I recently showed a college student a blog post I was working on, and he asked me what percentage of the content I dedicated to keyword phrases. He had taken a course in SEO, and he understood keyword density. So do I. But even as an SEO copywriter, it’s not really something that I take into account when writing content anymore.
Rather than give him a percentage, I explained to him that the number of times a keyword is placed within an article isn’t as important as it used be. Yes, keywords still play a big role, but the quality of the content has become a more critical factor in getting higher search results. That’s where blogs come into play.
The Rise of the Blog
Back in the day (1990s to early 2000s), blogs weren’t as widely accepted as they are now. Saying you had a blog was like telling people that you’re kind of a geek and you really like to talk about yourself. Last May, eMarketer reported that 53.5% of Internet users would read blogs in 2011. That’s 122.6 million blog readers. Today, blogs have become an effective way for people to share their 
opinions; stay updated on news, trends and topics that interest them; and have ongoing conversations with others who share those opinions and interests. For businesses, blogs have become a necessary tool for reaching customers on a higher level and improving SEO.
The rising value of blog content has not gone unnoticed when it comes to search results – Google wants to put the content that people read in front of them, and right now, that means blogs.
Keep Your Content Fresh and Relevant
Google favors new, fresh content, and in today’s fast-paced market, content can get outdated pretty quickly. Maintaining a continually updated blog on your company website allows you to keep adding new content to your site without having to completely rework product or service pages. In addition, the content must contain valuable information – Google Panda updates now put low-quality content created solely for link building at the bottom of search results.
Guest Blog, Guest Blog, Guest Blog
Writing guest posts on other blogs has a number of benefits, one of which includes SEO value. Guest posts often allow back links to your blog and website within your blogger bio. Good relationships with authoritative bloggers can be incredibly valuable for SEO, especially if the blogs have high page ranks, as Google is impressed by link quality and diversity. Networking also helps establish your own blog as an authority in your niche.
Social Sharing
The better quality the content, the more it’s shared through social media. Google recognizes social sharing, such as tweets, retweets, Facebook likes and Google +1’s. Internet users are much quicker to share a blog post, rather than a website page, through Twitter. With the rise of Pinterest, blogs that post quality images are also being shared more, resulting in increased traffic and higher search rankings.
Do you have a blog? Are you using it to improve your SEO strategy?
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Jacqui MacKenzie is a writer for Straight North, one of the leading Internet marketing companies in Chicago. She writes for a wide range of clients, from providers of GPS for vehicle tracking to broadcasting equipment specialists. Check out the Straight North blog! @ straightnorth
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What a Successful Company Blog Says about Your Business
We’ve all seen them – the company blog that is buried within the site map, with a single “Welcome” post that is three years old. Or the blog that is littered with bad grammar, typos or business jargon. A bad comp
any blog can give off the impression that you’re lazy, technology-challenged, or you think you’re smarter than your readers. No blog at all is better than a bad blog.
Writing a successful company blog takes time and effort. It’s a way to start, continue and strengthen a meaningful conversation about your business and your brand.
So what does a great company blog say about your business?
You care about your customers.
The blog is your opportunity to reach out to your customers and provide them with in-depth, valuable information that they can’t find on your website. It allows you to connect and engage with them daily – answering questions, providing feedback and responding to comments. This interaction shows your commitment to building a community that benefits your business and your customers.
You know what you’re talking about.
When you write comprehensively about industry-related topics, you can establish your company as a leading authority in your field. Let readers know that they can rely on you for sound advice, useful information and knowledgeable opinions – and they can count on your products and services, as well.
You’re not a dinosaur.
You should be sharing your blog through Twitter and Facebook. Being active through social media channels can help you connect even further with your audience, and lets readers know you’re up-to-date with current trends and always thinking forward.
You’re well-known and respected in the industry.
Networking with other bloggers in your niche can increase blog traffic and in turn, increase leads. Engage other industry thought leaders in the conversation – contributing guest posts for other prominent blogs, for example, can help you expand your blog’s reach even further.
