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Archive for the ‘Social Networking’ Category

Description of ‘Social Networking’ Category:

Using social network websites to connect with or network with people who share interests.

Twitter Tools and Tips for Managing your Followers

Friday, November 18th, 2011

If you use Twitter, by now you have probably have a large number of people that you follow as well as a solid following for yourself. One of the quickest ways to build a following besides offering popular content is to follow other users in the hopes that they follow you back or influence other users to check out your content. Are the people that you follow offering useful and relevant information or are they just people you followed in order to increase your presence on the social network? Although this can be a great way to get started, once you have gained a good number of followers these users may no longer be relevant.

Twitter Follow Logo Twitter Tools and Tips for Managing your Followers  

Twitter Logo from http://www.twitter.com, Nov 2011
Twitter tools and tips

Twitter Tools and Tips

Managing a professional or company Twitter account is a lot different than managing a personal one, mainly because you are not as lax with your company page as you are with your personal account. A business Twitter page should be all about offering industry, consumer, and company information while an individual page is more often used for social communications with friends and family. It becomes much easier to manage the two if you avoid mixing your personal and professional Tweets.

When to follow someone on Twitter:

  • If they keep you informed.
  • If they entertain you.
  • If they make things easier on you.
  • If they are already an active member of your network.
  • If they are someone you’d like to get to know.

 

When Not to Follow Someone on Twitter:

  • If the user is not industry related or only use their account for personal tweets.
  • If the user still has the default Easter egg avatar or if they use a provocative female as their avatar when it is clearly a man or corporation tweeting.
  • If the user doesn’t list anything in their bio. (No website, no location)
  • If the

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Google Gears Up to Launch Its New Social Network, Google +

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

On Tuesday June 28, 2011 Google announced that they are very close to launching their new social network called Google +. Not to be confused with Google +1, the new Google + is a social network that is currently in a “field trial period” with a limited number of testers. Although there is no news available regarding the interaction between Google +1 and Google +, it seems logical that eventually the two Google services will somehow be used to complement one another. The goal of Google + is to bring more humanity or emotion to the world of online sharing and interaction.

The foundation of Google’s social network feels similar to other social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. From the looks of it, Google + appears to incorporate the basics of social networking that we have grown comfortable with and even manages to offer a few unique and innovative features. Users can expect the following features to be included on the Google + Social Networking website following the trial testing period.

Google + 300x163 Google Gears Up to Launch Its New Social Network, Google +  

from http://www.google.com/intl/en/+/learnmore/, June 2011


+ Profile:

Creating a Google + Profile is similar to a Facebook profile. The profile enables users to fill in a bio, contact info, interests, upload photos, and link to other sites that they have created. This profile lets users remain in control by specifying who has access to their information and how much of their information is visible.  The post tab located on the profile page also contains a record of all the posts made by the users. It’s important to mention that changing a Google + profile name will also change the name associated with your Google account and other Google services.

 

+ Circles:

Sharing on social networking should be more selective. In most cases the things you tell people depend on the type of relationship. It’s unlikely that you would share the same information with your friends and family as you would with co-workers or… Read the rest

Google +1, How Is It Measuring Up to the Like Button?

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

Back in March Google began rolling out their +1 feature locally on their Google results page. The new feature enables users to activate the Plus 1 button when they wanted to recommend a website to other users. Since Facebook did not want to have their Like Button located on the Google search results page and chose to showcase it on Bing instead, Google has taken action and created its own way to boost social interaction. Similar to the Facebook Like Button, the plus 1 feature lets users put their stamp of approval on a website.

+1 Button Google +1, How Is It Measuring Up to the Like Button?

From http://www.google.com/+1/button/,  June 2011

Exactly one week ago on June 1, 2011 Google announced that they are now offering the +1 button to website developers to place on their own content. On the day of the announcement the +1 buttons started appearing on major websites like Bestbuy.com, TheHuffingtonPost.com, and Nordstrom.com. After only a week the button now appears on large and small websites all across the Internet. Websites can display the button and enable people to recommend their website, blog or even individual products. Already the Google +1 feature seems to have a solid foundation but it continues to work towards being as widely used as its Facebook counterpart. From what we can tell here at Internet Beacon, the Google +1 button is being used frequently on the search results page but doesn’t quite yet have the exposure necessary to properly compete with the Facebook and Twitter sharing buttons that are on individual websites. In time this could change drastically, after all the button is only a week old.

