If you’ve logged into Twitter in the past few days you may have noticed some changes, most notably the addition of the new Twitter Activity Stream.

At first glance my thought was, “Cool, I can see who the people I follow have followed and can more easily follow new people”.  In addition, I can see what tweets the people that I’m following have favorited, which is also another great way to keep tabs on potentially relevant information.

But as I thought more about this I began to wonder if this was such a good idea.  Do the benefits outweigh the potential downfalls, specifically in regards to privacy.

One reason I prefer Twitter over Facebook is the fact that it takes a little more effort to stalk someone (yes, stalkers are a concern of mine, especially for my children…thank you newscasters!).  Sure, I can go through individual’s timeline’s, check their public lists, view their favorite tweets and see who they’re following & who is following them, but now I don’t have to. I have the activity stream!

For my own personal and business Twitter accounts I don’t have an issue with the Twitter activity stream, but then again, I’m pretty cautious and intentional with what I post.  But many people that I know are not and that concerns me.

My proposal would be for Twitter to have an option for people to opt out of their activity being shown (beyond having a completely private Twitter account).  And the default of this option should be to turn it off unless someone specifically turns it on for their account.

What do you think?

Original post from Watershed Studio, LLCSocial Media » Watershed Studio, LLC

‘ProBlogger’s Guide to Your First Week of Blogging‘ is a practical eBook jam packed full of activities for bloggers wanting to start a new blog, get back into blogging or to just get some ideas on how to revamp your current blog.

The eBook is broken down into 7 chapters/days and has 32 tasks/exercises for bloggers to do. Think of it as 31 Days to Build a Better Blog (see previous post) but for those just in their first week.

Blog topics covered include:

• Learn foundational brainstorming techniques.
• Create a content plan—and content, of course!
• Build a social media presence.
• Create practical quality assurance tools.
• Set up a publishing process.
• Master the components of a blog post.
• Develop your blog’s ongoing strategy.

We’ve already picked up a copy of ‘ProBlogger’s Guide to Your First Week of Blogging‘, so if you have any questions about it, or just want to discuss the eBook, contact us.

Original post from Watershed Studio, LLCSocial Media » Watershed Studio, LLC

Automattic has reported that there was a recent security incident which could potentially have made account passwords visible.  If you have a WordPress.com account it is highly recommend that you update your password.

NOTE: This does not affect self hosted WordPress sites, but it is still a good idea to update passwords from time-to-time.

Original post from Watershed Studio, LLCSocial Media » Watershed Studio, LLC

The March 23, 2011 Dot.column question in Metromix Indianapolis was:

Dot.column: Are QR codes worthwhile or worthless?

QR Codes and Microsoft Tags are pretty neat for anyone with a smart phone. Once you have a reader application installed on your phone, just point your phone’s camera at it and you’ll be on your way.

Recently I was at Lowe’s checking out the trees & spotted the Microsoft Tag on it. I scanned it and it took me to the mobile version of a webpage that told everything you needed to know about the tree. It might not be for everyone, but I thought that was pretty neat.

Have you used QR Codes and/or Microsoft Tags before? What are your thoughts?

Original post from Watershed Studio, LLCSocial Media»Watershed Studio, LLC

The March 10, 2011 Dot.column question in Metromix Indianapolis was:

Dot.column: What’s your favorite blog and why?

Mashable. It’s the geek entrepreneur’s dream come true.

What’s your favorite blog?

Original post from Watershed Studio, LLCSocial Media»Watershed Studio, LLC

Here at Watershed Studio we’re always scouring our RSS and Twitter feeds to see what’s going on in the world of technology and social media. Here’s Volume 5 in nice, easy to digest, posts. Enjoy.

• 7 Social Media Lessons From Phil Collins
• 10 tips from @pistachio on using Twitter for events
• Automation on Twitter: Should you do it?
• Common Mistakes Your Business Must Avoid On Twitter
• Does Your Social Media Policy Violate the Law? (Kuno Creative)
• New York Times Asks Twitter to Disable Paywall-Jumping Feed (Mashable)
• Social media like Facebook and Twitter turn local TV newscasts into a two-way conversation between viewers and on-air talent
• Social Media Marketing is Failing (Douglas Karr)
• True Story of a Twitter Marriage Proposal (Wired)
• Tweets That Will Get You Fired (Forbes)

If you have any social media reads that you’d like to suggest, please contact us or Tweet us @watershedstudio.

Original post from Watershed Studio, LLCSocial Media»Watershed Studio, LLC

The March 3, 2011 Dot.column question in Metromix Indianapolis was:

Dot.column: Gosh, the Internet sure is big. How can it be more local for me?

Social media and local blogs are great ways to bring the Internet into real life right where you live. My starting point would be searching Twitter for users in your region to follow and see what they’re up to and what they’re reading. And I’m sure the Foursquare Indy fellows will suggest Foursquare as well.

How do you make the Internet more local?

Original post from Watershed Studio, LLCSocial Media»Watershed Studio, LLC

So you’re on Twitter and are wondering what the best approach to tweeting is to keep your followers engaged and to attract new followers at the same time. Where should the balance lie between sending @ replies, sharing links and posting normal tweets.

