Erik Qualman's Blog, page 566

Twitter CEO plans to fix how Twitter deals with abuse

Mashable reported that Twitter CEO, Dick Costolo, knows Twitter has a problem with abuse and trolls and says it’s entirely his fault.

The Verge got ahold of two emails, reportedly sent to Twitter employees by Costolo, in which the CEO says he accepts personal responsibility for the problems.

In the first memo, which reportedly came after an employee questioned on an internal forum whether the social network is doing all it can to prevent trolling and abuse, Costolo admits he’s “ashamed” at how the company has handled these issues and promises to “start kicking these people off right and left.”

“We suck at dealing with abuse and trolls on the platform and we’ve sucked at it for years. It’s no secret and the rest of the world talks about it every day. We lose core user after core user by not addressing simple trolling issues that they face every day.

I’m frankly ashamed of how poorly we’ve dealt with this issue during my tenure as CEO. It’s absurd. There’s no excuse for it. I take full responsibility for not being more aggressive on this front. It’s nobody else’s fault but mine, and it’s embarrassing.

We’re going to start kicking these people off right and left and making sure that when they issue their ridiculous attacks, nobody hears them.

Everybody on the leadership team knows this is vital.”

In a followup email to employees the next day, the CEO again reiterated that he was accepting sole responsibility for the problem.

“Let me be very very clear about my response here. I take PERSONAL responsibility for our failure to deal with this as a company. I thought i did that in my note, so let me reiterate what I said, which is that I take personal responsibility for this. I specifically said “It’s nobody’s fault but mine”

We HAVE to be able to tell each other the truth, and the truth that everybody in the world knows is that we have not effectively dealt with this problem even remotely to the degree we should have by now, and that’s on me and nobody else. So now we’re going to fix it, and I’m going to take full responsibility for making sure that the people working night and day on this have the resources they need to address the issue, that there are clear lines of responsibility and accountability, and that we don’t equivocate in our decisions and choices.”

 

Costolo elaborated a bit to BuzzFeed News on how he plans to change this problem. Without detailing specific measures, Costolo outlined a plan both to make it easier to effectively ban people from Twitter, and to make sure that abusive speech would be harder to aim directly at users in ways that would dominate their Twitter timelines.

“It has to be the case that it’s more expensive to be an abuser on the platform than to be [abused],” Costolo told BuzzFeed News. “What I mean by that, today if you are the recipient of abuse or harassment you have to go through a reporting process that is difficult.”

BuzzFeed News also reported that Twitter did make reporting abuse easier toward the end of last year, yet it still is a multistep process that’s largely ineffectual, especially at combating large-scale serial harassment. Moreover, it’s relatively easy for people to skirt the edges of Twitter’s terms of service and remain just within the boundaries of acceptable use, while still making life a nightmare for others using the service. Costolo says concrete changes are coming to the product itself to help end that.

 

 

Article originally from mashable.com and buzzfeed.com

Image from yahoo.com

Thumbnail from yahoo.com

 

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Amazon opens first store

CNN Money reported that Amazon announced it has opened a pickup and drop-off location on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Students can order everything from “textbooks, laptops, or mac and cheese,” according to Paul Ryder, vice president of media and student programs at Amazon. Students can place store orders via Amazon Student, an already existing service that provides free shipping, and they’ll receive email or text notification when their orders arrive. The company is also offering free one-day shipping for students who ship their purchases to the Purdue store. The store is “a convenient and secure spot for them to pick up their stuff at hours that work with their schedules.”

This is a big departure for the retail giant that has dominated online sales. Indianapolis Star reported that while it’s still early to tell, some popular items among students tend to be textbooks, school supplies, video games, consumer electronics and electronic accessories, said Paul Ryder, Amazon’s vice president of media and student programs.

“We know there’s millions of things available just in our Indiana warehouses, let alone warehouses all across the country,” Ryder said. “Once we see what students are buying, we can start to make sure we have all the right things they’re most interested in at the Indiana warehouses, so they’re here super fast.”

Ryder said Amazon will continue to track data and trends as they become available and will consider expanding services to other universities.

