Facebook posts

Facebook is going the way of Twitter and Google+ in the way they allow people to view others’ feeds. By introducing the subscribe button, Facebook is allowing users to follow people within their stream even if they are not friends. It is much the way that Twitter has always been and is akin to what Google+ offers in allowing people to add others to their circles. What does this mean for business? Will big-ticket businesses like real estate and the automotive industry be able to use this feature to help with their business? Absolutely. All it takes is an email address. If that email address is attached…

We know where to look to see what Johnny had for breakfast, how little Timmy slid into 3rd base, and what’s happening with Lady Gaga. There is no doubt that social media has connected us to our friends, family, and current events in ways that we couldn’t even imagine a decade ago. When it comes to business, that’s where things get a little more gray. Is it really working? Let’s face it – most who have tried to use social media for business purposes have been met with certain levels of disdain and abuse. They get called spammers. They’re get unfriended, unfollowed, blocked, banned, or publicly ridiculed….

The best part about being the Winklevoss twins is that they’ve put in the effort already. Everything else now seems to either fall in their lap or fall off their plate. Whether it’s having to settle for a mere $65 million for having the concept of Facebook allegedly stolen from them or the various endorsement and consultation deals they’ve been able to get from their infamy, the Olympic twins have done well for themselves in the last 5 years. Now, they’re doing more with pistachios. Yes, pistachios. Wonderful Pistachios, a company that is turning up the knob on viral videos ever since increasing…

The demise of a once-mighty website is often hard to watch. Many people still have fond memories of MySpace – it was the first social network for a good portion of the online world and did its part to launch social media into the mainstream. Traffic has been steadily declining all year, faster than originally anticipated. When it was sold in June for $35 million, most believed that the shell of the company would have to be scrapped and the core would have to be rearranged completely in order to remain relevant beyond 2011. Evidence of the decline is visible in the most recent numbers from Hitwise. The…

It’s a trap. Yes, here comes a conspiracy theory. Get your tinfoil hats on, quickly. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ are designed to encourage us to share information. They want us to share our lives through their networks. They want us to share what we find to be interesting whether we find it on the internet or in real life. They want us to share who our friends and family are. They want to know everything about us. There are two primary reasons that we are sharing way too much as a society. This could be a long, comprehensive article, but I’m going to keep it short. They say the…

There is much truth in Ben Parr’s Mashable story about the end of the “Daily Deals Era”. The end of Facebook Deals last week was viewed as a benefit for sites that specialize in the arena such as Groupon and Living Social, but now it might have sparked another question: what did Facebook learn that made them pull out so quickly? The concept is a brilliant one. Connect businesses and individuals in a way that is beneficial to both by applying the rise of social media into a bulk-buying arena. The concept was strong but there was one major flaw – the hype machine can only cover up the truth for so long. Many…

Social media is often a paradox. For many, it’s the convergence of our private lives with public access and scrutiny. As a result, many companies are starting to use social media as a litmus test when hiring the same way they use criminal background checks or credit checks. Companies can now legally compile information about you and your public activities on Facebook, Twitter, and everywhere else. If it’s public, it’s usable. If it’s usable, chances are slim that anything you have on your social profiles can help you get a job. They can only hurt. This graphic by our friends at MindFlash breaks it…

That didn’t take long. After testing the waters that Groupon and LivingSocial dominate, Facebook has pulled the plug on Deals. “We think there is a lot of power in a social approach to driving people into local businesses,” Facebook said in the statement. “We’ve learned a lot from our test and we’ll continue to evaluate how to best serve local businesses.” In April, Facebook put everyone on notice that they were “testing the waters” of the daily deals phenomenon. Groupon and LivingSocial have had tremendous success offering social-media-only bargains that require a certain threshold of buyers…

The world’s largest social network, Facebook, is planning a number of acquisitions that will improve site design and advance mobile features. The company is moving quickly to increase the amount of time users spend on its site, but the company is also eager to launch improvements in response to growing competition, specifically Google+. Facebook is also hoping to make the site run smoother and more reliably. Since its userbase has grown to more than 750 million, Facebook needs to support its growth without adding to the site’s complexity. In total, the company has made 13 acquisitions…

As it does with most trends in marketing, the automotive industry has gone from way behind just a year and a half ago to shaping the venues and carving the path today. There have been some missteps to say the least, many in the business from car dealers to manufacturers are fully embracing social media as a venue to get their brand and message out to the masses. Earlier this year we wrote about how the industry is embracing new media. Now, we’ve compiled a breakdown of the major manufacturers and how their current social media presence ranks in this competitive world. By the numbers There’s an old saying:…