Top 10 Facebook charities?

Squidoo.com

According to Squidoo.com, there are several factors which account for a good charity application on Facebook. They include: “user value, charity value, viral factor, and interest longevity potential”. They acknowledge that the charities are getting more and more substantial every day, therefore the need to update this list will become apparent soon enough. However, they believe that this list currently lists the best charity applications via Facebook

The list

The following is their list:

1) Good Samaritan–offers surveys to users that they can fill out, and every time a survey is filled out, money is donated to a certain organization.

2) iRipple–uses PPC campaigns and ads to donate money one of four organizations

3) Good Search–a search engine which allows users to donate a portion of proceeds towards a charity

4) Social Vibe–connects social networks with a social vibe account.

5) Charity Trivia–trivia charity application which donates 10 grains of rice for every question users get correct.

6) Give Stream–this application lets you donate money to 14 different charities via an Amazon store. With each product you buy, you donate a portion of that money to a charity.

7) Every Click– a PPC (Pay Per Click) based app which generates money via sponsored links and ads.

8) Competition for a Cause–a Twin City benefit app in which local owners are sponsoring  an award amount, and teams are selected to choose how that award is donated.

9) Pennies at a Time–a shopping portal which charities “pennies at a time” every time you shop through their application.

10) New Year’s Card–an interesting “New Years wish” based app in which the most popular wishes receive 100 dollars.

My analysis

I thought the list was a very good one, mainly for the fact that it linked the readers to the applications, showed the pros, and showed the cons as well. Personally, I would have made a few changes. For example, I think Pennies at a Time should have been number ten, because it was stated that it is not clear where the spare change is actually going. For New Year’s Card however, it is quite clear that the most popular wish is the one that receives monetary support. Something to keep an eye open for: an updated list 6 months from now on Squidoo.com.

[Via http://onlinefundraisingblog.wordpress.com]

A very striking example...

Here folks, is an opportunity too good to pass up to illustrate one of my main points, that we have lost our focus.

Recently, UNI (my college) beat Kansas University in college basketball. It was all over the news here, and for good reason, it was apparently quite exciting and unprecedented. On my Facebook, I can only begin to express the amount of content that was being dedicated to this upset. Pages upon pages of people posting their ecstatic support for the UNI team, and groups and fan pages popping up left and right. In a matter of hours, the entire recent activity of the site (At least in my network) was nearly 100% dedicated to the upset. March 20th.

Even more recently a political upset occurs, passing perhaps the 3rd most influential health care bill in the history of the U.S. I hear the news, all excited, and come back to check my Facebook… Silent. Dead. Not a single person in the last two hours had said ANYTHING about this landmark event. Why is this? I respect that we are entitled to enjoy our play, but honestly, there is a time and a place to care about the serious things as well that have a HUGE impact on our society. It’s irresponsible, childish, and shows just how disconnected and out of focus we’ve gotten. This is something that affects EVERYONE, and while I know I may be generalizing from the firsthand lack of response that I saw, certainly SOMEONE, out of ALL the people I know should be regarding this as a serious event!!

Even the NPR and other news feeds that sometimes get massive responses to updates such as the disasters in Haiti and Chile are awfully quiet… I don’t just know one kind of person either. Even though most of the people I connect with are young, as I’ve already said, this is not something that pertains to just one group. Wake up individual Americans, realize your role in this country, take responsibility, be virtuous.

Keep Thinking

[Via http://aestheticvirtue.wordpress.com]

FacePAD v0.7.0 available for download!

tweetmeme_url = 'http://wordpress.com/blog/2010/03/18/facepad-v0-7-0-available-for-download/'; tweetmeme_alias = 'http://bit.ly/dlPPQc'; tweetmeme_source = 'lazyrussian'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact';

Greetings,

Earlier today Facebook changed its album databasing schema which caused havoc to FacePAD users.

I’ve fixed the problem (yay) and in the process I made FacePAD easier to use!

FacePAD users no longer need to set language preferences – FacePAD is now compatible with all languages!

The new version can be downloaded here: http://z.isosp.in/arhm9X

Here are the release notes:

Version 0.7.0 (March 18, 2010)

1. Removed language preferences

2. Works with all languages supported with Facebook

3. Compatible with Facebook’s new Album Databasing Schema

4. Compatible though Firefox 3.7a4pre

[Via http://lazyrussian.com]

Alert - Extra Long Weekend!

