Published by Janine on 25 Feb 2010
Social media campaigns are popping up all over the web from businesses in all types of industry. It is essential not to rush into such campaigns, you have to think about how you are going to develop your strategy, what you want to achieve etc and from research, how you are going to achieve it.
Published by Janine on 09 Feb 2010
Many companies banned social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to stop employees using them in work time, however for those that allow them, there is always an element of risk…
On this blog in August 2009, I wrote about how tweeting can get your own way and how the power of Twitter is unbelievable, which is very true and I think people forget this all too often!
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Published by Janine on 13 Feb 2009
The use of social networks and micro-blogging is growing faster than ever, with many business joining in to enhance their services, improve internet rankings, reputations, any campaigns and much much more.
Recently the first official “Twisitor Centre” was launched in the US by Travel Portland, where travellers can connect to the Twisitor Centre to find out holiday / travel information, just like a walk in visitor centre, which relies on Twitter technology, so travellers can plan holidays to the city etc etc.
The use of codes to transfer the “tweets” to the Twisitor Centre is essential to get the correct feedback, visit Travel Mole who reported on the tweeting city.
Twitter and other micro blogging / social networking sites are great to find out local information, like places you are visiting on holiday etc, keeping your Twitter, Facebook, Myspace etc profile public may be risky if you declare too much information, however if you are following people from all over the world, information will be far more accessible, just remember to be careful!!
Published by Jenny on 26 Jan 2009
Following the article wrote by Jenny on social networks “You sure you want your whole social network to read that?!”, I am just going to relate on the story that created a big buzz all over France about this French journalist who revealed the all about the life of a random French Facebook user thanks to the information he got through the different social networks this person was on and so…to conclude, in exposing his daily life in public.
His holidays, his friends, his job…The newspaper “Le Tigre” has published all the possible information that he published himself online.
The very first concept was really simple – create the newspaper portrait of a random internet user thanks to the information that he found on the online social media platforms (Copains d’avant, Facebook, Flickr…)
And this is how the journalist Raphael Meltz starts his article, straight to the point: “You are the unlucky one to be the first Google portrait from “the Tigre” experience”.
In this long article (that you can find on the Le Tigre website – only in French unfortunately but will probably think of translating it), one learns that “Marc L” (this is how he is called on all his networks) is an architect, where he has been on holiday (Bombay, Montreal..), who are his last lovers (Laura, Sandy) and his passions. There are even some notes about the place where he works (the big boss is not going to be happy!). In short, we know almost everything about his private life – or shall I just say public life.
Marc L detailed how devastated he was by the article. He claimed: “I can’t sleep anymore. I am really annoyed with the journalists. All the information that I published online was for the people who surround me. I’m really feeling bad and have a lot of troubles sleeping. Besides being myself concerned by the story, I feel also really annoyed for all the people who are part of my contacts and whose the identities have also been revealed – mostly with regards to my personal love life…”
Pretty natural, as we learnt from the article that Marc loves women with “small boobs, short hair and nice long legs”…
Nevertheless, Marc L recognised himself the mistake of having created his own Big Brother space through the web and will surely keep an eye now on what personal information he will be sharing on the web. Probably the most positive side of the story is that more people are informed now of the danger of exposing too much their lives.
He added however having this big regret: “I would rather not have been the one picked.” …Obviously!!! Who would like this happening to them?
That is just leading me to think twice again about the phenomenon of social networks, for which we are all the specimens in the laboratory…
Millions of people around the globe use these tools everyday without realising that someone is probably following your every move and could actually – and as this article proves – destroy your life!
Don’t smile – you could be the next victim!
Risks of confusion between public and private life on the web? Le Tigre has underlined the seriousness of this issue.
However, while writing the article in the form of a friendly letter (“Hey Marc, you’re all right? You don’t know me it is true, but me I know you really well!”), the journalist exposes in a provocative way how any user can be the target of cyber-criminals that can easy find out where you leave, with who you go out…etc. and use that information to commit crimes.
I will end with a simple question: When will the internet be controlled and measures will be taken to protect the privacy of individuals?
Published by Jenny on 26 Jan 2009
I’ve known about Twitter for a couple of months now, but just decided to sign up a few days ago now to understand the all madness around this new social network… I do think the tool can be amazing – to “twitt “about things of interest to me and to engage with people who are saying and doing things that I do and enjoy - and so create proper relationship and network with it. However, when I went to play around more closely and come across the such examples (see below) I can’t stop thinking what all those people are on about?
· “My unplugged printer just came to life..spooky”
· “Love spring. Hate allergies. This sucks”
· “I have a ghost in my database”
· “I think the IT guy might kill someone, this is great. His job really isn’t that stressful”
· “Might cry. Or kill someone”
· “What’s this smell”
What are the benefits to know that some stranger will probably kill someone by the end of the day or someone is going to the toilets in a minute or…
Well, I should probably let you watch this video on Youtube untitled “Twitter Madness” that sums up really nicely and artistically the whole addiction around it…
Well well, so far, I keep thinking positively and try to consider twitter as the new way to let off steam in everyone’s daily routine or as Jason Lee Miller describes it incredibly well “as a weird Twitter nirvana” where the crowd’s thoughts are simply indefinable! 
Please share your thoughts about the twitter Madness!
