Thoughtpick: A unique perspective of the Web and social media...
A unique perspective of the Web and social media...

March 12, 2010

Fun-List: Top 10 Ways in Which Social Media Can Get You Fired!

According to Proofpoint, an Internet security firm, of companies with 1,000 or more employees, 17 percent report having issues with employees’ use of social media. Furthermore, 8 percent of those companies report having actually dismissed someone for their behavior on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. Some other interesting findings from the study:

  • 15 percent have disciplined an employee for violating multimedia sharing / posting policies
  • 13 percent of US companies investigated an exposure event involving mobile or Web-based short message services
  • 17 percent disciplined an employee for violating blog or message board policies

So, how do you avoid getting fired when using social media? What are the things which will, most probably, get you fired? Here we go with another Thoughtpick fun-fact list with a point:

1. Speak ill of your boss or manager

Example: “I hate my job!! I want to tell my bosses how dumb they are and how meaningless this job is, then quit, and be happy!” Revealed by CNN.com [read full article >>]

February 22, 2010

5 Ways to Utilize Twitter to Grumble — Effectively!

Each and every one of us, at least every now and then, and for one reason or another, feels the urge to complain, grumble and/or fuss about one thing or another. This is one part of human nature and for your average human beings, the “grass is almost always greener on the other side!”

Wah!

Wah!

Regardless of your reason to grumble, it seems to me that social media has established itself as the trendiest “fashion” of venting and complaining publicly! It is like a confession board available for all to see – a documented manifesto placed into social media users’ hands!

[read full article >>]

February 20, 2010

10 Ways to Lose Your Facebook Friends in 10 Days!

“The friendship that can cease has never been real.”- Saint Jerome

By now, I would assume that most social media users realize the positive and negative effects that social media reflects on us and our current and future environment. Whether how social media can help parents raise their children better, or how it can hinder friendships or relationships, social media’s consequences are becoming more and clearer to its users!

As one of Thoughtpick’s content chefs, I am always seeking to research, create and write about controversial and intriguing ideas which have the ability to get you to think about different things in a new light! Therefore, for my special dish of the day, I decided to present you with 10 easy and time efficient ways to lose your Facebook “friends” in ten days!

Remember, if you lose them, then they were never really your friends :)

Are you ready for it? Here I go!

1. Make sure you BOMBARD them with meaningless video and audio shares!

I promise you, if you are a regular Facebook user focusing your use for business or just to staying connected with friends and their lives, you will just hate being bombarded with more than 2 video or audio shares per day. I personally removed friends from my account due to the fact that they seem to have too much time on their hands and they share meaningless and useless audio and video clips on my profile!

Bombard them with videos!

Bombard them with videos!

2. Limit their access to your profile!

Are you shocked? Well, don’t be! I had friends remove me from their Facebook account simply because I placed them on my Limited Profile list due to privacy concerns! Sometimes, I even got calls r messages complaining about it to the point where we almost lost our friendship! [read full article >>]

February 9, 2010

Infograph: The State of the Internet Today

Today, the Internet world is more important than ever. Our lives are interwoven with it, both private and corporate.

We plan our outings, keep in contact with friends, and communicate with each other on the Web. Our daily business dealings revolve around email, online resources, and collaborative software like Google Wave. We get our news online, watch our movies on YouTube, and keep-up-to-date with Twitter. More importantly, the Internet, and Social Media in particular, are proving to be very important to the way we advertise and market ourselves, our products, and our ideas.

Keeping up with ThoughtPick’s latest “Learn Social Media By Example“, we believe that to pull off great online campaigns, you need to be familiar with the audience. Not your audience in particular, but the larger Internet audience that might come across your campaign. It is essential to keep the Internet’s demographics in mind when creating any online content.

We will be using parts of our latest favorite infograph, created by Focus, to explore the different facets of online existence.

These illustrations use 100 circles to help visualize a crowd of a 100 people, and how they live in the online ecosystem.

The Basic Information: Gender, Age, and Income

who

Who uses the Internet

[read full article >>]

February 3, 2010

Learn Social Media by Example: The Ford Fiesta Campaign Analyzed

Social media is what we love to talk about at Thoughtpick. In a effort to allow you to better understand and grasp the right use of social media for your upcoming campaigns, we are dedicating this regular section for you tailored to analyze old, new and current campaigns in terms of audience, success, lesson learned and more so you could learn about social media by example!

Campaign Stat Box

Brand: Ford Fiesta (Automaker Industry)
Campaign Website: http://www.fiestamovement.com/
Channels Used: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, Blogs
Appeal: Win a car.
Target Audience: 18-30 age group in the US
Date of Campaign: 2009/2010

In Tough Economic Times: Can You Sell a Car Through Social Media?

After a gut-wrenching year for American automakers, Ford wanted to change its fortune with the all-new 2011 Fiesta.

After all, this Fiesta is not a very American car. Small, compact and fuel-efficient, the Fiesta is more tastefully European than insensibly American.

But it is not the functional design that has raised the numbers for Fiesta, it’s actually their fantastic social media campaign. The Ford marketing team spent a lot of effort in making sure it got buzz on the Web.

