Tag Social Media

Entries 13 Total Description

Of course this is about the wealth of “social nekworking” solutions and services that have taken the web by storm. These can include: Twitter; Facebook; Linked In; Stumble Upon; AllTop and thousands of others vying for our attention

Social Discovery

Aug 23, ’12 2:10 PM

Discovery was the magic feature that Google brought into our world and that has not yet been equalled by anyone including Microsoft. Now amidst all the clamor and noise around the emerging Social Media trend, thankfully there are a few companies out here attempting to bring discovery and management into the social media realm.

If these companies succeed in providing social media users with powerful management tools they could be provider the best solutions and answers to ever-perplexing questions now being asked by most of us. How to reduce the clutter and confusion.

The emerging trend these days seems to be attaching the words “Social Media to older and sometimes more traditionally established disciplines and loudly declaring that a new industry opening up opportunities to those that rush into the void. This reminds me of the early mistakes we all made at the onset of digital media and the Internet. We all saw access to the Internet as the end-all be-all to everything that ailed us. We tried to morph and contort it into whatever we though could match and advance our accumulated experience and skills.

Now we are at a crucial stage where refining and improving the quality of our online social interactions seriously come into play. There exists a HUGE opportunity for the companies that can get in there and get it right, the scramble is on. More to come. when the research is done Stay Tuned!

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Avon late to Social Media party

Apr 24, ’12 8:41 AM

Sometimes when a company has pioneered a new direction in business they may be a bit tardy or slow in picking up on an even newer innovation or change in market direction. When that change could benefit or even perfect the original invention they will eventually wake up and get a clue. Such is the situation and case with the usually high-flying Avon. Avon cautiously took its time and sat on the sidelines of the recent whirlwind emergence of social media far too long, but no longer.  Now that the economy is in free fall and Avon is losing traction in door-to-door sales Avon is about to get nimble and dive into social media, especially utilizing Facebook.

This will probably be the on-going scenario with most similar specialty market leaders. They will wake up one morning and suddenly realize that the world as they knew it has changed and what will determine their future and survival will be their ability to survive and thrive in the midst of change.

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Web 2.0: End of a Trend?

Feb 23, ’12 8:46 PM

What the heck happened? One minute Web 2.0 was the hot topic then suddenly it was buzzword poison. How could it go so quickly from the roadmap to the future to forgotten term?

It is certainly strange how fleeting our attention is these days. We went from Web 2.0 to Social Media in a nod.

A couple of probing questions come to mind.

  1. Has anything really changed?
  2. When caused the shift?
  3. What’s next/ and will it also come so swiftly and unhearalded?
  4. Is this disruption at work?

Well the one thing we know for certain is that everything must change so we should”nt tie orselves to firmly to any one term or trend. This caneffect our company, product and domain name decisions and even our career choices.

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Forgotten Favorite: Stumble Upon

Sep 26, ’11 7:08 PM

Why hasn’t Stumble Upon received any of the Social Media praise and coverage lauded upon Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Foursquare?

I would assume because they route folk to destinations and are not the destination itself.

What must StumbleUpon be or do?
What have they accomplished so far?

What do you think?

Is StumbleUpon really a Forgotten Favorite?

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Mid-Year Observations

Jul 31, ’11 11:50 AM

So here we are into August 2011 and 8 months deep into what just yesterday was a new year. Now we are well on our way to another holiday season and anticipated industry events like CES and MacWorld 2012 still ahead of us. What is clear at this point is that things have dramatically changed over the past year.

Social Media has dominated the headlines and even movie screens. Tablets and Smartphones capture most of the press attention and sales. Acquisitions and mergers seem to be on the rise in what is a consolidation frenzy. Broadband providers are preparing to squeeze every dollar out of users and are throttling down heavy users unwellng to pay more for data.

Apple has become the heavyweight in technology and innovation. Agile companies like HTC riding Apple’s coattails are reaping big profits but it looks like there will be a storm of litigation headed to the courts soon.

Many previously successful big-time companies has seen drastic reversals of fortune and must reposition themselves and get innovative if they really plan to endure and thrive into the future. This will mean mastering trends, new product spaces and changes in user interests and choices.

