Social Brand

Twitter: Business & Brands Now Trending

July 18, 2011 by basilpuglisi@aol.com Leave a Comment

Twitter is becoming part of our lives whether we are active users or not. Twitter has found itself as the exclusive information tool, scooping Osama Bin Laden Death and now the latest in business and brands. There are so many uses to this short burst of 140 characters, and new ones are being discovered every day. We cannot ignore its existence because it touches many aspects of our lives.

One aspect of today’s world brought about by Twitter is that secrets are something much harder to keep these days. Tweets by innocent bystanders about a clandestine operation can foil a mission. Tweets of conduct unbecoming elected official find themselves, with one mistaken click of a button, broadcasted to the whole world. A claim of hacking did not hold water in Anthony Weiner’s case and another claim of hacking, this time on FoxNewsPolitics, are being investigated by the security services. On July 4, 2011, six tweets appeared from that source announcing the premature death of President Obama, who was presumably assassinated in a Diner. Jokes aside (“The rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated” Mark Twain said so succinctly), it poses a great risk to the validity of news sources.

Theoretically, to prevent foul play, Twitter has a service called Verified Tweets, which has been in existence since 2009. Twitter is using it to prevent confusion by verifying the person behind the account. It has been done with important and famous people and with Twitter’s advertisers and partners. The verification process was open to the public for a short time in beta testing, but it is now closed. “In the meantime, we’re still verifying some trusted sources, such as our advertisers and partners. If you’re one of our partners or advertisers, please follow up with your account manager for details.” It says on their blog. Obviously Fox news is a verified tweeter, so what about trusting the news?

And there’s the aspect of commerce using Twitter. “Promoted tweets” are ones that are paid for by the advertiser. Twitter handles 50 million tweets a day and Promoted Tweets are twitter advertising platform. In Apr. 2010 Twitter.com rolled out a system where ads can appear at the top of some Twitter.com search results pages. They are labeled as “Promoted “and retain all the other functions of a tweet. Twitter.com has expand it to Promoted Accounts, in which people and brands are buying their way onto your “who to follow” list.

It seems that while some larger companies are still trying to figure out social media, there are those who already have. Here are some, that experts agree, who excel in using Twitter.

Starbucks – 1.5 million followers and is the most socially engaged. It ranks on top of fast customer interaction. It’s about the relationships with the customer, they say, not marketing. Which is a good marketing slogan in itself. Starbucks hosts polls, contests and shares photos and videos.

Southwest Airlines – Tries to replicating the casual atmosphere on their flights into their tweets. The only company that knows how to make someone LUV the company (LUV is the Love Field in Dallas, the headquarters of the company).
New York Times – This news organization broadcasts the news in 140 characters. It has subchannels for specific interests and reaches 2.4 million readers.
JetBlue – After their nightmare in 2007 (“a day on the tarmac”) JetBlue is keeping constant communication with its followers (1.6 million). It uses tweets to broadcast special deals to their 50,000 most loyal customers. They have 14 people tweeting for the account; assisting, apologizing and solving problems.
Zappos – The online retailer keeps in touch with its customers, encouraging anybody, from the CEO to the newest employee to join the party.
Cisco Systems – The company shows how well business to business can do on twitter. They ask and answer questions.
Bergdorf Goodman – They tweet about New York, fashion and style, engaging their customers in conversations and showing them things the followers would be interested in.
Whole Foods Market – They use Twitter to go deep in their customers’ needs and test new concepts. They extend the discussion to the philosophy behind their business.
Dell – Getting their inventory and older equipment out the door fast, Dell is using Twitter. It is a fast grapevine that broadcasts the news. The sales are $3 million a year using this method.
Home depot – It goes beyond product and store questions to help in many home improvement projects.

