Is There an Optimal Time to Tweet?

This article on social media strategy caught my attention because it suggests strategies that are opposite to some I read about recently. However, the opposing advice is likely because the social media channels are different...tweets versus videos. While it was suggested in a previous article that the weekend was a bad time to release a video because people were not around (at work) and thus less likely to see and then forward the video, weekend mornings seem to be great for tweeting. The best weekend day for retweeting is Saturday. This latest piece of advice seems to work particularly well if trying to direct people to your Web site (for news organizations)...there isn’t as much competing activity during the weekend as there is during the week. No matter all the social media strategy advice out there, bottom line is that social media monitoring is key to keeping a pulse on what will work best for an organization in terms of it’s goals.

Trach's Candy Assignment: Storyboard for a YouTube Response

Created by: Alex, Delphine, Ohoud, Stephanie
(Click on image for a readable version)

Crowdsourcing a Better World

I have to admit I didn't know too much about crowdsourcing until we started talking more in-depth about it in class. The idea works well for fundraising and promotional ideas (like the Maroon5 song), but I thought it was really interesting how people are using it to solve serious crises in real-time. This NY Times article talks about how crowdsource sites like japanstatus.com and geigercrowd.net are popping up for people to get information on radiation levels in certain areas. Apparently people were frustrated with official sources of information, complaining that what they heard was bland or vague, and were looking for specific information about specific areas.

Another great example is from Kenya, where the crisis crowdsource site Ushahidi.com was developed to map reports of 2008 post-election violence and destruction. The site has since been used to organize volunteers in the Haiti earthquake, track election fraud in Mexico and map road obstacles in DC's own 2010 Snowmageddon! The article is a pretty good read, I recommend checking it out.

Perhaps our Future Blogger classes will be even more dynamic

Hello,

So Google has given Blogger a dynamic new look as of this Thursday: basically google is rolling out five new ways to view blog posts on Blogger to try to change the usual way people consume content on the internet.

The new viewing options will be discovered if you type “/view” at the end of a blog’s URL (e.g.http://cookingwithamy.blogspot.com/view). This utilizes HTML5, AJAX and CSS3 technology that has made websites more dynamic in recent years.

I added /view to ours but the "dynamic" part was not available yet to our blog, though I could see it for my capstone's blog and it looks cool, try to see this blog or others you know and let us know what you think: http://comm744.blogspot.com/view/

http://mashable.com/2011/03/31/blogger-views/

Forget the Algorithm, this is the New Google

So apparently Google is going to implement a system that allows users to click '+1' for the links that they like. Eventually, this will be a solid base of search results as opposed to the algorithm as discussed in our SEO class.

Personally, I don't like this idea. I like the idea that Google works to connect you to the best link, not the most liked link. It has been suggested that this is as a result of failed social platform attempt 'Google Buzz', still, I don't like this idea.

What do you all think?

The ethics of paywall jumping, Part 2

A couple of weeks ago I posed a question about the ethics of paywall jumping -- that is, of actively seeking out free ways of accessing content you would otherwise have to pay for. Now that the New York Times has officially put their pay system into effect, I'm finding I'm not the only one wondering about that. Here's an article from Nieman, a Journalism lab out of Harvard, discussing the various points of view on this issue. What do you think about it? Assuming you're currently a consumer of the New York Times, will you continue to read the paper for free even beyond your allotted 20 articles per month? Or will you stop when they ask you to sign up for a subscription, even though there are ways to get to the articles without paying?

Twitter Enables Fully-Functional, Embedded Tweets

Twitter has released a new set of developer tools that will allow bloggers to embed fully-functional Tweets on the Web. According to the developer description, the new feature - called Web Intents - will "make it possible for users to interact with Twitter content in the context of your site, without leaving the page or having to authorize a new app just for the interaction."

The new tool is more effective then Blackbird Pie (allow for embedding tweets, which was considered lifeless and didn't provide interactivity) because it allows users to interact with the embedded Tweet as if they were on Twitter's website itself, even offering a mini-profile feature, similar to the Hovercard.

