Twitter has ended its two and a half year partnership with LinkedIn to share conversations on both platforms. For users, this means tweets will no longer be displayed on LinkedIn. LinkedIn users will still be able to post updates and press a button to share on Twitter, but the reverse is no longer an option.
In an official Twitter blog post by Michael Sippey, the consumer product chief emphasizes “providing the core Twitter consumption experience through a consistent set of products and tools…developers should not ‘build client apps that mimic or reproduce the mainstream Twitter consumer client experience.’ That guidance continues to apply as much as ever today. Related to that, we’ve already begun to more thoroughly enforce our Developer Rules of the Road with partners, for example with branding, and in the coming weeks, we will be introducing stricter guidelines around how the Twitter API is used.” Continue reading “Twitter No Longer Syncing with LinkedIn” »
March 21, 2012 marks social media network Twitter’s sixth birthday. It’s hard to believe that it was six years ago that co-founder Jack Dorsey tweeted the first ever tweet. Today, Twitter boasts over 500 million registered users and is undeniably the leading micro-blogging system on the web. The site is ranked 9th overall worldwide and 8th in the U.S. by Alexia.com.
The social media network came from humble beginnings in what started as an offhand project by board members of the podcasting company Odeo. In the first years of Twitter, the open communication service experienced a rocky start with stability problems and frequent down times. Those issues are a thing of the past, as Twitter’s growth has since generated massive spikes in usage during unforgettable moments like the FIFA World Cup, the Hudson River plane crash, Michael Jackson’s death, and the Japan earthquake.
Last week, we told you about YouTube for Schools and how social media is making its way into the classroom. This weekend, the New York Times reported that school districts across the country are imposing new, strict guidelines that ban private conversations between teachers and students on cell phones, and on social sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Social media in schools can be an incredibly useful tool, but faced with scandals and complaints about teachers who misuse it, officials seem to have no choice but to implement new policies to control the problem. “Some teachers have set poor examples by posting lurid comments or photographs involving sex or alcohol on social media sites. Some have had inappropriate contact with students that blur the teacher-student boundary,” said the New York Times article. “In extreme cases, teachers and coaches have been jailed on sexual abuse and assault charges after having relationships with students that, law enforcement officials say, began with electronic communication.”
However, these strict policies regarding social media in schools are meeting resistance from some teachers due to the increasing importance of technology as a valuable teaching tool that effectively engages students. Since using social media in schools is such a new concept, school districts in many states have attempted to enforce a variety of different policies to monitor and control student-teacher interactions on social sites, but most have been abandoned due to violations of free speech and other constitutional rights.
In an official blog post last Thursday, Facebook announced that its biggest redesign has finally arrived. The new Facebook timeline was designed to “[give] you an easy way to rediscover the things you shared, and collect your most important moments,” in chronological order. Even the mildest change to the social network’s design or functionality leaves users baffled and frustrated, so we’ve compiled some suggestions to help you navigate the new Facebook timeline.
The update has been available in New Zealand, a test area, since last week. Now, the new feature is available to everyone everywhere. Switch your profile to the new Facebook timeline by going to the Timeline page (http://www.facebook.com/about/timeline) and clicking the “get it now” button. After activating, you will have a 7-day review period where only you can see what your profile will look like before you’re done editing and making it live.
Personalize it. The new Facebook timeline will feature all the photos, updates and friends you’ve added since you first signed up for the social network. This probably means there is plenty of stuff you’d rather not show to the public. To remove something, simply hold your cursor over the item and you’ll see an image of a pencil that allows you to “edit or remove” if you click. If you’re even a moderate user, you’ll likely be overwhelmed at the amount of information on your new Facebook timeline. At the very least, be sure to check your photos.
The great thing about the new Facebook timeline is that it enables you to show off what’s most important to you. Whether it’s your unique taste in music or photos from your wedding, you now have the opportunity to pick and choose what you highlight on your profile. Just hover over the activity you’d like to showcase and click on the star you see in the upper right-hand corner.
Lastly, choose a “cover” for your Facebook timeline. The cover is the large, horizontal picture across the top of your new page, and it’s the first thing people visiting your page will see. Put your most photogenic foot forward and choose wisely. Fortunately, there haven’t been any noteworthy changes to privacy. You still have the option to customize your settings on the Timeline page itself.
“Although the new timeline is not yet available for brand pages, Facebook has indicated that they like consistency between brand pages and profiles,” said Peter Leshaw, VP of Interactive Strategies for Blue Interactive Agency. “I think that Facebook will be releasing the new timeline for brand pages soon, as the social network wants more and more people to interact with brands on their network. The new Facebook timeline will enhance the user’s experience with brand pages through a more visually enticing interface, which the timeline is designed around.”
If you own a business and understand the power of social media marketing, but prefer to have the experts navigate the ever-changing Facebook profile, contact Blue Interactive Agency today. Whether you’re interested in Facebook marketing, Twitter marketing, LinkedIn marketing or any other type of interactive marketing services, Blue has the tools to help your business thrive online. For more information, call us today at 954-779-2801.
