Crushing Teen Communication. Oh, Dear!
July 30, 2012
Mashable’s headline may be a little sensationalistic, or not, depending on whether you consider email to be social media. The site exclaims, “Without Social Media, 18% of Teens Would Stop Communicating.” (The infographic that goes with the piece is here.) The write up cites a recent survey from marketing company AWeber which asked American high school and college students about their communication habits. Writer Emily Price tells us:
“According to the survey, 90% of teens are on [Facebook], and an astounding 93% of teenagers use mobile phones – the same amount that use email. 74% of teens are YouTube users, and 47% use Skype to keep up with others.
“Facebook and Email own almost equal parts of teens’ hearts. With teenagers going for both when they wake up in the morning, while they’re in class, and even while they’re on vacation.”
The study went on to ask respondents what they would do if the unthinkable occurred: cell phones, and the technology to recreate them, have disappeared from the Earth. In that event, only six percent would consider using a landline or the postal service to keep in touch. Eighteen percent vowed the hardship would push them into a virtual oubliette, from which they would never communicate again.
Consider this, though. As my beloved publisher so delicately asks, is it a loss or is it a gain when eighteen percent of teens no longer share their thoughts with the world?
Cynthia Murrell, July 30, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
Too Bad Google Algorithms Know Best
July 27, 2012
Algorithms do not lie, and Googlers are enduring an unpleasant period of adjustment while trying to convert from Google Places to Google+.
As in the past, major changeovers like this can be a bit buggy, but this bug is eating a hole in the pockets of small business. MediaPost’s article “Problems With Google+ Local Harm Small Businesses” tells us company reviews, ratings and recommendations are mysteriously disappearing, if they show up at all.
Google’s plan was to copy old reviews when businesses migrated from Google Places to Google+ pages, but admits:
“It appears the search engine does not migrate certain reviews that look like spam.”
“The switch from Google Places to Google+ business pages is buggy, broken, and legitimate reviews are lost in processing. This is really unfortunate for local businesses, because building an online reputation can take a long time, and is a tremendously valuable asset to lose. There are a lot of Google business pages that have old reviews on them, which leads me to believe that this is some weird bug or spam filter.”
It looks like small companies are not the only ones suffering because of this pesky problem. Since recommendations, reviews and ratings increase website and page rankings on Google’s organic search results, this glitch has small businesses re-evaluating their AdWord budgets.
Too bad Google, algorithms know best and small businesses are watching the numbers. If this is a bug, Google needs to call an exterminator quick.
Jennifer Shockley, July 27, 2012
Study Shows Google+ Outperforming Facebook in User Satisfaction
July 25, 2012
Ready to believe some random, pop-up survey data? The Register serves some up in “Study: Users Prefer Google+ Over Facebook.” The article reports on this study from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI). The write up tells us:
“According to ACSI’s figures, Google+ tied Wikipedia with a score of 78 out of 100, leading the pack of all the social websites surveyed. By comparison, Facebook scored only a 61, which was actually 7.6 per cent lower than the previous year.”
No 2011 figure for Google+ is available, since the site was added to this survey just this year. The article goes on:
“ACSI attributes some of Google+’s high satisfaction marks to its ability to integrate Google services such as search, YouTube, and Gmail. It also calls out the ‘well liked’ Google+ mobile app, which Google says now accounts for the majority of its social network’s traffic.”
Writer Neil McAllister notes that another recent study, from Web site analytics firm Compete, found unique visitors to Google+ increasing by 43 percent from this past May to June. Sounds great for Google, on the surface.
But how much stock can we put in these statistics? And, reliability aside, what value do they add to society? It almost seems as if these surveys are designed for companies who want to annoy customers, like a digital “this call my be recorded for quality purposes” (which really means “we listen only if we are required to or need grounds to fire a cube dweller.”)