Image from money.cnn.com

Thumbnail image from shutterstock.com

Article from money.cnn.com and indystar.com

 

 

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Basic Social Media Optimization Tips That Can Make A World Of Difference

Social media is one amazing media to communicate with the masses in real time. It can single handily turn your brand from a “nobody” into an “everybody.” While content plays an important role in your strategy, so does your appearance. Remember, first impressions are everything. Here are some general, easy optimization tips to set your social media marketing into complete success.

Instagram:

Instagram doesn’t allow for clickable URLs in your photo and video descriptions. Make sure your profile includes your company URL, since it is the only place within your profile that is actually clickable.

Facebook:

Make sure your cover photos are always branded. It is the first thing a user’s eye will go to when they visit your page. Use it as a giant virtual billboard to give viewers your philosophy or at least a reason to contact you.  Omitting this area is definitely a huge missed opportunity.


Create custom apps for your social media profiles right on your Facebook page. It is a great way to get exposure for your other social networks. You can easily create these by typing for example “Twitter app” on the Facebook search bar. Then click on it and tell the app which page you want to add the app to. Simply add your handle or profile name and within seconds people can also follow your tweets, pins, grams, etc right from Facebook.


Fill out your profile fields. Every business page on Facebook gives admins the ability to have a profile, don’t leave them blank! Fill every one of them out with quality, accurate descriptions as the more information you give to the reader the more potential they have to contact you.

YouTube:

Not only is YouTube an enormous social media channel; it is also the second biggest search engine in the world just behind its parent company Google. Did you know though that when a user accesses YouTube via a mobile device they couldn’t see your description or hyperlink?  In addition, mobile devices don’t allow for users to see your channel descriptions and social links that are visible when viewed on a desktop or laptop.  In video annotations also aren’t accessible via a tablet or smartphone.  Check YouTube analytics on your channel to see where your traffic is coming from. If the majority is coming from mobile devices you should consider altering your videos in a way to make them more describable when viewed via a mobile device.


Similar to Facebook, YouTube also allows you to include links to your other social networks right on your channel.  You can do this by clicking the top right corner of your channel art and click “Edit Links”.  You can then create up to five custom links including your website blog as well as your other social channels. Once you hit save little icons will now come up on your channel page in the art section. This is a great way to promote your website and get more fans and followers to your social networks.

Optimizing social media profiles takes just a few minutes to complete, so there should be no excuses for forgetting about them. They can make all the difference in the world in getting that new client you have been looking for!

Image from shutterstock.com

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Digital Job Index weak in Boston but strong in New York

NEW YORK/BOSTON – January 30, 2015 - Cook Associates (www.cookassociates.com), one of the country’s leading retained executive search firms, has come out with the latest results of its quarterly East Coast Digital Jobs Index. In a survey consisting of pure-play Internet and digital media companies, the company believes that the businesses surveyed represent more than 90 percent of the Internet and digital media employees in New York and Boston.

Hiring activity in 2014 was a tale of two very different cities: Boston had its worst annual performance since the Digital Jobs Index began in 2012 while New York’s hiring activity remained vibrant. Furthermore, Boston saw quite a bit of quarterly variation in hiring while New York was remarkably consistent throughout the past year. New York’s fourth quarter digital hiring increased 3.5% while Boston’s increased 1.2%. For all of 2014, New York’s headcount increased by 18.4% while Boston’s increase was 10.7%.

Why Boston had a relatively weak performance is hard to determine. While venture capital activity has been extremely strong, much of those dollars are going into biotech or healthcare companies not covered by our survey.   On the other hand, New York’s digital hiring scene is broad and has a foundation that should result in several years of continued strong job growth.

Check the list below to see what companies are gaining the most employees.

