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Social Media Headlines: July 18-22

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Social Media is Morphing into Social Business (The Huffington Post) 

If the Huffington Post would return my phone calls, I’d ask them how it feels to be the last one at the party.

Report: Facebook is Most Hated Social Media Company (Inc.)

The release of this new research has coincided with the launch of Google+. Perhaps Facebook will have to take user suggestions more seriously now that they have such staunch competition. Well, let’s not get carried away. As cute as Google+ is and as exciting as it is for them to have reached more than 20 million users in under a month, it isn’t Facebook. What’s the difference,  you ask? The difference is 3/4 of a billion people. Yeah. So come talk to me when Google+ gains 730 million more users.

Pentagon Set to Track Social Media (Social Times)

DARPA, or The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, identifies four major goals of this new “tracking”:

“1. Detect, classify, measure and track the (a) formation, development and spread of ideas and concepts (memes), and (b) purposeful or deceptive messaging and misinformation.

2. Recognize persuasion campaign structures and influence operations across social media sites and communities.

3. Identify participants and intent, and measure effects of persuasion campaigns.

4. Counter messaging of detected adversary influence operations.”

Orwell, anyone?

Asking Twitter to Commit Suicide with a Google+ Dagger (Tech Crunch)

Um.. Tech Crunch? I think you might want to have some of your writers assessed by a mental health professional.

The Evolution of Social Media: 2001-2011

This morning I was reading MSNBC‘s list of the most interesting additions to the Guinness Book of World Records for 2011. Yes, it was fun. There was the “loudest purr” record awarded to a cat whose owner likened his purr to a vacuum cleaner. There was the “shortest living man” record that went to an 18-year-old man in the Philippines measuring in at 23.5 inches. And then there was the “longest cigar” record that went to a cigar the length of a football field. Where? You guessed it! Cuba.

So while I was enjoying a cup of tea with some light reading, I found myself struck by something in this list of World Record winners. Many of them could not have existed 10 years ago. For example, Lady Gaga is given the honor of having the world’s most Twitter followers at just more than 10 million. 85-year-old John Bates won the record for most perfect games of Wii bowling. I guess they didn’t visit my 87-year-old grandmother, who is a Wii bowling expert. But the point here is neither Gaga’s fame nor my Grandma’s agility, but rather the amount in which our society has changed over the last decade. More specifically, how technology has influenced that change.

It’s 2001: Wikipedia has just been launched. Google is still in its infancy; Gmail hasn’t even been developed yet. There is no YouTube, no Skype, no Iphone. Ten years ago you would not be reading this because WordPress did not exist yet. Ten years ago if someone said, “I’m following you,” it would have been cause for a restraining order. Today, it’s flattery.

Furthermore, if this were 2001, no one would understand you if you uttered any of the following:

“Facebook me,”

“YouTube it,”

“Actually, the term is ‘tweeting’,”

“No, it’s not an Iphone. It’s an android,”

“If you don’t have an Iphone, you don’t have an Iphone,”

“Can we make it Facebook-official?”

“TY for the RT,”

“I have an app for that,”

“Why am I not in your top 8?” <– admittedly, this one has already come and gone. Sorry, MySpace, but it does prove an excellent point about the fleeting nature of social media and technology.

My advice: Don’t get too attached to any of the current technology and don’t be discouraged if you’ve yet to figure it out. Either way, it’s all going to change.

If you have other fun “show me the money” type phrases for this decade, feel free to post them in the comments section.

Ancient Peruvian Social Networking

I’ve just returned from a holiday in Peru, where amongst other things, I learned something very interesting about the the Inca social networking system.
Due to a lack of written history, the true function of Machu Picchu remains a mystery, but some believe it was meant as a kind of vacation estate for the Kings. It was built high in the mountains, many days walk from the Inca capital of Cusco. The Inca Empire, at its strongest, spread from Quito, Ecuador to Santiago, Chile and into Argentina. But when the Spanish invaded Cusco, the King has news of it in Quito, more than a thousand miles away, in just three days.
The distance between the modern-day capital of Lima and Cusco is more than 700 miles. I know what you’re thinking: 700 miles is no big deal (at least in Texas, it ain’t). Well, I forgot to mention that Lima is on the Pacific Ocean and Cusco? Well, Cusco sits in a valley at more than 11,000 feet up. Yeah. So the bus ride takes 21 hours because it must wind in and out of mountains in order to ascend safely. However, there are stories of Kings having fresh fish in Cusco for dinner.
So how did a people with out the wheel traverse this distance in such a short period of time? They ran.
That’s right. The Incas had a sophisticated system of “telephone” for communication and transportation of important goods, like the King’s dinner. A fisherman would pass off the fish to the first runner, who would run as fast as he could until he met the next link in the chain, to whom he would pass off the bounty and so on and so forth. Think that’s amazing? Get this: the people of the Andean villages still walk over these mountains every day in nothing but sandals in order to trade goods. Does that not sound difficult to you? Here, let me paint you a word picture…
I hiked over two mountains on this trip (one 13,000 ft and the other 16,000 ft) and “difficult” doesn’t even begin to cover it. As I’m sitting just 150 feet shy of our 16,000 feet summit for the day, I am breathing into an oxygen mask for the second time this morning. We began the day at about 10,000 feet and that was nearly 6 hours ago. To my chagrin, up walks a beautiful Quechan woman, dressed in traditional garb complete with skirt, sandals and a decorative hat. After she and our incredible guide speak for a moment, he tells us that she has come from the first village we saw yesterday and she is headed to a larger village that we won’t reach until tomorrow. She began her journey 4 hours ago and intends to finish in in 4 more.
This woman traveled in 8 hours what it will take us three days to do. And she did it with a pretty hat on.