Well, today was something of a special day. Since it was PASS Week, I did not do much work in any of my classes. Nothing interesting happened at school today, except for the fact that in the Gym this morning someone threw up on one of my best friends. She went home early because she was embarrassed. I feel bad for her. I sure hope everyone forgets about it on Monday. I don’t have to go to school tomorrow, it’s a Teacher Workday. Yay me! After school today I went to Great Clips and got a haircut. It was one of the first haircuts I actually like. After that I went to an AT&T Corporate Store to get a new SIM Card for my phone. Then I went home and ate a Box O’ Pizza and some chocolate pudding. And as I write this I’m trying to debate whether I should get an iPhone or the Nexus One… It’s gonna be a hard choice. I like Apple’s modern style, but I also enjoy Google’s creativity. Oh well. I’m looking forward to the weekend. So I’m just gonna hit the hay once I’m done on Facebook. (I’ll probably over-sleep by a few hours!) …End!

[Via http://frankieslife.wordpress.com]

facebook: the frenemie

I have a love/hate relationship with facebook. I love analyzing people’s statuses (yes, I know how creepy this sounds) but I hate how much time I spend on it. At risk of making myself sound even more lazy than I already seem, I could spend about 6 hours on facebook every day. See? Major time-suck.

I also hate facebook for another reason: it takes me, and I believe anyone else who spends too much time on it, out of the real world. There were days I actually found myself forgetting about what was going on in my life because I was so busy trying to find out about everyone else’s.

Let’s face it- facebook is not just a social networking site. It’s a stalker’s wetdream, a miserable person’s crutch and procrastinator’s kryptonite. In short, it’s the devil. Okay, not really, but I am giving it up for Lent in the hope that I will break my facebook habit.

[Via http://mrsnoel16.wordpress.com]

Social Media Meltdown

If it hasn’t happened to you yet, you will inevitably hear the words “We need to be on Facebook and Twitter.”  Now mind you this isn’t coming from some profound strategy or remarkable use for the technology — but simply because that is what all the lemmings are doing.  You”ll find these words freshly dripping from the mouth of many senior and mid-level  leadership returning from business conference who ironically have:

a)  never been on Facebook.

b) if they have, still don’t have a profile picture.

or my personal favorite

c) sign their name/initials to all of their posts.

As much as I enjoy social media and the many humorous laughs it affords, I don’t think marketer’s (and especially trade journals that cater to marketers) really understand that Social Media has its limits.  From reading Ad Age you would think that the Apocalypse will now happen in 140 characters or less.

Many marketers suffer from the delusion that customer’s want to have a personal connection or relationship with a brand.  I hate to burst your  bubble, but they actually just really like your product.  Don’t get  me wrong, but as much as I like Coca-Cola, I could care less if they are trying to get their 2 millioneth fan on Facebook . . . I just want a refreshing drink when I’m thirsty.  Of particular interest to me are the businesses like steel manufacturers getting fan pages.  Really?

I certainly hope every business joins Facebook soon so that I can become a fan . . . because afterall, fans = sales, right?  Well . . . not necessarily . . . someone put it like this:  If a restaurant has 1,000 people sitting in its establishment because they like it, but no one buys a meals . . . you aren’t going to make any money – shocking, I know.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate social media at all.  It’s a tool . . . but just that a tool.  If you are going to use Social Media have a plan, stick to your plan but don’t make it your business plan.

Rememeber, that your business made money long before facebook and it will continue to make money long after facebook.  I hope that businesses will realize the folly of hiring twitter experts or facebook gurus with proven experience in social media (how does one even define proven experience . . . ?)  If you’ve hired one of these so-called experts, I hope you see a return on your investment, a real one – not simply 20 comments in response to your post of “Will the groundhog see his shadow?”

Just as we learned the hard way in the late 1990’s with the dot-com burst.  I won’t be a bit surprised to hear of the Social Media Meltdown of 2011.  You’ve heard it from me, consider yourself warned . . . the writing is on the wall – literally?

[Via http://cornercubicle.wordpress.com]

Social Media, it can eat you alive.

This article was originally written for my Posterous account, it has been left in it’s entirety.

