Social Brio

Social Goodies: Temporary Facebook Passwords, GroupMe & ToneCheck

2011-06-20T16:51:02-05:00

I have to admit: I've known about these goodies for at least a few months, but I just haven't had the time to write about them! Nonetheless, here's another edition of Social Goodies (a.k.a. tools/tips/tricks on the Internet that you probably want to know about)...

Temporary Facebook Passwords

Surf the Web often on a public computer? Well, there's another Facebook security measure you might not be taking advantage of yet.

In addition to making sure you access Facebook through secure HTTPS when you're on a public computer, you should also try out Facebook's temporary password feature. Any time when you rather not use your regular Facebook login password, you can text "otp"- you know, One Time Password- to 32665, which spells "FBOOK". The temp password can be used just once and is only valid for 20 minutes, but it will protect your account from being logged into by future computer users in the event that your credentials are saved when you enter them.

GroupMe

GroupMe is a group message and communication application available on the iPhone, Blackberry and Android, which allows messages to be sent and received instantly between group members. The app also includes location mapping, conference call and inter-network sharing (FourSquare) capabilities.

I haven't used this app intensely- I'm not a huge group text user and the iPhone has since added a group SMS feature- but I can see where it could be very useful for frequent texters and for groups who need/want to communicate with each other often. For business purposes, the conference calling feature could be particularly interesting for professionals without another easy conference solution; each group receives a unique phone number, allowing professionals to have one destination to communicate with team members via text and phone.

Give it a try- it's free!

ToneCheck

This tool is another one to put in the Don't-Make-Yourself-Look-Bad-Online category :)

Still in beta (think prototype), ToneCheck software integrates with Microsoft Outlook to identify and notify users of words and sentences in emails that may be inappropriate in tone. Since email often lacks the ability to convey emotions you might be able to detect in person, such as sarcasm and anger, I think ToneCheck could help email users avoid miscommunication issues.

In terms of identifying inappropriate content and configuring customized settings, the user experience seems to be pretty similar to the way SocioClean works. Hey, you never know- it could make the difference between your client thinking you're funny instead of thinking you're a jerk!

Social Goodies: Open Site Explorer, SocioClean.com and Zipcast

2011-04-04T15:01:58-05:00

I'm back with another edition of Social Goodies! For those of you who haven't read one of my Goodies posts before, it's a listing of tools, tips, tricks and sites online that are in somehow related to social media. Enjoy!

Open Site Explorer

Have you ever wondered where your blog or company website is linked on the WWW (other than the places where you've put the links)? Well, there's a tool for that :) It's called Open Site Explore r, and it offers a way to discover a link's popularity and analyzes backlinks to a site. You can run 3 reports per day for free, which is awfully nice considering their monthly SEO product (SEOmoz PRO) starts at $99/month.

SocioClean.com

If you're in the market for a job, you want to check out SocioClean. This tool "Scans, Cleans and Secures Your Social Network Content" for language and other information that may be considered offensive by some viewers (like the VP who's interviewing you for your dream job).

I tried it out myself and observed the following:

Overall, I liked the tool; it picked up comments from other people on some of my pictures that could be considered offensive to some readers. Once I clicked on the links related to these "offensive" comments, I also noticed that the corresponding pictures- which are relatively tame but also document my bachelorette party in Vegas- might not be appropriate for some of my circles to see.

On the bad side, the product is very sensitive to words; for example, in the Sexual category, “pregnancy” and “pregnant” were tagged. I see where they're going with this one- if there's a discussion about 15-year-olds getting pregnant on your Wall, that could be something that a professional contact doesn't want to read about- but in my case, a lot of my friends are pregnant!

In terms of functionality and filtering, the product is very good. For instance, it lets you tag the phrases or words as “Ignore Instance” or “Ignore word," which ends up being a time saver.

Aside from using this product, I suggest that you go through your social networks (specifically Facebook) and adjust your privacy settings to your liking. My personal take is that anyone with whom I'm not connected on Facebook should be able to find me on Facebook, but when they do, they should only be able to see my name and network. These settings are very customizable- and they change pretty frequently- so I recommend that you check yours once every month or two to make sure you are as private as you want to be.

