Facebook doesn't like Think With Google Content

So there's this article I think is pretty cool and informative, "Cooking Trends Among Millennials: Welcome to the Digital Kitchen".

I go to share it among my various social profiles, G+, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Except when I get to Facebook, an error message warning appears:

Just in case you can't read that:

But it's the internet, and why such things happen are a mystery to me. So I see if it's an issue with the sharing mechanism on the site, and go to Facebook to paste the link natively.

Surprise, surprise, what do you think happens next?

So, yes, apparently this piece about millennials and the digital kitchen is abusive content for some on Facebook.

I guess my question is why? Have you experienced this with any other content or sites, on Facebook?

Share your own thoughts in the comments,

JR

P.S. If you'd like to read the piece on millennial and the digital kitchen, you can view it here.

Obama, Facebook, and Nicki

Good morning,

No those three don't really have much to do with each other...except that I found them to be the subject of several pieces I read this morning.

Thought I would share here.

Presidents often turn more moderate to make gains in their final years. Think of Bill Clinton's 1997 budget deal, or George W. Bush's 2007 (failed) immigration reform effort, or Ronald Reagan's 1986 tax reforms. Second terms can feel like new presidencies. 

President Obama's increasingly successful second term has been the exception to that rule. It's been a concentrated, and arguably jaded, version of his first term. The candidate who was elected to bring the country together has found he can get more done if he acts alone — and if he lets Congress do the same. 

The unexpected and ingenious strategy of Obama's second term, Ezra Klein, 7/21/15, Vox

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

What do you call a multimillion-dollar, for-profit company that’s run in large part by unpaid or underpaid grunt laborers? A century ago, you might’ve dubbed it robber-barony or sharecropping — if not, you know, outright slavery. 

In 2015, though, we call it the social Web: a glorious dystopia where everybody works for likes — as in, “for free” — while a handful of tech tycoons profit. 

You don’t know it, but you’re working for Facebook. For free., Caitlin Dewey, 7/22/15, Washington Post

Rex/Shutterstock/Guardian montage

“If I was a different ‘kind’ of artist, Anaconda would be nominated for best choreo and vid of the year”. And there, in a single tweet on Tuesday, rapper Nicki Minaj kicked off a conversation about race, feminism, and the music industry that might have been ignored had it not been derailed by the planet’s biggest pop star, Taylor Swift. 

The Nicki Minaj debate is bigger than Taylor Swift's ego, Nosheen Iqbal, 7/22/15, The Guardian

Anyway, that's it for this morning. Curious what you might think about any of these. Share your thoughts in the comments,

JR aka Nexus

Original posts are editable on Facebook now!!

Check it out, in case you haven't heard/read yet!!

We can edit our original posts/status updates on Facebook now!!

Even George Takei posted about it:

Post by George Takei.

Pete Pachal wrote about it on Mashable yesterday, with different news for Android and iOS users:

The editing feature will roll out to Facebook users on the web and Android devices over the next day, Facebook confirmed to Mashable. The editing feature is not included in the latest iOS app, but will likely get pushed out in the next update. Users will see the option to "Edit Post" when they click on the drop-down arrow in the top-right corner of a post.

You can read the rest of the article here. Or see more news about it via this google search for "Facebook edit posts".

As you can see, all you have to do is click on the drop down menu in the upper right hand corner of your post, and now "Edit Post" has been added to your "Delete" & "Embed Post" options.

I'm sure this'll be of particular relief to all the grammar and word nazis who occasionally slip up with their own posts!! Just thought I'd share. TGIF!! :-D

Federal Furlough Fun on Facebook

Hey there,

So I realize some of you might be thinking what could possibly be fun about being affected by the Federal Furlough.

Well, one person decided that one way would be to start a Facebook group called "How I Spent My Furlough Day".

It's an open group, and this is part of what it's about:

This group was created to share stories, photos and reflections about how we spend our furlough days. It is a deliberate effort to bring a little laughter and levity to an otherwise difficult situation.

There's even an event on Monday, July 8th, the Federal Furlough Five Mile Fun Run for Freedom.

If you're around (and affected), definitely click on the link to RSVP on Facebook. And keep an eye out for any of your friends who might be affected, as there are a number of profile pics which were created and share to spread the word about the group and the event.