Read the full article

6 new apps on a smart phone

Yesterday Mashable posted a list of 6 new releases for apps. According to Mashable, those the best apps in uncovering local knowledge. On the list are:
1) Loqli - searching for local for local businesses
2) Crowbeacon - answers the local based questions
3) Ditto
4) Loqize.me - Q&A service exclusively for location-based questions
5) Hipster - The app integrates with Foursquare, Facebook and Gowalla accounts to let users follow locations that they’ve checked in to.
6) Localmind - When you launch the app, it presents you with a list of locations that other users near you are currently checked in to.
To read go to:
http://mashable.com/2011/03/29/local-questions-apps/

Cellphone Radiation May Alter Your Brain

This article in the New York Times tells us about several studies on how radiation from cell phones might alter our brain or cause changes in behavior. While it is still unclear whether cell phones cause cancer or negatively influence our health, the investigators recommend to hold the cell phone a little big father away from the ear because every millimeter counts when it comes to radiation. The best way is to use a hands-free device.

Turbo Tax

I was finishing my taxes on the free version of turbo tax and it gives you the option at the end to share the fact that you just finished filing your taxes on Facebook and Twitter. I thought I would share this because it find it very amusing that tax sites are incorporating social media into their strategies. Im not really sure how beneficial something like this could be for Turbo Tax. Honestly, I would never share something like that on Facebook. I think its irrelevant and personal.

Richard Simmons and Air New Zealand Go Viral!

To piggyback on Kate's great Skittles post, Richard Simmons is the newest star in Air New Zealand's Air Safety Video.

It is a different take on what we know of safety presentations on planes and it would absolutely get me to pay attention. Since it was posted on YouTube on Sunday, it has more than 1 million views!

Ten Dollars & A Couple Or A Few Hours This Weekend

Still not decided about attending the Social Learning Summit this weekend? Well perhaps something in Megan Ackerman’s top ten list will convince you. (Megan is the Vice President of the AU Social Media Club.) Maybe you will be interested in receiving that free copy of “The Big Book of Social Media Case Studies, Stories, and Perspectives,” or in taking advantage of a great networking opportunity; or for you foodies, enjoying some free food or food truck cuisine (see Adam’s March 28 “Food Truck Nation” post for more on this popular D.C. food destination). Why not join the conversation about education, innovation and social media this weekend, in person?

Skittles Viral Video

So what makes a video viral? Apparently a scary man dressed up like a cat licking your finger. This video for Skittles is completely random and you have to wonder what their creative department was thinking when they created it. However, it completely worked since it has had 180,000 views in 2 days! It is interesting to see how out of the box social marketing can really pay off for companies.

Time's 140 Best Twitter Feeds

Time magazine recently put out a list of 140 Best Twitter Feeds. When clicking on each feed it allows people to vote on whether or not the feed should be on the list. The list ranges from silly, like White Girl Problems a big favorite of mine, to Neil Gaiman, a popular novelist, to Sultan al-Qassemi, a man credited for greatly helping the uprising in Egypt. As a result of the list, I have found people that I really like to follow, like Drunk Hulk who is hysterical and Kelly Oxford. How many are you following and do you agree with this list?

Saving Lives....via Text?

We talked about this briefly in class a couple weeks ago, but AFP has a new article about the critical role cell phones and mobile messaging is playing in health care in Africa.

In particular, one of largest clinics that supplies HIV/AIDS treatment, uses text messages to remind patients when its time to come and pick up their next round of medication. Since instituting the program, they've seen missed appointments (which can be deadly both for the individual and contribute to building resistance to the medications) fall from 15% to 4%.

We also talked briefly in class about how many mobile phones exist in Africa, and according to the article, the answer is 624 million, which is about 2/3 of the entire population of Africa.

I'm really encouraged to see health care providers taking innovative steps and incorporating new digital solutions to meet their patients' needs and save more lives. And I, personally, with this would come to the US. I'd appreciate a text message reminding me to pick up my prescription, or schedule my six-month tooth cleaning.

What do you think? Would you like your health care providers to use text and mobile messaging to get in touch with you? Do you think this will ever come to the US?

Women and their Facebook friends!

Today Mashable posted two really cool infographics about how women feel about their Facebook friends. I know that I have definitely felt the same way about some of my friends. It then begs to question why am I friends with them in the first place? I think a lot of it has to do with the awkwardness of deleting them as a friend. The proximity of being at school with them and possibly running into them has a certain weight. I also think it depends on how closer you are with them, are they friends with your friends? Are you actually friends with them and they just post somethings that annoy you? I'm curious to see more about this study in the future!