You have the resources to create quality content and designs.
Readers can tell if you’ve created a company blog with no knowledge of Web design or copywriting. A well-designed, well-written blog is crucial to drawing attention to your blog and keeping it there, and demonstrates the ability and talent behind the scenes – whether you have a staff of designers and writers maintaining the site, or you have taken the time to learn these skills yourself.
You’re friendly.Â
Blogs allow for a more casual, personal tone than your company website. Your blog has a voice – your voice – to give readers a sense of the people behind the business. Don’t fill your posts with industry jargon or make your readers feel inferior; this will only repel readers from your blog and your business. A blog that reads like a friendly chat over coffee, containing stories with which readers can relate, makes your company seem more approachable.
Do you know what your company blog says about your business?
Author:
Jacqui MacKenzie is a writer for Straight North, one of the leading Internet marketing companies in Chicago. She writes for a wide range of clients, from merchant account providers for credit card processing restaurants to manufacturers of electrical gloves. Check out the Straight North blog, or follow @StraightNorth on Twitter.
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Find A Lifetime of Success in 2012 by understanding “Time” & “Why?”
Ready to understand why some people are far more successful than others? 
Brace yourself! I am going to share my perspective on why 2011 was such a success for me and give you something to think about in 2012. Here’s the funny part, I made more money in 2011 than I have ever and that little fact actually has little to do with why I was so successful in 2011.
I have had some great mentors and it’s all due to listening! You see those that know me might think that I am more of a talker, but I do a lot of listening. The fact that I actually hear what I am listening too makes it all the more effective. A lesson that’s valuable for life and Social Media.
TIME
In the movie “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” the Character Gordon Geckko turns to a young man and tells him that “time is the most precious commodity that I know of” a statement of absolute truth! While Einstein argued that time could be something of perception, in the case of the “theory of relativity” scientists make assumptions and simulations that space-time and other aspects of physics and astronomy  do not change the current state of time, in relation to the phenomenon of life.
During my masters program, we studied a concept that fascinated me on its own, supply and demand. The wildcard here was that demand was driven by perception. The concept became even more exciting when later we talked about the monetary value of leisure! The economic evaluation for leisure comes when there is not enough value to make the individual work more, or in the tipping point where the individual is willing to work during a time period traditionally reserved for leisure.
Time is clearly something that holds financial value, and in the case of supply and demand, we have a market where supply is consistent. There is only so many hours in a day, so many days in a week, so many weeks in a month and so many months in a year and so many years that we live. However, what if life is not as long as we believe it to be? The supply may be shorter or longer then perceived. Demand seems to be the one thing in America that we do not have in this equation.
Whatever you choose for your profession, do not let it dictate your life. Travel, Family, Exploration and the Art of Doing Nothing are just as important and I believe a healthy part of a successful life.
WHY?
I will tell you right now, if you work for or with someone who answers “Why?” with “because I said so” or “that’s how we do it” RUN!
That person is likely, lazy, selfish and/or just plain ignorant! Yes, ignorant! I have had these people just like everyone else and it made for a negative professional career experience in the fields of education, banking and sales. There is probably nothing more dangerous to the health of an organization, its culture, and our economy then these people. “Why?” is crucial to success!
Why is how we learn, grow and develop. It is crucial to success both for individuals and organizations. A supervisor, manager or superior has an fiduciary responsibility to both the organization and the client to teach their subordinate everything they know. I pride my work in student affairs with the notion that I had started teaching my staff from day one what I do and why so. In my absence, everything, for at least a while could run as consistently as if I was still there. If you don’t believe that you should prepare for your absence, then what will you do if you should be promoted? Do you not believe that your people are  more effective contributors to a culture where you have empowered them?