So check out and let me know what you think in the comments. Especially let me know if you plan on joining the group and even participating in the run. Would love to hear your story.

And if you have any other comments, even if just about the group in general (for better or for worse), please share.

- JR

Facebook photo upload issues

Hey there,

Encountering issues uploading photos on Facebook? Does this error message look familiar?

Storage Failure

We had trouble storing this photo, please try

again in a few minutes.

Well you're not the only one. Check out this question posted at the Help Center. Just posted a little after 11am EST, it's already got well over a hundred sympathetic "answers" from people experiencing the same issue.

Is this affecting you? Is it not? Did it, but now it's fine? Please share, in the comments.

Curious mind wants to know,

JR

"You are the Social Media You're Using"...yeah

Hey there,

Just another infographic of the day. I know, I haven't gotten in the habit of doing this daily. But nevertheless, I saw this and had to share.

Source: siliconrepublic.com via Your Social Media Company on Pinterest

What do you think? What does the social media you're using say about you? Was this pretty accurate, or completely off the mark? Is reality somewhere in the middle?

Let me know in the comments,

JR

Facebook fallout from unfriending

Hey there,

So...I've received my first threat from unfriending someone on Facebook. No joke, this was one of their last messages to me.

"It's "just Facebook" but you took time out of your day to "punish" me for liking something on your wall. Actions have consequences in this small town. Toodles!"

Up on his wall, barely hours after?

People do things on Facebook that they would never do if they had to "Face" the person they're doing it to IRL (in real life). It's called Facerage, and it can get you thrown in jail.

 And:

...I've misbehaved a lot on here, everyone knows that. And I will take my lumps. But I will also put the boot to the face of anyone who defriends me for no good reason. Shall I name names?

So I guess these were the consequences, because guess what? Not only did he name me, but there were 6 others he named. Honestly, it was actually kind of reaffirming to know I wasn't the only one. Was I worried that he called me out? Not really.

It's funny, Mashable just had an article in March titled 5 Alternatives to Unfriending Someone on Facebook which said this at on point:

Facebook unfriending can be awkward or taken personally, often making it more trouble than it's worth.

I've been on both sides of it, and everyone has their reason. I personally thought I had a good one, in that I had gotten into a heated Facebook exchange with another friend, and through it all, the ex-friend Liked one of their comments, and none of mine. Not that I took it personally, but it was just indicative of a general mentally and mindset represented in the particular comment that I honestly don't need or want in my life.

But from said person's point of view, I was "punishing" them for liking something on my wall, which was a fairly oversimplified statement of the situation. The reality was more nuanced and complex.

And not only that, there were 6 people OTHER THAN ME. I'd think most people would take multiple..."unfriendings" as a sign that maybe it's not OTHER people that are the problem, if there's any problem at all, to begin with.

Sometimes people also just go different ways. And we all have different barometers. One I loved, which a friend shared, was this:

"The defriending is usually when the answer to the question "would I stop on the street and say hi to this person" is no."

 So there it is. I can see what Mashable was saying, but honestly, this reaction just confirmed that this was not someone I probably wanted to be friends with in the first place.

And I even said so in my own Facebook post, although I did not name names. Because what does that accomplish? Trying to get people to choose sides? All I know is that if someone every puts me in that position, I tend to favor the party that didn't try to make me pick. Which is exactly what I wouldn't want any of our mutual friends to have to do.

That's that. Any thoughts? Questions? Stories of your own? Please share in the comments, below,

JR

Personal branding and photos on social media

Hey there,

One thing I spend a lot of time overanalyzing is personal branding. Yes, I'm sure it's nothing out of the ordinary for most people with a serious social media affliction.

But I also think about this as I strive to become a thought leader in my fields, as well as continue to build my public identity as a professional, self-employed artist, which I'd like to think isn't too far off from my personal and private identity. In fact, I strive for them to be as synchronized as possible, if not one and the same.

So with my latest photo update, it's probably the first time in a while I've consciously chosen photos to consistently use on my three main social networks, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. The one outlier is the theme option in customizing one's Twitter design, but that'll be a post for another day.

Just wanted to share what I ended up with.

First up, we've got my Facebook profile.

Next on deck, is my Twitter. Haha, no pun intended given the recent news with TweetDeck.

