Blog To Great

SOCIAL NETWORKING Scams See Increase

No such thing as a new scam, right?  Scammers just keep updating age old bogus tricks and most of the scams have always involved giving money to people you don't know, nowadays online of course..

The interest and activity in social media has given us many innovations, and this includes innovation by clever scam artists and crooks. One of the most basic is burglars keeping an eye on social network users to figure out when homeowners will be away from home. Our great social networks are especially suited for con men and identity thieves, who use humanities inherent sense of trust and affection between friends to scam unsuspecting users.  From a new report from the New Jersey Attorney General Paula T. Dow and the state's Acting Consumer Affairs Director Thomas R. Calcagni, who say they have seen an increase in the number of social media scams on Facebook , Twitter or other sites, often using hijacked accounts.

Continue reading @ mediapost.com

Social Networking Tips, Especially to Reach the Female Audience

Blog Tips- With both men and women using the many social networks, several studies indicate that female users far out number the guys. And, the ladies are using it right now. Recently a great report in AdAge said, “Social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are not the wave of the future. They’re the wave of the now. Especially in marketing and advertising, you simply cannot afford to be left behind as more of your colleagues, audience and, yes, competitors reach out through social networks as part of their routine strategies.”

So, how to reach the women to promote your blog or website and increase readership? Don’t just dive into the social networks without a plan. Do sufficient research about social networks, their functions and benegit and consider discussing with a marketer that knows the ins & outs of the networks and their huge audiences.

TWITTER's New Location Sharing Service

BLOG TIPS - This week Twitter introduced a new location-sharing feature, which gives you the opportunity to include the location from where you're sending your tweets.  Have you signed on?  Do you want your readers to know your location?

Biz Stone, Twitter co-founder and CEO said on the company's blog."A recent burst of interest in location sharing applications, games and services has many Twitter users excited about appending geographic data to some of their tweets,"   He added that "not everyone wants to add their current location to a tweet," fortunately Twitter has turned the feature off by default, meaning you'll have to turn it on to use it. 

Consider signing on if you're blogging on local issues or using your blog to promote your indie cafe /  shop / etc.  It's a good way to reach those nearby and help them find your location. 

Your thoughts?

TWITTER's New "Twitter Lists" Tips and Ideas

BLOG TIPS - As they continue to improve their product and offerigns,  Twitter recently released a beta version of their new,  Twitter Lists.  As they say, “a great way to organize the people you follow and discover new and interesting accounts.”  Great we're not sure yet, but we agree with the list concept.  It's still in Beta, so you might not find it yet on your Twitter account, so let BtG tell you... 

Facebook has lists that let you organize your friends,  Twitter Lists is primed to let you do more than that.  It's already a neat tool for business and marketers, Twitter Lists gaves us some new targeting opportunities, and might also evolve with new online social marketing potential as it expands.

Like Facebook, you can categorize people on your Twitter Lists and add them to one or more of your private lists, as determined by you,  on lists that you name (and can edit later).  Though with Twitter Lists you can create public lists if you decide to.  I suggest you start off with private lists, get comfortable then go public later.   You can also find out what lists you are on (and in this way find other cool, like minded Twitterers !!!  Unlike Facebook,  you can add anyone to your lists (provided that person hasn’t protected his / her updates), making for a great way to find and follow people.

Social Networking Usage Climbs, Is Your Blog Ready?

     Blog Tips -  Blogging continues to get a boost as Americans nearly tripled the amount of time they spend using social networking sites and blogs like Facebook and Twitter says a new Neilsen study.  Another study shows that these users tend to be more affluent, and urban based.

In August 2009, 17% of all Internet usage was spent at a social networking sites.  That's a big increase from the 6% in August of 2008, says the first report.    “This growth suggests a wholesale change in the way the Internet is used,” Jon Gibs, vice president, media and agency insights at Nielsen’s online division, said. “While video and text content remain central to the Web experience – the desire of online consumers to connect, communicate and share is increasingly driving the medium’s growth.”

In a seperate Neilsen Claritas study, it revealed that users of social networking sites sku more urban, and more affluent. According to the report, Facebook users are wealthier than MySpace users (no surprise, since teens/young adults use MySpace more than older adults).  An interesting point is that, overall, the blogging and tweeting community isn’t necessarily more affluent, just more urban and are more likely to be in major cities like NYC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago.