Zipcast

Recently launched by SlideShare, Zipcast is a social conferencing system that is browser-based and free to SlideShare users for conducting public meetings. The Pro plan (wrapped in with SlideShare) offers private meetings and audio conferencing to name a few, and ranges from $19-$249/month.

Shortly after its launch in February I tuned into a podcast on the platform, and although the large audience was incredibly annoying in the chat function regarding streaming issues, I think it's worth a try for businesses as an alternative to services like Skype (which is also awesome).

Hope this information enlightened and brightened your day!

How to Update Your Twitter Account Settings to HTTPS

2011-03-15T21:37:13-05:00

I recently wrote about Facebook's new security setting that allows users to surf entire Facebook sessions on a secure connection, or HTTPS. Now, Twitter has also implemented this security measure, providing the option for Tweeple to use secure HTTPS for all Twitter sessions. The automatic HTTPS login isn't available for their mobile site yet, but here's how you can change your Twitter account settings for computer sessions:

Log in to Twitter

Access your Account Settings

Under the Account tab, check the "Always use HTTPS." box

Click the Save button.

Wasn't that easy? Bravo to Twitter for offering this security measure. Now, when I'm working at Starbucks, surrounded by a bunch of smart college hackers students, I won't have to worry about them accessing my account and tweeting "Texas A&M is my favorite university" to my followers. Whew. Crisis averted.

How to Set Your Facebook News Feed to Display Updates from All of Your Friends

2011-02-25T11:58:36-06:00

If you read my blog regularly, you already know that I "Like" Facebook a lot, but the social network recently made a quiet little change which, as far as I can tell, wasn't really announced to its +500 Million users.

Have you noticed lately that you seem to see updates on your Facebook News Feed from a handful of the same people all the time, while you almost never see updates from other friends? I noticed this before reading about the change and a few times thought, "Did this person unfriend me? I haven't seen anything from them in a long time!"- at least now I know that there's a reason for it.

If you scroll down to the bottom of your News Feed- it will take you a few scrolls, since as you probably know it auto-loads more content as you read through updates- you'll see this option at the bottom:

When you click on Edit Options, a screen and dropdown with these options will come up:

Was yours defaulted to the "Friends and pages you interact with most" option? Yep, Facebook pulled a sneaky one on us and defaulted to that setting. If you want to see all of your friend's and pages' updates, you might want to switch to "All of your friends and pages."

I'm not sure why Facebook would implement this option and not publicize it- maybe it's because they wanted users to experience a more "virtually localized" News Feed- but regardless, the setting is now there for you to choose the option that best suits your Facebook perusing style. And, now you actually know about it! It might even help cure your exhaustion from seeing every.single.update. from your super nice, but not so spelling or grammatically savvy, Facebook friend (it's they're, not their!!!)... but that's never happened to me :)

Social Goodies: Twitter Lists, Social Media Sobriety Test & LinkedIn Social Graph

2011-02-23T11:56:17-06:00

My Social Goodies list is back! For those of you who missed my first one, Social Goodies are new tools, tips, tricks and websites I've recently discovered (and probably have tried). I hope these help you, your business and/or your understanding of Web 2.0!

Formulists

A few months ago I noticed that I was added to a Twitter List, so I clicked to check it out; in the description, it mentioned that @formulists generated and auto-updated it. Curiousity lead me to their website, which lead me to sign in with Twitter; in a few minutes, I had a self-updating List linked to my account. There are several options for how to generate yours; for example, here are mine:

Now, every new person I follow on Twitter and every person with whom I've recently interacted is added to one of these Lists. Cool and time saving? I think so! One thing to be aware of: Formulists wants you to sign into their website every so often (every 30 days I think?), so if you notice something is wrong with your lists, just login and they should auto-update.

Social Media Sobriety Test

This one is partially hilarious, partially seemingly silly but somehow completely necessary in certain situations. If you're a serial Under-The-Influence Facebooker, Twitterer or any other -er online, you probably want to try out this tool. Webroot, the makers of various computer software, created the Social Media Sobriety Test to help protect intoxicated individuals from themselves in the wee hours.

