Newspapers are Using Social Media to Save the Industry
These days, everyone knows that one of the hottest stories any newspaper can cover is that of its own demise. The collapse of print advertising and the downturn in sales, at the news stand and through subscriptions, has led to a frantic search for new ways to monetize content that’s often available online for free.
Social media gives any business an interactive channel to communicate with its current and future customers. For newspapers, that channel can increase the chances of survival in a market where commoditized information has diminished the value of individual brands. Here are ten ways newspapers are using social media to save the industry.
1. Twitter headline feeds
With more than 280,000 followers, the New York Times’ main Twitter feed dwarfs the Wall Street Journal (19,000+), the Washington Post (4,800+), and the Chicago Tribune (5,200+). Many metropolitan and small-town dailies have followed suit, creating a TwitterTwitter reviews
handle as an extension of their brand, but the Times, like other large dailies, has gone one step further, establishing channels for Books, Arts and Entertainment, and other sections. These are sub-channels that support personalized interaction, a point of interest for advertisers.2. Acquiring providers of social media services
In November, 2008, Gannett Co., publisher of 85 daily newspapers, acquired Ripple6, Inc., maker of a social networking platform that links marketers to end users. By investing in a company that has already helped Procter & Gamble with its social media initiatives, Gannett will be better able to collaborate with its advertisers. Look for more acquisitions, or partnerships, as legacy publishers broaden their online portfolios.
4. Promoting and monetizing user-generated content
In 2007, the Cincinnati Enquirer created CaptureCincinnati.com, a photo-sharing site where over a thousand local photographers uploaded nearly 12,000 images. The best shots were featured in Capture Cincinnati, a coffee table photo book that included a DVD, selling at a retail price of $39.95. Last year, the numbers continued to improve, and the Enquirer expects strong sales of the 2008 edition as well. Marketers might call this bundling products, but whatever you call it, the Enquirer probably won’t argue.
5. Story-based communities
The Toronto Globe and Mail uses Cover It Live, a live-blogging/discussion tool that provides interactive coverage of breaking news and live events such as conferences and hearings. Real-time comments, audio and video postings, and polls are among the types of content that can be recorded and then embedded in the story, like this piece on a subway shooting in January.6. Collaborative outsourced news services
While British startup Yoosk bills itself as an “interactive news magazine,” it represents the type of outsourced service many newspapers may wind up using as their own resources dwindle. Yoosk allows its users to put a question to politicians and celebrities, to comment on the publicly viewable answers, and to submit their own ideas for interview features. Its founders hope to collaborate with established news sites, including newspapers willing to outsource parts of their magazine sections.7. Customized delivery
Denver-based MediaNews Group, publisher of such major dailies as the Denver Post and Oakland Tribune, has announced plans to test a “customized news delivery service called ‘I-News’ or ‘Individuated News” this summer with the LA Daily News. This service would allow subscribers to choose from different categories, including news from other parts of the country. Blending the offerings of regional newspapers into a separate platform may help more of them survive.8. Branded communities
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has launched MySTLtoday, a branded community featuring areas such as user-created groups, user-posted content, and special interest sections like St. Louis’ BestBridal. Excerpts from shared stories are printed each week in the legacy paper. This might seem old-school, but it strengthens a traditional middle American brand, and it promotes more interaction, which helps advertisers pinpoint their targets.9. Publishing APIs for third-party developers
The New York Times has taken the lead in an area sure to attract other organizations. By publishing application programming interfaces, or APIs, for third-party software developers, the Times Developer Network has encouraged the creation of a new class of social media applications. Developers have already produced mashups that combine Times content with other resources. Advertisers should see new opportunities to embed messages tailored to the end user, and the Times may partner with those developers it deems worthy, avoiding the incremental cost of creating new applications internally.UK’s The Guardian has announced similar plans to open up its content with Open Platform.
