Frank Ramblings

Originally posted at the Likeable Media Blog.

Originally posted at the Likeable Media Blog.

The social web is abuzz with the news of Google+ Pages finally being launched yesterday. After initially deleting personal profiles set up by brands, Google is finally allowing them to set up pages similar to those already available on Facebook. But are these pages really ready for primetime? What could they be doing better?

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Originally posted at the Likeable Media Blog.

It’s finally here! After more than a year, Facebook’s iPad app is here! Sporting a sleek, simple look, the app finally offers iPad owners a chance to experience Facebook in a way that takes full advantage of the devices capabilities. Sure, Facebook.com works just fine on an iPad, but the app now makes use of the touchscreen and screen real estate in a way that the desktop website never could. What are the best features this long-awaited app has to offer? What does this app mean for your brand’s fan page? Let’s take a look together! (more…)

Originally posted at the Likeable Media Blog.

Hacks happen. They can happen to anyone or any brand, no matter how big or small. Most recently, the @NBCNews Twitter account was hacked just last Friday. The hackers tweeted false “Breaking News” reports of the World Trade Center memorial site having been attacked by hijacked planes, complete with flight numbers, an exact time, and the hashtag #groundzeroattacked. The situation was eventually corrected and NBC regained control of the account, but this does raise some extremely important concerns about security in social media. How can you be sure your brand won’t be the next @NBCNews? What steps should you take to prevent an incident like this? (more…)

Originally posted at the Likeable Media Blog.

It’s official! Our Commander-In-Chief has joined everyone’s favorite location-based network: Foursquare! The White House announced via its blog on Monday that “There are over 10 million people already ‘checking in’ around the world, and now you’ll be able to discover ‘tips’ from the White House featuring the places President Obama has visited, what he did there, plus historical information and more.” While the President is not the first public figure to be represented on the rapidly-growing social network, he is arguably the most respected and beloved to date. My colleague Cara recently gave us an outstanding general look at what Foursquare can mean for businesses, but what’s changed now that President Obama has checked into the location-based revolution? What does Obama on Foursquare mean for your brand? (more…)

Originally posted at the Likeable Media Blog.

Take a look at this picture. Does something look wrong to you? Look closer. Even closer. Do you see it? It’s those two little icons at the bottom. Those two little symbols represent a big misunderstanding of how best to promote social media offline. A recent conversation with my co-worker Brian got me thinking about the ways brands attempt to market their social presences in offline media. We agreed that far too often, brands think that they’ve covered their bases as long as their print and TV ads remind you to “Follow us on Twitter,” or “Find us on Facebook.” Simply reminding your audience that your Facebook Page exists isn’t enough to drive them there. “Find us on Facebook” isn’t a call to action, it’s a homework assignment! (more…)

Originally posted at the Likeable Media Blog.

So you’ve jumped head-first into Twitter? Good for you! I’m totally addicted to tweeting, so I completely understand. I can’t get enough of it. But once you become as serious about it as I am, you start to realize that simply sharing what you ate for lunch isn’t enough anymore (that pizza was awesome, by the way). After a certain point, you begin caring more and more about engaging with the community you’ve built up around yourself. It can be difficult to do that when your only followers are 20 of your real-life acquaintances who don’t have time to be active on Twitter, even if you do have lots in common. On the other hand, if you have 2,000 spam followers, you won’t be engaging much with them, either. How do you block out the noise, but still reach out and interact with a large audience? (more…)

I’ve always been fascinated by photography. When I was younger, my dad would show me the photos he took when he traveled across Europe as a bachelor. I always admired his natural talent for framing and capturing the best shots. Growing up, I always respected good photography and tried to emulate it, albeit without much success. I always owned some kind of camera and would go through phases when all I wanted to do was take pictures. In the last few years, as digital photography has really come into its own, I’ve gotten to know some pretty amazing photographers, both professional and amateur. And now that everyone carries a camera in the form of a cell phone, we’re all photographers. But is this democratization of the artform necessarily a good thing?

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A little over a week ago, I was checking Twitter on my commute home from work when I noticed several people using the hashtag #BWENY. Further investigation revealed that this was the official hashtag of the BlogWorld & New Media Expo in New York City. I knew that the conference was coming up soon, so this made sense. I joined the conversation and began tweeting away with other bloggers and social media enthusiasts who were talking about BlogWorld. I had read that they would be giving away free passes to the conference, but I didn’t think much of it. Imagine my surprise when I saw a tweet announcing that I had won a pass! I was shocked, but excited. Wednesday rolled around and I found myself walking the Exhibitor Floor at the Jacob Javits Center with my co-worker Cara. I spoke to people from dozens of companies providing fantastic services to bloggers, brands, and agencies. I was already familiar with some, like Groupon, Posterous, and WordPress, but I also learned about some really promising new companies. Some were better than others, but I plan on trying them all out. Have a look and tell me which ones you like best!

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