Signal Blog

Twitterers are great spellers!

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:56:35 -0500

Among the myths of the negative impacts of technology is the myth that new media and "texting" are inherently destructive forces that are degrading our ability to write properly, and that, in the young, the continual compression of communications, and in particular the use of abbreviations (like ICU), is destroying a full appreciation for 'language'. This turns out be a misguided fear and a completely unsupported myth. In fact, research shows that the best text-ers are the best spellers, and that twitters often write relatively long and carefully crafted sentences. Text-ers also use fewer abbreviations than one might expect, because they are striving for precision, and in their efforts to communicate clearly the abbreviations are simply too indeterminate. Studies over the past decade show repeatedly that new media 'writers' are intensely aware of language issues, and that they are fully able to switch between conventional language and the highly compressed code that they sometimes use in their new media posts. Text-ers totally enjoy writing and language. More than 'literate,' these new media writers have become become 'multi-lingual' students of literary expression, and are actually more likely to score well on language tests. Watch renowned linguist David Crystal discussing the impact of new media on language in this very interesting video:

You have a Facebook Page, now what?

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:42:58 -0500

Many businesses are dipping their toes into social media and many start with a Facebook Page. However once the page is up, invariably the next question becomes 'how do I grow my Fan base'? Recently the SocialMedia Examiner website listed 10 Ways to Grow Your Facebook Page Following. They're great suggestions and definitely worthy of sharing!

Be Prepared With Quality Wall Posts and Consistent Engagement
Reward Your Loyal Supporters
Leverage Your Existing Social Networks
Integrate Facebook Social Plugins to Your Website
Remind Your Fans to Like and Share
Utilize Forum Signatures and Membership Sites
Take the Initiative: Request Help From Friends
Use Tagging and Acknowledgments
Participate Outside Your Page
Collaborate With Other Page Admins for a Social Event

Click here to read the specifics on each step. When you're first starting out this list might seem a little daunting, especially if you're thinking you need to try to do ever suggestion right away. A good place to start is by looking the list over and determining which few you'll feel comfortable doing right away, and #7 is a great place to start -- ask your friends! Another helpful element when starting out is to develop a conversational calendar. Often when people know they have to sit down to write, once they do they find themselves with a big case of writer's block. To help the wheels turn, try identifying some basic items like these:

Your focus
A theme
Keywords
Your upcoming events

Put these elements together into a weekly plan and writing your Facebook posts should get easier. Click here to see an example of a conversational calendar. The date associated with this last link is a little on the old side but the example is worth sharing; at least I hope you think so! if you do, let me know by clicking the "Like" button above the title of this post. Thanks!

Social Media - know BEFORE you start

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:54:23 -0500

In today's marketing arena, most folks are aware a social media presence is an important tool for their business. However, there are some different considerations for setting up a business profile as opposed to the personal one. It's all too easy to take the same approach you did setting up your personal page, but Steve Goldner has some great tips on his blog, SocialSteve.

Go through the very old marketing practice of defining your positioning statement. A strong statement should consist of the following parameters: For ...................... [target customer] Who .................... [key qualifier - form] Our product is a .. [product category] That provides ...... [key benefit] Unlike .................. [main competitor] Our product ........ [key point of differentiation] Once you clearly understand your position in the terms described above, you MUST determine how you will rise above all the noise provided by others in your vertical industry.

According to Steve, the 4 elements of success are:

Know who you are and what you stand for
Tell your story in a quirky or standout matter
Select the best social channels to get your story out
Provoke customer engagement

Read the entire blog entry from Steve.

How to manage a Social Media Crisis

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 10:47:54 -0500

What can you do in the face of an out-of-the-blue attack in social media? At Signal we've been preaching the importance of "crisis preparedness" from the earliest days of social media; Phil Lempert's video this morning prompts me to say this again. Social media rumors and misinformation can travel at very high speed, it is vital that businesses plan ahead and have their 'crisis story processes' in place BEFORE a problem actually emerges.

Speed of response is critical. Get your story out in front of the public quickly, before a negative story can build momentum and take on a life of its own.
Respond in the same medium that the attack first occurred in; make sure that the response is seen by the same audience.
Use multiple social media channels to get the word out everywhere fast.
Make sure that the company web site has accurate and easy to access facts about the attack.
Have a search engine strategy in place to make sure that the facts on the web site come up first in a Google search.
Accept that "anyone can say anything they want, whether it is true or not", and that your brand is your responsibility to actively monitor and defend.

