39 Things You Should Know About Google+

Google+ is HOT rightnow. Well read on to get the highlights, let me know as what you think about google+.

1. Google+ is currently available on an invitation-only basis.

2. Google does not consider it a Facebook competitor (at least publicly).

3. Google+ is currently available for download as an app in the Android Market.

4. When you download that app, it splits off the "Huddle" feature as a separate app.

5. Users can post status updates, and these appear on the Google Profile under a tab called "Posts". The +1's and Buzz tabs remain separate. I have to wonder if we'll see Buzz and Posts merge eventually.

6. What is available now is "just the beginning" according to Google. These are just the first features or presumably many more to come.

7. Circles is one current feature. It lets you share things with different people (kind of like Facebook Groups) but with a very different user interface. Watch this video.

8. Another feature is Sparks. This looks for videos and articles it thinks you'll like, so "when you're free, there's always something to watch, read, and share." Filter Bubble anyone?

9. Hangouts is another feature. It's basically group video chat. Google describes it as "the unplanned meet-up."

10. Instant uploads is a mobile-specific feature. Photos upload themselves as you take them, and are stored in a private area on the cloud.

11. Huddle is another group-conversation feature for mobile. Essentially, it's group chat.

The Stream

12. The stream is basically the equivalent of the Facebook news feed.

13. When you share something with Google+ it's added to your stream and the stream of everyone you shared with.

14. The stream shows you what all of your Circles have shared with you.

15. If you mention a user, using the "+" or "@" symbols, the person may receive a notification that you mentioned them.

16. You can see who specific posts were shared with in the stream -- whether they were shared publicly, to extended circles, or a limited group.

17. You can filter the stream by specific Circles.

18. You can chat directly in the stream

19. You can report inappropriate content.

20. You can search for people from the search box at the top of the stream.

21. Soon, Google says you'll be able to search the stream itself from the search box.

22. If you leave comments on a post, you can edit or delete them.

23. The same goes for posts, but you can't edit a post's sharing settings after the post has been shared. However, you can delete the post and share again to different circles.

24. You can "reshare" posts made by others (like retweeting).

25. You can "mute" a post. This will let you stop receiving updates from a post, like if the comments get out of control for example.

The Google Social Network

26. You can use the "Google+ Bar" that appears at the top of various Google products as your connection to the social network.

27. When you're signed in you'll see your full name or email address displayed with a photo or avatar next to it, to help you identify which account you're currently signed in to.

28. If you've enabled multi sign-in you can sign in to two different Google accounts and switch between them using the Google+ bar.

29. When you sign up for Google+, you're also signing up for Picasa Web Albums, so all photos and videos uploaded to Google+ (including from your phone via Instant Upload) will also be available in Picasa Web Albums.

30. You can use the Google +1 button from the stream.

31. You can have a ton of friends on Google+. Robert Scoble quickly added over 1,000.

32. The central user interface is very Facebook-esque.

33. Google+ quickly became the butt of a lot of jokes (and even cartoons), but has also received a great deal of praise thus far.

34. With Google+ Google adds a "You" link to the recently redesigned (painted black) navigation bar across Google properties

35. You can view public Google+ content without actually being invited (Danny Sullivan has a guide on how to view it )

36. China is already blocking Google+. That didn't take long.

37. Invitations have been listed on eBay.

38. There are already privacy concerns about Google+ but the Privacy Guide can be found here.

39. According to the Financial Times article, you can share something within a closed "Circle," but somone from that circle can then reshare it with anyone, and even make it public.

List by Chris Crum

Facebook Faux Pas: Six Things Businesses Need to Know

Most marketers understand how Facebook works very well from a personal standpoint — but some of the recent rules and changes that Facebook has made in how it treats business users make it easy to commit a Facebook faux pas.

