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6 Steps That Can Make or Break Your Twitter Brand

Building your brand on Twitter is an important part of whether or not your brand/image will be successful on Twitter.  It is imperative that you not only build a targeted following, but more importantly that you create a conversation with or at a minimum provide your followers with useful information.

In this post, I am not going to go over the basics such as filling out your Twitter profile and uploading an avatar.  You can read about that type of stuff in “Basics of Building Your Twitter Profile.”  Instead I will discuss several items you should focus on should you want your twitter brand to succeed.

Be Proactive

Many tweeps commonly have questions or problems they need help with.  This is your opportunity to step in and come to the rescue by answering their question or atleast referring them to a source that may help them.  By helping them, you not only solve their issue, you help establish credibility and identity among the Twitter community.

It is an even better opportunity to help someone out that you or your company offers as a product or service to resolve their problem.  Not only can this produce a targeted lead, but it can ultimately result in a sale.

If you are not proactive in your niche or area of business, chances are someone else will come along and be proactive.  They will establish the credibility among the community, build the dedicated following, while you are trying to play catch up.  You don’t want that, do you?

Share What’s Happening/Be Newsworthy

If you are typically digging up the newest social media marketing trends or other industry topics, why not share them with your followers?  This sort of falls into the proactive step listed above.  However, providing your followers with newsworthy information, you will establish credibility of being “in the know”.

Make sure what you are sharing is important and interesting.  If you are trying to share something lame, chances are no one will care and you will probably lose some credibility among your followers.

If you don’t have anything unique to share, this is a great opportunity to retweet something that was tweeted to you and will strengthen your relationship of whom you retweeted.

Create a Targeted Following

What good is it to have a bunch of followers if they are not interested in what you have to say?  Not much.  This is why it is imperative to build a targeted following with people interested in your business or niche.  Chances are it will be easier to be proactive and newsworthy with them (see above, wink).

Engage Your Followers

Not only should you be proactive and newsworthy with your followers, you need to engage with them on a more personal level.  By this I mean you should take the time to respond to DM’s and @replies when you can.  While it can be somewhat time consuming, ignoring followers trying to interact with you is not a great idea.  Isn’t your goal to build a brand and relationship with your followers?  I suggest you build relationships with those followers who ARE interested in what you have to say.

Brand Your Twitter Page

While it may not necessarily break you, pimping out your Twitter page is a good idea (just don’t look at my Twitter Page right now lol).  A tricked out page not only is eye catching, but it helps to set you apart from everyone else.  It shows you are actually real (not a bot) as well as an opportunity to provide your Twitter visitors with more information about you or your business.

Monitor Your Brand

Now that you are on your way to taking over the world with your brand, it is important to monitor it.  Twitter makes this easy via the Twitter Search.  Simply type in your business or username, then add the RSS feed to your favorite reader.  Should your name get discussed (both positively and negatively) you will be aware of the conversations taking place.  You can then step in to participate, both for damage control or to thank someone for their positive remarks.  I would not advise ignoring negative feedback, in that it could severely damage your reputation if left un-attended.

In a Nutshell

So here is the quick checklist:

1. Be Proactive
2. Be Newsworthy
3. Create a Targeted Following
4. Engage Your Followers
5. Brand Your Twitter Page
6. Monitor Your Brand

I am not saying that if you choose not to follow the steps outlined above, that you will ultimately fail, but your chances to succeed will be alot lower.  While there may be more to your branding list than mine, I am curious as to your method in order to build your twitter brand.  How do you build your Twitter brand?

Basics of Building Your Twitter Profile

Let’s take a step back to some basics today.  By now, you should be well on your way in building your twitter profile.  I am going to review some basics that you need to be sure you have covered in your twitter account.

Establishing An Identity

First and foremost, I hope you are using your online “brand” as your twitter username.  For example, ploked.com has the twitter username “ploked“.  This helps to establish brand and relationship of a site with a twitter account.  If you are not using a name that can identify with your site, business, or identity, I suggest changing your username to suit this.

Do you still have the a basic or default twitter background for your profile?  If so, you do need to take a few minutes and invest some time in creating something that stands out from other tweeps.  While the Ploked profile is not an award winning layout by any means, it does show that atleast I tried to do something with it.  There are plenty of free resources to help you easily pimp out your twitter profile.  A few sources of note are:

1. http://www.twitterbacks.com/
2. http://twitterpatterns.com/
3. http://www.twittergallery.com/index.html
4. http://tweetstyle.com/

If you still can’t find a theme you are looking for, find a site that lets you download the layout photoshop file and use your kick ass photoshop skills to pimp it out to your liking.

No profile would be complete without changing the default twitter avatar.  I suggest if you are a business to use your logo, while if you are an individual to use an actual picture of yourself.  This helps others put a face with a name so to speak.

I recommend editing your profile to include information about yourself or business.  For example, if you have a website, be sure to list the URL in your Twitter account so that followers can check out your site and what you are about.  Provide a location for yourself or business in your profile as well as a name if you choose to.

Find Targeted Followers

What good is your pimped out profile if you don’t have any followers?  Not only followers, but targeted followers.  Face it, if your twitter profile is built to promote your new dog training ebook, you don’t want to build a list of followers interested in stuff like rock climbing….unless they have a dog (wink).

So what is the best way to find followers who are interested in what you have to offer?  Easy, head on over to the twitter search!  Then type in keywords or phrases relating to your profiles interests.  Browse the results and view any potential candidates who you feel are worthy of following.

