Archive for February, 2010

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Social Media Blog: Want to Connect with Fortune 100 Companies? Find them on Twitter!

Friday, February 26th, 2010

The Global Social Media Check-up is yet another social media usage study released by Burson-Marsteller. The study shows that:

  • Globally, 65% of Fortune 100 companies have active accounts on Twitter
  • 54% have a Facebook fan page
  • 50% have a YouTube channel
  • 33% have a corporate blog. 

Overall though, only 20% of Fortune 100 companies, globally, are using all four platforms. Only 20%!!! What are they thinking? If they can do one or two, they can certainly do all four.

But the good news again is that Twitter is the platform of choice for 65% of them. So get yourself on Twitter and make sure you are focusing on balancing quality AND quantity of your Twitter participation. What I mean is be sure to have "Quality" content while you continue to build the "Quantity" or number of followers who will read your tweets.

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Posted in Social Media Marketing, twitter | No Comments »

Social Media Blog: Google AND Facebook Together, finally!

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

Finally!! Google and Facebook are together! Isn't it great? Ok, what I mean by "together" really is that Google has started indexing and showing Facebook results in it's own real-time feed. Until now Goolge was only showing Twitter and MySpace results.
 
However what's this? Facebook will only share about 3 million of its page information that has celebrity, business, and organization information with Google. When it comes to Bing, Facebook's allowing them to view all user updates. Facebook has over 400 million users, making it the largest social networking site.

In a way, it's good that all updates are not being shown on Google. How annoying would it be to scroll through real-time Facebook content to try to find relevant business information you may be looking for?

 

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Posted in facebook | 1 Comment »

Social Media Blog: Facebook Vs Google, the battle lines are drawn.

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

Well, if you have a Facebook account, you know how much time you spend on Facebook and you also know how much time others are spending, right? Now we have statistics that show that Facebook is the 2nd most popular site from a total number of visitors perspective.

Compete Inc, (a company which publishes research data on these kinds of interesting web & other stuff) published results that showed that Facebook's 134 million unique visitors in January bypassed Yahoo's 132 million unique but was just short of the 147 million unique visitors on Google.

Another statistic reported by Compete was that users spent 11.6% of their web time on Facebook which is more than double the time they spent individually on Yahoo or Google.

I think that Facebook's popularity is largely due to the connectivity it offers which no other site currently offers. Even Google Buzz just doesn't have the same "connectivity" and interactivity which I feel Facebook offers.
 
Will Facebook bypass Google in traffic sometime soon? Well, given the January 2010 numbers reported by Compete Inc (shown above), I think that that could happen sooner rather than later. It's not just the sheer volume of users interested in networking with family and friends that will make Facebook the number one site. I think it's also because Facebook offers personal and business interactions; what with the fan page and group participation opportunities that no other site offers. LinkedIn and Google's Buzz have a few features that may grow over time but I feel that they have a while to go before they catch up with Facebook. 
 

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Posted in facebook, Google, Social Media Marketing | 1 Comment »

Social Media Marketing Blog: Mobile TV with AT&T’s LG Arena SmartPhone

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

Social networking and mobile TV, the two most touted features of AT&T's LG Arena are coming to you soon. Starting February 26th, AT&T will begin selling the LG Arena with Qualcomm's MediaFLO chip in its online store. The LG Arena will have a 3-inch WVGA touchscreen and also a 5 megapixel camera.

 

 
LG-Arena-ATT-Mobile-TV

 
So you can watch live and time-shifted programming from most major networks and their affiliates including ABC, CBS, CNBC, COMEDY CENTRAL, Disney, ESPN, FOX, MTV, NBC, and many more. Last but not the least, the LG Arena offers a full browser through which you can network on Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace.

So what will all this cost you?

The LG Arena will cost $250 with a two-year contract and a $50 mail-in rebate may be available. The Mobile TV is available for an additional $10 per month over the monthly contract that you get for yourself.
 
The LG Arena is AT&T Mobile TV-capable, which means that subscribers will be able to enjoy FLO TV content from TV channels like ABC, CBS, Disney Channel, Comedy Central, Fox, MTV and NBC.

Hmmm. So my cell phone plan is coming up for renewal soon. Should I get the iphone (Yeah, we're a minority who haven't succumbed to the iphone bug yet)? Or now do I just get the AT&T LG Arena?

Decisions, decisions, decisions!

 

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Posted in Mobile Phones | 7 Comments »

Social Media Blog: Ecommerce Shopping Using Smartphones: Is Your Website Mobile Compatible?

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Wow! I shop online using my phone but even I was surprised to read that online shopping in the US tripled between 2008 to 2009, according to ABI Research which released its Mobile Commerce report last week.They also predict that 2010 will see a sharp increase in online commerce (shopping).

According to ABI Research, approximately $1.2 billion dollars in trade took place using smartphones and in 2010 that number is expected to double.  Consumers shopping online frequently do impulse buying
But the trend goes beyond comparison shopping. The report shows that consumers are using their smartphones for impulse shopping such as buying video games and social networking games. Also items like pizza and flowers were quick purchase items via mobile phone.
 
The reason this is an easy way to shop is because consumers can pay for these items simply by entering their phone number. No credit card is required because the charge is added to the user's cell phone bill which is then deducted from their monthly billing.

International ecommerce trade is predicted to grow as well as mobile usage is gaining popularity across the world. The report predicts that internationally, users will spend around $119 billion by 2015.

