Whitepaper on Social Media and Word of Mouth

Word of mouth (WOM) is nothing new. It has been around for centuries, millennia even. An act of WOM is simply the transmission of communication from one per-son to another. WOM even exists among insects that use chemicals called pheromones, as well as special movements and behaviors to communicate. The point is that WOM exists naturally without the work of marketers. Our job as WOM marketers is to harness the power of conversation by giving consumers something to talk about, and…

Tracer helps you protect your website

These days, piracy is a hot topic both online and off. While music and software remain the most pirated, your website can be copied just as easily, if not easier. But with the many millions of websites and blogs in existence you couldn’t possibly keep tabs on all of them. Enter Tracer, a service that helps you track what’s being copied directly from your website.

Still think your target audience isn’t on Facebook?

Often times, business owners and brand managers tend to think that “Facebook is great, but our customers aren’t using it; Facebook is for teenagers.” That logic is simply not true. Recently, Facebook hit the 200 million user mark, making it the largest social networking platform in existence. By not using Facebook, you are missing out on opportunities to connect with your customers that do. Read more >>

Extreme Microblogging

Many people have written about how great Twitter is, and more so, how addicting and consuming it can become. We seem to have an addiction to all things tiny: tinyurl, twitter, 12seconds, and now… we’ve taken our microblogging fascination to the extreme. Enter Flutter, the microblogging platform with a maximum of 26 characters per update.

Manage Multiple Twitter Accounts with Splitweet

With more and more businesses realizing the power of Twitter, advertising, marketing, and PR professionals may be managing multiple accounts for their clients. However, it can become taxing keeping tabs on all of them. Although Splitweet has been around a while, it often doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Here’s how and why you should use it to manage multiple accounts.

YouTube Flips its Lid and Reddit Diggs

April fool’s day is upon us and every year, some of the most visited social media sites like to play fun games to trick their viewers. Last year, YouTube pulled a bait-and-switch and propelled Rick Rolling to one of the largest memes to date. This year, the video giant has flipped everything upside down. Here’s a list of other things going on around the web for today’s celebration of foolery.

Traveling via Twitter

On March 1, Twitter user, Paul Smith, started a 30-day journey to travel to New Zealand without spending a dime. Instead, he decided to rely on the generosity of the Twitter community to see how far he could get. The “Twitchhiker” succeeded in traveling 11,000 miles relying solely on donations from other users. Read more >>

Defining Social Media Experts

Many people have written about the influx of social media “experts” that Twitter and other social media tools seem to have attracted. You may see them refer to themselves as specialists, experts, mavens, consultants, etc. But, with so many “experts” out there, how do you know which ones are real, and which ones are abusing the label? One University is now trying to make the distinction official. Read more >>

MySpace Gets “Married”

MySpace recently announced its new venture into reality TV by way of its web-based reality show, “Married on MySpace.” The show will follow one couple’s experience leading right up to their wedding day. What makes this show unique, however, is that MySpace members will be in control of the decision making and planning of the event. Click here to read more.

Are you More Social than a 5th Grader?

According to UK newspaper, The Guardian, Children across the nation will be taught the ins and outs of a number of social media platforms including Twitter, Wikipedia, blogging, and podcasting tools. These changes are part of a draft proposed to to overhaul the primary school curriculum.

StumbleUpon Adds Share Feature

StumbleUpon seems to have added a share feature that allows you to share a bookmark with your entire list of friends instead of sending it to them one-by-one. I’m not sure when this feature was added, but it is quite helpful and definitely something users have been asking about/waiting for. It’s not obvious, but it’s there and here’s how you do it.

Teen Uses Web for Tuition Help

Michigan teen, Rachel Harris, has recently launched IWantToGoToNotreDame.com in an effort to raise enough money to attend the University of Notre Dame. Her grades are there, she’s got the recommendations and all other qualifications, but the only thing holding her back is the $40,000+ tuition to attend and she has turned to the web for help.

Digg Founder Launches WeFollow

Kevin Rose, founder of Digg.com has recently launched WeFollow, a Twitter directory. There have been many other attempts to build a complete user directory (see also: Twellow, Twibs, and many more) but based on the ease and early popularity of WeFollow, it just might succeed.

Spending your Time Wisely

I had the privilege of speaking at a New Media Seminar this week in Richmond, VA. I met a lot of nice people and got to share a little bit about choosing the right social networks and some basic social media Dos and Don’ts. My co-presenter and host of the event, Dave Saunders brought up a good point: If you don’t have anything to blog about, don’t have a blog. Although using social media to connect with consumers is free, the time it takes to pull it off is often an afterthought. Here are some tips on managing your time:

Viral Believability

Does how believable something is determine how successfully viral it will become? Or does believability matter at all? Maybe the raw entertainment value is what propels something to total viral glory. Let’s take a look at a few examples and discuss…

An Inside Look at Likaholix

Two ex-Googlers have just launched a new social platform and recommendation engine called Likaholix. With social sites seeming to pop up all over the place, it’s hard to stay on top of who’s who and which services do what. Here’s some more informaiton on Likaholix and how you can use it.

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