A great example of how I have seen twitter impact communication and win business can be seen in these two previous articles:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzyD-cTRoAA]

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Lujure: A Fundamental Shift in Facebook Marketing for Small Business

July 15, 2011 by basilpuglisi@aol.com Leave a Comment

Lujure’s Assembly Line represents the most profound shift in advertising and marketing that one hopes to continue to see in social media. The power of Facebook cannot be ignored; it represents a marketing tool that has changed the way that we do business and is the pinnacle representation of web 2.0.

It is with great conflict that I prepare this article.

It is not easy to balance the role of entrepreneur and founder of a nonprofit, at least not in a case like this. You see, the entrepreneur loves having been on the ground floor getting insight to one of the most profound business and social tools to ever hit facebook, the opportunity for profit is endless…

However, the conflict comes to an imbalance once I think about the legacy I wish to leave in social media, business and my desire to make a difference. This article displays my commitment to the mission statement of DBMEi.

Like everything else in this publication, I share it with the hope that it finds its way into the hands of others who can use it to better not just their own lives and business, but that of others as well. – Basil C. Puglisi

Web 1.0 was ‘here I am, come to me’. Web 3.0 hopes to be ‘bring your “whatever” with you anywhere at any time’ and I believe that history will show that both pale in comparison to web 2.0’s ability to bring a product, concept, message and dream into the crowd.

The most profound part of web 2.0 is still lost on most and for those that do get it, Lujure is tearing down the barriers that once prevented great ideas, products and causes from reaching the world.

Erik Qualman used the term “World of Mouth” when talking about the Social Media Revolution, and while I believe his claim that social media was “here” may have been mostly accurate, it is only with the help of companies like Lujure that one can truly understand the power of social media.

While there will always be a place for those that master an art or develop a skill for advertising and marketing, technology like Lujure’s Assembly Line is empowering novices into professionals.

While it is now supported by many professionals that social media is an important tool in business, it was still plagued with the class system. While marketers, designers and coders still have an advantage, for some, Lujure just made the gap a whole lot smaller.

Lujure’s product is a drag-and-drop application that allows novice business owners to prepare a custom facebook tab for their business pages.

With little more than the average smart phone, a young entrepreneur can take their idea, concept, or belief and share it with the world. Advances in cell phone technology provided the hardware and social media provided the stage, along with an endless supply of leads. The missing keystone for most was the ability to present professionally and convert leads to sales, supporters, voters, etc… Lujure has done just that.

It is not just the product that has been impressive, Nathan Latka, a co-founder and CEO shows the type of commitment to innovation and quality that resembles the impact that Steve Jobs had for Apple. I noticed this the first time at the Likeable Conference during Internet Week and found it reinforced in a recent Facebook wall post:

“It really comes down to business owners staying focused on giving value to their communities. Master this and everything else falls in place. Cheers!” Nathan Latka to Basil Puglisi July 14 1:33AM.

Nathan’s selflessness is exemplified where in private communications he takes the time to share:

I couldn’t have done this without my incredibly bright co-founders, Josh Gunter and Brian Putt.

I was fortunate to get some (off the record) insight from Nathan Latka as to his ambitions for Lujure and I see promise for the future of this company and its products. If Lujure remains a service solution based company it should innovate with the world even if Facebook does not.

Lujure draws upon the best that Social Media has to offer, enabling facebook pages as viral marketing tools to connect via LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, YouTube and more. It also offers ecommerce tools to help navigate successful conversions.

What makes Lujure’s Assembly Line platform so impressive is the ease with which the average person can use it. While I support the argument that designers, marketers, and coders are still an advantage, Lujure has given the playing field a big tilt back towards center for entrepreneurs and small business owners lacking these skills.

This product is and will continue to be a key part of how I help businesses, organizations, and political candidates reach and share with their communities and the world. I believe that Lujure has captured the very essence of the “World of Mouth” concept that makes the social media revolution a reality. Lujure made room at the table for anyone with the inspiration and courage to create on their own.

To Nathan and his team, congrats on making small business owners your priority and building a business and platform around solutions, not just a trend.

