Posted by Bill

It was only a matter of time before The Associated Press, having finally decreed this past April that users of AP style should change their phrasing from “Web site” to “website”, would address a somewhat more current online topic: Social media.

The latest edition of the AP Stylebook includes for the first time an extensive Social Media Guidelines section, providing rules for journalists on proper usage and source verification when dealing with social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. “Also included are 42 separate entries on such terms as app, blogs, click-throughs, friend and unfriend, metadata, RSS, search engine optimization, smart phone, trending, widget and wiki,” says the AP.

Having worked for years at the AP and at several publications that used the AP Stylebook as their style bible, it’s easy to view this news with a bit of, “So what?” Even at organizations that specify AP style for their written communications – whether those are articles, fact sheets or news releases – many writers routinely ignore the guidelines and style discipline falls by the wayside, unless there are diligent editors or copy editors around to enforce it. Most readers don’t know the difference.

Plus, the proliferation of new media news outlets has increased the frequency with which organizations impose their own style guidelines for areas such as verifying source information (not counting, of course, Twitter’s popular FakeAPStylebook feed. Gizmodo might use AP style for some things, but I doubt it follows anyone’s lead on how it sources its stories gleaned from online information. Betcha Perez Hilton doesn’t, either.

Besides, with social media evolving at literally Internet speed, the years it takes the AP to catch up makes the idea of topical changes to the Stylebook a bit quaint, to say the least. For example, the latest AP Stylebook also for the first time includes entries on Alcoholics Anonymous, Breathalyzer, Taser, GED, thumbs-up and high-five. Shouldn’t those entries have been added in The Eighties?

Posted by Joe

Micahel Brito posted an interesting take on the value of Facebook Fans, citing a formula developed by Virtrue.

According to Vitrue’s formula, a company with 1 million Facebook fans equals a value of $3.6 million in a given year. Brito provides a recap of the formula as well as values of some top Facebook Fan pages. Here’s the formula:

1M impressions x 2 posts x 30 days = 60M impressions

60M impressions / 1000 x $5 CPM = $300,000

$300,000 x 12 months = $3.6M

$3.6M / 1M fans = $3.60

Company Values:

• Coca Cola – $0.96 cents (5.3M fans and posted 16x in the last month)
• YouTube – $1.92 (4.8M fans and posted 32x last month)
• Pringles – $.030 (3.1M fans and posted 5x last month)
• Adidas – $2.40 (2.7M fans and posted 40x in the last month. Also sharing links to their e-commerce store so one would assume that their fan value is much higher)
• Red Bull – $1.14 (2.5M fans and posted 19x in the last month)

I’ve never been good at math, but I think these numbers are spot on. Considering the amount of time people more spend on Facebook than Google (4 hours, 39 minutes per month). I think Coca Cola and Pringles are getting their money’s worth.

Posted by Joe

There are reports that social game developer Zynga – creator of popular Facebook games FarmVille, Café World and Mafia Wars – is planning to launch its own gaming website after reported disputes involving the impending introduction of Facebook Credits.

With Facebook Credits, users will have the ability to purchase apps across Facebook using a single currency. This is similar to PlayStation Network Wallet and Nintendo Wii Store points. It also means that Facebook will take 30 percent of every transaction. This is similar to how Apple’s iTunes operates.

Before Zynga launches what is being dubbed as “Zynga Live,” it should take a look at its numbers:

• FarmVille – 78,372,815 monthly activities
• CafeWorld – 27,663,941
• Treasure Isle – 25,218,555
• Mafia Wars – 23,882,928

Does Zynga really think it can sustain these kinds of numbers if it decides to take a step back from Facebook? Sure, users will probably still be able to login to Facebook from Zynga Live through Facebook’s Open Graph protocol, but will users be willing to make Zynga Live their home for social gaming?

My thoughts: I don’t think the hordes of casual gamers will make the jump. Zynga games do not provide the challenge nor does Zynga have the pull factor to justify visiting another website other than Facebook. What makes Zynga so popular is it’s on Facebook. It’s convenient to log onto Facebook and play a simplistic game for a few minutes.

