Journalists Loretta Chao and Amir Efrati inform us:

“Twitter Inc. says it can now make content selectively available to users based on geography, and plans to use that ability to enter countries with ‘different ideas’ about freedom of expression as a human right—reflecting the difficult ethical questions facing Internet companies.

“The effort underscores thorny issues for Internet companies as their websites become more global and interconnected among different countries, and as they must cooperate with diverse views on Internet content control. For websites like Twitter as well as social-networking site Facebook, this has meant being blocked in countries like China where controls are more aggressive.”

To be fair to Twitter, the issue of censorship in other countries is indeed a tricky one. Refuse to play ball at all, and you’re banned completely. Will that really help the end users, the citizens who struggle to obtain information? Perhaps a little censorship is a small price to pay for allowing them even limited access to the information superhighway. At least, that seems to be the tack Twitter has embraced.

The company is not caving completely, however. They have been blocked in China for over two years, and are unlikely to be allowed back in as a result of this announcement. Why? Because that government doesn’t even want its people to know that content has been blocked; Twitter insists on giving them at least that courtesy. It is interesting to note that the company is working with Chilling Effects, an Internet freedom advocacy group, to draft its take-down notices.

You’d have to live in a cave to not realize that right now, in our famously freedom-loving country, we are in the middle of our own Internet censorship battle. Here, money is at the center of the fight. Specifically, corporations want to stop the sale of pirated goods. Corporations are people too, don’t you know?

These companies do have a valid concern, but I don’t have to tell you that the wildly unpopular SOPA and PIPA Acts propose enforcement through ham-fisted tactics that leave no room for due process. (If you didn’t know that, do some research. Right now. I’ll wait.)

The article notes that Twitter has been a crucial facilitator of political protest and revolutionary action around the world. The company also has a history of supporting transparency and free expression. However, it must do what it has to do if it wants to keep expanding. At the least, it must protect its employees from prosecution for breaking the rules in foreign lands. Yes, that would be important.

Cynthia Murrell, February 02, 2012

Writer Katheleen Colan has tips for getting the most out of each platform. In Facebook, she recommends using the new groups feature to corral interests. That feature, of course, was a response to the circles in Google+, which she suggests using in a similar fashion. Ditto for the analogous functions in LinkedIn and YouTube. Colan seems most impressed, though, with Twitter’s efforts:

“Twitter is made for fast and efficient news aggregation and again, it’s all in the lists you create. Twitter’s ‘List’ function allows you to populate lists of like-minded Tweeps to quickly scan up-to-the-moment news on any topic under the sun. I probably keep too many lists and often construct temporary lists during large, important events.”

Colan goes on to recommend the HootSuite dashboard for some serious media aggregation. The application monitors social networks, performs custom analytics, and provides a space for collaboration. The basic version is free, so it might be worth checking out.

Cynthia Murrell, February 1, 2012

The article states:

“We’re proud to be working with a forward-thinking leader like Mayor Reed who understands that mobile is a critical element in the communication and distribution of job opportunities because there are entire segments of the population who do not own a computer but do own a mobile phone.”

It sounds like this new online jobs platform will reach more people and in so doing should help our current economy. Not only does it reach more people it is specific to the types of employment people are qualified for. In addition, the service provides analytical data that will provide insight to decision-making leaders that will aid them in potential job growth for the city. It is all good – or at least it sounds that way to me.

Sandy McIntosh

January 25, 2012

The company added fine-grained controls that enable the user to graphic-equalize and fine-tune the stream.

“When viewing the stream for a particular circle, you’ll now see a slider at the top that lets you adjust how posts from that circle should be blended into the main stream.” “One of the most useful and valuable features of the redesigned Google bar is the red notifications indicator.” “Viewing a photo in Lightbox has been completely redesigned with improved navigation, enhanced comment legibility and better overall utility.”

The improvements are meant to keep pace with Facebook’s Timeline feature and Twitter’s redesign. Whether or not the new functionality addresses the issues early Google+ users have had with the service remains to be seen. But look at it this way, as a present, they beat a pair of socks.

Rita Safranek, January 12, 2012

Cheryl Daskas, co-owner of the upscale Tender boutique has this to say: “We sold out thousands of pairs in a few days,” Cheryl Daskas said. “Blasting it on Twitter really drove it home. It was a lot of fun.”

Utilizing apps for smartphones is also expected to help with retail sales. According to Joan Primo, principal of Sylvan Lake, Mich.-based Strategic Edge and a retail real estate consultant adds:

“You see people doing a lot of comparison shopping with them,” she said. “Somewhat because of smartphone apps, you’ve got a lot of fluidity between the customer and the store and the retailer’s website.”

I don’t know if using these high-tech advancements will result in increased retail sales, but it sure makes things convenient for the consumer. We live in a continually changing world, and keeping up with the technology, while could be monetarily advantageous in some business situations, could present an issue for those not embracing the technology.

