The Army has employed a squad of five people who work together at the Pentagon to keep its social media accounts, including Pinterest, up to date and accessible its followers. The Army’s use of social media may seem strange, but it is attempting to reach a demographic that it would normally not have access to. The social media pages the Army uses are open and able to be shared by all of its followers. This open access is another unusual aspect that social media brings to the Army. Because different social media platforms reach different audiences, the Army has chosen to make use of as many of these sites as possible. Smart move.

For the most part, the Army’s Pinterest followers are women. Most of its audience consists of Army spouses; although, the team behind the Army’s social media efforts has worked hard to ensure that the items and ideas that are pinned will appeal to more than just women.

The boards that the Army has created on Pinterest include topics like Goodwill, Humanitarian Relief and HOOAH! Each topic attempts to show some aspect of Army life. This type of outreach can help create a feeling of community among existing military families in addition to reaching people who were previously uninterested in the Army.

1. TV on Mobile Devices
People are becoming more interested in watching their favorite TV shows online (I know, I am). Websites such as GetGlue allow viewers to share their favorite shows with their friends, comment on and discuss whatever they are watching in real time (while they’re watching it). Social media is changing, and will continue to change, the world of television in 2012.

2. Browser Games
Sites like MySpace and Facebook have hooked millions of users all over the world into playing games online. These games are all free and do not have to be downloaded to your computer. The games found on MySpace and Facebook are fueled by members helping other members reach goals (playing alone, but working together).

3. Check-In Apps
Apps like Foursquare are becoming more popular in the consumer world because more companies are starting to recognize the value of having their customers advertise for them. As people check into a particular place, it makes other people want to go there too. These days, a lot of companies will offer a discount or freebie to people who check into their business on any of the many social apps out there.

4. Hobby Social Networking Pages
Facebook users have created a lot of pages to talk about a specific TV show, sports team or other subject that matters to them. People with similar interests are coming together on Facebook to talk about everything from the latest movie to the hottest new album.

5. Inspiration Through Social Media
Facebook recently unveiled a new profile layout that is supposed to tell your life story to your Facebook friends through old posts and pictures. This sometimes inspires people to try something their friends tried. Imagine that: real life via social media.

In 2005, West Virginia high school student Kara Kowalski was suspended for an entire school week and removed from her high school’s cheerleading squad because she created a MySpace page that made fun of a fellow student. Kara titled the page “S.A.S.H,” which according to Kara, means “Students Against Sluts’ Herpes.” The case went all the way to a federal appeals court, where it was determined that the school system did not violate Kara’s right to free speech by punishing her for creating the page.

Students are not only using social media sites to tease other students, they are also using them to defame the character of their superiors. One example of this kind of case is a high school senior from Pennsylvania who created a profile on a social networking site portraying the school’s principal as a gay drug user. In the same state, a middle school student created a MySpace page for the principal of his school, stating that the man was a pedophile who had sex in his office at work. A federal appeals court in Philadelphia stated that these students could not be disciplined for what they did because it did not disrupt normal activities at the school.

Why do students get away with these things? Because the law has not yet caught up with the technology. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear the above cases because they do not wish to change the freedom of speech people have online. Maybe I’m wrong, but I always thought there was a line between freedom of speech and defamation of character. You don’t have to be a police officer to know that this kind of behavior is wrong. As far as I see it, it’s cut and dry. If I were to act this way in person, there would be a problem. Why is it any different online?

Reuters.com recently dubbed 2012 “the year of must-tweet TV.” Social media is popping up in new places every day and will continue to do so throughout 2012. Outlets that probably never thought they would have a need for social media are now relying on it to get people interested in news and current events. Just eight days into 2012, NBC and Facebook teamed up to present a “Meet the Press” debate. Eight days later, Fox News measured the reactions of their viewers to the GOP debate – by using Twitter stats. Viewers were even able to interact directly with the candidates via Twitter.