1. Creating a Profile Instead of a Page – People have profiles, businesses have pages. What’s the difference? That’s worth a chapter in a thick book, not a short blog post. Here are a few of the big differences. Pages can have tabs, and page owners have much more control over how their pages look, what kinds of features they can add to their pages, and what kind of analytics and reports they can get. Profile owners are given access to the same tool set — and the profile page for a Fortune 500 company looks almost exactly like the profile page for a 15-year-old.
2. Failing to Understand EdgeRank– The wall is the basic way to deliver a Facebook fan Page message. Every post gets a post quality score. A low post quality score, as determined by an algorithm called EdgeRank, means that your post won’t actually be seen by very many people. (EdgeRank has to do with the number of interactions, such as likes, comments, shares, and how much attention a post gets in a short period of time.) Posts with high EdgeRanks stay in the newsfeed, posts with low ones don’t.
3. Posting Too Often — Or Too Rarely — Posts made in the morning (before 8 a.m.) and on weekends get more “buzz” than posts made in the middle of a work day. Companies that post an average of every other day — especially if the posts contain specific offers that fans benefit from (discount codes, specials, information).
4. Treating a Corporate Fan Page Like a Profile – This may sound like Faux Pas #1, but the point here is that pages provide custom tabs, while profiles don’t. Custom Facebook tabs provide the perfect tool for business objectives like growing a mailing list, subscribing to a blog, generating discussions, and so on. Not using the Facebook fan page as a landing page that delivers clear calls to action is deprives your business of the chance to harness the real power of Facebook. (Now you can use HTML for this instead of the custom coding language FBML – Facebook mark-up language – required until recently. This makes it easier to create the custom look you want.)
5. Forgetting Facebook Ad Tools — The Facebook ad platform is a great way to find customers on Facebook. You don’t even have to launch an ad to use it, either. The process for setting up a Facebook ad allows targeting by specific demographics or audiences based on their interests, age, gender, location and so on. If you want to know what the potential for your brand is on Facebook, start the process of launching a Facebook ad — you’ll be amazed what kind of information Facebook will deliver, free.
6. Rushing the Process — If you think of Facebook as a marketing channel, and your Facebook page as the lynchpin in leveraging that new communications channel, then you’re not likely to create and post a page in 5 minutes or less. Sure, you could — but doing that just isn’t smart. Smart marketers plan the process, from how the page will look, to who will update content, to what messages will (and won’t) be shared on Facebook. One big part of the planning process is handling customer comments — positive and negative — and mobilizing appropriate resources when (not if) an unhappy customer uses your fan page to vent or ask for a resolution to a problem.

What other Facebook faux pas have you seen businesses commit — or committed yourself? What tips do you have for compliance, marketing success, or finding the right tools to manage your corporate Facebook presence? Please share!

Article by Distributed Marketing

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This article is good for personal or small scale companies. For bigger impact you will need an impact facebook page which can be achieved by roping Social Media Marketing companies like monline

5 Executive Blogging Questions, Answered

Your company executives or Social Media Professionals (SMP) like monline should be blogging. There's no question about it.

If your company executives are taking care of blogging then following needs to be considered:

They have a tremendous insights and information to share. Those interested in the company, and even those who work for the company, are interested in the perspectives of the people running it. The audience is there. It's time to grab it.

Whether your top execs will be sharing company news and information, asking for feedback, positioning themselves as thought leaders, or just blogging because "everyone else is doing it," getting them started is half the battle. Here are the most common questions (and my answers, based on years of experience working with executives) that execs ask about blogging:

1. How much time is blogging going to take me?

Executives are busy people. They are in high demand and work on many things at once. Everything they choose to participate in comes at the cost of giving up something else. So don't over-commit.

Start with a reasonable schedule of posts, such as one per month. Block out time in the calendar to make it a real deliverable. If it turns out that blogging more often is doable, then fantastic. It's better to undersell and over-deliver.

2. For how long am I signing up to do this?

Starting a blog doesn't necessarily mean that it will continue in perpetuity. The notion of not being able to sustain a blog long term can be a hindrance to getting started in the first place.

Start with an open mind and do it for only as long as it works and feels like a good way to communicate. When contributing to the blog is no longer fun, it's time to take a break or reset expectations for frequency of posts. Don't automatically hold to the standard of another blogger who posts more frequently.

But also know that blogs, just like communities, are not an “if I build it, they will come” experience. It takes time, passion, and compelling content to build an audience. So don't throw in the towel too soon after getting started.