Sandy McIntosh, January 3, 2012

“As I tell every client that comes into our agency, when developing a strategy in the social media arena, simplicity and incremental implementation is key…Start off small and gain momentum such as building a Facebook Page. Then roll in some nice applications as tabs, develop a content calendar and possibly try some promotions such as a sweepstakes. Then dive into Twitter, look into the investment of building a blog as well a backing everything up with some Search Engine Marketing to boost visibility and traffic to your assets.”

Strategic or tactical? Maybe some of each. Jumping into the social media arena requires both.

Strategic Connections are covered in “Social Media Marketing Analytics – Strategic Connections, Part Five Of An Exclusive 7-Part Series”:

“Insights tools such as Alteiran SM2 allow you to uncover what I like to call “power users/sources” because it ranks an individual or entities “popularity/influence…Why is this important? It gives you a great understanding of how viable the user/source is in terms of making a connection. What are the benefits? Marketing effectiveness by taking advantage of the user/source’s avid network of followers/supporters.”

Power users can be ‘Joe Schmo’ with avid Twitter followers, a popular blog or celebrity, or a well-known CEO. Web statistics, like unique site visits, Tweets, or user interactions, make it possible to track how influential these power users are.

Insight tools may make finding these connections easier, but actually tapping into power users’ networks may prove more challenging. In the labyrinth of social media, tracking strategic connections can quickly turn into too many numbers with too little strategy.

Philip West

November 30, 2011

“Brand Monitoring, to put it simply, is the understanding of who, what, where, why, when and how 3rd party sources or customers are referring to your brand. Brand Monitoring has become an extremely necessary and important responsibility for any business in today’s environment.”

So it boils down to a lot of data – what are customers, the media, competitors, and employees saying about you? What’s being tweeted, blogged, linked, and liked about you? When is this all happening and is it good or bad?

Competitive Research asks the same questions, just about your competitors. In part three of Midure’s series, “Social Media Marketing Analytics – Competitive Research, Part Three of an Exclusive 7-Part Series,” he notes:

“Just as you do for your own brand, it is YOUR job to be on top of what your competitors are doing, LISTEN and be attentive of what is being said about them. YOU need to be aware of what they are doing well and what they are doing not-so-well.”

Add your competitor’s brand monitoring to the mix, and all this knowledge can help identify niches, opportunities, and failures. It all comes down to better knowledge and better performance.

It’s clear that this data organized and turned into knowledge can help any business. While these strategies are not new ideas, in the Web 2.0 city that never sleeps, it is constantly becoming more challenging to round up all that data.

Philip West

November 29, 2011

“Social Media Marketing Analytics, as defined by the Altimeter Group is “The discipline that helps companies measure, assess and explain the performance of social media initiatives in the context of specific business objectives.” It also appears to be an enormous obstacle that many organizations are working hard toward understanding and utilizing in an effective strategic standpoint.”

With so many SMA ‘solutions for your business’ saturating the market, Midure points out the importance of knowing the what, why, and how of SMA and your business.

Tasked with researching which service would be best for The Star Group, Midure chose Alterian SM2. While it’s not one size fits all, he points out that Alterian SM2 and the like should provide brand monitoring, competitive research, strategic development and connections, crisis management, and social ROI.

With ‘everyone and their mother on Facebook’ and other social media sites, businesses are smart to get a pulse on their Web 2.0 presence. We’ll take a closer look at how Midure explains some of these strategies during the series.

Philip West

November 24, 2011

“The fund is organized around investing social startups in all industries – consumer, enterprise, health and mobile. Back in October of 2010, Zynga, Comcast, Allen & Co., Liberty Media, Amazon and Facebook all joined as investors and strategic partners. The $250 million fund makes investments ranging from $100,000 to $100 million, and is led by Kleiner partner Bing Gordon.”

So far, 16 companies found their initial boost with the sFund, including Lockerz, Erly, Rent the Runway, and Spotify. The sFund helped provide investment and “special support and networking opportunities” for the startups.

And the first to leave the sFund? Katango, a company focused on developing “social algorithms that improve people’s online social interaction.” Coincidently, Katango was just as recently acquired by Google. Perhaps the dream-team is seeing the venture firm avenue as opportunity to get first dibs on new technology acquisitions.

Philip West

November 23, 2011

“Most interesting, Best Friends gathers user-generated content to identify dogs that need help. It’s also planning to work with FourSquare on National Shelter Check-In Day this Nov. 12. The content, conversation and online social-sharing activity generated by this digital movement will help Best Friends save thousands of dogs by 2012.”

It’s clear Best Friends use of social media effectively helped spread their message, garner support, and make a difference. But the author’s breakdown of techniques – use hashtags constantly, drive action, and support user-generated content – may be a little lacking. Yes, all good applications for business, but maybe just the tip of the iceberg when transforming into a social business.

More on Best Friends: http://www.bestfriends.org/

Philip West

November 22, 2011