Networks like VH1 and Bravo are already using social media to encourage new viewers to watch their programming. On both networks, stars are tweeting more and more during the airing of their shows to try and create buzz for the show. Social media has become so popular that many people (myself included) are using these sites while they watch a program. Sound like a golden opportunity for someone to cash-in? Enter Get Glue. Get Glue is an application that allows people to “check-in” (i.e. announce that they’re watching) to their favorite TV shows and share that information with others on Facebook and Twitter. Get Glue has become the go-to place to find out which shows are trending in the social media world. Shows are getting more exposure than ever before – and it’s all due to social networking.

TV shows are now being viewed on smartphones and tablets as often, if not more than, traditional TV sets. Dubbed “smart TV,” viewers are encouraged to interact with others and post comments about the TV programs they are watching.

Social media and television are becoming more entwined every day and will continue to do so. Viewers are just clamoring for more interaction from their TV-watching experience.

• Your profile needs the right mix of text and images; quickly informing visitors about you, your business venture, and what you are promoting. Send a clear message. Without definitive clarity, the profile won’t be of much value.
• Be sure your profile contains a few keywords that are relevant to what you want to be known for. What’s unique about Google Plus is that you (as in your profile) can show up in search results. How cool is that? But, in order for people to find your profile, you need to use the right keywords.
• Content marketing is one of the best ways to help get a product, service, and your social network profile noticed. Google Plus is set up effectively for content marketing. And better yet, there is an additional component called Google Sparks which is intended to help raise people’s awareness of newly-published content. Google Plus makes it easy to get your content found through Sparks.
• In addition to all these things, the fact that you can host “hangouts” with other people is pretty unique to Google Plus. After you’ve interacted with someone online, you might want to take things to the next level by having a face-to-face conversation (through video).
• Google Plus also allows you to choose which “Circles” you want to share your content with, so you don’t have to alienate your buddies if you want to seem more professional. You can still be a goofball within your friend circle and a super-professional forensic psychologist (or whatever you are) in your business circle.

Since Facebook has taken over the top spot (and held it for a few years), it’s no wonder people are concerned. Facebook’s privacy policy has been widely criticized by lawyers and users alike. Their policy is to make everything public unless you tell them not to. You can control your privacy settings, but there are no settings that tell Facebook to stop watching what you do online.

Unless you have taken measures to stop websites from tracking your online activity, Facebook is watching; so is Google. That’s why you get so many well-targeted ads. It’s no coincidence that you see an ad for a local tattoo shop after researching tattoo design ideas. They know where you are and they know what you’re looking for.

Some people look at this as a blessing. Why should they have to look at ads they have no interest in? If I’m looking at tattoo designs, I might actually appreciate an offer from a local parlor – regardless of how it’s presented to me. On the other hand, many people think websites have gone too far and taken too many liberties.

Personally, I fall somewhere in the middle. I don’t mind seeing relevant ads show up on Youtube or Facebook. I mean, there would be an ad there one way or another; it may as well be interesting to me. But I do feel a little perturbed by the fact that no one ever asked me if they could track my online activity. I’d be upset if I visited a store in the mall and the owner followed me around the rest of the day. It’s an invasion of privacy. If you also feel that way, check out this post about how to block those tracking cookies without affecting your ability to search and shop online.

Ever since our high school days, we’ve each been managing our individual reputation. Everything you do when you’re in the public eye defines how other people see you, in one way or another. The same is true for your online reputation, except here it’s visible to just about everyone. The internet is like the most gossipy friend you ever had growing up. She’ll tell anyone who asks that you “liked” a few too many pictures of cats or posted something slightly obscene on a friend’s wall. Oh yeah, she’s always there for you; I’ll give her that. But, I’d be careful about trusting her with any of your secrets.

You really have to take care to manage your online reputation, just as you would in real life. There is one tool that can help you do just that. It’s free and it can be found at Reputation.com. All you have to do is answer a few questions about yourself, and Reputation will begin scouring the web for information about you. You might find things you’re aware of, like your Facebook page or LinkedIn profile, or you might find a few surprises.