10. Burning the boat that brought you
Unfortunately, this isn’t the most agreeable method for many, but social media applied to a smaller, virtual organization might be the way of the future. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer may move to an online-only version of its daily newspaper. This is the ultimate way to save a paper through social media: make the Web its only channel of distribution, and leverage the history of the brand. Loyalty won’t be hard to track, and the test of that loyalty will be the price point established by subscriptions, for individual sections or the entire publication. The argument “would you save this paper for the price of a latte?” becomes very cogent, especially in Seattle.Twitter Professors: 18 People to Follow for a Real Time Education
Never before in history has it been easier to glean from the knowledge of others who will give it away to you for free. It’s equivalent to getting higher education. I’m talking about Masters level stuff. And it’s all available right there on Twitter. I call the people I follow who contribute above and beyond the basic answer to “what are you doing?” my professors of Twitter.
Many of them don’t even know it and that’s the beauty. There is no course outline, no costly tuition (yet anyway), no declared major, and you can take as many electives as you want. There’s also no hard and fast list of required experience to be my personal Twitter Professor and tenure is non-existent. I do have very simple guidelines I keep in my head when designating my Twitter Professors:
1) RT really smart stuff from the people they follow saving me from sifting through even more of a stream of Tweets.
2) Have insightful Tweets in and of themselves (not just links).
3) Inspire me to engage in conversation with them or with others.
4) Write really great articles/blog posts on subjects I want to learn about or point to interesting articles I would never have read otherwise.
5) Expand my world experience through their stream of Tweets.
Usually, it’s a combination of many things and there is no way to quantify it, there’s no real formula and there’s no one particular Tweet that I can pull from to summarize their contributions. I just feel out the people I like to follow most.
Below are 18 people I follow for a real time education. Please suggest your own Twitter professors in the comments.
Christopher Penn
@cspenn
Why he’s my Prof: Like many of the Twitter Professors, he gives information freely for which others might charge an arm and a leg. He provides a daily heads up on what to look out for by analyzing real financial indicators. Because of @cspenn, I know to track the TED spread and the BDI and why. He also gives advice about online marketing. Oh, and he co-founded Podcamp.
Courses offered: Finance, Online Marketing
Required Reading: christopherspenn.com, The Twitter Power Guide
JOHNABYRNE
@JOHNABYRNE
Why he’s my Prof: He really engages people on Twitter, which is admirable for an Editor-in-Chief at a national business magazine’s website. Sure he could have assigned some lackey intern to Twitter all day, but he didn’t. I’d expect nothing less from a self-professed “Digital Journalism Advocate.” I even know the important people he’s HAVING lunch with and what they are going to talk about. He asks for suggestions on questions to ask them. He doesn’t just tell you afterward that they ordered the bisque and it was a little cold. He also gave us a list of all the other BusinessWeek writers that Twitter, which is where I found @shirleybrady and @stevebaker.
Courses offered: Business, Finance, Journalism
Required Reading: BusinessWeek.com
Jeremiah Owyang
@jowyang
Why he’s my Prof: As the Senior Analyst in Social Computing at Forrester Research, @jowyang provides an endless stream of information about that voodoo that we do. Then he tried an experiment and purposely stopped Twittering for 20 days to refocus. Boy did I miss him. I learned that the world won’t blow up if I leave Twitter for 3 weeks, but if it did, I’d have to find out about it with everyone else in the world. He also cuts a mean run as a Salsa dancer.
Course Offered: Social Media Web Strategy
Required Reading: web-strategist.com/blog
Beth Kanter
@Kanter
Why she’s my Prof: When I got my job at a nonprofit (@ALSofGNY) I dove right into Social Media as the primary way to connect with patients, families, caregivers and potential donors. I sought out others to learn how to do it better and @Kanter’s name came up. @Kanter imparts all her wisdom about how nonprofits can benefit from Social Media.
Course Offered: Nonprofits 2.0
Required Reading: beth.typepad.com
Ann Handley
@MarketingProfs
Why she’s my Prof: Chris Brogan says about Ann: “She’s connected to LOTS of great people, so when I see who she’s talking about, I pursue and learn more.” Agreed. Ann has the coolest job title in the world as Chief Content Officer. She uses social media to share marketing resources with the crowds, and I’m here picking up the tidbits.