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People Trapping: Social Media Gone Wrong

Jul 3, ’11 1:17 PM

trap

Before the turn of the 19th century, In the final years of the 1900′s Wild West plainsmen trapped bears, beavers and other animals in a lifestyle that hurried the near extinction of many once plentiful species that once roamed the hills, valleys and rivers of these rich and ancient lands.

Today, in what is essentially a “Digitally-assisted “Wild West”, Social Media and Web 2.0 has turned all of us collectively and indivually Into commodities to be bought, sold and bartered like chips at a casino. Unique individuals as Internet users are for sale by marketers, conmen scammers and whoever else for reasons and motives we do not know nor are able to perceive or anticipate.

The really sad thing is that in most cases we have opted in not knowing or expecting the repercussions. In exchange for this or that free bit of info Are we cede pieces of personal information to services such as Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Those bits of information are fueling marketers that in most cases don’t have our best interests at heart.  Again sadly, once the horses are out of the stable. That’s it! Nothing you can do can erase the a mistake of poor judgement. The honey pot that draws us in can be free stuff, information, supposed opportunities, or friends and followers. It is all just bait to lure in and “trap” unsuspecting victims.

We are all now reduced to the status of commodities!

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NING: Still Alive and kicking

May 1, ’11 2:02 PM

Ning

Ning claims to hold the title of “the world’s largest platform to create powerful, custom social websites”. According to their site “Top organizers, marketers, influencers and activists use Ning to create social experiences that inspire action.”

However, as time passes competition increases and solutions that were first-movers give way to newer or improved programs and platforms that target and capitalize on the omissions and weakenesses of those that initially opened up the market in the first place. Ning more recently has been trying to develop revenue generating strategies that justify the work they put into it. It is still an unknown whether the latest moves towards sustaibability and profit will work.

http://www.ning.com/

5/1/11 Addendum: NING has launched a major online advertising campaign in the hopes that they can re-establish a place for their services in the world of social media and networking development. Ning is stressing how well they help users build community, run their businesses and make money, and how causes can use Ning to fundraise and rally support.

Ning has indeed been a big deal in the Social Media movement. However, as times change Ning like others have had to be agile and adjust their business model to keep up or stay ahead. In this tight type of environment lesser companies have folded and given up. Ning seems determined to retain and regain the magic that got them there.

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FOURSQUARE: Wants to be Twitter or LinkedIn

Apr 6, ’11 11:06 AM
Foursquare

Foursquare

It is becoming an often repeated or recurring pattern. One company puts everything into pioneering a new direction and others maybe a little less creative or adventurous cannot restrain themselves from starting up a game of marketplace leapfrog. Right now in the Social Media arena companies like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are setting the pace or are sitting targets. Other aggressive companies like Foursquare are beginning to coose to go the “me-to” route and challenge if not displace the existing leaders. In some circles this is exactly how smart business is done, in the opinions of enlightened others this is the cheap way in, and it speaks to any that take easy paths to business opportunity, although no path is really cheap nor easy. If there were easy ways everyone would take them. In this case these amount to a sort of corporate mugging in the dark and dank alleyways of cyberspace.

It is still early in forays into these new directions but time will tell if they have much traction or provide opportunities. One thing is for sure, there surely is market enough to support other palyers and investors are more than willing to pour money into new entities that bring something new to the game especially considering how well and profitable the forerunners are doing.

Foursquare has several distinct advantages, they have a highly successful business hosting business model that can support their exploration and aggressive moves into new areas and they have the talent around them that is able to help them take things to exciting new levels.

http://foursquare.com/

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Technorati

Mar 21, ’11 5:53 PM

I found it hard to nail down exactly what Technorati/Technonati is all about so I decided to present it to you in their own words. Use the links provided below to check them out for yourself. Its worth a visit!

Technorati was founded to help bloggers succeed by collecting, highlighting, and distributing the global online conversation. Founded as the first blog search engine, Technorati has expanded to a full service media company providing services to the blogs and social media sites and connecting them with advertisers who want to join the conversation, and whose online properties introduce blog content to millions of consumers.

The leading blog search engine and directory, Technorati.com indexes more than a million blogs. The site has become the definitive source for the top stories, opinions, photos and videos emerging across news, entertainment, technology, lifestyle, sports, politics and business. Technorati.com tracks not only the authority and influence of blogs, but also the most comprehensive and current index of who and what is most popular in the Blogosphere.