Be careful not to follow to many people at once since it could trigger flags at twitter.  Typically, I like to target no more than 100 people to follow a day if time permits.  Some people will add you right away, while others in a day or two, and others may never add you.  While I have been bad about this lately, I try to remove people not following me back when I can.

There are a few sites that help you determine who is and isn’t following you which come in handy.  Some sites of note are:

1. http://friendorfollow.com/
2. http://useqwitter.com/
3. http://dossy.org/twitter/karma/
4. http://twitterless.com/

There you have it, a few fundamentals of building the perfect twitter account.  In our next blog post, we will take a look at how to pimp out your profile/tweets by integrating it with your wordpress blog as well as how to promote your content on twitter.

Do you have a suggestion that I may have not included in the basics of building a twitter profile?  If so, let me hear about it!

Twittering for Business, Increase Your Popularity and Profitability

Does your business use Twitter yet?  Or any social media site for that matter?  If not, you are potentially missing out on future clients, future sales and most importantly increased profitability.  Remember when Myspace, was “the next big thing”?  Well that is sort of where twitter is at right now.  Over the past year, it has gained an increaed following, not only of individuals, but potential customers of yours.

Twitter is relatively a new social networking service that has really changed the meaning of communication. Well, not only in personal communication but also in business communication, Twitter has managed to gain a massive following of users. With this increase of popularity, it only makes sense that Twitter is a great way to promote your business needs.

Twitter is a social networking service that gets the message to your customers or clients at lightning speed, which makes your business promotion in a great way. This is the perfect micro-blogging service that helps in communicating to the world about your business advancements, products and services without any investment. With limited words (only messages with 140 characters can be written twitter), you can communicate in real terms with all your followers.

With the increased popularity of twitter, most of the well established companies the world over now have twitter accounts.  Has your company established itself on Twitter yet?  Companies already utilizing the site find Twitter a great place to promote their business. Twitter, the micro-blogging service, is the best way to reach out to the employees, customers and partners.

This social networking service is also a great place where one can come up with business announcements like the launch of a new product and other special business proposals. You can post these announcements in twitter on a regular basis, which gets you the best exposure to your followers. For example if you are an e-commerce website, then twitter helps in promoting the new products, sales, and other special offers in which you may have. You can also include reviews from the customers in your Twitter account that gives more credibility to your business.

While promoting business through Twitter, it should be noted that you have to give your followers valuable information on your products and services. The more information is added in twitter, the more you get to promote your business through twitter.  One way to offer more value to your followers is to offer some sort of sale or special discounts for twitter followers only.  This means that this discount will only be available for followers of your account.  These followers will feel appreciated and more than likely take advantage of the deal you present them.

Twitter is also a great way to monitor your customer feedback.  For example, you can see what others have to say about your company, products and services, which only helps in promoting your business.  Listen to what others say in twitter helps in building good relationship and in improving your business.  If a problem should arise with your business, you have the opportunity to effectively solve the dilemma at hand.  Others will take note of your proactive solution and see the value you place in customer satisfaction.  However, if you blow off people with problems, chances are it could be detrimental to your business since bad customer service news will spread fast.

Last but not the least; maintain professionalism in the small messages, called tweets, which you sent. Always remember that people like to follow only the professional way.   Do not post up topics irrelevant to your business or products….Chances are that people are following you in order to gain insight on your business and not what you are having for lunch

Twitter is an extremely powerful tool that can explode your business to new heights if properly utilized.  While I only briefly gave examples of a few small ideas, I hope to go more in depth on a future post describing some killer tactics to help your business profit from Twitter.

So has your business used Twitter yet?  What results or experiences can you share?

A Future in Social Media

I search the classifieds for jobs pretty often, I’ve been doing it since my early years of college so I could figure out if there were jobs out there. For the most part, there aren’t any. However, I’m noticing a trend in social media jobs. The general work in social media is something of a cross between marketing,

A president with a Social Media degree? Perhaps in the future.

communications, and editorial; three areas that, in their own, are independent jobs. To prepare for the incoming growth of social media, the first thing we need are more available courses.

As more and more companies are asking for users to be adept in all things Facebook and Twitter, courses in college will help kids cover this. In my opinion, it’s is a lot more useful than foreign language as I have yet to put my elementary French to use. Companies have found it increasingly difficult to manage their social media forums which is why it is becoming a full-time job and something you might be able to cash in on.

• Marketing: Facebook on its own is now seen as a full marketing tool as much as a social media site. Information about things you like can be sent to third parties and companies can even pay Facebook to showcase their site to possible audiences. If you’re hired by a company to use social media, there is a good chance you’ll have to do a fair share of marketing, whether it be asking your friends, paying the premium fee to get users, or guerilla marketing. If the company uses Twitter, your job will be to update often, follow as many people as possible, and to tell them about your company. It’s lot more work than it sounds but it will also reap great rewards if done correctly.
• Communications:  In order to keep your pages happy, you have to keep your fans happy. In short, just talk to them or update them about the progress of your company. Individual replies may seem very hard to do given a massive company social media following,but from time to time it will help with the trust factor between consumer and producer.
• Editorial: All of the above mentioned is useless if you don’t have basic editorial skills. I’m sure when you’re posting a status update for a recognized bank, users don’t want to see something like ‘Yo, dis bank izz awesome, get up on it ya dig.‘ Basic editorial means having a great voice for your audience to listen to, good grammar, and a well rounded writing demeanor. At a previous position, we would write a new update at the same time throughout the day on a balanced schedule so fans could expect it. You don’t want to bombard your followers because there’s a good chance they’ll reject you. If you don’t space out your posts they’ll lose interest.