It makes sense that Google would eventually assign some sort of values to this feature where the more plus ones a website has would equal a rank better, however it is still unclear how this development will affect SEO and the Google website ranking algorithm. Google could determine that sites who… Read the rest

Top 4 Facebook Frauds and How to Avoid Them

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Like most Internet based companies, Facebook continues to take steps to ensure the safety of its users. Even with all the effort made by Facebook, no amount of Facebook security protocols will eliminate every scam and every hacker. Vulnerabilities will still persist regardless which is why the best protection seems to depend on user awareness. The majority of problem reports can most likely be avoided through proper user education. If users remain unaware of the current scams it leaves them unsuspecting and prime targets for malicious scams. Educating users to be aware the attacks while participating on social networking platforms could drastically help preserve the network integrity.

facebook scam 300x221 Top 4 Facebook Frauds and How to Avoid Them  

From http://www.Facebook.com, May 2011

The following are the top 4 Facebook scams that continue to plague user experience. These examples show that although Facebook is proactively implementing security precautions, flaws in their security remain. Once problems are identified Facebook should place a greater effort on expressing their concerns and warnings to the users rather than letting their users discover the problem first hand. Even though many users may have heard of these scams it was probably not directly from Facebook but instead from other websites blogs or from other users. For those of you that are hearing about them for the first time due to Facebook’s inability to properly educate the following 4 are the most prominent scams on Facebook today.

 

Click Hijacking:

For some, these messages may immediately appear to be scams but sometimes the offer is too enticing to refuse. Clickjacking calls for a user to copy and paste text into their browser search bar which infects the computer with malicious code. After a user unintentionally infects their computer the Clickjacker can use that account to distribute spam. Instead of Facebook identifying these types of messages and sending out a notice to users they leave it to the user to find out about it first-hand.

One example of Clickjacking is when a user receives a post from their friend… Read the rest

Facebook Embarrassed After Tactics against Google Backfire

Friday, May 20th, 2011

It is common for competing companies to bash one another to gain the competitive edge that they need, however in the most recent case Facebook’s attempt was a huge failure that only hurt their own credibility. Using Twitter, a well known Google critic posted that a public relations firm had requested to add his name on an anti-Google article that they had ghost written. Following this post USA Today also confirmed that they had received a similar request.
facebook tactics Facebook Embarrassed After Tactics against Google Backfire

Public relations firm Burson-Marstellar who has been representing corporate clients for 58 years was hired to encourage various media outlets to examine Google’s privacy practices. It was unbeknownst that Facebook was the one behind the secret smear campaign with many users initially thinking that it was Microsoft or Apple who was responsible. Once the secret campaign went public it was discovered that Facebook had been the one pulling the strings. This discovery was not only damaging to Facebook but to the integrity of the PR firm Burson-Marstellar as well.

Why did Facebook resort to this desperate attempt to smear Google’s name? It basically comes down to money and although Facebook would seem to be at the top of their game, Google is following closely. Before going awry, Facebook was trying to gain a larger lead against Google. The failed attempt has left both Facebook and BM frantic and eager to regain their ground. Some individuals may expect these kinds of dirty tactics as a regular part of business competition but for a company that emphasizes trusts and privacy like Facebook this backfire is greatly damaging to their reputation. Whisper campaigns like this take place all the time in business and political cases but most the time they do not end with the desperate company becoming the headline. This occurrence has left both Facebook and the PR firm Burson-Marstellar with diminished trust amongst their industries and customers.

Facebook maintains that it was not their intention to smear the competition… Read the rest

Facebook Now Offering New Security, Deals, and Selective Sharing

Friday, May 6th, 2011

April was a big month for Facebook, among some of the changes that they implemented were new security tools, Facebook Deals, and the Facebook Send button. Each of the new features was designed to provide users with a safe and beneficial user experience.

facebook spelled out Facebook Now Offering New Security, Deals, and Selective Sharing

The first of the three features that Facebook released was a New Suite of Safety Tools. The new security provides users with additional information for user and family safety. In addition to the existing safety content the new resources include articles and videos on Facebook security and privacy. Along with the new safety content users will now be able to use social reporting tools to express to the community what items they do not like or find offensive. Another part of the new security features is two factor authentications. Two factor authentications are used to further prevent unauthorized users from accessing other user accounts. This protection procedure requires a secondary code when logging in from an unrecognized device or location. The last announced security update for Facebook is the option for users to access Facebook using a secure connection over HTTPS. However, because some apps do not accommodate HTTPS Facebook will need to automatically switch between HTTP and HTTPS given the user’s authorization.

