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Buzz and Brilliance: Week ending May 11

Over the week we go through a lot of content - news and blog posts, how tos and conceptual posts on the state of the internet.  Every Sunday we share some of our favourites with you.

Check out the links and let us know in the comments if you have any questions or if you read any great posts this week!

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Lara

I often see people complaining about ads on Facebook and Twitter but they don’t bother me.  Why?  Aside from the fact that they are tools I want to use for my own business, I also know as a business owner that businesses need to make money, and Facebook and Twitter are businesses. These are free services we enjoy, most of the other channels we have to deal with ads on we pay for! (newspapers, tv, etc)

How will we ever create all the content that seems to be demanded of us to build a good online presence?  Re-use and recycle, and plan for it right from the start.

Video video video - it’s a big buzzword this year and I can’t disagree with it.  Video is important, but it needs to be done well.  James Wedmore is an expert I’ve recently found and his videos have a ton of useful content to help you figure out where to start and what to talk about.

Karen

I don’t like to say that there are rules when it comes to using social media, but it’s certainly good to know the etiquette or best practice guidelines. 

It’s ridiculously easy to use any old image you find online. But it doesn’t make it legal and you can get in a lot of trouble. In fact, often it isn’t and you’ll want to know how to use images in a way that won’t get you sued. (We have a whole session at Social Capital about this!)

Social media is about building relationships, which is why I really like the ideas in this post about having fun with your blog readers. Would you like to interact this way with your favourite blogs?

If what you write helps just one person, it’s valuable. Viral is overkill and not necessarily all it’s cracked up to be. (We’re going to have a session at Social Capital that touches on “viral” videos, too.)

SOCIAL CAPITAL

Social Capital is quickly approaching (it’s May 31 and June 1). Join us this Tuesday for our second #socapott Twitter Chat.  We’ve also announced a lot of great speakers that you won’t want to miss, including Gini Dietrich and Danny Brown!

THE MEDIA MESH

Making a case for Google+

Happy Mother’s Day!

As mothers ourselves, we know the work that you do every day. Today, we celebrate you and everything you do for your family. Enjoy this ad from Google:

Sixty Second Social: Blogging is not a monologue

Several weeks ago a fairly passionate debate was sparked about the value of comments. It all started when a fairly popular blogger (Matt Gemmell) wrote a follow-up about his decision to eliminate comments from his blog - not unlike Seth Godin, though his reasons aren’t quite the same. A couple of other blogs (MG Siegler and MacStories) responded to Matt Gemmell’s post in support of the decision.

Are comments required on a blog? No. Nor should they be. Every blogger has the right to his/her own policies. I say it often: My blog. My rules.

But…

When a blogger posts about something, there’s always the possibility of discussion around it. By removing comments, you ensure that there are no angry tirades on your site, but it takes away the social part of a blog - and, make no mistake, blogging is a tool of social media.

Writing my thoughts and hitting publish gives me the chance to share my side of things. Comments allow my readers to respond and keep my blog from becoming a one-sided broadcast (we all know how much we hate that on Twitter, a microblog). Occasionally, readers will write a post in response, which is a good solution when your thoughts are too long for a comment, but I often receive an accompanying comment (along with the pingback) to alert me to their contribution to the conversation.

When I write about a controversial issue and comments flood in (“flood” is relative, by the way), it can be a little challenging to keep up with responses and stay calm when I get critical comments. On the other hand, I think the discourse is extremely important. Whether I agree with your opinion or not, I’m open to hearing what you have to say - provided we all stay respectful. I will not tolerate trolls.

Disabling comments gives the impression of a closed door, “Here’s my view - take it or leave it” attitude. Some of the blogs I respect a great deal are high traffic sites where the author responds to many (if not all) comments. A few have even taken the time to visit my little blog when I’ve linked back to their posts. How do I know? I get a comment from them. (I’m impressed by little things like that.)

As always, don’t take my word for it - here are a few additional opinions about blog comments with ideas for how to solve some of the genuine challenges that exist, as well as some debunking of the “troll” stereotype given to anonymous and pseudonymous commenters:


What do you think of the idea of turning off comments on your blog? Would you ever do it?

Sixty Second Social: Blog topics are everywhere. Here's how to find them.

One of the biggest challenges after starting a blog that many run into is figuring out what to write about. It’s not difficult, but it does involve a change in thinking.

What did you do last night? Did you watch something particularly poignant? Did it trigger thoughts or an epiphany?

Share it.

When was the last time you attended an event? What did you get out of it? What are you going to do with that?

Share it.

Did you read the unread posts in your blog reader (RSS)? Did one stick out to you? Why?

Share it.