You can also ask to receive an email update whenever you’re mentioned online. In this way, it’s kind of like setting a Google Alert up for your name, but it narrows things down a little more for you. For example, there might be 500 people with my name around the world. I don’t really need an email update to find out that Christina D., the paralegal from Duluth, Georgia, won an award for her stellar paralegaling skills. But, if someone in my town is talking about someone with my name, I sure do want to know (spoiler: it’s probably about me).

Maybe the commercials will give me the nudge I need to get myself on Google+. With social networks, if everyone’s doing it, you naturally start to feel the pressure to engage. I kind of look at my entrance to Google+ as an entrance to a cocktail party (that’s really all social media is anyway). You don’t want arrive too early, or you won’t have anyone to talk to. In the case of a social network, you’ll just be surrounded by techy nerds. At the party, you might just be hangin’ with the host’s weird cousin until everyone else shows up. But, you also don’t want to be the last one there either. If you show up two hours late, you might miss the good hors d’oeuvres or the joke everyone will be laughing about around the water cooler tomorrow.

So, back to the commercials. I haven’t seen any of them air on television yet, but I have watched a few online. Most seem to feature Google+s hangout feature, which basically a video group chat where you can have conversations in real time and even watch YouTube videos together. Other videos focus on the circle feature of Google+, which sets the social network apart from Facebook in that you can create circles of friends and decide who gets to see which updates. You might have a “work friends” and a “family” or “besties” circle. All of the groups might get different updates from you. Although Facebook does allow you to “limit” your profile, that’s actually a completely different thing. With Google+, you’re not excluding anyone, you’re just choosing who you want to share specific information with. Kind of like you would in real life.

One reason that I think social networking is becoming so important in the job hunting arena is similar to why social networking sites have become a major source for news sharing. The Associated Press has publicly had issues with their employees “scooping” the story on social networking sites, like Twitter. That essentially means that they post a story before it gets published on the AP’s news wire. I think this happens with jobs too. If you’re networking with the right people, you might find out that someone who holds the job of your dreams (e.g., social media manager, marketing VP, or tax accountant) at a Fortune 500 company is moving to another state. Now’s your chance to swoop in and make your presence known. You might even be able to “scoop” the job posting and get hired before the ad even gets published.

Of course, you have a better chance of getting hired, regardless of your industry, if you’re active on social networking sites. This involves a long-term commitment aimed at forming mutually beneficial relationships with influential people. You’ve spent months or years helping them spread their word online. Now it’s time to cash in by asking them about the open position. Just respect everyone’s privacy and do it in a direct message, and you might end up as one of the many millions who can cay they found employment through social networking.

]]> http://naact.org/can-you-really-find-work-on-a-social-network/feed/ 0 http://naact.org/google-should-you-jump-on-that-bandwagon/ http://naact.org/google-should-you-jump-on-that-bandwagon/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:04:26 +0000 bgoodale http://naact.org/?p=21 Continue reading →]]> I’ve been hearing a lot about Google+ in the past month or so, but I have to admit, I have yet to jump on that bandwagon. I’m not one of those small business owners who don’t see the benefits of social media (hence this blog), but I only have time to do so much. I’m on Facebook and Twitter and I follow the news on everything else to decide if and when I should jump in. I’ve been on the fence about Google+ for, well, since it launched.

Now that the bestselling author and social media guru (and I don’t use that term lightly), Chris Brogan is backing it, I think it may be time for us stragglers to jump aboard.

I know Facebook has been instrumental to the success of many businesses, but I also know that many businesses struggle to get people talking about their brand on that platform. After some thought, it kind of makes sense. Facebook was designed as a way for college students to network and adding brands to the mix was an afterthought. I’m not saying it doesn’t work, but to have a deep-pocketed company like Google building a social media platform to address these needs, might just be what we need.

On Google+, brands can create more interactive pages and create hangouts where they can interact with customers or colleagues in real time. It does sound very promising, I have to admit. I’m thinking it’s a pretty good time to get involved with Google+. It isn’t so popular that you’re behind the eight ball. You can still get in and build a community around yourself or your brand while things are young. At the moment, it’s mostly people who are into technology who frequent the site, but that’s quickly changing. No need to be a software developer to join this club. I say, we get on board now. Are you with me?