A recent Harris Poll shows that one third of US adults share their opinions about products online, and more of these opinions are negative than positive. In the age of social media, companies have more exposure to public relations risk than ever, but they also have more and better mechanisms for rapid response as well. Businesses need to realize that social media is more than just an "optional" device for selling products and services. Today, an active social media presence is a critical defense mechanism for any public facing enterprise. See Phil Lempert's excellent short video on this topic here.

Popularity is the biggest hack magnet

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:40:26 -0500

Mac users are often smug about security because there are so few exploits against Macintosh that reach the news. But the reason for this has more to do with the fact that Macs have historically been attacked less, than it has to do with the inherent security of the Mac platform. Hackers 'go with the flow', that is, they attack the most 'popular' target, not necessarily the easiest. Hacking today is done for money in most instances, and for profit seeking computer criminals there is much more money to be made attacking the dominant computing platforms, than the niche products. The great popularity of Adobe Flash and Acrobat are great examples of powerful magnets for malware. Acrobat and Flash on Windows are far and away the most successfully hacked products today. If a hacker wants to make a pile of money, it only makes sense that they will go where the potential yield is greatest. With the phenomenal success of Apple's iPhones, iPads, and Mac laptops, users of these products should take heed; times are changing. Complacency is an extremely dangerous posture for users of any 'popular' computer product.

I frequently tell readers and audiences that the most widely used software in a particular category is successfully exploited the most. ...As the popular saying goes, bank robbers rob banks because that's where the money is.

Read the whole story at InforWorld

Pure and simple. Macs contain no special, secret security sauce that makes them more attack-resistant than Windows Vista (which was released in November 2006). Macs and OS X do not contain a single computer defense mechanism that the competitors do not already have or haven't had longer.

Read about Mac security here

39 Commonly Used Blogging Terms you Must Know!

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 12:16:37 -0500

Blogs are proving to be far more durable as a communications channel than many might have thought. Far from being eclipsed by the new social media whiz-kids like Facebook and Twitter, blogs have gained renewed vitality to become the content backbone of the social networks. For one thing all that 'posting' and 'sharing' needs solid fixed targets to point at with links; and blogs are simply the easiest way to publish an article and gain such a fixed target. In blog lingo, we call the link to a particular post within a blog a "permalink"; permalinks are now a key component of the social sphere. Blog articles are also the natural "long form" source material to support complimentary "sort form" and "micro" posts on Facebook and Twitter. A good blog post can easily spawn dozens of social media spin off posts, all of which can link back to the original, and provide inbound traffic to the blog, and the website. For today's marketers blogging is more useful and important than ever. Here's a great blog post from BlogSpot with a glossary of terms that can help you navigate the jargon of the "blogosphere":

Ever hear people throw around terms like RSS or .XML and you wrinkle your forehead in confusion but nod your head because you don't want to admit that you haven't a clue? This blog post will lift some of that mystery by covering the ABCs of blogging's most important terms.

See the whole glossary at BlogSpot

Mobile Social Media is the next frontier

Thu, 13 May 2010 11:02:20 -0500

With Ford's new SYNC technology, it has now become easy to simply talk to your car and ask it to send a Tweet. Now we need 'mobile specific' social experiences that integrate the fact that we are rolling down the road and our need to 'social-ize' with our similarly mobile cohorts. New applications are in the works that will build on mobile location awareness and help us make sense of our social lives 'in motion'.

Ford, the University of Michigan, Microsoft and Intel gave students a rare opportunity to develop their ideas of future in-car connectivity. The research project resulted in experimental applications combining social networks, GPS location awareness, and real-time vehicle data in ways that help drivers get where they want to go efficiently, while having fun along the way. In the class, the students explored and built applications based on access to Fiestaware: a Ford developmental application platform built on Windows 7 and Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio. This enabled them to harness the power of social networks that safely and responsibly connect to the cloud. The software system is the first of its kind, and provides access to vehicle performance data, networking services, voice recognition, social networking tools and other data, as well as the Windows Azure cloud services platform. Students in the class were able to use the platform to conceptualize and build a new class of applications as class projects. ...Like: Caravan Track - software that allows clusters of vehicles traveling together to track each other along the journey.

Read the whole article at TheFordStory.com

Can the Semantic Web save us from drowning in data?

