the state of the internet: another awesome & current video
I love these kinds of videos.
JESS3 / The State of The Internet from Jesse Thomas on Vimeo.
Quality vs Quantity & what to keep in mind when striving for both
If you’ve spent much time in the social media world, you may have noticed 2 different types of accounts - ones with fewer, but high quality fans and followers and ones impressive amounts of less engaged fans and followers. These definitely aren’t the only 2 options, and a combination of both is what everyone wants, but if you find yourself in one of those two categories, this post is for you.
Quality…
Strengths:
Quality followers and fans have an interest in your brand. Maybe they’re users of your brand. Maybe they’re part of an industry you want to break into. No matter who they are, there is a give and take - they learn from you, and you learn from them. You interact with them because they provide value to the conversation. They respond. They share. They can’t be faked. You don’t have to ask them to list you on Follow Friday. They’re the kind of followers that get the “Cheers” theme song stuck in your head (or maybe that’s just me).
Weaknesses:
If your numbers aren’t growing, potential followers may not take you seriously. Not everyone realizes the value of engagement. They may write you off at first glance without bothering to listen because your numbers aren’t as impressive as others. You can’t really brush it off by saying it’s there loss, because you want others to get involved in your conversation.
Quantity…
Strengths:
Quantity makes you look good. It takes you back to high school and student council elections or the vote for prom queen. It makes you feel popular. It makes others respect your opinion under the assumption that so many others do. It can be real or faked. You can purchase followers. You can follow everyone you’ve ever met, and most of them will probably follow you back.
Weaknesses:
A lot of people know your name, but are they actually listening? What if you’re just another pretty Twitter face in the crowd? Are you seeing any actual benefits from your social media efforts? So many social media metrics revolve around engagement, influence, and interaction, because that’s pretty much the point of putting yourself out there. It doesn’t do any good if no one hears you.
Quite obviously…
You want both. So remember these things:
1. It takes time, patience, effort, and persistence. If you get discouraged easily, you’re going to miss out. If you take the easy way and gain many meaningless followers, you’re going to miss out.
2. You can’t be shy. Go after what you want. Start conversations with people. Sometimes they won’t respond. Sometimes they will. Make sure you they have to make that choice.
3. Set goals. How do you know if it’s working if you don’t have any benchmarks? Be realistic with what you’re trying to accomplish. 100 followers might be small for an entertainment company, but it might be a large milestone for a small, niche-focused business.
4. Be optimistic. Don’t tweet in defeat. Keep on keeping on. “Insert other clichés here.” But seriously, too many people give up on social media way too early in the game. Things don’t happen overnight. Maintain a positive attitude, and continue striving for your goals.
Protect your Social Media accounts from phishing.
This article from Mashable discusses the newest phishing attack making the rounds on Twitter.
With metric tools and applications that require logging in to connect with Twitter, it’s increasingly difficult to judge which links are beneficial and which are hacks. A couple of things to keep in mind:
1. If it doesn’t specifically tell you the purpose of the link, don’t click it.
Vague descriptions like “Is this you?” or “Have you seen this picture” or “Have you tried this?” are meant to stir up curiousity and entice you to click. Resist the urge.
2. If you can’t verify the sender, don’t click.
This is a personal rule of mine. I realize this is controversial as many auto-messages send you to Facebook, blogs, or other interesting websites. If you do click a link from one of these, you shouldn’t have to re-enter your Twitter account information, so don’t do it.
3. If you didn’t seek it out, don’t enter your information.
If you’re setting up an account on Hootsuite or attempting to measure some Twitter metrics with one of the many free programs out there, you will need to enter your Twitter account information. However, you usually seek out these types of programs. If you didn’t seek out a program that pops up or sends you a DM wanting your account information, don’t give it to them.
This You????: Yet Another Phishing Attack
In the last couple of weeks, Twitter users have been the target of several large-scale phishing attacks, and according to security experts over at Sophos, the latest one is no different.
The attack spreads via messages with the text “This you????” followed by a link that sends the user to a fake Twitter (
) login page. Don’t fall for the trick. If you enter your credentials there, you’re not actually logging into Twitter, you’re just sending your username and password to the attacker.
If you suspect you’ve fallen victim of this attack, you should change your Twitter password immediately. Check out a video demonstration of the attack (created by Sophos) below.