Normal Tweets

Let’s start with normal tweets. These should make up a good portion of your tweets and can be anything that comes to mind.  Besides, I assume this was part of why you signed up for Twitter in the first place, right?

If it’s a personal Twitter account, feel free to fire away.  ”I’m sitting in my office watching the snow fall.” or “Why does tap water taste different in the bathroom? Or does it?” are perfectly acceptable tweets. It’s your account, have fun with it.

If it’s a business Twitter account, the rules are slightly different because you will be throwing business related tweets into the mix. “Come in tonight for 50% off all appetizers from 5-10pm.”  But a huge issue with many business accounts is that they never get personal in their tweets. They are constantly in “Sell, sell, sell” mode. Yes, some people are following your account because they want to know what specials you have going on, but they also want interaction with the business.

Of those that do understand this, Scott Wise (@brewhouse), owner of Scotty’s Brewhouse, is my favorite example.  Earlier today he tweeted, “Gym Rule #786: guys, no short-shorts. Length test: If it looks like u got some chewed Hubba-Bubba stuck to your thigh, they are too short.”, all in the midst of replying to his followers and throwing in an occasional sales tweet.  And did I mention that his restaurants (plural) are flourishing in a tough industry, in a tough economy by the effective use of social media and email mail marketing?

The @ Reply

The @ reply feature of Twitter is what makes the platform social. Without it there’s no public interaction and you might as well get yourself an old fashioned static website & an email contact form instead.  But what should the balance be between replies, normal tweets and sharing links?  At what point will your followers tire of seeing you talk with other people?  That’s a tough call and depends on the circumstances.

Personally, my stance is that if someone replies to me, I reply back to them. It’s just common courtesy.  And if I spot a tweet that I like or a conversation that I like, I pop in and reply. That’s what this social interaction is all about.

Do I reply too much sometimes? Maybe. Do I lose followers over it? Quite possibly. But whenever I do it, it’s always something legitimate and anyone can see that I am listening & am actively engaged with my followers, two qualities that should be cherished with any Twitter followers you have.  As harsh as it may sound, if people don’t like that, maybe they should unfollow because it’s unlikely that they desire to interact with you.

Sharing Links

Let’s face it, there’s only so much that can be communicated in 140 characters and sometimes you need to send a link.  This can be breaking news, blog posts, podcasts, photos, videos, you name it.  I highly encourage you to share links on a regular basis, but unless sharing links is all that your Twitter account is used for, I would space them out a bit because most people don’t want to see a bunch of links right in a row. Again, it goes back to interaction and starting conversations.

Chime In

Now that you know my thoughts regarding balancing your tweets on Twitter, please chime in and share your thoughts with the world, because I know that my opinions don’t speak for everyone.

Also, thanks to Steve Hill (@epiclysteve) for suggesting the topic.

Original post from Watershed Studio, LLCSocial Media»Watershed Studio, LLC

Yesterday we wrote Fixing The Facebook News Feed which focused on the end user. But what can anyone who is using a Facebook Fan Page for marketing purposes do about this to ensure that your Facebook Fan Page fans are seeing your Facebook Fan Page updates?

As you may already know, when it comes to the constant layout & functionality changes at Facebook, you, as a marketer, are at their mercy as to what you can and cannot do.  With this most recent change your best course of action is to contact each individual Facebook Fan Page fan and educate them on the change as far as what it means to them and how they can make adjustments.

You probably do not have the contact information for all of your Facebook Fan Page fans, but luckily Facebook offers a way in which you can send them messages through Facebook.

Here’s how you send a message to all of your Facebook Fan Page fans, or to a segment of them if you so choose.

1) While on your Facebook Fan Page, click on the Edit Page button in the top corner.

2) Click on the Marketing link and then click on the Send an Update link. (If you’re logged in as your Facebook Fan Page you willl be prompted to send the update as yourself.)

3) Compose a message to your Facebook Fan Page fans to let them know about the changes to Facebook and let them know how to fix this.

At this point your Facebook Fan Page fans will be sent the message and will be able to make the necessary adjustments in their Facebook account.

Original post from Watershed Studio, LLCSocial Media » Watershed Studio, LLC

If you’re like me you may have logged into Facebook and noticed that your “Most Recent” Facebook News Feed was suddenly missing a lot of updates from your friends & the Facebook Fan Pages that you’re a fan of.  It seems that in their recent roll out of changes, Facebook decided that by default you only want to see updates from the friends & Facebook Fan Pages that you interact with the most.

I don’t know about you, but that is not what I want.  If there are people I don’t want to see updates from I can either not be friends with them or I can hide them.  For Facebook Fan Pages, I would not opt into a Facebook Fan Page if I did not want to see their updates. But sticking by their M.O., Facebook has decided that is indeed what everyone wants.

Never fear, there’s a way to fix that.

1) From your home page at facebook.com, click on the Most Recent arrow link to bring up your options.

2) Click on Edit Options to bring up the Edit Your News Feed Settings screen.

3) In the “Show posts from” drop down check the “All of your friends and pages” options and then click on the Save button.

Now you’ll start seeing updates from your friends and Facebook Fan Pages again.

Original post from Watershed Studio, LLCSocial Media » Watershed Studio, LLC