Course Offered: Content Marketing
Required Reading: annhandley.com, mpdailyfix.com
Chris Brogan
@chrisbrogan
Why he’s my Prof: If I left him off the list, I’d get phone calls. The man is always pushing a boundary of New Media whether it’s doing a paid post for Kmart as a trusted blogger and lighting up the blogosphere or telling you why you’re micro-famous, dammit and you’re special so go out and conquer the world, no charge for the moxie. He’s one of the biggest proponents of giving away value to get value that I know.
Course Offered: Online Business Communications
Required Reading: chrisbrogan.com
Sarah Evans
@PRsarahevans
Why she’s my Prof: Founding #journchat alone is enough to make this list, IMHO. She has created a community, fostered it and is committed to making it grow, but brave enough to let it grow on its own. It’s a lesson that, if you love something, set it free – well, you know the rest. No wonder her bio says that philanthropy and volunteerism rank high on her priority list.
Courses Offered: Communications, New Media, Community Building.
Required Reading: prsarahevans.com, #journchat
Tara “missrogue” Hunt
@missrogue
Why she’s my Prof: I didn’t know what a “whuffie” was until I met her. It’s what she calls “the store of social capital that is the currency of the digital world.” This professor has me sitting up straight in the front row and paying attention. I like her sincere style. Hunt specializes in marketing to existing communities but admits that she’s somewhat of a marketing whore (her words) and dedicated consumer. When she’s “handing out whuffie like it’s growin’ on trees,” you know I’ll be first in line.
Courses Offered: Online Community Marketing, Personal Branding
Required Reading: horsepigcow.com, Whuffie Factor
Jennifer Leggio
@mediaphyter
Why she’s my Prof: Is there ever a time of day that I’m on Twitter and @mediaphyter is not imparting her opinion and knowledge? She blogs and tweets about the crossroads of technology and social media. Whether she’s fighting for or against the media, she usually comes out on top.
Courses Offered: Social Media, Technology, Communications
Required Reading: blogs.zdnet.com/feeds
Jay Rosen
@jayrosen_nyu
Why he’s my Prof: A real life professor at NYU J-School who spends a good amount of time offering his commentary and advice. His linkouts always follow a theme from one side of an argument to another until he’s sure you’ve got the best of what is being said on a subject, then gives a little more. What I really like is that he doesn’t “do lifecasting but mindcasting on Twitter.”
Courses Offered: Journalism, New Media.
Required Reading: journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink
Laurel Touby
@laureltouby
Why she’s my Prof: I don’t think any of my other Twitter Profs go out and live Tweet from conferences and meetings more than @laureltouby. As co-creator of mediabistro.com, she’s the one who gets me all the info on media, PR and journalism (when it’s not a Monday evening and I’m on #journchat). Her entrepreneurial energy comes through in her feed as she treks around the country attending conferences, meeting people, and making connections.
Courses Offered: Media, Media, Media, Networking
Required Reading: mediabistro.com
Meryl at Beanstalk
@Meryl333
Why she’s my Prof: What’s so funny about peace, love and understanding? Nothing according to @Meryl333. I look to her for reaction to just about everything in current events, which is usually positive and calming. She even shares her Jewish cooking. Sometimes I think I can smell the latkes frying on the stove while she Tweets. Yummy. Good food, good advice and just enough guilt.
Courses Offered: Peace, Love and Understanding
Required Reading: @Meryl1333
Shel Israel
@shelisrael
Why he’s my Prof: His breadth of interest and knowledge may make him the Dean of Twitter. He and I may not see eye to eye on brands on Twitter, but at least he respects my opinion on the matter. I also notice that he’s not immune to chasing an idea down a rat hole just in case there’s something under there, which is why he’s spending his days interviewing the people behind the brands on Twitter for a section in his new book, Twitterville, set to be published this fall. But while you wait you can get a ton of info by following his links to his interviews, which he’s posting on his website.
Courses Offered: Social Media, Journalism.
Required Reading: redcouch.typepad.com, Twitterville, Naked Conversations
Andrew Maynard
@2020science
Why he’s my Prof: Maynard is a “scientist gone over to the dark side” according to his profile, and I am glad he did. He communicates all the good stuff on his blog that you really don’t get everywhere else. Then he adds in his bio, as if it’s a minor thing” “Oh, and am the Science Advisor to the Project on Emerging Nanotech.” Super smart guy on Twitter alert.
