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Archive for the ‘Twitter’ Category

Monday, December 10th, 2012

Google quietly launched two new features in the last few days.

The first improvement is one that, we imagine, will slowly integrate into our social experience much like Facebook and Twitter have.

New Google+ Feature

It’s called Google+ Communities, and here’s how it works. You’re interested in graphic design, baking bread or nuclear physics and want to connect to a more specific group of people who share similar interests. Google+ Communities exists for you.

Think of it as a Facebook group…because that’s what it is: the Google+ version of a Facebook group, but with a few twists that might pull you over to the Google+ side. After all, it’s growing at a faster rate than Facebook and Twitter (read more about that here).

So how does Google+ Communities differ from Facebook or Facebook Pages? Here’s what Google had to say in a recent update:

“With Google+ Communities there’s now a gathering place for your passions, including: 1. Public or private membership to support all kinds of groups—from topics and interests to local neighborhoods to regular poker night. 2. Discussion categories to find the conversations you care about most. 3. The option to start hangouts and plan events with community members. 4. The ability to share with your community from any +1 button across the web.”

Granted, though many features overlap in both the Facebook and Google+ platform, the ability to start video hangouts which record directly to Youtube is an immese differentiator.

Which bring us to Youtube’s.

Youtube Facelife

Youtube underwent the designer’s knife this past week and came out much sleeker and cleaner.

According to this post in a Google help forum, the new design intends to increase subscription rates, focus more on video than previous designs and increase exposure to various Youtube channels. But not everyone is happy with the updates.

And if you really don’t like the updates, there’s always this option:

Question: What do you think about the new design on Youtube or the addition of Google+ Communities? Let us know in the comments below!

Tags: Facebook, Facebook group, Google+, Google+ Communities, Social network, Twitter, YouTube
Posted in Facebook, Google+, Twitter | No Comments »

Social Media Techniques for Creative Types

Tuesday, November 13th, 2012

Social media shouldn’t be a drudgery–at its core, it’s communicating creatively. And that’s exactly what creative people do.

For artists of every medium, hue, and palatte, social media provides a challenge: shall I write/sculpt/sing/dance/teach/paint or should I hop on the computer and crank out some Facebook and Twitter posts?

Social media can certainly be quite overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.

Here’s the traditional approach to building your platform online:

Write blog posts.
Share blog posts on Twitter.
Share blog posts on Facebook.
Share blog posts on .
Reply to comments on your own blog.
Comment on other people’s blogs to build relationship.
Find and add more like-minded Twitter followers.
Find other content to share to build relationship.
Share that content.

Oh yeah, don’t forget to write/sculpt/sing/dance/teach/paint. As with any creative endeavor, we need a roadmap. We need social media management techniques for artists so we can do what we love to do: create and share our creative work.

Hootsuite

HootSuite takes the ‘crazy’ out of updating multiple social media accounts. One status update is typed and is easily shared with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn… you name it.

As an added bonus, updates can be scheduled in advance.

What does this mean for you?

Take ten minutes in the morning, schedule your social media updates for the day, then go create.

HootSuite does the work for you.

In less than ten minutes, this simple how-to video walks you through setting up a HootSuite account, connecting your various social media accounts to your Hootsuite account, and beginning to use it.

Buffer

Buffer is a tool which allows you to schedule updates on various social media platforms at specific times. It’s simple and it’s free!

Here’s a video introduction to Buffer if you’d like to give it a go.

Google Reader

Found a blog you like? Want to visit that blog more regularly? Would your own readers and/or followers find the content helpful?

Set up a Google Reader account and add your favorite blogs to that reader.

On many blogs there’s a ‘subscribe’ button or an RSS icon.

By clicking on that icon on the blogs you like, you’ll open a window that will enable you to subscribe to that blog.

Think of Google Reader as a folder of your favorite blogs and content sites.

Then go to this ‘folder’ for…

+Creative inspiration from those you respect.
+Content to share with your readers (remember to share the content of others, not just your own content).
Social media sanity.

Google Reader keeps you organized so you can spend more time doing what you love: creating.

By using just one or two of the tips above you’ll streamline your social media efforts, enjoy more time doing the things you love, and share your creativity with others who can benefit from your work.