What Causes.com Has Learned About Non-Profit Fundraising From Zynga

What Causes.com Has Learned About Non-Profit Fundraising From Zynga

Causes is along the lines of Crowdrise and Charity Navigator except it is linked to Facebook and thus much more successful. It also views social giving in the context of business by setting up a model that makes nonprofits compete for dollars. This article is interesting because it talks about how the competitors are actual social gaming sites such as Zynga, which have actually raised more money for the Japanese tsunami than Causes. Interesting information for this week's field trip as well.

Tech firms hiring White House staffers

The Obama administration brought Facebook and Twitter to politics. And now it’s giving back, as staffers leave the White House and take key jobs at Silicon Valley firms.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/tech-firms-hiring-white-house-staffers/2011/03/28/AFFDuXqB_story.html?hpid=z2

Pappas Group Internship for the Summer

Thought I would pass on - all the information is here:
http://www.pappas.co/

Food Truck Nation

I love to eat. Trying new things is a treat, especially when they are relatively cheap and easy. That is why I am loving this Food Truck Fad that is sweeping DC, fueled by Social Media (well...that and gas, I guess)

Pretty much all of DC's 35 or so trucks have twitter accounts to keep their hungry customers up to date on the day's location and menu. Even better than following them individually, however, is the Food Truck Fiesta website by TBD that takes all the tweets and updates a map of the city in real time with the truck locations.

I highly recommend this for any and all foodies like myself. As I type, I am munching on some deliciously spicy slow smoked pulled pork and baked beans from @porcmobile who set up shop in Farragut Square today. Just another example of how social media is fueling a food revolution.

'Color' Kinda Sucks

This isn't really a post about news, so apologies. I've been attempting to use the miracle app worth about $41 million in venture capital over the past few days, and unfortunately I've come to this horrifying conclusion:

'Color' kinda sucks.

• 'Micro' social networking - or whatever you call an app that only interacts with people in a 150 foot radius - is basically useless in non-popular areas. Monuments? That could be interesting, and I would take a picture of my own to put online. But Hurst Hall? The Starbucks on New Mexico Ave? Incredibly boring.
• Instant photo uploads are great. I can't help but feel that Facebook could just as easily add that to their app though, and then what would Color be? Back to the 'micro' social photo sharing.
• What's social about Color? Not too much. If you happen to find a friend's photo, you're lucky. Will people really care about other people sharing their pictures? I don't see it happening.

Those are my three thoughts on Color. I'm considering removing it from my phone - honestly, the only reason why I haven't yet is because it has a $41 million backing already. 

The first version of Color was brutal. No instructions, and a shaky premise. The update was somewhat better. it's going to take a lot more for this app to ever be worth using.

More Twitter Analytics

The number of followers a person has on Twitter are kind of like unique hits on a website. It doesn't necessarily tell you how many people are looking at the content of accounts tweets. An NYTimes blog talks about how a independent research firm called, Twitalyzer, has rated Twitters most influential users.

Wisdom for our generation

 

Did anyone else see this amazing tweet from LoveQuoteJones?  Not only amusing, I think it is the epitome of how we now define our social interactions. 

On a serious note...is this good advice, or will this lead to me tweeting something that I regret? Being tagged in a photo that gets me fired? Our social privacy standards have definitely changed; how relevant do you think this is?

QR Codes on Gravestones?

I can't decide if a Japanese gravestone maker's plans to put QR Codes on headstones is creepy or creative.

Mourners or other visitors to the deceased person's grave could simply scan the QR code to see pictures, videos, and other information about the person. And each QR code scan would be recorded, so families will know who has been visiting.

On the one hand, this could be really nice. You get to see some highlights from the person's life, relive old memories, and appreciate the life that person led. On the other hand, a totally random stranger could scan that gravestone QR code and see a lot of person information about a person they never knew.

What do you think? Would you want a QR code on your headstone? Is this creepy or great?

EU Might Place Limit on Keywords

SEO really does change every. It will change especially for European advertisers if the EU goes through with restricting the use of competitors as keywords to generate sponsored links on Internet search engines. Companies buy Google Adwords for keywords of their rivals, so their own ads show up instead of ads for the search term. These restrictions will put a stop to this strategy. Read more about the case here.

Social media and crisis

Turn a crisis into a social media opportunity !
This article about Toyota illustrates what we talked about today.

"Of all the ways social media can make a difference in the lifes of ordinary people, emergency management is one of the most important." That is what we saw in today class !