Fourth Quarter 2014 results from Cook Associates’ Digital Jobs Index

New York data:

402 Internet and digital media companies with 10+ employees in New York City

Approximately 1,520 jobs added for a 3.5% gain

Top 10 companies showing largest headcount gains in New York include:

1. Google

2. Amazon

3. Facebook

4. ZocDoc

5. LinkedIn

6. AppNexus

7. BuzzFeed

8. Grovo

9. Yahoo!

10. Oscar Insurance

Up-and-coming private companies showing large headcount gains:

● Yelp

● ClassPass

● Urban Compass

● MediaMath

● Jet.com

● Blue Apron

● Birchbox

● Percolate

● Grubhub Seamless

● Eyeview

● Etsy

● Business Insider

● Refinery29

● Vox Media

● ShopKeep

● Yext

● Fareportal

● Dstillery

● Offerpop

● PlaceIQ

● Vimeo

● Sprinklr

● DramaFever

● MediaRadar

● Plated

Boston data:

194 Internet and digital media companies with 10+ employees in Boston

Approximately 220 jobs added for a 1.2% gain

Top 10 companies showing largest headcount gains in Boston include:

1. Swipely

2. Wayfair

3. Amazon

4. TripAdvisor

5. Virgin Pulse

6. Constant Contact

7. Criteo

8. DraftKings

9. TechTarget

10. WordStream (tied)

10. Demandware (tied)

Up-and-coming private companies showing large headcount gains:

● CarGurus

● Circle Internet Financial

● Percipio Media

● Smarterer (owned by Pluralsight)

● BookBub

● DataXu

● OwnerIQ

● EverTrue

● EverPresent

● Nara Logics

● Skyword

● Invaluable

● MediaMath

● SessionM

● ViralGains

● Openbay

 

Article from cookassociates.com

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Don’t Forget About Mobile When You Go Social

It’s no longer enough to engage with customers via social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. What’s important now is finding ways to engage with them on the go. With the large majority of social media users accessing these sites from their smartphones and tablets, standard desktop strategies may be a waste of time. You need to find ways to leverage their affinity towards mobile devices and discover new methods for effective engagement.

Understanding the User

Before discussing the mobile aspect of social media, it’s important for businesses to first start with the user. At the heart of topic is the social media user, and your ability to understand who he or she is will guide you through the process, and allow you to capitalize on the mobile segment.

Research published in the authoritative white paper From Social to Sale: 8 Questions to Ask your Customers points out there are three basic ‘tribes’ of social media users. While the names are arbitrary, the characteristics remain the same across the board. All social media users fall into one of these three tribes:

Thinkers. This is the group that uses social media when contemplating a purchase, “but have not actively begun the research process.” These are the laid-back users and most hesitant to act, out of the three tribes. They will share purchases they are considering and usually need a nudge to make a final decision.

Questers. This group likes to share items they are in the process of actively researching. They have pretty much decided on a purchase, but are good at disseminating information to thinkers and leapers.

Leapers. This is the impulsive group. Leapers are easily inspired by other social users and quickly make purchases without much thought. They are the easiest to convince and represent new sales for retailers.

Every market segment will behave differently and each social channel is proportionally different, but thinkers generally make up between 49 and 70 percent of users, questers between 21 and 24 percent of users, and leapers between 9 and 29 percent of users. Interestingly, thinkers tend to gravitate towards Twitter, questers towards Facebook, and leapers towards Pinterest.

Capitalizing on Mobile

As a marketer looking to engage with users, the biggest opportunities lie in reaching thinkers and leapers. In 2015 and beyond, this means reaching them on their mobile devices.

According to a recent report from BI Intelligence, 60 percent or more of all social media time is spent on smartphones and tablets. As smartphone display sizes continue to increase, that number is expected to grow exponentially. Now is the time to learn how to effectively engage with mobile thinkers and leapers. To maximize your profitability, let’s take a look at some of the things you can begin working on today.

Optimize Your Facebook Page

Facebook is the king of social media, in terms of engagement and advertising. Naturally, this makes it the best place to start your mobile optimization strategy. Facebook has a responsive design built in, but that doesn’t mean it will handle everything for you. You still need to pay attention to what you post and how you structure your content.