3. How long do my posts have to be?

Posts don't have to be long to be effective. Some of the most interesting, affecting, and conversational posts don't demonstrate everything to the reader; rather, they leave a few things open for discussion and debate. The best blog posts are between 500 and 1,000 words--just long enough to pull readers in, but not so long that readers feel like they must dedicate a lot of time to reading them.

Posts also don't have to contain wholly new content. A commentary on a book, article, TV show, conference, or interview can add a completely new dimension to readers' experience because they can explore another perspective.

4. Should I allow comments?

Absolutely. End of story. Blogging is about having a conversation. Depending on the likelihood of inappropriate commentary, it may be prudent to moderate comments--and I highly recommend stating that this is your approach, if you choose to go this route. It will set the expectation for readers from the outset, and they will value your transparency.

Whether comments are open or moderated, be prepared to answer questions. Nothing will kill readership faster than a slew of unanswered questions, which indicate the author isn't really interested in conversing with his or her readership.

5. Can't someone else just write my posts?

Depends. If its been routed through SMP then you should engage with credible firm like monline. In general Blogging is about conversation and authenticity. It's not about ghostwriting. When questions come in, the answers can be tricky. Who is responding? What if the ghostwriter doesn't answer as the named blogger would? What if he says something wrong? What if someone asks the author about a response she didn't draft or doesn't agree with? If the person who wants the blog can't commit to creating the posts, then don't bother.

The most successful blogs are about passion, commitment, and authenticity.

So do it yourself or rope in a credible Social Media Professionals.

Article by Jamie Pappas with minor modifications.

Why Do People Follow Brands? [INFOGRAPHIC]

On Twitter, Facebook, and dozens of other social sites, normal consumers often choose to keep tabs on the brands they love.

In fact, many brands have highly optimized their marketing and PR strategies to accommodate that behavior, even going to far as to do one-to-one CRM (that’s customer or consumer relationship management) through avenues such as Facebook and Twitter.

As social CRM specialists Get Satisfaction found, many consumers who follow brands online are only in it for the perks. Around 40% of Facebook, MySpace and Twitter users in a recent study said they followed brands to get access to discounts and special deals.

Another common response in the same survey indicated that many consumers will follow a brand if they are current customers. And creating interesting, entertaining content online is another great way for brands to earn followers and fans on social services.

Check out this infographic from Get Satisfaction and design shop Column Five for more details on why and how ordinary folks follow brands online.

Click image to see full-size version.

[source: Get Satisfaction blog] via Jolie O'Dell

Top image courtesy of iStockphoto user Ridofranz.

It’s clear that Zuckerberg sits on top of something that other leading companies want and they want it bad. After all, who wouldn’t want to get a piece of an almost billion person pie that is superbly ripe for monetized business and contextual marketing?

Last year, Steve Jobs tried his hand getting into the social/sharing game by infusing Ping into the iTunes offering. Jobs and Zuckerberg tried to get cozy over dinner early on but after eighteen months of trying to strike a technology partnership, it fizzled. Apple claimed that Facebook insisted on “onerous terms that we could not agree to” so they launched Ping without a Facebook tie-in. The Facebook/Apple relationship was further strained when Apple attempted to install Facebook’s public “Connect” login interface without inking a deal with Facebook first, so Facebook blocked them. After Ping’s launch, it never really took off. Why? Well, for a couple reasons. First off, we were already sharing music in a more open environment with sites like Blip.fm, which of course plugged right on into our Facebook and Twitter accounts no problem. Second, no one cares about Ping. Social media is based on a premise that goes against everything Apple’s business is about - sharing and openness. Why would the social media population adopt a social effort by a company that is already known for putting guard rails on everything in their ecosystem so that you do everything you do online but only on Apple’s terms?

Apple isn’t the only frustrated behemoth.

Google tries again with Google +1.

With the latest push of Google +1, Google’s own version of a “Like” button and their third attempt (remember Buzz and Orkut?)at riding the social media wave (pun intended), it’s clear that Google is still an engineering-centric company in their approach. They’re known for having some of the most intelligent brains behind what they do but their philosophy has always been “algorithm is king.” This is why Google is amazing at search. Algorithms are in their DNA. The problem they face with social network customers is that while Facebook’s backend might run on algorithms, its customers and the social media culture don’t.