Technorati now publishes high quality, fully edited, original content daily on a wide range of topics, written by hundreds of member writers.

Technorati
360 Post Street, Suite 1100
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 896-3000

About Technorati Media

Technorati Media is an integrated online media company with an ad network, three owned web properties, and an ad technology platform. Launched in June 2008, Technorati Media’s ad network has quickly grown into the largest social media ad network (blogs, social networks and distributed content), boasting an audience of over 300 million unique visitors a month worldwide and 150 million people in the US. In July 2010, comScore ranked Technorati Media as the 4th largest social media property and the 3rd largest blog property. Technorati.com, the flagship site, is the world’s first and largest blog search engine and a robust community blogging platform. BlogCritics.org is a journalism 3.0 site with a community over 3,100 authors who have published over 100,000 articles using the site’s proprietary publishing platform. Twittorati.com shows what top bloggers are tweeting about, and how these trends compare to blogosphere trends.

http://technorati.com/

http://technorati.com/about-technorati/#ixzz1HHjQnqr2

http://technorati.com/about-technorati/#ixzz1HHjFhpJW

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So, you have a Great Idea!

Mar 19, ’11 7:16 PM
Go To Web

Go To Web

Its one thing to want to start something new online. But be advised thats more than a notion. If you are naive and innocent rushing wildly into the fire is fine, but if you truly believe you have an incredible idea for a new social site or service and you or your friends have the skills and talent to pull it off, before you pour your precious time and hard-earned money into building it and then hoping they’ll come, DO this: go out to Go2Web20.net and take a look at the great number of sites and services out there that you have never heard of. Please, don’t let this discourage you but let it simply be a reality check to help you decide if you have the passion, drive and fortitude to see it through, and are absolutely serious. I wish you all the best success.

http://www.go2web20.net

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San Francisco: Capital of Social Media

Mar 19, ’11 2:19 PM

- TCF Declares San Francisco The Unofficial Capital of New Technology!

It is true that Silicon Valley remains the center of where development of a lot of the hardware devices we use are built. However, over the past couple of decades San Francisco, “The City-by-the-Bay” has emerged as “THE PLACE” where social media en=treprenuers are panning gold. For Instance Twitter was birthed in S.F. Other S.F. players are finding talent and ready markets in the city. Hundreds of S.F. companies have “blown-up” from ink and pencil business plans drawn on napkins and then nurtured into successful businesses and appealing sources of investor investments maturing into wealthy money pots. The steadily growing long list of “web 2.0 goldmines” born in S.F. proves this to be true. In fact it is a sure bet that if you walk into almost any hip or trendy cafe or casual restaurant in S.F. you’ll find busy intense small groups of tech/geek types, mapping out future designs and plans for the next potential Facebook or Google, you’ll also notice too eager fleet fingers flying across the keyboards of heavily-stickered laptops. Strangely enough most of this was unplanned. Even the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce has been slow to realize this. Convinced? if you are, and are considering possibly relocating to S.F. to get in the middle of the action. The city is even considering tech tax breaks in an effort to retain fleeting companies discouraged by the high cost og living in S.F. If you have eyes for moving here consider subscribing to the S.F. Business Times, talk to a city native, and spent a week here to get the real feel of The City, and see if you like it. How could you not!

  • - S.F. Native
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    Too Many Web Sites, and Not Enough Time!

    Mar 18, ’11 8:13 AM

    All I want for Xmas is 10 more hours in a week. This would give us at least enough time aside from work, study and business to read and review some of the many good and great web sites out there. As it is we hardly have enough time to simply search and find them. We count on search engines like Google and the newly popular Bing to do most of the work. However today there are a growing number of ways these come to our attention.

    One we have uncovered and discovered sites we like we need to bookmark these “Favorites” for future reference and review.

    It is imperative that each of us develop a process for effectively doing this important work. Some of the useful tools can include: RSS Feeds, metasearch engines, Stumble Upon, social media services and links from your favorite and most trusted sites.

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    Mashups

    Mar 12, ’11 1:05 PM

    What is a mashup?

    The ability to work with API’s in order to combine and configure them into a usable custom capability is what we are calling a mashup. Today this mostly happens utilizing Social Media API’s and working with development for use on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. As we are only in the earliest stages of development it is no telling where this trend will go and how far and fast it will spread.

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