Finally, we've got my profile on Google+.

You might've noticed the group profile photo on Facebook versus the solo version on the other two. This is mainly because Facebook is exclusively where I'm friends with people I know in person, so it just made sense for me to keep 'em in the shot, as well as tag them, whereas the other two platforms are more public.

I know, this might be a bit of an artificial distinction for some, but I mentioned I overanalyze things, and it's just what makes sense to me. I will say, I love how the cover photo works and plays with the different layouts, particularly Facebook & Google+ versus Twitter.

At the end of the day, though, this is a choice. Some might find it more useful to really customize the photos used depending on each platform's layout and dimensions. And I'm sure it's something I myself will explore sometime, when I have time to.

In the meantime, would love to hear how others address this, whether you use the same images or differentiate it based on the platform. Or even if you just don't think about it that much.

And please, feel free to leave links to your own profiles in the comments, if you'd like to share your personal examples, whether your own photo use is consistent, customized, or somewhere in between,

JR

One Friday night, I turned to Foursquare

Hey there,

So, it happened. I mean I've done it before, I realize now. But I guess now it's becoming a regular part of figuring out where I'm going to go, when all I have are no plans and a spontaneous impulse.

Checking Foursquare.

There were two venues I was considering going to, this past Friday night. So I opened up Foursquare on my mobile device to see two things. First, how many people had checked in, in general. And, second, how many of my friends had checked in.

I do do something similar on Facebook, but it's Event specific. I'll see how many of my friends have RSVP'ed Yes or Maybe, and especially if it's the day of, if anybody's written on the wall talking about heading to it or being excited about it.

So yes, peer pressure works, we're all just sheep, and...wait a minute, social media can actually facilitate social activities in real life.

A survey whose results were shared just a couple of weeks ago from the Active Network, Research Reveals the Link Between Online Interaction and Offline Activities, speaks directly to this:

"According to the ‘Beyond the Click’ survey, the three most popular offline actions taken as a result of online engagement are to contact a person directly, attend an event and participate in an activity such as a sport or a class."

So, yeah. At least from personal experience, social media seems to be just another tool for communicating, informing, and organizing, and as with all tools, its up to the users to choose how to use it and let it affect their lives, for better or for worse.

Yes, I'm speaking to the many fears people have brought up about Social Media's adverse effects. Even just typing into Google "social media dest" the auto-fill results that come up are:

• social media destroying society
• social media destroys relationships
• social media destroying social skills

But again, ultimately I would argue that all this is up to each user to choose for him or herself.

In this case, I chose to use social media to figure out what I would do on a Friday night. And I ended up dancing until I and my friends (one of which was the deciding factor when I checked Foursquare) closed the club down.

Which I haven't done in a while.

Anyone else occasionally use social media to crowdsource their plans? Any particular stories that come to mind? Or do you not consider or check social media at all? Please share in the comments.

- JR

Facebook is to bulletin board as Twitter is to chat room

Hey there,

So this past weekend, I had yet another friend casually ask what the deal was with Twitter because they just didn't get it. And this is someone who is on Facebook.

And as I like to over-analyze things, there are a couple of (what I would call safe) assumptions that I make about what someone is REALLY asking with this question?

The first is that part of the essence of their inquiry is "I'm already on a social network, why should I put time and energy into another one?" Another part of what's behind their query is "How is this different from what I'm already on?"

To answer the first question, I'd actually that for some people, they probably shouldn't be on Twitter. The best comparison, which I've shared and others have generally agreed with, is that Facebook is like an online bulletin board while Twitter is the chat room. I'd also say that in general, Facebook is more on the private, friends and family, end of the spectrum, while Twitter is more on the public end, friends as well as people you might not even know or ever meet in real life.

And, yes, there is an option to make your Facebook profile public and subscribe-able, and one can have a private Twitter account, so this obviously isn't speaking of individuals who would like to use each platform as such. But those users tend to be the exception and in terms of the general, intended use, I would say Facebook is more for building on and maintaining existing relationships while Twitter is more for cultivating conversations among friends and strangers alike, particularly when you take hashtags into account.

Again, think public chat room with Twitter. It's a much more immediate sense of engagement compared to Facebook.

As I type this, I realize that one thing that clearly illustrates how the two platforms differ are by the tools they give you to interact with other people's content.

