Mashable

Mashable is a website created in 2005 by Pete Cashmore. This website is dedicated to all things technology, social networking and internet culture. On the website you will find all different kinds of articles related to internet websites like Facebook, and what they're doing as a whole currently. There are different links related to Social Media, Technology, Business, Entertainment, etc. and all of these links take you to to different articles related to the topics. This website is a good way to keep up with what's going on in the internet world, from the inside. They also feature numerous different videos shown through YouTube ranging from cell phone advertisements, interviews with the CEO of T-Mobile, and Kate Upton talking about the prom. This website and it's accompanying YouTube site are interesting for people of all ages.
Below is the featured video on their YouTube site currently. It is an add for T-Mobile's new "hands on iPhone". Check it out and also look around the website and see what it's all about.

Do you think this website is helpful? What did you find interesting about it?

Sources: http://mashable.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/mashable/featured
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashable

Willing to Pay the Price?

Do you ever think about the real price you are paying when you log onto Facebook or Twitter? Do you think that you are losing anything by staying plugged in 24 hours a day? I never really thought of there being a cost to social networking because it’s free, right? In the blog “The Addiction and Cost of Social Media,” the author Sam Fiorella questions if our access to these sites really comes free of charge. He argues that social media outlets keep their doors open constantly to track and analyze our behavior and habits by saying “if you’re not buying the product, you are the product.” It’s an odd way of thinking about it but he does have a point.

Fiorella states that the biggest cost of social networking is time. Everyone’s internet usage is different but as a whole most of the time spent online is on a social networking website. Nearly 121 billion minutes were spent on a social networking outlet in the United States. It makes you wondering, is this time being used in a constructive manner? Probably not. Another cost that we pay, according to Fiorella, as social networking consumers is emotion.  He argues that social networking encourages people to post about everything which leads to “over sharing.” People posting all day everyday on Facebook never consider that social networking sites may not be a constructive outlet. Whether we notice or not, social networking takes a toll on us. Some studies show that Facebook can cause depression in some people. The last cost that Fiorella names is privacy. He says that the more data we publish online, the more access advertisers have to your personal life. It is a little disturbing that everything you do online can be tracked and recorded.

Why do you think we are so willing to pay these prices for a social media outlet? Do you ever think of the price you’re paying daily?

 

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-fiorella/social-media-addiction_b_2749102.html

 

 

Meaghann Smith

Facebook Revenue

Have you ever stopped and wondered how in the world a site like Facebook is able to stay afloat?  All we do on Facebook is post status updates, upload pictures and videos, etc.  To date, all of this is free of charge.  Who pays the salaries of those that update the software or tracks your every move? 

 Answer: ADVERTISING!

Companies pay top dollar to advertise on Facebook because they are able to target customers based on the information they share, status updates given, friends list, geographical location, etc.  In the first quarter of 2012, advertising was responsible for 82% of Facebook’s revenue (money.msn.com).   Other ways that the company is able to generate revenue is through games like Farmville where users can pay for supplies, equipment, and livestock.  Facebook just recently added a new feature that allows you to send gifts to your friends for their birthday (for a fee, of course)!

Unfortunately, there is no way to shut off ads on your Facebook profile page but there are ways to “influence” your settings.  Here are some steps provided by Facebook:

·         Add more of your interests in your profile to see more of your favorite advertisements.  {My favorite?  None at all…}

·         If you see an advertisement you are not interested in, click the “X” on the ad to close it on your page.  Facebook will kindly track your movements and “try not” to show you similar ads again.

What do you like (or not like) about seeing these advertisements on Facebook?  What are your thoughts about Facebooks new ad system where they are directly linked into your News Feed?

Like the one below, for Lake Norman Preparatory Academy, which was on my News Feed?  How in the world does this relate to my interests?  This is a Mecklenburg County school, grades K-8. 

Sources:

http://money.msn.com/technology-investment/post.aspx?post=869a1b6c-0bb7-47b3-ac0a-25d10f6a5404

https://www.facebook.com/about/ads/#change

Social Networking Safety

Safety is a big issue that is occurring in social networking sites. With the increase in technology, hacking is becoming a bigger issue. Social networking sites also make it easier for predators to find their prey. Do you know if your social networking site is safe? Have you taken the proper steps to make sure that it is safe? These are a few questions that you should ask yourself. The last thing that anyone wants to happen is to be the victim of a crime because their social networking sites are not properly secured.  

Here are a few precautionary steps to take to make sure that you are not a victim of someone hacking your networking site.

Facebook:

• ·      Make a private profile. Don’t allow everybody to have access to viewing your account. You don’t want the weird stalkers to know all about your life!
• ·      Limit who can find you! Make sure to block search engines the ability to link to your profile as well as deciding who exactly you want to be able to find you.
• ·      Turn on your Timeline Review. This allows you the opportunity to have to approve comments and pictures that people are posting on your wall. This is extremely helpful because you don’t know what people are going to post and this allows you the option to decide if you want it to post.