Social Media Works

It makes dreams come true.

Yesterday, The Freaker America Team had their Kickstarter project fully funded and then some. Kudos to them for being clever enough to capitalize off of this wonderful thing called “crowdfunding.”

Crowdfunding is one of the special concepts made possible by social media. Without the inter-connectivity of social media, all the people with great ideas but no connections may not get a shot at making their dream come true. Crowdfunding is an extension of the American Dream. It makes it possible for people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and get after it. It also gives the thousands of people who may not have a lot of money, but would like to support projects like these, the opportunity to do so. The Freakers didn’t get their project funded by one or two wealthy investors, but more than 2,000 people giving what they could to help further someone’s dream. Who doesn’t want to have the chance to do that?

I find myself constantly with ideas that “would be great, if…” but there doesn’t have to be an ellipses at the end of that sentence. It can read “will be great when” thanks to crowdfunding. Creative projects, unique business ideas, charitable organizations, whatever your passion is can literally be made your reality with the right leverage of social media. The Freakers did incredible things to earn this money. They didn’t just open a Kickstarter account and hope for the best, they put an entire campaign together all using social media. They produced videos expressing gratitude for the progress and explaining how they were going to reach their goal. They blew up Facebook and Twitter with updates constantly. They even threw a party for the entire city of Wilmington because they were able to raise $1,000 in 24 hours. They promised freakers and tee shirts and signed water bottles to contributors. But above all, the Freakers succeeded because they persevered.

I was heartbroken last weekend when, with only a few days left and several thousand shy, it looked like the Freakers weren’t going to make it. Without reaching their goal of $48,500, they wouldn’t get anything. But they didn’t give up. Even in the last 24 hours they were pushing and pushing to get that last bit of money in. So you can imagine the sheer joy when yesterday I saw they had raised $62,000 in total for their project. Their triumph nearly brought me to tears. You can see the spirit inside Zach Crain in any of the videos they produced. This is his baby, his passion and he loves it and is good at it. And I know personally that their marketing guru, Lauren Krakauskas, has one of the brightest lights inside her of anyone I’ve ever known. She shone that light onto this project and because of it, this determined group of young people is now going to be able to pursue their dream. Social media facilitated their path, but their spirit drove them and I am in awe of what they have accomplished. Congratualtions! Go Get ‘Em Freakers!

Multimedia Monday

Today’s photo is inspired by Snoop Dogg announcing his intention of pitching a hip-hop version of American Idol, which I can only hope will be social media heavy. God knows if he does it, I’ll be blowing up Twitter with my thoughts and I’m sure I won’t be alone. Good luck, Doggfather, I believe in you.

Also, just a word of advice Mr. Dogg, you may want to get in touch with whomever does Seacrest’s nails and Daly’s botox. Just so you’ll fit in 😀

Social Media Headlines 5/23-5/27

Toyota Confirms Existence of Social Media Bubble The Motley Fool

I have been biting my fingernails just waiting for Toyota to weigh in on this. Finally, we have some clarity. I don’t know what we would do if we didn’t have car companies to fill us in on our business. Thanks, Toyota, but if you spend so much time jibber-jabbering about social media,  you might miss out on your chance to run Ford or Chevy out of business. I wouldn’t you to know that kind of disappointment. Best to stick to what you’re good at.

How to Use Social Media During Your Family Vacation Mashable

Easy: Don’t. Or if you do, don’t be surprised when your children turn out to be personality-less drones who can’t separate themselves in real life (RL) from their online presences. This is my biggest concern with social media. I don’t usually concern myself with “the children,” but come on people! If you don’t teach them how to be humans, we will be the robots that take over humanity. Don’t let that happen. Put down the Ipad. Sir! Put it down.