Social Media, It Can Eat You Alive

Social Media, it can eat you alive if you let it. There’s so much to learn, so much to do, so the question is which ones do you participate in and why? I have friends who do Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. As time goes on I find that I like the flexibility of a self-hosted WordPress site, so I have that. Already got the different twitter accounts for various interest. Got the Facebook account. Use Hootsuite to manage those and have some things on “auto”.  I’ve had an account with Posterous but was working on my WordPress blog so no time. Then I saw something that reminded me, “Hey, I have followers on my Posterous, but I haven’t put anything there, I don’t have time to write something for each site!”  So, as I’m now looking at it, I remember why I signed up for the great “P” – it’s a simple blog that will post to your other social networking sites and there – you’re pau! (done in Hawaiian)

So I thought as I always do, how can I be more efficient? How do I connect everything and what do I want to share with the other sites? I use LinkedIn for professional/business stuff. I like to do mindless things like Foursquare which goes on my personal Twitter account @mLehua. I use my Facebook account to keep in touch with friends and family, people I already have relationships with – it’s more personal so I don’t have that account open to “everyone”.  So what am I doing now that I wouldn’t mind everyone and their dog seeing? Posterous!

Posterous, according to their Wikipedia definition is “particularly for mobile blogging”.  I was at BarCamp in Miami 2010 and one of the speakers said he was going to an Asian country for work and was told that he couldn’t blog, but wanted to keep his readers updated as to what he was doing as it was for his adventure travel company.  One of the guys in the audience said, “Just send it by email to Posterous”.  Well, that’s why we go to these things (BarCamps and networking). The speaker knew about getting his business online and blogging but was too busy doing his job; than keeping up with all the cool social networking things – so he said, “pasta what?” – The young man in the back said, “Posterous, you send it by email and it post to your blog and wherever else you want.” The speaker said something like, ‘really that would solve my problems.’ It’s awesome, that one piece of info just reminded me that when you go anywhere, if you can walk away with one small piece of new information, it maybe worth tons to your business or whatever you are working on.

Gotta run now… I’ll be back to write more.

[Via http://theoriginalmlb.wordpress.com]

BBC Research On Internet Habits In Southeast Asia

I’ve noticed little coverage of a recent BBC World Service poll which concluded that “four in five adults questioned regard internet access as their fundamental right”.

From an Asian stand-point the research is interesting. Asia is well represented, of the 26 countries included is a healthy Southeast Asian presence in the form of Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand.

Southeast Asian trends

After looking at the findings I’ve collected the points below from the three Southeast Asia countries. Internet users in each are…

– concerned about content

– big users of social networking websites

– comfortable using the internet for dating – particularly in Philippines and Indonesia

– more likely to say they can cope without the internet, opposite of China, Japan, South Korea

The conclusions for each of the three Southeast Asian countries are below in full.

- – -

Thailand

While Thai web users believe very strongly that internet access should be a fundamental right (91%), they emerge as somewhat more wary than average about expressing their opinions online—58 per cent disagree that the internet is a safe place to do this, compared to a little over two in five who agree (42%).

It seems likely that Thailand’s lese-majeste laws (an example of which is here) are the primary cause for Thai concern over expression opinion online, particularly compared to opinions in Indonesia and Philippines.

A higher proportion than average (83%) agrees that the internet has increased their freedom.

This is consistent across all three countries.

Social networking sites are also more popular in Thailand than in many other countries—two-thirds of Thai web users say they enjoy spending their spare time on such sites.

As discussed before social networks rapidly growing in Thailand, and Southeast Asia, so much so that it is Facebook’s second fastest growing country.

Fraud is the main public concern relating to the internet across the 26 countries, violent and explicit content is clearly the greatest worry for Thai respondents (42%).

Concern for web content in Thailand is interesting.

On one hand, it could be argued that lese-majeste and the country ICT ministry’s over-zealous internet controlling has developed this worry, planted the seed. Alternatively, the fact that Thais worry can be said to justify the MICT’s actions.

I tend to go with the former argument given that I don’t know anyone who supports the MICT and its policies.

- – -

Philippines

The main internet-related concern among respondents in all countries surveyed is fraud (32%), followed by violent and explicit content (27%). But the picture among Filipino respondents differs dramatically, with 71 per cent citing violent and explicit content as their main worry: this rate is much higher than in any other country surveyed.

This suggests that Thailand’s concern over content is not as heightened as first assumed.

Users in the Philippines are similar to those in Indonesia in citing the internet’s usefulness for communicating and interacting with others as its most valued aspect (48%).

Again, coupled with Thailand and Indonesia, this conclusion falls in line with the huge growth of social media in Southeast Asia. See below more.

They, like Indonesians, are enthusiastic users of sites like Facebook or MySpace (88%), and—like users in Pakistan, India and Indonesia—are more likely than average to agree that the internet is a good place to meet potential romantic partners (42%), and that it is a safe place to express opinions (65%).