Here's how it works:

Install the program on your computer from their website
Specify the hours of the day/night and the social networks you want it to monitor
When you go to a social network you've selected, during the hours you've specified, the program will require you to take the Sobriety Test: a moving finger that you follow with your mouse, and the key is to keep the cursor on the finger.
If you pass, access is granted. If not, no access for you, but no embarrasing posts, either!

Like I said, it seems funny at first look, but after recognizing the reality of today's blended social networks (friends+family+co-workers+bosses etc), it's a pretty good way to preserve your own personal brand. (By the way, has anyone tried this one? I've often thought that I might not be able to pass a real sobriety test, even sober, so I'm wondering if this is also more difficult than it looks!)

LinkedIn InMaps

LinkedIn Labs recently released a tool called InMaps, which graphs your current LinkedIn network by color. For the visual learners/readers out there, this tool is especially helpful; the color-coded web of connections allows you to see all of your connections and how they're related to each other. It also allows you to label all of your connections by color; for example, all of your co-workers from your last job might be blue, and a cluster of prospective clients you know from the local Chamber of Commerce could be red.

Visualizing your LinkedIn network could help you discover, for example, that you aren't connected to enough co-workers at your current company. Those resources could be very valuable in the future, in the form of recommendations, introductions to their connections and more.

Side note: if you're not on LinkedIn yet, click on over today and sign up. It's the biggest professional social network on Planet Earth. Enough said. Oh, and your company can have a profile, too.

Have fun browsing these tools!

Twitter For Business: Is It Worth My Company's Time?

2011-02-21T16:20:27-06:00

Lately I've come across a handful of business professionals who still aren't Twitter believers. They see it as sphere of noise where teeny-bopper Bieber lovers, Ocho Cinco's groupies and Ashton's cyber entourage go to mingle. To them, it's a waste of time and resources. It's just another new media which will become obsolete once the next big thing comes along. Respectfully, I disagree.

While there is a lot of noise floating around the Twittersphere- right now, the phrase "BIEBER ALERT" is trending- there are also a lot of productive interactions occurring every day (like, now). In my own experience, there are three big reasons why Twitter matters:

For its ability to form new relationships that otherwise probably would not have occurred
For its one-of-a-kind, global capability to allow users to listen in real-time
For its powerful ability to drive traffic

While Twitter may not be "it" forever, it has laid the groundwork for the new ways in which we interact. In my opinion, businesses can't afford not to be part of the online conversation, whether it be on Twitter or another network. While simply telling you to trust me probably won't make you a believer, here's how I- meaning my following, others awareness of me as a consultant, and my blog traffic- have benefited from Twitter in just a few short months via my newest Twitter feed:

Networking: I've made invaluable connections with other marketing professionals; by engaging in my industry's conversation on Twitter (there's a lot of marketing chatter!), I've had brief but intelligent discussions with my marketing tweeps. These interactions have led me to discover many new tools (like paper.li) and tips (like how to secure your Facebook connection while on a public network), which I can use and also pass on to my clients.

Expert Visibility: Part of having an online presence involves finding a way to market yourself as an expert in the field. Currently, I'm listed on 15 Twitter Lists with names such as "social-media-tweeps," "marketing-resources" and maybe most importantly, one by social media enthusiast Dave Evans named "industry". If a Twitter user is friends with a person who created one of these lists and needs a marketing resource, they may just find my name and end up hiring me for work. Skeptics: if you're wondering, no, that hasn't happened to me yet, but without Twitter there would be 0% chance of this opportunity.

News Source: I seem to discover breaking tech and social media news faster now, since I'm more likely to see a breaking tweet from a company like Mashable before I go to their website or read the latest RSS updates in my inbox. Which means I can update my networks earlier than before, likely getting information to my current and potential consumers before they find it themselves. Result: I'm a valuable resource worth "listening" to on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Traffic Driver: In a 30 day period, my Twitter account drives anywhere from 6% to 22% of my total blog traffic. The more I blog (which I haven't been enough lately, hence the 6%), the more traffic I get from Twitter.

I realize that I may not have convinced you yet- it takes some patience, good content and time to listen in order to see positive results- but I really think it's worth it for businesses to try. I'm sure the day will come when Twitter is out and _________ is in, but I think that having a good working knowledge of Twitter will likely make it easier for individuals and businesses alike to transition to the next big thing.

