance). Nor can they talk about the Games at a time when the world will be focused on London for a month.
There are plenty that think social media should be banned at work, but surely the Olympic Games are a completely different story, especially when the vast majority of those staffing the event are unpaid volunteers.
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January 6, 2012
Social Networks Think Outside the Box
First published on Technorati by Lisa Stephens.
Gartner, an IT analyst and business development research firm, recently released the latest report in its series of future predictions for 2012 and beyond it calls Gartner Predicts 2012. This latest report in the series explores the possibility for new directions for social networks in maintaining solvency while adapting to current life circumstances.
Using data they extracted late last November, Gartner researchers confirm the increase in the number of online banking transactions, and they explain the rapid drive for consumers to conduct the business of their daily lives online, through secure transactions, as being relevant, and a permanent shift in the way Americans maneuver through their day. Gartner suggests that this adjustment in mentality will create a niche for social networks which thus far has been overlooked.
“Offering insurance products to their communities would be a natural extension of social media providers’ financial services strategies,” offers Juergen Weiss, a Gartner analyst. He writes, this “would allow them to capitalize on their extensive set of information they constantly collect about their users.” Mr. Weiss predicts this to be another place for social networks to offer services.
Weiss further projects, that ‘within the next few years’ social networks could offer banking services, and then potentially some insurance services, possibly through joint ventures.
Meanwhile, back at the farm …
Weiss attributes Facebook’s new timeline feature which allows subscribers to adjust and amend ‘everyday’ events – getting married, finding a new job, entering retirement (to name one or two), with providing Facebook the motive, means and opportunity to abscond with such vital statistics in the normal course of routine business. Weiss predicts that the ability for the social networks to ingest this information will create a space for the network itself to potentially offer a more secure competing service.
More incentive to keep profiles accurate and tidy.
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BitTorrent Launches a Social File Sharing Service
First published on Technorati by Craig Blaha.
BitTorrent, the company responsible for developing the BitTorrent protocol that claimed over 100 million monthly active users, has launched a new file sharing application called Share on Thursday.
Designed to compete with DropBox and other cloud-based file sharing services, Share allows a subscriber to share files with an unlimited number of personal contacts. Users can comment on files in real time while they are being shared, adding a social networking dimension to filesharing.
Share has been built on Amazon’s EC2 and S3 services, according to GigaOm, which allows files to be cached in the cloud until the recipient has retrieved them. There is no size limit imposed by BitTorrent for users of the service. Other companies have offered similar services but failed under the cost of hosting huge amounts of data, but BitTorrent plans to offset costs by distributing the bandwidth and storage among users of the service, which is how the BitTorrent protocol was designed.
This new software offering comes at an interesting time given the discussion of the anti-piracy legislation SOPA and the latest report highlighting U.S. attitudes and use of file sharing. The idea of sharing files among friends and family, according to the study conducted by the American Assembly, a research group affiliated with Columbia University, is embraced by 70% of Americans.
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