Along with internet users in Pakistan, those in the Philippines are much more likely than others to agree that they could cope without the internet (79% vs the overall average of 55%)

- – -

Indonesia

The ability to connect with others is the most appreciated aspect of the internet among Indonesian users—46 per cent, a larger proportion than in most other Asian countries, say communication and interaction with others is what they value most.

Consistent with this is the above-average popularity of social networking in Indonesia: 85 per cent of Indonesian web users say they enjoy using sites like Facebook or MySpace. In this, they resemble users in the Philippines.

The theme of social networking runs across all three Southeast Asian representatives

Internet users in Indonesia, along with those in India, Pakistan, and the Philippines, are more likely than average to agree the internet is a good place to make romantic connections, and that it is a safe place to express opinions.

Indonesian users attribute less-than-average importance to the internet, are more likely to say they could cope without it, and less likely to agree it is a fundamental right.

This is the distinct opposite to East Asian countries where the internet is faster and more reliable.

While fraud is the number one concern overall, Indonesians (44%) are more likely than other nationalities, including other Asian groups, to cite this as their most pressing concern.

A PDF of the BBC report can be downloaded here.

[Via http://jonathan-russell.com]

Not really. Really?

Wanna know why social networking is not the downfall of society? My brother found a woman’s wallet and keys on the DC metro and sent her a facebook friend request to try to get them back to her. She accepted a week or so later and is now overjoyed to have her stuff back, several states and an area code away.

Wanna know why social networking is the downfall of society? Because now even more f—ing people think my brother is the world’s best human and I have no way to subvert that perception. I mean, who comes off as the petulant a–hole for claiming the whole thing was a hoax and he’s just doing facebook p.r.? Exactly.

[Via http://naptimewriting.wordpress.com]

Hilltoppers Attend PRSSA National Assembly in Hometown

This week seven St. Edward’s University students will attend the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) National Assembly.  For the first time, the National Assembly will be hosted at the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Austin.

The PRSSA National Assembly will host students and elected Chapter delegates from 248 universities nationwide. PRSSA members will receive leadership training as well as vote on the National Committee representatives. The conference will include a Day of Competition sponsored by the CW network and numerous keynote speakers.  The Assembly begins on Thursday, March 11th and continues through Sunday, March 14th.

“We are very excited to have the National Assembly hosted in our hometown, because it provides our chapter with a greater opportunity to send students who want to participate and get involved,” said Ally Hugg, St. Edward’s PRSSA Chapter President.  

Local PRSSA Chapters at The University of Texas, Texas State, and St. Edward’s University , along with the Austin PRSA Chapter, will be hosting a “Networking Bingo” that will give students a chance to meet each other and network with Austin area communication professionals. This opportunity will allow students to work on interviewing skills, and discuss recruitment opportunities following Assembly activities on Friday, March 13th at 5:30PM at the Hyatt.

The St. Edward’s University Chapter will be live Tweeting from the Assembly and the “Networking Bingo” from @SEUPRSSA and from personal Twitter accounts. Students will also be posting information on the Chapter blog and Facebook account.

                                                                                                                                              

Contact:

Courtney Medford

St. Edward’s PRSSA Secretary

cmedfor@stedwards.edu

[Via http://stedwardsprssa.wordpress.com]

Facebook Measures Up

Everybody loves Facebook, right? Or at least almost 440 million active users, as of the latest stats available. That is, except big time professional advertising entities…

Until now.

Just this past week, Facebook and Omniture announced that they would soon be working together. This announcement created relatively little press fanfare as most of us do not know who the heck Omniture is. However, marketing professionals, particularly those involved with major companies placing advertising in the new media, recognize that this is a quite a big deal and are salivating over the actual launch of this partnership.

According to their site, Omniture “is a leader in online business optimization service software”. They provide software that:

• Measures customer behavior
• Compiles this behavior for real time stats and also for trend reporting
• Automates online processes

This company also offers services that provide even more capability, but the above are the big three. The company serves top tier corporate and service provider clients, and is now owned by Adobe. This is a big, big deal!

According to the Associated Press, as reported on seattlepi.com: “Using Omniture’s products, companies will be able to measure how effective their ads are on Facebook. They will also be able to use Omniture’s search engine marketing management tool to buy Facebook ads. And they will be able to compare how well their ad campaigns do on Facebook compared with other outlets.”