A small business owner should have the same relationship with their consultant and media professionals, if you do not invest the time to teach them about your business how will they be able to understand its culture? If you do not understand “Why?” the consultant or media professional is doing something then how will you know what to do in their absence or to communicate the evolution of the business. You may not be able to do what others due, either because of talent, skills or time, but you still better understand why they are doing it. Â
Both “Time” and “Why?” are a crucial part of life, not just business or professional development. Adapt a plan that encompasses learning and educating the “Why?” to those around you, and you will find “Time” which will bring you prosperity in 2012.
It was a great 2011, I am looking forward to an even better 2012! Hope you’ll Join me!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WahafF8Y_E0]
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Google+ Pages Open the Doors for Brands and Businesses
This past June, immediately after Google launched it’s highly anticipated Google+ social network, internet savvy businesses like Ford, Dell and Mashable.com rushed to create pages for their brands.
Only to have them removed a few days later. Google’s announcement soon followed: “In the meantime, we ask you not to create a business profile using regular profiles on Google+. The platform at the moment is not built for the business use case, and we want to help you build long-term relationships with your customers. Doing it right is worth the wait. We will continue to disable business profiles using regular profiles. (Christian Oestlien Ads project manager on Google+)
One hundred days later Google delivered on its promise. On November 7, 2011 Google+ announced the grand opening of Google+ Pages worldwide.
Google+ Pages allows businesses, brands, and organizations create their own page and establish a circle of like-minded people who enjoy the brand and want to talk about it. Not only does the page allow having a conversation with brand representatives in a way of personalized customer service, it also allows the group of followers to have a conversation with each other.
As Google+ puts it, when it talks about the customers: “…we want to make sure you can build relationships with all the things you care about—from local businesses to global brands… this means we can now hang out live with the local bike shop, or discuss our wardrobe with a favorite clothing line, or follow a band on tour. Google+ pages give life to everything we find in the real world. And by adding them to circles, we can create lasting bonds with the pages (and people) that matter most.” (Google’s blog)
Not only brands and businesses are involved. Google+ wants to enlarge the circle of users to local business, products, corporations, institutions, organizations, arts and entertainment, sports teams and more. They have been working with businesses since the launch in June to understand the needs and requirements of brand names. You can see the pages of these businesses already active:
- Dallas Cowboys
- Macy’s
- Pepsi
- Toyota
- Anderson Copper 360
- X games
- Zen Bikes
- The Muppets
Having pages for brands and businesses is nothing new, but Google+ has a few advantages over the competition:
- People can recommend the brand easily by pressing the +1 button, and start sharing immediately.
- A brand can have more than one page. A car manufacturer, for example, can have a page for each of its models.
- Although Facebook has over 500 million users, and Google+ has, so far, about 50 million, the biggest advantage of Google+ has to do with the billions of queries made every day on the search engine, most of them looking for businesses or services. Google will include Google+ pages in its search results.
- Direct connect – The easiest way to find a band you like to follow or a product has been amended as well. Typing the sign + before the query will take the searcher straight to the brand page. (Try it with + Angry Birds)
The official announcement on Google’s blog ends with these words: “With Google+, we strive to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to software. Today’s initial launch of Google+ Pages brings us a little bit closer, but we’ve still got lots of improvements planned, and miles to go before we sleep. So stay tuned.
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6 of the Best Guest Posting Tips
Guest posting can be a very lucrative venture for all parties involved. The owner of the blog is provided with free content, and the writer of the content is given acknowledgement of their wisdom on the chosen topic. In this aspect, guest posting seems to benefit both parties equally. However, it can be just as difficult to find high-quality blog owners who will allow guest posting, as it is to find high-quality writers to make guest appearances on your blog.
Keeping in mind a few helpful guest-posting tips can be beneficial for all involved and will help to produce the highest quality content that will reflect well on both the blog owner and the content creator.
Posting Tips for Guest Bloggers
- Aim High – Look for highly traveled blogs or those with impressive page rankings. These links will also be highly valuable portfolio material.
- Research the Blog – In order to create what is fresh content for the blog, you will need to know what content has already been created. If the blog is a lengthy one, check for tag clouds or keywords on the topics that are the same as your posting idea.
