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Today, I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Deepak Gupta on his terrific site, Marketing by Deepak. The question was posed to me about why businesses need to use Twitter for customer service.
Although I recommend it daily to my social media marketing clients, when you have a personal story to share, it becomes more meaningful.
In this particular case, I was one of many who were affected by the holiday snowstorm in New York. Unable to find out if my flight was canceled or not, and after being on hold for hours with the airlines, I reached out to Virgin America on their Twitter account.
Fortunately, someone on the other end responded to me. Situations like these will make the difference on whether you retain clients or they leave to go to your competitor.
Click here for full article>>>
Mike Michalowicz , on the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur blog curated a list of 37 social media experts with some of our best tips on how to avoid social media blunders.
Social Media and More is proud to be on this list as the number 11 entry with our tip, Tag, You’re Not It.
Many of us are enjoying roaming down memory lane as we reconnect with people from childhood to the present. In your enthusiasm of scanning photos onto Flickr and Facebook, remember don’t tag unappealing photos of people on Facebook or post on your favorite social media sites. The man who tagged a photo of a woman from 35 years ago where she was 50 pounds heavier, got de-friended in a New York minute. When in doubt, don’t.
Thanks to Julie Spira of Social Media And More
For a complete list, visit the TPE blog
Millions of people watched 60 Minutes last night to see Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg talk about the latest new look on your Facebook personal pages. Called the Facebook Facelift, I jumped on the social media bandwagon prior to the broadcast with enthusiasm on what the new site would look like.
To Update, or Not to Update
To start off with, if you haven’t updated it yet, don’t rush to the nearest computer to do so. Take some time to view other profiles to see how you like it during this transition period. As of now, I can’t push a button to revert to the profile with my preferences, not Facebook’s.
It’s All About Their Photos
Now that 24-hours has gone by, I miss the profile box where I could describe on my own, who I was and what I was about. Zuckerberg says it’s all about the photos. Sure we love exploiting our personal lives and uploading photos onto Facebook. Facebook claims that every day, 100 million photos are uploaded to their social networking site. Having tagged photos pre-selected by Facebook on the top of my page with the heads cut-off from my friends who tagged me is not that appealing. It’s like a game of mystery when you delete a photo, as you won’t know what the next picture will be from your various online photo albums. Perhaps I won’t like the new photo as much as the old one, but it’s deleted from the stream. You can’t bring it back as a featured photo.
Losing the Social in Social Networking
Gone are those wonderful hyperlinks to my personal websites, Google profile, Amazon page, Facebook business pages, and my twitter account. To “like” me or “follow” me, or anyone for that matter, will require some effort. One will have to click the info page on the left side bar under a profile photo if they really want to know more. It’s time consuming and very likely that you won’t get additional page views.
For many serial entrepreneurs like myself, I have several businesses that I run. Facebook only allows one to appear under my profile name. The previous version of Facebook listed all of them as I hand selected them to appear in the left sidebar. If I delete one business the other will appear. I can have more than one business, but Facebook will decide which one will be displayed on my home page.
Friendship vs. Money
Although Zuckerberg says Facebook is all about friends, why is the left side bar with your friends listed significantly smaller than the right sidebar with the advertisements? I guess it’s all about money and the price of friendship. I do like that you can see your friendship history with someone easily on the top right hand side of the profile. But wait. What if you just broke up? Do you really want to see his photo in your stream? You can take the time to change the privacy settings, but when you have a falling out with someone, there’s a digital memory book that you need to uncreate, or simply just ignore.
To Poke, or Not to Poke
In the several years that I’ve been on Facebook, I haven’t poked a soul. Sure, I’ve received a few pokes. I never poke back. I was stunned to see that Poking ended up as a prime piece of real estate in the game of Facebook. At the top right you can either send a message, chat, or poke. I don’t know why Facebook is encouraging poking. Will you poke more often? I’d like to know.
I wanted to love the new Facebook. As a social media expert, I spend hours on the site every day. With any change, it will take time to get used to. One can only hope that Facebook will allow me to decide which photos best represent me on my profile and will return the box that still appears on Pages so we can truly keep the “social” in social media and invite our friends to join us on the social networking site of our choice.
At the end of the day, Facebook will continue to grow and be the giant that keeps 500 million people company, every day of the week. The 60 Minutes segment stated that Facebook’s valuation is between 35-50 billion dollars. Facebook, please give us a choice to revert back to the old profile so we can better control the information we want our digital friends to know about us.
Julie Spira is a bestselling author and relationship and social media expert. Follow her at Twitter.com/JulieSpira. Like her pages at Facebook.com/SocialMediaAndMore and Facebook.com/RulesofNetiquette
Filed under Social Notebook · Tagged with facebook, facebook 60 minutes, facebook facelift, facebook new page review, Facebook photos, julie spira, Lesley Stahl, Mark Zuckerberg, new facebook page, social media, Social Media and More, social networking
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All you need is Social Media Love this holiday. Here are our Top 10 Social Media Holiday Gifts and stocking stuffers.
From Tee shirts to pillows, books to electronics, here are our favorites.
