Open The Dialogue

Just because it’s Friday doesn’t mean we are taking the day off! Here are some of the social media stories that got bookmarked by Dialogue Media this week.

One is the Loneliest Number, but One Billion is a lot Happier

In case anyone is still trying to convince you that social media is a fad, new numbers suggest that two of the largest sites in the world could both pull in 1 Billion Dollars in revenue in the coming years. It seems that Facebook is geared to hit the 1.1 billion mark in 2010 while YouTube could hit the magic mark in 2011 ( and have Google keep 700 million in the process).  Not bad for a fad.

American Idol’s Social Profiles Get a Facelift

After establishing profiles for each of the 24 contestants earlier in the season, American Idol has apparently consolidated their entire operation into one account on each major network.  Fans of contestants were greeted by “Thanks so much for following me! All my updates from now on will be on our Official Ai9 Twitter Page”. Some are wondering if follower counts were taking away some of the mystery that AI usually enjoys.  We’re wondering if this will affect how fans interact with the brand down the road.  What do you think?

Foursquare and Owalla to Battle for World Domination at SXSW

Well… not really.  But after unveiling last year at the conference, both have rolled out new features in anticipation of this year’s party in Austin.  Techcrunch is reporting that Owalla has done a major redesign while Foursquare has added a category functionality.  And the word on the street is that both are rolling out new mobile apps next week.  We’re happy using both, but it will be interesting to see who wins this battle of the buzz.

What were some of your favorite PR or social media stories of the last week?

Google Launches “Buzz”

Google announced Buzz, a service similar to Twitter, Yammer, Foursquare, Yelp and other, but built right into Gmail to leverage its current user base.  More information on activating this service is available at http://buzz.google.com.

Foursquare Partners with Major Brands

Location-based services were predicted to get major traction in 2010.  That much seems true as Foursquare has signed on with several major brands to provide location based services.  Partners include Zagat, Warner Bros, HBO, History Channel, and the New York Times.

Writing for People and SEO

Brian Clark delves into how to write to increase SEO, often one of the important goals of setting up a blog or corporate website makeovers.  However, Brian emphasizes the importance to write for people instead, relying less on keyword frequency and instead using the readers language.  The article provides some great ideas in ways to create content that is both engaging to the reader and good for search engine crawlers.

Facebook Privacy Debate Rages On As Sensitive User Information Is Made Public

Marshall Kirkpatrick does an excellent job of laying out the arguments on both sides.  While the response from the Facebook camp has been both inconsistent and unconvincing, Marshall also presents some legitimate privacy concerns about the current public-only features of the profile pages.  Also check out Shel Israel’s open letter to Marck Zuckerberg.  From a network that attracted users by promising to let them connect to friends only within their college network but then transforming to one that now exposes potentially damaging and sensitive information to the entire internet community (family, professional networks and political affiliations included), is this a case of “bait-and-switch” on Facebook’s part?

Things that Make Companies Unprepared for Adopting Social Media

Joshua-Michéle Ross has some interesting points on why some companies may not be a good fit for social media.  Inability or unwillingness to address user concerns as the communication department may have little to no control over product quality, pricing and terms of use are some of the major concerns.

Content Delivery and Lagging Broadband Speeds

Streaming content may be getting a big push as Microsoft is in talks with Disney about getting ESPN content available through Xbox 360.  At the same time, a study by Akamai shows that US broadband speed has been lagging in comparison to other countries.  This is sure to create conflict as majority of broadband users connect to the internet via cable companies who will be directly affected by this growing trend in streaming content.

Website, Facebook, Twitter and How to Use Them

Guy Kawasaki interviews Dan Zarrella on how to use social media.  Key insights for companies include: when to implement a Facebook presence, the difference between a retweet and a Digg, and so on.

What are Company Obligations Under FTC Endorsement Guidelines

This article specifically addresses the issues at play for a company, its employees and any affiliated organizations under the new FTC endorsement guidelines.  Documentation of steps taken to comply with the guidelines is key to any future enforcement action.

The Evolution of Social Media Marketing to Social Business Design

David Armano and Jeff Dachis talk about social media marketing’s evolution in becoming integrated into all aspects of a business.  This is the creation of a social business model.  They provide early examples in the accompanying slide presentation but also some of the challenges they also pose.  This is as much a change to the approach to social media as it is to the way a business is organized.

Socialnomic’s Social Media ROI Video

Here’s a great video by Socialnomics on Social Media ROI that features one of our clients, Volkswagen, which with the help of MWW Group, launched its GTI exclusively through an iPhone/iPod Touch app.

