The Background

The first survey was done while listening to a number of students who joined our tailgating fun prior to the latest Penn State football game – a win I might add here, especially since this does not look like a stellar year like times of old. I purposely did not participate in the conversations as they discussed their dislike of the Facebook changes. There was a universal dislike – “they didn’t ask us if we wanted it to be changed like this” was one comment. Then a surprise as a couple of the young ladies discussed how they spend hours on Tumblr. While most of the other folks did not know anything about Tumblr this group raved about it – hmmm interesting.

The College Class Survey

The second survey was conducted with a class I taught at Temple University where I was asked to come in and discuss the differences between companies that have adapted to the internet versus companies that rely on the internet versus companies who are a result of the internet – much like Dinkum. There were many good questions and I was impressed with the way the students had prepared for the class, most of whom had checked out our website. Just before leaving I took a poll of the social media websites being used by the class and their feelings on a few things. Here are my findings:

• Once again Facebook was tops on the list and not one person liked the new changes.
• 50% had tried Twitter but only a few keep up with it.
• Only a few had tried Tumblr but loved it
• 75% spent significant time on YouTube
• Many tried Google+ but only one person still checks it out – more on that later
• FourSquare, StumbleUpon, Pandora and LinkedIn rounded out the list.

The many comments about Google+ were interesting. Looks like it might be good someday but no one is using it yet. I asked if they would go back but only a few thought it was interesting enough for another look – Google+ did you not roll it out right?

Everyday I hear more about how Google+ is gaining traction but this survey and the many folks with whom I speak are saying that you have a LONG way to go. There are some interesting features – BUT! I wonder if Facebook actually did Google+ a favor by changing when they did and making folks angry? However, are they mad enough to move over to Google+?

In my opinion, they waited too long to roll it out for corporations.

Good luck Google. I am pulling for you on this one because I am really starting to dislike the arrogance of Facebook. It is a social media tool that does not care one bit about you, your opinion or anything more than tracking you to make some cash. Let me feel the love once in awhile – you have great potential but the arrogance may be your downfall someday. I guess we will see.

Share your opinions on any of these sites with us in the comments.

Photo Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1172174

Rick Simmons is a principal at Dinkum Interactive, a firm specializing in online marketing solutions for small and medium sized businesses around the globe. With more than 25 years of experience in advertising and marketing, Simmons has spent the last four years focused on search engine optimization, and other Internet marketing strategies. Reach him at 267-626-9094 or rick@dinkuminteractive.com.

One of the questions tackled by the article (Summer of the Mob, available only to digital subscribers to the Inquirer) is whether offenders can be banned from social media. Not likely.  The same applies to the idea of prosecuting offenders who send messages regarding upcoming illegal events, as it is very difficult to determine intent, if the message is not completely specific about the actions that will occur, the place, the date, and the time.

Some law enforcement officials want access to the encrypted messages in order to patrol social media and be prepared for possible events. The very feature that draws customers to some social media options, privacy, could spell it’s doom if the developer of the product decides to cooperate with law enforcement regarding access.

Finally, there was a voice of reason, in Rosa Golijan, technology blogger for MSNBC.com, who mentioned that the young people planning these events often used Twitter, where trending topics by city can be monitored by anyone, or Facebook, on public pages for anyone to view.  No invasion of the private sphere, just listening to what is happening, now.

I can imagine police departments reaching out to social media experts asking for help in setting up their listening stations, how to monitor trending topics, and how to search for the specific kind of language that will tip them off to possible impending group actions. I can’t be completely sure, but it sounds a lot like monitoring the social streams for business innovations and trends, and customer feedback. Probably not a bad time for law enforcement to get into the game!

Photo Credit:  http://www.sxc.hu/photo/683316

Regina Sillitti is Project Coordinator for Dinkum Interactive. She has worked in programming, design, business analysis and quality assurance. Her background in design and data processing give her a unique perspective on client - tech translation. You can reach her at regina@dinkuminteractive.com, or find her on Twitter, @ReginaSillitti.

Hope Solo, goal keeper for the United States, entered the tournament with less than 10,000 Twitter followers, and at last check was closing in on 200,000 followers. I am sure that while this may be a comfort to her, she would have preferred the trophy!

The White House was among those tweeting during the game. There were tweets by@BarackObama, including an apology for not being able to attend, but with a picture of the first family watching the game on television.

Various articles and blogs are talking about all the famous people from other sports tweeting their encouragement to players, as well as celebrities from movies and television putting in their 140 characters worth.

