Foursquare: Social Media Game or Privacy Invasion?

Even if you don’t keep abreast of the most cutting-edge social media and technology ventures, you might have heard of Foursquare. The social media game allows users to post their location on Facebook and Twitter. Users then win "badges," such as the 9-5 badge that signifies that they've checked into their workplace location 15 out of the last 30 days. When they post a specific location more than anyone else over 30 days, they become “mayors” of that location.

Foursquare has raised some privacy and safety concerns because users
are announcing not only where they are – but where they aren’t (home, for instance). Some enterprising souls demonstrated this with a biting and funny website called pleaserobme.com While no longer active, when the site was created it posted an updated list of people who were not home based on their Foursquare posts. If they had previously posted their home's address, it was easy to show where on a map the empty home was located. For more about this site, check out Techcrunch's article.

Social Media and the Internet 101: Trolls part 1

Trebuchet’s social media guru, Ashley, has the pulse on the constantly-changing world of the Internet. She’ll help you make sense of the latest happenings of the Internet and social media – what you should know and whether you need to get on board. Not only will you sound smart, but you can make keen decisions for your business!

Trolls: Aren’t they the whimsical rubber collector toys with the wispy hair, the ones that sat on the end of your – or your kids’ – eraser pencils? You know what I’m talking about.

While they're whimsical in our minds, on the Internet they're a whole other colorful ball of wax. The internet is stuffed full of different types of people. Different personalities, motivations, and quirks. This is just like the "real world" where different social groups all have cultures that look different from each other. However, due to the Internet's unique characteristics, the cultures that arise online can look very different from their real world counterparts. One of the biggest differences between internet culture and real life culture is the phenomenon of "trolls." For online citizens who have only just heard the term, they probably gathered quickly that the term was not positive. However, what exactly is a troll, and why do people think they're such a pain in the tookus?

What is a Troll?

Trolls, put simply, are participants in internet conversations that disrupt the conversation for others, either intentionally or unintentionally. Whether it's by posting blatantly rude, hateful or inflammatory comments on a YouTube video, or by posting repeatedly in a forum thread without contributing to the original discussion in a meaningful way, or by insulting a blog's author or fellow commenters due to differing opinions, trolls make it difficult for folks with good intentions to have discussions online.

Trolls often make their presence immediately known. For some, just saying something as simple as "You Suck" (and any number of poorly written variations) will give them their kicks. For others, trolling is a more subtle affair. Certain communities, for example, will have topics that can rouse others to anger and ultimately distract from the original topic. For example, a sports blog focusing on the local home team could definitely be distracted by an errant comment saying the pitcher/quarter back/star player was terrible. These might not necessarily read immediately as a troll comment, especially when language like "In my opinion" is used within it. However, the end result will probably be a disruptive fight, which is the end result of a troll "attack".

Not every troll intends to be a troll. Some trolls are simply folks who don't understand the nuances of online conversations. They might be well-intended but ignorant souls looking to participate in a conversation, but are doing so poorly. Yet others might not have the best of intentions, and instead wish to get a stir out of folks they disagree with. There's no question, however, that the most disrupting kind of troll are those who do so as a hobby, and know full well that they're trolling. For those types of trolls, the "art" of finding out exactly what will push the buttons of those they interact with online gives them satisfaction.

Ultimately, any comment that exists to draw attention away from the original post or to stir up trouble can be considered a troll comment.

In our next blog post on Trolls, we'll discuss where they come from, and what the non-troll members of the online world can do about them.

If there's a topic you'd like Ashley to tackle, email her at Ashley@trebuchetcom.com
Photo above is titled "The Troll Invasion" by Cali4beach via flickr.com.

The World Wide Web

The Web. It’s everywhere. It’s where people of all ages and backgrounds gather information. If your business doesn’t have a web presence in some capacity, it’s almost as if it doesn’t exist! Internet marketing tools are a great way to reach a wider audience (it is worldwide, after all) in ways that traditional marketing methods can’t compete with. We’re going to discuss a few of them here!

Websites vs. Splash Pages

A website is a way to legitimize your business. It’s expected that even the smallest of companies at least have a simple website containing basic information. It tells people how to reach you, what your business does, and might even have photos of your work or testimonials from satisfied customers. Even a basic website will have 3-5 “buttons” or “tabs” for the separate pages. The purpose of a website is to tell potential customers what you do. It should function as a brochure of sorts, and should let people know how to get a hold of you if they have additional questions.

A splash page is a single landing page on the web. It can have hyperlinks to other websites, but doesn’t have any buttons or tabs leading to additional pages. It’s a static entity. These are great for small companies that can’t afford to do a full website, but still want to have a web address and a small amount of information visible. There’s room on a splash page for 3-4 photos, contact information, and a brief blurb or two about your company. It’s better to start small than have nothing at all!

Example Splash Page: http://shopyourhouse.com

Example Website: http://www.christinenelsondesign.com

Blogging

While it may seem that everyone and their uncle has a blog these days, there are actually far more readers than writers. This is an opportunity! When we suggest blogging to our marketing clients, they tend to dismiss the idea, saying they couldn’t possibly have anything interesting to say. We disagree. Writing a blog is a chance to become the “expert” on any subject matter that’s important to you... like your business! It’s free to start a blog, and you can update it as often as you choose. Once a month is usually do-able for most people. If you’re a kitchen designer, blog about interesting articles you’ve read, new color trends, tips for being eco-friendly, and things like that. While a blog indirectly promotes your business, you shouldn’t use it as a platform to sell your products or services. A blog is a way to share information, and in doing so, you build trust with your readers and they start viewing you as a resource and as an expert.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a free tool offered by Google to help you track traffic to your website. It’s fairly simple to install, but you need some prior computer programming knowledge to do so. Once it’s set up, the tool will generate monthly reports directly to your Inbox with information on how many people visited your website, how much time they spent on each page, what kinds of words they used to find you on a search engine, and where geographically the visitors live.

For example, if a kitchen designer’s report told her that 90% of her website visitors last month came from the northern suburbs, that tells her that current advertising efforts in those cities are working or that she needs to probably start targeting those areas. If her report also told her that people were spending 5 minutes on her “Project Gallery” and only 20 seconds on her “Services” page, she might want to think about incorporating some of the Services information into her Project Gallery to ensure people are seeing the services she offers. With the monthly reports, you can look at your marketing efforts and evaluate as you go. If you or someone you know can install the Analytics tool, it’s well worth it!

Social Media

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are all on the forefront of marketing efforts for companies big to small these days. Wikipedia defines social media as a “shift in how people discover and share news, information and content.” Is it a passing fad or something just for tech-savvy 20-somethings? No and no! Marketing messages used to be disseminated via one-way communication that would maybe reach the target audience: direct mail, TV commercials, magazine and newspaper ads. With social media, information is shared among many, and is more of a dialogue than a monologue.

How do you know which of the thousands of social media platforms to use?

Look at each social medium and adjust your material accordingly. The largest group of people on Facebook is women between the ages of 35-54. The largest population using Twitter is women ages 18-34. These are two very different groups of people in terms of how they think and how they buy. Using the same message across the board would be a mistake!

How can social media help my business?

Social media increases your reach. These platforms allow people to interact with you in a way that’s easier for them. Increasingly, people are basing their business decisions on social conversations. Your actions and presence on Facebook, Linked In, Twitter and other platforms speak to your integrity, good or bad. Potential customers of all ages and income levels will do their research before doing business with a company, so what does your presence online say about yours? Facebook has 100,000,000 unique visitors to its website each month. Given that it’s a free tool to use, why not take advantage of that opportunity?

© 2010 Trebuchet Communications