The best thing is to familiarize yourself with how the timeline functions on mobile devices. You can’t properly implement these tips unless you know how things operate. As you’ll quickly notice, Facebook’s timeline design is conducive to swiping and scrolling, but doesn’t give you unlimited space to work with. While Twitter is the platform that limits what you say to 160 characters or less, Facebook will still abbreviate what you post. As a rule of thumb, if you can’t say something in 150-200 characters, it’s probably not worth posting.

Until you become an expert at using Facebook for mobile devices, always check for compatibility after posting or before launching a new campaign. This quick check could save you a lot of embarrassment and will ensure you reach optimal engagement.

Take Advantage of Location-Based Features

One of the biggest benefits of working with mobile users is that you have the capability to tailor information and content based on their location. While Foursquare hasn’t taken off quite as well as some of the other major social media platforms, it’s still a valuable tool for marketers. Using their hyper-targeted ad system, you can serve specific ads based on where the user is. For example, if a social user is two blocks away from your coffee shop, you could serve an ad for a new drink special you’re having.

Eliminate Repetition and Message Fatigue

Marketers refer to repetitive, standardized posts across all social media platforms as message fatigue. Because users generally follow the same brands across multiple platforms, your decision to post the same message on each can be harmful. Instead, take the extra time to tailor each post to a specific platform. Not only will you become less repetitive, but followers will find your posts more engaging.

Utilize Video Capabilities

Video marketing is exploding within social networking. From YouTube and Instagram to Vimeo and Vine, it seems like every social media site is tapping into video marketing. While this is arguably the most expensive aspect of social media marketing, it can bring the highest returns. If you choose to pursue video capabilities, ensure you’re taking the time to produce quality content. It’s better to avoid it altogether than fall flat.

Claim Your Digital Turf

Studies suggest that 81 percent of tablet owners and 79 percent of mobile phone owners use their devices to conduct local searches. Take advantage of this opportunity by creating your Google+ page and filling out all contact information.

Start Engaging

All signs are pointing towards mobile as the next major marketing opportunity for businesses. While there is much to be learned, now and in the future, one things is clear: social engagement starts with mobile devices.

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5 Social Media Tips Not to Overlook

Social media has come a long way in the past few years.

From a platform where friends hung out, it’s transcended to a big part of every business’s marketing world. And with good social media comes good social media strategy.

Here are 5 social media tips you shouldn’t pass up:

Know your goals – It’s important to know what you want to do with social media. The more you invest in social media, the more you can get out of it, but that’s something you need to decide. Do you want to hit all the major platforms or stick with one or two or maybe find some smaller niche ones? Set some goals on followers and posts, too – maybe something like 1000 followers in 2 months. Keep your goals in mind, and remember, they don’t have to be written in stone.
Know your audience – You want to use the social media platforms that will reach your audience. If you want a younger clientele, you may want to focus on Instagram, while an older crowd will be easier to reach on Facebook. Don’t be afraid to use a few platforms, but you may want to word or publish your posts a little differently to suit each audience the best. Another part of knowing your audience gives you an advantage as you can post when they are active. Certain demographics tend to check social media at certain times, so keep that in mind when posting.
Know your voice – Decide how you want to come across. Do you want to be the expert who gives information or maybe you’d rather be a facilitator, one who opens the doors for discussion and engagement. You could be predictable or creative, artsy or traditional, engaging or one sided. These are some things you’ll need to figure out and use what best represents your business model.
Know your timeframes – When it comes to posting, you want to keep a constant feed active, but not a smothering one. Your followers will come to expect your posts, and when you don’t post, they’ll miss it. If you forget to post for a while, they may move on and forget about you. So there’s the fine line of posting too much and not enough. A daily post is great, a dozen posts a day is a little much, and less than once a week, well, you could probably do better than that.
Get help – You can hire a social media director or automate your social media. If the thought of posting at certain times and sending different posts through different platforms is overwhelming, think about getting someone to do it for you, whether a real person or an automation platform.

Stay Organized and on Top

As the following article shows, 3 great tools to automate your social media are Post Planner, Social Oomph and Hootsuite.

These offer different advantages and can help you stay organized and on top of your social media strategy.