Suddenly, Facebook won’t be for experimenting and testing anymore, as far as big companies and their agencies are concerned. All the objections and reservations that had to be explained to someone’s boss suddenly go away. Automated buying and measurement: Ease of placement and analytics. What more could any Fortune 100 marketer want?

It is my expectation that this one move will noticeably change the face and pace of Facebook. Is this for the better? I await your opinion.

[Via http://mtietbohl.wordpress.com]

The Lines of Digital Communication

I am not an expert in communication or what is considered standard communication etiquette. What I do know is how I interpret the communications I get. Which in most cases I do it wrong. It’s a gut feeling based on the the information I have at hand.

In this modern digital age we have many forms of communications between texting, facebook, email, and ect. Yet in all these instances I feel they are impersonal. They take out a very important part of the process. That part is hearing and seeing an instant reaction or the infliction of voice. On the digital front no one sounds exactly as they seem. We are allowed to craft a response that is unnatural. There is only so much one can “write” before it becomes meaningless.

Yes I will admit I am guilty of this, but I also know when to call up a friend to talk to get them to come out for a bit. I prefer the phone call to a text message or of facebook message. When I see my friends are having a bad day through facebook or AIM messages I’ll cal them up. I feel that a familiar voice is worth more than a few bytes of a text or other electronic message. In this day and age it also sends a message that you think they are important to reach out to.

I think it more comes down to balance. We have to know when an electronic interaction is good and when to pick up the phone to call. In this digital age it will get more difficult to make that decision as new forms of communication comes out. The younger generation will be growing up with this new technology and this will be standard for them.

It’s weird that I am in the IT field and yet part of me fells like I miss the days when you had to call someone to get in contact with them. I guess I’m old school like that and will probably continue that trend. I’ll embrace new technology and communications, but I’ll always know the value of a phone call or a nice get together with friends. It’s something that I feel is priceless.

[Via http://josephmunizjr.com]

3rd Sunday Check-Up

Well, its Sunday and that only means one thing- its time to check how many notifications I am up to. My Facebook is starting to act real, real screwy. I think once you reach 99 it starts counting funny. So, anyway, this is what Facebook mobile has told me has occurred on my Facebook since Ash Wednesday: 13 new notifications, 7 friend requests, 27 inboxes, 17 other notifications, and 2 pokes. I remember some of those tallies being higher before, so I don’t know what really is going on. Well, plenty of work to do before I back home for Spring Break on Friday. Until then..

[Via http://40daysnofacebook.com]

Facebook As A Branding Strategy

By Lindsay Dicks

Once you are logged into Facebook, scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Advertising,” and then click “Pages.” There is some great information here about fan pages, so take a moment to read through the information, when you are ready click “Create Page.” As you go through the set-up process, remember that in any branding and marketing it is important to categorize your company in the right area to help people find you. So choose carefully.

One of the great things about Facebook is the ease of set up navigation. From here, setting up a fan page is really about following the prompts. Rather than point out each step, let’s look at the important ones to get your personal branding going.

1) Photo – Before you do anything else, make sure you have the perfect photo for your page. Maybe your logo is the best photo for your page, but maybe not. Think about other branding materials you have, maybe something seasonal. Obviously, you want your fans to see your photo and recognize your brand – that’s the goal. But if you have a creative image that is also recognizable, it might help your fan page attract fans with an element of fun.

2) Write something about your company – See the little box under your picture that says “Write something about your company” this is very important because this is one of the items that is visible on every tab of your fan page. This is your elevator statement in 250 characters or less. Be sure to include a link to your website here, and in order to make your link clickable, don’t forget the http:// before the www. (Note – this statement can be changed at any time, so it is a great place to highlight a promotion or other important happening for your company.)

3) Wall Settings – Another important tool in the set up of your page are the wall settings. You have to decide if you want visitors to be able to post messages for everyone to see or if you only want your own messages shown. Unless you have a super controversial company, I recommend starting with allowing everything. It will help you build your wall faster because people like to post messages. If the posts become out of control or unflattering, you can always delete individual posts or turn off the setting all together later. (You will find “Wall settings” under “Edit page.”)

Once you fill in all of the basic information, you have successfully created a fan page. Don’t forget, it is easy to change if something changes, so don’t sweat it.

Now you are ready to take your page live, it is important for you to let people know about your page. This is where having an already active personal profile comes in handy because if you already have a lot of “friends” who are interested in your company, you can “suggest” your new page to them.