To those who have a cause, dream, believed or created something but didn’t know how, or could not afford to spread the word to the world… meet Lujure!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHwUih6dLCk]

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What Could Be Better Than a Weekend in Vegas? A Free Weekend in Vegas @Palms

July 13, 2011 by basilpuglisi@aol.com Leave a Comment

How about a weekend in Vegas that you do not have to pay for? Usually I am a firm believer in ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it likely is,’ but not this time, not at Palms Casino and Resort in Las Vegas. In opposition of those many ideas that were in fact, too good to be true, Palms has determined that tapping out a Tweet or sharing Palms offers with your friends may make this a very legit opportunity to reap huge rewards for very little effort.

Of course, if Facebook sharing or Twitter usage is too much work for you, this may not be the ideal opportunity either, but if it sounds doable, continue on.

Easy Registration

Users simply visit the Palms Social Rewards site and enter their email address, along with a chosen password. The next page offers quick click integration with the users Twitter account, and they are off and running. Once signing into the social rewards page, users will then be able to see their current Klout scores, along with available points, and account profile options. On the right-hand side, there will be many offers and opportunities that can be Tweeted, re-Tweeted, or even Facebook shared.

While users get points for each offer they Tweet or share, they also receive the added benefit of bonus points if their Tweet or Share leads to a purchase of one of the advertised opportunities.

Rewards Vs Effort

Aside from the primitive reward of getting something spectacular for very little effort, are the rewards that Palms generously doles out to those who help spread their word on social media networking sites.

Free Deluxe Room
Free Fantasy Tower Room
2 Tickets to a Playboy Comedy
Palms VIP Passes
Dinner for Two at Simon – Little Buddha
Free Drinks

These are fairly hefty rewards considering that they entail everything you require for a fun weekend in Vegas, all the way down to your room and drinks. Meanwhile, users are building their Klout score which in the future may help them reap even further rewards once reaching the check-in desk at the Palms.

Maloof just gets it…

The Palms is a Maloof Company, and clearly they get it…

AdrienneMaloof seems to be the one carrying the Klout in the social aspect of the business, but with Klout adding LinkedIn and soon Foursquare, the Klout social influence may have a new look.

The Maloof Companies owns and operates hotels and casinos. It also engages in banking, food and beverage, and transportation businesses in New Mexico, Colorado, and Nevada. In addition, the company operates gaming properties; owns interests in NBA basketball team Sacramento Kings and the WNBA basketball team Sacramento Monarchs, as well as ARCO Arena; and distributes beer and liquor in New Mexico. The company is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Disclosure: I recently was a guest at Palms Casino & Resort in Las Vegas, however I was not paid or compensated for this publication in any form. The research for this article came about as a follow up to a previous set of articles.

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Some of the Best Social Media Conferences

June 30, 2011 by basilpuglisi@aol.com 3 Comments

You can’t have social media without the social. Although the internet produced what we now refer to as social media, this form of networking doesn’t live solely on the world wide web. Social media and social networking can also require face time. Especially for those who want to stay ahead of the trends and those who want to be on the leading edge of the capabilities that social media allots them.

There are a large collection of varying social media events held around the world every year. In fact, there is even a designated Social Media Week that will be celebrated by social networking enthusiast and experts from all over the map. The Second Social Media Week for 2011 runs from September 19th through the 23rd in locales such as Los Angeles, Berlin, Moscow, Milan, and many more places around the globe.

Social Media Conferences

Important social media conferences occur all throughout the year.