- Catchy Title – Catchier content. Be sure that you supply an eye catching title for your content, and make just as certain that the content lives up to the title. A good blogger knows that even the most boring topic can be made interesting with the right language.
- Give Your Best Stuff Away – This may be a hard concept to swallow for some bloggers but you want your guest posts on any blogs to be the most shining examples of your work. Not only will this garner the blog owner increased traffic or interest in their site, but it may also cause others to take notice, and perhaps even offer you paying gigs.
- Interact – Reply to commenters and pay attention to your re-tweeters. Get involved and make sure that you are available to ponder any issues about your blog posts with others who may be doing the same. Building a rapport with readers is valuable regardless of the blog posted on. Thanks to social media, people with similar interest or interest in you, can find you with a simple click once you have engaged them on site.
- Promote Your Posts – Promoting your own post is never more important than it is when posting on someone else’s site. Show them that their effort to give you a great link in exchange for great content has not gone unnoticed. Tweet, share, Digg, and do all you can to make sure the posts receives all of the coverage that is in your power to create.
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Turn Your Social Media Content into Something Incredible with FeedFabrik
By now most folks who use the internet for work, play, or both, are likely to have generated a bit of personal or business content on their social media sites. Blogs, videos, articles, tweets, and more have their own special place online for quick and easy access when you need to reference them, share them, or simply enjoy viewing them.
What if you could take your already available content and give it a shiny new cover? What if you could avoid the inevitable process that most all content suffers from as it gets old, left behind, and falls into Internet Purgatory, likely never to be seen (easily) again. 
FeedFabrik to the Rescue
FeedFabrik offers the ability to capture your own digital life and turn it into a proud display in a couple of different ways.
Create Your FriendPoster
Users can integrate with their Facebook account to quickly create a FriendPoster. This poster displays all of your social network friends by listing them on the date of their birth with their current profile picture. Users can choose from five different display theme styles as well as selecting different options for saving the creation. FriendPoster comes in:
- Poster
- Desktop Wallpaper
It will also be available with gift voucher options very soon.
Make a BlogBook
Turning your blog into a book may have endless possibilities. However, doing so has long proven to be a process usually full of bugs and issues and, in general, difficult to manage while retaining an aesthetically pleasing document. FeedFabrik’s blog book creator can smoothly turn your current blog into a well-designed book. FeedFabrik has full integration options on:
- Blogger
- WordPress.com
- Self-Hosted WordPress Blogs
- Typepad
- Tumblr
Your book is prepared for you automatically and is ready in just a few moments. Users are free to take advantage of the customization options to tweak the book’s originality.
FeedFabrik has much to offer those who utilize social media on a regular basis and has several shining selling points when it comes to those who work in the publishing industry.
Alexa shows a 1500% increase in traffic views over the last three months and is currently ranked at #486,284 in the world with most users spending an average of three minutes on site.
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Develop Your Brand with Daylife
Providing consumers with cloud features including on-demand media options, DayLife is supplying their users with more features, functionality, and faster cycling. A comprehensive solution that is designed for digital publishers who may require the freedom to focus on creative experiences instead of constant publication input.
How Does DayLife Work?
DayLife provides a Publisher’s Suite that supplies the patented engine that helps users to analyze, ingest, and process
digital media from the cloud. Uploading your media to the cloud begins a long process of collation, normalization, and data parsing. After the parsing process rich layers of intelligence and meta tagging data are incorporated into your content which will allow it to then become searchable.
Regardless of the type of content, DayLife dev’s assure users that their content will be processed and returned to them with added value. DayLife actually crawls the web like Googlebot, while retaining a direct focus on sites and content that provides high-value, frequently updated content.
Smooth Delivery
After DayLife’s system parses and analyzes the content, they will then deliver all of the power of media and intelligence straight to the user. Users can utilize their DayLife Dashboard, or APIs. The dashboard will provide a single user-interface to enable accessibility of the cross-referenced media. In turn, this enables further functionality allowing the creation, customization, and management of app deployment.