Where do you see yourself three months from now? Six months from now? One year from now?

Share it.

When you were in the shower this morning, what idea jumped into your head? Was it brilliant? Why?

Share it.

Is there a topic that you have questions about? A situation you’ve been mulling over for a while? An issue you feel strongly about?

Share it.

This post was inspired by a conversation I overheard between two women at a planning day I attended last weekend. I heard their discussion of how one was teaching the other to find those blog-worthy moments and realized it was something I could share with you here.

Personally, it took me a little while after I started blogging to get to the point that I saw content everywhere around me, but it happened. Should you use everything you could use on your blog? No, but that’s a different post for a different day.

What are some of the situations in which you’ve found inspiration for your blog?

Stumbleupon: My initial thoughts on an essential network

A couple of years ago I saw a friend whose Facebook status update expressed confusion at the value of Twitter and declared that StumbleUpon was the winner in his opinion. At the time, I gave a mental “hmph” and moved on. Twitter was already becoming very valuable to me at that point and its value has only continued to grow. I didn’t see how StumbleUpon could compete.

Until now.

I joined StumbleUpon late last year (2010) and then decided to school myself on it sometime in the Spring of 2011. What I have discovered is a tool that I don’t want to live without in my online activity. Here is StumbleUpon’s description of the tool:
“StumbleUpon integrates peer-to-peer and social networking principles with one-click blogging to create an emergent content referral system. Our patent-pending toolbar system automates the collection, distribution and review of web content within an intuitive social framework, providing users with a browsing experience which resembles “channel-surfing” the web. This architecture has easily scaled to millions of users.”

Simply put, that means that users recommend (like/thumbs up) content and then other SU users get to discover (Stumble) that content once it's in the StumbleUpon repository. The sites you Stumble are based on interests you enter when you set up your StumbleUpon account and as you like/thumbs up sites or dislike/thumbs down sites, StumbleUpon perfects what it delivers to you. User feedback is the foundation on which StumbleUpon is built.

A user who discovers a site first gets to enter the keyword details that will determine who that content is delivered to, so the more accurate the keywords the better to avoid "thumbs down". The more keywords you enter that also apply to the content, the better. (As long as they're truly accurate - remember that!)

One event really sparked my interest in StumbleUpon last spring. A post I wrote on my personal blog, which is small with a modest number of followers got five times the traffic I typically get after I shared it on StumbleUpon. Let me repeat that: It got five times the traffic. As first-day traffic for a piece goes, that one still holds the record.

I started using StumbleUpon more diligently after this incident. I've had similar results and the longer I'm using it (and sharing other's content too) the more regularly I get bursts of traffic to my blog.

Is StumbleUpon a magic formula for growth? 

Not really. You might convert occasional SU users into regular readers over time, but it's not a recipe for quick growth. It's a tool to get content out there to a wider audience that might not otherwise see it.

It's fine to share your own content - you absolutely should. But don't only share your own content. This is essentially considered spam and is frowned upon. I tend to space out when I thumbs up my own pieces unless I'm being active in promoting others' content. It's important to appropriately distribute content sharing - i.e., share others' more than you share your own. I'm intentionally taking time to thumbs up any great content I read in my RSS reader and spending a few minutes a day Stumbling to discover what's out there outside of my usual circles. I'm happy to drop out of using Twitter for those few minutes a day to incorporate StumbleUpon into my overall social media repertoire.

How do I make time for another social network?

StumbleUpon isn't a full network. I like to think of it as a secondary network. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ - those are the heavyweights (and that is debatable when it comes to Google+ for now). The secondary networks are those like StumbleUpon, Instagram, Pinterest and others that don't have robust interfaces for engagement.

I set a limit on my StumbleUpon time. It doesn't truly take very long to Stumble a few posts. I can get through about 20 in ten minutes a day. And if I'm on a site that's shareworthy on twitter, I'll often give it a thumbs up too.

The bottom line is that the benefit I derive - from increased traffic to content discovery - is greater than the investment I have to put into it and I'm a big believer in putting quality content out there in every possible place to maximize exposure.

With 20 million already using it, just think how much great content you can find!

Can you Stumble on the go?

Yes, StumbleUpon has mobile applications for Android, iPhone and iPad. I am an iThing owner, so I have those versions and they work well. I haven't found an easy way to thumbs up sites from my RSS reader, though. I'm quite disappointed that neither of the readers I use (MobileRSS/Reeder/Feedly) have SU as a sharing option. So, I've been starring anything I want to thumbs up to return to later - not an ideal option at all. Let me know if any of you have a better system!

How can you get started?