Alright you have a page, you have suggested to all of your friends, now what? Now you start the real work. Marketing and branding takes time and attentiveness. You can’t just set up this page and hope people find you. If there is nothing on your page that interests people, no one will become a fan. Social media is fun – your fan page should be too. Post interesting things about your company, but don’t be afraid to post something fun too. Try posting open-ended questions (to entice responses from your fans) such as “What is your favorite XYZ?” “What do you plan to do for the XYZ holiday?”

Posting links and/or photos are also a great way to get people interested, plus they are more visually appealing so people are more apt to pay attention. Posting links to your website has the added benefit of pushing people to your site to find out more. Try posting on your fan page every time you update your blog – “Check this out” and attach a link to your blog.

Remember, the most important reason you have a Facebook fan page is to use it as a branding strategy to promote your personal brand. So, if your company is very “green” conscious, share tidbits about being green. If your company is all about marketing and branding (like us), you might post pictures of events, links to blog posts and information about the companies you help brand.

Those are the basic features of a Facebook fan page, but once you get going you will realize that there are many more things you can add to your fan page such as customizable apps, connect the page to your Twitter feed, and much more. But you can’t do any of the fancy things until you get started with the basics, so for now create your page and start building your fans. Oh, and don’t forget to include a new link on your website to let people know they can become a fan on Facebook.

And that is how you can use Facebook as a branding strategy for your business.

[Via http://paulhinesmarketingvault.wordpress.com]

Introduction to Vivacious Jane

I’m a vivacious Jane. (Jane being used in the general sense of a young, attractive, somewhat adventurous girl) I work at a small technology company. I am unappreciated in my office, and I basically do nothing all day. Even when I suggest things I could do, they don’t take my suggestions. If you think about it. It’s hilarious. I get paid $500/week to go on Facebook and write in my blog.

So today started with a dream. A dream that a wolf was guiding me to a bureau where I was going to put on my uniform to prepare for battle. I opened the bottom drawer. I rifled through all the clothing but I couldn’t find this uniform. The wolf nudged her nose (It was a girl) at the middle drawer. There was the uniform, plain as day! It was all black. Then this orange cat was there, showing me all the different pieces of the uniform. Then this timid hispanic girl was there, asking me if I wanted help to put it on.

I thought this dream was telling me that I was doing the right thing by staying in this crappy, conformist terrible job. because putting on the uniform was significant of “joining the ranks.” But now I think it was telling me that I subconsciously feel that I should ditch the gig, and battle my way through the world!

So today, I came in 30 minutes late as usual. I checked my Farmville, wrote 3 blog entries, answered some personal e-mails, checked Facebook. My boss came in at 10. He is always bringing in baked goods that his wife makes. Her cookies are decent, but he brought in these disgusting oily muffins today. He was offering them around to everyone like an idiot. They tasted like cookie dough. Good for cookies, bad for muffins.

He sat down. I waited a few awkward moments and asked him what I should do. He said, “oh just let me respond to these e-mails!” I was just like “blah ok”.

2 hours later. He told me to post something to the company’s Facebook page. BUT someone had just posted something a WHOLE THIRTY MINUTES BEFORE. So he told me to wait a few hours.

Shoot me in the head.

[Via http://vivaciousjane.wordpress.com]

Malopuff - Social Share Community

As I was googling Malopuff to see how the website was ranking, I was happy to find my page has broken through language barriers, where my page received a small review in Japan. And to my excitement, they had also realised the websites potential.

Japanese Review (Translated to English) – http://bit.ly/coqtuC

What is Malopuff?

Malopuff is a social media search engine. Where Google, Yahoo and many other search engines display top websites based on a keyword search, Malopuff displays the most popular trendsetters in social media.

If I were to enter a niche, such as website design. If I don’t appear in the results, I’m not trending. So the person/people that do appear, these are people I should be following, so I can try to replicate their success. I would do this by following them in Twitter, monitoring what they say in their tweets, what time they send their tweets etc..

Share with the world

Providing rich content for your followers is important, and one of the great features Malopuff provides, is the ability to share the latest news/trends through your social media accounts. Twitter, Facebook, Google Buzz, My Space etc..

The social platform also allows you to create a poll or vote.  The user can add a picture to a poll, which many have turned into a fun feature. Malopuff will then create a URL address which you can then share with your friends, family, or followers.

Are you trending? Only one way to find out -  http://malopuff.com/

And happy sharing everybody.