The SXSW interactive festival was celebrated from March 9^th through the 13^th of 2011. Five days of riveting presentations performed by some of the brightest minds in social media technology such as CEO and Founder of ScrollMotion, Josh Koppel.
The Social Media Strategies Summit was held from February 8^ththrough the 10^th in San Francisco, California. This fantastic conference gave many the chance to learn from some of the top leaders in social media marketing. Representatives from Dunkin Donuts, Discovery Channel, Paypal and other big name brands were on hand to answer questions about their successful strategies. Social Media Strategies Summit or SMSS is coming to Boston Sept 20-22, 2011 and London Oct 25-27, 2011. During this 3 day summit attendee’s will learn how to best utilize and integrate the myriad social media platforms to engage customers directly at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing. Through the intelligent use of social media marketing you can, in house, have continuous direct contact with your customers.
The 140 characters, or #140conf, 2011 conference was lauded to be the largest global gathering of those interested in how social media and the internet effected both businesses and people. Adam Ostrow, the Editor-in-Chief at Mashable, joined a long list of knowledgeable speakers at the #140c on June 15^thand 16^th.
Another area in which social media marketing is beginning to bloom and boom is in the travel industry. For this reason the Social Media Strategies for Travel conference held on March 25th and 26th of 2011 was a superb opportunity for travel industry leaders to learn how to communicate, via social media formats, with their customers.
The Search Exchange Internet Marketing Conference held on May 17^th through 19^th2011, offered a helpful variety of educational possibilities by the collaborative efforts of hundreds of entrepreneurs and business professionals who shared the most vital keynotes and discussions on social media marketing, pay-per-click advertising, web analytics, and search engine optimization.
The Content Marketing World Conference of 2011 will be held from September 6^th through September 8^th in Cleveland, Ohio. This conference has a direct goal of helping to transform your businesses marketing department into a compelling factory for storytelling. Learning techniques to help engage prospects and current customers with the best messages through formats such as mobile, email, online, social, and face-to-face interaction can assist any marketing department in becoming content marketing experts by providing them with valuable education and vital tools.
The WOMMA Summit, also known as the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, will be held from November 16^th through November 18^th, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This innovative way of marketing the oldest and most effective promotion helps attendees to understand how better to research and measure the integration of online social media with offline communications. New practices in word of mouth, coupled with social media marketing, provides the latest in trends to help give any business a great boost.
Social Media Week: Global. Social Media Week’s mission is to explore how local and regional societies, cultures, and economies are becoming more integrated & empowered through a global network of communication. The Feb 2011 was a big success and the September 19-23, 2011 is looking to be just as big. It takes place in cities around the world.
Blogworld & New Media Expo, While you might have missed NY in May 2011, the Social Media Summit for the Blogworld Expo will be in Los Angeles Nov 3-5. Topics Include: Content Creation, Distribution, Monetization, Networking and more.

One of the most vital elements of any education is the regular development and renewal of that very same education. What you may be 100% sure of today about an aspect of social media marketing, indeed, you may even be right, but that very element may have an entirely different focus depending on the whims of search engines and the ebb and flow of human communication, tomorrow. As long as you stay in tune with news and trends in any industry, you have the best chance for true success as is possible.

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Social Media Trends in Europe and Russia

June 29, 2011 by basilpuglisi@aol.com 5 Comments

The use of social media is certainly not limited to the United States alone. In fact, for some internet users, social media networks may have been their first experience in connecting to someone outside of their own local, state, or even country.

Russia has a significantly different social media audience in the simple fact that in comparison to the U.S. it is extremely small. The total online population of Russia is just under 60,000 and only 42% of that population is using online capabilities at all.

Russian Demographics

According to eMarketer, 61.9 million people in Russia will use the internet by 2013. This would be a significant jump from 2009 where the number rested at 45.8 million. Although the minor numbers may seemingly indicate otherwise, Russians are actually the most arduous social networkers when it comes the length of time spent on social media sites per user.

Odnoklassniki, Russia’s main social network has a reported user-base of around 30 million. The site helps to connect classmates in Russia and the Ukraine and has over 8 million visitors per day. Nearly 75% of the online population of Russia visited at least one social networking site during the month of the study in August of 2010.

Russians are spending more than double the worldwide average time of 4.5 hours on social networking sites. This makes it rank high at #1 among all countries with reported social networking statistics and open social media option engagement. Following Russia is Israel with an average of just over 9 hours per visitor. Israel is followed by Turkey with 7.6 hours per user spent on social networking websites.