How to Update Your Facebook Security Settings to Secure HTTPS

2011-01-29T13:58:55-06:00

Yesterday as I was scanning my Twitter feed, I noticed a tweet from one of my relatively new Tweeps regarding a new Facebook security measure. If you spend as much time as I do at coffee shops doing work- or if you spend any time at all surfing Facebook- you'll probably want to spend a few minutes this weekend to update your settings.

I won't get into the technical side of things, but basically Facebook is now offering the option for you, Facebook user, to browse your entire Facebook session securely via something called HTTPS. Facebook already uses this measure each time you login with a password, but up until now they haven't offered the ability for users to use HTTPS for entire Facebook sessions.

I know you're asking yourself, "Why didn't they do this a long time ago?", and my answer is I don't know. However, in the Facebook blog post about this update, they do mention that choosing the HTTPS option slows down a user's connection, and also that some Facebook applications aren't currently supported by the protocol. Regardless of the reason, I sometimes think we don't give Facebook enough credit for their consistency in rolling out new features and security measures like these; after all, they have to make sure that these changes will implement smoothly for a whopping 500 Million earthlings.

If you want to use the new feature, here's how to update your Facebook security:

From your account dropdown, click on Account Settings

Next to the Account Security section, click "Change"; then check the "Secure Browsing (https)" box

That was easy, wasn't it?! One more thing I feel I should mention: if you're a business owner or social media manager for your company and post updates outside of the office, I definitely suggest that you make this change ASAP. Even if it does take a little more time for your pages to load, it will help protect your business' professional image, and help prevent a hacker from posting "(Your company name) now sells prescription drugs for 70% less than pharmacy prices!" on your behalf.

The HTTPS option should be fully rolled out by now, so take a moment now to make the change!

President Obama, White House Take Full Advantage of Internet, Social Media for State of the Union

2011-01-25T22:37:18-06:00

What did you think about the 2011 State of the Union Address? I'm not talking about the content within President Obama's speech, or even his speech delivery (of course I have an opinion, but I won't venture to share it here). What interests me is the way in which the White House and our President has kept up with the Digital Age, realizing its importance and ultimately making it a priority to deliver information to American citizens across the country who use the Internet as a source of daily news.

By now, we're well aware of the effort put forth by our POTUS, Barack Obama, during the 2008 Presidential Election. He raised over half a Billion-with a B- dollars from online donors, with the greater majority of those donations in the amount of $100 or less. Impressive.

Fortunately, President Obama has continued this trend of bringing the presidency into the 21st Century with a White House Facebook account, Twitter account, and a MySpace account. As he has mentioned in interviews, he has taken these measures because the way in which We (The People!) receive our information is much more complex than in years past, so he must also adjust to the way in which the Office delivers information.

I just finished watching the State of the Union address delivered by President Obama- and I did so on the Internet. The White House developed a full page on their website for the 2011 State of the Union address, equipped with the following:

A link to the White House iPhone app
Links to the WH Twitter page, Facebook Page and the Press Secretary's (Robert Gibbs') Twitter page (rest assured that their Tweets and updates were flying throughout the event)
Prior to the Address launch, video clips of President Obama and his progress during his first 2 years in office
After the Address, live video consisting of a panel of experts in front of a live audience speaking on the issues the President discussed, and also a hyperlink to the web form where individuals could post questions/comments during the discussion
Am email address form to receive White House updates
A history of the annual Event including various facts
A description and photo of each person sitting in the First Lady's Box
Details on upcoming online Q&A sessions and round tables with the President, Vice President and other policy experts.

Even more intriguing, the online feed included graphics and images throughout the Address, offering viewers a more detailed look at what, exactly, the President was talking about at the moment. These elements, together, provided Internet users with an unprecedented number of ways to listen to the President's message, interact with the White House, and maybe most importantly, to learn about American democracy.

As a marketing professional who is always looking at evolutionary ways in which our society is communicating, I'm delighted that the White House seems to be paying attention, and listening. With that, I leave you with a few screen shots I grabbed during the Address. Have a wonderful night, regardless of the side of the aisle on which you reside!