Here’s why I think Google’s social efforts are gonna matter about as much Apple’s Ping did in social media:

1. The people have chosen their platforms. The mainstream isn’t interested in, nor has the time, to maintain multiple networks. Almost a billion people worldwide on are Facebook. Every new generation that comes online starts with their first email address and then signs up for Facebook. It was one of the highest priorities for my teenagers to get an account and they pushed me every month until they were 13 when I could legally cave. Just like the Starbucks appeal with a bazillion locations always packed with people looking for the same coffee experience over and over, people use Facebook so much that it has essentially defined what the social network experience should be.

2. People don’t want multiple “Like” buttons. If Google was really smart, they would’ve partnered with Facebook to allow Facebook’s own Like buttons to be part of Google search results instead of using their own. I think it actually would’ve worked out amazingly for both Facebook and Google. It could’ve been seamless AND familiar for content consumers and would have resulted in much more overlap traffic-wise for Google. Facebook is currently bedding with Microsoft/Bing though for their “web results” within their search results template so maybe the Google/Facebook love fest wasn’t possible to begin with. Honestly, I never click on Like-esque buttons that aren’t Facebook because the result of that action doesn’t go anywhere since all of my friends, family and business networking constituents are all on Facebook! If I “Like” a blog post on the Disqus network for instance, using their proprietary “Like” tab, no one but Disqus and those on the Disqus network really see what it is I liked unless I follow through with the two additional steps during the “Would you like to share” process in their widget to publish to Facebook or Twitter, hence my point.

3. Stick with what you know. Successful companies should avoid getting into online spaces that others already clearly own and are better at. Apple makes premium consumer technology products that work amazingly and integrate with our personal lives better than almost any other. Google is the master at search, having hired the world’s top engineers and data/behavioral scientists. Apple and Google should just stick to those and they’ll be fine.

Apple and Microsoft meet the personal computing needs of the people. Google and Bing meet the search needs of the people. Facebook and Twitter meet the online social needs of the people.

Let’s keep it that way.

Also check out…

The official Google +1 video on YouTube







Article by Rich Harris @ ZDnet

Facebook granted patent for gift giving, after Facebook Gift Shop closes

Facebook has patented “Giving gifts and displaying assets in a social network environment.” That’s the official title for patent number 7,970,657). The patent was granted a little late though, given that the social network closed the Facebook Gift Shop last year.

The listed inventor is Jared Morgenstern, who started at Facebook in February 2006. Facebook filed for the patent on April 27, 2007 and was granted it on June 28, 2011. Here’s the abstract:

A system and method is described for giving gifts via a social network and displaying icons representing assets that have been acquired via the social network. In various embodiments, the assets include real assets, digital assets, and virtual assets. Digital assets that have been acquired via the social network environment may also be displayed. In some embodiments, the assets are received as gifts or in trade from another user of the social network environment.

The patent doesn’t necessarily prevent other social networks from offering a gift giving feature. It could make the process much harder, however, since Facebook has described social gift giving so that a purchase can be made known to participating parties as well as others connected to them on the site.

Most users on a social network want their activities to be known to others. That’s exactly how Facebook made gift giving more social, and the patent will thus make it difficult for other social networks to do the same.

Facebook launched Gifts on February 8, 2007, allowing its users to send virtual gifts to their friends that appear on the recipient’s profile. Gifts cost $1.00 and can include a personalized message. Facebook closed down its Gift Shop on August 1, 2010, saying that it would focus instead on improving other products. While you cannot give new gifts from the Gift Shop, the gifts you’ve already received on your Wall remain visible, and you can still view your sent and received gifts on your gifts page.

Officially, Facebook now wants users to use third-party apps on Facebook for giving and receiving gifts. It specifically recommends these four: Birthday Cards, Hallmark Social Calendar, Pieces of Flair, and someecards.

Article by Emil Protalinski @ ZDnet

MySpace sells to Specific Media for $35 million

Social network MySpace has been sold once again.

The buyer is digital-media company Specific Media, which purchased the site from News Corp. for an undisclosed sum. As part of the deal, News Corp. will take a minority equity stake in Specific Media.

AllThings D's Kara Swisher, who first reported the sale earlier today, said Specific Media paid $35 million.