Course Offered: Science
Required Reading: 2020science.org
Jeffrey Levy
@levyj413
Why he’s my Prof: He’s a Government 2.0 pro and with a long resume just on his Twitter profile. Watching his Tweets, I learn about Government on the Web, get info on how Government 2.0 is shaping up, and specific links to government websites for a ton of other information.
Course Offered: Government 2.0
Required Reading: @levyj413
Chris Heuer
@chrisheuer
Why he’s my Prof: Do I need another Social Media professor? Probably not, but I make an exception for Heuer. He promotes a way to bring legitimacy to and awareness of Social Media to the public. He co-founded Social Media Club to bring together like-minded people: You and me.
Course Offered: Social Media
Required Reading: chrisheuer.com
Brian Stelter
@brianstelter
Why he’s my Prof: Stelter offers a smart, critical view of television and media. And if you didn’t guess by now, I likes me some media. He intersperses his Tweets with TV factoids, comments about his workday at the New York Times and links to his articles – a 360 degree view of what it’s like to be a media journalist and blogger with The Gray Lady. Ok I’ll admit it; I’m living vicariously through his Tweets.
Course Offered: Media, Journalism
Required Reading: tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com
Fern Ellen Cohen
@fec139
Why she’s my Prof: Cohen (no relation) hasn’t posted much yet, but who else is letting you know the interests and experiences of someone with a fatal neurological disease that robs you of your ability to move, breathe and speak and has no treatment and no cure? Yeah. Makes you think, right? Puts things into perspective? That’s what a good Professor does. She’s a former teacher, who used to talk a lot but according to her bio, ALS has forced her to “sit down and shut up.” That did not stop her from communicating and what better way to communicate to the world when you can’t travel far from home or speak aloud than the World Wide Web?
Course Offered: How to be both earnest and funny in the face of tragedy
Required Reading: fernals.blogspot.com
Help me find more professors
As you can see from my list, there is no lack of people out there Twittering about media, public relations, social networking and journalism. (In fact, there are a tremendous number of Twitter profiles claiming to be Social Media experts, ninjas or demigods.) My regret is that none of the Twitter Profs on my list are in the arts. Plenty are writers, but none are writing fiction. I’m looking for artists that Twitter about their craft while opening other’s eyes to the world of their chosen profession. Or even better, a real university professor twittering about art history, literature, performing or dramatic arts, etc. Are you out there? I’d like to take your class next semester.
HOW TO: Create Groups for Twitter
One of the most demanded features for Twitter has been the ability to create groups, allowing members to focus on different sets of people they’re following. For example, you could create groups for all of your fantasy league friends, colleagues at work, friends in real life, family members, and so on.
Because Twitter still does not provide any group feature, it has opened the floodgates for countless third party solutions. There are many different ways Twitter members can create virtual groups. Here is a roundup of some of the most popular methods employed today.
Have another method to tell us about? Let us know more in the comments.
Third Party Services
TweetWorks - My favorite of the bunch because it’s so quick and easy to setup a group. Here’s one that I created called Writers for people interested in writing. Groups can be public or private, which is a plus. Another good option is the ability to post messages just to your group or to the group and the public Twitter timeline at the same time. Currently there is a limit to the number of private groups you can create or join but eventually there will be a premium account with an unlimited option. You don’t need to join the service, but you do need to login with your Twitter account (If you’re concerned with security, you can view their privacy policy here).
TwitTangle - You don’t just create groups on this service but also tag and rate your friends which helps you filter your timeline any way you want. The best feature is batch grouping which lets you drag and drop many friends easily into the groups you’ve created. You’ll need to use your Twitter name and password to login to this service.
TwitTag - This isn’t really a group tweeting service, but a tag searching service that you can use to filter tweets according to whatever unique hashtag you’ve established for your group. For example, you could include a hashtag like #MyNewGroup in any message you post on Twitter and TwitTag will group all of those messages together on its service.