17 Ways to Grow Your Blog

This article offers new ways to attract and retain more readers on your blog.
While the article describes some of the well-known ways to improve your blog (writing compelling content, being active in other communities, and saying something new), it also offers other interesting ways to become a better blogger:
-Focus on Evergreen Content
-Make your readers feel good
-Ask for subscriptions at the end of the article
-Offer a benefit

I absolutely agree with many of the tips that are offered in the article. And I believe it is important to write about the topic you are passionate about (for me, as a reader, it is always clear whether the blogger was assigned to write about something or whether they write about what they love).

LivingSocial Projected to Overtake Groupon's Market Share

In the spirit of LivingSocial, and the great speaker we had last week, I thought I would post this article from Mashable that details how LivingSocial is projected to overtake Groupon next year.

A New Social Network ... Color

While we can share text messages in real time via Twitter, beginning tomorrow we will be able to share photos in real time via something called Color. Color is a smartphone app that is being touted as getting people interested in the real world again rather than further immersed in their mobile gadgetry. Specifically, it’s a potential face-to-face conversation starter. For example, with Color you are able to see what photos are being taken by others around you, likely figure out who took that cool photo that just caught your eye, walk up to that person and have a great opening to use to introduce yourself. In terms of the photos (and videos) taken, they are stored in the cloud so are available at any time; there is also no worry about storage limitations. Color uses features of the smartphone such as GPS and compass to recognize and pinpoint your location as specific as within a restaurant for instance. As Bruce Upbin’s blog on forbes.com relates, “if you’re sitting at a table for a while, suddenly the chef’s photos of today’s desserts start flowing through your stream, like a digital dessert cart.” (But then you would be focussed on your gadgetry rather that who you are sharing a meal with at that moment...the opposite of being back in the real world!) Anyway, reminds me a bit of augmented reality...getting real-time information, through photos layered so to speak with what's in your camera view, based on your location.
Source of Image

Social Media as a Research Tool

This article discusses what some people perceive as the potential role of social media as a research tool. Experts see social media websites as the next big thing in the research world outplaying surveys and other traditional research methods.

What do you think? Is this really the end to surveys and focus groups? Will social media replace these tools or can it be used as a way to enhance the process and results of research and ultimately provide better solutions to problems?

Follow-Up to Augmented Reality Presentation

A few weeks ago, Xavier and I discussed augmented reality. As you may remember, augmented reality (AR) can be defined as an overlay of computer-generated data such as graphics on a real-time display of the world. Recent advances in technologies that combine the real world with virtual information as well as those that have advanced mobile devices have led to a recent surge in the development of AR applications (apps) for these devices, particularly the smartphone. Some of these apps are marker based, like the ones printed in the “Esquire” magazine issue we showed. Or apps are markerless, like Layar and acrossair, which use a combination of GPS, compass and camera on the smartphone to launch the AR experience, i.e. instead of using a search engine to search for what’s around you, just simply look at your environment using your camera lens to discover what's around you.

Some of the pros for using and/or developing AR apps for smartphones include delivering a unique experience for the consumer/public in terms of: marketing (demonstrate products, create virtual showrooms, integrate products in the real world); campaigns (markers placed on Web sites or in on-street ads, for example, provide a way for the public to access more information including videos); education (a trip to a museum can be enhanced by visions of history as it unfolded or artwork as it progressed toward completion).

Some of the cons include: costs to develop native AR apps (by some estimates, anywhere between $24,000 to $40, 000); difficulty and additional cost creating apps for the various mobile devices; not being able to reach a target audience because an app was developed for only one mobile platform; creating a distraction that may draw people away from what may be better experienced at the moment, in real life only.

I think it’s a fascinating trend worth keeping an eye on.

LinkedIn passes 100 million user mark!

According to Mashable, LinkedIn now has more than 100 million users. The site marked the occasion by creating a graphic with some of the more noteworthy stats about the professional networking site. The time of day most users are on the site jumps out to me because I recently posted a survey on LinkedIn for my capstone research. I think I'll repost it with this info in mind to get as many respondents as I can!

Highlights:

• 56% of users are located outside of the US
• Brazil is the fastest-growing membership at 428%
• the Service sector is the largest, at 20%
  

Social Media & The Abbreviated Writing Assignment

As the debate about using social media and newer forms of communication technology such as the smartphone in the learning environment continues among educators and education administrators, one educator recognizes a value brought to the learning process through the influence of social media−the ability to express thoughts/information in a concise manner. His ideas amused me when I thought about how those of us who are working on capstone papers might write them in a more concise way−not as brief as a text or Tweet, but less voluminous than the typical research paper. Immersion in social media, whether already part of daily life or a course requirement or both, does have its upsides.

