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Social Media Changes Job Hunting

April 30th, 2010 | Posted by Melody K. Smith in how to | jobs | News - (2 Comments)

In these tough economic times, many of us have been forced to look for new jobs at unexpected points in our lives. So maybe we should look for those jobs in unexpected places?

Mashable.com’s recent article, “HOW TO: Find a Job on Twitter” can help with just that. Evolving from a micro-blogging way to find out what’s happening in the world, or your backyard, Twitter has moved into a social media site for recruiting and job searching. How to make the most of your Twitter presence to locate that dream job is as simple as making yourself “job friendly” – post a link to your online resume/CV, twitter about your job search and what you are specifically looking for, and by all means, use a professional avatar. There are more great tips in this article, so check it out.

The SSN Take: Some things haven’t changed and that is the importance of who you know. With Twitter, you can “know” more people that are important to know.

Melody K. Smith, April 30, 2010

Note:   Post was not sponsored.

Exercise your Social Media Presence

April 30th, 2010 | Posted by patrickroland in News - (5 Comments)

Like exercising to stay in shape, constantly watch trends to stay social media fit.

If you’ve already begun working with social media, are interacting and, maybe, even seeing financial gains from your efforts, you’re ahead of the pack. But in the twenty-first century, the pack catches up fast and today’s social media lead dog is tomorrow’s pooper-scooper. Search Engine Watch offers readers yet another list of ways to utilize social media with its article, “Optimize your Brand for Sharing and Social Search in 11 Steps”. While your eyes might roll at the prospect of reading another list, it provides a few new nuggets about social architecture and human algorithms.

The SSN Take: It might not be fun to sift through social media advice when you’re already doing a good job, but it’ll help you stay in shape.

Patrick Roland, April 30, 2010

Note: Post not sponsored.

Real Time Social Search Engine Targets Cities

April 30th, 2010 | Posted by Melody K. Smith in branding | marketing | News - (0 Comments)

Knowing what the hot topics are in social media can be beneficial for marketers and the like, but targeting in on a particular city makes the data even more valuable.

User generated content continues to become more well-known across the web as more and more users post information online. This type of information has generated real time search as a powerful way to navigate the web. Sency was created to help you easily navigate the real time web. At any time, they allow you to see what is going on right now with any person, place, or subject. Sency for Cities allows you to search what’s being said right now inside of 13 major US cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC. This powerful tool will allow anyone to see how people inside a city are reacting to current events or being affected by breaking news.

The SSN Take: When a new movie, commercial, or product launches; businesses will now be able to see how the public responds and compare that between major cities.

Melody K. Smith, April 30, 2010

Note:   Post was not sponsored.

From the Microscope to Microblogging

April 29th, 2010 | Posted by Melody K. Smith in blog | networking | News - (0 Comments)

Scientists have taken the leap into social media with a special Twitter site called Sciencefeed.

Providing a place for real-time discussion among scientists, University World News reports in their article, “US: Twitter for scientists launched online” about this new adventure that has brought the world wide web full circle. The Internet was originally created for research result to be easily shared and now with the use of social media, that is even more a reality. Sciencefeed will be compatible with various social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and FriendFeed.

Dr Ijad Madisch, founding member and CEO of Sciencefeed says “We hope that it will become a bridge between online scientific networking platforms, scientific databases, and the wider online science world and enable scientists to conduct breakthrough research.”

The SSN Take: Making research results easily shared also makes them easily searchable.

Melody K. Smith, April 29, 2010

Note:   Post was not sponsored.

India’s Controversial Twitterer

April 29th, 2010 | Posted by Samuel Hartman in News - (0 Comments)

When asked whether he would be travelling economy class, Deputy Foreign Minister Shashi Tharoor of India replied, “absolutely, in cattle class out of solidarity with all our holy cows!”

But this was not in a telephone, news, or even sit-down interview. It was on Twitter. This, along with other remarks and a random cricket scandal, forced the resignation of Tharoor this past week as “India Loses Its Twittering Deputy Minister” reports. Tharoor amassed over 700,000 followers of Twitter, and many saw him as the “champion of the aspiring middle classes [who are] disillusioned with India’s corrupt politics.” Tharoor tweeted on everything from foreign policy to his “ceremonial duties,” and some of his more controversial remarks landed him in hot water, even with his own party. One Indian blogger praised the minister for his light-heartedness, noting that ‘cattle-class’ is literally slang for ‘economy class’ and reflects more on the airline than the customer.

The SSN Take: With no inflection on Twitter, those in power need to watch what they say.

Samuel Hartman, April 29, 2010

Note: Post not sponsored.

Social Media can Stretch into the Physical World

April 29th, 2010 | Posted by patrickroland in Facebook | marketing | News | Twitter - (0 Comments)

With some creativity, your business could capitalize off of social networking away from the Internet.

Best Mobile Contracts’ recent article, “New Microsoft Social Networking Phone: The Kin,” detailed how the computing giant’s phone competes with the iPhone, but its interesting twists can apply to non-tech businesses too. Microsoft not only built a phone, but angled its features to focus on younger users and making social networking easier with its applications. Social networking is becoming a booming business that doesn’t have to be limited to Facebook updates and Tweets. Attorneys are boning up on social media legalities, marketers are honing their social skills and, obviously, tech companies are adjusting.