Filttr - A new service that provides the ability to establish groups according to filters (hence its name) that you apply to your own Twitter stream. You create your groups by simply clicking each name you want to add to that group.
Twitter Clients
TweetDeck - This has become one of the most popular Twitter clients because of the way you can create groups with all of your contacts and filter messages the way you want them. It requires Adobe Air and sports a slick black interface.
twhirl - Another wildly popular Twitter client that also includes support for Friendfeed. While there’s no inherent way to create groups for Twitter (as you can with TweetDeck), you can use its Friendfeed connection to access Friendfeed’s Rooms feature which acts like a grouping tool.
Twitter - You can use Twitter’s powerful search tool to create an adhoc group similar to the method explained in TwitTag which involves using unique hashtags for your groups.
Your Own Twitter Service
If none of these floats your boat then why not roll your own Twitter-like service for your group? Many solutions offer free ways to do so with little effort on your part.
Yammer - Most likely the most popular Twitter-Clone service around today. The biggest complaint is that all members must have the same domain in their email address.
Twingr - The members are not restricted to using the same domain in email addresses here. Every group gets their own URL such as http://GroupName.twingr.com.
QikCom - Similar to Yammer except Qikcom offers several premium accounts that include more administrative functions and tools. You can customize the free accounts with your own logo and add as many employees as you want.
Laconi.ca - You can host your own Twitter-like service on your own server inside your firewall if you want thanks to this open source solution that continues to gain traction. This is the technology that Identi.ca runs on so you can test it out without installing it.
Personal Branding 102: How to Communicate & Maintain Your Brand
In my previous post, Personal Branding 101, we discussed the importance of branding in this web 2.0 world, as well as how to discover and create your brand. In Personal Branding 102 we’ll discuss how you’ll communicate your personal brand, using social media tools and proven marketing tactics, and then how to sustain your future growth by performing brand maintenance.
Communicating your brand
This is the exciting and challenging part of the process. You’ve figured out what you want to do and have created content around it. Although the content can serve as a communication engine, such as a blog that pumps out content and ranks high in search engines, you have a better chance of getting the word out by being proactive.
Put on your personal PR hat and start to promote your materials. Before you go crazy with self-promotion, realize that the most successful people are able and trained to promote the work of others as well. Here are some proven personal PR tactics:
Evangelize: Although you are the chief marketing officer for the brand called you, what others say about your brand (especially if they are respected and well-known) is more impactful than what you say about yourself. This means that you should try and find people who will help promote you when you aren’t even in the same room. You want people to blog about you, your products or your company without pitching. A fan base for your brand can really help you get the word out at the least possible cost and time commitment, but it takes time. There are people out there who are already interested in what you have to say, but you might not yet realize it. By starting a Ning network, for example, you have the infrastructure to support your own following and then communicate updates as you progress throughout your career.
Pitch media: Instead of spamming reporters, do some homework and figure out who covers what. Almost all newspapers and magazines have online versions and blogs now, which are easier to get into. It’s easier to pitch when there is actually news, but reporters are always looking for expert sources such as yourself. After you target the right reporter, email them your pitch and follow up after a week. If you still don’t hear anything, move on. Always use the journalist/blogger’s preference when communicating with them, such as Twitter, email, skype, phone, etc.
If you set Google alerts for terms in your industry or perform Twitter searches, you’ll end up finding reporters that cover your area. You can also go on Alltop.com to search for the top blogs in your industry and on mainstream websites such as the NYTimes.com to a section that makes the most sense for you. For more great tools check out Sarah Evans‘ post, “10 of the Best Tools for PR Professionals and Journalists.”
SEO: Ranking high for your expertise is extremely important. It takes time, patience and determination. It also helps to have evangelists that will link to your website. Reporters, conference organizers and customers are constantly using search engines to find expert sources, cool stories, speakers and solutions to their problems. If you’re at the top, they will contact you. It’s that simple, yet that challenging! Here are 55 SEO tips to help you rank as high as possible in search engines.
Attend events: Getting out into an area where people are already interested in what you have to say (an industry event), is where you can do some real networking. Remember that people don’t know about you until they hear about you from your mouth or from a 3rd party. Tell them what you’re up to AFTER asking them about what they do. Try some live video feeds using Qik or record video interviews during the event, so you can provide special content to your audience.