Good info for use with your marketing efforts and social networking work to promote your blog.  As people and consumers continue to use the internet more and more for social interaction, your blog needs to be part of the trend in order to reach the right reader/customer.  Are you active on Facebook, do you Tweet regularly?   Check out the full reports!

Twitter Denied Patent on "Tweet"

     BLOG NEWS - In a setback to Twitter, the US patent and trademark office has declined their request, applied last month, for ownership of the world 'tweet'.  The office noted that many companies have already applied for patent rights of similar names.  The authority has got applications seeking patent of TweetMarks, Cotweet and Tweetphoto, which are quite similar words and would lead to confusion in future. The Social Networking site, Twitter, is a valuable tool for Blog promotions, marketing and a great way for Bloggers to network.

In response the the Patent office decision, Twitter founder, Biz Stone stated: "We have applied to trademark tweet because it is clearly attached to Twitter from a brand perspective but we have no intention of 'going after' the wonderful applications and services that use the word in their name when associated with Twitter."

More at TopNews

Millions Sign Up for Facebook Usernames

      Blog Tips - The Facebook username grab appears to have gone off largely without serious problems. Facebook reports that over half a million usernames were registered in the first 15 minutes after the ability was offered at 12:01am on Saturday, and several million usernames have been registered so far today (3 million as of 1pm EDT Sunday afternoon).  Facebook now embraces the "real name" culture of social media, and to keep up with some of their competitors (Twitter and MySpace for example).  A minority of users reported having technical issues with the site, congratulations are in order to the team at Facebook on a very smooth launch! Read more at InsideFacebook.com

 Did you register your user name to promote your blog ??? 

DIGG Removes "SHOUT" Feature, Makes Changes

     BLOG TIPS - You may have noticed that the 'shouts' feature / option on DIGG, used to share news stories with other DIGG users has disappeared.  No, it's not a problem with your account, it was done by the social bookmarking site.  Explained in recent a blog post, Jen Burton of Digg said that the site decided to remove the feature, and their 'blog this' option, in preparation for more popular methods of sharing social media content. "As always, we want to encourage sharing and communication within our community and will continue to look into features that address these needs," Ms Burton stated.

We're not sure what the overall Digg plans are, but they have already added options to allow Digg-ers to share stories via email, Twitter and Facebook.  You'll find Icons for these three on both the homepage and each individual story page.  We look forward to future Digg updates.

Do you DIGG, and how do you use it to help your blog?  Do the recent changes matter to you?  Comment below...

The Evolution of Social Networking, and the Opportunities

     Blog Tips- Forrester Researcher, Jeremiah Owyang published a report recently on "The Future of the Social Web: In Five Eras".  In it, he describes the evolving transformation of online media and marketing, and how the technologies that allow a portable identity will soon let consumers take their identities with them across the Web.  He states the Web will evolve progressively from separate social sites into a shared social experience. The report's "Five Eras"-

 The Five Eras of the Social Web: 

1) Era of Social Relationships: People connect to others and share
2) Era of Social Functionality: Social networks become like operating system
3) Era of Social Colonization: Every experience can now be social
4) Era of Social Context: Personalized and accurate content
5) Era of Social Commerce: Communities define future products and services

See Mr Owyang's full post at Web-Strategist.com !  During this period, it's important that bloggers and social networkers prepare and participate in the evolution to maximize opportunities for their blog / brand.  The best bloggers continue using the social networks like Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin to the fullest potential to monetize blogs and share information with others, while being ready for the monetization & commercialation of social networking in the near future.  In fact, many have set up additional blogs and searched out improved web hosting firms to have more income options! 

TWITTER Resource Guide and Help

    Blog Tips- The use of Twitter as a blog tool is well known.  The micro blogging and social network service is a great way to not only promote your blog, but to also network with other bloggers and keep in touch with your readers. Just as long as you do it each time in 140 characters !  I've quickly learned that Twitter is more than just about following others.  It's more than summing up your day in 140 characters.  To the fullest, it's about conversing, sharing, learning, and reaching out to others.  It's not to replace your blog, but it's a easy way to send out updates (and reference back to your blog) and news, questions, obervations, etc. 

In short time, people will follow you. Every day I get new followers as I cover a wide variety of topics with other Twitter users.  So, get on board with Twitter, and don't worry about what you say, just be honest and like blogging, remember that it's quality NOT quantity in your posts/updates.

Follow Blog to Great on Twitter here and read this great post Traffikd.  It has a great list of Twitter resources, help, guides, tips, etc for new and experienced Twitterers !!