Soci@lByte

I am sure you have heard that given recent privacy concerns, people are looking closer at their future with Facebook. I have my opinions but am curious about yours. Will people move to Diaspora, the project started by several students that promises a open social network? This is how Diaspora is described on the project’s web site.

diaspora /dī-ˈas-p(ə-)rə, dē-/origin: Greek, διασπορά – “a scattering [of seeds]”
1. the privacy aware, personally controlled, do-it-all distributed open source social network

And while you are here, take a quick poll.

Comscore recently released a report that shows that this holiday season, retailers were turning up their use of social media. Of those surveyed, 76% are focusing on Facebook, 50% on Twitter, 14% on MySpace and 14% on YouTube.

And how are consumers reacting?

According to the survey, 28 percent of those who have begun their holiday shopping this season indicated that social media has influenced their purchases. Of the types of specific social media cited, reading a consumer-generated product review was the most common form of social media that had influenced holiday purchases (13 percent of respondents), followed by an expert product review (11 percent). Seven percent of respondents indicated they have followed a fan page on Facebook to take advantage of special offers and deals, while 6 percent said they have been influenced by a friend’s Facebook status update referring to a particular product. Five percent of respondents indicated they had followed a company on Twitter to take advantage of special offers and deals, while 3 percent said that a friend’s “tweet” about a product influenced their purchase behavior.

So in the spirit of the holidays, here is a list of some interesting sites and apps to consider this holiday season:

1. Deals Plus on Facebook: gives popular items away daily (laptops, iPhones etc.).
2. Norad Santa: get up-to-the-minute information on Santa’s journey from Norad.
3. Social V-Cards from Pixorial: why send a boring pre-printed card with the typical mumbo jumbo when you can show your experiences through a v-card on Facebook, email or on a web site (disclosure: they are a client).
4. Holiday Music Downloads: Amazon has 25 days of free downloads in December.
5. Stream Holiday Music: go to Pandora and stream free holiday music by entering your family’s favorite artists.
6. Bad Santa on Twitter: you won’t get tips or deals but this tweet stream is sure to take the edge off. Caution, very inappropriate and may cause uncontrollable laughter.
7. ShopSavvy: Worried that you aren’t getting the best deal? This iPhone app allows you to scan the barcode of any item in a store and see prices online and from nearby retailers.
8. Patheos.com – Gets the Facts on Traditions: Curious where traditions came from? Check out Patheos.com, faith 2.0 site for information (disclosure: they are a client).
9. Need Twelp with those new gadgets? Contact Best Buy’s Twelpforce
10. Daily toy deals: ToysRUs is posting daily deals in its twitter stream, on Facebook and through a deal widget for mobile.
11. Staples daily deals and tech giveaway: follow tweets from Staple’s twitter team to learn about timely deals and enter to win a laptop or printer daily.
12. Fatwalletdeals: a twitter feed of top rated user contributed hot deals from the fatwallet.com shopping community.

Know of some more, feel free to share.

From the Desk of Melissa Hourigan

So today I am posting a link to a video captured with the infamous Brian Solis. Brian is a PR executive that has literally helped to break down the walls between media and PR pros. He is also recognized for educating PR professionals and businesses alike on the convergence between traditional media and social media.

I got the opportunity to chat with Brian during his visit to Denver to promote a book that he co-wrote, “Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media Is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR” with Deirdre Breakenridge. This is Solis’ second book and he has another in the works.

As a PR person myself, I know that the days are long, especially when you are running your own firm. One has to wonder how he manages to stay on top as the principal of FutureWorks in addition to all of the many things he does. If you haven’t read his lengthy and informative blogs at BrianSolis.com, set up the feed after you read this – you can thank me later. His insightful blogging recently won him the title of PR Blogger of the Year by the 2009 PR People Awards. Brian also contributes to number of media outlets such as TechCrunch, WebProNews and Brandweek. I am proud to also mention that he is one of my partners for Mediaontwitter (more things to come there as well). He is a frequent speaker and attendee at some of the tech industry’s hottest events and you can pretty much count on Brian uploading a series of beautiful photos within hours of the event to share with media and those interested in seeing who was there.

So back to the video. It was so nice to have Brian in Denver; unfortunately, I did not consider (once again) that lighting might be an issue. In this video, the information Brian shares is valuable so with the coaxing of the SocialByte crew, I decided to post it.

Brian shares his reason for co-writing the book, tips to get started with social media as well as how the social web relates to corporations and corporate brands. He also covers what is wrong with PR and the opportunity that exists for PR pros and businesses to connect with their community in a more meaningful way using social media.

Apologies, to Brian and our audience for the dark footage. Tryst was kind enough to bring up the lights but it still didn’t do much good.

Feel free to comment within the video if you would like.

The job market has changed dramatically in the last year, recruiters now have twice the number of people applying for a single job than in the past. That’s not too surprising since the unemployment rate is at more than 10 percent. We all know networking is an awesome way to get in the door and helps with ones job search but did you know 90 percent of new hires are made from referrals? So how can you grow your network? How can you help get into THE company you want to be in or even find a company you think you’d want to work for. ANSWER: Social Media.