Speak at events: When attending events isn’t enough, speaking at events can satisfy your personal PR craving. It will be hard for you to speak without becoming known first though, which is why this falls after attending an event. When you speak, people automatically perceive you as an expert (unless you flop and prove them otherwise), so you’re bound to get attention, fans and new blog subscribers if you play your cards right. Make sure you have a recording of your speaking engagement, so you can use it in your marketing kit to promote to get your next gig. Try uploading it to YouTube for some added exposure.
Create your own event: The only thing bigger than being a speaker is actually starting your own event or event series. When you do this, you are perceived as a leader and a go-to-person at the event. Try using a wiki to get people to register for your event or create a blog around the event, so that you can get the attendees involved in the conversation before, during and afterward.
Comment on blogs: Bloggers love comments. Don’t even deny it! When you comment on someone else’s blog it’s like a kudos or a pat on the back. A blogger is more apt to comment back on your blog, subscribe and link to your blog if you’re a part of their community. If you comment on every blog in your industry on a consistent basis, people will get to know you based on your avatar (go to gravatar.com) and your brand will flourish.
Write articles: Article writing is a great marketing tactic. Depending on your writing portfolio and the strength of your brand, you can write for magazines, online sources or blogs (like Mashable!). There are also online article directories that you can submit your work to, such as ezinearticles.com. By contributing to these sources, you’re able to get your brand into new places, while marketing your current web properties.
The communication process never ends, unless you want to go out of business or stop growing. It can happen within a company, where you convince your manager to work on the next big project, or as an entrepreneur, where you’ll want to convince venture capitalists to invest in your company because of your brand. Either route you take in life, your brand will shift over time, as you accumulate more experience. This is where brand maintenance comes in.
Maintain your brand
There are two main parts to brand maintenance that matter: online “spring cleaning” and careful listening.
Online “spring cleaning”: As your brand grows, you must ensure that all the online assets that you have control of grow in the same respect. This means that you need to constantly update your LinkedIn profile so it contains your latest contacts, experience information, and summary. It also means that your physical resume has to be updated, in addition to your video resume and so on.
I know this is a painful task, but the reasoning is simple: first impressions on the web tell you that someone’s entry point into your brand can be a variety of sources. If one of these sources isn’t current, then you may lose an opportunity. Update your picture if you look different and your interests have changed.
Careful listening: People are going to be talking about you in various places, such as Twitter, blogs, social networks and more. You need to keep track of what they are saying, so that you can respond accordingly. There are many tools out there to help you such as Twitter search, Google alerts, and more. By listening to your industry, you’re able to react and better position yourself, as the economy changes and your niche isn’t as relevant anymore.
It all starts with you. You can make anything happen and now, with these social tools, it’s easier to accomplish more in less time. People that can help you accomplish your dreams are at your fingertips. It’s up to you to figure out what you want to do and surround yourself with the people that can help in your personal branding conquest.
Remember that right now these social tools pose as a differentiator, but soon they will be so standard that they will be a qualifier. Take advantage of what’s here before it’s too late and good luck on your personal branding journey!
3 Ways to Harness the Social
Social media allows for an immediate way to interact and engage with people and companies online. There are the obvious sites that allow for social networking, but social media done right can aspire to be so much more. We thought we’d highlight three notable Twiistup showoffs who are doing big things with social media.
For those unfamiliar with the event, Twiistup features 10 companies chosen to show off their products and services, competing to win top honors. Even though we think all the competitors are worthy of the honor of showing off at tomorrow night’s big event in Los Angeles, we think each of the three featured startups are game changers when it comes to social change, social tech support, or social tagging. And, should you wish to make a prediction, you can cast your vote for who will win Twiistup 5.
Social Change
Causecast focuses on bringing together all walks of life to better our world. The community-focused site attracts high-profile thought leaders and savvy world-changing types to support non-profits, charities, and causes.