On Facebook you can Like, Comment, and Share. On Twitter, you can Favorite, Reply, and Retweet. And that's a blog post for another day, but if you have time and you aren't familiar with either set of interactions, definitely take a couple of minutes to just look it up.

And I digress. What's interesting is that even when I get through this, there are some people who've already made up their mind, and say they just don't have the time, which I call bollocks on if they're on Facebook. Or they say Twitter's just a waste of time, which might actually be true for them.

Whether personally or professionally, it isn't a platform to hop on just to do so. And it certainly isn't one to sign up for if all you're going to do is sync it to push from your other social media.

But if you're curious, I'd say the best thing to do is to find your friends, follow others who share your interests and passions, and just start by listening and replying to what shows up in your Twitter feed. Because ultimately, if you're not willing to engage with and share what others are tweeting, then...well you get what you give, or don't give in this case.

Let me know what you think about any of this. Are you a recent Twitter convert? Did you try it out and it just didn't jive with you? Are you the one your friends ask to explain it to them?

Leave a comment, as well as thoughts on other related topics that I should consider blogging about in the future.

- JR

Bullying and "pussies"

Hey there,

Ah Social Media...just when I think I know you. So I came across an AP story about Karen Klein, the bus monitor that was bullied, taking a portion of the money people donated to her, and started an anti-bullying foundation.

If you're not familiar with the incident, you can google it, as well as watch the video which thrust the incident onto the national, and even international, stage. I personally haven't, and can't.

So, I posted the link on Facebook, and a friend shared it on her own page.  She said thanks, I responded you're welcome and then someone posted this:

Him: I mean I get it but is it just me or do people seem to be such huge pussies nowadays. By todays standard half the shit I encountered or possibly did myself growing up could be considered bullying or being bullied. I didn't whine about it or kill myself I just manned up.

This was not someone I knew so I can only assume it was a mutual friend at best. Now this is the part I love and hate about social media. Interacting with people you don't know in real life. Nevertheless, I responded with the following:

Me: I would have to say it is just you. I would recommend reading this article, because "bullying" is not the same as when we might've been growing up. Suicides aren't a sign that people are weaker than you might've been, it's a sign that they're enduring things (successfully and not) that make what you dealt with look like bullying foreplay. 

Besides, in a lot of cases (this bus monitor aside), we're not talking about people that are adults, we're talking about youth finding their way and coming into their own in a different world than the one we knew as youths.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/kids-health/5-reasons-bullying-is-worse-than-ever.aspx

And yes, we're not even addressing the fact that these kids were bullying an adult. I don't know about you, but I grew up respecting my elders. If anything, this was just proof positive that bullying is worse than its been. To which the individual who called those who are bullied pussies responded with:

Him: You're reply is riddled with assumptions that you know where I grew up, how I grew up or what I've encountered growing up.

I get that I really do I just think nowadays we live in a society of excuses. People don't man up, children are coddled and made to believe they're super special but when something comes along that shows them they're at best unexceptional at worst, they can't cope.

‎*Normal at best unexceptional at worst *

At this point, I took the gloves off. I thought I made my point, I backed it up with a source. But it was clear this was someone who had a world view that I would argue is part of the problem in dealing with the bullying issue. People that think they know what kids are going through today, and that think not being able to cope is their own fault, when it's not. I know plenty of adults who are still learning to cope, and have lost friends to suicide because they in a moment lost the ability and saw no other option. And we're not even talking about adults here, we're talking about kids killing themselves at younger ages. And a disproportionate number of those are LGBT youth. But that's neither here nor there. Here's my response to his claim that my reply assumed things:

Me: No it's not, it's based on summing up the points made in the link, one of the primary factors being the compounding effects cyber-bullying has on young people's psyches. I may not know how you grew up or anything about that, but I know for a fact that you didn't grow up with the social media platforms which enable youth to bully each other online in addition to having to face bullying and the real and cyber effects of it in person. 

"But thanks to the rise of social media and the Internet, bullying is no longer confined to just school property or hours." 

