Social Media News – Page 2

Google Gets More Social With Google+

June 30, 2011

Google is getting more serious in the social media arena this week. They announced the Google+ Project yesterday and it looks quite interesting. I’m not sure this is going to be a Facebook killer but it is worth a look. I think what strikes me the most is a new approach to social media. The “+Circle” concept looks very user friendly and allows you to choose who you share with. All you need to do is drag and drop friends, business associates, family and others into the appropriate “circle”. It reminds me a little of Facebook Groups but a better layout. You might already notice some of the changes across Google today. Right now the Google+ project is invite only for what they are calling a “Field Test”. Head on over to https://plus.google.com so you can apply to join the project. Please feel free to share your comment below. Are you willing to give Google+ a try? Below is the press release from Google plus video on each feature. Introducing the Google+ project: Real-life sharing, rethought for the web 6/28/2011 10:45:00 AM Among the most basic of human needs is the need to connect with others. With a smile, a laugh, a whisper or a cheer, we connect with others every single day. Today, the connections between people increasingly happen online. Yet the subtlety and substance of real-world interactions are lost in the rigidness of our online tools. In this basic, human way, online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And we aim to fix it. We’d like to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to software. We want to make Google better by including you, your relationships, and your interests. And so begins the Google+ project: +Circles: share what matters, with the people who matter most Not all relationships are created equal. So in life we share one thing with college buddies, another with parents, and almost nothing with our boss. The problem is that today’s online services turn friendship into fast food””wrapping everyone in “friend” paper””and sharing really suffers: It’s sloppy. We only want to connect with certain people at certain times, but online we hear from everyone all the time. It’s scary. Every online conversation (with over 100 “friends”) is a public performance, so we often share less because of stage fright. It’s insensitive. We all define “friend” and “family” differently””in our own way, on our own terms””but we lose this nuance online. In light of these shortcomings we asked ourselves, “What do people actually do?” And we didn’t have to search far for the answer. People in fact share selectively all the time””with their circles. From close family to foodies, we found that people already use real-life circles to express themselves, and to share with precisely the right folks. So we did the only thing that made sense: we brought Circles to software. Just make a circle, add your people, and share what’s new””just like any other day: +Sparks: strike up a conversation, about pretty much anything Healthy obsessions inspire sharing, and we’ve all got one (or two, or three…). Maybe it’s muscle cars, or comic books, or fashion, but the attraction is always the same: it comes up in conversation, we immediately jump in, and we share back and forth with other fans. Often for hours. The trick is getting things started, and getting over that initial hump. Fortunately, the web is the ultimate icebreaker. The web, of course, is filled with great content””from timely articles to vibrant photos to funny videos. And great content can lead to great conversations. We noticed, however, that it’s still too hard to find and share the things we care about””not without lots of work, and lots of noise. So, we built an online sharing engine called Sparks. Thanks to Google’s web expertise, Sparks delivers a feed of highly contagious content from across the Internet. On any topic you want, in over 40 languages. Simply add your interests, and you’ll always have something to watch, read and share””with just the right circle of friends: +Hangouts: stop by and say hello, face-to-face-to-face Whether it’s inside a pub or on a front porch, human beings have always enjoyed hanging out. And why not? It’s how we unwind, recharge, and spend unscheduled time with old and new friends alike. Hanging out is deceptively simple though, and the nuance gets lost online. Just think: when you walk into the pub or step onto your front porch, you’re in fact signaling to everyone around, “Hey, I’ve got some time, so feel free to stop by." Further, it’s this unspoken understanding that puts people at ease, and encourages conversation. But today’s online communication tools (like instant messaging and video-calling) don’t understand this subtlety: They’re annoying, for starters. You can ping everyone that’s “available,” but you’re bound to interrupt someone’s plans. They’re also really awkward. When someone doesn’t respond, you don’t know if they’re just not there, or just not interested. With Google+ we wanted to make on-screen gatherings fun, fluid and serendipitous, so we created Hangouts. By combining the casual meetup with live multi-person video, Hangouts lets you stop by when you’re free, and spend time with your Circles. Face-to-face-to-face: +Mobile: share what’s around, right now, without any hassle These days a phone is the perfect sharing accessory: it’s always with you, it’s always online, and it’s how we stay close with our closest friends. We didn’t want “just” a mobile experience, however, so with Google+ we focused on things (like GPS, cameras, and messaging) to make your pocket computer even more personal. +Location, location, location In life, the places we visit shape conversations in lots of meaningful ways. If we call John from the airport, he’ll likely ask about our trip. Or if Jane texts from a nearby restaurant, we might join her for dessert. With Google+ you can add your location to every post. (Or not. It’s always up to you.) +Instant Upload Getting photos off your phone is a huge…
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WordPress WordCamp attended by over 300 in Seattle

