With Facebook preparing for its IPO this week, some major changes are coming for the company.
The move to open ownership of the company to the world at large is almost certainly going to be a watershed moment in the nascent social media industry. This is an industry that long last is finally coming into its own after years of rapid growth and finding its way in terms of business models, user adoption strategies, and competitive positioning. It’s no accident that Zynga represents about 12% of Facebook’s revenue: Social games have become a substantial trend and it was smart for Facebook to ensure it had a stake in this hot new area of social media. 
Some key events in the news this week"
Google+ Hangouts On Air was launched last September to a limited number of broadcasters and is now rolling out to the rest of the world. This means “you can now go live in front of a global audience.”
Facebook Announces The App Center: The App Center is a new place for people to find social apps. “For the over 900 million people that use Facebook, the App Center will become the new, central place to find great apps”
Google+ Notifications in Gmail Get More Interactive: You can now view, comment on and +1 Google+ notifications from your Gmail inbox.
You can now get ALL of Adobe’s core products and more for $49.99 a month and upgrades are included – no need to ever purchase or pay extra to upgrade any individual product. Adobe heralds the official arrival of its new subscription service, called Creative Cloud. 
Bottlenose is a web-based smart social media dashboard and aggregator, similar in some ways to to Hootsuite and Tweetdeck, but with a far richer set of features. It provides real-time semantic filtering that implicitly learns about your interests, natural language processing that’s specifically designed for streams, social search and an architecture that can process about 3000 messages per second per browser.
I've been a beta user for the past 4 months, and rank the service as one of the best social media aggregators and trending tools that I've come across. I especially like the sonar feature which gives a nice visual display of the topics in your streams.
The site is currently still in private beta, but you can use invite code "getsonar" to get in today. The company plans to launch its public beta later this month. 
Facebook Social Readers Are All Collapsing: Are you annoyed by all those automatic Facebook news apps? Maybe publishers — and even Facebook's product people — are having second thoughts about how Social Readers were rolled out. Sharing isn't really sharing if you don't mean to do it 
Robin Good: Thanks to Louis Gray who has helped me discover that Google has released a Share Bookmarklet which can be used to capture and post any kind of web content on your Google+ stream.
The Google+ Share Bookmarklet captures instantly title, description and images present on any web page while allowing you to select which image to use (or to drop it altogether) and providing a "comment" box. The title and original description cannot be edited.
The bookmarklet is free to use.
Get it here: https://developers.google.com/+/plugins/share/#sharelink-bookmarklet ; Via Robin Good 
HootSuite Teams is the first social media management tool that lets global companies seamlessly build and manage large teams of staffers, consultants and collaborators.
Robin Good: JISC provides a very well documented guide to the use of Creative Commons licences (also referred to as CC licences) which can greatly facilitate the copying, reuse, distribution, and in some cases, the modification of the original owner’s creative work without needing to get permission each time from the original rights holder.
In addition to this the correct use and embedding of CC license may greatly help in the effort to make original sources more transparent to the final reader, in many context, including news and content curation efforts of many kinds.
Creative Commons licences can be embedded into a variety of resources, such as PowerPoint, images, Word docs, elearning resources, podcasts and other audio visual resources.
While specifically prepared for UK public sector organizations this document can be quite useful for anyone interested in the use of CC licenses to distribute digital content online.
Key Benefits of embedding CC licences for content curation and attribution: It can help the user see that the resource is an 'open' resource and licensed under a specific CC licence termsIt can help reduce the future 'orphan works' (works for which the rights holders are unknown or cannot be traced), and assist in creation of appropriate attribution, citation and potential negotiation for further permissions. By embedding the selected CC licence to the licence details even if the resource gets detached from its metadata. This is particularly the case if the resource is found via a search engine instead of the original website platform which might host specific copyright restrictions.
More info: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/programmerelated/2011/scaembeddingcclicencesbp.aspx ;
(Thanks to Amber Thomas for finding this resource) Via Robin Good 
Giuseppe Mauriello: After Scoop.it for iPhone (December 2011), Content Curation and Publishing Platform Scoop.it announced its Android app which will bring mobile curation to all Android users.
Excerpted from article: "Much like the iPhone app, the Android app will allow you to leverage the suggestions you’ve configured for your topic as well as suggestions from other users. The publishing window is almost identical to that of the website and, of course, you will have all of your sharing options.