How’s That Response Rate?

It’s not only important for an organization to monitor its social media channels in terms of effectiveness, an organization must also monitor it’s response rate within the social media channels. There are analytic tools available to mine out this information, even to find out the response rates of competitors (see analysis of the fast food industry highlighted in this article). Other interesting information that can be gained from this analysis is what the correlation between rate of response and degree of engagement might be ... perhaps a good guess would be positive between an organization’s activity of quicker responses and the public’s activity of becoming more engaged. In any event, this is another concrete way to track and measure the organization’s social media efforts.

Mashable's 10 Tips for Posting on Your Brand's Facebook Page

Mashable posted 10 tips for posting on your brand's facebook page. The tips come from Ekaterina Walter, a social media strategist at Intel, and they seem fairly straightforward and in line with what we've talked about in class.

Twitter users reveal their political views even if they do not post about politics, the researchers at Duke University found. The researchers analyzed whom politicians followed on twitter and who followed them, then they ranked the politicians on a political spectrum from the far right to the far left.

We already know we cannot escape from something we have said online, but as it turns out our connections are also revealing! The research also showed that the more liberal accounts have very little in common with the conservative accounts.

The full text of the article

Google Entertainment

As much as they deny it Google is entering the content game. This NY Times article reports that the internet giant is in talks with the N.B.A., working with Lionsgate movie studio, and adding a subscription service. Still Google holds that their main mission is to organize and manage content and not produce it. The Times also reports that Google has set aside $100 million for high-profile celebrities to manage their own Youtube channels in an attempt to get more "high-profile content."Although Google is not technically producing content yet, they have a vested interest in keeping media organizations in business.

Twitter turns 5, goes from 0 to 140 million tweets a day

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Five years ago today, Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey blasted off the very first tweet. What began as an experiment in "microblogging" -- no more than 140 characters, please -- has become a cultural landmark.

Twitter now has 200 million users, including tech luminaries, celebrities and the president of the United States. It started off slowly: In 2007, Twitter averaged just 5,000 tweets per day. But in 2009, the site hit a tipping point and became a broadcast channel for major news events.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/21/technology/twitter_turns_5/

Make Sure You’re Logged Into the Right Social Media Address

Similar to the pitfalls of e-mail communication like mistakenly clicking the “Reply to All” selection instead of the “Reply” selection, mistakenly choosing your Twitter business account to send a personal tweet can have similar consequences. Read what happened as the result of a Chrysler contractor’s tweet he thought he was sending from his personal Twitter account, but which was actually sent through Chrysler’s Twitter account. The obvious take-away: Best to double check your social media location before pressing the “send” button.

The Viral Video: Behind the Scenes Strategies

During our class discussion hours before spring break, several ideas were offered about what may make a video go viral. In addition to factors such as being genuine or being somehow unique, timing is also a factor. In a recent "New York Times" online article, a few strategies were mentioned for seeding viral videos on the Web. These included: waiting until Monday to release a video as opposed to during the weekend when people are away from the office and, thus, less likely to be passed on; and, using social media or buying keywords and Web site addresses to spread the word without being obvious about it. These suggestions, made from a marketing perspective, are attributable to Michael Krivicka who has no traditional advertising background, but who together with his business partner James Percelay (also without a traditional advertising background) is responsible for two recent viral videos: one promoting the upcoming film “Limitless,” the other for a product, the HeadBlade, a device used for head-shaving. So, it’s the marketing not as usual approach combined with a mix of other strategies that could turn out to be the right blueprint for getting a video into the viral sphere.

Groupon Advances and Beats the Competitors!

What I found interesting in this article was that Groupon is much more popular and successful than Facebook Deals or Living Social, which raises a lot of money from the online retailer Amazon. As Google is testing a rival product called Google Offers, we will have to wait and see whether it will be able to build the sales force as strong as Groupon did.

Write a poem in 140 characters?

I read this interesting article about a poetry contest that Twitter announced: to write a poem in 140 characters. The contest is devoted to both World Poetry Day and the 5th anniversary, which happen to be on the same day this year.

