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The A-Z of social media for brands

Here’s an A-Z braindump that I compiled in about an hour. It is aimed at providing a snapshot of what social media is all about, and what brands need to focus on before wading in.

The A-to-Z of social media You might be familiar with social media, but hopefully you'll give me a pass as some of this stuff bears repeating. However I think this A-Z is going to be more useful if you’re somebody who is trying to convince your boss that adopting a social media strategy is a good idea (it is). Good luck with that!

by Chris Lake 04 June 2009 12:04pm 10 comments

Keeping social media sustainable

Many businesses are interested in employing social media to their benefit but there are a number of challenges that make social media a challenging proposition.

One of them is making social media sustainable. As exciting as it can be to start using Facebook, Twitter and other popular social media websites, excitement usually wears off real fast and many businesses struggle to sustain their social media efforts.

by Patricio Robles 02 June 2009 09:43am 6 comments

Google may take BBC's iPlayer global

Google's bread and butter may be search and the recession may have led Google to cut back on projects that weren't bringing home the bacon but that doesn't mean that Google isn't looking to expand its already large footprint on the web.

It just announced that by the end of the year, it hopes to be offering its publishing partners the ability to sell ebooks through Google Book Search, putting it in competition with Amazon in the burgeoning ebook market.

by Patricio Robles 02 June 2009 08:47am 1 comment

Q&A: Andrew Keen on the death of Facebook and the future of the web

Andrew Keen is a former entrepreneur who has since recanted his enthusiasm for Silicon Valley and come out as an outspoken opponent of Web 2.0. Keen is no stranger to controversy. His 2007 book “Cult of the Amateur” argued against the wisdom of crowds and he is known for incendiary commentary, like the time he likened Web 2.0 to a communist society or when he told Stephen Colbert that the Internet is worse than Nazism. In case you were wondering, here’s his definition of blogging: “It’s all about digital narcissism, shameless self-promotion. I find it offensive."

Keen now writes at The Great Seduction, twitters @ajkeen, and speaks on a variety of topics. This week, Keen wrote that Facebook’s infusion of $200 million from Russian investors signaled “the final act of the Web 2.0 tragi-comedy.” Econsultancy caught up with him via phone while he was in Alabama this week (“studying the natives”) to discuss the death of Web 2.0 and what comes next.

by Meghan Keane 29 May 2009 15:12pm 10 comments

Widgetize your website with Google Web Elements

Widgets have become pretty much ubiquitous on the web. Plenty of companies are using widgets as a low-cost distribution strategy: they offer their tools and services in a form that enables users to embed those tools and services into their own websites.

Now Google is getting into the act. It wants to widgetize your blog and website with its products and has launched Google Web Elements to do just that.

by Patricio Robles 28 May 2009 09:18am 1 comment

The Susan Boyle Effect: Always be prepared to monetize

Monetizing viewership is a recurring problem online. But companies need to be prepared for spikes in popularity, whether they expect them or not.

Case in point: Susan Boyle's now infamous rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream." Susan may be bounding ahead in the competition for "Britain's Got Talent," but she's not making the show's parent company ITV any money online. YouTube videos of the singing sensation still don't have ads in the U.S. Because ITV hasn't figured out where to put the money earned on YouTube, the network is wasting 1000s of views a day.

by Meghan Keane 27 May 2009 20:47pm 5 comments

Q&A: Steve Heyes of LearnAsOne on using Twitter for charity

We've looked at how charities are using Twitter before; The Dog's Trust is one good example of how causes can be promoted on the site. Another is LearnAsOne, which will be aiming to Tweet from a community in Zambia.

LearnAsOne is a charity that has launched a project to build a community school in Zambia, and will be using Twitter, and its blog to promote the scheme and encourage donations, as well as showing people how their money is being spent.

The charity was set up by Steve Heyes; he is out in Zambia now and will be documenting the project for the next two weeks. I've been asking Steve about his use of social media.

by Graham Charlton 11 May 2009 13:43pm 2 comments

Web 2.0 needs Customer Service 1.0

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. These are but a few of the services many of us have come to enjoy.

Yet there's one thing that seems anything but enjoyable about them: dealing with their customer service.

by Patricio Robles 05 May 2009 11:00am 8 comments

Disney buys into Hulu

Hulu's meteoric rise as the online video site of choice for big media companies looking for online distribution has attracted another equity partner: Disney.

The Walt Disney Company has announced a deal that sees Disney taking a 27% stake in Hulu and receiving 3 seats on Hulu's board. Hulu is now owned by Disney, News Corp., NBC Universal and a private equity firm.

by Patricio Robles 01 May 2009 09:18am 1 comment

The cost of content: pick your poison

Content may be king but many companies have found that producing and distributing quality content requires a royal bank account.

The plight of the newspaper industry is a good example: news hasn't gone out of style but, for many newspapers, the cost structures associated with producing the news is incompatible with today's market. Costs simply exceed revenues.

by Patricio Robles 17 April 2009 13:02pm 3 comments