The SSN Take: Social media is sprawling into offline sources and it could be a time for your business to capitalize.

Patrick Roland, April 29, 2010

Note: Post not sponsored.

Foursquare Targeted Towards Social Urbanites

April 28th, 2010 | Posted by Samuel Hartman in networking | News - (0 Comments)

Foursquare, the location-based social networking service, might need to change its business model, argues “Is Foursquare’s growth boxed in?”

While the year-old start-up may end up getting bought by Yahoo! for upwards of $125 million, the idea of “checking-in” (with its accompanying badges) at various restaurants, bars, and city establishments is specifically urban. The article’s author argues that Foursquare doesn’t have what it takes to cash in on the “average American’s” habits, whether online or off, and must change or capitalize on that niche. While Twitter has effectively done that, Foursquare still has some work to do. A potential solution: academia. “[D]evelop badges pertaining to lecture hall, library, and frat-house check-ins.”  With a pending deal from a huge company like Yahoo!, many expect Foursquare to branch out and grab the “social desires of the audience that’s dropping off kids at school rather than dropping into 2-for-1 happy hour.”

The SSN Take: For many, simply using their phones to find things is a revelation. “Badges” can wait.

Samuel Hartman, April 28, 2010

Note: Post not sponsored.

The Who’s Who in the Search World

April 28th, 2010 | Posted by Melody K. Smith in marketing | networking | News - (0 Comments)

Sometimes it helps when someone else does all the research and gives you the fruits of their labors. That is exactly what Social Media Explorer has done in their article, “Four Search Engines Marketers Should Know About.” Search engine optimization has grown beyond your standard websites to now even Twitter. History has shown us that things are always changing. This article highlights four search engines that marketers should pay close attention to as things continue to progress and evolve. The first being OneRiot – a special type of search engine that crawls the links people share on Digg, Twitter and other social sharing sites and then indexes them in real time. It is important to note that OneRiot is reporting a half million hits a month. Got your attention now, didn’t it? The rest of the list includes Wolfram|Alpha, Book of Odds, and Evri. Check out the article for complete details on these search engines.

The SSN Take: Marketers may find it profitable to check out these tools and how they can effect positive results.

Melody K. Smith, April 28, 2010

Note:   Post was not sponsored.

Should Friends Work for You?

April 28th, 2010 | Posted by patrickroland in Features - (0 Comments)

Crowdsourcing, the recent trend of letting the online populace contribute info, helps gain social media credibility, but is it right for your goals?

The tricky part about promoting business through social media is avoiding dry content, but still sending a message. A recent Advertising Age article, “Don’t Confuse Social Networking with Social Media” detailed how many large corporations, like Coca-Cola, have failed to fully embrace social media by directly interacting with customers. The highlight of the article showcased how CNN’s crowdsourcing iReport site, which allows readers to write and film their own news segments, helped the news site explode with popularity.

The article recommends businesses put their social media friends to work through Crowdsourcing. AdAge claims letting others, like amateur reporters, do the heavy lifting also adds a sheen of street credibility. The problem is, how will this reflect on your business?

It will reflect poorly, according to a few sources. Forbes Magazine, in its article “The Myth of Crowdsourcing” points to Netflix’s recent million-dollar crowdsourcing experiment to invent an improved algorithm through user teamwork as an example of this skewed viewpoint. “The notion of crowds creating solutions appeals to our desire to believe that working together we can do anything, but in terms of innovation it is just ridiculous.” It goes on to state, “the crowd solves nothing, creates nothing.”

Another other ugly side of crowdsourcing by amateurs is that the results look, well, amateur. Wired’s coverage of this online phenomenon, “The Rise of Crowdsourcing,” points out how amateur stock photo sites are putting a seasoned, professional photographer out of business by charging pennies on the dollar for sub-par images. This mirrors the complaints of Wikepedia’s sometimes questionable accuracy, not to mention countless other interactive ventures.

The SSN Take: Crowdsourcing might sound like a great way to draw in new customers, but you must consider whether you are comfortable with less-than-professional results.

Patrick Roland, April 28, 2010

Note: Post not sponsored.

Taking the Social Media Leap

April 27th, 2010 | Posted by Melody K. Smith in branding | marketing | News - (0 Comments)

Since it seems like every business is jumping into the social media world, have you ever wondered how the average company gets started?

Let’s take Avery Dennison for example. SmartBlog’s Andy Answers did in their post “How Avery Dennison got started in social media.” Though they are a familiar brand, they are not exactly a trendy topic for a Facebook page. According to Joyce Munoz, group manager of interactive marketing for Avery Dennison, they had the same concerns. However, they are seeing some early success through social media. Her full presentation is viewable in the article, but a couple of key ideas that seem interesting include keeping it simple – pick a platform or maybe two and focus on it (them) until you are comfortable moving forward; and to not analyze things to death in your planning process and just launch. Things tend to work themselves out as you learn and gain experience.

The SSN Take: Any size of organization could learn some good tips from watching this presentation and applying what works to their social media strategy.

Melody K. Smith, April 27, 2010

Note:   Post was not sponsored.