SOTU Dedicated Web Page

Split Screen of Live Address and Image of President Obama at GM

Split Screen of President Obama and High Speed Wireless Graphic

Post-Address Panel with Live Audience

Unraveling the differences between Facebook Pages, Profiles, Groups and Community Pages

2011-01-21T10:00:09-06:00

As I've mentioned a few times on this blog, one of my main goals is to help businesses and the individuals within them navigate through the intricacies of social networks. One topic that seems to create confusion is the different types and uses of Facebook pages. A person who only casually uses Facebook for personal reasons might not realize, for example, that a business Page works differently from a personal profile. Which is why I'm here...

The most common and well-known page on Facebook is the personal profile. The personal profile was how Mark Zuckerberg originally conceptualized the social network; as a place where individuals could share their "face", among other details, with other "faces" in their network (specifically, college). When I first started using the site in 2004, it was only for college students, and therefore, had practically nothing to do with companies. It helps to think of today's personal profile in those terms, since Facebook has become much larger and much more complex in the subsequent years.

A more recent Facebook development is the Page (yes, with a capital P). The Facebook Page is designated for companies, celebrities, brands, organizations, bands, etc., as a way for these entities to communicate with their customers/followers/supporters. The Page doesn't behave in the same manner as a personal profile; you (the individual) can't be friends with a Page, you can't send the Page a private message, and you may not even be able to write on the Page's Wall, depending on their chosen specifications. What you can do- and what companies really, really want you to do- is to Like their page. Once you Like, say, Social Brio Marketing (I know, smooth, right?), you'll see all of my updates in your News Feed, among the updates of the "faces" with whom you've become friends. For businesses, this is like gold, as it's essentially free marketing to their customers (and part of my job is to convince businesses of this fact)!

One little note before I move on: you may have asked yourself, "What type of presence does a person have if he/she is famous?" For example, I have a friend who is well-known in certain circles, but also wants to maintain a personal relationship with friends, family, etc. His solution: to maintain both a personal profile and also a Page, which allows him the chance to interact with friends on a personal level and his followers/admirers on a more professional level.

To complicate things just a little more, there are two other categories on Facebook with which the average Facebook user seems not to be too familiar: Groups and Community Pages. A Group can be established by any Facebook user, and is comprised of fellow users based on a common goal, interest or other mutual reason. For example, my childhood girlfriends and I have a group for just the 7 of us, and here we communicate, post trip pictures and videos, and have a listing of all our birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Our Group is set to Secret, so no one else on Facebook can see any of the content. By contrast, one of my friends recently ran the NYC Marathon; as part of his fund raising efforts, he started a group with over 100 of his friends whom he thought might donate to the cause.

Community Pages are different yet. Let's say, for example, that I really like shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue (just, you know, hypothetically). I can start a Community Page titled "I Love Shopping at Saks," and at first this Page will display Bing and Wikipedia entries, in addition to other Internet and Facebook results on the topic. And if enough people have the same passion as I, the Page will be maintained by the Facebook Community. This option provides a place where users can express their passions publicly, but separate from, say, Saks Fifth Avenue's official Page.

Got it? It can be overwhelming, particularly if you haven't grown, as a user, with Facebook. But now, my friends, you'll know what to do on Facebook the next time you have an overwhelming desire to express how awesome you think Gloria is on Modern Family. (Isn't she?!)

iPhone Alarm Bug Fixed (morning of 1/3)

2011-01-03T11:22:40-06:00

Did you wake up on time this morning? If you use your iPhone alarm to wake up, you might not have! However, it looks like the problem is fixed...

I first found out about the iPhone clock bug when my two phone alarms failed to go off on New Year's morning; a quick investigation on Google told me that the issue, which occurred when the year changed from 2010 to 2011, should be fixed by January 3. However, when I woke up this morning and an alarm test failed, I thought, "They still haven't fixed it."

Once my coffee kicked in, however, I realized that I should sync my phone in case Apple made updates over night. And viola! I tested my alarm again after the sync, and it worked.

If you were late to your first 2011 meeting this morning, you have a legitimate reason to tell your boss. But tomorrow there will be no excuses... sync that phone today!

And since this is my first 2011 post, I wish you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!