But, what’s the best thing about the Scoop.it mobile app for Android? Well, we’ve taken simplicity a step further as the App adds Scoop.it to your browser’s native sharing menu. Now, to curate content you discovered while browsing, you no longer need to copy and paste the URL from your phone’s browser or install the bookmarklet. Content can be posted to Scoop.it by simply clicking your browser’s share button.
And just like its iPhone counterpart, the app allows to you do perform essentially all of the tasks of curating your topics without telling anyone you did it from your phone. Whether your posts are published from your phone or from your computer, your topic pages will always sport the same fluid magazine layout..."
Read full original article here:
Via Giuseppe Mauriello 
Can we rely on machines and algorithms to create and maintain trust in a network? Clearly Facebook thinks you can. A salutary reminder perhaps that social networks are made up of people and their content. Let them decide what is appropriate or inappropriate - not a piece of code written by someone who thinks they know best.
We’ve reached the point where social media is, in the words of Altimeter analyst Brian Solis, “bigger than marketing. It’s also bigger than customer service. [It builds] relationships with customers that improve experiences and more importantly, teaches businesses how to re-imagine products and internal processes to better adapt to potential crises and seize new opportunities.” 
Social Media Today is of course a destination where we primarily discuss how to make use of social media resources. But the big story is really about a transformation in our work lives, brought about by a need to serve entirely different markets, which will cause heightened degrees of dislocation and uncertainty that we have got to adapt to. That uncertainty will transform work in general, rather just lead to something called social. 
Concepts from the gaming industry have become increasingly useful as a way of improving and optimizing how we get work accomplished for our businesses. While many in the enterprise world may not be ready to adopt these ideas yet, gamification increasingly looks to be an effective set of techniques that now has an entire cottage industry forming to make it easier to achieve results. |
This piece was written by Raymond Morin posted on Intelegia
In Raymond's previous post, “Influence On Social Media: Finding, Creating and Sharing The Best Content”, he says that the main challenge for professionals and companies on social media will be to position themselves as an industry leaders.
Excerpt:
"These 10 steps are a part my daily routine. As I mentioned before, this is the approach that I user and the goals that I set myself.
**Every professional must determine their own sources of content, according to his or her expectations and those of their audience.
**Above all, he or she must make lists that will guide him or her throughout search for great content.
Here are some highlights from this piece: In the article Raymond goes into detail and shares his process and how he uses these sources
10 Sources of Content To Enhance A Social Media Presence
1. Newsletter Subscriptions (email) media sources (i.e., Radio / TV / Print).
2. Traditional Media (Newspapers, radio and television)
3. News Feeds From Social Networks (Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus)
4. Publication Tools (Articles selected through lists of influencers)
5. File Sharing Platforms (Images / Graphics)
6. File Sharing Platforms (Videos / Podcasts)
7. Bookmarking Sites
8. Platforms For Content Aggregation
9. Newsgroups (Facebook, LinkedIn, Google +)
10. Blogs of Influencers
Selected by Jan Gordon covering "Content Curation, Social Business and Beyond"
Read full article here: [http://links.visibli.com/share/pLxK8D] Via janlgordon 
A list of 27 awesome WordPress plugins to help make your blog the best it can be for you and your readers. [Four Plugins are specific to the Genesis Framework]
The great thing about self-hosted WordPress blogging is the amount of plugins available to help you make your site just the way you want it.
These can range from social sharing options, design tools, subscription options, e-commerce solutions and much more.
Download PDF Version to use as reference when looking for plugins to install on your WordPress site: Via maxOz 
A good communications strategy must start planning for obsolescence of a corporate website as a communications tool: it must look at how connections can be made between content and the social world, how information can be automatically posted on relevant platforms in the right format.
I see the social intranet as a natural extension to what many people are calling "Social Business", i.e. encouraging a more engaged and collaborative workforce which is at the centre of the business. It's happening now, albeit very slowly. 
Concepts from the gaming industry have become increasingly useful as a way of improving and optimizing how we get work accomplished for our businesses. While many in the enterprise world may not be ready to adopt these ideas yet, gamification increasingly looks to be an effective set of techniques that now has an entire cottage industry forming to make it easier to achieve results. Via Jeff Hester 
Mobile now accounts for 10 percent of all Internet usage worldwide, after the rise in demand and ownership of smartphones and tablets saw the proportional use of the mobile Web more than double over the last 18 months. The only thing you can be sure about is this percentage is going to get bigger as smartphons and tables become more ubiquitous. I'd guess at 15% by the end of 2012. Knowing that their employees are disengaged or under-engaged, are managers doing their job if they choose to ignore the situation? But if you are a manager that wants your employees to be engaged, engage them! 