Twitter:

• ·      Make your profile private. Having a private profile doesn’t allow people to have access to your tweets, they have to ask for permission to be able to follow you, and once they do follow you they cannot retweet you.
• ·      Turn off your location! Make sure that when you are tweeting that your location is not attached. This allows for people to always have access to your whereabouts, which makes them easier targets to become a victim.
• ·      Don’t connect your Twitter account with your Facebook account. Not only is it annoying to have Twitter hashtags on Facebook but it also gives out your information from your Twitter.

Instagram:

• ·      Make your profile/pictures private!
• ·      It is also important to look at which apps have access to your Instagram account. Unless you are using those apps to help you create cards, websites, magnets, etc. then you should make sure that you do not allow them to access your account.
• ·      Make sure that when you upload a picture to Instagram that it doesn’t automatically share it on your other social networking sites.

In order to be able to protect yourself to the fullest, you should check your privacy settings on whatever social networking site you are a member of!

http://www.itworld.com/security/349386/12-simple-steps-safer-social-networking

Is Social Media Taking Over our Lives?

Social networking’s intent is to connect people around the world and allow us to communicate more effectively, but is it really working?  While it is true that sites like Facebook and Twitter enable us to talk to our friends and family who may live far away from us, it can make you somewhat less social when you are interacting with others in real life.  Sitting behind a computer and typing away might make you less comfortable when you have to actually talk in person.

Just think about it. This generation is obsessed with knowing what others are doing at any given hour of the day and wanting others to know what we are doing.  This is called FOMO (pronounced FO-MO), a growing phenomenon which means “fear of missing out.”  Here’s a few interesting statistics:

• ·         23% of people go on Twitter more than 10 times a day
• ·         90% of 18-29 year olds sleep with their phone in or beside their bed
• ·         The average worker checks his or her email 36 times an hour

Random people were quoted to have said, “Sometimes I wake up in the night and reach for my phone so I can do a Tweet,” and “I take pictures of my food, my feet…pretty much anything and post it online.”  Much of society is convinced that they can’t live without social media and tend to overuse it.

While social networking is useful and a lot of fun, cutting down your usage (or if you want to make a drastic change, simply not using them at all) can be beneficial to you.  First of all, your self-esteem will be boosted.  When you’re not constantly comparing yourselves to your peers and reading about everyone’s accomplishments, you will feel a lot better about yourself.  You also save yourself the trouble of getting into silly arguments over petty things on the Internet.  Finally, you won’t be missing out on a lot of life’s great moments because of the fact that you’re too plugged into technology.  Now, don’t get me wrong, social networking is a great part of life, but know where to draw the line.

http://socialmediatoday.com/node/1102921

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2012/12/29/3-reasons-you-should-quit-social-media-in-2013/

What should you include in your LinkedIn account?

When updating your LinkedIn account there is always the question, what will employers be looking for? The job market is so scarce these days that just an extra few previous employers on your resume could help you "one-up" your competition. Forbes has thought about this as well, and submitted an article with the top 6 "LinkedIn Tips". These tips range from using brand names in your descriptions, to personalizing your cover letter to the job you are seeking. These 6 tips could help anyone, but specifically a recent college graduate earn a few extra interviews, or get a job quicker than others. The tips are as follows:

1. "Actually read the job description"- companies and employers are going to want to see in your resume that you are knowledgeable of all the job details and what it will entail. Make sure you read and understand what this potential job will include.
2. "Customize your cover letter"- be personal in your cover letter. Any "generic cover letter" is not going to give you a boost. Employers want to know why you are the best candidate for the job, with details.
3. "Know that we will check you out"- employers WILL google you, and try to find further information than what is listed on your resume and cover letter. If you have previous employers who have gone out of business, or are no longer practicing, make sure you update your LinkedIn account accordingly.
4. "Boost your brand mentions"- with the mass searching for potential employees using LinkedIn, employers will use key words and do searches based on these key words. The more you use key words and brand names, the more your profile will come up during the search.
5. "Using a connection or connection words"- as with all levels of work and networking, connections are what matters. The more people you know, the better chance you have of getting a job. Network with people and try to get closest to the hiring manager and this will help your chances of getting a job.
6. "Get to the point quickly"- as it says, don't beat around the bush. Employers want to know that you are serious about the job and not wasting their time. The more precise and specific you are, the easier it is for them to see that you are serious about the job and know your stuff.

Hopefully these tips will help anyone with a LinkedIn account who is searching for a job.
Does anyone have any specific examples of LinkedIn and how it has helped you find a job?