This means that in spite of Facebook’s worldwide powerful command in social networking sites, in an overall majority of this specific internet market, Facebook actually ranks fifth in Russia with just over 4.5 million users. However, recent years have seen increasing growth in Russian internet users who utilize Facebook as a social network option. This is causing Facebook to quickly outpace the other five top social networking sites.

European Social Media Statistics

Currently, the top ten countries for social networking are ranked by the time spent per visitor. The current worldwide average time for visitors spent on social networking websites is 4.5 hours. In a 2009 Rapleaf study, it was shown that females are far more active in social media than men. However, this study was focused on the U.S. A newer study from Comscore showed that the same rang true for European countries such as France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. It should be no great surprise that the younger set of females ages 15 to 24 spend the most time of all age groups on social sites than their male counterparts at a generous 8.4 hours each month. What may be a bit more astonishing is that the next age group on social media time consumption lists isn’t the 25 to 34 year olds, but the older group in the 45 to 54 year olds. The studies actually showed that the 45 to 54 year olds spent more than double the amount of time on social networking sites than the males of the same age group.

The short top ten list of countries leading in social networking capabilities are:

Russia
Israel
Turkey
UK
Philippines
Canada
Indonesia
Finland
Spain
Puerto Rico

Many European countries utilize social media websites that are not commonly used by U.S. internet users.

Friendster is relatively popular in Russia, while Hi 5 is frequented visited by users in Spain and Italy more often. Netlog is also highly popular in Spain and an unfamiliar sight for U.S social media users known as Studvyiz, is Germany’s most popular social media outside of Facebook and Myspace.

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Transparency & Social Media

June 27, 2011 by basilpuglisi@aol.com Leave a Comment

Embracing social media 100% may be the best investment, you as a business owner, can make for your company and brand. However, businesses already renowned in the social media world, can also be considered pioneers of this method of advertising and marketing.

Although many have heard of the benefits, fear of possible damage may have kept them at bay long enough that they are just now dipping a toe in the proverbial social media pool. Some of these businesses may be ultimately considered about the meaning behind the transparency of social media as well as the implementation of.

Social media marketers speak about social media transparency and the importance of being open, authentic, and honest about their company’s brands or opportunities. However, keeping in mind that it is all about the people, and little of the product, that is the most important element of maintaining a balance in social media transparency.

What is Social Media Transparency?

Commonly, this phrase is used in reference with news media to inform the public why and how the business gathers information from a variety of sources. This is really no different than providing the name of which reliable source told you what. We already regularly do this in our daily rumor mills. The discussion of odd or unusual details may illicit a “who told you that?” Social media transparency only makes this a proactive measure. “This is what I heard, and here are the reliable sources that support that notion.”

As a business, sometimes your only role is to provide those details, the who as important as the why, and for many companies, being a reliable source of sources is just as important to their visibility. Regardless of the stepping stones of sources, the point is to lend credibility to your message, and build trust with your consumers.

As an individual we check-in and tweet with data, photos and more, so if we are transparent, we expect business to do the same right?

Transparency in Digital Media

When considering this element in relation to social media and most certainly when it comes to covering or reviewing products, or social business blogging, the main focus is to be open and honest in all elements of what you share. Are you doing a review for the new iPad? Share right away with your viewers that you received an iPad to research and blog about their product. As long as it breaches no contract, it is also good to share if you may not have received a free device to do your review, but that your review was paid or sponsored by another source.

It can also be used as a simple means of saying “Hey, I heard about this idea from a post at www.referencedsource.com and thought I’d share my opinion, thoughts, or review of this idea.” Not only is this the transparency that should be focused on, it is also good netiquette. It is the acknowledgement that while your post or blog is not created by a specific expert in a field, it is based on one, and here is the person who wrote the material that inspired your own.

If your business or brand is highly followed on Twitter for a specific reason. Perhaps because you are the go-to company who helps to determine the safest toys for children. Advertising a toy as ‘safe’ because you were paid to do so, without sharing that you were paid to do so, is not only misleading, but can be the beginning of the end of your brand and every consumer who values its sources.