Twitter has been in the forefront lately with other initiatives like the  first live tweeted Town Hall meeting with President Obama on July 6. Watching the live stream during the video of the town hall was both enlightening and infuriating, even though I realize that events such as this always bring out the under-educated trolls in addition to those with articulate and valid comments to share, whether positive or negative.

Just like all the other social media outlets, Twitter is looking for it’s relevant niche in the lives of those who use it.  Sports, politics, world news, and Charlie Sheen, it appears there is something for everyone.

Regina Sillitti is Project Coordinator for Dinkum Interactive. She has worked in programming, design, business analysis and quality assurance. Her background in design and data processing give her a unique perspective on client - tech translation. You can reach her at regina@dinkuminteractive.com, or find her on Twitter, @ReginaSillitti.

Step One: Identify the Right Customer
The right customer or client is the one that wants what you’ve got and that you enjoy working for and selling to. It’s about matching their needs with your skill-set. Dinkum begins this process by performing an audit, writing a change document, constructing a list of keywords and using analytics to work out your target market.

Step Two: Spend Time Where They Spend Time
Once you’ve identified your ideal customer, you need to spend time where they spend time so you can meet and chat. It’s about using the right networking sites, sending out information about yourself and spreading the word about your services. Dinkum uses a range of techniques to achieve these goals including solid content distribution and ‘link building’. One important way Google ranks websites is by the number and quality of links pointing to your website – you won’t rank without these links. We also hang out in chat rooms, on Twitter and Facebook and share blogs. We make you the honey pot. It’s about listening in to the conversation and finding matches.

Step Three: Referral Agents
One of the best ways to generate new business with ideal clients is through referrals. You make friends with their friends. If you’ve added value and helped solve their problems, they will tell their friends and you end up working with more people like you who love what you do. The Dinkum strategy of search engine optimization, website design and Internet marketing gets you in front of this ideal audience.

Internet marketing is not about driving traffic to your site. It’s about driving the right kind of traffic to your site. The process of building these contacts takes around 6 months. The combination of ‘target market’ identification, using social media tools, and link building is a bulls-eye for your ideal customer and cha-ching at the register. Find out more now.

Photo credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1115856

Rick Simmons is a principal at Dinkum Interactive, a firm specializing in online marketing solutions for small and medium sized businesses around the globe. With more than 25 years of experience in advertising and marketing, Simmons has spent the last four years focused on search engine optimization, and other Internet marketing strategies. Reach him at 267-626-9094 or rick@dinkuminteractive.com.

Lesson One: Think of Social Media As Public

Social media platforms, including Twitter, are about networking and you should consider the content you post as broadcasting. It’s like TV or radio but without producers and editors and you never know who might be viewing your posts/tweets/comments. Even direct messages (DM) intended for two people can be forwarded or leaked. It seems Weiner made a typo between @ and D that led to the public broadcast of the photo but this content should never have been sent using this platform. The first social media lesson: think of social media as public.

Lesson Two: Be Thoughtful About What You Post

In this social media age, everyone is a brand and you can easily trash your reputation by posting content that’s inappropriate, stupid, or ridiculous. Don’t post for the sake of posting. Even though it’s easy to come up with 140 characters, be thoughtful about what you put out there. When you post, ask yourself ‘Am I adding value?’ Most people don’t care what you ate for dinner, that you’re travelling to the airport, or that your dog enjoyed a walk around the park. Be judicious and discerning about your content. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be yourself or be engaged, just be smart about it. The second social media lesson: add value.

Lesson Three: Imagine Yourself Getting Caught

If in doubt, imagine yourself getting caught. This is a handy test in many situations. Before pressing ‘post’ or ‘send’, ask yourself how you’d feel if your private email/tweet/comment went public and viral. There have been cases in which disgruntled employees have written tirades against colleagues that have been sent around corporations. It’s not only people in the media spotlight that need to consider what they’re writing and posting. It’s everyone. A good test is to imagine your content being shared to a wide audience. If in doubt, delete. The third lesson: imagine yourself getting caught.

Social media is a firm part of the new landscape and when used properly, it’s a terrific tool. But as the Weiner case study shows, you can get it horribly wrong. Learn from his mistake.

Photo Credit:  http://www.sxc.hu/photo/596909

Jennifer Fleming is Specialist Content Writer at Dinkum Interactive. With a background in journalism, Jennifer is a best-selling writer, writing coach and media strategist. You can reach her at jennifer@dinkuminteractive.com.

