Dave Masterson's thoughts on technology happenings, personal experiences, travels, work, fun, etc.
I loved this! For anyone that writes articles or makes frequent posts to social media - this will help. How many times can you portray a similar feeling with different words? For just such instances, we have the vocabulary wheel...
Enjoy!
-dm
Facebook claims their one billionth user today. That's one in seven people online with the potential to connect and of course, play Mafia Wars and Farmville.
Told 'ya technology would serve mankind well... Happy Thursday!
-dm
facebook, gaming, one billion users, technology 
Bing will incorporate elements of Facebook activity in their search results - this made techie headlines a week ago. If the news of an impending Bing search engine collaboration with Facebook isn't ringing a bell for you, it should be. This partnership looks to be a game changer in how we experience Internet search. Even as the advertising machine of search itself, a model built largely by Yahoo and brought to an apex with Google, is under attack from hardware manufacturers and social media outfits, Bing looks to freshen the experience by dancing with Facebook.
Bing popped onto the scene with a graphical "smile" and claimed its algorithms were better and more accurate than those of Google. They both display different results for the same keyword search, with Bing delivering graphics and images in such an effective manner that Google quickly altered their image search results to match suit. The Facebook social element added to Bing poses an interesting question - how can popularity influence SERPs (Search engine results pages) and will it make a difference at the cash register? Google has shunned displaying the details and search results that come from inside Facebook. Why not, their competition gets enough hungry eyeballs each day, it would be crazy to send more their way. Small bits and pieces of Facebook info makes its way to Google's search results, but for the most part, what you post on Facebook is ignored (or mothballed) by Google. Bing sees opportunity by integrating the Facebook LIKES and related social media activity of your chosen group of friends into search results. And they are spot on with this assessment! How likely would you be to click on a link or photo if it was also recommended or lauded by four of your trusted Facebook friends? This influence has already proven powerful with Pinterest, a social experience that thrives on sharing of dreams, experiences and shopping hints and tips. Bing can tip the table in an interesting direction by making their meshing with Facebook compelling for the web surfer. Bing also claims that the days of search engine results consisting of a white page with blue hyperlinks is short-lived. They hint at displaying the search results with their usualy graphical flair, photos, icons, perhaps they'll even incorporate familiar Facebook items to enrich what you receive. This is very exiting to me, Bing is not my default search engine today, but I'd be more pressed to try them if they could sprinkle in my Facebook marketing gold among the search engine results. Example, what if I learn that my childhood friend Tom has just returned from a trip to Paris as I search "Tour de France?" Or friend Shiela's photo of new Aasics running shoes (with 12 "likes" from her other friends) is displayed when I search for athletic wear on Bing? This could be very impressive and engaging! How many people are thinking the Bing-Facebook reationship could also have benefits on the Facebook side of the equation? Could my searches, with my permission, become part of my Facebook Timeline or Wall, allowing even more input and interaction with my friends in the Facebook world? Inject a new Facebook mobile presence, mentioned frequently last week among all the IPO talk, and what "could be" is exciting to consider.
Knowing the possibilities is fantastic. Seeing that this new relationship between two Internet titans can also spur Google and Apple to better tit-for-tat competitive advances. This is a great time to be wrapped up in the online shakeout called search!
It's Friday, May 18th. Facebook stock, through an initial public offering, will be sold for the first time today. This occurrence will make a few Americans ultra wealthy - those that helped Mark Zuckerberg build (Or swipe, whichever you believe) an extraordinary platform for advertising and marketing. All under the guise of friends and family!
I won't be buying stock today, quite the opposite, I'll be divesting some of my interest in Facebook. This is ironic because at work, I help instruct and guide our franchisees to use Facebook in their business. Facebook does help bring more awareness to what you sell or service, because so many people use the service. I'll go further and state that you'd be crazy as a business owner not to have a strong online presence and Facebook Business Page. But I'm referring to personal Facebook, you know, the reason we all went and set up our own walls and profiles in the first place? I've been a user for 5+ years, before the fad hit many. Now I'm going on what I call a "Facebook diet." I am cutting way back on my personal use of Facebook, primarily because unlike a business, I stand to gain little by pouring more of my time into the exercise of keeping my page and profile updated along with checking the never-ending flow of status updates that come from my group of Facebook friends. I like my collection of friends and I have enjoyed looking at their pictures and their posts. My friends are great! I just find I'm not getting enough of what I want to warrant the time I spend on the site, so I'll be doing less of it. Maybe I'm leading the trend of folks who will find that like American Idol, The Biggest Loser, and other pop culture sensations, at some point, it's just not important anymore.
Diet may not be the best terminology to use, but it sure gets attention as a blog title. Most people look to "lose" when they take on a diet plan. I'm on the other side of the coin, I'm looking to "gain" by virtue of my Facebook diet. Personally, I look to gain back the time I would be spending online for more worthwhile purposes. I'll use this time to better myself, my family and my friends. Just like Facebook said would happen :)
facebook, facebook diet, social media I've been a Hootsuite user for 3 years, this application is a "control center" for your social media sites. It's a web based app, so it works on a PC, a Mac, and there are Android and iPhone apps available for use on your phones. It is a free system that works well for one user to manage their social sites. They also have a for-pay version that allows multiple people from our office to control our various Twitter and Facebook accounts. If you have Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin accounts, you can post messages and updates to either or all of these sites through one place - Hootsuite. Each of your social sites is represented as a tab across the top of the screen. When you click on a tab, you get to select which components (called feeds) of that social media site you see. For example, Twitter users can choose to see the Home feed, a list of all incoming tweets from your followers, the tweets you have sent, your Direct Mails (DM) incoming and outgoing, and a list of any tweets in which your Twitter handle has been mentioned. It's neatly organized all on one page, a page you can rearrange or customize anytime you'd like! See below...
If you have information you'd like to share on your Linkedin, Facebook or Twitter sites simultaneously, that's easily done with Hootsuite. Post a message, links to other sites, photos or video and then decide which of your social sites will get it. Type message once and launch to all with one click of the SEND NOW button. A big convenience for those with multiple accounts.
Hootsuite also allows for scheduling of your messages. Let's assume you wanted to send a message tomorrow afternoon through Facebook or Twitter to coincide with an event. This message could be a reminder to others as to what they should prepare or bring to the event. You can schedule a message to be sent on a certain date at a particular time without you having to launch it right then - Hootsuite will do it for you!
I recommend this app for franchisees and anyone trying to keep their social presence current. It is not recommended that you post every bit of info to all of your social sites. For example, hashtags are best on Twitter, longer messages are best on Facebook, etc. What a time saver Hootsuite can be, especially when you use the service on your mobile devices along with a desktop PC or Mac. Here's the website, download the free version and start organizing your social media efforts.