Facebook This! Profanity and Social Media Users Technology.Gather.Com

This is a good question and one I find difficult to answer and here’s why: Being of the generation who used Facebook when it was only open to students, I have a very different relationship with my personal Facebook and Twitter accounts than with business ones. Being an early-user I feel entitled to use whatever language I choose when I’m on a personal account. Business is different. I offer the metaphor of a business meeting versus a bar. If I am on a business page or in a business meeting, cursing is completely unacceptable. On the other hand, if I am in a bar, do I feel the need to censor myself? No, absolutely not. I am a grown woman and I am perfectly capable of deciding for myself how I want to be perceived. Don’t like it? Unfollow me. As a bratty millennial, I simply refuse to be censored on networks that I’ve been using much longer than you. PLLLTTT.

The End of Oprah Vs. The End of The World: The Social Media Battle to end all Battles CBS News

Oprah ends… the world ends… These are the same thing, right? I don’t understand the question…

Social Media Headlines 5/16-5/20

Kids Under 13 Should Use Facebook, Zuckerberg Says — All Facebook

Mark, if you didn’t actually say this, I’m sorry for you because this headline makes you seem like a total creeper and because of it, we are in a fight. What’s that? Oh no, not you, Facebook… this is between me and your dad. Yes, we both still love you.

How Social Media Could Have Prevented 9/11 — Tech Leader

Would you read an article titled “How Refrigeration could have Prevented Deaths from Food-Borne Illnesses” or “How Airbags could have Prevented Traffic Deaths”? No, because it’s obvious that with certain technologies available today, we may have been able to prevent tragedies of the past. Someone was really fishing for material this week. Fail.

Personal Contact on Social Media Leads to Positive Behavior of Recipients — Medical News Today

Do you mean to tell me that if I reach out to someone on Facebook or Twitter  in a personal way, they will respond with kindness? This is an incredible breakthrough in how we relate to one another on an interpersonal level. We must take this tactic and apply it to our lives outside of social media! Seriously, sometimes it feels like we are devolving as a people.

4 Social Media Tools and Tips for the Rapture — MemeBurn

You know… some weeks it’s difficult to find social media news to mock, and then other weeks, little beauties like this one just fall into my lap. Where to begin, really… Actually, let me get back to you on this one tomorrow, say around 7pm? See you then… maybe.

Who Will Win the Facebook and Google War? A Social Media Smackdown for the Ages — Fox News Latino

Whilst reading this rather lengthy headline, does any else imagine an old MTV gem called “Celebrity Death Match”? Here I see Mark Zuckerberg squaring off against Larry Page, but wait… there’s a celebrity guest I can’t quite make out in my mind. Who could it be? He’s shrouded in rags and covered in dirt. Oh no! It can’t be! No, it must be! It’s TOM from Myspace, Ruuuuunnnnn! He’s so bitter, he’ll destroy everyone! — You’re welcome, MTV.

Social Media Invades…The Voice

So who has been watching The Voice? Yeah, it’s that show with Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, the guy from Maroon 5 and that country singer. Only kidding, Adam Levine. Also, congrats on your wedding, Blake Shelton.

It’s actually a pretty good show. I prefer it to American Idol because there isn’t a section of shows strictly dedicated to mocking our people (not exactly my cup of tea humor-wise). Everyone who is on The Voice has already auditioned and been declared good. Nay… great. The singing is impressive and the judges being successful singers themselves doesn’t hurt. I also thought the show would be superior due to the lack of Ryan Seacrest, but then a curveball was thrown TRL-style. Carson Daly to play host. Yes… My thoughts exactly.

Getting to the point of this post, the show has promised to employ a strong social media component. I first heard this on the excessively aired previews for the show; NBC must have thought this was the Royal Wedding. But it worked, cause now I’m watching. The “component” they refer to is actually really interesting.

After each person sings, the production team puts up a tweet reading something to the effect of: “@BlakeShelton: @so-and-so did a great job, has an amazing voice and is going places! #TheVoice” — This happens all throughout the show; the different coaches tweet live (or their assistants do) about the different contestants.

I find this to be a very obvious use of social media and, yet, I don’t know of any other shows employing this strategy. It’s great for several reasons. One) the contestants, even if they don’t make it past the first round, will get some national promotion on Twitter. Secondly) it’s a constant promotion for both the show and the celebrities hosting the show. Finally, the best facet of this social media component is accidental… or is it? Get this: I do a little twitter search for “@TheVoice” and I find it’s owned by an organization with this bio:

“The Voice is Ryan Seacrest Foundation’s 1st initiative to build broadcast centers within children’s hospitals to explore realms of radio, television & new media.”- Account opened October of 2010.

It’s probably just a coincidence. I’m sure Hollywood insiders have no previous knowledge of new shows starting, especially not within their own very specific market. You can follow NBC’s television show, “The Voice,” at @NBCTheVoice. Spencer out.