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gyro/2013/02/05/want-a-job-here-are-six-linkedin-tips/

Weibo Takeover

Sina Weibo, a micro blogging site, has taken hold and is currently booming in China.  The demand for Weibo grew from the ban on Twitter in China. The growth of Weibo has been phenomenal.  Launched only three years after Twitter, there are currently over 300 million users connected on Sina Weibo.  Similar to Twitter, Sina Weibo allows users to post comments, links, photos, vidoes, etc.  Weibo allows users to type 140 Chinese characters which equals about 80 English characters, therefore the posts allow for more depth than Twitter.

The most interesting topic that comes to play when discussing Weibo is the censorship issue. According to Twitter they do no actively monitor posts and users can post about just about any topic they wish. However, Chinese legislation does not permit users of Weibo to speak as freely. Posts about government officials and hot topics such as student protests will often be taken down in less than 3 hours of being posted. A number of individuals, including journalists and intellectuals, have been arrested and had their accounts shut down. It is unclear if it is directly the government controlling this activity or if it is Sina Weibo being extremely cautious.  Whatever the reason, it is interesting to see the change that Sina Weibo has had on the Chinese culture. The introduction of Weibo has allowed the Chinese to become more outspoken and direct against injustices. For example, a sensitive subject like clashes between local governments and citizens over forced demolitions is now widely debated. Sina Weibo has allowed Chinese citizens to have a voice that has never been there before.

Sina Weibo will only continue to grow in the future. It is very closely related with e-commerce which makes it easy for different industries to break into the market using Weibo. For example,  a Weibo based online travel product was launched which allows users to look for travel information as well as make a reservation. In addition, several shopping sites such as 360buy.com have partnered with Sina. Currently, Sina is the leading competitor with regards to sales. If a company wishes to enter into the Chinese market, Sina Weibo is the place to look. It will be exciting to see where this site takes things in the years to come.  Some believe it will even pass Twitter in growth.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18887804

http://www.edelmandigital.com/2012/08/03/friday-five-twitter-vs-sina-weibo/

 

Around the World: Is Facebook #1?

How popular is Facebook around the world? 

Most of us have no idea what other social networking sites are available on a day-to-day basis.  According to “HowManyAreThere.net” there are more than 200 online social networking sites.  How many of you have heard of Renren or Kaixin?  Renren and Kaixin are very similar to Facebook.  They are the most popular social networking sites in China today, with Renren as #1.  Renren has over 147 million registered users, who are predominately students, with over 31 million active users per month (www.mashable.com).  Other popular sites include Sina Weibo (like Twitter - micro blogging), Douban (also like Facebook), and Wechat (mobile text and voice messaging service).

In Russia, most individuals can be found on Vkontakte.  “VK,” as it’s called, has become so popular because it has a file-sharing system that easily allows users to download music and movies for free (www.YoungDigitalLab.net).  Unlike Facebook and Renren, the majorities of the “VK” users is not students and are over 25 years of age.  Another popular networking site, for teenagers and children, is MyWorld@mail.ru.  It has attracted such young users because the site allows you to send private messages, send and receive pictures and videos, post blogs, etc.  Like Facebook and MySpace, it allows the users to see what their friends are doing in real-time.

Does anyone out there use other social networking sites?  What are their benefits?  Ease of use?

Sources:

http://mashable.com/2012/07/02/china-social-networks/

http://howmanyarethere.net/how-many-social-networking-websites-are-there/

http://www.youngdigitallab.net/social-media/social-media-in-russia-how-comes-vkontakte-is-better-than-facebook/

The pros and cons of mixing your personal and professional networks

Many people today are mixing their personal and professional networks on their social networking sites. Before anyone does this they should take a look at what it really means and what can happen if you do mix the two.

A study was conducted by three professors at UPenn’s Wharton School and the University of Rouen in France to look at the issue. The study showed that while the networks can be very useful, they also have their downfalls, especially when mixing personal and professional. Today, social networking is the most popular that it has ever been. Since it is so popular, many people are interacting more with co-workers, and supervisors. While this can increase the communication level between the employees it also can have its disadvantages. It can cause a “collision of worlds”, which can create ill effects by disclosing information that is not suitable for co-workers to see on your social networking sites. A point to remember that once it is on the Internet, it is there forever!

Social networking sites were created so that people could communicate with others without having to have a face-to-face interaction. This online communication can be a positive effect because the co-workers are engaging in personal disclosure. The study looked at workplace reputation, and competence and likeability. It stated that ones likeability could be boosted with their non-professional interactions on their social networking sites. This is because it shows that they are human.

People should find a way to balance both their personal and professional life on their social networking sites. You don’t want to be perceived as the co-worker that gives out too much information or the co-worker that is to “uptight or cold”.

