Archive for June, 2009

Twitter Suspends Maintenance for Important Matters

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

There was a controversial suspension of Twitter maintenance last June 15, 2009 and the Iranian protests were the reason. Twitter has noticed the surge of tweets from young Iranians about what is happening in their country just as their other means of expression are suppressed.

Twitter found this to be a very crucial time to suspend operations so they decided to proceed with it. After all, there are Iranians all over the world who are dying to know what is happening in their country. The no-maintenance campaign was then launched by thousands of Twitter users leading the website to follow and be a part of the important event taking place in Iran.

This only proves that Twitter stands by its goal to be a tool to transfer information in the quickest way possible. Just as a lot of foreign writers are being banned, Twitter will stay alive to tell you about the Iranian protests.

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Twitter as a Protest Tool

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

It was only on last June 16 that we have witnessed a protest against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election. Just as with any country that have experienced an extreme form of suppression of the freedom of expression, you can expect different forms of media being bogged down by the government. But not today that Twitter is here.

There have been lots of talks about Twitter being a news tool. A lot of people condemned it as a headline-only type of reporting proclaiming its uselessness. But the young Iranians proved this to be wrong. They can get the news out in their own little way because of the social updating website.

But is this good or bad? It is good in the sense that it gives people an area to express themselves. This applies especially in times of crisis. But of course, mobile phones are also to blame here for they are also tools to spread news.

The only bad thing I can see in this evolution of information transfer is the lack of authority. Some news may get distorted as it is passed from one person to another and some people may make claims that are not really in their area of expertise. This distortion will result in misinformation.

The best part of Twitter is that it can also reach people in other countries. We have seen people migrate like crazy and this can be a valuable tool to know what is happening in their homeland. Take the situation of the Iranian student in the US for instance. “These days for like 24 hours, I didn’t sleep. I got three hours sleep in the last three days. It’s been really intense. I’m worried about my friends; they’ve been on the streets,” he said.

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Digg Ads

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

A recent report from the Digg blog says that Digg is now releasing a new advertising platform. You can now Digg (and alternately, bury) the ads. So now the power shifts to the users. They can choose which ads they like to see and which they like to bury.

The system is rather easy to understand. The more Diggs a particular ad incurs, the less amount the advertiser has to pay. Adversely, the less Diggs it incurs, the higher the advertiser has to pay. It may sound good at first but the reaction of the advertisers is somehow a concern for me.

Also, wouldn’t there be an issue regarding self-Digging ads? I know that Digg has been trying to catch multiple account creations but what if this happen? It is just a hypothetical question.

But still, Digg provides a new way on how users can choose which ads they like to see. Though readers and social media users are somehow ambivalent when it comes to ads, it is still pretty nice to see how users choose their ads.

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How to Use Social Media for your Company?

Sunday, June 14th, 2009

Today, social media are being used by various companies not only to promote their brands but also to maintain it. You may have noticed this when you see certain companies have profiles on Facebook or Twitter. You see how much they foster a better communication not only from the company to the customers but also the other way around. With this, a lot of companies are now considering social media in their promotion or communication plans.

However, one problem that companies face in this area is how will they start? Sure they know the websites but they are not knowledgeable of its full capability. With this, some companies resolve the problem by having social media consultants while others take it into their employees to learn the medium.

But how can a company maximize the use of social media in its product or service promotion? Well, here are some tips.

1. Learning takes time

The first thing any company must understand with social media is that success takes time. While it is true that social media provides a fast way to disseminate information, it is not, by no means, automatic. With this, it takes a certain amount of time for a company to get into the community and learn the culture.

2. Do not be afraid to ask for help

Remember that you are getting into a community. Do not be afraid to seek help from others. Trust me; it is easier to get help from others than reading a long documentation. Seek help while gaining new friends.

3. Have a personality

Another problem with companies is that they tend to be too formal when creating a profile with social media. It is important to gain a balance between personality and formality. After all, no one likes to talk to a self-promoting robot.

4. Do not get too personal

Yes, contrary to the last tip, getting too personal may also get a good of your company. Be sure to only tackle relevant issues. Being too exposed may also be a problem especially if it is done by your employee.

5. Moderate the use

A solution to the last problem is to simply use social media with moderation. Try to exude your company’s image while catering personally to the needs of your customers. Plan the ways of communication and which part of the company’s information should be exposed or kept.

With all these, I hope you can jumpstart your company profile in social media. You will get addicted to it. But always remember that it is all for the sake of your company.

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Twitter Impersonation – Should the matter be brought to court?

Friday, June 12th, 2009

It is not unusual for social networks to face impersonators or “fakers”. These people take the personalities of popular people or entities and then they create an account with the name. The positive side is that this provides free viral marketing for the person or entity. But on the downside, it can damage their reputation without them knowing it.

Lately, Twitter has faced a lot of complaints from popular people. Some of these are Kanye West and actor Ewan McGregor who had impersonators on Twitter. It is a good thing that Twitter always acts quickly once it gets a complaint. However, acting quickly will not be enough for Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa.

Apparently, LaRussa decided to take the matter to court. After all, unlike the past celebrities who only had fake profiles, LaRussa also has a fake personality. It seems that his impersonator is not there to promote his name but to destroy it. With this, LaRussa decided to sue Twitter for trademark infringement.