DayLife users also get full access to Publisher Suite APIs. These widely varied and well-tested APIs are customizable and best yet, have no hidden integration costs. However, Publisher Suite is not a CMS. It is designed to smoothly integrate with the setup you are already using.
Supply a Robust Source of Reliable Information
DayLife provides their users with a source of management, analysis, and content composition that will enable them to present their current content in more highly viewable and frequently utilized manners. DayLife also has a variety of WYSWIG tools for specific platform accessibility.
DayLife technologies allows content creators, bloggers, publishers, and developers to try their own hand at helping to develop new user-end experiences by helping to leverage news-based content.
Who Can Use DayLife?
DayLife is an element of a business that may need to be handled by an IT department simply due to the programming languages utilized in creating the APIs. Those who have knowledge of languages such as:
- RUBY
- PHP
- Cold Fusion
- Perl
- .Net
Although these languages are a bit more intensive than common HTML, users need not be IT specialist to learn how to manage them. Those with a general idea of what it takes to manage the above languages may be able to handle this element of their sites content aggregation campaign on their own.
What are the Benefits of DayLife?
- Users can easily enhance their news content by applying proactive and supportive measures such as relating links or headliners, on any created topic.
- DayLife can help users to generate new content, provide helpful and relating links, quotes, photos, headlines, and timelines.
- Enable the recirculation of content from available affiliate publications or other relevant content around the web.
- Help to create and nurture the end-users experience.
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Tumblr VS WordPress
According to statistic reports, as of January 2011, the 4 year old site Tumblr.com has 20,873,182 users. For the same period WordPress.com, the older site (by 4 years), announced they have 20,787,904 websites powered by wordPress.com
This is the first time anybody overtook WordPress.com, and it became kind of big news among the blogosphere. To set the record straight, it is important to note that WoldPress.com numbers do not include the open sourced blog platform WoldPress.org, where people have websites they host themselves. The comparison is between the two hosting blog platforms only.
Still, it is clear that many individuals have been signing with Tumblr more than they have been signing with WordPress.com. Which one is better? Well, that depends on why you want a site or a blog and what you want to include in it.
What do they have in common?
- Both are free.
- Each site has free themes which can be easily installed.
- Both can be customized.
- Both can be updated from any computer or device that has internet connection.
- Both allow you to name your page the way you choose.
- Both are well known and popular, with good reputation.
- Both have export capabilities. If you want to move your site, you can.
- Both allow importing content from other content management systems.
Tumblr
Ease of use –
- No installation or configuration of the program on your computer is needed.
- User friendly dashboard
- Easy upload of multimedia files
- Custom designs (which do require payment) are cheaper on Tumblr than on WordPress
- Easy to update from a mobile device
- Has a built in community functions that allows following like-minded bloggers, reblogging what they wrote and “liking” it, which makes Tumblr a more community oriented site.
Functionality –
- The server cannot be controlled by the user; it has to be hosted by the site. However, you can use a unique url that does not include .tumblr at the end.
- The user has complete control over the content and can move his site or blog to another platform.
Design and customization
- Has one basic layout and it must be applied to every page on the site. They now added page support to make the navigation between pages much easier.
- Supports only 3rd party calendars and contacts, but it requires knowledge in coding.
Social Integration –
- Built in. You can post and link to twitter automatically. You can also connect it to your Facebook page.
WordPress
Ease of use –
- Downloading their program is necessary, but it offers many more options and settings.
- The design and functionality of the page is more cumbersome and requires some learning.
- Allows multiple pages, download of plug-ins, widgets and sidebars.
Functionality –
- With WordPress.com the user has to use their server. WordPress.org supports sites hosted by another server.
- The site can be easily expanded to replace the current site.
- People who have not designed the site but have administrative rights can post on the site without much effort.
Design and customization –
- Many page layout options.
