If you’re a vlogger, picking out the best camera can be — well — a painful experience. I know that I’ve gone through a few and have spent $$$ trying to find the best one. Check out this great product review by video blogging expert Gideon Shalwick to help you decide which camera to choose. Watch his latest video review: Flip UltraHD vs Kodak Zi8. Great stuff!
Philadelphia requires bloggers who earn income to buy licence
This is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard in my life. Yes, you read that headline correctly. The City of Philadelphia now requires bloggers who are honest enough to report any income on their income tax return to purchase either an annual $50 licence or a $300 lifetime licence. This is truly government gone wild, in my opinion. These business activities are usually not even hosted on servers located in the city. Also, what if you only blogged while travelling and not in the city itself? What a hornet’s nest of bureaucracy and red tape!
Click here to read more on this at ReadWriteWeb.
Social media predictions for next NB election
While this post relates specifically to my home province of New Brunswick, I believe most of it applies equally to any jurisdiction.
The next provincial election in New Brunswick will be held on Monday, September 27. In anticipation of the start of the official campaign later this month, candidates and their teams throughout the province are gearing up their social media strategies and efforts.
Teams are setting up their Twitter feeds, Facebook pages, YouTube accounts and websites. In this day and age, these are all necessary in modern political campaigns. While their effectiveness may be debated to some extent, the fact is that their omission in any campaign would likely be noticed. If you’re a serious candidate, you’ll have all or some of these.
I’ve heard it said that this is the first provincial election in New Brunswick where social media will play a major role. While I agree to a certain extent, I’m not so sure it will truly play a role in getting anyone elected.
There will be a lot of repetition (candidates from a certain party sharing the same links, messages, etc.) and you have to take what everyone says with a grain of salt.
After all, let’s be honest, no political candidate or anyone on their team is completely unbiased. That doesn’t mean that everything they do and say is stretching reality, however the perception is there.
No, I don’t think the next election will be won in the realm of social media, but I do believe that it may be lost there.
There are five main parties – the Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, NDP, Greens and People’s Alliance. Let’s say that all 55 ridings have a full slate of candidates, as well as about 10 independents. That’s 285 candidates. Out of those 285, I would say that at least 90 per cent of them (257) will be involved in social media activities of some sort, many of them for the first time. Let’s just look at Twitter and Facebook and leave websites aside, as the “instant gratification” of social media interaction isn’t there with them. Let’s assume that all 257 involved in social media have a Twitter feed and Facebook page. That’s 514 recipes for disaster if not handled well. (257 Twitter and 257 Facebook equal 514.)
Many candidates are getting involved in the realm of social media because they have to. It’s just what you do when you’re running for office in 2010 – whether it be in New Brunswick or elsewhere. Candidates are popping up all over social media. Because they don’t have a lot of experience and haven’t learned by their mistakes yet, we can assume that they’ll be making them during the campaign.
Here are some predictions for how social media will impact the campaign:
1) Inexperienced candidates or their workers will post messages to their public Facebook walls or Twitter feeds that were meant to be private messages. This will put the response in their newsfeed and send it out to everyone, much to their shock and chagrin, especially if the tone of the message is negative. Controversy will ensue.
2) At least one candidate or his/her team will say something so outrageous in a moment of politically charged and passionate online debate that the candidate will be forced to resign as the party’s choice to run in that riding.
3) Several apologies will be posted throughout the campaign for things written that should never have been written. This happens to even the most experienced people on social media. With the heavy usage by inexperienced people about to begin, this is pretty much a sure bet and will happen several times.
4) Social media-savvy journalists will have a field day with candidates’ mistakes online. Virtually nothing will go unnoticed. If you’re a candidate, be prepared for this and know from day one that anything you or your team says online will be fodder for reporters.
5) Some candidates will make the mistake of assuming social media has replaced door-to-door campaigning. This is not true. Social media is just a tool. It’s not really campaigning. Attending events, shaking hands, going door to door, etc., have not yet been replaced. While there are many older adults now using social media, they’re still in the vast minority compared to younger folks. And remember: older people vote, while younger people tend not to. While social media is important, it’s not a substitute for old-style politicking and meeting people.
6) If you’re a candidate, make sure you respond to people asking questions in social media forums. It’s not a one-way street of you posting links and sending out messages. People will ask questions. Make sure you’re monitoring your social media inboxes and feeds and getting back to people in a timely manner, just as you would if they had sent you a traditional paper letter, an e-mail or called your campaign office.
7) Remember that much of what you do and say in social media is public. Your opponents can see what you write, too. If you’re talking openly about strategy and upcoming events in a public forum, you can be sure that your opponents are watching closely – and you can be sure they’ll use it to their advantage as much as possible.
8 ) While you’ll probably have a younger crowd working your social media feeds, they also (usually) have less experience when responding to online arguments and controversial subjects. Make sure you have a process or response-approval hierarchy in place for responding to touchy issues or complicated questions.
9) Learn how to spell. Perfection isn’t required, but there are limits.
© Brian Cormier 2010
Book recommendation: Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk
Crush It!
If you’re looking for a good book that talks about how to synergize your various social media network activities, then Gary Vaynerchuk’s Crush It! is for you! It’s a quick read and easy to understand, even if you’re not yet completely sold on the benefits of social media. Vaynerchuk turned his passion for wine into a huge business. In 2006, he launched Wine Library TV on YouTube, a daily video blog on wine. Eventually, he hit 90,000 daily viewers, 800 episodes and guest stints on major talk shows. He used Facebook and Twitter to connect with fans and build his “crowd,” avoiding traditional (and expensive) advertising and media.