Although many a Facebook copycat has entered the social networking scene, the only serious competitor is Twitter. The microblogging site has been responsible for breaking major headlines, from the Hudson River plane crash to the death of Osama Bin Laden. Following logically in Facebook’s footsteps, Twitter launched a significant redesign on Thursday, Dec. 8.
Twitter 2.0 is “simplifying its process for new users while providing a more robust platform for advertisers,” in attempts to broaden its appeal, according to FoxNews.com. The new design is more user-friendly, making the Twitter experience navigable for both the Twitterati and microblogging newbies. “Twitter should be usable for people who know the shortcuts and also equally usable for those who don’t,” said Jack Dorsey, one of Twitter’s three co-founders and current chairman.
The new home page now features three icons: Home, “@Connect,” and “#Discover.” To appeal to new users, Twitter aims to rebrand their two trademark site functions, the at icon (@) and the hashtag (#). The overall feed is similar to Facebook’s, allowing for greater ease of use. The “@Connect” button is similar to Facebook’s “View Friendship” feature, showing a timeline of how many times a user has been retweeted or mentioned by others. If you’ve signed up for Twitter but didn’t take to it because of the initially blasé timelines and potentially esoteric trending topics, the new #Discover tab may be the one feature that reignites your interest. The tab “[packages] the noise in a meaningful way and [gives] users a portal to find content from the get-go, providing trending stories, community activities, top categories, and suggestions for who to follow and connect with, in a way that feels somewhat familiar to Facebook.”
Say what you will about the social networking giant, but there’s no denying the fact that Facebook has contributed to America’s sluggish economy. The company has now announced plans for a major New York City expansion, nearly doubling in size and bringing thousands of jobs to the market.
This past Friday, the social network said that it intends to expand operations in New York City, opening an engineering center to its biggest office outside of the West Coast facility. Facebook will add a wealth of new engineers to further enhance existing features and to write new code for the 800-million-users-strong network. The company employs more than 3,000 people in California, but only 100 in its Big Apple location. Fox News reports that Facebook plans to expand its Madison Avenue location by opening its first East Coast engineering office. According to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Facebook’s recruitment drive is already in full swing. “They’re accepting applications now if any of you need a job,” Bloomberg told press, reports Fox News.
“Facebook is capitalizing on what more and more tech companies are realizing: that New York City is the best place in the world to recruit and retain a talented workforce. We’re well on our way to achieving our goal, and that is to become the world’s number one hub for information technology and social media,” concluded Bloomberg in the conference. “We’ll be adding thousands of employees in the next year,” said Facebook Chief Operating Operator Cheryl Sandberg, informing that the company plans to hire as many as possible, without giving a definitive figure.
As of August, the seasonally-adjusted national unemployment rate reached 9.1 percent, while job growth is at 1.1 percent. Although unemployment applications have dropped, the outlook for sustainable job growth remains dismal. As all levels of government implement different programs and initiatives designed to help job seekers find employment, the Los Angeles Times reports that Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is partnering with Facebook to leverage the power of social media to help unemployed workers find jobs.
The Social Jobs Partnership will have its own Facebook page that “will aggregate a variety of existing, but often little-known, job-search services [in] hopes of drawing more attention to them.” Think of it as an online, interactive staffing company at your fingertips –”Landing on this page can help Americans land good jobs,” Solis said at a Washington news conference with representatives from Facebook, the National Assn. of Colleges and Employers, the National Assn. of State Workforce Agencies and the DirectEmployers Assn. Solis hopes to extend the free service to Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networking sites.
Over 3,000 one-stop career centers nationwide will help match job seekers, and the Labor Department’s My Skills My Future website will allow people to view alternative careers for their unique skill sets and get more information about educational opportunities and employers for those fields that are near to them. “Think of this as a free, online job fair that can be accessed seven days a week, day or night,” said Marne Levine, vice president for global public policy for the National Assn. of State Workforce Agencies. “Our labor market is changing, and so should the tools that are used to find these jobs.”
Although we think this will be an incredible resource, companies have been utilizing the power of social media to reach job applicants for years. Don’t miss your opportunity to reach the over 800 million-users strong Facebook community, contact Blue Interactive Agency today to launch an effective interactive marketing campaign. From Facebook marketing and Twitter marketing to search engine optimization and SEO copywriting, Blue has the knowledge and experience to improve the presence of your brand online.
Twitter has ended its two and a half year partnership with LinkedIn to share conversations on both platforms. For users, this means tweets will no longer be displayed on LinkedIn. LinkedIn users will still be able to post updates and press a button to share on Twitter, but the reverse is no longer an option.
Last week, we told you about YouTube for Schools and how social media is making its way into the classroom. This weekend, the New York Times reported that school districts across the country are imposing new, strict guidelines that ban private conversations between teachers and students on cell phones, and on social sites like Facebook and Twitter.
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Say what you will about the social networking giant, but there’s no denying the fact that Facebook has contributed to America’s sluggish economy. The company has now announced plans for a major New York City expansion, nearly doubling in size and bringing thousands of jobs to the market.