Malofie Online

eBusiness

[Via http://malofieonline.wordpress.com]

Oregon Voice Article Sparks Friendship

The newest issue of the Oregon Voice came out just a few weeks ago, and I am proud to say that this issue is our best of the year. However, today I received an awesome message and friend request which was in direct response to a review I wrote of The Tao of Wu, RZA’s newest piece of literature.

You can read the article, along with the entire issue by clicking here:

Oregon Voice Volume XXI Issue II: The Film Issue

and you can peep the new friend I made in the name of Wu here:

(Click to enlarge)

[Via http://cognitivecoffee.wordpress.com]

Promoting your Events Online

Conferences, meetings and parties are all events that might not have started online, but which can definitely benefit from online promotion and mention.

Leverage your offline event with some smart social media marketing. Here are seven ways you can maximize exposure of your event using online tools.

1. Blog About It

Before, during and after your event, blog about it. Blogging beforehand can alert others about your event and encourage them to learn more or register to attend.Live blogging during your event can create buzz and excitement for those who were unable to attend (and provide them a snippet of what they missed, which will encourage them to look for your next event). Blogging after can provide a recap, as well as info on upcoming events.

SXSW attendee Allen Stern liveblogged several sessions at the 2009 event. His blog posts are little more than notes from the presentation, but they do a good job of relaying the highlights to readers quickly.

2. Post Photos on Flickr

Everyone loves seeing photos of themselves (as long as they’re flattering). By posting photos of your event on Flickr and tagging them with people’s names, you can generate interest in your event from the people who attended and those who follow them on various social media channels.

BlogHer posts photos from its conferences and events both in the header on its website and in its Flickr stream. It invites participants to upload their own photos from the events into the Flickr stream, which encourages interaction.

3. Put it on Facebook

You can also post the photos and tag them on Facebook. The added benefit of doing so on Facebook is that when you tag someone, it appears on their wall. Anyone who is a friend of someone you tagged can see the photo. The idea is that it will lead them to want to learn more about the event (because hey, they want their photo put on Facebook from a cool local event too). Note that you’ll only be able to tag people that you’re connected to.

If your event or company has a Facebook Page, you can include highlights from the event, like quotes from keynotes, activities, awards or even faux pas from speakers.

For even more interaction, visit the profiles of those that attended and leave custom comments: “Hope you got that wine stain out of your blouse. Sorry about that!” “Great comment you made at the keynote presentation!” etc.

The Wine Conference, an annual event held in Houston, posts updates on the conference to its Facebook Page. Here the event posts logos for its sponsors, photos from events, and blog links about the conference.

4. Post Photos to Twitpic

Twitpic is a great tool that allows you to take a photo with your phone or camera and upload it directly (via a shortened URL) to Twitter. Anyone following you on Twitter will see your tweet and the link to the photo, and can click to view it.

During your event, what better way to show those not in attendance what they’re missing than by taking photos and sending them in real time? Save your hi-resolution photos to be processed later, but upload snapshots from your phone instantly to create a sense of visual livestreaming as the event is underway.

5. Tweet the Event

Don’t overlook the best real-time tool in social media for your event. Sending tweets out to your followers is a great way to keep everyone updated on what’s happening. Whether it’s an awards show where you can share the winners before journalists write about them, or a conference where you can tweet soundbites, Twitter is a great tool for connecting people online and offline to your event.

6. Use Hashtags

The easiest way to track tweets and other mentions of your events on social media platforms is to ask all participants to use a # with a designated keyword or phrase when discussing it.

For example, in 2009, BlogWorld New Media Expo used the hashtag #bwe09 on Twitter to track all mentions of it. Many presentations used this hashtag or one relating to a particular topic as a way to field questions and comments during the presentations. For those unable to attend, following the hashtag was a great way to stay updated on soundbites from the conference.

7. Livestream Your Event

If your event is a conference or educational platform, consider livestreaming it via web video. Using services like Justin.tv or Ustream.tv, you can broadcast your event live over the Internet. This helps expand your audience and interact with them, even if they are not present in person at your event.

Wrapping it Up

Remember that you can get the most out of online promotion if you start long before the event. Map out a strategy that includes what you will do prior to the event, during, and after. Ask employees and attendees to assist you by posting their own take on the event through their blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr accounts. Make it as easy as possible for anyone to share their content and photos of your event online.