Robin Good: If you are just about to start testing how effective a content curation tool like Scoop.it can be for building your own reputation and visibility in a specific interest area, this 10-step guide by Shirley Williams does provide some important information on how to start with the proper foot.
The guide is illustrated with many screenshots and it pinpoints the key items you need to be paying attention to when starting to curate a dedicated channel.
Informative. Useful for novices. 7/10
Full mini-guide: http://socialmediapearls.com/10-steps-to-curate-your-social-media-content-with-scoop-it-for-increased-value Via Shirley Williams (XeeMe.com/ShirleyWilliams), Robin Good 
Excerpt from the Twitter blog:
"The Discover tab makes it easy to discover information that matters to you without having to follow additional accounts. Starting today, the Discover tab will begin to surface content that is even more personalized and meaningful to you. We’ve incorporated additional personalization signals to select Discover stories, including Tweets that are popular among the people you follow and the folks they follow.
The Discover tab’s new design shows who tweeted about particular stories. You can click “View Tweets" on any story to see popular Tweets from your network or recent, relevant Tweets directly below the story summary. This social context helps you understand why each story matters to you and makes it easier to join the conversation. You can reply, retweet or favorite these Tweets, or you can “Tweet this story” to share your own perspective."
Presumaby this fetaure is tappng into the know-how of the recently acquired Summify - glad it is being put to good use! 
Excerpted from article: "Today curation takes on a different meaning. Organizations have evolved from collecting artifacts to digital curation of media and content. Anyone and everyone can, and do, curate using everything from bookmarking sites to social networks. "Social curation," as we call it, is simply the act of sharing, categorizing, and spreading content to others. The content can be your own or someone else's. And, because you are sharing content that lives in its place of origin via linking, it is not considered stealing.
Why do people spend hours online bookmarking, pinning, and reposting? We all want to be recognized for our expertise, talents, and savvy. Posting content we care about displays our creativity, interests, opinions, and personality. On the receiving end, people enjoy discovering and exploring things that are highly relevant and interesting.
In this article, we'll discuss how marketers can get in on the social curation boom in a meaningful way.
There are a lot of websites out there offering curation-type services. To get a clear sense of how a brand might leverage curation, we can break them down into categories. - Social bookmarking and news; - Sharing; - Aggregation and syndication networks.
Here are eight ways your brand can get in on the action.
1. Become a curator creator: This tactic is strictly for warriors because it takes time, diligence, and a step outside the marketing box to become one with a community. Becoming a curator will mean rolling up your sleeves to create your own Pinterest board or other social network profile.
2. Create an interest-based content strategy: As marketers, we tend to base our communications around products and target markets. To be an awesome content curator or creator, you'll want to push that into the back of your mind and focus on interests. This can be accomplished with some listening, observation, and information collection on what your customers care about when they aren't out buying your product.
3. Optimize for popular sharing topics...
4. Treat photography as being as important as copy: Video and photography is as valuable as an article. When you're writing your next brilliant article, put time into article images so people are inspired to not only share the article, but also to pin it on Pinterest.
5. Make something worth sharing: For curation, consider its lasting value and how it fits into popular topics and interest lists. When you see their eyes light up and they send it forward into their communities, you've done your job well.
6. Make it sharable: Add sharing buttons to your content on your blog, website, shopping cart, and email campaigns. People will do things that require one-click.
7. Make friends with influencers: Extend your influencer outreach to leaders in Reddit, Pinterest, and Tumblr communities so that when you have something great to share, you've aligned with partners to help get your content out.
8. Post from the inside: People just want to get to know the people behind the brand...."
Read full and long article here: http://j.mp/K1zGxl
Via Giuseppe Mauriello 
You can now find a "Pinterest" button in the share menu to easily "pin" everything that you can share via Flickr, including photo pages, favorites, and groups. If you pin a lot, the share menu will act smartly and prioritize the Pin It button, showing it as one of the two shortcuts on the photo page. If a photographer does not want their content to be shared, the share menu will be disabled making the Pinterest option unavailableas well LinkedIn is preparing to add new presentation and content-sharing functionality to its social networking platform by purchasing online professional content sharing community SlideShare. 
Foursquare has tweaked its history page this morning, in order to give users a more functional, searchable version of their past check-ins. Although you could see your old check-ins before, they weren't as accessible as they are now. |
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