When it’s all said and done, social media is truly becoming its own career. Last year Birmingham University offered a one year course that focused on social networking sites as communications and marketing tools. Don’t overlook social media as a fad. It’s here to stay and should you know your stuff in it, there’s a lot of money to be made. There’s no telling how far it will go, maybe one day our future president will have a PhD. in Social Media from one of our top schools. Ask not what you can tweet about your country, ask what your country can tweet about for you. I kid.

The Buoy Is Back In Town, Making Waves!

Reid Stowe has been smooth sailing the media waves after returning from his three-year wet dream to sail around the world without land stops. As he drifted to a dock for the first time in 1,152 days, he choked back tears, acknowledging his parents and greeting his 23- month-old son for the first time.

Reid Stowe broke the record at sea and took his place as water cooler conversation. Not since Captain Sully took on feathered evil doers and saved a plane full of lives landing in the Hudson has there been so much excitement on our oily waterways (oh right, except for that other record breaker this year, BP). The alerted press stationed and readied their cameras as Reid Stowe went from loner in water to wet wipes on land. No sign of a shell shocked man as he spoke for the cameras and united with his family. It’s the good ending for a man that has the same look on his face as the charismatic and tragic bear lover/ bear dinner, Timothy Treadwell. And the resourcefulness of the young nomad, Christopher McCandless. His story, among others in the book Into The Wild, was later made into stinging recreation on celluloid.

Unlike the above determined seekers, Stowe is home safe (and sound? Well, it’s been debated). From isolation to celebration and persecution, he seems to be handling his greeting like a natural. Yes, coming home to your toddler son, girlfriend, and the entire world speculating, all while maintaining that telling smile that few people have- the one of someone on a freaking mission. Stowe built the 70-ft schooner himself, and despite the look of a ship that has been roughing it around the globe, it evokes something most of us lost by puberty and activating some part of the brain that doesn’t get enough action.

But the voyager has other people shaking heads and tirelessly typing out their disapproval. On 1000daysofhell.blogspot.com, Reid-haters paint a picture of a freeloading nut job, smuggling drugs, swindling money and toting a sex slave on some fantastical suicide mission. The site has productively disputed the legitimacy of his claimed occurrences from the beginning, as quickly as he chronicled them in his online communications from sea, 1000days.net – that is until the ship capsized and the computer became a casualty. Only the sailor and a trusty satellite phone survived, luckily.

So, for some, this whole odyssey is old news. Apparently Stowe worked for a decade to get funding, food donations, and ship repairs to prepare the schooner for the 1,000 day trip. The trip was still a familiar setting; he has lived on it since the late 70’s. That’s about seven years before Reid’s girlfriend and baby mama, Soanya Ahmad, did some other kind of sailing… through a birth canal. His persistence in getting funds for the exploration to sea paid off, and in 2007 at age 55, he’d gathered enough support to finally sail off into the sunset with his generation crossed lover Soanya for 1,000 days without touching land.

And though land was successfully avoided, a run in with a freighter was not. Fifteen days in and a collision with a freighter? Red Flag? Maybe just a standard sailing hurdle? Understandable crash, a freighter is like the unnoticeable tip of an iceberg **EXCEPT** upside down and a monstrous obstruction above the water. One would hope that would be fairly avoidable for a seasoned seaman. Schooner VS freighter crash, who wins? I would expect a crushing defeat for a sailing yogi in his own hand built schooner, but the incident didn’t put a damper in the plan. The duo stuck with it until  Soanya caught a case of the hurls every morning and jumped ship after some 300 days. The diagnosis – sea sickness. The reality – preggers.

Reid continued on for another 852 days doing yoga, eating sprouts, and tracing a huge heart in the ocean with his big ship, a shout-out to his now landlocked sea mate. Whether the couple stopped for some tacos in Mexico, or the freighter was really a dinky kayak, or he talked on the phone all day and bartered with fishermen, it’s still a major accomplishment of a man who did what he wanted. And that is how he has made history online, on sea and aboard ship.

2010 World Cup App Survival Kit

The event that captures the attention of every country in the world (except the United States, for the most part) is upon us and will continue to be with us until July 11th 2010. If you’re anything like me, an American who really has no idea about the World Cup but would like to stay tuned to the global event, here are some helpful apps that may aid you.
ESPN 2010 FIFA world cup (Free): There are quite a lot of World Cup apps out there that promise to keep you updated with the latest news from Johannesburg. This app, however, is my favorite thus far for the following reasons. For one, it has a gorgeous, easy to use interface that tells you the schedule, the scores, and the news. You can find out if your favorite players are injured, and watch video (if you get too lazy to read you can just hear what the experts have to say). You can even sign up and create a bracket for the Cup.  That means, if your prediction turns out to be right, you will have some bragging rights. Perhaps two of my favorite options are “Venues” and “Tournament History.” Venues gives you a brief background of all of the fields that the teams are playing on and a map showing where they are. And tournament history mixes the ease of Wikipedia with the trusted name of ESPN. You can now, with the flick of a finger, check in on the history of the tournament so you can know where past World Cup’s has been held, the controversies, and the winners. No longer will you come off as an uneducated observer. Now, you will be able to impress those around you with your supernatural knowledge of the game.