Can You Trust Me?

Although not all reasons behind transparency can present such dire consequences as the reference to children’s toys, the lack of transparency can indeed cause a shining company to fail simply due to lack of disclosure.

Social media is no doubt, a double-edged sword. The same format that can make your company’s brand a vital one, can also hammer away at it until transparency transforms into invisibility.

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Social Media is Saving Lives & Raising Awareness

June 20, 2011 by basilpuglisi@aol.com Leave a Comment

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.

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.

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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LinkedIn and Klout join the Social Button Revolution

June 14, 2011 by basilpuglisi@aol.com Leave a Comment

There does seem to be a button for just about anything digital these days. The Google +1 button provides a promotional value similar to Facebook’s “Like” button, and savvy blog readers will realize right off the bat if they have come upon an outdated blog if they arrive to one that doesn’t provide buttons to share their content on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, and about 250 other social media websites and or aggregate sites.

Internet users have also grown increasingly fond of buttons that provide one-click sign up or register options that quickly and easily integrate existing social media accounts to a new sites registration process. Toolbar buttons also provide www users with endless options. Anything from quick-click website SEO buttons to buttons that can quickly send a user to their favorite email system pronto.

LinkedIn Launches Quick Job App Button

Professional and business social network, LinkedIn, also has plans for their own button. The LinkedIn button will allow their users to utilize a button on employer’s websites labeled, “Apply with LinkedIn.” This handy button will allow any LinkedIn user to quickly apply for employment by submitting their LinkedIn profile as a resume. In the immediate future web users should begin to find this button cropping up on LinkedIn partner sites with a launch later this month.

Not only will this button make it incredibly easy for applicants to submit a full-bodied resume to a prospective employer, but on the employer end, it will also automatically sort candidates for them by pre-set configurations.

This doesn’t have any notable restrictions in that employers will also be able to include additional questions, requests, or requirements for applicants to their businesses. Employers will also be able to designate whether submissions will go to a URL, their email address, or even to a JavaScript callback.

Currently, hiring solutions generate about 43% of LinkedIn’s revenue. For a newly public company that will need to rely on employers as one of their leading demographics, this is an incredible and innovative tool.

Get Klout with +K

Providing social media analytics, Klout helps to provide the measure of a users influence across their own social networks. The analysis is provided by data that is collected from a users social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. This analysis includes taking a measurement of the size of a person’s network + content created + the reaction of your social network to your provided content. After this analysis users are provided with a number from 1 to 100 that will indicate their overall influence in their own niche, or on the topics they mention most.

Klout plans to increase their users’ clout by introducing their own button. Klout’s +K will allow users to designate other users as authorities on a given subject. This new button will allow individual users to +K any other person who has influenced their knowledge or ideas on a particular topic.

Users are provided with 5 +K’s per day that they can award to users on any topic. They can also +K the same user on the same topic once per week. The rankings will still be based on data from Facebook or Twitter, but users who regularly receive +K’s should definitely see a rise in their given Klout numbers.

While in the launch phase this new button will only respond to Klout’s own algorithms on a particular topic, in the future, Klout developers hope to allow users to submit their own topics.

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Crowdsourcing

June 13, 2011 by basilpuglisi@aol.com Leave a Comment

Outsourcing is already an old word, and we all know what it means – sending jobs to countries where the labor is cheaper than in the US. The new worldwide pool of cheap labor, they say, is called Crowdsourcing.It means taking a task, especially in software design, and putting it out there to the world to solve.

The word was coined in an article in Wired magazine in 2006. Jeff Howe published an article called “The Rise of Crowdsourcing”. He wrote: “Technological advances in everything from product design software to digital video cameras are breaking down the cost barriers that once separated amateurs from professionals. Hobbyists, part-timers, and dabblers suddenly have a market for their efforts, as smart companies in industries as disparate as pharmaceuticals and television discover ways to tap the latent talent of the crowd. The labor isn’t always free, but it costs a lot less than paying traditional employees. It’s not outsourcing; it’s crowdsourcing.”