- Ability to use different layouts for different pages.
- Allows including native calendars and contact forms.
Social integration –
- Can be done with the help of plug-ins.
- WordPress.com has publisize allowing for sharing with Facebook Pages, Twitter, Yahoo, etc..
The ongoing consensus among experts is that Tumblr is more user friendly, fun and easy to blog. Its design is slick and simple, modern and big. It is geared more toward pictures and media than WordPress.
Both can be customized but WordPress is more extensive and flexible. If you don’t need an extensive e commerce site with forms, listings, heavy content and advertising, Tumblr is simpler.
But the biggest difference is in the ease of social integration on Tumblr that is built in, while it has to be added to WordPress.com with different plug-ins. Tumblr functions as a cross between a website and a Facebook profile, while WordPress is more dry and functional.
Some companies in entertainment, news and fashion have blogs through Tumblr. The Washington Post Innovations, Newsweek, The Huffington Post and Rolling Stones are some examples. Musicians and photographer seem to flock to Tumblr as well.
WordPress.com hosts sites of top brands like CNN, National football league and TED.
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7 Digital and Internet Media Conferences you should know about
Part of any smart businesses marketing plan is the continued education of the employees responsible for these vital tasks. For this reason many businesses schedule regular digital and internet conferences for their marketing departments.
7 Highly Informative Digital and Internet Media Conferences
- Over 500 of the top decision makers in the entertainment, technology, and media industries came together in Arlington, Virginia at the 8th Annual Digital Media Conference East held on June 17th, 2011. The event consisted of twenty separate panels spanning six content tracks. Featured tracks included digital media, mobile, TV/Video, Social, Marketing, and Law and Policy elements.
- The National Conference for Media Reform of 2011was held from April 8th until the 10th and helped to join thousands of educators, media specialist, activists, journalist, policymakers, and more who simply want to better our media option. This three day conference included panels, hands-on workshops, film screenings, meetings, live entertainment, speeches and more.
- Detroit Michigan hosted the Allied Media Conference as a part of the Allied Media Projects network from June 23rd to the 26th of 2011 . This conference focuses on organic relationship-building and the concept of do-it-yourself media. It seems that each year this conference brings more businesses owners who are interested in utilizing interactive media as part of social organizational strategy.
- September 18th through the 22nd will bring the Web of Change Conference in Hollyhock, Cores Island, British Columbia. Celebrating its 11th year this conference always brings alternatives and trending methods to harness the power of the world wide web in effecting social changes around the globe.
- The Media Relations in the Digital Age Conference held in Hong Kong on July 7th and 8th 2011 is focused on learning how some of the more widely renowned brands successfully incorporate the digital world into media strategies. This can help to build leverage on many different platforms to help deliver a lucrative brand message.
- The TM’s Forum Management World Americas Conference will run from November 8th to the 10th in November of 2011. Held in Orlando, Florida this communications management conference has a bit of something for everyone from suppliers and providers to business partnership education. This conferences focus is to teach technical as well as business strategies to encourage success in the market of tomorrow.
- LeWeb, a Paris based Internet Ecosystem Conference will be held from December 7th until the 9th in a three day conference on important and trending information in the web marketplace. With over 3000 planned participants from more than sixty countries this group of executives, investors, senior members of the press, and entrepreneurs are sure to present an unforgettable conference with a wealth of vital information.
With tons of conferences held on industry information and trending standards in digital and internet media each year, there is quite likely one held not far from your own back yard. Joining Meetup groups or watching out on your social media accounts can be one of the best ways to keep informed of up-and-coming trends in digital and internet media.
Stay Tuned for Social Media Conferences and Marketing Conferences.
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Social Media is Saving Lives & Raising Awareness
Has social media proved itself beneficial to your business? What if it actually saved your life or the lives of your children? Would you be a believer then?