Air Horn (Free):  When you do sit down to watch a match (and you should for history’s sake) a particular sound will resonate thoughout the game. This is the vuvuzela which is a 3 foot long, loud plastic horn. It costs about $1 to make and is sold for about $10 at the World Cup. However, if you have an iPhone and you’re at the Cup, or just sitting on your couch, download the Air Horn app. It’s simple to use. Just touch the screen or shake your iPhone like crazy. With it being free, the only cost is possibly killing your battery from overuse, or the cost of your friendships as you will probably be annoying your friends around you.

Angry Birds ($.99): If you’re wondering why I have a game here, the simple answer is because of halftime. What better way to spend your break than throwing birds at the homes of pigs, since that’s the premise of the Angry Birds game. A bunch of pigs have stolen your beloved eggs and you have to sacrifice yourself, kamikaze style, to show how pissed off you are. And you might very well be pissed off after seeing that your team is down 2-0 at the half, so maybe Angry Birds will help you to alleviate that stress. Angry Birds is also the hottest app at the moment so even if you don’t play it at half time, you’ll still have fun wherever you are.

Good Luck Finding A Mate in The Pirate Bay

For as long as I can remember, The Pirate Bay has been engulfed in a media frenzy over its torrent site where users can “share” pretty much whatever they wish, much to the displeasure of the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America. However, they have decided to expand on their company with the addition of  a new dating site called “Pirate Date.”

I was hoping this was a joke but after checking out the site and actually signing up (I have NO intentions of dating anyone through the Internet) it turns out that it’s quite real. For starters, you fill out a short form, mainly the basics such as age and location, and then go about finding your mate. The major issue which I noted right off the bat is that there really isn’t any parameters for finding  “the one” – this is more about finding anyone. Even that Apple dating site allows users to have something in common. Granted, it’s their love for Apple products, but still.

The stranger part is that you can link your Pirate Mate profile to your Facebook account, something I chose not to do for fear of ridicule from my friends should they see my page. But by linking Pirate Mate and Facebook, users can directly see the Facebook profiles of potential love interests and find what the site likes to call “Trust Paths.” According to The Pirate Date, they are important because:

In a strange turn of circumstances, Pirate Date advocates social trust, where friends can vouch for other friends through these trust paths.

Even stranger is the Social Proximity gauge that allows users to see how trustworthy other users are based on factors like their relationships between other members and the duration of those relationships. In other words, your social proximity to your best friend is probably 100%.

The poor layout of the site should be your first warning that this site is an epic fail. There are no questions of what I want in a significant other, which in itself is significant enough to count this as a poor dating site. But in the end, I doubt you’ll go far with the site – just look at the image on the home screen . That alone should speak volumes about the quality of this project.

Yahoo! Mail Welcomes Facebook

I’ve never been a fan of things I don’t need. I don’t need a snuggie come this cold winter, I don’t need a bread maker from one of those shopping networks, and I don’t need Yahoo Mail teaming up with Facebook. In late May, Yahoo announced that its mail service would be stepping up by making the web more accessible through Yahoo Mail. Sites like Pandora, Flickr, YouTube, and popular blogging sites were magically incorporated last year to seamlessly transfer their updates to your user account for your viewing pleasure. The big news, however, came when Yahoo announced that your Facebook news feed would be accessible through Yahoo Mail. Not only will you see the latest viral videos that your friends ‘like’, but your mail even gets pre-sorted thanks to an upgrade. You can now read the important things first, but those e-mails about inheriting a large sum of money from an African Prince will have to wait. Sorry Nigerian scammers.

The addition of Facebook is definitely a move to help gain more users as well as gain ground on the giant Gmail. The company has been dueling with Google’s Gmail for years, with Google taking a large step recently with the ‘Buzz’ feature which allowed users to share updates with their friends. The mediocre mail service offered from Yahoo is probably hoping that it’s pro-Facebook attitude will help some of the 400 million users from Facebook come to Yahoo.

With this Facebook feature, users can interact with their Facebook account right on their Yahoo Mail page. If you get an e-mail about that special someone leaving a comment on your wall, instead of clicking on the given link which will take you to your Facebook page, now you can just respond live. I do believe that this feature will be a step in the right direction for Yahoo, despite similar endeavors with Twitter and YouTube never having really caught on.

Jason Titus, vice president of Yahoo’s communications division noted in The Wallstreet Journal, “We’re more of an aggregator rather than a core social network,” when speaking of the new change. But all of these changes doesn’t change the fact that Yahoo mail still lacks as a service compared to Gmail which has great features like texting, calendar, video chat, themes, tons of space, and perhaps most importantly, an overall efficient site. While I appreciate Yahoo’s attempt at integrating other sites, I can easily go to those sites quickly. In short, the changes won’t make me a Yahoo Mail convert. However, if you already love Yahoo mail,  this Facebook add-on will probably be one of your favorites. As for you, Mr. Yahoo, you can put lipstick on a pig, but at the end of the day it’s still a pig, and you are still a subpar mail provider.

“Google” Google for Help

Despite both reading and writing innumerable words about Google, the company, it dawned on me that I didn’t have a ton of insight on the search capabilities offered on the site. This revelation came as I searched for a specific print ad created at a former agency. Perhaps more frustrating than not being able to find it was the fact that I it was to help someone else. Which is why I had to keep going long after I should have stopped. I can quit on my own stuff, but feel compelled to deliver for someone else.

