Posted by Michele Lawson on Mar 29, 2013 | 0 comments
It looks like Facebook is going to be rolling out a(nother) new timeline. I tried to do some preliminary research to help make it clearer so when it happens we all won’t be wondering “what the hell”. It is a lot of information but here is what I have so far….
They are doing away with the staggered post timeline (thank goodness). Your status updates and posts will be down the right hand side of the page. All other sections such as your “About”, “Friends”, “Photos” etc. will be more extensive and down the left. I hear they are also adding a new “instagram” section as well.
Facebook is going to be pushing you to fill out more of your profile content. There will be “call to actions” that will prompt you to fill in any empty sections such as Movies, Music, Books etc. The interesting part is that with the Music, Movies, TV Shows, and Books sections, there will be new “Watched,” “Want to Watch,” “Read,” and “Want to Read” tabs in addition to “Likes” for those sections.
You will notice that the Photos, Friends, and Places sections have been redesigned and organized in a way that makes switching between content easier and the content will be broken down to make it more user friendly.
Facebook is going to suggest pages to “Like.” My understanding is that these recommendations will not be reflective of things you have “Liked” before but more from other sources. Here is what I can gather…. Facebook has caught on to the fact that most of us “Like” a page because we are trying to win a contest, support a local business or simply because a friend asked us to in order to get their “Like” number higher. That means, when Facebook is trying to sell advertisements and trying to pinpoint who will most likely buy the product advertised… our “Likes” really may not be what our interests are at all. They are going to instead focus on our interests from our “want,” “watch,” “read” and other profile information so they can get a better feel for our desires and activities. Knowing that now makes the call-to-action prompts to fill out these sections more understandable. By doing this, they can provide us with more targeted ads which in turn will most like boost ad revenue for Facebook. I’m still not sure who this whole thing is going to play out and I hope to find out more about it through my research.
So that is it for now. I will update you with me when I discover more. If you have any additional information PLEASE add it to the comments below… help a sister out. J
Thanks for reading~
Michele
Michele Lawson – self-styled Introvert and founding member of Red Feather Networking has a story to tell – one that all Introverts can learn from. We sometimes think of Social Media and Online Communities as a way for people to hide behind their computers and avoid human interaction. Some may go so far as to build a “Cyberlife” that is more engaging than their “real” life. However, Michele and her fellow Red Feathers have found a higher purpose – the use of Social Media to make real-life connections with people you barely know – and to make it matter in the offline world. Although I was there when RFN was founded, I wanted to sit down with Michele and hear the story as she experienced it.
Kelly: So, you call yourself an Introvert… why?
Michele: People who are closest to me do not describe me as shy or quiet. In fact I’m considered quite the opposite among my family, friends and co-workers. However, that’s INSIDE my comfort zone. Once I get outside of my comfort zone it is a totally different story. I’m not only talking about situations with massive amounts of people. I’m talking about anything from a girls night out with women I have never met, to small business meetings, to international conferences. In those scenarios I tend to transform from an outgoing socialite to a wall flower.
Kelly: And how are things different for you now?
Michele: Now that I have seen the positive outcome that is achieved by putting myself out there I am more willing to do so. Do I still get butterflies? Certainly. However, I feel now that I am armed with the tools and tips that I need to make any social setting a beneficial one.
Kelly: So tell me about this defining experience. How did it come about?
Michele: I had just signed up for the American Society of Training and Development International Conference and Exposition. Honestly, I was a very nervous about going to this huge conference by myself. Eight thousand people is a lot of people. To better get a feel for what I was about to get myself into I did what most introverts would do – I jumped on computer -Linked In to be exact. I joined some groups associated with the event with the intention of lurking in the shadows and finding out more about what goes on at the conference. One person reached out with a funny post, and amazingly enough, I decided to post back.
Kelly: So it was that easy? Posting back?
Michele: Hey, I’m an Introvert! Posting back wasn’t easy! But I took that leap. After the first leap, I took the second and a third. The next thing I know, we had a small group not only replying to each other’s posts but we were exchanging email addresses and phone numbers. I started texting and talking to members who were also attending and had the same interests and concerns that I had. Before I knew it I was making plans to meet up with people from all over the world. YES I said “THE WORLD”! It was amazing.
Kelly: And so when you all arrived at the conference, you met up?
Michele: Yes, however it’s not as easy as it sounds. You can imagine trying to find a handful of people in a sea of thousands. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. We had to have some way to identify ourselves without trying to walk around reading everyone’s name badge. That’s where the red feathers come in – the kind you would buy at the craft store. A member of our group suggested that each of us put red feather on our conference name badges to help identify our online group visually. That way, if you saw someone with a red feather you knew they were part of our online group even if you hadn’t actually met them yet. It made it much easier to just walk up and start talking with them. The feather was a great ice breaker not only to people within our online group but also to others who were very curious about the significance. By the end of the conference there were at least 50 of us within the Red Feather group.