I am not an expert on StumbleUpon. I'm still learning, but I do highly recommend it as a tool - an essential tool. As I learn more, I'll share more with you. For now, I'll leave you with a few more practical links that will help you if you want to dive in right away:

Social Media Examiner - How to Use StumbleUpon: Your Comprehensive Guide

1st Web Designer - StumbleUpon FAQ, Guides, Tools, Addons And Scripts

E-Junkie.Info - StumbleUpon: A Stumbler's Comprehensive Guide Part 1

Duct Tape Marketing - 5 Step Approach to Learning the StumbleUpon Targeted Traffic Tango

MomComm - StumbleUpon: A Guide to What Not to Stumble

There may be conflicts in best practices presented in these guides and I haven't fully vetted all of the information in them to ensure it is currently accurate so some of the content may be outdated, but they all have some general information that has value to new and existing users to maximize their benefit.

Do you use StumbleUpon? What keeps you going back? 

If you don't use StumbleUpon yet, does learning more pique your interest?

Engagement isn't just something you do online - 5 tips for brands at conferences

In my professional life, engagement has been a buzz word for years for various reasons depending on the industry. Right now, I do a great deal of work in social media both personally and professionally and everybody talks about the importance of engagement. Not everyone understands how to do it well, though. This lack of understanding is particularly troublesome when you take the context of engagement "offline".

Source: CL Buchanan Photography

This past weekend, I attended Blissdom Canada, a writing and business conference that focuses on social media, marketing, public relations and blogging. Blissdom is geared toward females in this realm and, as such, attracts sponsors who gear their products toward females. Primarily food, travel, family vehicles, children's toys and household products. While I would personally love to see more tech industry brands represented, I recognize that there's a great divide between female-oriented conferences that always seem to be geared to the "mommy blogger" and other conferences that have a general audience. That's a discussion I could get into here, but I'll refrain for now. I have a few things I'd like to say to brands at conferences based on my first-hand experiences and second-hand stories (from a variety of conferences, not just Blissdom Canada).

1) Know what your goals are and why you're at the conference. When I walk up to you and say hello, I'd love to hear something from you. I'm not just walking by your booth to take what I can get. Now, if you had a stack of iPads, I might be tempted to grab and run but most of you don't have said iPads so get my attention another way. I happen to be a blogger who hasn't worked with brands very much and I don't seek out that relationship. So, why should I talk to you, try your product or potentially write about it? Having an awkward 20 seconds as I pass by on my way to the next booth means I'm going to forget about you even though you handed me a bag with your logo on it.

2) If you want to give away "swag", make it meaningful, useful and audience appropriate. There were several food companies at Blissdom Canada this year. Every last one of them showed and gave away products that are or can be controversial to various segments of the population, but most particularly among health-conscious mothers. Other brands handed a pile of paper or promotional items to visitors. All of this in the name of getting their name out there. To get noticed. To get exposure. I wonder how many of my fellow conference attendees made a generous addition to their recycling bin and the landfill today with these things they can't really use or don't want. (I vow here and now that the first brand I feel comfortable giving an endorsement and who does an eco-friendly promotion at a conference is getting a blog post from me - no strings attached to it.)

3) The Golden Rule is the best practice for booth staffing. I heard from countless people about a staffperson who was repeatedly rude or short with visitors. While I understand that a crowd around your booth can be overwhelming and your booth activity might be keeping you far busier than expected, staff should always be courteous to visitors and not treat them poorly. Here's why: I may not know that staffperson's name, but I know your brand name.

4) Social media conference engagement starts and ends online - before, during and after. Yes, you have a physical presence at the conference. Of course you're busy talking to the stream of people flooding your booth at all times of the day. Don't forget to check your twitter and facebook accounts. Attendees will interact with you during sessions and overnight when they have questions and comments. Be sure you have resources to stay just as engaged online as you are face-to-face.

5) Don't let the connection you made die: Follow-up. I've been the brand at conferences before. I know how busy it is when you get back to the office and work piled up while you're gone, in addition to all the new work generated by all the conversations you had at the conference. If you don't follow-up within the first two days after the conference, the adrenaline rush is going to fizzle out and your opportunity to engage potential influencers will vanish. When visitors finally get your email a week, two weeks, six months later it won't generate nearly the enthusiastic response you'd get if you sent it within the first two days to a week.

Reaching out to bloggers is an effective and efficient way to reach a targeted market with information about your product and services. As the marketing world catches on to just how valuable a relationship with bloggers can be, the brands who do that interaction right will stay ahead of the game in terms of their reach. The ones who don't will continue to rack up missed opportunities that will make them question the value of social media. The key to doing this right is to engage, engage, engage. It isn't about selling to your connections. It's about developing a relationship online and off.