In a statement about the sale, Specific Media CEO Tim Vanderhook said: "Myspace is a recognized leader that has pioneered the social media space. The company has transformed the ways in which audiences discover, consume and engage with content online."

"There are many synergies between our companies as we are both focused on enhancing digital media experiences by fueling connections with relevance and interest," he said. "We look forward to combining our platforms to drive the next generation of digital innovation."

As part of the deal, Swisher says MySpace's staff of 400 will be cut in half, corroborating murmurs from yesterday that more layoffs were on the way. In a memo sent to employees, MySpace CEO Mike Jones made note of additional "restructuring initiatives" while also announcing that he's departing the company after a two-month transition period.

"My time here at MySpace represents the most engaging and challenging time of my professional career," Jones wrote. "I have found our team to be comprised of the best people I have come across in our industry."

MySpace was purchased by News Corp. in 2005 for a whopping $580 million as a way to help drive traffic to Fox's TV and media efforts. According to Swisher, News Corp.'s announced equity stake will be 5 percent to 10 percent of Specific Media. By comparison, Microsoft invested $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook back in 2007, a company that was valued at $70 billion earlier this week.

MySpace underwent a massive redesign last year in an attempt to shed the site's stigma of lagging behind rival Facebook. This included adding a trending topics feature, and more media on profile pages to better integrate media from other properties.

Just a few months later, the company gutted its infrastructure, announcing a "significant organizational restructuring" that cut 47 percent of staff, or around 500 employees. That move was said to be tied to the company attempting to trim down to make itself more of a target for potential buyers.

During an earnings conference call in February, News Corp. CEO Chase Carey said that the time was right to sell off the Web property to a new buyer in order for the site to "reach its full potential," and that the company was "evaluating those strategic alternatives."

Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg said the sale shows how volatile the social market is, and how quickly consumer tastes can change.

"The fundamental question is where did $550 million of value go?" Gartenberg said. "And there's a cautionary tale for other players in the space. Certainly the largest players have less to worry about, but smaller players that are looking very, very good today that are very niche may discover that consumers are more fickle than they think, and definitely have an affinity for the latest, shiny new thing that comes along."

According to research from Compete.com, MySpace pulled in 30.79 million unique visitors last month, which is down 6.34 percent compared with the previous month, and a 54.47 percent drop year over year. Looking at those numbers over the past two years, the chart looks like this:

Monthly unique visitors to MySpace, month by month for the past two years.

(Credit: Compete)

As for how the new buyers can change that trend, Gartenberg suggested refocusing the site on its music roots.

"If they double-down in that area and really focus the site on music, and can fit in this with existing music services that are out there, and the strong social connection, there's probably some sort of profitable business that can be rebuilt out of it," Gartenberg said. "But is it going to be a site that's going to dominate the entire social-network space? I think those days are behind it at this point."

Article by Josh Lowensohn

Obama to do Twitter chat on economy on July 6

President Barack Obama will hold a "town hall" webcast on the economy and jobs on Twitter next week, but don't expect his answers to be short.

The online service's normally ironclad 140-character limit -- the written "Tweet" format -- will apply to the questions the president receives but not to his answers.

The White House used Twitter to announce Wednesday's event and invited people to begin submitting queries.

The president, who has been praised for his oratorical skills and criticized at times for being too verbose, will appear on a webcast in a discussion moderated by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, the company's executive chairman, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Thursday.

The White House Twitter account, which has 2.2 million followers, invited questions to a new account "@townhall" marked with the hashtag "AskObama."

Americans' pessimism about the sluggish U.S. economy, especially the 9.1 percent jobless rate, may be the biggest obstacle to Obama's hopes of winning re-election next year.

Shortly after the announcement, questions were coming in on topics including green jobs, innovation and corporations. A video feed of his answers will be streamed online. The 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) webcast will also include a "TweetUp," Twitter's term for a meeting of people who use Twitter.

The White House makes regular use of social media, which it sees as a way to get its message to a wide range of Americans and hear from them directly. Obama's Twitter feed -- he started writing the occasional tweet himself just this month -- is one of the most popular on the system, with 8.9 million followers.

Obama visited Facebook in April for a town hall with the popular social network site's founder, Mark Zuckerberg. TOI