Cynthia Murrell, July 25, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
Facebook Scans for Criminals
July 20, 2012
It seems that Facebook is following a path already trodden by some other big outfits. Google is also fighting crime. CNet News declares, “Facebook Scans Chats and Posts for Criminal Activity.” CNet’s Emil Protalinski cites a recent Reuters interview with Facebook’s Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan. The article explains:
“Facebook’s software focuses on conversations between members who have a loose relationship on the social network. . . . The scanning program looks for certain phrases found in previously obtained chat records from criminals, including sexual predators (because of the Reuters story, we know of at least one alleged child predator who is being brought before the courts as a direct result of Facebook’s chat scanning). The relationship analysis and phrase material have to add up before a Facebook employee actually looks at communications and makes the final decision of whether to ping the authorities.”
Sullivan emphasized that the technology’s low rate false-positives is crucial. Facebook wouldn’t want us non-criminals worrying about its employees poring through our communications for no good reason. The company also seems in no hurry to publicize this public service. Protalinski found no mention of the technology at either Facebook’s Law Enforcement and Third-Party Mattersor its Information for Law Enforcement Authorities.
Is Facebook just being modest about its role as a crime-stopper? More likely, they’re concerned users will get up in arms about those pesky “privacy issues.”
Cynthia Murrell, July XX, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
Blekko Evolves Search by Spreading the News
July 18, 2012
The voice of news and internet search is evolving and Blekko’s new social news site ROCKZi confirms why. The new website makes watching or reading the news a pleasure with their friendly, easy to use search platform. Not only that, but they are utilizing the information.
Blekko recently announced the arrival of Rockzi on their website, so this gosling checked it out.
What I found was a very user friendly design with visual appeal. Finding topics was simply done by clicking the subject, which brought up targeted subject tiles of articles or clips. Users can than vote, share or add content using the “submit” button on the board, or the convenient browser bookmarklet. Karma is earned via posting, commenting and voting. This raises the ‘knowledge’ status of the user, increasing social statuses in the community while also adding to the database.
ROCKZi opens the door to an interesting future for search content. Blekko wisely plans to use subject popularity as a new method of developing search content. They declared:
“As the number of news boards expands and we introduce more customizable Boards, this has the very powerful potential to revolutionize the way we discover good content on the increasingly cluttered Web.”
“Social signals generated by the ROCKZi user base will eventually translate into search signals that Blekko can use to identify the highest quality content and curate search results while pushing spam to the bottom.”
Blekko is dreaming big and could easily evolve search to the next level by harnessing the power of websites like ROCKZi. Overall, ROCKZi offers an interesting way to spread the news and collect targeted search data for the future.
Jennifer Shockley, July 18, 2012
The Game Approach to Breaking News and Intelligence
July 10, 2012
Modern society thrives on knowing what goes on in the world, but often time’s viewer opinions differ from those of a journalist. Both cable and the internet are utilized to watch daily news, and now there is place to get your own point across. According to Nieman Lab’s article “Scoople: Gaming the news to get your data” is a polling company that operates as a game while utilizing actual news. Users receive points as a reward for participating.
Scoople uses a “content engine” to farm sources which produce a single story, and:
“The machine tracks some 200 RSS feeds, but a story is often a partial mash-up of just two articles, which Scoople cites with links to the originals.”
“Scoople publishes content by category in channels like Celebrity, Film, Politics, Tech, World, Gaming, and so on. Part-time editorial staffers come up with questions that go with each story.”
“Scoople created a social experience around media content…They’re not building a fantasy farm. It’s very well-grounded in daily news, daily events that they already think about.”
Involving the public by using a poll process will initiate interest and generate more public responses. The social sharing of opinions to generate results is a unique shift in the way normal news works. Scoople is offering a fresh approach to breaking news and intelligence in a game like atmosphere.
Jennifer Shockley, July 10, 2012
Shocking Internet Marketing Statistics
July 8, 2012
For those interested in finding current data on the state of the Internet marketing world, HubSpot blog recently published a listing of “21 Internet Marketing Stats That Will Blow Your Mind.”
The article is presented in a list format and the majority of the statistics back up the notion that we live in a world where the majority of online adults utilize social media sites on a regular basis. Despite that fact, no one wants a brand to blast them with meaningless Facebook and Twitter statuses multiple times a day.
This leads me to the first surprising factoid:
“The more posts per day, the less engagement — when a brand posts twice a day, those posts only receive 57% of the likes and 78% of the comments per post. (Source: Track Social) Be mindful of your publishing frequency on Facebook, and start testing with your own page to see what frequency is right for your community.”
