Paige Filler » Social Media

I have a hard time believing that some of these marketers don’t have a twitter account, if you know one that I’m missing on the list, speak up. Here are details on how the list was compiled.

Information Based Natural Disasters – Part 2

Paige — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:02:51 +0000

Paraphrasing what I discussed in part 1 (Information Based Natural Disasters), a lot of information phenomena can appear to act like natural disasters and it is getting stronger.

Buckle the hatches, we’re going to take a look at a few more

Information Hurricanes

Image from ZaNiaC
Some information can be so powerful that it feeds on itself forming a hurricane. This immense force can move across the web leaving a devestated landscape in its wake. Fired up with the mob mentality and connected to millions of others, the information hurricane can be a dream for some, and for others, their worst nightmare.
What does this mean?
The savvy are now using these hurricanes to promote a cause or to expose their dirty laundry so they can make moves while the majority are preoccupied with the storm. This tactic has always been used by politicians and corporations, but the web has changed the rules.

Why is this so important?
When the tempest gets going and starts building speed, it doesn’t leave much time for considered thought. In the information frenzy many can be swept up and thrashed. Others never even find out, especially if they are not connected.

Electronic Droughts

Image from Ozyman
Information drought can take many forms. From lack of connection, lack of technology, lack of education, to censorship and walled gardens.

What does this mean?
Large parts of the world will remain offline or off the information grid, some will have access only to mobile devices. ~~Some will be~~ Many are already faced with walled gardens of information.

Information drought is and will become more prevalent. Like natural droughts, some parts of the world will be more prone to them. The determining factor will not be natural causes, but dependent on the ROI seen by large corporations and the government in those regions.

Why is this so important?
Without information it is impossible to make informed decisions, especially in emergencies. People will be at the mercy of ‘those that know‘.

Not to mention that accurate information about cultures and traditions will be lost for those without the technology to record and document them.

Black Holes

Ok, for this one we are really heading out to space. It’s not really a natural disaster, but the implications are huge.

Image from Science
This is not about Google or one specific company, but they provide the most powerful example.

Youtube has Millions and millions of embeds (ok, so that’s in links, but even if a fraction are embeds that is a lot for this purpose). Many people questioned Google buying youtube, I didn’t. Many question youtube’s profitability. I don’t.

What does this mean?
If Google decides to broadcast a message, it is now possible for them to control millions of sites instantly.

This alone is more powerful than any media company in existence.

Ever.

Even News Corp can’t compete with the user generated beast that youtube represents. User generated does not necessarily mean user control.

Why is this so important?
Add the amount Google controls through some of its other properties (Feedburner, blogger, adsense, search, reader, analytics, connect and the rest of its services). It becomes extremely clear that should Google ever feel the need to have its own public service announcement, it will be the loudest message the planet has ever heard.

Google can become a giant black hole sucking in everything around it, should it choose to do so. And all this done at the stroke of a key (or 10 thousand)…

The machine has been using us for years and we are powerless to stop it. Let’s hope those who are controlling the machinery really do no evil and have everyone’s best intentions at heart.

The pen is now mightier than 1000 swords, but machines… they still scare me.

Check Out the Amazing Growth on Mixx

Paige — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 00:39:53 +0000

2008 has been a good year for Mixx, according to Compete.com they did something right in April and since then they have been experiencing rapid growth.

Yes, I know these results are not 100% accurate, they are still a good example of the growing amount of social media traffic Mixx is attracting.

If you don’t believe Compete, ask Alexa.

Put it in Perspective

For a frame of reference take a look at the stats of Mixx, Digg, Stumbleupon, Reddit and Delicious together.

The smaller networks are definitely beginning to gain some power in numbers.

Note: The spike Delicious shows is partly due to the big URL switchover.

What caused this traffic increase and will it continue?

Be sure to stop by and say hi next time you log onto Mixx.

10 Unusual Truths about Social Media

Paige — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:38:00 +0000

There are plenty of articles about social networking with tips for marketing to the social web, and many of them offer great advice.

Who is behind that friends profile?

Not All is As It Seems

Becoming a power user on most social media means you will be capable of driving lots of traffic with a few clicks. However, becoming “powerful” is not so easy, there’s politics involved.

The vast majority never manage to leverage much from the networks. Which is unfortunate because achieving success on social media can be worth its weight in gold (How much does a link weigh?).

The reasons and incentives are obvious.

With this is mind I present some less discussed

The Other Side of Social Networks

1. It is possible to buy your way to popularity on social media; it always has been. You just need to know who to talk to and how much to pay.

2. It is common to fake your way to becoming popular / trusted; you just have to understand how it’s done and who does it.

3. Originally a place where we went to avoid the special interests of news conglomerates, the social media landscape has quickly become ruled by large publications.

4. Even household names (or their *associates*) leave fake comments on Youtube.

5. Just like TV, nothing sells better than hot women and sex on social networks. Even women prefer to see women (male covershots do not sell magazines).

6. Many SEOs and online marketers will know how to game the networks before you do. Make friends with an SEO.

7. Social networks are not going away. If you haven’t started, then stop reading and sign up, start twittering, stumbling, digging, farking, voting and befriending. Get your social feeds organized.

8. Submitting your own stuff *appears* crass; try to get someone else to submit for you (the more powerful they are, the better). You can also use social networks for other things too

9. Many power users have multiple accounts, (or did). Rules are weaker in the early days (they’ll allow you to get away with more) when a new network is trying to grow; sign up right away if you can.

10. Bonus
As you’ve got this far (which only a small % of all of you that came to this page), here’s a free tip that you may find useful.

I have seen Yahoo answers bring over 5,000 uniques in 1 day from a single link. SEO or not, that’s some good traffic, so grab an account.