If you’re looking for a good primer on why you need to use all your social media activities together to create what I call a social media “tornado,” pick up a copy of Crush It! And by the way, his dream is not to be the king of social media. It’s actually to own the New York Jets. That’s his ultimate goal. Social media is how he’ll get there.
Social media websites growing in popularity
According to a recent Nielsen report, usage of social networking websites or blogs increased by 43 per cent from June 2009 to June 2010. The main culprit? Facebook, of course. In second place was online gaming, while e-mail placed third. Facebook was by far the most popular social networking site, with 84.8 per cent of all online networking activities, followed by MySpace at 5.6 per cent. Twitter and Blogger (the free online blogging platform that uses “blogspot” in its web addresses) were tied for third at 1.1 per cent. If you or your company are looking to connect with customers, then Facebook is where it’s at. Like it or not, you basically have no choice. Not having a Facebook presence in this day and age is like not having a website or telephone number.
New Brunswick RCMP using Facebook for AMBER Alerts
New Brunswick RCMP (“J” Division) recognize the power of Facebook. In fact, “J” Division is now publishing AMBER Alerts for children missing or in danger on Facebook in order to reach a large number of people instantly through their newsfeeds. This will also allow word to spread much faster as Facebook users share the information with their online friends.
“In order to retrieve a child from a dangerous situation, it’s important to reach as many people as we can, as quickly and effectively as possible,” New Brunswick AMBER Alert co-ordinator Cpl. Todd Chadwick of the Miramichi Police Force said in a news release. “While local media continue to be valuable and essential partners in communicating AMBER Alerts, we believe social media can further enhance our ability to reach out to the public and potentially save a child from harm.”
Although an AMBER Alert has not been activated in New Brunswick since 2003, this will certainly increase the chances of a positive outcome if and when it happens.
To sign up for “AMBER Alert New Brunswick” alerts, click here. You’ll then see any alerts in your newsfeed.
Tips on saving your iPhone battery
Now that I’m an iPhone user, I’ve noticed a few things that are definitely different from my old Blackberry. Battery life is one of them. To be blunt, the life of an iPhone battery charge isn’t that great. In fact, it’s awful — likely because there’s so much going on that drains the battery quickly. I could practically leave my Blackberry for four or five days (and still be using it regularly) before I’d need to charge it or risk having it die on me.
The iPhone’s battery, however, can easily be drained in a day — or even hours if you’re using it consistently. A few tips for helping to avoid this: 1) Plug in your iPhone whenever you’re not using it. Be diligent about this. 2) Turn off the wi-fi or Bluetooth functions if you’re not using them. This will stop the phone from constantly seeking out connections, thus draining your battery. 3) Log out of all websites and social media networks if you’re not actively using them. As well, ensure that all unused applications are closed properly. Stuff running in the background can eat up precious battery resources. Same goes for GPS-related functions such as maps, etc.
Those are just a few. Search for “iPhone battery tips” in your favourite search engine for more. I’d also recommend downloading a free battery-related application such as Battery Magic to keep tabs on exactly how long you have before your battery dies. The app will also tell you how long you need to keep it plugged it before you reach full capacity again.
Spelling mistakes can harm online credibility
Nothing can hurt your credibility more than constantly making spelling mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes from time to time, but there are certain errors that keep coming up time and time again.
“Lose” and “Loose”: You lose your pants if they’re too loose. I’m amazed at the number of people who make that mistake. I saw a local business organization make the mistake online as I’m writing this column. “What do you have to loose?” they wrote, when they clearly meant “lose.”
“It’s” and “Its”: The dog eats its food because it’s hungry. The possessive “its” has no apostrophe. Tattoo that on your brain with permanent ink.
And speaking of apostrophes, they do not belong on plural words. “Rose’s roses were in full bloom.” Apostrophes are for (most) possessives, not plurals.
“Your” and “You’re”. Your brother is mad because you’re going to the amusement park without him. “Your” is possessive. “You’re” is short for “You are.”
“They’re” and “There” and “Their”. They’re not going there because their bus was late. Learn the difference and practise.
And my biggest pet peeve, the unnecessary capitalization of common nouns. There is no need to put a capital letter on a word for emphasis. “I’m really Mad at Mary because she showed up late Again!” Only “Mary” needs to be capitalized in that sentence because Mary is a proper noun. Stop using caps on common nouns for emphasis.
So why is a rant about spelling making it into a column on social media? Simple. Good spelling equals more credibility. No one ever winces because you spell something correctly, but if you’re trying to sell products or solutions to your followers, your ability to spell correctly can make a huge difference in how seriously they take you. Huge!
I say: If you own or manage a company that employs someone who tweets for you or who manages your Facebook page(s), make sure their spelling is decent-to-excellent. Constant spelling mistakes make you look bad. Yours is the name associated with the atrocious spelling, not theirs.
What are QR codes?
Scan this to find out what it says!
According to Wikipedia, “A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The ‘QR’ is derived from ‘Quick Response’, as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed. QR Codes are common in Japan, where they are currently the most popular type of two dimensional codes. Most current Japanese mobile phones can read this code with their camera.”
You’ll be seeing more and more of these QR codes around in North America, including on business cards. Basically, it acts the same as a bar code – you know, the type of code that’s scanned on a can of food at the grocery store to tell you the price. A QR Code is square and full of white and black squares in a pattern that, when scanned with your smartphone, will give you a website address, a favourite quote or pretty much any other written information.
The nice thing about these is that you can generate your own through any of the online QR Code generators available and cut and paste the code on your website or business card. It’s a unique way of telling people that you’re high tech!
If you’re new to QR codes, download a free reader app to your smartphone to find out what it says!
I say: Download a free QR code reader app to take full advantage of this emerging way of communicating information through smartphones.