What is even more interesting, considering the intensity at which companies seem to want to blast their customers, is this statistic:
“On average, companies respond to only 30% of social media fans’ feedback. (Source: Factbrowser) Engagement is rare. Stand out from your competition by caring and engaging with your social media community.”
Which may be the reason why our third datum is so prevalent:
“In any given week, less than 0.5% of Facebook fans engage with the brand they are fans of. (Source: Marketing Science) Brands aren’t providing the right kind of content and experience to engage their fans. Ask your Facebook fans what type of content they want to see, and then give it to them!”
Businesses that are interested in actually making an impact with their social media marketing plan need to focus on targeted statuses that inform their customers.
Jasmine Ashton, July 8, 2012
Sponsored by Ikanow
Entertainment Needs and Personality Drive Facebook Visits
July 5, 2012
A study published earlier this month in the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media suggests that time spent on Facebook correlates strongly to personality type.
Motivations behind frequent visits may vary, but the study shows that much of what causes people to flock to the site can be traced back to personality and a simple need to be entertained. A recent article on WebProNews titled, “New Facebook Study Reveals Motivation Behind Facebook Visits,” elaborates on the study, commenting on possible motivational factors of participants. We learn in the article:
“Looking at motivational factors that could encourage individuals to spend time on Facebook, the researchers found that entertainment and passing time, along with information seeking, to be the top driving forces for visiting the social site. […]
While self expression was mentioned in the study a possible factor for visiting Facebook, limitations of the design kept the authors from formulating any theories on how it actually played into the time spent.”
Although many Facebook frequenters, like myself, may claim the attraction to the site is maintaining and building relationships, this simply does not prove to be true. The entertainment motive is repeatedly shown to be the most powerful predictor of how much time users spend on the social media site.
Andrea Hayden, July 5, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
Is Trouble Looming for Facebook?
July 4, 2012
The Next Web recently reported on a recent decline in Facebook unique users in the article “Comscore: Facebook’s Uniques in the United States Are Slipping.”
According to the article, comScore, Inc. found that Facebook is shedding unique users in the United States and this could easily snowball into a huge revenue loss for the social network. Between the months of March and May, unique users went from 158.93 million to 158.01 million.
Even though the decline is less than 1%, those looking to invest in Facebook are expecting it rapid growth, rather than slight declines.
The article states:
“The company has had a very rough time since its initial public offering, slipping in market value, with some calling its flotation scandalous for one reason or another. Facebook has been battered with negative opinion pieces in force since then. However, recently, the company found a new floor in the market, and is currently valued at roughly $68 billion.
Perhaps the largest threat to Facebook is if its users lose attraction with the site, heading elsewhere for their interactions. If that happens, Facebook will command fewer eyeballs, and thus, fewer dollars.”
It is difficult to determine whether or not Facebook has staying power or if it will just become another myspace. In my opinion, it has done an excellent job of continuing to evolve with the onslaught of mobile technology and will most likely continue to do so in the future.
Jasmine Ashton, July 4, 2012
Sponsored by IKANOW
Google Plus Can Be What You Want to Make It
July 4, 2012
Many people see Google+ as a ghost town, and that may be the case in their circles. However, some companies are turning things around. The article “A Case Study in Private Google Engagement” shares the information that employees at companies such as Distilled can avoid the trickiness of circles and multiple accounts by using Google Apps and sharing with an organization as opposed to circles.
This feature allows Google+ to be used as an internal communication tool to augment email. Distilled is a great case study. With three offices in different time zones, Distilled still wants to maintain a connected culture and Google+ provides the space to share memes and positive interactions and engagement.
In the article referenced above, Tom Critchlow states:
“I’m going to admit that the first few days were a little bit of a nightmare – everyone has (at least) two Google+ accounts tied to various personal and professional identities and so we had to get everyone in the right circles etc. Once that’s set up however it works like a charm.”
At Distilled, employees refer to the app as D+. Clearly it has caught on. We are happy to see the plus sized batch of lemons Google delivered turned into lemonade.
Megan Feil, July 4, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
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