I made no assumptions about you, I merely stated the fact that things are different today than they were before. I'm sorry that you misunderstood any of my points, but definitely ask you re-read them and the article and comment on what I said. I can continue to give my two cents as well as post links, quote articles and include facts, but the conversation's useless if you're just going to ignore all that and resort to personal experience, anecdote, and personal "thoughts" devoid the context of anyone else's reality but your own. 

It sounds like you have an axe to grind against children that are coddled and what's worse is that the implication is that suicide is something that they deserve because they can't deal with being bullied. Even if that were true (and I'd like to see any facts you have to back that up that all children who commit suicide from being bullied were coddled), being coddled isn't the fault of the child but the parent, and the next step in your logic would be that parents who coddle their children deserve to have their kids take their own lives for not making them tougher. I personally wouldn't wish that on anyone, regardless of what I think of their parenting style. 

You say we live in a society of excuses, but the irony is that you sure seem to be making excuses for why anyone but the bully is responsible for what happens in terms of others reactions as a result of their actions, which to me would be the logical place to start. I'd say that you're point of view is a bigger problem we have, a society where some people like to try to blame the victim. 

Maybe something to think about.

I take a note from Ender's Game in my discussions and debates, making the points to drive the nail in the coffin. But sometimes, when people are so stuck in what they want to believe, or get defensive when being criticized, or sometimes don't even realize what they said, they find a way to pivot and still have something to respond to. And this person did:

Him: Ummm ... Where did I say bullies escape all blame? Where did I say those who are bullied are to blame? Where did I say I have an axe to grind with children? Again you seem bent on connecting dots that aren't even there. You apparently feel passionate about this and i can respect that about but don't let it turn you into being unable to see the difference between what I actually wrote as opposed to what you think I meant.

To which my rule of 3 kicked in. I have a rule of 3 for a lot of things, and in this case it was that my next response, my third one, would be my final one. Say all that I have to say, address what I can, and hope some of it sinks in. It's a response of last resort where I don't beat around the bush (not that I was earlier). But for me it's a little bittersweet. It's where I realize that there is no exchange of critical thought happening, and that we are just two brick walls running into each other. That being said, this final exchange is where I fortify mine while knocking the other one down. And so my final response was:

Me: okay...it's apparent you haven't thought about this as much as others, including myself, but trust that my comments have been in direct response to what you've typed (as I have nothing else to go on) and just because you never explicitly "blamed" anyone, that doesn't mean it wasn't implied. Regardless, I'll attempt once more to engage and respond to you on this, by answering what it seems like you think were rhetorical questions. 

To answer your 2nd question, I'll just start with your first comment: 

"I mean I get it but is it just me or do people seem to be such huge pussies nowadays. By todays standard half the shit I encountered or possibly did myself growing up could be considered bullying or being bullied. I didn't whine about it or kill myself I just manned up."
Hopefully that doesn't need to be explained, how you are putting the fault on those whore bullied. But I can do so if need be. 

To address your 3rd question, I didn't say you have an axe to grind with children, I said it seems like you have one (aka an issue with) children who are coddled (so don't take my words out of context), in which case I'll just quote your third comment: 

"I get that I really do I just think nowadays we live in a society of excuses. People don't man up, children are coddled and made to believe they're super special but when something comes along that shows them they're at best unexceptional at worst, they can't cope." 

Now to go back to your first question, you never say bullies escape all blame outright. But between you blaming children for being pussies in your first comment, and you not only reiterating that belief in your second comment but at the very most implying the parents as culpable, at no point do you mention those doing the bullying as factor in the situation, nor do you respond to the point I made and supported that bullying is worse now than its ever been.
Again, you don't ever say bullies are to blame, but the only ones you've mentioned are to blame are the pussies who don't man up and end up committing suicide (your first comment, paraphrased). 

I don't seem bent on connecting the dots. I just do. Unfortunately, it seems like you've resorted to projecting as you seem to be bent on ignoring good and valid points that unfortunately don't jive well with your own person world view. 

I'd ask you to not only carefully read what I wrote, but to read what you wrote as well and ask yourself what exactly it was you meant. Because if I got the wrong idea, then please correct me. But don't think any of my responses were completely baseless. 

I will say you're right on one thing. I am passionate about this issue, because I don't think it's fair to call children who don't have the tools and capacity you did, some of which end up taking their own lives, pussies. To which I'll end where I began, responding to your initial comment and reiterating that yes, it is just you.