April 18, 2011

I attended my first WordPress WordCamp in Seattle, WA yesterday(Saturday), after driving up from Boise on Thursday. I learned a lot even though I slept a few hours the night before the event. I went with a friend I meet on Facebook after attending a social media class with her sister last fall in Seattle. If you haven’t had a chance to attend WordCamp I would recommend you look for one in a city near you. I got some cool swag and scored a few t-shirts from WPCandy and ThemeForest along with a few WordPress and VaultPress buttons. After checking in my friend and I grabbed a pastry along with some coffee. I needed it to wake me from the dead! The first speaker of the morning was Scott Berkun who was actually pretty entertaining. I found out when I got back to my hotel room that Scott is a published author and has several bestsellers, including “Confessions of a Public Speaker“. After the keynote speech WordCamp Seattle broke out into sessions for Bloggers(myself), those who build themes and a development track for those who create WordPress plugins. We moved to the other side of the room and took our seats to listen to Heather Gold talk about “Tools for Tummeling“, which I had never heard of. Her point of view is about the need to create websites that create a sense of community. Developing a site that creates interaction amongst its users so it is more dynamic than linear. There was some interaction with the audience however it was hard to hear at times. I’m not sure that passing a microphone back and forth works well. I wish the speaker had wore a mic and had one just for the audience members as she spoke with them. The speech I was interested in started after a break and was Aaron Hockley from Portland, OR. Another favorite city of mine because of the natural and tech environment. Aaron spoke about various ways on how you can monetize your blog with product sales (e-books), affiliate marketing, advertising and membership programs. But he failed to mention one of my favorites which is Clickbank, because they are located in Boise, ID. Read my previous post on how to fatten your wallet by selling digital products on Clickbank. Aaron has a photography business and was kind enough to take photos of those attending the event. After a nice lunch with with lots of choices (salads, sandwiches, brownies and cookies) we took our seats again for the next speaker who was Bob Dunn. Bob is a WordPress coach who is located in the Seattle area and teaches others the benefits of WordPress. He spoke about how to bring more readers to your blog through a user-friendly WordPress site. I got some good information and it reminded me that I need to make a few adjustments on my blog. Like gathering e-mail addresses so I can stay in touch with my readers. I haven’t had time to browse his blog yet, but looks like lots of good information. If you are interested you can also find him on Facebook and “Like” has fan page Savvy WordPress. Another quick break and we were listening to Justin Briggs talking about an important subject for bloggers. Justin is an SEO consultant who explained how things like speed of your website can effect your search engine rank. He went over plugins that help with the optimization of your WordPress blog and other items you should consider. My favorite plugin for SEO is one called All In One SEO Pack WordPress Plugin which is free. Find out more here in a post I wrote about “3 Social Media Tools To Grow Your Business“. You will find information on the three tools I think help grow a business online with WordPress. The main part of the day finished up with an interview with Alex King (conducted by Nick Ohrn) who has been around WordPress since its beginning. He is originally from Seattle but now makes his home in Denver. He was asked questions about his involvement and about some of his past and current projects. If you want to learn more about Alex there’s lots of information about him, his project and companies on his website. We wrapped up with Ignite WordCamp Seattle which features about 6 different speakers. It was my first time seeing the Ignite speaking format which is 5 minutes of speaking about a topic while showing slides. If I get up the nerves I might try doing my own Ignite speech at a future Ignite event. But for now I’m happy with watching others get up in front of a room filled with techies and bloggers. I certainly would recommend a WordCamp event to anyone who uses WordPress, interested in blogging or those who develop themes, plugins or anything that revolves around WordPress. You will learn lots and have the chance to connect with many like minded people. Look for an event in a city near you or even plan your own WordCamp in your city or country. List of Speakers at WordCamp Seattle WordCamp Seattle Blog WPCandy WordCamp Seattle 2011 Liveblog Please not that some of the links on this page are referral links to other companies. DJ Smith Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media Post Sponsored By: GreenHostUSA : WordPress Hosting

Promote Your Business with Facebook Deals–New!