Users can browse categories to view new videos, related news, leaders (think celebrities and cause advocates), and search for specific organizations. Since each benevolent business has its own mini-community, it’s easy to find out more information about a cause, see who else supports it, view funds raised, get up close and personal with photos and videos, and opt to donate if feeling extra generous (donations are tax deductible with all funds going to the charities).
Causecast is a fantastic platform that offers users a myriad of ways to engage with causes or leaders, all the while serving up great original content that can be shared across the web.
Social Tech Support
Operating under the philosophy that users know best, FixYa has been providing do-it-yourself tech support, manuals, and troubleshooting tools for whiz kids and beginners alike since 2006.
The site, which is like an online user-driven Geek Squad or LinkedIn Answers for trouble-shooting, aims to harness the genius within, as well as help you make the most of your technology purchases either by learning how to repair or tweak products for enhanced performance. Members can also reference FixYa’s recommended top service repair providers by zip code and category for offline support.
Of course, if reputation matters, you can turn to FixYa’s best experts — site vetted specialists on a variety of topics — for a reasonable fee. Since solutions can be rated, and members are scored you can still get quality advice free of charge. FixYa also offers custom partnerships with business services and manufacturers, so businesses of all sizes can leverage FixYa for help with their support initiatives.
We also really love that new problems dynamically appear at the bottom of your screen, making it quick and painless to troubleshoot on areas of expertise as you browse.
All in all, FixYa massively improves upon the bulletin board style of other fix-it help sites, with a highly interactive, convenient, easy to use, and affordable solution to tech needs for over 1 million products.
Social Tagging
Viewdle is a digital media platform specializing in facial-recognition for enhancing indexing, search, and monetization of video assets. It boils down to smart video tagging of people for better meta data and search.
Viewdle’s system works by analyzing videos frame by frame (55 frames per second) for real-time results with on-screen appearances of your search queries, essentially making sifting through massive amounts of media pretty painless.
The company, which was originally targeting internal media departments, is now expanding into advertising services, developer tools, and end-user search. To see an example of Viewdle in the field, check out Reuters, which is currently offering Search-in-Video of their media, powered by Viewdle.
Viewdle’s social offering takes the shape of a consumer-facing Facebook app, VideoFriends. The handy tool lets you tag your friends in uploaded videos, and learns to recognize people automatically over time. We think this a big step forward, and will definitely help socialize your video content in the same way as your photos.
Personal Branding 101: How to Discover and Create Your Brand
In the past few years personal branding has been discussed exhaustively throughout the Net. The difference between today and over ten years ago when it was first mentioned by Tom Peters, is the rise of social technologies that have made branding not only more personal, but within reach.
From the corporate brand (BMW), to the product brand (BMW M3 Coupe) and down to the personal brand (car salesman), branding is a critical component to a customer’s purchasing decision. These days, customer complaints and opinions are online and viewable through a simple search, on either Google or through social networks. There is no hiding anymore and transparency and authenticity are the only means to survive and thrive in this new digital kingdom.
Many people think that personal branding is just for celebrities such as Paris Hilton or Britney Spears, yet each and every one of us is a brand. Personal branding, by definition, is the process by which we market ourselves to others. As a brand, we can leverage the same strategies that make these celebrities or corporate brands appeal to others. We can build brand equity just like them.
We can also have just as much presence as most startups and mid-size companies and products. Social media tools have leveled the playing ground and have enabled us to reach incredible heights, at the cost of our time. Today, I want to share the personal branding process, so you can start to think about what face you want to show to the world and how you want to position yourself for success!
1. Discover your brand
The single biggest mistake people make is that they either brand themselves just for the sake of doing it or that they fail to invest time in learning about what’s in their best interests. The key to success, and this isn’t revolutionary, is to be compensated based on your passion. In order to find your passion, you need a lot of time to think, some luck and you need to do some research online to figure out what’s out there.
Brand discovery is about figuring out what you want to do for the rest of your life, setting goals, writing down a mission, vision and personal brand statement (what you do and who you serve), as well as creating a development plan. Have you ever been called intelligent or humorous by your peers or coworkers? That description is part of your brand, especially if you feel those attributed pertain to you. To know if you’ve discovered your brand, you need to make this equation equal:
Before you enter the next step in the personal branding process, you’ll want to select a niche, whereby you can be the master of your domain. For example, Joel Comm has mastered the Google Adsense niche and brands himself using his name, and Brian Solis owns the social media PR niche with his PR 2.0 blog (under his name). When I say domain, I mean an area where there aren’t many competitors and literally, your online domain name. Once you sort this all out, now it’s time to create your brand.
