Open The Dialogue

At last night’s Feast on Good Event, hosted at the very cool MEET at the Apartment, I had the opportunity to listen to a collection of great speakers address the concept of innovative social change through the lens of digital.

During the beautiful presentation by Nathan, of Crush + Lovely, he challenged the audience to imagine an internet that was personalized just for you.   Does it look similar to the one now? What would you change?  He challenged us to move away from the standard cheers of big, fast and open and think about an internet that is instead small, slow and closed.  Small  in a way that is highly personal, slow as in thoughtful and meaningful, and closed in a way that enables more value-driven interactions that challenge the traditional social graph.

Fitting nicely within this concept, although maybe a bit differently than he originally intended, is one of the platforms presented during these talks:

Catchafire, is an organization that is working to enhance (and save) the volunteer experience by helping non-profits scope much-needed work and access skilled volunteers.  By charging non-profits a small fee to participate, Catchafire slows down the process and helps these groups think about what will truly be valuable.  Rachael, the founder of Catchafire, spent her talk discussing the hidden dangers of “free” for non-profits.  Free stuff, free bodies, free services – these things often have unintended costs (staff time for management, organization, maintenance of Free) and can distract non-profits from their primary goals and needs.   Using a process that is a bit more tailored, a bit more methodical, Catchafire is able to help non-profits connect with a tailored group of volunteers who can serve specific purposes.

In a similar vein, by using LinkedIn profiles, the organization easily identifies volunteers’ skill sets and offers up personally tailored opportunities.  This makes the volunteer experience more meaningful, as volunteers are doing projects that they find interesting and that fit their skills.  This thoughtful approach ensures a more positive volunteer experience – hopefully encouraging more participation in the future.

The platform interrupts typical behavior (both on the volunteer and non-profit side), provides personalized content, and fosters off-line connection.  I know that I, for one, am looking forward to volunteering through them.

Since most of the world’s Facebook users have decided to stay with the service, it’s only fair that we take the spotlight off the privacy tools for a second. Instead I suggest we dive into a few ways that Facebook let’s you take control of your Fan pages or whatever you prefer to call them now.

1. Promote Your Status- Want to promote your most recent brand page and want to do it quickly?  I’ve noticed that each update now has the option to “promote”. Clicking on it brings up a ready made ad featuring your page name, profile picture and most recent status update.  Edits can be made to targeting, price and duration, but the interesting part in this ad tool has to be simplicity.  Now you can find a much larger audience for your fan page and your content with a click of a button.
2. Edit Your Links- It’s easy to add a link to your status update with the link tool, but did you know that you can edit it as well?  A link brings in the header and first chunk of content on the page as well as the pictures.  It’s easy to scroll through the pictures, but if you double click on the header or content that FB has pulled in, you can edit that as well.  This can be especially important if the link isn’t being explained well or is bringing in jibberish.  With this quick edit, you can make sure all of your links look great!

Well there’s two quick tips to start your shortened week off right.  Now if you have decided to trust Facebook for a little while longer, at least you can promote and edit your fan page accordingly.

What are you doing to tweak your fan pages?  More importantly, what are you calling your fan pages after the switch to likes?

The Social Implications of Like Buttons

Facebook’s release of the web-wide “Like” button and the new “Like” function instead of “Fan” on Facebook has implications for the web, brands, and users.

Internet 2009 In Numbers

Find out 2009’s Internet use by the numbers – from how many emails were sent to how many websites were added, it’s all here.

The Anatomy of Trust in Social Media

Brendan Hughes attended the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco, where his moderation of a discussion about the anatomy of trust in social media prompted this review. Hughes provides great graphics that illustrate a user’s circle of contacts and how this plays into trust on social media platforms.

FCC Turns Up the Heat in Battle for Net Neutrality

Mashable talks about the change in Internet regulations that the Federal Communications Commission is implementing. The new regulations will favor users over Internet service provider companies.

The Growth of Social Media

A follow up to Erik Qualman’s original social media stats video from summer ‘09, this video explores the growth of social media and its impact on the world.

New FTC Complaint Filed Against Facebook

Facebook has recently come under fire for its new privacy related settings. On Wednesday, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed its formal FTC complaint against Facebook, requesting that the FTC “investigat Facebook, enjoin its unfair and deceptive business practices, and require Facebook to protect the privacy of Facebook users.”

Clothing retailer LOFT – an Ann Taylor brand – has come under fire by the FTC for offering gift cards as an incentive for bloggers to post about a January 2010 preview event. Bloggers who posted within 24 hours of the event were eligible to win as gift cards valued between $10 and $500.

The press surrounding the FTC action, which has consisted of mostly blog coverage, has seen mixed reactions from those familiar with the fashion industry. FTC guidelines demand that bloggers make clear to readers when they receive complimentary services or products – a guideline that does not officially exist for the magazine industry, although it is understood that journalists should not accept gifts for coverage. Although this is understood by the industry, “fashion payola” happens on a regular basis with brands offering clothing, product or services to be used in magazine spreads and often purchasing advertising space adjacent to the spread featuring their product.

Similarly, the Ann Taylor event offered a preview of their upcoming Spring 2010 line and the chance to win gift cards valued up to $500. This in itself would comply by the FTC rules however the brand proceeded to add the stipulation that bloggers must post within 24 hours to be eligible for the chance to win:

“Please note all bloggers must post coverage from our event to their blog within 24 hours in order to be eligible. Links to post must be sent to [address], along with the code on the back of your gift card distributed to you at the event. You will be notified of your gift card amount by February 2. Gift card amounts will vary from $10 to $500.”

While traditional media holds its fair share of back-scratching, this notice is not one that would be issued to print media journalists. The LA Times states: “…there’s a tacit understanding between clothing brands and fashion journalists that editorial coverage isn’t something you can buy or barter for.”

However, bloggers are a whole new ball game when it comes to brand coverage. From a PR perspective, putting on “preview” parties and other such events are a gamble. Sometimes they receive a flurry of attention and other times they’re a waste of time and resources. Ironically enough, the lack of coverage is what will save Ann Taylor from receiving a hefty fine from the FTC. In a statement released April 20th, the FTC decided to not pursue “enforcement action” against the brand due to the fact that this was the first event of its kind, the lack of actual blogger coverage and a company-wide rule that was enacted in early February forbidding any other contests of this kind.

This is certainly an interesting case study for retailers. Apparently, the FTC was not joking when they created these guidelines and brands who are attempting to gain blogger coverage, such as Ann Taylor, need to carefully consider the potential legal entanglement that may come from offering complimentary products and services with a posting requirement.

Two-Thumbs Down to 3-D

Famed movie critic Roger Ebert is not jumping on the 3-D bandwagon. In a Newsweek article published this week, Ebert explains why movie theaters should not overuse the technology and make it “a way of live” for moviegoers.

Hugo Chavez Twitter’s Newest Political Figure

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is officially a Twitter user as of Tuesday. The anti-US critic will be using the microblogging site as a way to send messages to his followers. He’s also reportedly encouraged Bolivian President Evo Morales and controversial Cuban political leader Fidel Castro to also join the site.

NYS Senator Charles Schumer not a Fan of Facebook

New York State Senator Charles Schumer is not a fan of Facebook’s new personalization of their site. He’s written a letter to the FTC asking that they create stringent guidelines for Facebook and other social networking sites.

Apple Releases “Thoughts on Flash”

Apple’s Steve Jobs has released a statement titled “Thoughts on Flash” in which he explains that due to Adobe’s lack of “reliability, security and performance” the iPhone and iPad will not support the Adobe Suite.