Chatting with Strangers

In yesterday’s class we looked at a newly introduced group messaging/chat app, GroupMe, which apparently was one of the “big tech winners” at the recent SXSW festival. GroupMe's standing among the top winners was based on greatest volume of messages sent to SXSW groups, as well as greatest number of Twitter mentions it had on SXSW Twitter streams. Another group messaging/chat service made its debut at the festival ... Yobongo. Unlike GroupMe and similar services, Yobongo tries to connect strangers, rather than friends, who are in close proximity to each other. Presently it is only available for the iPhone and in the cities of San Francisco, Austin and New York. As the service expands to include more cities, this could be useful in situations ranging from large conference settings to small business meetings. In such situations, it’s just another way to network. (Source of Photo: http://yobongo.com/press)

skiing and socialmedia

This spring break I went snowboarding at Breckenridge, Colorado. On many of the lifts a site called epicmix was advertised. This site enables skiers and snowboarders to track their stats on the mountain via their smart phone and skilift ticket. It tracks vertical distance travelled, trails, difficulty levels, and it gives detailed run descriptions. On the website it says that it works in most of Vail resorts, such as Vail, Beavercreek, and Breckenridge. All of the data collected can be easily shared on Facebook, and Twitter. Great site to check out if you plan a ski trip to any of those resorts.

http://www.snow.com/epicmix/home.aspx

The ethics of paywall jumping

Most of you probably heard that the New York Times announced yesterday it would soon start charging for access to their website. This wasn't a surprise. We've known since January of last year that a paywall of some sort was on its way. But the prices have surprised a lot of people (the cheapest plan is $15 per month) and sparked a discussion about "paywall jumping."

This is basically the act of circumventing the Times' paywall by accessing articles through search engines, Twitter, etc. Because you can get to NYT content in this way without a subscription, the possibility has been raised that it will dissuade people from signing up. A Times rep told the Wall Street Journal they're expecting only "a very significant minority, a small, small number of people" to become paywall jumpers. A lot of others disagree.

I know I probably won't be able to afford a web subscription to the New York Times, even though I read it every day. But would it be tantamount to stealing for me to actively seek out NYT content via outside (non-paywalled) sources? What do you think?

Social Silo-Busting

Silos have long been bemoaned as preventing the optimization of everything from enterprise resource planning to cohesive customer experience.  If Phase 1 of corporate social media development is scattered maverick experimentation and Phase 2 is creating integrated strategy, chances are Phase 3 is likely defining silo-based roles & responsibilities.  For example, Corp Comm could own Facebook, Consumer Marketing owns Twitter,  Care runs branded communities......


http://blog.ogilvypr.com/2011/02/social-silo-busting/

Proof of Facebook's domination?

Here's possible proof that Facebook gives a better ROI than Twitter. However - I take this with a grain of salt, since I think companies are still gaining a lot indirectly from the reach and credibility they can create via Twitter.
Do you think Facebook is worth more, monetarily, than Twitter, and will it stay that way?

The Making of a Viral Video: Rebecca Black Edition

...so apparently I missed something major over the last week or so, since about 10 minutes ago is the first I'd ever heard of this Rebecca Black character. Despite her being a trending topic on Twitter, and her video being posted all over facebook, I somehow missed the whole thing. But today one of my roommates showed me her "music" video, and I was completely shocked to find out it had more than 9 million hits. How does something like this happen? How does a video this awful become a national sensation?

Well, as per usual, Mashable has the answer. It's a lot like what we talked about in class. It seems that her video just managed to catch the attention of a few people who happen to have thousands of Twitter followers they tweeted the link to. And thus, a viral video internet sensation was made.

Twitter overboard

I've been busily working on my social media monitoring report all day, but I ran into a brick wall about 20 minutes ago--and it's all Twitter's fault. Every time I try to visit their site, I get the following error:

Something is technically wrong.

Is anyone else having this problem? Makes me wonder whether Twitter, which recently announced (as Laura pointed out) that we are now sending a billion tweets every week, is gaining users faster than it can handle them. I'll be curious to see if that starts causing them bad publicity, or whether they'll be able to expand their capacity sufficiently to prevent crashes from becoming a recurring issue.

Mommy bloggers

I thought this was an interesting article discussing new disclosure rules for bloggers (not just traditional journalists anymore!), and how companies are actively seeking out strong, existing communities to promote their brands - specifically the mom blogger communities. Here's one quote from the article:

"Even as many campaigns have found that Twitter is a great word-of-mouth strategy, other avenues of social media like Facebook are becoming more important, Ms. Calhoun said. Also, video blogs, display ads and online surveys are all integral parts of promotions on the sites.