But is it really Twitter’s fault? According to LaRussa, it is. They are the one who own the site in the first place. If only they had moderated the accounts, a thing like this will not happen. He also made a claim that Twitter has benefited from his fake account with the message “Tony LaRussa is using Twitter”.

The problem here is that trademark infringement can only happen if one party has proven to have benefitted with the sheer use of the name. However, Twitter or the account owner did not seem to have gained anything of monetary value from using his name. It is just created as a joke as the account’s profile shows “bio parodies are fun for everyone”.

But does this mean that we should let Twitter impersonation slide? Of course not! It is still identity theft and should be taken care of. I guess this is also a wake-up call for Twitter to start monitoring the accounts being created on their website.

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Facebook SMS – Good or Bad?

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
    It is not unknown to you that social networks are very popular. Particularly in the youth, social networks are now venues for expression. It is an area for showing the world what you are doing and what you care about. The only problems with these websites though are its misuse as people create multiple accounts which has the tendency to send spam.
    But do not get me wrong. Facebook is a great website. I use it everyday myself. However, I get dozens of notifications on it all the time from people who are suggesting friends who I do not know or those group invitations to different games. There are also lots of notifications in relation to quizzes and games. Given the amount, it is obvious that I do not care about all these. I may care about some but not all.
    But then Facebook comes up with this awesome idea. According to the Facebook blog, Facebook can now be integrated with your mobile phone with the new “Subscribe via SMS” option. You can now connect with the people that matters to you and literally follow their every move on the website. It does not matter whether or not you care about what they are doing right?
    But the good side of this new Facebook upgrade is that you can choose who to subscribe to. You will not be facing spam on your phone and that is a good thing. There is also the option to unsubscribe. So if your friend gets overboard in updating his status, you can simply remove the subscription.

The downside, however, is that when other notifications are sent to your phone. I am still yet to try this feature so what I am presenting here is merely a theory. But if only the most important updates are sent. Then this new feature may be a good thing for us all.

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Why People Unfollow on Twitter

Monday, June 8th, 2009

With the recent boost in subscribers that Twitter had experienced, it is inevitable to see tons of followers in your account page. But as the number of people increases, the level of personal interaction decreases. At least, this is what my followers have observed.

Given this situation, they took it upon themselves to just unfollow people for the simple reason that they do not want the tweets that matter to them to be drowned in all the unrelated conversations and, of course, the spam. Yes, sadly all forms of media have the tendency to be misused by uneducated users as what @WarrenWhitlock has told me.

So are you wondering why some people unfollow you? Well unless you are a celebrity who has turned bad, here are some reasons.

  1. You tweet too much
    One way to get people to unfollow you is to tweet too much. Yes, it is a sign of activity. But tweeting lots of conversation tweets without focusing on your niche or what you do can get some people to remove you from their follow lists. This does not mean that you limit your activity though. This only means that you have to make each tweet matter. Show personality on each tweet and just do not tweet just to chat.
  1. You don’t tweet regularly
    If you are not on Twitter regularly, then people may think that you will not login anymore. This is why they unfollow you. After all, they have not received a tweet from you for days so that may mean that you have quitted Twitter. To stop this notion from springing on your follower’s minds, be sure to find time to drop in a tweet or two in your free time. It will let people know that “Hey! I am alive and I am still on Twitter.”
  1. Your tweets do not interest your followers
    Alright, so you are tweeting regularly but not to the point of pissing off your followers. Now you got all things covered right? Wrong. If your tweets do not cover the interest of your followers then they may unfollow. Of course, this is the least of your concern. You cannot change your tweets just to fit everybody’s interest. Just think of this as an opt-in form. People who like your tweets follow while those who do not unfollow. Simple right?
  1. You do not interact with your followers
    Now another reason why people unfollow some people is because they seem like a bot. The last person you like to follow is someone who just promotes his own blog or blasts a series of retweets. Tweets have no personal relevance if not coupled with conversation. That is if it is done moderately though. Twitter is a powerful media to stimulate conversation but it not a chatterbox.
  1. You do not follow back
    Another sad reality on why people unfollow is the simple reason that you do not follow them back. Some people on Twitter believe on the idea of reciprocity. “I will follow you if you follow me”. Though this is helpful, it simply beats the purpose of following. Having a condition for following is simply for those people who want to collect followers. This is useful for Twitter beginners though.

In the end, you will decide on how you will use this media. It is up to you who to follow and unfollow. That is why I love Twitter. It just gives you the freedom to choose while keeping in touch with the people or information that matters to you the most.

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Welcome to Conversationalize

Friday, June 5th, 2009

Welcome to the opening of my website, Conversationalize. This site will bring you the latest buzz on the social media and search. It is called as such for I will be delving deep into the most-talked about issues while striking conversation or buzz. I hope you find this website useful in taking a look at news and trends in search and social media.

What sites will I focus on?

Here are the websites that will be regularly discussed in this website.

  • Google
  • Yahoo
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • MySpace

What can you expect from this website?

Here is what will make this website different from the others.

  • A different perspective on matters already discussed on the internet
  • A frank and straightforward approach to issues

With that, I hope you will find Conversationalize a daily reading habit to keep up with social media.

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