I know I might've gone too far. I have a tendency to over-communicate rather than under-communicate. I'm not going to say that bullying's never existed before, but I do think people underestimate and misunderstand its causes and effects, particularly with Media 2.0

What do you think? Should I have even bothered? Does this sound like conversations you've had, and which side have you been on? What other high-profile incidents do you remember?

Please share in the comments, and let me know if this is an issue that you'd like to read more about,

-JR

Why to only friend people you know on Facebook

Hey there,

So this has come up before and it has recently come up again in talking with friends about Facebook, my friend'ing policy. It's pretty simple: I accept friend requests from people have met in person. As long as that has happened, we're good.

I know, I'm a bit of a stickler. And by no means is this original, for some it might be too strict, for others too relaxed, as they only connect with good friends and/or family. And this is on top of the unspoken rule that I don't accept friend requests from organizations or companies. I'll like your page, but if you've got a personal profile set up for your business or nonprofit, then you're not only not doing the minimal work to do social media right, but it also means you're violating Facebook policy.  But I digress.

Yes, there are exceptions to any rule, and I ever-so-slightly fibbed with my subject line. Just so you know, I'll put it out there that as of the time of this post, there are two people I am friends with on Facebook that I haven't met in person. At least, not yet. One of them is a fellow intern at Dance Place, whom I assume I'll be meeting sooner or later when our internships start in September. The other is a fellow GALA Chorus member who I did not meet this past year in Denver but we were both there at the same time, and we mean to keep in touch with each other and meet in person at the next GALA Festival in 2016.

Other than those two, the other friends I have on Facebook are all individuals, whose paths I've been grateful to have had cross with my own, at some point in our lives. And that is part of the intent of Facebook, and I'm a bit of a social media purist. I want to use platforms the way their creators intended them to be used. FB actually spells it out in their help section, if you check out their page on friends & requests:

Who should I send friend requests to?

Facebook is a place for connecting with friends, family, and other people you know personally. You should send friend requests to people you have a real-life connection to, like your friends, family, coworkers, or classmates. 

These policies, both the site and my personal one, actually keep things simple for me. I only have to worry about where & when I met someone. I don't have to think about why they want to friend me, how we know each other, each time I get a friend request. This is part of why Facebook launched their subscribe feature for public profiles almost a year ago. Here's a quote from a Mashable article about it:

The button gives you a way to follow the content others are posting without actually becoming Facebook friends with them. In a lot of ways, it’s like following somebody on Twitter...(read more)

Facebook directly addresses subscribing to someone as an alternative to friending them, in situations where you don't know them, and they have this up in their FAQ:

What’s the difference between subscribing to someone and adding a friend?

You should only add someone as a friend when you know them personally. If you don't know someone personally but want to hear what they have to say, subscribing is a good option. When you subscribe to someone, you'll only be able to see their public updates. 

I personally think there's a fine line between accepting friend requests from strangers and having public posts people can subscribe to, so why not just keep it simple.

So in looking to provide some context for this blog post, I actually googled "facebook what if i friend people i don't know". There were some cases I hadn't even considered to be issues with this, some more extreme than others. One that stuck out seemed to say don't do this if you're a criminal, as it's how some got caught. Another mentioned ID theft as a concern with letting strangers access your personal data, especially if you haven't deciphered Facebook's privacy settings.

Anyway, that's just me. And I wanted to share. Ultimately, regardless of Facebook's intents, it comes down to personal preferences. If you don't mind accepting requests for stranger, just make sure you're countering by being thoughtful of every post you put out there. And if you're going to do that, you might as well just make your profile public and allow people to subscribe to it. That being said, if you'd like to connect with me on FB, please feel free to subscribe below!! :-)

- JR

Pepco's social media use after Friday's storm

Hey there,

So, Pepco's been utilizing Social Media to stay in touch with their customers, at least those that still have charged batteries and, if their power's still out at home, an alternative location with juice.

This morning at 8:44am, they tweeted this.

We expect to have estimated restoration times later today. You will be able to view them on our outage map and mobile app.
— Pepco (@PepcoConnect) July 1, 2012

Pepco even started a Facebook photo album of not just damage from this past Friday's storm, but also crews working to repair that damage.