What used to be top secret industrial secrets in the past, became open-source. It was sent out to the world to improve on, solve problems or fix. An open call to an unidentified group of people to solve a problem. It taps to the knowledge and wisdom of the many, for the benefit of many. Those who ask for help in an open-source know that their programs are now open to all. In Crowdsourcing it is between the companies and the solvers.

The “crowd” – the people involved, usually form an online community and submit solutions. The best solutions – also chosen by the crowd – go on to the source who posed the problem. The solvers are sometime rewarded, either monetarily or by fame. Crowdsourcing produces solutions from amateurs and experts alike, who like to solve problems as an intellectual challenge, or for a prize.

Eli Lilly the pharmaceutical company funded InnoCentive.com in 2001 to connect with people outside the company who could help develop drugs and speed the process. Very quickly they opened their doors to other companies who were interested in reaching their network of unknown experts. Companies like Boeing, DuPont and Procter & Gamble post their hardest problems on the site.

As an example: One of the problems posted was how to inject Fluoride in powder form into a tube of toothpaste without dispersing it. Colgate Palmolive’s problem was solved by someone who knew the solution the moment he read the problem. He suggested imparting an electric charge to the Fluoride and grounding the tubes. This person became famous in the “crowd” circles.

Another example: when HTC came out with the first Windows operated smartphone, the expectations were very high. Here it is again, the old revelry between Apple and Microsoft. The iPhone was so innovative, let’s see what the PC people can do to improve on it. The phone flew off the shelves and some stores reported a waiting list of over hundred people.

Not a month went by, and the bubble burst. The phone did not perform well. Callers to T-Mobile tech support, the company that sold the phone, were told to remove the battery at least twice a week to reboot it. Not an acceptable solution in our fast moving world.

At about the same time, Google open-sourced it’s Android. Within a few days a forums was opened and linked to many tech sites. The discussions were the disappointment and what to do with this new phone. One person, known only be his code name, took it upon himself to coordinated an effort to adapt the Android to the HTC phones.

2 days later the program was posted online, with instructions. Improvements were posted 2-3 times a day. Different people took upon themselves to work on specific problems; the camera, the map, the contact list. Less than a week later the Android operating system was sitting solidly on HTC phones.

The companies who post problems on InnoCentive’s site these days, post the reward that comes with solving the problem. The rewards pay from $1,000,000 for doubling the speed of Gnome Mapping to $10,000 for The Economist-InnoCentive Human Potential Index Challenge. Groups are formed and share in the reward. Is Crowdsourcing the new hobby? A form of cheap labor? New form of R & D? Yes to all of those. It is tapping to the smarts of people, whomever or wherever they are.

Sources:

Who Are You?: A Life Balance & Social Media Practice

June 2, 2011 by basilpuglisi@aol.com Leave a Comment

Who Are You?: A Balanced Life & Social Media

A concept introduced at the #140Conf, Basil C. Puglisi believes that the engagement that takes place on the internet, specifically through Social Media, has identified an issue in our life balance. As a society in general we have become obsessed with objects and titles, social media has amplified this for some, if not almost all.

A Short Review:

Social Media is just another communication tool or stage. How we use this, in fact, should be no different than how we have socialized throughout history. However, this is both the problem and the opportunity.

Who are you? This is not only a great Social Media question but a great life question. I believe that some define their life by names, titles, employment and status, while others have a fuller more genuine approach to life.

How you answer this question may help define your life. If you answer with a name and a job title, function or status, then perhaps you are narrowing your life experiences and therefore in many cases, your social life and social media experience.

Social Media has a life lesson for us all, depending on the platform and how we use it, it may describe us better than we do ourselves. The key is in the balance to our message and the brevity with which we share it.

