Facebook posts

Nearly every business in the world has considered using social media for their brand (or at least been told by someone to do so). It’s an important concept because social media has all of the characteristics of an excellent set of venues for getting out a brand message – popularity, ease, reach, and interactivity. The challenge is that with so many businesses doing it, many messages start with great intentions and end up falling on deaf (aka nonexistent) ears. There are ways to use social media properly to get out the message whether it’s a general PR item or a major announcement. While press releases…

You’ve finally met the right person. They have all the qualities you love and look for in a significant other. Now you’re engaged and it’s time to plan the wedding. This is where the problems start. What colors should you choose? Is this really the cake you want? Those invitations are hideous and I refuse to send them to my family. Is there anything that can help? Social media may be the answer you are looking for. The most obvious choice to help you plan your wedding currently is Pinterest. Pinterest allows you to create online boards that you can pin images or videos to. This allows you to create…

The short answer is no. They will have an extremely successful IPO on launch day followed by volatility for a month. How they handle the volatility will determine how successful it will be long-term, but the first few months will be measured on “how” rather than “if it’ll be” successful. The longer answer is a bit more disconcerting and may make the long-term prospects for a Facebook IPO look something like what is happening with Groupon (pictured above). The fourth amendment to their S-1 filing with the SEC revealed some risks that many had speculated about but nobody knew for sure until Monday….

When Microsoft won the auction that brought over 925 US patents from AOL’s portfolio, there was clear indication that Facebook wanted in on the action. They got their wishes today and Microsoft was able to get what they wanted and have half of it paid for through Facebook’s purchase of 650 of those patents. “Today’s agreement with Facebook enables us to recoup over half of our costs while achieving our goals from the AOL auction,” said Brad Smith, executive vice president and general counsel for Microsoft. “As we said earlier this month, we had submitted the winning AOL bid in order to obtain…

Some would say that social media doesn’t really tell an accurate tale about people. We are often portraying our “ideal self” as some famous psychiatrist once described, supporting causes and charities, giving compliments to our friends and family, and sharing funny links even when we don’t normally do anything in the real world with charities, we rarely talk to our friends or family, and we just aren’t able to deliver a joke. It’s not in the way we present ourselves but in how we react and what we do online through social media that really shows what Americans have in their guts. This isn’t a call for…

$100,000,000,000. A one followed by 11 zeroes. Has social networking truly become so lucrative that Facebook’s intention of launching their initial public offering on May 17th will yield a company that can raise $10 billion against such a lofty valuation? It’s a question that was being asked when Facebook was worth 1/3rd of where it is now. The question will be asked until it fails or clearly succeeds. What do you think? Is Facebook really worth that much?…

Everyone has startup fever again after Facebook’s huge purchase of Instagram last week, perfect timing for Path to announce a $30 million round of funding led by Redpoint. “We are delighted to announce that last week we closed a significant round of funding with a new set of investor partners,” CEO Dave Morin. “It is important to us to work with investment partners who share common values around quality and building for the long term. Our ‘Path’ has only just begun, and we are looking forward to continuing to bring world-class design and simplicity to the world of mobile personal…

It’s hard to imagine the world without Facebook right now. Even people who aren’t users are affected by it even if only because they are constantly bombarded with commercials, billboards, and other people telling them to follow this and like that. The site has become the center piece of a company that is expanding beyond the boundaries of social media and influencing the real world. Is it possible that Facebook can fall in the next few years? Yes, Facebook is doomed The brief history of the internet has brought us many companies that were too big to fail. They held the collective attentions of the…

Most businesses are getting involved in social media in some way. Whether for marketing, customer outreach, collaboration, or any of the many ways that businesses can utilize social media, the need to have a proper strategy and plan is growing. The biggest question many ask is whether to train their current employees, hire new ones, or outsource. It’s the expert versus the advocate question. Hiring an outside firm to handle a company’s social media is an option that allows for proven, repeatable strategies and experience to run the campaigns. It means that internal people have less control…

Since the upstart of Google Plus, it has been increasing its popularity at a very fast rate. Shockingly enough, at a faster rate than Facebook had when it was first started. Google Plus has recently climbed over 170 million users sharing information and ideas with their social circles, all within its first year of operation. Facebook, while it is clearly the most popular social media platform, may not be in the driver’s seat for too long, with Google Plus right on their back. First, let’s look at the positives of each site. Facebook has top quality privacy settings; you can even make it so that…