Tue, 11 May 2010 11:51:19 -0500

For years we've said "content is king". The promise of the web was that we'd have so much more data that we'd be able to make truly informed decisions. But it appears now that we are generating too much data, and we have no good way to understand or integrate all of the data that we have collected. We are literally drowning in data, as individuals, as businesses, as a culture. The amount of media that is available to the average citizen is vastly greater than at any time in history. With Google now indexing 'Tweets' we are on the verge of an internet with trillions of pages of information that are all indexed and available... but only useful if we can figure out the right search query. We desperately need to structure all this data; we need to find the relationships. The Semantic Web promises to automatically discover the relationships for us. On the Semantic Web content may not be all there is, rather, CONTEXT may be "king".

Web 3.0 by Kate Ray - This 15-minute film is a pretty good general overview of the semantic web. That is, turning all of the data on the web into structured data so as to define relationships between it and derive meaning... The video includes interviews with Dixon, Tim Berners-Lee, Clay Shirky, David Weinberger, Nova Spivack, Jason Shellen, Lee Feigenbaum, John Hebeler, Alon Halevy, David Karger, and Abraham Bernstein.

Watch Kate Ray's film - Web 3.0

Socialnomics: Social Media Revolution (refresh)

Fri, 07 May 2010 15:00:04 -0500

Erik Qualman has released an updated version of his highly regarded video. This video is really a must see if you have not already seen it, and it is a great update for those who have. It's got all the latest stats and figures to support the original contention - which is that the social media revolution is a cultural tsunami! Great stuff!

It's amazing how fast the world of social media moves! As many of the statistics from the original Social Media video have changed, I took a moment to refresh the video with a few new statistics and graphics. Thanks to all of you for your support in making the first Social Media Revolution and Social Media ROI videos such a huge success and I hope that you enjoy this refresh!

Check out the new "Socialnomics: Social Media Revolution" at Erik's site

Twitter launches Embedded Tweets - aka "pull quotes"

Wed, 05 May 2010 05:52:45 -0500

Are embedded tweets the social media equivalent of "pull quotes"? Once again Twitter has co-opted one of the ways that users are working with their product and incorporated it directly into their service. It's a little clunky right now, but the idea is pretty interesting. In the example below you can see that this is a live 'tweet' with all the attributes of a tweet:

Blackbird Pie: Twitter's new embedded tweet tool. Making it easy to embed your tweets with style via @twittermedia http://ow.ly/17gMIIless than a minute ago via HootSuiteDavid Finch
DavidFinch

Twitter's "Blackbird-Pie" tool for creating embedded tweets is here.

Twitter not only gets media attention, it drives media attention for world events by making it faster and easier for every day Joes to share information through its micro-blogging service. Now, Twitter is taking it one step further with embeddable tweets. The embeddable tweets are essentially a micro-blogging version of newspaper-era pull quotes, intriguing statements that aim to get attention of readers and entice them to read the entire article. Twitter is calling the embedded tweets the "new quotes."

Read the whole article at Yahoo

In Mobile, Women Rule Social Networking

Mon, 03 May 2010 11:26:09 -0500

This does not surprise me. I think women are generally more 'socially communicative' than men. According to Brian Solis, women 'get' social communication 10% better than men. I believe it. Some say that, since the late 90's, the socially most communicative people on earth have been adolescent Japanese girls using next generation mobile devices in Tokyo. Read more on new media practices in Japan ...I think this is because women are simply more inclined to engage and share using language. I think they gain more personal satisfaction from the exchange process. It may be that women are genetically are more inclined to listen and learn, as well as to speak. What this means for social media and internet development is going to be the focus of a great deal of attention going forward. Clearly the development side of the social sphere will not be dominated by males. This is a very good thing for our historically male dominated technical culture, in my opinion. Based on data collected and analyzed using Google Ad Planner, I recently discovered that in Social Media, women rule. Across almost every major social network, the balance was revealing and in some cases, profound....According to new reports, it appears that mobile counterparts paint a similar picture. Nielsen recently released data that shows that in mobile, women also dominate social networking. Read all of Brian's article at BrianSolis.com