I had the opportunity to speak with Andrew Hudson, the creator of Andrew Hudson’s Job List, which boosts more than 15,000 subscribers. Think of his list/website as a localized Monster.com but way better since it actually works. (I’ve gotten one full-time job and several freelance gigs from his list.)

I sat down with Andrew to get his perspective on how social media has changed the job landscape and how people can leverage social media tools to build their professional network and support their job search. This post is part one of two.

How has social media changed the job landscape?

According to Hudson, you are your own Chief Marketing Officer and you have to approach your job search like you would a marketing campaign. Where is your audience? How will they find you? What makes you more interesting than your competition? Like any marketing campaign, it can’t relay on one channel, you have to have multiple touch points. The Internet has changed these touch points making social media tools new resources for both employees and employers. Social media can no longer be ignored. The tools that are out there haven’t necessarily made it easier to find a new job but they have given people new resources to research companies, employees, managers and a way to engage with these people to begin networking and create direct connections internally.  Social media has also given employers a new tool to research prospects (i.e. you), which can be both helpful and potentially harmful if your social media presence is unprofessional.

Andrew Hudson’s top social media mistakes job seekers make?

1. Not Using Social Media. This new channel is just too big to ignore. You have to be out there leveraging the tools recruiters are using to ensure you find them and they find you.

2. LinkedIn: Not using LinkedIn to its full potential. If you’re not on LinkedIn, you need to be. If you’re not engaging with your LinkedIn network, you need to be. LinkedIn used to be just an online resume but now recruiters are using it to find people who might fit specific job descriptions before they ever post a position. LinkedIn has also made it very easy to network with professionals in your industry through Groups. The research capabilities LinkedIn provides can help you find jobs, background information on people you’re interviewing with, etc.

3. Writing for Search: Every single job you apply for HAS to be personalized. This doesn’t just mean matching skill sets but matching keywords. For example, a group of recruiters Hudson recently spoke with told him they narrow down the resumes they receive through electronic application tracking systems that scan resumes for keywords tied to the position. People MUST read through every position and highlight keywords and make sure they’re included in their resumes. Hudson did say that the recruiters admitted that they may not identify the ideal candidate for the job using this process but they had to use something to narrow down the search when they received 700 resumes for one job. SECRET TIP: Type in the keywords at the bottom on your resume and make them invisible (using white text) so that they’re readable by machines but invisible to people. (Hudson didn’t necessarily recommend this but mentioned people have told him they do this.)

4. Unprofessional Appearance on Social Networks: We’ve heard the horror stories of people posting things to their Facebook page or to Twitter and then being fired. The same goes for being hired. Be mindful of what you post. TIP: If you haven’t already, mark your Facebook page as private if you’re concerned about potential employers viewing it. Although, Hudson did say this may not be too helpful since if you’re “out there, you’re out there”.

5. Video Resumes: This isn’t necessarily a mistake but Hudson felt the time for video resumes has not yet arrived. Like including photos on your resume (unless you’re applying to be a model), you may be judged on your appearance and the quality of your video BEFORE your skill set. He has only seen one video resume that knocked his socks off. Check it out.

Part two will post tomorrow…If you have more tips please do share. 

Do you hate your company-issued computer? Of course you do. Your IT department is in charge of what computer you get, and its goal is to reduce cost, not increase your efficiency. That’s why you probably have a 2004 Dell laptop that couldn’t process its way out of a paper bag. Wouldn’t it be nice if you were in charge of your computer? If you could select whether you got a PC or Apple? And if you could load whatever applications helped you do your job the best way possible?

While that may seem like a pipe dream, it could be closer than you think. Stodgy old Kraft Foods has seen the light and made a number of changes recently to empower employees to be more productive. For example, the company gives employees a stipend so they can pick the smartphone they want, and it also has started a pilot program that allows employees to pick their own laptops. As if that weren’t impressive enough, Kraft also recently ordered its IT department to stop blocking consumer and social media Web sites. It figured that employees who couldn’t access those sites might fall behind important industry trends.

I don’t know if Kraft’s strategy is the future or simply the exception that proves the rule, but let’s hope it is the start of something new.

From the Desk of Melissa Hourigan

This post isn’t about tips and tricks for being a master Facebook user. I am just interested in starting a conversation about moving from personal to professional on social networks like Facebook. Recently, I have had the opportunity to speak at a number of University events and have been surprised to learn that students are worried about using their Facebook pages for professional use.  These are people who were basically raised with social networking but on a personal level. What are your thoughts? Go pro with Facebook or keep it in the family – so to speak?

I am very interested to hear what others think. I have personally reaped the benefits from forming connections with media and clients on Facebook. For me, it has enhanced my relationships with those who I don’t see everyday.

From the Desk of Jeremy Story…

The Wall Street Journal says social media services such as Facebook and Twitter are replacing email as the preferred form of communications for many of us. Of course, if you care enough about social media to read this blog, you probably already knew that. While it is true that the instant and group nature of Twitter and Facebook give them an edge over email, it is clear that email has also suffered from its own success.

As someone in his late 30s, I remember the early days of email, when 99 percent of my inbox was relevant to me. Ironically, the decline in the value of email was proportional to the increase in the number of people using it. So how long until Twitter and Facebook start to collapse under their own success?