[Via http://habitatforhumanityrd.wordpress.com]

In Terms of Social Networking Privacy

Image via Wikipedia

I don’t have many problems with Facebook. Since it implemented the Friends List setting, I can be friends with a range of people from close pals, to acquaintances, to family without thinking twice. I have three such lists — one for close friends, one for acquaintances and one for family — for those occasions. Close friends are people I have shared more than just eye-contact with and have access to everything. They know my politics, my religious thoughts, my pictures, my statuses, etc. Acquaintances are people that I’ve politely accepted Friendship Requests from but don’t plan on getting too chummy with. They still have access to my statues and pictures, but personal stuff like religion, politics, work history, etc. is all private. Family includes members of my family (aunts, uncles, etc.) that I want to be Facebook friends with in name only. They cannot see anything on my account except for my birthday, email and postal address. I keep it this way because my most of my family is on the opposite side of the spectrum politically as well as religiously and I want to avoid more religious/political debates with them. That’s not saying all of my family members have a restricted setting; my brother and cousins are actually in my Close Friends list and have access to more information.

These three tiers of privacy that I’ve created come with a drawback: they are contingent on Facebook keeping their interface consistent which I know it not to be. My friends now see my other friends, and that bothers me. I don’t like that I can’t have individual privacy settings per user, but I’ve made do with the Friends Lists. I’ve also been careful of what I’ve posted on Facebook too: I don’t put anything remotely passive-aggressive or attention-grabbing. If I have to think longer than ten seconds about whether or not I should put something as my status, I don’t do it. As far as pictures go, I don’t care too much about the few “drunk pics” here and there. I’m above the legal age and I don’t care that my friends know that I drink and sometimes to excess. Though I’m comfortable with Facebook, I don’t know if my friends implement or are even aware of the privacy settings. Facebook does an excellent job of making your privacy as difficult as possible to obtain.

What about younger people? I’m twenty-five, married, and educated: the burden of privacy lies on me. Since Facebook opened up their sign-ups to everyone everywhere, I’ve seen a meteoric rise in people under the age of 18 signing up for Facebook. A friend of mine with a 14-year-old daughter had an interesting approach to his daughter’s Facebook privacy: if she wants to keep her account, she must be friends with him, her aunts/uncles, and her grandparents. That way, she won’t even be tempted to post something private. He can see her friends and knows from whom she accepts friendship requests. I thought this was a great idea — rather than forbid his children from using a service, he allows it with restrictions. It might not be comfortable for her, but it is a great way for a parent to keep an eye on what their children do online.

Of course there are people I will never accept Friendship requests from (beside the obvious). I won’t accept Friendship requests from anyone from church. Much like my family, I’m not always sure who shares my politics or religious beliefs at church so I avoid conflict in the first place. The only exception to this rule is my priest, who I came to know outside of church first. I also won’t accept Friendship requests from people I’ll be working with. Again, I don’t know who shares my religious/political views but also I don’t want to become friends with co-workers. I want a completely separate home life and work-life.

(Really, does all privacy boil down to religion and politics?)

Remember: Facebook doesn’t consider us to be its users — we are the product. The advertisers are its users. I have so much trouble explaining this to my friends who WHARGARBLE at every change in layout, policy, or privacy. Facebook does NOT care that you joined “1,000,000+ Strong Against the Newest Layout Change!”. If it did, it would have caved in and changed it back the first time. Because of this, do not be upset when it changes its privacy settings again — and it will, it is just a matter of time. There are other social networking sites, such as Plaxo and LinkedIn, that do a much better job with privacy than Facebook. However, neither are as popular as Facebook and probably won’t get a boost in use until Facebook does something really stupid (like opening it up completely).

Which it might. You never know.

[Via http://ninas.wordpress.com]

Facebook Custom URL

I recommend every business have a Facebook fan page.  Marketing that page is a bit tricky because the domain name or URL is so long and ugly.

For instance, my old one looks like this – http://www.facebook.com/pages/SEO-by-Swaby/137031038432?ref=nf.  That’s going to look real pretty on a brochure or other marketing piece isn’t it?

What if there was a way to go from that to something like this – www.facebook.com/seobyswaby?  There is!  Just get 25 fans.  Once you have 25 fans, you can get a custom domain name…if it’s available.  So the race is on.  Once you create your business fan page, invite people who would be interested to join it.  Then you can get the custom subdomain you want!

I’ve been able to convert my top three Facebook properties to custom domains and I’m pretty happy about it.  What about the old URL links?  They still work!

There you have it…how to get a custom Facebook URL.  Don’t have 25 fans?  Invite your friends!

[Via http://seobyswaby.wordpress.com]