If Zynga decides to give Zynga Live the green light as expected, it better develop more challenging games. Betting the farm, café, poker table, etc … against Facebook is a bad bet.

Posted by Aurora

Social media has gone main-stream.  Your mother got a facebook account and your boss is now twittering. Whether you avoided social media like the swine flu or dove in head first, chances are your approach could you an adjustment.

Now is the time to re-energizing your brand through social media. Whether it’s a fortune 500 company or your personal brand, here are five simple action items to put in place this year to make social media work for you.

Create a comprehensive social media strategy & social media policy

The problem with the way most companies tackle social media is there is no strategy. Quiet simply, they are engaging because they think they have to. Sit down and put together a list of goals then devolve a strategy that will work to accomplish them. Tactics and strategies are as crucial to social media as they are to any part of your marketing and communications plan.

Educate employees

In 2009 there was an abundance of social media mishaps due to a lack of knowledge of individuals acting on behalf of a company.  Policies should be put in place to ensure that employees are not breaking terms of use, acting inappropriately, or providing inaccurate information. On the flip side, anyone who is authorized to speak on behalf of the company should have a deep understanding of the networks, how they work and the overall company strategy. When executed poorly, social media has the power to severely damage a brand, and education is the fundamental factor that can prevent these problems.

Put greater emphasis on tracking

Tracking the various conversations taking place in the market can be one of the most overwhelming aspects of using social media as a communications tool. However, there are a number of different tracking systems that will help do the task for you. When looking for tools look for tools that allow archiving and retrieval of data. This can be a big help as you make your internal cause for social media. In addition to tracking mentions, tracking industry trends and thought leaders, even the engaging customer who is looking for help, can also bring huge benefit to your social media marketing campaign.

Provide incentive

Even social media requires promotion. Just because you build a Facebook page or start a blog does not grant you an instant following. Provide a reason for users to follow you and become a fan. Whether it is breaking news, giveaways or company updates, you should offer users something beneficial in exchange for their loyalty.

Update regularly

Social media in many ways is like a living garden. It needs to be nurtured regularly to survive. When unattended, even for a short time, your content will get stale and your following will start to die off leaving you at risk for loosing the fruitful harvest you worked so hard to grow. Make sure to maintain and cultivate your site on a regular basis and create good content that will drive interaction. At the end of the day, your site is your brand.  Good luck and happy harvest!

Posted by Bill

You know you’ve really made it in the tech world when you suffer your own live beatdown via Twitter.

Apparently the audience at Monday’s eagerly awaited SXSW keynote talk by Twitter CEO Ev Williams was not enamored of his interviewer, Umair Haque. As Silicon Alley Insider’s Nick Saint put it: “[F]or many, the most entertaining part of the Umair/Ev event was the stream of insulting tweets that started almost as soon as the event began.”

Not only did a large portion of the audience reportedly walk out during the keynote, but also Haque – director of the Havas Media Lab and a Harvard Business Review contributor — sparked a broad stream of tweeted abuse for his interviewing style, remarks and overall demeanor. “I’ve seen more energy at a lawn bowling tournament” tweeted one attendee. “The interviewer’s mike was broken at the start. Wish it had stayed that way,” added another. “Umair Haque’s softball q’s & penchant for stating the obvious @ev making me want to claw my eyes out” mused a third. And so on.

Of course, the grandaddy of Twitter backlash at a South by Southwest keynote may be the 2008 dustup over BusinessWeek columnist Sarah Lacy’s interview of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. That appearance generated a wave of negative tweets during the discussion, after which Lacy herself weighed in, in kind.

Posted by Rachel

Have you ever tweeted something like, “Off to Mexico for 2 weeks! Adios amigos!”?

It might seem harmless to share this with stalkers friends, but one web site, Please Rob Me, is bringing status updates like this to people’s attention.

Created to raise awareness of the dangers of divulging too much information online, Please Rob Me is essentially a list of status updates showing who just left home and in some cases, a person’s exact location.

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