Check it out:

Media Mogul to Build Wall around News

At the same time when the world celebrates the 20^th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, media mogul Rupert Murdoch states that the News Corp websites will have its stories de-indexed from all search engines.

Droid Army Seeks to Dominate Mobile Ad

With the invasion of the Android mobile OS devices, Google acquires AdMob, a mobile display ad serving platform, for $750 million.  As 2010 is destined to be the year for mobile internet, Google is positioning itself to dominate the lucrative mobile ad business.

Five Future Gaming Trends Predictions

Ben Parr at Mashable makes six predictions for the gaming industry.  Among those that make the list: social gaming acquisitions, monetizing of social gaming and social gaming on traditional console.

Want to Promote a Real Time Event?

Chris Brogan has some wise words for those in need of advice.  They include building a webpage or using Eventbrite for single events, use of other events announcement websites, and other social media platforms.

Mobile Web is on the Verge of Greatness

This will be a significant trend for the next year with an explosion of smartphones to be available across all carriers.  Wordpress, the popular blogging platform, released a mobile web optimized theme suggesting user generated content will be a significant player in the field.

Success in Social Media for Small Businesses

Here are five examples of some great social media use by small businesses.  They involve 2 restaurants, one of the oldest cinemas in the UK, worm composters and active wear.  Do check them out.

Happy Friday everyone!  There are only 15 days until Halloween or more importantly only 68 shopping days until Christmas.  Until then, enjoy these links of the day.

• The Internet Advertising Bureau has come out against the recent FTC guidelines. The IAB argues that new rules unfairly regulate the online media more than offline.

• In other FTC guideline news, one service called CMP.ly is attempting to establish a standard format for all disclosures by using their 6 different disclosure links.  For more on CMP.ly make sure to check out PRNewser’s recent interview with the co-founder, Tom Chernaik.
• The Official Google blog shares tips on Managing Your Reputation through Search Results. The first idea? Make sure you want your personal info online.
• Finally, as the fervor around the Balloon Boy continues to swell as the “it” viral discussion of the moment, make sure to take the time to check out such gem’s as the T-shirt, the Fresh Prince Rap and of course this stunning re-enactment (See below).

(more…)

Managing Facebook Groups

Here are some essential tips from Mashable on managing a Facebook groups for clients.  Some top recommendations include making the group open and public, filling out all information fields, and so on.

Organizational use of Social Media

Deloitte released a new study on organizational use of social media.  Of note, 32% of respondents (organizations) are lurkers – “people who observe the community, but don’t participate in the discussion.”

Social Media and Health Information

Study says 80 million people use social media for health and medical information.  According to the study, “user-generated content is an influential resource for therapeutic segments, suggesting social media is more of a priority for some brands than others.”

Washington Post Cracks Down on Dissident Journalists

Reports have come in that the authorities at Washington Post have launched a severe crackdown on journalists’ use of social media after news broke that one of its editors, Raju Narisetti, used the popular microblogging website, Twitter, to send personal opinionated comments to the public.  The crackdown includes never before seen levels of censorship by shutting down Narisetti’s independent Twitter profile and new edicts outlawing similar uses by all WaPo writers.  These actions have been severely criticized by other member websites such as TechCrunch with limited discussion on the subject coming from within.  Narisetti’s conditions and whereabouts within the WaPo HQ are as yet unknown.

Brand Websites Under Attack by Google Sidewiki

Correspondent Steve Woodruff reports that brand websites are facing a critical threat to its image by the emergence of Google’s new tool called Sidewiki.  The wiki allows rogue agents to leave unflattering comments in direct contradiction to the careful messaging on the branded websites for all others to see.  Woodruff highlights the effects it is having on pharmaceutical blogs and websites.

Google Wave or a Google Tsunami?

Reports indicate that there are high levels of chatter surrounding Google Wave to be unleashed today.  Some are predicting it to be a Google Tsunami in its “potential to redefine the web and how we interact digitally.” Experts are still waiting to see what effect it will have for brands and social media strategy.

Interview of How General Motor Handles Social Media

David Meerman Scott interviews Christopher Barger on how GM uses social media.  Barger discusses what tools they use, how they monitor and what their MO is on engaging in social media.  The video is definitely worth watching.

Why Companies are Still Scared of Social Media

BL Ochman discusses the six reasons why companies are still scared of social media.  Among them are: loss of control and employee productivity issues.  BL provides some very good reasons for each.

Alternative Ways of Encouraging PR Embargos

In light of TechCrunch’s refusal to accept embargoed releases, Robert Scoble provides some tips on how to get your message out at the proper time.  Release news at a press conference, on the company blog or even use donation to a charity as leverage in keeping the silence.