Kelly: And the group is still in touch today?
Michele: YES! Not only do we keep up with each other on social media sites, we also keep in contact face to face. Many of us travel extensively. It’s nice to know someone in a town you may be in – someone to have dinner with or be able to contact to ask about the local area. Even better, since most of us are in the training field in some capacity, we’re able to use social media to help each other both professionally and personally. We recommend software tools, give advice, share accomplishments and collaborate. Basically we’re just what our name implies. We’re a network. However, our network has a stronger connection than many regular online groups. We were able to take that online connection and bring it into our “real” lives offline which has made all the difference. Red Feathers really know each other, we care about each other, and we are friends as well as professional colleagues. I know, it’s hard to believe that this bond was formed by only spending four days together, almost a year ago.
Kelly: So where does it go from here? Will you have another in-person group gathering?
Michele: Many of us will be attending that same ASTD conference this year. We plan reconnect with our group from last year as well as to grow the group with new attendees looking to not only enhance their conference experience but also build a lasting support system. We will repeat the same practice of impromptu dinners as well as some organized group gathers. This year we are also partnering with Legacy Business Cultures to host a Tweetup. It will be a great way to meet people, utilize social media outreach, and practice our mantra of “fun AND professional”.
Kelly: It’s great that you were able to do this, but do you think it was a fluke? Could you (or anyone else) repeat this experience and create such a strong network at some other time or place?
Michele: (Chuckles) I know it sounds cliché however if I can do it anyone can do it. Let’s remember, I’m a self proclaimed introvert so if you had told me that I would attend a conference with 8000+ attendees, that I would talk to people, actually bond, have a published article on the experience and now get to tell hundreds of people about the experience via my teleseminar, I would have said you were crazy.
Kelly: I hear you’ll be giving away big secrets during this teleseminar, true?
Michele: Yes! During my teleseminar I will not only give listeners a more complete RFN history but I will provide them with the tools and tips necessary to make all their future meetings and conference, big or small, the ability to become a valuable experience from a social networking standpoint. It’s FREE, so there’s no excuse not to attend!
Kelly: Thanks for talking with me Michele! By sharing your experience and your networking methods, I know you’ll help a lot of people to build that network they’ve been wanting.
You can register and download the recording of Michele’s FREE teleseminar “Once Upon A Time: An Introvert’s Roadmap to Networking and Social Media” at http://meggin.com/onceupon.php.
Kelly Phillips is a self-proclaimed Learning and Development Passionista and shares inspirations and insights on the Effective Training & Design blog. Follow her on Twitter at @KellyPhillipsNC
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| Image by jugbo via Flickr |
As we enter into the start of presidential election season,election keywords and candidates names are all over social media platforms. TheWashington Post even published Hashtag guide for the 2012 election But does having a presence in social mediahelp in a presidential election? Can those Likes and retweets and trending numberstranslate into putting a candidate into public office?
According to articles scattered over the web, the jury isstill out. Micah Sifry, co-founder of the Personal Democracy Forum recentlyposted an article on CNN.com titled
Why social media couldn’t predict the Iowa race. In it he says that “…growth in followers or high numbers of retweets arejust indication of notoriety or celebrity. Saying simple, stupidthings that lots of people want to tell their peers about can get you tons offollowers and retweets. But it doesn’t mean anything definitive aboutgrass-roots support.”
And how much Liking and retweeting is out there? You can seesome of the stats in this
Huff Post article from last October. I’m sure thenumbers are much higher by now. But can social media truly influence theelection? Or is it just another platform for the same political message we’vebeen bombarded with every year?
The Wall Street Journal reports that
a new survey conducted on behalf of Digitas is predicting that social media will have a real impact.There are some very interesting statistics in this article that might sway youin that direction.
Ready for my personal opinion? I don’t think you can measurethe political impact in Likes, tweets, and followers. The best thing aboutsocial media is that it’s not controlled by anyone. There is no executive fromthe top floor deciding what will air when, who can advertise, and what contentwill be allowed. On the other hand, there are idiots every day starting falserumors and stories that go viral through the web. I think that intelligentvoters who put the time into researching candidates will be able to find moreinformation than ever before to help them make their decisions. And those whojust walk into the booth and say “eenie meenie miney mo” will do it again in2012. We used to be swayed by water-cooler conversations with our co-workersand chats over beer at the bar. All social media does is widen the sphere ofinfluence around us and expose us to the views of more people. But what do you think?
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