But with great social media comes great transparency and these tools are just other platforms for them to receive comments, criticism, and complaints.

A couple of hours ago, Christine Byrams left this comment on Facebook, "Power in Cheltenham and parts of Upper Marlboro are still OUT!!" from her mobile device.

Not missing a beat, PepcoConnect replied, "Christine, we will work around the clock until restoration is completed."

This is a great example of how important it is to listen with Social Media. Eric Harr made a great point in a blog, aptly titled, Myth: To Be Heard, Talk. Truth: To Be Heard, Listen:

"Social media was created as a refuge from that very method of “interruption marketing.” People seek honest dialogue and authentic discourse. They want to be heard."

And natural disasters are definitely a situation where people want to be heard. If there's any question as to why Social Media is worth it for an organization you are with, this is one.

Obviously, crisis is relative and not every company or organization deals with the same product or responsibilities that affect peoples lives to this degree. But that's no reason to ignore it.

Kivi Miller, of NonProfitMarketingGuide.com, has a great post from this past February titled Nonprofit Crisis Communications 101: Shorten the News Cycle. And while her site is geared towards the Nonprofit community, best practices are best practices. Here's one of her points on why an org needs a crisis communication plan:

"Whether you can predict it or not, whether you think you are controversial or not, whether you are careful and prepared or not, every nonprofit is vulnerable to some sort of crisis. In some ways, the actual substance of the crisis is less important than whether you are ready to respond quickly and competently to it."

So Pepco is doing their best to use the tools at their disposal to let their customers know that they are listening, and doing everything they can around the clock until power has been restored.

People will probably still be angry and frustrated until their power is restored, but they have more than a website and an 877 number, and social media done right ensures that they'll receive a response sooner than later.

Every customer might not be happy, but every customer with such access will be heard. Yes, accessibility's a whole other can of worms which I'm sure I'll blog about later.

In the meantime, are you someone who's Tweeted at Pepco or left a comment on their Facebook page? What did you say? How did Pepco respond? And most importantly, are you satisfied with their response?

And if you have any comments or insights you'd like to share, please leave a comment.

- JR

P.S. if you care to follow and/or like either of the two people I mentioned:

• Eric Harr - Facebook | Twitter
• Kivi Miller at NonProfitMarketing Guide - Facebook | Twitter

Follow @AWayofLife0

Making a FB page cover photo

Hey everyone,

So I finally got around to making a Facebook cover photo for AWoL Productions's FB Page. AWoL Productions is a performing arts company I started fresh out of grad school in 2010.  We've produced one show a year so far, each time presented as part of the Capital Fringe Festival. I'm very happy with it!!

And with this being the first show put up since the new cover photo addition, I thought a compilation of the three shows produced would be a good first one. I consulted FB's How should I choose a cover photo for my page?

The first thing I was looking for was the dimensions, which (if you care to optimize the image for the page), are 851 pixels wide & 315 pixels high. And in case you're another Mac user like me and don't have the software to edit photos, I recommend checking out Seashore, which you can learn more about here.

They have other recommendations for format, size, etc. which you can check out yourself, but what I made sure to take particular note of was what was not allowed:

• Price or purchase information, such as "40% off" or "Download it at our website"
• Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page's About section
• References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features
• Calls to action, such as "Get it now" or "Tell your friends"

In the end, it makes sense, and I kind of like this. In a number of webinars and trainings on social media, you find that a well selected or composed image can be just as, if not more effective than hitting your audience and community over the head with yet aNOther call to action if you're with a nonprofit like me.

SocialMediaDelivered actually has a great post, Facebook Brand Cover Photos: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, in which they shared thoughts on why the image below was not a good choice for Microsoft, with which I agree.

Granted, I am certainly not comparing my small little arts company to a brand like that, BUT best practices are best practices, regardless of how small or large your organization is.

Anyway, that's it. Would love to hear thoughts on my cover photo, what works about it, what doesn't. And definitely share your own, especially if you want feedback.

- JR

Follow @AWayofLife0

Seven Social Sources Saturday

Hey,

Just a blog which might become a regular thing. Skimmed through sources I've shared on Social Media over the past week (in terms of the content but also the means of sharing), and picked seven I wanted to highlight.  Most of them are recent, but sometimes you come across neat tidbit in someone's archive, for the first time.