Priced from $16.47 – $649.00
1. Kindle DX – Graphite. 50% Better Contrast. 3G Wireless. Cost: $379.00 on Amazon
Buy the Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G, 9.7″ Display, Graphite, 3G Works Globally – Latest Generation
2. iTunes Gift Card. Now that the Beatles collection is available on iTunes, All You Need is Social Media Love. Cost $15 +
Buy the ITunes Gift Card Collection
3. iPad . Even I dream of finding an iPad in my stocking this year. A perfect gift for Apple Fans on the go. Cost $649
Buy an Apple iPad Tablet (32GB, Wi-Fi)
4. Facebook You Like This T- Shirts. Why not find new people to like your site offline as well? Wear this T-Shirt and go ahead and brag about your new Facebook Page. Cost $17.95 – $18.95
Facebook You Like This Thumbs Up Black Adult T-shirt Tee
5. Follow me on Twitter Long-Sleeved T Shirts. Who could say no when you wear this T with a smile on your face? Cost $22
Follow Me On Twitter Long Sleeve T-Shirt
6. Engage. This social media book by Brian Solis is worth the read. Cost $16.47 – $24.95
Engage: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web
7. Apple TV. Why not be one of the first to enjoy all of your social media sites on TV? Cost $97
Apple TV MC572LL/A (2010)
8. Twitter Necklace. Order your own Twitter necklace with your @Twitter Name or favorite #Hashtag and watch your followers increase IRL. Survival of the Hippest. Cost $49.95 – $159.95
9. RSS Pillow. Rest your weary head dreaming about your next blogpost. Also available with Twitter, Facebook and many other social media logos. Craftsquatch. Cost. $19.99.
10. flickr Pro Gift Card. Why limit the amount of photos in your gallery? Upgrade to flickr Pro and tag, you’ll always be it. flickr.com/gift Cost $29.95/yr
Filed under Social Notebook · Tagged with Brian Solis, Craftsquatch, Engaged, facebook t shirts, Flickr, ipad, itunes, Kindle, Social Media and More, Social Media Gift Guide, Social Media Holiday Gift Guide, Social Media Pillows, Survival of the Hippest, twitter jewelry, twitter necklace, twitter t shirts
With over 500 million members on Facebook, relationship status changes have become the darling of the Internet. One can’t help but notice the red heart appear and disappear on the profiles of our friends and our new friends, better known as the friends-of-friends.
When Michelle Yarn from GalTime.com contacted me to contribute to her article on the topic, I was quick to chime in. Our interview took place over a month before the widely publicized Facebook Breakup Chart appeared on the web, created by David McCandless. We’re heading into the holiday break up season, so here are some excerpts from the post.
Breakups used to be so simple. You get dumped. You cry about it. You get advice from close friends and family. They tell you how much better off you are without him. You cut all ties from your ex. Then, eventually you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back into the game.
Yep, those were the good ole days. Those were the days before social networking sites like Facebook splattered your love life across the web like a tabloid. Now, as the Facebook gods have so conveniently pointed out, “It’s Complicated.”
I have a friend (a real life one) who was recently dumped by her boyfriend of three and a half years. When she came to me for advice it started out as your typical breakup pep talk.
While the situation will vary depending on the severity of the split, there are some basic guidelines to help you handle a breakup in the age of Facebook.
According to Julie Spira, social media/relationship expert and author of The Perils of Cyber Dating , one of the most important steps to consider is how to update your status. She says, “I don’t believe singles should constantly change their status from “single” to “in a relationship” to “it’s complicated” and back to “single” for everyone to see. Unless both parties agree on changing their status to “in a relationship” and it’s a serious relationship, no one wants to see the drama. However, it’s the most commented on update you will see on Facebook. People are just curious and want to know the juicy details. If you’re hurt, just delete your status completely to avoid the comments.”
And while many couples will decide to remain friends in real life, the same decision in the world of Facebook can be hell. “When most couples break up, it’s not usually a happy time. More often that not, one has moved on already.” Spira adds, “If you’re still hurting from the split, I suggest de-friending him or her so you don’t have the opportunity to stare at their wall. We can’t help ourselves sometimes due to the curiosity, but it delays the healing process from the one left behind.”
Kelly Spann, a marketing and publicity manager in Virginia, learned this lesson the hard way.
“First off, right after we broke up I totally put him on blast in my status. I was angry, but that definitely wasn’t a classy move. Then I didn’t de-friend him and he didn’t de-friend me. Having to see his status updates, pictures and the various other girls writing things on his wall didn’t help me get over the break up at all.”
What if you’re the one that did the dumping? Have a heart! You may be ready to move on, but the rules of netiquette say there’s no need to rub your ex’s face in it. If you remain Facebook friends, Spira suggests at least changing your privacy settings to prevent your ex from seeing your activity with your new love interest. Otherwise, your ex may find some pretty creative ways to make your single life miserable.
Facebook user Josh Gilbert says his ex knew exactly how to use the social networking site to get back at him after their nasty breakup.
“I had made plans to attend Lollapalooza with a girlfriend, but then we broke up. She went anyway, and only posted pictures of two of my favorite bands – saying to ‘no one in particular’ – ‘Live from Lollapalooza – jealous?’ I can’t prove this was an intentional dig, but I’m convinced it was.”
Even if you delete your ex, there’s still the issue of mutual friends. This one’s hard enough to handle in your day to day life, but Facebook is a whole different beast.
Spira says, “There’s no need to delete the entire world because your relationship has ended, but I do recommend changing your privacy settings in Facebook to ‘friends only.’ You can also select the privacy settings individually for each status update if you prefer, where you have the option to select ‘everyone’, ‘friends,’ or ‘friends of friends.’
Once the drama has subsided and you find yourself ready to get back into the dating scene, Spira says to proceed with caution.
“Unless you are actively ready to date again and would like to meet someone on Facebook, take a break from the status relationship change and just don’t post any relationship status at all. If you’re ready to date, go ahead and list yourself as “single” but be prepared to be hit on. It just happens.”
To read the entire post, click here>>>