“Brands are really mixed on Twitter,” Ms. Calhoun said, partly because of the 140-character limit on posts. “Facebook is much safer for brands because it gives them a lot of control,” she said."

Do you think they're right? Is Twitter too limited to really shape and share your brand with these (or any other) communities? And are there other dangers that come with connecting yourself to mommy-blogging communities?

Mobile Photo Sharing Apps

It looks like as smart-phones become more photo capable, photo sharing apps will become more popular. Instagram, the app we talked about in last class, now has 2 million members. This Mashable article talks about Instagram and Picplz and how business might come to use them. Picplz allows users to comment, analyze and like each photo, while Instagram relies on hashtags to organize pictures. Starbucks is the first major brand to join Instagram and about 1000 pictures are marked with their hashtag. I have an iphone 3 and its not too great with loading pictures, so I haven't use my instagram app too much. Will picture sharing and viewing become another way to pass time on your smartphone?

Twitter Brings New Communication to the World....Right?

According to this article from Mashable, recent studies are showing that people group themselves on Twitter according to how happy they are. The researchers apparently analyzed words from random tweets and found that certain users had formed "Happy Clubs" where they mainly Tweeted about good things. Everyone else was mainly negative. I'm honestly not that surprised since it's so much easier to be negative on the internet due to at least some basic level of anonymity. Even more of a reason for brands to at least monitor Twitter, to make sure the Legions of Unhappy People aren't negatively impacting the brand!

More About the “New” SXSW

Thought this article by Caroline McCarthy of CNET was interesting, particularly in light of Professor Kumar’s earlier blog post about SXSW. Yes, while the crowds are huge now in comparison to even five years ago, it is still the main and best event where those in the Web and mobile development fields can come together to network, exchange ideas and even test their latest technological innovations. In terms of the chaotic nature of such a large gathering, McCarthy suggests getting the talented attendees involved in solving some of the less than organized aspects of the conference such as the complex online schedule. So, larger may not necessarily mean more diluted or less inspiring; rather the possibility exists to keep some of that underground cache even though now very much in the mainstream.

SXSW: Social TV

So we couldn't be there in person but this video about Social TV from SXSW is almost as good. The discussion stemmed around how to pull social media, esp. Twitter, into traditional TV programs and really engage the viewer on another level. It turns a traditionally one-way broadcasting media into a two-way participatory exchange.

I personally haven't caught on to the Twitter-TV combo yet but I like the idea of the intersection between old and new media. I feel like that is the place where you can find media techniques and technology that will stick and grow.

Predicting the Technology of the Future

Farhad Manjoo, a tech writer at Slate, is going to be launching a a new series called The Future of Innovation. He explains the purpose of the column as this:

For the next few weeks, I'll be writing a series of articles on the next wave of transformations—the trends that will affect our lives over the next five or 10 years. I'm going to look beyond this year's phones, tablets, and Web sites to ask—and try to answer—deep questions about tomorrow's tech. What will mobile computers look like in 2016? What's the coolest gadget you'll have in your house? Will we finally get home entertainment systems that don't require an advanced degree to operate? What frustrating tech problems will still have gone unsolved?

I think this will be interesting to keep an eye on, and see what he thinks are going to be the major technological advances and products, as well as the issues we'll have to address.

What do you think the next ten years might look like for tech and social media?

Mobile Marketing Evolution

This graphic and blog post from Melissa Parrish, a mobile marketing expert, is helpful in understanding the various phases of launching a mobile marketing campaign. As I read it, I thought about which companies and products I use that are in each phase and whether or not it makes sense for every organization to reach the "connecting online and offline touchpoints" phase. What do you guys think of this approach?

Happy Birthday, Twitter!

Twitter celebrates it's fifth birthday today and has revealed incredible statistics about the site's growth.

Read the article here.

Making E-Mail Marketing Somewhat Better

This article from Mashable tries to help list some strategies for successful e-mail marketing. Although we haven't talked much about it in class, it's a larger part of the internet marketing mix that could be important.

Several companies are now working to make their e-mail marketing more "social", despite the medium's solitary nature. Some examples they use:

• Using mass e-mail to drive traffic to social media (having customers "unlock" deals by liking the Facebook page)
• Using social media to drive subscriptions for e-mail (promoting e-mail-only deals on Facewbook)

Otherwise, there really isn't much. There's definitely a large market out there to make mass e-mail somewhat better and more interactive. 