Using social media is an excellent marketing tool and one that anyone trying to up their marketing strategies should be engaged in.

Whether you hire someone to run your social media or automate, get out there and be social.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of shuttershock.com 

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Tweets to show up on Google search results

Bloomberg reported yesterday that Twitter has struck a deal with Google to make its 140 character tweet updates more searchable online. This agreement comes from an effort by Twitter Chief Executive Officer, Dick Costolo, to make tweets seen more by non-users and generate more advertising revenue from a larger audience.

Engineers from Twitter and Google are already working on the arrangement, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deal isn’t public. The two companies had a similar deal from 2009 to 2011. Ali Rowghani, Twitter’s former chief operating officer, had been against renewing the agreement to keep more control over Twitter’s content and it lapsed, the people said.

Mashable reports that this is not the first kind of deal like this Twitter has done. It already has deals in place with Bing and Yahoo, wherein the company shares user data. Search Bing for a Twitter user’s handle, for instance, and several recent tweets from that user pop up in search results. But Twitter’s deal with Google is even more significant, given the Mountain View, California-based tech giant commands 75% of the web search market and remains the number one most-trafficked website globally.

Tweets are expected to show up in Google search results in the first half of the year.

 

Article from bloomberg.com and mashable.com

Image from shuttershock.com
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Vine lauches Vine Kids

Sarah LeTrent from CNN reported on Monday that Vine has launched Vine Kids, a kids friendly version of the six-second video sharing app. The intent for this app is to filter out inappropriate posts. The premise is very similar to that of its older sibling, but the looping videos are strictly of the family-friendly variety, with the help of animated characters and adorable animals. Children can swipe left or right for new vetted videos and tap the screen for fun sound effects, according to Carolyn Penner, Vine’s head of communication and marketing.

TechTimes reported that Vine owner, Twitter, is treading on delicate ground with the release of Vine Kids, as it has to comply with the rules mandated by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in safeguarding the privacy and safety of children online. Certain provisions require Vine Kids to inform parents about how the app collects information from the users if they are below 13 years old.

Vine Kids’ privacy policy stresses that it does not collect any personal information about the children except any information that their parents expressly provide to Vine, such as when they contact customer support or communicate with Vine Kids in any way. “The types of information we may collect include your name, email address, and any other information you choose to provide,” said Vine Kids. “We use this information to respond to your questions or concerns. The Vine Kids mobile application does not collect or allow the submission of personal information.”

If Vine Kids proves to be a success, it could usher in another wave of new sign-ups for the adult version of Vine and expand Twitter’s reach in the future.

Vine Kids is currently available to download on iOS devices.

     

Article from CNN.com and TechTimes.com

Images and Thumbnail from Vine Kids via iTunes.apple.com

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What is a Brand Kit and Why Should I Care?

Have you ever heard the term “brand kit,” branding kit,” or “identity brand kit?” If so, have you ever wondered what it is and if you need one? Yes, it is true that they sound like media kit, press kit, or electronic press kit, but there is a difference.

No. IDK if I need one. “@socialwebcafe: Q2 Do you have an media kit or electronic press kit (EPK)? Maybe “One Sheet?” #SocialCafe”

— Lisa Salvary (@PRMktgSales) January 28, 2015

Before we delve into what it is and why you might want to put one together, let’s talk about the word, “brand.”

Brand versus Identity

Many times, we think of the word brand, when we should be thinking of the word identity. For example, when you see a yellow spongy looking treat, you may think “Twinkie.” The visual appearance of the item makes you think of a name. Of course that is the name of the product and not the Brand or Company. In the case of the Twinkie, that may have changed since you last saw one.

How about the “Golden Arches?” Do you know what I am referring to, with “Golden Arches?” Many of you will recognize that as the brand of McDonalds®. Some of you may even look at the hamburger, above, and also think “McDonalds®.” This is really called brand recognition (the “Golden Arches”) and brand association (the hamburger).

So, What IS a Brand?

The word “brand” really has more to do with the perception than specifics of the brand. It has to do with a response by the person rather than tangible items. However, the tangible items are also a part of the process of brand and contributing to the resultant perception. More on what those tangible (and intangible) items are, in the discussion of the kit.

