Interesting Social Media Links Of The Week

Round up of Interesting Social Media Links Of The Week. These links are mostly newspaper and blog articles but may include occasional audio/video. The links below are handpicked and not computer generated.

Social Media Newsrooms-nonsense or necessity? – Proactive Report

Writers, Reviewers and Social Media – Oregon Live

How has social media changed PR? – SF Examiner

How Social Media Can Actually Work – BusinessWeek

Why Investing in Social Media Now Will Keep Your Business Alive in 10 Years – 10e20

Social Media Is Going Down the Toilet (Literally) – Mashable

Facebook/Twitter Use May Now Mean More for Google/Bing Rankings – WebProNews

Book Review: 140 Characters by Dom Sagolla

140Characters 140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form by Dom Sagolla is an etiquette book for conversing in real time on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites. Twitter co-creator Dom Sagolla talks about different aspects of conversations and how one can get most out of Twitter by learning the techniques of short form communication.

140 Characters is not just applicable to Twitter, it can be used to learn how to be effective social media communicator in general. First @Dom gives you an overview of Twitter followed by a brief history of Twitter and then explains different ways one can become a better communicator by following simple guidelines.

It is a challenge on Twitter to make the most out of 140 characters and @Dom teaches the fundamentals of writing in short form. He knows the purpose of Twitter, communicating in real-time using mostly mobile applications to reach significant number of people. Therefore he is able demonstrate with numerous examples what a tweet should look like, what should be the purpose, how it can add value and how to avoid common pitfalls.

Personal Opinion
There are number of books out there about Twitter, 140 Characters stands out and makes a mark because of the unique content and Dom’s attitude towards social media. Concept is excellent, topics are explained with many examples and quotes and we can all learn something from Dom about becoming an expert in short form writing.

Book Giveaway
I like to read books and then pass them along. Do you want my copy of 140 Characters? Here is what you need to do:

- Follow me on Twitter (@ZahidLilani)
- Re-Tweet this post!
- Comment below and tell me “Why do you use Twitter?”

Simple!

The person who comes up with the best answer to “Why do you use Twitter?” and follows the two rules will receive my copy of 140 characters. I will announce the winner on 10/26/09.

(Open to U.S. residents only)

First IRS and Now CIA

There are quite a few people making money online and most of them don’t try to evade taxes. Ones who do should be warned because IRS monitors social media. Federal Govt is broke and IRS is just helping out.

CIA is following on the IRS footsteps but of course, CIA is interested in what everyone is doing instead of selected few. Take a look at this recent story in WIRED “Exclusive: U.S. Spies Buy Stake in Firm That Monitors Blogs, Tweets”

CIA will start monitoring Twitter and other forms of social media services soon and collect data maybe on our behavior, tendencies, interests etc. Twitter makes really easy for anyone to monitor you, click follow and the spying begins… I am in no way suggesting you protect your tweets, that will just beat the purpose of Twitter.

See, there is really nothing new here. Some of you “less government, more freedom” folks might feel this is invasion of privacy but honestly it is not. Telephone is private, Twitter and Facebook on the other hand are means for you to get more attention. If CIA can eavesdrop using AT&T and other phone services then it can certainly spy on your Twitter page.

My guess is that CIA is not going to gain anything out of social media, maybe people can sue them next time they find out if a loved one tweeted “I am killing myself” and no help arrived even though the CIA was monitoring the feed. Can you make a case out of that? I am sure the lawyers would have fun with this one.
[ad#468]

October: Bay Area Social Media Events

Below you will find a list of Social Media events taking place in San Francisco Bay Area. Please contact me if you would like to report an event.

“140 Characters” Reading & Signing

When: Tuesday October 20, 2009
Time: 7:00pm
Where: BookShop West Portal
Address: 80 West Portal Ave, San Francisco, California 94127
Cost: Free
Event Page: Twtvite

Join Twitter co-creator Dom Sagolla as he debuts his first book, “140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form.”

Event includes a brief presentation, question and answer period, and book signing.

More about Dom Sagolla

Social Media for Social Action: A day of training

When: October 23, 2009
Time: 8:30am – 6:00pm
Where: Tech/Liminal
Address: 268 14th Street, Oakland, California 94612
Cost: $10 (no-one will be refused admission for lack of funds)
Event Page: Facebook | Eventbrite

Social media training workshop focused on nonprofit organizations and community groups. Hands-on workshops will help participants to use social media, plan and execute campaigns and programs and measure and evaluate results. Sessions will cover following topics:

• Effective Blogging for Non-Profits
• Building a social media strategy with Twitter, Facebook & Your Blog
• Using Multimedia & Video to get our your message (on a budget)
• Micro-donations: Online Best Practices

Who this is for: Members of non-profits and community organizations who have thought about using blogging and social media, but have not, and organizers who use social media but would like to sharpen their skills and learn how to plan and measure a campaign. Beginners welcome!
[ad#468]

SNAP Summit: FailCon’09

When: October 27th
Time: 8:30am – 6pm
Where: Hotel Kabuki
Address: 1625 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
Cost: Students $50, General Admission $225
Event Page: Eventbrite

Full-day conference focusing on the trials and tribulations of successful entrepreneurs. You aren’t a real entrepreneur until you’ve had to deal with failure and recovering from it – financially emotionally and practically – can be challenging. Hear how some major players in the industry have dealt with startup troubles recovered and kept a positive tenacious and energetic attitude through it all.

The conference will debate questions such as:

- How do VCs handle failing investments?
- How NOT to build a social app
- What are some social web branding failures and how can you avoid them now?
- How do you financially prepare for the possibility of failure: legally fiscally and in your team?
- What have some of the leading executives today learned from their past experiences?
- What are you watching out for with the current social web and rising companies?
- How do you recover from a failed product or marketing campaign?
- And how do you let it all go if you must?

Do you know of a social media event happening in the bay area? Post it in the comment below and I will include it in the current post or a new post if it is taking place next month.

Anti-iPhone Advertisement Will Backfire On Verizon

Releasing the new Anti-iPhone advertisement must have been a good buzz creating publicity stunt for Verizon but it will backfire in the coming month when Droid is released.

iPhone is a gadget that revolutionized smart phones. Instead of taking a cheap shot at the iPhone, it would have served Verizon better if it had concentrated on Droid’s features. If Verizon’s plan is to convert iPhone users into Droid users, I think they will fail because you cannot sell iPhone users rhetoric.

As far as the design is concerned, it is nothing new. Same slider functionality, ugly looking keyboard and pointed edges. Maybe the hoopla is about “Google’s hand in developing Motorola Droid.” The last time I checked, they had a phone with T-Mobile that was considered an iPhone killer too, how many people do you know have it?

Instead of calling it Droid, why not just call it iClone?

[ad#468]