Ridiculous considering that the ad had not, to my knowledge, been displayed online. Google can’t find something that doesn’t exist. In the end, I didn’t find it, leading me to search Google about conducting better Google searches. I felt a little better due to the number of returns (206,000,000) but I wasn’t going to look through all that crap. At this point, I decided to see what Google said about searching on Google.

I knew a couple of cool things before this all began.  Certain search terms can be excluded from a query by adding a minus sign before the word you don’t want included. If searching for marketing, but not advertising, enter “marketing -advertising.” This instructs Google to show marketing results, but not advertising. The wild card (*), once used to find file types on a computer (*.jpg = all jpegs) works on Google. Users can also search specific domains for results; to find content about advertising on the Wall Street Journal, enter “advertising site:www.wsj.com.“ To find a specific company, add the company name to the query; “advertising Kraft site:www.wsj.com.“ Google will also perform calculations and conversions. To add, enter “4084593 + 283450″ in the search bar. Google returns 4368043 as an answer.  The other operators are “-” for subtraction, “*” to multiply, and “/” to divide. The conversion function is great because you don’t have to search for a conversion table; to find the number of yards in a mile, enter “yards=.” The search bar will show  a couple of options; yards to meters, yards to miles, or yards to feet.

Google also has some tips for searching Google. On the “Basic Search Help” page, there’s information about making search easy. Google outlines the basics:

• Every word matters. Generally, all the words you put in the query will be used.
• Search is always case insensitive. A search for “new york times”  is the same as a search for “New York Times.”
• Generally, punctuation is ignored, including @#$%^&*()=+[] and other special characters. [see note]

Note: Although “ignored,” the @-sign will search for Twitter users; @jl0312 brings up my Twitter page.

There are also some general tips, like keeping queries simple, but descriptive. The weather forecast in Cancun is best as “cancun weather,“ and not, “Weather Outlook in Cancun Mexico.” Zip codes narrow down searches in and around your house; “Bank 66207″ lists banks in Overland Park, KS.

A link called, “More Search Help” goes a bit deeper, explaining, for instance, that Google automatically uses synonyms. A search on health care (with space) will also return healthcare (no space).  If you need to find specific terms without the extra results, add a “+” in front of the word, or “+health care.“ This pages lists several methods to define the results, but also informs that Google team members use these features “less than 5% of the time.”

• Phrase search (“”) The use of double quotes instructs Google to find the exact words. “Wheat germ” won’t show results for wheat germ oil.
• The OR operator Allows for comparative data searches, or searches to separate similar data over two periods. For example,

But wait, there’s more! There are “cheat sheets” available on Google so you don’t have to remember everything; one is located  in the Librarian Center (clear explanations, .pdf format), the other in the help area under Cheat Sheet (not easily downloaded, fuzzy on explanation).  Google covers other nuances for search, beginning with exception. Search is a fluid process, updated frequently to provide more features, increase speed, and update plug-ins.

Although Google states that every word matters, some aren’t included during search; Words like, ‘a,’ and ‘for,’ are a waste of time. A final link for tools on search, this one on “Explore Google Search,” adding a few more tools to your search efforts.

Mark Zuckerberg Has Bigger Issues: The Facebook Movie

We all do a lot of dumb things that one day we look back on and say, “WTF was I thinking?” For Mark Zuckerberg that defining moment may be when he changed the privacy settings on Facebook. However, the bigger issue may be the movie that is coming out called “The Social Network,”which chronicles the development of Facebook. I highly doubt he’s going to be thrilled at watching himself on the big screen, especially since it seems like his privacy settings are going to be open to the public.

With a slated release date sometime in October of this year, it’s a bit surprising that there isn’t anything close to a trailer, hardly any media hype, and it sounds more like a rumor than an actual production.  But according to reports and a few grainy images (One showing rising star Jesse Eisenberg of “Zombieland” as Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg) the move is very real.

The film is based off of the book “The Accidental Billionaires” by Ben Mezrich which chronicles the rise of Facebook and the falling out between the two creators. Ben Mezrich is no stranger on book-to-screen productions. His book “Bringing Down the House” about MIT students who counted cards in Vegas was adapted into “21.”  There is some irony that in creating Facebook, a site that brings people together, it tore two friends apart. I know what you’re wondering – who was the other guy that helped found Facebook?

Answer: Eduardo Saverin. He reminds me of the other guy in the 80′s band Wham!. Everyone knows George Michael but the other guy eludes me. Oh well.

This film has a rather mediocre budget at around $47 million. Aside from the awkward Eisenberg, there are  only two other well known actors in the cast, the lovely Rashida Jones from ‘The Office” and “Parks and Recreation,” and some guy named Justin Timberlake. When you really come to think of it, you probably don’t need much media hype or well known actors to sell this movie. Facebook has over 400 million users and there’s a good chance many of them are going to want to know how this internet Goliath come about and the story behind the those who created it.

In the end this is said to be a comedy-drama. I expect the comedy to be dorky kids at Harvard letting their hair loose and the drama from the struggles between the two founders. I don’t see this as being the next “Avatar” but I do think there’s going to be some interest surrounding it. Only time show us how Zuckerberg feels about this whole thing and if we will actually “like” this cinematic experience.

Finding a Social Media “Guru”

Social media isn’t just a “place for friends;” it’s a place for business. In fact, solid proof exists that social media campaigns grow more than leads or traffic, but increase sales as well.  (I recently wrote an article documenting increased sales as a direct result of social media campaigns.)