That's why I included dates in the listings below. Just short and sweet, but wanted to do this for those that might've missed the original post.  These are articles I thought best to continue to push through the noise.

And I made it a point to include seven pieces all from different sources. While I certainly have my own preferences, I wanted to try to minimize in what I'm sharing here. And in terms of what is addressed, while most of the following are tips and hints, one is health related, another gives some historical perspective, but as long as it has something to do with social media, that's all that matters to me.

3 Unforgettable Reasons Arts & Cultural Organizations Need Pinterest, from NetWitsThinkTank.com, 5/9/12

4 Ways Your Business Can Avoid Being a Menace on Twitter, from Mashable, 5/7/12

5 Tools to Help Battle Social Media Content Overload, from HubSpot Blog, 1/4/12

9 Tips for Handling a Crisis on Twitter, from PR News, 4/30/12

12 Habits of Successful Social Media Pros, from Ragan, 5/10/12

Find out if you're addicted to Twitter or Facebook, from TweetSmarter, 5/8/12

The Timeline of Facebook backlashes, from BuzzFeed, 5/7/12

Let me know what you think, whether the above is new information or common knowledge for you, whether something was particularly more helpful or insightful than another, as well as if there are any other particular topics or tools that strike your fancy that I can help you keep an eye out for :-)

JR

Techsoup on Facebook Timeline, and visual power

Hey,

So there's a really GREAT blog by Susan Chavez on Techsoup which was posted in the past week, "Coming March 30: Facebook Timeline".

On March 30, big changes are coming to all Facebook brand pages – the new Timeline format. 

Timeline has already begun appearing on personal pages so it will not be entirely unfamiliar to many Facebook users. However, even users who are familiar with this format will find a number of new features only available for brand pages.

Check out the rest of the blog here.

I think it's very telling that the first highlighted change has to do with the cover photo.  I say this because increasingly pictures are telling a thousand words more and more in social media. I actually just got out of a seminar this morning on Digital Communications 2.0 for Nonprofits, but a wonderful woman named Jamie, with  Momenta. A number of times, the moral of the story came back to being thoughtful and intentional with the images used, from brands to logos.

Even last week, on a webinar about 10 mistakes nonprofits make, hosted by Guidestar, and led by someone with Diosa Communications, one that was mentioned was as simple as making sure an organization had a square version of their logo/brand to be used in Social Media profiles.

But I digress. That's just the first of a number of changes highlighted in Techsoup's blog, which is a must-read for anyone dealing with their company's Facebook page.

Looks like we're going down the rabbit hole, so don't hesitate to take the red social media pill, if you haven't yet. Because the organizations that do so willingly and resourcefully will certainly have an advantage over those that don't.

Keep an eye out on my twitter for little nuggets from this morning's seminar I mentioned. In the meantime, read, read, READ the blog :-)

- JR

Don't sync Twitter and Facebook, please

Hey,


So I saw a friend's status update on Facebook. Then I saw underneath that it was posted by their handle on Twitter...

I'm going to publish my personal top 10 twitter tips in the next week or so, but in the meantime want to share a blog from Lisa Catto, "To sync or not to sync, it's not really a question". Here's an excerpt:

There has been a trend, and I notice is among authors especially (but that’s one of the few niche groups I follow), toward syncing Twitter and Facebook accounts so that when someone posts on Twitter it also shows up in the Facebook posts. Hey, I get why people do it. It’s convenient, post once, it hits two places. It’s easy. It’s automatic. You want to be using social media because everyone else is and you’re told

To read the rest of her blog, click here.

I would just like to say that I completely concur with her points, and I would just add, to reemphasize, with regard to syncing Facebook & Twitter: "Just say no".

This point actually came up in a webinar I took on the top 10 mistakes nonprofits make with Social Media, and one of them addressed automation. I won't rehash points made there and in Lisa's blog.

And most people are just using social media for personal use, not for a company or organization. But I would say that generally best practices for one are best practices for the other, and even though its on the interwebs, we use social media to connect to other people...more or less. And when an automatic status update via twitter is visible, it reminds us and removes us from that connection.

Sure, it seems like a small difference, but I believe it's enough. Anyway, would be curious what others think about this, and have to say on the topic.

- JR (Facebook | Twitter | Google +)