Social Media is a path with infinite crossings that move with life’s experiences. In many cases, when we get to know an individual in real life we are most bound to those that share similar interests and or experiences. While history is full of superficial affiliations based on money, power and title, one could argue that histories most influential people came from humble but genuine interactions. This is the experience that social media offers us, a chance to interact and learn from one another in real time.

If you think of Social Media Sites and Platforms as a communication tool, you find that each has its own purpose and in many cases its own crowds. Social Media is in fact a opportunity with which, “you get from it, what you put into it.” If you choose to talk only about work, you will find that the others you interact with will also be those that talk about work. If you are a mommy blogger then you will likely find that those you interact with will also be mommy or parent based engagements. If you choose to be a poster and only speak at people, then in turn you will find your connections limited to those that do the same.

Why Dating Sites are ahead of the Social Media Sites:

Treat Social Media as a genuine full experience, just like the one you want for yourself in real life.

Engage and be engaged, talk about what you do, how you do it, what your hobbies are, your education, family, issues surrounding your age, health concerns, vacations or lack of, your dreams and so on.

Many treat social media as if life was meant to be a secret! Life is something that happens all the time, you experience it just as everyone else does, secluding “who you are” will only hinder your ability to make genuine relationships and explore the power of people and humanity, in both its most tremendous aspirations and its disappointing moments.

Dating Sites have evolved to a science of compatibility, they are succeeding in their mission because they are not asking for a photo, name and job title only! Dating Sites want to know “who you are” with questions about everything from religion to sexual orientation. Social Media can learn from this practice and in fact, Facebook did by adding relationship status in its early development.

Who You Know:

It has been a long standing tradition that jobs and opportunities come from who you know, don’t risk not knowing or being known!

I once heard someone speak about how they didn’t want to know what restaurant that others liked, or where they had visited. Surprisingly, that same person today makes decisions on how to spend their money, where to go and who’s opinion counts based on those same topics. Social Media offers us shared experiences that provide insight to how we might experience something for ourselves, be it an event, location or product. If you do not share experiences and communicate, how can you learn or request advice without a basis for justifying or qualifying the response?

People want to work with people. The day and age of robots is behind us, if most business owners speak about wanting real life interactions with real people, then the hiring process is going to require a more in depth look to social media practices in order to find a fit for a community, function or career. If a resume only outlines education, past employment and is followed by a credit check, then you have absolutely nothing to work with as a hiring manager. The purpose of interviews have been to take a look into the personality of the potential candidate and how they behave. “Who are you” is the most distinguishing feature for employment fit. Will you interact with the team, clients, product/service in a way that will be efficient, positive and successful?

Social Media may have gotten its first distinguishing mark from drunk college kids on the cover of Facebook, or rants about customers and clients on Twitter, but the very transparency that has scorned some, is the path to relationship solutions in business. The law prevents companies from asking personal questions in an interview or during the hiring process, but yet companies and education institutions all have unofficial policies to “google” the candidate before hiring.

While some choose not to engage, I argue that this practice is already starting to hurt them. Social Media offers the chance to humanize and qualify the candidate. It allows people and businesses to learn, do they (candidate) really care about this? Do they interact and network like they presented? These can be the distinguishing factors in fit for employment, education and other opportunities. Unless there is something to hide, you should be who you are, this is a best practice for both you and the employer.

A Sustainable Practice: You as a Brand

The greatest part of being a genuine engager on social media comes from the fact that you are investing in you!

While the last decade has been full of amazing technology, platforms and software, none has had the potential to empower people more than Social Media. While some have engaged from business accounts and company profiles, others have taken the initiative to learn, write and speak for themselves. These people have created their own brand, a sustainable practice that allows them to seek employment as who they are. This combination of learning, networking and sharing has positioned them to be successful in any roll, be it one representing someone, something or themselves.

If you build a following and engage an audience, it is likely because you share common interest, values and/or experiences. This has value, it speaks to who you are and why someone would interact with you. It is this practice that has value both in employment and in entrepreneurism.

Source:

Basil C. Puglisi