Why social media is not The Breakfast Club (and why cold medicine and blogging might not mix)
If I were a color, it would be orange.
I realize that’s an odd thing to say considering this isn’t a Facebook quiz. It all goes back to a leadership survey from college that informed me I had “orange” tendencies. Basically, being orange means I’m outgoing, a little theatrical, competitive, and a natural leader. If you meet me in a large group of people, I’m likely the one at the front organizing the group, explaining an activity, or getting distracted by something funny with other orange people.
I’m telling you all of this because I was utterly shocked the first time I really used Twitter in a group setting. In a world where I naturally pushed towards the front, I found myself ‘following,’ not leading, and it had nothing to do with clicking the “follow” button. It was then I realized being “orange” means nothing in social media world. In social media world, the rules for leadership are quite different.
He who talks loudest isn’t always heard.
If you’re in a group of people and someone raises their voice to explain something, you generally turn and listen to them. In social media, it doesn’t matter how many caps you use (actually, please lay off the caps) or how often you send out a message, people don’t automatically hear you and stop to listen. You have to seek them out. This is why engagement is so important. If you want to be a leader in social media, you have to find ways to draw other people into your conversation.
Charisma doesn’t always translate online.
Some of my favorite people are terribly sarcastic and absolutely hilarious. Unfortunately, that sarcasm isn’t always obvious within social media due to a lack of tone, expressions, and anything to convey emotion other than little faces (:P, :/, :), >_>… or if you’re my mom… >g>. I still don’t know what that one is.) Be very careful about the kind of humor you use in social media. It can backfire on you, and instead of loyal, engaged followers, you can end up with enraged, offended Twitterers.
No one is effortlessly cool.
There is no Fonzie in social media. You have to work for it. That requires time, patience, a little vulnerability, and the willingness to talk to people.
Shy is no excuse.
Some of the shyest people I know have a huge platform through social media. You may have heard “there’s comfort in strangers.” With social media, you can move past any physical hang-ups or fear of judgment that might hinder you in the real world. Public speaking becomes intimate, yet distanced at the same time. There isn’t any other platform like it.
Don’t feed the troll.
Bullying doesn’t make you feared in social media. It makes you loathed or ignored. Don’t stir up trouble for trouble’s sake. There’s a lot more backlash when you try to metaphorically steal the social media kid’s lunch money.
If this didn’t make sense, I blame the cold medicine.
In a nutshell, don’t enter the world of social media and expect the same reactions as you find in the natural world. This is not The Breakfast Club. Social interaction is key, but it’s a level playing field.
Social Media in the Classroom
Social Media Club folks are big supporters of social media in education. On Friday, a Social Media Club member blogged about an event they attended that discussed social media’s use in the classroom. Some interesting things were discussed. Here’s the post.
On Friday, Feb 19, I attended the Georgetown University-hosted event, “Social Media in the Classroom: Implications for Teaching and Learning.”
The event featured three esteemed speakers, each deeply involved in social media on their respective campuses:
- Gerry McCartney, Vice President for Information Technology and CIO and Oesterle Professor of Information Technology, Purdue University
- Ulises Mejias, Assistant Professor of New Media in the Communication Studies Department at the State University of New York at Oswego
- Edward Maloney,
Director of Research and Learning Technologies at the Center for New
Designs in Learning and Scholarship and Visiting Assistant Professor in
the Department of English, Georgetown UniversityThe full video of the event will be offered on iTunes U — Georgetown University within the next few weeks.
Quick highlights:
The first speaker, Dr. McCartney of Purdue University, described two technologies being used at his school:
- Signals
is a system used in large classrooms to identify students academically
at risk . According to Dr. McCartney, the students that have the
highest risk of not succeeding in their first year are students that
are used to performing well at high schools with lower standards. Upon
entering a competitive classroom environment that demands higher
performance, these students often perform poorly in their first
exposure to university-level curriculum. Signals uses data mined from
Blackboard Vista to place each student in a “risk group.” They are then
given a stoplight rating that represents their performance and
potential to succeed in the class.The feedback is real-time and given to students on their Blackboard
homepage. Along with the rating system, instructor-written intervention
emails and suggestions for study resources are given to provide the
student with an early warning and aid to improve performance.- Hotseat Collaboration
is a technology that attempts to engage the student in the classroom
using the methods and devices that students are already familiar with.