2. Create your brand
Now that you know what you want to do and have claimed a niche, at least in your mind, it’s time to get it on paper and online. The sum of all the marketing material you should develop for your brand is called a Personal Branding Toolkit. This kit consists of the following elements that you can use to highlight your brand and allow people to easily view what you’re about:
1. Business card: It doesn’t matter if you’re a college student, CEO, or a consultant, everyone should have their own business card. The card should contain your picture, your personal brand statement (such as Boston Financial Expert), as well as your *preferred* contact information and corporate logo if necessary.
You can create your own business card and share it through your mobile phone using mydropcard.com or rmbrme.com. On the web, BusinessCard2.com is a great social network for creating and distributing your person business card.
2. Resume/cover letter/references document: These are typical documents that you need for applying for jobs and when you go on interviews (something over 2 million job seekers will be doing as we speak). Be sure to prioritize each document with information custom to the target position. Take your resume online and add social features to it to make the ultimate social media resume, promoting your personal brand to the world and making it shareable.
3. Portfolio: Whether you use a CD, web or print portfolio, it’s a great way to showcase the work you’ve done in the past, which can convince someone of your ability to accomplish the same results for the future. Figdig.com and carbonmade.com are social networks for people who want to show off their creative skills to the world.
4. Blog/website: You need to own yourname.com or a website that aligns with your name in some fashion. Depending on who you are, how much time you have on your hands and if you can accept criticism, you should either start a blog or stick with a static homepage. Those who blog will have a stronger asset than those who don’t because blogs rank higher in search engines and lend more to your expertise and interest areas over time.
5. LinkedIn profile: A LinkedIn profile is a combination of a resume, cover letter, references document and a moving and living database of your network. Use it to create your own personal advertising, to search for jobs or meet new people.
6. Facebook profile: Over 160 million people have profiles, but almost none of them have branded themselves properly using this medium. Be sure to include a Facebook picture of just you, without any obscene gestures or unnecessary vodka bottles. Also, input your work experience and fill out your profile, while turning on the privacy options that disable the ability for people to tag you in pictures and videos (allowing people to see the ones tagged of you).
7. Twitter profile: Your Twitter profile should have an avatar that is carved out of your Facebook picture and used in your LinkedIn profile. You need to use a distinct background, fill out your profile and include a link to either your blog or LinkedIn profile. Twitterbacks.com, developed by internet mogul Jim Kukral, has templates you can use to sculpt your very own Twitter background (Photoshop skills not included). Twitbacks.com is another solution that also lets you promote your Twitter profile.
8. Video resume: A video resume is a short video of you talking about why you are the best for a specific job opportunity. You get about a minute or so to communicate your brand and are able to send the link, once you upload it to YouTube, to hiring managers.
9. Wardrobe: Your personal style is tangible and is extremely important for standing out from the crowd. Select clothing that best represents you because it will be viewable through your pictures/avatars online, as well as when you meet people in reality.
10. Email address: Don’t overlook your email address as not being a significant part of your toolkit. Most people use email over all social networks and when you connect with someone on a social network, you are notified via email, so get used to it. Your email address poses a great opportunity for your brand. I recommend using gmail because of the acceptance of Google and since GTalk allows you to form tighter relationships with others. For your address, use “firstname.lastname@gmail.com.”
What’s next?
After you spend the time on these parts of your personal branding toolkit, it’s time to showcase it to the world, especially your target audience. Don’t be fooled by the myth that if you build it, they will come. Unless you’re the luckiest person on earth, you’ll have to actually communicate everything you’ve created to others.
In the next post, I will discuss how you can take the personal branding toolkit you’ve developed and communicate it to your audience. I’ll give you tips on how to market your personal brand to become known in your niche. Then, I’ll finish by explaining how you should monitor and update your brand over your lifetime.