Haiti Earthquake
We heard plenty of stories after the earthquake in Haiti last year of survivors under the rubble tweeting their locations, pleading for rescue. We may have even seen a few of the Facebook fan sites that sprang up in order to help direct rescuers to the most needed locations such as the Hotel Montana, a bit away from the epicenter but still desperately in need of help.
Many participants on both of these social networks also actively helped with the recovery effort by following and reporting request for supplies such as much needed first aid, food, and water to the Red Cross and other organizations that were headed into the devastation zone.
There can also be no doubt that Haiti also received an incredible amount of donations for their recovery by users on Twitter and Facebook who simply provided the information on how to donate quickly.
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
The tragic earthquake and its subsequent tsunami that leveled large parts of Japan’s coastline earlier this year was also a widespread and viral topic on social media networks from the moment the news reports came rolling in.
Users on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and other social networking sites played major roles in more early warning systems, sharing information, reuniting family members, and the much needed donation gathering.
As their infrastructure began to fail and TV stations were knocked out, many of the people of Japan took to the social media networks to get their information, news, and knowledge of what was going on with the rescue efforts.
Some even used Twitter to advertise their safe locations, inviting others to join them. Hiroshi Matsuyama of CyberConnect advertised his safe zone on Twitter by tweeting that they had television, some food, and beverages. He gave his location, stated he had room for around thirty people and asked that others who needed help to reply via Twitter, the only means of communication he found he could rely on.Â
Residents of Japan utilized Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and more to locate loved ones and shelters that were opening in affected areas.
So while there are a wide variety of technologies that can help to help us isolate ourselves from our fellow human beings, social media tools have absolutely shown their capacity for uniting us and bringing out the empathetic aspects of human nature.
It seems Japan and it’s unfortunate tragedy has only concreted the idea that a friend or follower in need can inspire true acts of generosity, empathy, and honor, something many find lacking in our daily dealings with those that we do deal with, even face-to-face.
The Good Fight
It doesn’t always have to be an immense tragedy to gather the attention of those who may help. Sometimes, it may only be a personal one.
For many Leukemia patients, the only cure available is the transplant of bone marrow from a matching donor. Finding a donor though has been a huge source of frustration and disappointment for those who are suffering, or those who have to watch a loved one do so. The highest probability for those sufferers is finding a donor in their same ethnic pool.
Caucasians in this situation can count themselves the luckiest, as 80% of them will be able to find a matching donor listed on the National Marrow Donor Program registry. However, of the 6.8 million registered, 20% are minorities and a meager 1% of those listed are South Asian. So for South Asians who are facing this type of personal devastation, the odds on finding a matching donor are pitifully low. To compound matters, many countries, like India, with a population of over one billion people, there is simply no registry at all.Â
For those unfortunate sufferers, options were nil. That is, until social networks became an option. Now those who are unable to take advantage of opportunities to heal that may be available in some countries but not others, have an outlet.
Social media can provide those seeking help and their loved ones with the infrastructure to begin looking for options in previously unconventional methods. Enacting strategies that include building instant awareness and coupling it with mass micro-mobilization. This allows those who may have previously been voiceless, to grab the attention of the media, engage their viewers with videos and photos, powerful story-telling and blogging, and then to take action, whether it is in the form of a bone marrow drive, build a concerned community, and network possibly life-saving options.
Business and Charity Awareness
Sometimes little things can make a big difference, take the small change that Petri Plumbing and Heating made in June 2011. The company had offered a variety of coupons for discounts for various reasons, traditionally it was for unions, teachers, military etc. Then in June Petri Plumbing took their Facebook page and added entire tab dedicated to raising money for “Make A Wish” of Metro NY.
“We already donate to a bunch of charities as individuals in the community and as a business, this seemed like a great way to increase awareness about the cause… at the end of the day both my customers and my staff feel good about ourselves…we’re doing something more than just helping ourselves” Mike Petri
Petri Plumbing currently offers a 10% discount on work, if you make a donation to the Make A Wish foundation of metro NY. Clearly this is using social media for a higher social cause.
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