Following the implementation of their new security, Facebook also launched Deals on Facebook. Deals on Facebook is currently being tested and is only offered in certain areas like Atlanta, Dallas, Austin, San Diego, San Francisco (many more to follow shortly). This feature lets Facebook users locate deals from local businesses, share, and coordinate plans with other Facebook users. Deals on Facebook will work similar to Groupon and Living Social but are now built right into the social network, which is convenient for both customers and businesses who utilize Facebook.

The latest addition made to Facebook is the “Send” button. This new button is very similar to the “like” button which was introduced last year. The… Read the rest

4 Daily Online Activities to Gain More Clients

Friday, January 21st, 2011

In our private lives, we all have our daily online routines. We check and send email, visit our favorite sites, read a few articles, and countless others.

Why should our Online Business Activity be any different?
Online Activities to Gain More Clients 4 Daily Online Activities to Gain More Clients
If you own a business there are certain basic recommendations for daily online activity that could help generate more clients.  The Internet is a powerful resource for any business and neglecting to utilize all that it offers is silly.  Every business can be conducting some kind of daily activity online.  Not sure how to fully utilize the Internet for your business? The following are minimal suggestions for your company’s daily Internet practices.

  1. Visit Some Social Networking Websites:
  2. Submit some postings to multiple sites and gain a following in the online community.  Use this online activity to share some knowledge and build a reputation for your business.  By improving the brand of your business on Facebook, you’re able to market your company and have the opportunity to acquire profitable insights from others. It’s free, except for your time, so take advantage of the free advertising that websites like Facebook and Twitter offer.  In addition using these social networking sites gives you another medium to allow you to be more accessible to your customers and gain valuable feedback. See more information about how Twitter Can Benefit Your Business.

  3. Write a Blog:
  4. Establishing a blog for your business is a great way to branch out and grow your web presence.  A blog is another way to obtain customer interaction as well as communicating important messages to your clients.  Additionally, mention your blog articles on Social Media websites like Twitter and Facebook and have more potential clients visit your website. For more on how blogs can help a business check out Having a Blog Helps!

  5. Check The Analytics Of Your Website:
  6. It is important to understand how visitors use your website.  Before you can successfully solve any problems and market your site. You should have a good understanding of what’s

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Can Google Compete with the Social Networking Giants?

Friday, December 10th, 2010
hypothetical Google plus one logo Can Google Compete with the Social Networking Giants?

hypothetical Google plus one logo

Hey everyone it Dustin again and thank you for visiting our Blog.

By now most of us are using or are familiar with Twitter and Facebook but have yet to hear about Google’s new social network venture. The question is can another social network establish itself amongst the ranks of Facebook, Twitter, others? These social network giants leave little to no room for any new entries but that isn’t stopping nor discouraging Google.  The talk is that Google has once again been working on its very own social networking site for some time now.  They had previously announced it as code named Emerald Sea however they seem to now be playing with the title Google Plus One or Google+1.

Google’s previous attempts to enter social networking include Google Me and Google Buzz.  These setbacks however have done little in the way to dishearten Google.  Scarce details are available. On top of that hose details out there is mainly in the blogosphere and aren’t exactly concrete.   But if anyone can find a home in the social network market it would be Google which is already a giant in its own right.  I’m actually kind of surprised Google hasn’t successfully created a social media network already.

Some details speculate that the Google plus one would be like Twitters Retweet Button or could be as simple as a toolbar. Social media and networking sites are huge undertakings which need to be managed constantly to take on a life of their own.  In my opinion a toolbar would be the wrong way to go.  If Google is going to compete against twitter and Facebook then it’s going to take more than a tool bar across Google’s existing applications.   It’s hard to get a clear picture so far but I’m sure users don’t need any more toolbars, plus a toolbar would do little to distinguish Google from the existing social networking sites.  I just don’t see a toolbar standing up against the full fledged competitors. What do you think? Would you… Read the rest


 
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