So double-WOW! The question that begs an answer is how will retailers begin taking advantage of this trend in online ecommerce? So many companies are still not actively accepting online payments from the web, never mind from mobile phones. It's time for retailers to spruce up their web presence and make sure that their website not only accepts online payment but also is mobile compatible to accept mobile orders. So get set pizza parlors, icecream shops, florists, car washes, and companies that deal in impulse or casual items for sale. It's time to get online and mobile!
 

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Posted in Internet Marketing, Mobile Shopping | 2 Comments »

Social Media Blog: More on Google Buzz!

Monday, February 15th, 2010

So I finally got around to checking out Google's Buzz. It allows convenient sharing of pictures, videos, and full links. And Buzz is like Twitter without the 140 characters, YAY!

Not quite like a full blogging platform, Buzz also allows setting up of groups of followers to post to. The format for posting is very fluid. You can comment on a Buzz in the Buzz folder or via an email or chat if the user and you are both on GTalk. Interestingly, you can also edit your messages later on. So you may find posts changed at a later time. Buzz interface collapses multiple posts from the same user by default. If you use IMAP, buzzes will appear as regular emails in your inbox. If enabled, Buzz on mobile shares your location down to street level with other Buzz users.

But over and over again, users in the social networks continued to criticize the Buzz for features that were encroaching on user privacy.

And so over the weekend, Google apologized to its users for those privacy intruding features and announced product changes. Basically Buzz allows users a ready-made circle of friends which was based on a user's most frequent e-mail and chat contacts in Gmail. Google announced that in the future, it will merely suggest a group of people rather than make them immediately available to the new user.
 
By turning off the auto-follow, Google has been able to quieten down the uproar to some extent. Google also plans to make the following changes to Buzz:

  • Creating a new Buzz tab in Gmail’s settings page to allow users to hide Buzz. This will allow users to disable Buzz.
  • Disabling auto-connect to picasa albums and items shared on Google reader.

Oh and Google announced that within the first 48 hours of its launch, "tens of millions of people" had tried Buzz. I was one of them!!!

Posted in Branding | 3 Comments »

Social Media Marketing Blog: Winter Olympics with Yahoo Mobile Site

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

Keeping up with the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver will be easier with Yahoo's Mobile site, m.yahoo.com/olympics. Although it doesn't have video, Yahoo's mobile site has still photos, live results and a complete schedule of all the events. The site also has blogs, commentary from experts, and a robust search function which will allow users to search by sport or athlete.
 
With big name sponsors like Visa and Samsung, kudos to Yahoo for their innovative approach to provide users what they need.

(Businesses; are you convinced yet that you NEED a robust website to compete in today's web & mobile savvy world?)

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Posted in Mobile Phones, Yahoo | No Comments »

Social Media Marketing Blog: Google Buzz

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Google's Got Buzz! 

googlebuzz_1575276c

 

A whole new networking site from Google for it's Gmail users who can share updates, photos and videos.

You know why Google needed to launch the BUZZ……it needs to hold its own against Facebook & Twitter.
Gmail has over 176 million users according to a market research study conducted by comScore. So that's a ready audience. Buzz provides a "built-in circle of friends" which is basically a group that Google selects based on who you communicate with most frequently using Gmail and Gchat.

Meanwhile as I was writing this blog; Twitter was aflutter with both positive and negative comments about Buzz.

So will Buzz give Facebook a run for its money? Lets wait and watch…..

 

Posted in Google, Internet Marketing | No Comments »

Social Media Blog: Google’s New Social Media Team

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Fed up with its lack of success and progress in the Social Media space, Google recently hired social media evangelists such as Chris Messina, Will Norris, and former Plaxo executive Joseph Smarr to lead a new "Social Web Team".

Is Google unsuccessful in the Social landscape because the giant itself doesn't have it's own social media strategy?

Google's social web products like Orkut, Google Friend Connect, OpenSocial, Google Profiles, and even Google Wave haven't had much acceptance on the social front. None of these products have resonated with the public or the developers that architect the social-networking technologies. Coupled with the shutting down of acquisitions DodgeBall and Jaiku due to budget cuts, Google suffered another social-media blow when its attempt to acquire Yelp failed.

Google's biggest and probably only success in social networking is YouTube. However, the core of it as well as its initial base of mainstream popularity preceded the Google buyout.

Other than that, what exactly has Google contributed to social networking?
 
So what will the big dogs Messina, Norris and Smarr do for Google? Hopefully a focus, new product ideas, and a way to take on Facebook???
 

Posted in Google, Social Media Marketing | 3 Comments »

Social Media Blog: Twitter Updates

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

Here's some new functionality soon to be found in Twitter – ability to view someone's profile without visiting their profile page. As the name suggests, Hovercards is a floating card which appears when you hover the pointer over a username or an avatar. Hovercards provides you the benefit of viewing information about a twitter user which helps you decide whether you want to interact with them further or not.
 
So, if you hover your mouse over a person’s name on a tweet in your timeline, the person's profile information, location, and whether you follow them or not appears in a hover card. There's also an option to follow, block, mention, or report someone right from within the hover card.

Hovercards

(Image credit: Twitter blog)

Twitter announced that "One way we've found these cards to be useful is to find out more about retweeted people and follow them right there. You can also see more information with an expanded view of the card."
 
I know that I will like this feature because sometimes I just want to see the person's profile and location without wanting to open a new browser window. And sometimes I just want to unfollow someone without going to their page to "unfollow" them.

In typical Twitter fashion, Hovercards will be rolled out in phases. I didn't see it available on my profile today so I assume I'm not in their "inner circle", lol. But hopefully soon……….

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Posted in twitter | No Comments »

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