March 19, 2011

Facebook is getting ready to launch a new feature that lets you offer your customers deals when they “check-in” using Places on Facebook. Called “Deals” the latest feature is currently in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego and San Francisco. I did notice that there are a few deals in my local area which is Boise, ID but I haven’t been to those businesses. Facebook claims that over 200 million mobile phone users are actively using Facebook on the go. That’s huge potential for a business to draw in new customers. Business can set one-time deals or even set-up loyalty deals by rewarding return customers. Hopefully there will be a day you won’t need to carry around those stupid cards on your key chain. I’ve included a link down below of a PDF from Facebook to give you more information. There are several videos to get a better idea on how “Deals” can benefit your business. Are “Deals” active in your city? Is this something you might consider for your business? See how it works: http://www.facebook.com/deals/checkin/business Deals for Businesses PDF ““ Download For more information head to Facebook and http://www.facebook.com/deals. Source: Dennis J. Smith Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media ““ Beginner’s Handbook

Get Real-Time Facebook Updates On Your Desktop

January 17, 2011

I love it when I find a cool new social media tool that I can share with friends and others. Facebook Desktop is one of those social media tools that notifies you in real-time when friends post something new to Facebook, updates their status, comments on your photos and more. All this without the need for a browser and its not intrusive when it notifies you. Notifications show on the right side of your screen briefly and then fade out of sight. If you miss a notification you can have it replay the last five updates. Users can also pause updates or adjust settings accordingly to lessen the amount of updates. You can download Facebook Desktop to your desktop free of charge. It installs within a few minutes.

Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media For Less Than $3 Bucks

December 31, 2010

I have found a great place to store, share and sell PDF’s called Scribd.com. I have converted my book “Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media“ to PDF and you can download a copy within minutes for less than $3 bucks. There’s over 75 pages of 4.5-star rated information on how you can promote your business with social media. Start off 2011 with a great deal and build your social media plan today! The document can be read online or you can download it to your PC to view at your leisure. It’s available in other formats if you’d like the skip the PDF and go with a traditional paperback book: Available at: Amazon.com ““ Paperback Amazon.com ““ Kindle Edition Barnes and Noble.com – NOOKbook (eBook)

Track Social Media With POSTLING

November 28, 2010

Like many out there you might be finding it tough to manage your Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, blogs and various other social media networks. I’ve had the same problem myself and have finally found a solution that I like. Postling was created to simply the process of managing your social media networks. I no longer have to check each one of my Facebook Fan Pages for comments. Postling lets me know when someone comments on one of my several post. That way I stay on top of interacting with my followers and build engaging relationships. Publish From One Location With Postling you can post right to your Facebook Fan Pages, WordPress Blogs, Blogger accounts, Twitter, Linked in and more. There is no need to go to each one of those locations to post something new or update your status. Do it all from Postling and save time! You can also schedule the date and time you would like your post published at. I know from experience what a great time saver this is when managing your social media networks. Dashboard The Postling Dashboard gives you easy access to all your social media networks. Update your status, respond to comments, track keywords and more. Try Postling There is a free version of Postling with full features you can can try for 14-days. The premium version lets you monitor social media sites like Twitter for keywords. This can be beneficial for those looking to target a certain type of customer. It can also be set-up to look for chatter about your business in case you receive negative feedback or even kudos. You don’t have to login to all your social media sites because Postling will e-mail you a recap of comments, reviews and keyword tracking results. Just click on reply in the e-mail and respond back to any comments right away. What a great time saver and an easy way to stay on top of the game. Head on over to http://www.postling.com and get your free account today or upgrade to premium and enjoy all the benefits. Do you use something different to manage your social media? Feel free to leave a comment below and thanks for reading! Postling on Facebook ““ Postling Fan Page

Twitter’s Official Analytics Product Has Arrived

November 22, 2010

Reposted from Mashable Twitter has started inviting a select group of users to test a new analytics product, Mashable has learned. Such a product has been rumored for some time, and a Twitter executive said earlier this year that Analytics would debut by the end of 2010. With Twitter Analytics, users will be able to see a plethora of data about their account; for example, information about which tweets are most successful, which tweets caused people to unfollow, and who the most influential users are that reply and retweet their messages. In the images below, you can see how some of this data is charted. A bar graph over 6-hour increments shows you mentions, follows and unfollows, for example, and you can filter tweets by categories that are defined as “best,” “good,” and “all.” In what will no doubt come as a blow to the third-party vendors that are already providing similar tools, we’re hearing that the product will be free and that Twitter has no immediate plans to charge. We’re working to gather more information, but we may hear more about it later this afternoon, when Twitter’s Evan Williams takes the stage at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. Stay tuned.

Tag: Social Media News