From this study that has been done, four really good points were created on how to balance the two. These points are audience, content, hybrid, and open. Audience thinks that one should keep their personal and professional sites separate. Content wants employees to be able to have the mix but have a filter on what is posted. Hybrid mixes audience and content points, this point has users using the social media site while having the user watch what they are saying. The last point is open, which is where people call it like they see it without regarding who is listening or their opinions.

Everyone should figure out where they stand on the issue before they decide to mix their personal and professional life on their social networking sites.

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/195365/the-pros-and-cons-of-mixing-personal-and-professio.html#axzz2NQIbUbP2

Negative Comments and Their Impacts

Social networking sites such as Yelp, Angie’s List, and Urbanspoon allow users to post reviews of restaurants and other businesses.  But think twice before you post a negative review; you could end up getting sued for thousands of dollars.

Jane Perez of Fairfax, Virginia, went through that very situation.  After her contractor’s company, Dietz Development LLC, completed work on her home, she posted unfavorable reviews on Yelp and Angie’s List with false accusations that they had damaged her house and stolen jewelry from her.  The contractor, Christopher Dietz, took matters into his own hands and sued her for $750,000 in defamation charges.  Back in December of last year, a judge ruled that the accusations be deleted from the websites.

Even if the comments are true, some businesses are getting in touch with the customers that posted bad reviews and asking them to take them down.  Eric Winick left a review online stating his frustrations of having to wait so long to receive his food at a restaurant.  Not long after, he got an email from the owner of the restaurant, asking him to take down the review.  The owner tried to play to Winick’s sensitive side, saying that he was just trying to provide for his own family.

Facebook and Twitter can easily “make or break” a company’s reputation.  If one person posts a status about disliking a business, it can then be read by anywhere from hundreds to thousands of people.  Negative online reviews can even lead to layoffs for a company.  A lot of people do not realize how much of an impact a few words can have on a business.

Have any of you ever posted a bad review and then heard back from the company itself?

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/woman-sued-giving-bad-online-reviews/story?id=17894367

http://www.business2community.com/social-media/companies-fight-back-against-negative-comments-online-0160380

http://www.marketingsavant.com/2012/02/6-tips-for-handling-negative-comments-like-a-pro/

The Introduction of Social Networking

Social networking has become such a popular trend in recent years that one would think that Twitter, Facebook and MySpace were the introduction of social networking to the world. In reality, social networking has been around much longer than we would imagine.

In 1985 The America Online (AOL) service opened for use to the public. Those in my generation probably remember this as the first means of communication with your friends, other than email or your home telephone. In 1997 AIM (instant message) was introduced to the public and became all the rage. This was easier than sending an email because it was instant and normally received an instant response. It is similar to what we now know as text messaging, except for using the computer instead of a cell phone.

As the years passed and more and more people began using the Internet, more sites were created and within those sites, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Facebook were all created as well. By 2005 Facebook had launched a version of their web page for high school students to use. Social networking was sky rocketing and people of all ages were becoming users. Facebook was most popular amongst college and high school students, but as it became more popular older people became members as well.

In 2012 Facebook reached a billion users, which constitutes for half of the 2 billion people using social media and the Internet worldwide. Social networking not only helps people stay connected with loved ones, old friends and new acquaintances but also is now being used widely with businesses and employees. Thanks to the invention of these websites we all so commonly use, we are able to do many things we otherwise would be unable to keep up with.

http://www.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/NewMedia/SocialMedia/SocialMediaHistory.html

Author: Samantha VanDuyne

Pinterest More Business Friendly

In November of 2012  Pinterest launched its “Pinterest for Business,” where businesses can now create commercial social networking accounts as well as conversion options for already existing accounts. This new business model creates a huge advantage for businesses. Along with the conversion options, there will also be buttons, widgets and badges to help drive more people to repin and follow business accounts. Pinterest says that isn’t all either. In the future, there is a possibility of analytics for the site to help keep track of a customer’s activity as well as a monetary plan for members.

More and more businesses are flocking to Pinterest because of the number of consumers already active on the social networking site.  Last Cyper Monday the number of referrals from Pinterest nearly doubled from last year’s numbers, while Facebook and Twitter’s referral numbers remained flat. Businesses have noticed the “life cycle” of a post on Pinterest is much more valuable to them because content can resurface months later when people continue to repin, rather than on Facebook and Twitter a post attracts a lot of initial responses before dying out and never being seen again.

The sky is really the limit when it comes to Pinterest and its advantages for business. With e-commerce booming, it will be interesting to see where Pinterest takes us in the future.

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahsweeney/2012/11/16/pinterest-gets-down-to-business/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324900204578286274194291126.html

http://www.bytelaunch.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Pinterest-for-business.jpg