There are still those who don’t see value in Twitter and tweets and #hashtags and anything related. I have read comments indicating that they believe it is just a platform for inanity and talking to oneself.  But there are lots of people who don’t agree.  Five years ago, no one tweeted.  Today there are about 140 million tweets a day, or about 1600 a second, according to the Twitter Blog.

Lots has been written about using Twitter for building relationships for your business. As a business tool, it is still evolving. Just a side note: Twitter has a blog. The importance of having more than 140 characters at a time to spread your message cannot be underestimated!

Lately, Twitter and other social networks have proven themselves in world events with very different consequences.  Twitter has been instrumental in communicating the  plans of various uprisings in the Middle East. In some, it served to get news out of countries where the government tried to limit the news media to state sponsored messages. Most recently, the number of tweets spiked after the 9.0 earthquake in Sendai, Japan, and the subsequent tsunami and nuclear reactor crises, still unfolding. So while I can agree that what someone has for lunch holds very little interest for me, tweets about world events are a miracle of instant communication.

On the occasion of its fifth birthday, it has still not figured out how to make money on tweets. The company has 200 million users, employs 400 employees, and is valued at 4 billion dollars, according to CNN Money.com. It seems that the next hurdle will be making enough money to support our tweeting habit.

Do you have ideas on how Twitter can become financially viable? Share them with us in the comments.

Regina Sillitti is Project Coordinator for Dinkum Interactive. She has worked in programming, design, business analysis and quality assurance. Her background in design and data processing give her a unique perspective on client – tech translation. You can reach her at regina@dinkuminteractive.com.

Photo Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/342705

Regina Sillitti is Project Coordinator for Dinkum Interactive. She has worked in programming, design, business analysis and quality assurance. Her background in design and data processing give her a unique perspective on client - tech translation. You can reach her at regina@dinkuminteractive.com, or find her on Twitter, @ReginaSillitti.

So let’s assume that you’ve taken care of the SEO essentials for your sit.  This news certainly presents an opportunity to rise higher in the rankings.  In most cases, implementation is not difficult. Let’s have a look at some of the options available.

Wibya – by far the easiest and only mildly obtrusive, wibya places a social media bar at the bottom of your website and remains there even when a user moves from page to page. It takes about 10 seconds to sign up and just as many to add to your website and they have a bunch of options from free to $30/month. We’ve witnessed the influence it exerts with our very own eyes so we know it works.

ShareThis – I feel like these guys have been around forever.  They were once our default go-to but their button options started feeling a little stale when there were so many other, much slicker options. Well now it’s a different story as they have updated their selection.  Also, their additional analytics and branding options add value. Easily customize your buttons on most platforms, including easy WordPress and Blogger integration and place the code in the appropriate location on your website.

Sharedaddy (by WordPress) is seemingly the default option for WordPress users (and there are plenty of them).  This plugin is slick and easy.

AddThis is the self-proclaimed #1 Bookmarking and Social Sharing website and while this is most likely the case, it wouldn’t surprise me to find out that their popularity is waning. That said, it looks like they’ve rolled out accompanying analytics which is a very valuable resource. Again, a super simple setup.

AddToAny is also a pretty popular choice with alot of options, possibly too many. Mouseover the button and a long list of sharing options pop up. Again, it is simple to implement.

Overall we see much better reaction to larger buttons with fewer options. Twitter, Facebook and maybe LinkedIn should probably be the only options plus possibly the opportunity for a much larger list. Try a few options and perform some split testing if you must but including these options on your website, especially your blog, has become the norm and as stated, will help your search visibility. Personally I like ShareThis as my main choice but of course we’re constantly experimenting and exploring other options particularly on different layouts, designs and audiences. We suggest you do the same and stop back to let us know what you find out.

PaulFleming is co-founder and VP of Interactive Services for Dinkum Interactive. A trained teacher, Paul has worked in a variety of forms of Internet Marketing but with a focus on SEO. Originally from Australia, he now resides in Philadelphia with his wife and 2 ankle-biters.

The issues within these two nations are not the same. But one phenomenon has allowed the world to have a front row seat for the protests, and that is the use of social media in carrying out the protests.

According to Voice of America, the use of Twitter and Facebook in connection with the protests have alerted the international community about the internal protests. Egypt has blocked social network sites in an attempt to stem the flow of information within and out of the country. Residents of Egypt created work arounds to circumvent the blocks. In Tunisia, the networks have not been used so much to coordinate protests, but to send information out of the country that otherwise would have been censored by the governments.