The Idea: Drive Your Car Through…

What they did was simple: they invited a 100 “social agents” to try the Fiesta for six month, and share their experience with the world. They had them promote the car through different social media sites, including Twitter, YouTube and blogs.

[read full article >>]

February 2, 2010

10 Tips on How to Get Your Writing Groove Back!

Following my muse has worked out pretty well so far. I can’t see any reason to change the formula now”. Chris Van Allsburg

I have always been a great fan of the word “muse”. It has been the driving force behind each and every piece I write, whether on my personal blog or for Thoughtpick. Regardless what the topic might be, I have always found my muse there; leading me towards a certain writing style or approach.

To Blog or Not to Blog!

To Blog or Not to Blog!

However, the muse is a little moody, conniving fox! It can run away from you and leave you dry of ideas; you can’t think of anything new or creative to write!

That’s okay if you are writing for your personal blog but really negative when you are a writer for a certain blog or even if your own blog is business related! Imagine being a writer for Mashable for example, yet having nothing to write about!

Therefore, and strictly from experience, I decided to share with you the top ten tips of getting your writing groove back!

1. Get Away!

And I mean that in every way possible! Don’t try to force yourself into writing; nothing good will come out of it! Just stay away! Put your laptop off and go out for a walk or watch a movie; anything which is as far away as possible for the topics you are supposed to write about!

[read full article >>]

January 27, 2010

How Addicted Are You to Social Media?

How addicted are you to social media?

How addicted are you to social media?

If you’re reading this checklist in the first place, the answer to that question is probably a yes. But don’t let us judge you too fast. To be a hundred percent sure though, read these 20 signs that mean you’re addicted to social media and check those you agree with.

Which of these statements apply to you?

1. You check your Facebook account before you check your email in the morning.
2. You are constantly updated with your distant friends’ lives in Canada, South Africa, and France but you don’t even know your neighbors.
3. You agree that people with no Twitter accounts are like, seriously, not people.
4. On the other hand, you wholeheartedly believe people who have not even heard of Twitter should probably kill themselves. Now.

[read full article >>]

January 21, 2010

8 Ways to Use Social Networks in the Classroom

Twitter in Education

Twitter in Education

Earlier, we talked about a few great resources for educators that are available for free online. These services were more focused on education and catering to their needs for creating internal social networking platforms, open-source blackboards and conferencing applications. They were great resources but they all required some amount of set-up and involved a bit of a learning curve to get used to them.

Today we are just going to share some ideas that help educators bring social networks into classrooms, utilizing some of the services that we all use. Ranging from Twitter to Skype we will share 8 ways that they can be used in the classroom.

Create a Twitter Account

Using Twitter for Teacher – Student communication allows for short and quick messages exchange. This is useful for students and teachers to ask questions and might be a great resource for the teacher in the preparation of her class notes allowing her to know which areas to focus on.

[read full article >>]

January 20, 2010

How to Brand Yourself Online

Today, brands are everywhere; the water we drink is branded, the vegetables we eat are branded, the paper we print on is branded, even the socks we wear are branded!

Yes, it’s a “brand” new world.

The importance of branding

Branding is very important because it sets people’s expectations and creates an emotional attachment to products and companies. Well branded products convey a sense of higher quality, even when the quality of the physical product being sold is known to be low-end. A good example is Ikea—while their furniture is famous for being affordable, the company’s brand is so strong that people are likely to trust it over another affordable furniture store.

Branding YOU

What makes you stick out from the crowd? Photo by: Ledgard

What makes you stick out from the crowd? Photo by: Ledgard

While most companies have figured out the importance of branding their products, services and corporate culture, it’s time for us individuals to realize that it’s not just corporations and products that need to be branded.

[read full article >>]

January 18, 2010

5 Uncovered Myths about Getting Retweeted!

Every now and then, someone somewhere decides to fabricate or resurrect a new myth or urban legend which changes the way we see and even do certain things! Like, for example, I would not dare say “Bloody Mary” 3 times in a row in front of my mirror in the dark, no matter what the stakes are and even if it was a bet with great returns!

Busting the Myths about Retweets!

Busting the Myths about Retweets!

A few days ago, while wandering around in the social media realm, I came across a new fabricated myth molded into a post form called:“5 Secrets To Get Retweets That The Experts Won’t Tell You”.

Having had a great and prosperous Twitter experience so far, it really got on my nerves to read such a post, wondering: Who are those experts? And how would someone make such assumptions? Based on what exactly?

In a nut shell, this myth lessened my Twitter experience and turned it into a joke, which is why I decided to rebel by fighting it back!

Uncovering the Myth about Getting Retweeted…

1. Focus On The Sexually Active.

In this fantasy post I read, the author stressed the importance of focusing on the “sexually active” tweeps, saying that sex always sells! I tend to highly disagree, with a frown! From my humble yet vast experience, I found that most active, valuable tweeps are those who are more business-oriented; those who want to promote a high quality image and promote their designs, inspiration and even quotes that aim towards providing a better quality of life!

[read full article >>]

Older Posts »