As more success stories are published, companies that haven’t already gravitated toward social media will begin to do so. This will increase the need for social media managers

There’s only one university of which I’m aware that offers a social media degree. The one-year, full-time, $6,500 program will get you a Master’s degree. However, some online sources doubt the program’s depth. A smattering of online colleges offer social media degrees (i.e., University of San Francisco), but I wasn’t able to find any data on the programs’ success (or lack-thereof).

The problem is multi-layered, the first hurdle being a shortage of  social media “masters” capable of teaching social media engagement in-depth; according to Traffickd, there are at least 475 active social media sites (ironically, two sites that I use regularly aren’t on the list…). Complicating matters further, social media is like shifting sand; a course curriculum in February is obsolete as soon as it’s printed.  These are endemic issues with tech companies, and until there’s a standard, companies that wish to increase their social media prowess will struggle to find knowledgeable social media managers who can not only drive results, but also add value to the organization.

Since it is marketing, I suggest a methodical approach. Before any hiring’s contemplated, check out the landscape. Listen in. What are businesses like yours doing/saying? What are their customers talking about? What vehicles (channels) are they using? Which seem to be working? Where’s the “buzz,” and what does it indicate? Once you’ve figured out your surroundings, outline long-term goals and short-term objectives (if you don’t know the difference, click here). Marketing, social or otherwise, comes at a price. While social media may not require an actual budget, the costs are exacted in terms of  hours and effort.

If you walk away with one thing today, let it be this: TV and radio commercials aren’t usually capable of ruining a company’s brand image. However, lousy social media manners like sporadic communication, message over-kill, poor response-time,  impersonal “canned” responses, spam, inconsistency, can destroy community relations and credibility in weeks.  Proceed with caution and ensure that all those involved are clear on goals, objectives,  strategies, tactics, as well as the execution of all items.

So, what should companies look for when searching for social media practitioners? There’s no formula, nor do I have a  ”right” answer; I do, however, have a few ideas on what to look for in a candidate. While not an all-encompassing list, the following suggestions may provide your business with a little social media salvation:

• iMedia suggests trashing all candidates who label themselves as a “Ninja, Guru, or Evangelist“
• ‘Social media expert” is a claim anyone can make since there’s little proof (i.e., no degree).  How does the candidate back their claim? Did they attend any college courses or receive certification from a credible source? (Hubspot, for instance, offers online courses that culminate with an exam.)
• Online sites like Mashable, ChrisBrogan.com, Hubspot, Techcrunch, and Technorati provide a wealth of insight into the industry, as well as some of its denizens.
• Most people with advertising/marketing backgrounds are a good bet; they understand fundamental strategy. (Note: I did not say “All people with…“)
• Is your prospect strategic-thinking? Chris Brogan suggests asking candidates how they’d report weekly listening and social media work to top managers at a global corporation in under two minutes.
• Ask candidates for links leading to their personal profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Digg, FriendFeed, Del.icio.us,  etc. Start following them.
• Use Twitter Grader or Blog Grader to determine a candidate’s social media influence.
• Your candidate should have some experience with blogging (or a vlog); if not as content-provider, then as editor or planner. Basic HTML skills are a plus.
• Read the candidates social media iterations. Are they insightful, goofy, or shameless personal promotion?
• Does the prospect have a good grip on language use (English in our case)? They’re going to be a “voice” for your company.
• Does the candidate understand the basic online ad measurement? Do they know the principles of search engine marketing andoptimization?
• So, Ashton Kutcher has a million+ followers on Twitter. It’s not about quantity…an idiot can hit request a million times and and net 10,000 friends

Last, but not least:

• Ask tons of questions. I entered, “What questions should I ask a social media expert?” into Google and received 5,730,000 results in 0.28 seconds. There’s no shortage of data.

Other than that, read social media blogs, check out the digital version of the Wall Street Journal, subscribe to RSS feeds, set up some Google alerts, and start to define your company’s online footprint.  Social monitoring sites like Social Mention or Viral Heat might not be a bad idea, either. Don’t dive blindly, but start testing the waters. Social media may change, but it won’t be going away. Also, check out tips on ChrisBrogan.com, iMedia, and Mashable.

Facebook Quit Day – A Discussion With Its Creator

In the past several weeks, Facebook has come under fire after widely publicizing changes in privacy settings. With over 400 million users in its grasp and the Internet seemingly bowing down to its every need, this negative publicity must be making Facebook a little uncomfortable, and it’s just getting worse. In April, New York Senator Chuck Schumer asked the Federal Trade Commission to check out the privacy guidelines of Facebook. There are now a growing number of users who are leaving Facebook for good. So far 1,605 people have signed up for Facebook Quit Day on May 31st. Here I interview Matthew Milan, one of the creators of the group. He currently runs his own company that specializes in the strategic side of interaction design for the web and devices.

SR: Who is behind the movement and how did it get started?

MM: The frustration people have with Facebook that you’re are calling a movement [I don't see it that way] has been developing for a long time. Joe Dee and I didn’t look to start a revolt as some have suggested, we just put a URL to a notion that was on the mind of a lot of people right now.  We reached a point where we didn’t feel comfortable being on Facebook anymore, and decided to be open about why we we’re leaving.

What was your biggest issue with Facebook?

While I believe it’s acceptable for organizations to collect and use comprehensive personal data from individuals, they must do it in a way that 1) Gives individuals fair choices to decide how that data is used, and 2) Is done with the intent of serving the best interests of current (and future) society as a whole.