This mobile Web application promotes “micro-discussion,” allowing
students in a large class to interact by posting messages during class
using their Facebook or Twitter accounts, sending text messages, or
using the Hotseat Web site. The instructor will start a session by
posing a question for discussion, and students respond to the question.
In addition to these responses, students can vote on which topics and
questions they’d like to see addressed.The next speaker, Dr. Edward Maloney of Georgetown, spoke at length about two important questions:
- 1. What does it mean to take seriously the impact of social media on learning?
Dr. Maloney brought up a concept that we’re trying to grasp with
SMCEDU: learning environments can change, they don’t have to remain
static.He related Web 1.0 (the static Web) as corresponding with traditional
teaching practices; that is, delivering information through a central
source to a wide audience. Web 2.0, he said, corresponds well to our
real world practices outside of the classroom.As learning happens outside of the classroom (everywhere, really),
social technologies encourage the ideas of community, collaboration,
exploration, exchange, and communication. Further, it promotes learning
in informal, real, participatory, dynamic, and ongoing ways…in other
words, learning in a non-traditional sense. What does it ultimately
mean to think about social media for learning? To put it succinctly, teaching and learning in a new way.- 2. What is at stake in this question and the answers we may provide?
This is a question that never ceases to fascinate. What’s at stake, in
my mind, is how we distribute education. From expanding classrooms to
empowering students with a new enthusiasm and means to learn, the true
scope of what social technologies can do for learning is exciting to
speculate, and beyond anyone’s current ability to realize.Dr. Maloney described informal writing and blogging exercises that
helped his students plainly express their understanding of the class.
It also gave the instructor a constant evaluator of how each student
was doing, along with providing a collaborative, ongoing document that
could be used for reference by each student.The final speaker of the day, Dr. Ulises Mejias, brought some
interesting perspectives to social media, and the overall effectiveness
of using social technologies.He offered the network as episteme. As networks are not just
metaphors, we use them to form templates and models of social
orgnanization; indeed, we use them to shape social realities. But, he
asked, what are the limits of networks as templates? What do they
include and exclude, make possible or impossible?Dr. Mejias shared some of the concepts presented in his class:
- Nodocentrism: The distance between a node and something
outside the network. For all practical purposes, if something is not a
node, it cannot be rendered in the network as a node can only see other
nodes.I took this to mean that if a person is not included in the
network, they don’t “exist” within the network, and the data gathered
from network participants should take this into consideration.- Paranodality: The outside of the network is not empty but
inhabited by multitudes that do not conform to the organizing logic of
the network. He described this as, “that which cannot be Googled.”When considering who/what is excluded from a network, one can view
social media as a sort of social slavery: who decides what’s
included/excluded?Another consideration is that social media tools are largely
controlled by private companies. As such, they might not always be in
the best interest of learners despite being convenient and cheap. As
services such as Youtube (the go-to service to upload videos) or
Twitter (the go-to service for micro-blogging) strenghthen their
positions, participation among users is increased, but so is the
inequality among competing services. As everyone knows, competition is
a crucial component in the success of an open market.As it stands now, using the popular social media services is easy
and cheap, but the relationship between these companies and its users
is not equal. The shift may not be from a one-to-many paradigm to a
many-to-many paradigm as popularly touted; rather, it’s a shift from
one-to-many to many-to-one.Dr. Mejias’s final point was one that struck home with Social Media Club Education Connection: What is the universities’ role in social media?
It’s possible, and perhaps suitable, for the university to develop
alternative social media tools that encompass a variety of services
(blogging, micro-blogging, wikis, social networking, etc.) and release
them as public goods. They could be promoted through their use in
projects both within and outside the university, becoming refined and
standardized as they evolve. There is a possibility (currently refuted)
that Facebook won’t always be free;
similarly, the guarantee of free doesn’t exist for other
sites/services. Why not have universities work conjointly to offer an
alternative?
The power to define and control a brand is shifting from corporations and institutions to individuals and communities.
Are you ready? Social Media Solutions works with brands to deliver an unparalleled combination of strategy, creativity and technology to produce solutions with measurable results for our clients. 
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