Facebook Gets on the Groupon Train

According to this article from Bloomberg, Facebook will soon launch their own group discount service in select cities soon. Unfortunately, we won't be seeing it here in DC but if you have any friends in San Francisco, San Deigo, Dallas, Atlanta, or Austin, let them know.

Local businesses will be able to sign up to have their deals featured on the site. Facebook made its move to get into the group-discount business before Google, and although they'll have the first-mover advantage over them, it'll be hard to overtake Groupon/Livingsocial/etc.

I think it's easy to see that Facebook is really trying to find different ways to monetize the site now. First, they saw that games like Farmville could rake in cash. Now, this dip into the group-discount arena could start the trend toward things like renting movies through the site, effectively making Facebook the number one site on the internet for social entertainment. Google and Apple can't be too happy about that.

Fun Blogging On Company Time

In case your employer catches you blogging about your latest travels instead of the latest uses of social media for business, a new study will help you wriggle your way out of a potentially awkward situation. A recent academic paper, 'A Structural Model of Employee Behavioral Dynamics in Enterprise Social Media,’ by researchers Yan Huang and Param Vir Singh from Carnegie Mellon University and Anindya Ghose from New York University describes how the two types of blogging can co-exist in the workplace and even lead to positive outcomes. Findings from the study pointed to positive employee behavior like “knowledge sharing in enterprise setting” and “work-related content creation in an enterprise social media setting” if policies in the workplace do not prevent employees from leisure-related blogging. The study also found increased competition among blogging employees in terms of their getting others to read their posts over another’s. These are interesting findings particularly for a business that has not yet considered using this social media channel for communication within and/or outside its organization. And also for a business that might not have considered how an employee’s non work-related blogging could possibly be of value to the organization.

How News of the Earthquake and the Tsunami Spread on Facebook Via Status Messages

Scroll through this image gallery to see how news of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan spread on Facebook via status messages.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=290029&id=250083749935&fbid=10150119188069936

SXSW But...

I realized I didn't finish my email about SXSW perhaps because I am conflicted a bit about the festival.  For those that haven't followed it in the past, it was originally a music festival in 1987 followed by a film festival followed by the interactive festival.  All take place during spring in Austin with different start and end dates.  The interactive/social media part of the festival is famous for launching Twitter, and also to a lesser extent Foursquare.  Of course, with anything this successful, the festival has become more crowded (or maybe cluttered is a better word) with both big brands and smaller start ups all hoping to generate some ever elusive buzz.  So the question is now that this at one time underground festival has gone mainstream, will it still have that same success in the past and will it help to catapult a new social media trend?
What do you think?  Feel free to share your SXSW thoughts here!

Google Circles?

Business Insider is reporting that Google might be releasing its new social networking service, Google Circles, at SXSW today. The only details that have come out have been vague - it'll have photo and video sharing, and the ability to make comments (original, I know.)

Otherwise, everything is still new/hasn't come out yet. Features-wise, it probably won't take down the giant, Facebook. But if Google can integrate it with Gmail accounts, they'll have a base to start from. Let's all just hope it doesn't bomb like the ill-fated Google Buzz did.

Social Media A Lifeline After Quake

Searching the Internet on sites such as Google and Twitter and their local variants has become more effective in finding loved ones than sifting through wreckage following Japan's devastating tsunami.


http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1499087/Social-media-a-lifeline-after-quake

Tracking the reaction online as Japan suffers major damage in an earthquake measured at magnitude 8.9

RT @TravelGov: #Japan: Telephone lines disrupted; try contacting loved ones by email, text (SMS) message, or through @twitter & #facebook.#earthquake

Google Person Finder: 2011 Japan Earthquake

japan.person-finder.appspot.com

Google Person Finder: 2011 Japan Earthquake I have information about someone PLEASE NOTE: All data entered will be available to the public and viewable and usable by anyone. Google does not review or verify the accuracy of this data.




Once news of the tsunami broke, the phrase #prayforjapan began trending on Twitter. People have been tweeting prayers and thoughts towards the people of Japan throughout the day. 

• Pray for Japan. They've just been hit with a 8.8 earthquake. #prayforjapan

  

  weeklykpopMarch 11, 2011 at 1:37
• People are tweeting from Tokyo Disneyland saying DisneySea is flooding and the parking lots is over flowing with water. #prayforjapan

  

  

  burninloverMarch 11, 2011 at 2:22
• Thoughts & Prayers for whom effected earthquake/tsunami.. #prayforjapan

  

  Matt BentonMarch 11, 2011 at 10:02

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