Since Facebook is not doing either of these (and is, in fact, heading rapidly in the other direction), I’m no longer interested in maintaining a presence of any type on the site. If a company doesn’t consider information sustainability in their designs, they are not creating any long term value for humanity. For me, my frustration with Facebook wasn’t about privacy – privacy is a symptom of some emerging bigger issues, which most of us can’t clearly articulate yet. We latch on to privacy as the main concern because it’s an issue we can all directly relate to.

Do you think we have become too open on the Internet?

No. I’m personally quite comfortable with being open on the internet, and I think the people should have the choice to act online just as the act in meatspace. If you want to be private, that’s your choice and your right. If you want to be public, that’s also your choice and your right.

Users are going to be missing out on the largest social networking site, how can they compensate for that?

Well, I personally don’t see it as missing out. I was using the web socially across everything from IRC to Flickr before I started using Facebook, and I’ve got a multitude of options now. Many people are used to going to Facebook for everything, and they won’t be able to compensate with just one single site – they’ll need to branch out and use a range of resources.

I’ve always seen Facebook like high school – it’s a tight, well integrated interaction framework, where you can easily connect with everyone you know or want to know about. It’s not the whole world though and, quite frankly, if you spent your entire life living in the high school environment, you’d become rather socially stunted. It’s not a bad thing to get out and see what else is out there once in a while.

What does Facebook have to do to win you back?

I’m not interested in them winning me back – I don’t get a lot of utility from Facebook and can’t see what they could do to convince me that they were doing anything differently in the future. Honestly, I’d have to see the value of spending time on there AND know that my data and information was being treated with respect and dignity.

What are some good things about being FB free?

I don’t feel like my “information shadow” is being whored out indiscriminately for the rest of eternity. That’s a pretty good one for me.

There are a lot of people against you (pro-FBers), any words for them?

There are always opposing viewpoints, and this is a good thing. For people who don’t agree with my views on Facebook, I encourage them to continue to develop their own position based on a solid understanding of the topic at hand. Having a well formed opinion is the best way for people to make the right decisions on issues like these.  I strongly believe in the reasoning behind my desire to quit Facebook, but I’d rather see people disagree with me intelligently than follow me blindly.

Internet Week, NYC! The Webby Awards, A Monster Mash…able Summit, and More

The 4th Annual Internet Week NYC starts on Monday, June 7th.  If you didn’t get your VIP invite to The Webby’s, there are many other ways for all of us nerds to join in the fun. Internet Week NYC, launched in 2008, is presented by The Academy of Digital Arts and Science. Anyone from big businesses to individual bloggers are allowed to attend and host events under the Internet Week banner. The week long festival has been picking up speed each year and this year has secured the massive Metropolitan Pavillion as its headquarters (note the addition of HQ at the end of Internet Week NYC) which will accommodate larger events that require interactive media space.

Webby award winning and prestigious bookmarked site, Mashable, is a major player for social media content and an all around awesome web publisher. Unfortunately, for those of us financially challenged, Mash isn’t holding another free Exhibit Hall like last year’s, complete with food and drink. This time around, Mashable has teamed up with CNN for their first Mashable Media Summit, a full day focusing on the impact of social media in news, branding, and advertising industries. An in-depth conference with a number of experts in social media and other mediums will speak, including  Foursquare co-founder, Dennis Crowley.  A discussion on branding will be lead by Chris Bruzzo from Starbucks. Mashable Media Summit Tickets are still available for about $500, which includes breakfast, kosher lunch, and a wine and networking closing event.

Here are some of the events that won’t put a crack in your piggy bank. “The Feast” revolves around social innovation and  discussing ways to improve the world.  All Day Buffet hosts this inspiring event at “The Apartment” at 101 Crosby, 6/7 at 6:30. A handful of tickets are still remaining for a cool $20! If you want to “startup” earlier on Monday, head over to Whiskey Rebel at 2:30pm for the $15 liquid lunch event “Startupalpha.com” and the “Big Deal Room”. Enjoy ice cold brews and endless popcorn as entrepreneurs get info on new technologies to get your dream off the ground. And, speaking of getting off the ground, Brooklyn Boulder climbing gym is the venue for the free “Social Climber” event. Enjoy DJs, snacks, and refreshments while seeing Internet folks get physical. Click HERE for a complete schedule of events.

The week ends with the posh 14th annual Webby Awards, which I can sum up in five words – “Damn, I want to go!” Actually, winners must sum it up in five words, which can be thoroughly entertaining. By invitation only, Sunset Cocktails are offered the day before the ceremony on top of the swank Standard Hotel. The ceremony gets started on June 14th at the beautiful Cipriani venue on Wall Street, concluded by an after party at the Hiro Ballroom at the Maritime Hotel. With attendees ranging from computer geeks to A-list celebrities, the Webby’s have been going strong for 14 years and are the coveted award for web publishers in any field.

The last couple years were hosted by the hilarious Seth Meyers of SNL fame. This year will be hosted by the very funny B.J. Novic of The Office. There will still be SNL cast members on hand, including Amy Poehler, who won Best Actress for her online series, Smart Girl at the Party. Film and Video of the year award goes to musicians “Ok Go”for their impressive use of the internet for their authentic visions and superior videos. Here are all the winners so you can check out the work that got them the cherished Webby!

Facebook’s Eroding Privacy

This is a site dedicated to social media. As such, it’s in the interest of those of us who contribute to Ploked to write informative posts for readers regarding the use of social media, and the numerous networking tools associated with social media, in our daily affairs. I fully acknowledge social media as a tool to increase business, and my posts reflect this belief. A professional media planner by trade, my job depends on determining as much as possible about consumers, using this information to better target advertising messages to potential customers. Obviously, the more information, the better the results.