Steve Jobs - Thoughts on Flash

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:40:11 -0500

There has been a great deal of complaining and hand wringing about the fact that the Apple iPhone does not support Adobe's Flash. Apple has said repeatedly that, for significant technical reasons, it doesn't think that Flash is the right solution for mobile devices. Adobe has accused Apple of blocking Flash for narrow business reasons. This might seem like a silly squabble between business rivals, but it actually has huge significance for web designers, web developers, and any one trying to deploy video on the web. Who's right? Here's what Steve Jobs has to say:

I wanted to jot down some of our thoughts on Adobe's Flash products so that customers and critics may better understand why we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. Adobe has characterized our decision as being primarily business driven - they say we want to protect our App Store - but in reality it is based on technology issues. Adobe claims that we are a closed system, and that Flash is open, but in fact the opposite is true. Let me explain. First, there's "Open".

Read the rest of Steve Jobs's article at Apple .com

Email Marketing - It's about the People

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 12:39:24 -0500

Many companies use their email marketing program to update their list subscribers on the latest company news, to reveal a new product or service, and of course, to announce a sale. While these are all legimate reasons to contact your list, there's a shift occurring throughout the marketing world. Gone are the days of "batch 'n blast" (ie: sending the same message to everyone). In today's social media climate, you need to build relationships with your recipients. Learn what they're pain points are, what their day-to-day challenges are, and then customize messages with that information.

With email marketing, thoughtlessly pushing the same message at your entire customer base is no longer enough. It doesn't take care of them. It doesn't show that you recognize and respect them.

Continually blasting everyone with a "me, me, me" attitude isn't going to garner positive results. When you start learning more about your recipients, perhaps through surveys or engaging them on their social media networks, and then adjust your messages accordingly, you'll start building a community of dedicated followers. Readers who look forward to your messages and will help spread your message. According to media marketing expert Chris Brogan:

Old marketing would be: find buyers for my product. Hunt them down and relentlessly hit them with messages until they buy. The bigger the number of prospects, the better the yield. New marketing is more like: find people who make more sense. Start relationships with them before selling to them. Learn more about them. Make the offer - if it makes sense.

Read the blog entry from AWeber Communications

Field Guide to Social Networking for REALTORS®

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 12:37:04 -0500

According to the National Association of Realtors, 84% of all home buyers look for properties on the internet before contacting a realtor. Many of these home buyers are social networking using Facebook and Twitter as well. Real estate professionals have always been skilled at networking with prospective buyers and sellers, but increasingly this activity is moving online and onto the popular social networks. To be successful in real estate marketing today realtors need to expand their networking skills to include social media channels. Integrating a social media plan with sound web design, an email marketing program, and search engine optimization efforts can increase leads, generate customer awareness and build solid relationships.

Some people may find the concept of an online social network intimidating, but the applications and platforms are typically intuitive and easy to learn. And for real estate practitioners, who tend to be naturals at networking and forming community connections, social media seem to be a perfect fit, says Peter Kim, a former analyst at Forrester Research who is now part of a team that's developing social software startup Dachis Group in Austin. "The Web isn't something people should be afraid of," Kim says. "On one hand, it takes time to learn about the technology and the interactions. But once that's done, social networking should be no different from the work [real estate professionals] are already doing--researching, networking with customers, and marketing. It's just using a new technology to get there."

Read the whole story at Realtor® Magazine

Mobile Wi-Fi slowly, awkwardly starts to come together

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:03:49 -0500

Wi-Fi on the go is a promise that we've been teased with for quite a while, but the reality is that mobile Wi-Fi is often a hassle, and generally overpriced. Whether you are in an airport, a hotel, or a coffee shop, there is a wide spectrum of possible payment structures, some of which are just plain highway robbery, and others that are refreshingly free... it all depends on the enterprise that it offering it. It's like a road system with out any standards, a variety of toll roads, mixed with occasional free roads, and no interoperability. For the mobil user it's a nightmare. For web designers and internet marketers it is a growing aggravation.

The promise of anywhere access when on the go is old hat, promised but not delivered by all sorts of providers for more than a decade. How long have you heard about Wi-Fi on airplanes, Wi-Fi hotspots wherever you travel for business, municipal Wi-Fi, and so on?... Where we are today is that there's more mobile Wi-Fi available, but the fractured fiefdoms add hassle and cost. The providers need to figure out how to stitch their services together and stop trying to carve out all these separate silos -- they inhibit usage that way. I figure in another five years, this mobile Wi-Fi thing may finally work right.

Read Galen Gruman's story at InfoWorld