This use of social media sites for alerting the world to repression or major disasters is not new. In his book Twitter Power 2.0, Anthony Robbins explains in the preface how Twitter helped regular Iranians get the word out about the rigged election in June 2009, and how the people of Mumbai, India, shared the tragedy of the terrorist attacks on November 28 – 29, 2008 via their mobile phones.

While we create strategies to optimize the use of Twitter and Facebook to create buzz for our clients and backlinks for their sites, people in other parts of the world are using their social media accounts to organize protests, record historic events, and share them with the world. What we do for our clients is a valuable service, but the creative way that people in all parts of the world use these tools to better the human condition is a sobering reminder of our privileged place on the planet and the power of uncensored communication.

Are you following any world events on Social Media? How do you think it colors your perception of events? Let us know.

Regina Sillitti is Project Coordinator for Dinkum Interactive. She has worked in programming, design, business analysis and quality assurance. Her background in design and data processing give her a unique perspective on client – tech translation. You can reach her at regina@dinkuminteractive.com.

Photo Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/173806

Thanks to Bill Witt for input.

Regina Sillitti is Project Coordinator for Dinkum Interactive. She has worked in programming, design, business analysis and quality assurance. Her background in design and data processing give her a unique perspective on client - tech translation. You can reach her at regina@dinkuminteractive.com, or find her on Twitter, @ReginaSillitti.

Tamar Weinberg

Let’s face it – if you want to “do” Social Media right, you need to put the research hat on.  It’s not only essential in developing your strategy, but you must learn the tools and find the conversations, and become comfortable with it all.  Naturally, this can be quite a time consuming task, but it is a must when putting together a Social Media strategy.

Don’t fret!  There are easy tools that can help you and many are free of charge.

Some of my favorites include:

Twitter Search – I often use Twitter’s internal search to find people, places, and conversations. I search by using keywords or hashtags (see also: What’s a Twitter Chat). For example, while putting together a Social Media strategy for a higher education client, I plugged in the University name in addition to their schools, academic programs, and a set of keywords as previously defined in their SEO strategy. This not only helped me find people who have mentioned the University, but also people interested in academic programs they offer.

Google Blog Search – If blog commenting will become a part of your Social Media strategy, you need to know the top blogs in your space. Google Blog Search is one of many blog search sites that can help you find blogs. Others I like to use are Technorati, Blog Catalog, and Alltop.

Social Mention – Social Mention truly is a robust research and listening tool. You not only search by topic, but you can also set up alerts – which are free daily email updates of the latest relevant social media results based on topics you choose. A lot like Google Alerts.

These are just a few, of course.  If you’re willing to pony up the money, there are heavy-duty tools that’ll do more than tell you who, where, and what, they’ll also monitor sentiment and provide analysis. These tools include Radian6 and Scout Labs.

Need help with your Social Media research?  Let us know!

Kelly Dunning is a Sales Consultant for Dinkum Interactive. With 10 years experience in sales and marketing, she keeps Dinkum’s new accounts, and Rick, in tip-top shape.

Find the chat – The other day I saw that a #techchat was happening (about social media marketing for the high-tech industry) and Guy Kawasaki was the guest so I decided to jump into it.

Choose your tool – I use Tweetdeck so I set up a column with #techchat and was ready to roll. There are other tools but you can also go to twitter.com, login and put the hashtag into search and follow along that way.

Get Involved – I’m more of a lurker by nature so I sat back and followed along but there was a LOT of activity (sometimes too much) and plenty of interesting tidbits that others picked up on and re-tweeted which gave it a little more weight.

Follow up – I did re-tweet a few points from the Twitter chat and it yielded some interesting comments and discussions so from that alone, I can see the power of the platform. There’s also a transcript of the event if you feel like checking it out.

It still felt a bit weird and the amount of chatter was quite overwhelming but Guy was very interesting and the subject matter also appealing. The concept of the Twitter Chat is certainly an unusual one but the fact that it is free and the level of accessibility you have to thought-leaders is impressive and it seems that there is a subject for everyone.

My own philosophy about the these brave new Web tools is to just try it. We’re all trying to figure these things out but there are others who have just been able to figure things out a little earlier and we can all learn from them. Then you can decide for yourself if it’s right for you or your business.

Cheers,
Paul @flemo Fleming

PaulFleming is co-founder and VP of Interactive Services for Dinkum Interactive. A trained teacher, Paul has worked in a variety of forms of Internet Marketing but with a focus on SEO. Originally from Australia, he now resides in Philadelphia with his wife and 2 ankle-biters.