Facebook

While striving to remain objective and professional, at times I have to question the level of blind trust that we, as consumers, provide to entities outside our immediate control, opting to allow online businesses the ability to access personal information, including birth dates, address, email, family members, friends, and online surfing behaviors. I’ve written posts that substantiate social media’s success at growing businesses. I’ve also written here–and on other sites–posts concerning privacy and the “information for access” model practiced by social media sites. The majority of these posts–questioning the use of personal information–concern Facebook.

Facebook was once a place to share among friends. As the site’s evolved, its morphed into a money-making phenomenon that changes the rules as necessary. Once Facebook respected, and protected their user’s privacy. Then, unforeseen and unprecedented, the site grew from college site to worldwide network in less-than a decade. Facebook ranks among the most popular online destinations, quick approaching half a billion users. Now, instead of respecting privacy, the site uses personal information as a means to make money.

Shh.

Founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is 25-years-old and a billionaire. While to some he’s a genius, it’s in our collective interests to remember that Zuckerberg stands to gain by selling information…our information. It’s also important to remember that Zuckerberg, according to those who work for him, does not believe in online privacy. Unless, of course, its his own privacy.

Facebook turned on its users in an effort to improve their bottom-line. Highlighted by Wired:

“So in December, with the help of newly hired Beltway privacy experts, it [Facebook] reneged on its privacy promises and made much of your profile information public by default. That includes the city that you live in, your name, your photo, the names of your friends and the causes you’ve signed onto.

This spring Facebook took that even further. All the items you list as things you like must become public and linked to public profile pages. If you don’t want them linked and made public, then you don’t get them — though Facebook nicely hangs onto them in its database in order to let advertisers target you.”

Your employment info, books you’ve read, music you enjoy, or any like/dislike you label on your profile are all public now. If you don’t want something public, then delete it because there’s no other way to put it on your page. In fact, Facebook’s privacy controls have gotten so complex that it’s a daily endeavor to ensure you’re protected. Inside Facebook lists 17 steps with multiple layers; a total of 200 possible options.

Facebook’s “Big Brother” status grew when they revealed that our profiles–without consent–had been given to Yelp, Pandora, Microsoft, and others. Logging into these sites, according to Facebook, enhanced our  ”interactive, personal experience” by linking us to these sites. Without permission.

So, while you may believe that Facebook has some privacy built-in, they don’t.  The first rule of privacy, as defined by Baekdal:

“I am the only one who can decide what I share.”

Unless, of course, you’re on Facebook.

Five Must Have Google Chrome Extensions

Last week, I reviewed some Firefox tips and tricks. Due to popular demand, today I’m going to outline some must have extensions for Google’s rising superstar: Google Chrome.

1. AdBlock: Like the one on Firefox, my favorite extension is available on Chrome. All modern browsers have built-in pop up blockers. That’s fine and all, but how about getting just the web content itself. No stupid banner ads. No offerings to lure your kids’ small attention spans (if you have kids). It’s almost like a “stupid” blocker. You won’t get in trouble by clicking on a link with huge tits flashing because you won’t ever see it.

2. Google Translate: Scouring the web for relevant information is usually like a treasure hunt. You find some good things and some shitty things. When you land on a page that’s in another language, you’re all like “Oh fuck” and plan to leave. But wait, don’t leave just yet. In the tech world, leaks are always coming out of China or Russia or some obscure forum somewhere. Use Google Translate to help you out. After setting your default language, Google Translate will automatically pop up in a little unobtrusive bar at the top of your browser when you visit a page that is not in your default language. It’ll ask you if you want to translate the page, and you can pick from many different languages. It’s perfect for the language-challenged. I once used it to translate a page about a dog and a bunny. It turns out the dog and bunny were, like, lovers or something…

3. Facebook Photo Zoom: If you’re like me, you use Facebook for reasons other than poking and liking things. I like to use Facebook to share photos with family and friends. Unlike Flickr, almost everyone I know is on Facebook – and on it a lot. The only problem with Facebook is all the clicking it takes to do something. What if you could see thumbnails of photos in full-size without having to click on the album? Facebook Photo Zoom does just that. Just hover your mouse over any photo on Facebook after installing and voila!, photos automagically zoom in a nice little window that pops up. It’s great to use to check up on a friends’ always changing profile picture, when they appear in your news feed. No, I’m not a stalker…keep it moving!

4. Image Preview: Kind of similar to Facebook Photo Zoom. This extension allows you to create a “lightbox” for image and video searches. Go to Google and search for an image or video. Instead of having to click the image or video and go to the location, it opens up right there. Saving features are left in tact. No need to leave the page. Just brilliant.

5. Weather Underground: It pisses me off that in 2012 people are still weather-retarded. With so many places to receive info on the weather forecast, how could anyone be so ignorant? Right off the bat, I can count a bunch: Web, TV, Wii, iPhone, Widgets, Dash, Chumby, etc. Weather Underground sits nicely next to your URL bar and displays the current weather. Click on the icon and it will tell you how the weather is expected to change over the next few days, with a list of more detailed reports.

That’s my list for Google Chrome extensions. Like the list of Five Firefox Things Everyone Should Know, I hope this will be the first in a series of tips and tricks for Google Chrome users. Send your extension favorites or suggestions to raymond [at] ploked [dot] com or send me a tweet @raykm00