Let’s take a recent commercial by Jack in the Box®, shown below.

Some will watch that video and think, “Oh, that is funny,” and associate a sense of humor with the brand of Jack in the Box®. Others will ignore the messaging and see the food, their mouths watering, and associate the visual appearance of yummy food with Jack in the Box®. Others will watch it and think “clumsy” or “klutz” with the thought of Jack in the Box®. And, still others will watch it and believe that Jack in the Box® lacks a corporate responsibility with no attention to order and the clerk caring more about her tummy than her responsibilities. Some will have a combined response.

In the case of Jack in the Box®, this is their branding. In the case of this commercial, there is a bit of a confused branding, as there are quite a few different avenues of perspective, none of which have a really concrete buying message (except maybe the visual on the food). In the case of the Jack in the Box® Marketing Campaign, an analyst could ask what the objective is, in the branding of Jack in the Box®.

Ok, admittedly, we are getting a bit geeky. I think you get the basic idea of what brand and branding is, eh?

What is Identity?

Brand and Identity are often confused. Identity, in terms of an “Identity Kit” has more to do with the inclusion of logos, a list of colors, fonts, images, etc. that are used so that people will be able to have an experience of brand recognition. A more accurate definition for a “kit” that includes these items would be a “Brand Identity Kit” and may include some of the same items that are included in a media or press kit, but definitely includes the consistent items that a marketing team, graphics designer, and social media marketer would need to ensure brand identity consistency.

Still confused about the term “kit” and all these fun words? Curious to know more? Watch the slideshare, below, to find out about the different kits and where they are similar, where they cross over, and where they are different.

Why Should I Care?

Ok, I think you already picked up the answer to this, but the reason you should care is because you want to be able to have consistency in your branding. Similar to the “Golden Arches,” you want people to recognize your company when they see a particular logo, or even a color scheme or font.

When you see the image, above, what comes to mind? It helps that the word is also included in the logo (another great branding idea!). Do you also see the distinct modification of the “o’s” in Socialnomics? (Another memory cue, to help in brand recognition.) In this case, Socialnomics.net would have a kit that includes the color of green that is used, the logo, any specifics that are required for their consistency, to enable brand recognition. This may or may not impact brand perspective, but it definitely contributes to brand recognition and isn’t that a great place to start?!

How Do I Put Together My Own Brand Kit?

There is a great article, that includes all of the elements that you could add to your brand kit. It is located at filecamp.com. They also provide a service. You can use the article to compile your list of items and load it into your web site, with a “brand kit directory” page for people to use when navigating the components. It may be just as easy to pull together all of these components, zip them, and add it to a private dropbox, providing a link to those who need access. You don’t even have to zip it for Dropbox and that allows you to update it as needed and to have a virtual team approach to keeping it fresh and ready at a moment’s notice.

There you have it, the “why” and the “how” for your own brand identity kit. Now, you are on your way to brand identity consistency and brand identity recognition. Maybe you, too, can be the next “Golden Arches” in your niche or industry!

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Taipei Plane Crash Video

BBC News reported yesterday that dramatic video footage emerged showing the TransAsia Airways plane clipping a bridge as it came down shortly after take-off from a Taipei airport.

The plane, carrying 58 people, broke up as it plunged into Taipei’s Keelung River. The fuselage was later salvaged by crane.

There were 15 survivors pulled from the wreckage but 12 people remain missing.

Emergency teams cut open the plane while it was in the water but were unable to reach the passengers trapped in the front section of the fuselage.

As night fell, a crane was used to lift the wreckage on to the bank. The death toll was expected to rise as rescue teams searched the fuselage and the river for the 12 missing passengers.

TransAsia said it had contacted relatives of all the 22 Taiwanese passengers on board and was attempting to reach relatives of the Chinese nationals.

Among the 15 injured, there were 11 from Taiwan, three from China and one member of the crew. The airline said that one injured passenger had already been discharged from hospital.

See the video below:

Article originally published on bbcnews.com

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