The ultimate guide to Twitterspeak, from the FBI, of course!
June 19, 2014 Leave a comment
The ultimate guide to Twitterspeak, from the FBI, of course (PDF) http://ow.ly/yfgov
The FBI’s List of Twitter shorthand
Of Failure and Redemption: When ‘Twit’ Happens
October 8, 2012 Leave a comment
Social media and politics were made for each other. After all, when politicians get on their soapboxes, typically labeled CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, FNN, et. al., the masses get on theirs named Facebook, LinkedIn, and yes, the insta-poll of all social media, Twitter. Here are two lessons for effective social media management– pre and post crisis.
By now, you’ve heard of KitchenAid‘s unfortunate social media faux-pas. During one of the biggest media events in the past four years this obviously unintended ugly tweet was issued from the@KitchenAid Twitter account: 
I say unintended because from the moment I saw the tweet, as someone who has manned multiple social media accounts for employers and clients, I knew exactly what happened.
Just about everyone who handles multiple social media accounts uses some kind of console, a social media content management system such as Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, or one of the other more sophisticated systems such as Sprout Social. I have no knowledge of which system the KitchenAid tweeter used (and keep in mind, it may not have even been a KitchenAid employee who did this, but someone at a social media agency) but I am certain s/he had both the KitchenAid account and a personal account loaded on the same tool, and simply forgot to switch from one to the other.
Lesson #1:
Don’t let employees, or agents, mix business and personal social media accounts on the same management tool.
Of course, the social media world exploded with criticism. But what happened next is a good primer for others on what to do when the Tweet hits the fan:.
Eight minutes later, the offending tweet was pulled and the first of a series of apology tweets were issued by Cynthia Soledad, the brand manager Click image to see larger version): 
This is a great example of digital damage control. No half-baked excuses. No “we were hacked” knee-jerk response. A quick reply, with apology, from a real person who can be contacted for more info.
Lesson #2:
Respond quickly, honestly and appropriately.
All of the above: brand damaging post on a social media site; remedial action; full accountability; full transparency — all leading to dousing the fire — happened in less that 2.5 hours.
In social media as in life, accidents will happen. KitchenAid’s response is a lesson for all.
Please share this:
Happy 6th Birthday Twitter, But Who’s On First?
March 21, 2012 2 Comments
It’s Twitter‘s 6th birthday today (seems like we’ve been talking about it forever) and as it passes its 500 millionth user it’s a good time to think about who was on Twitter first. Now, the recognized first public tweet is from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who at 4:50 PM tweeted “just setting up my twttr“. Short and sweet, right, with the trendy Web style of the day: no vowels. Very cool, Jack, very cool.
But, some have confused it with a tweet from co-founder Biz Stone or one by the third member of the Twitter triumvirate Evan Williams and no wonder — they tweeted the exact same thing.
OK, so the three founders got together and in a show of solidarity coordinated their “first” tweets. But it doesn’t stop there. That same day six years ago it seems like everyone working on the Twitter product sent their first tweets, and at least 45 of them tweeted identically as the founders.
So, while Jack gets credit for being first, he loses points in my mind for originality (as if that matters to him) but he does get points for one first: he started the first “trending topic” in Twitter history.
They say you never forget your “first“, so here’s mine:
I know, hardly Shakespearean. So tell us, what was your first tweet?
Please share this:
Another Great Infographic on Social Media Use
March 9, 2012 Leave a comment
You hear it all the time. “Social media has arrived”, Social media is not going away”. “Social media must be a part of everyone’s (individual and businesses) online live” but what does that mean. Last August I commented on social media use at that time. So just how much has it grown?
The good folks at socialjumpstart.com compiled stats on what happens in social media — every minute. The numbers are astounding, and of course are constantly in flux. So take a look at their infographic (and note the updates at the bottom):
Updates:
Foursquare has 2x as many check-ins now ~10K per minute
A Stumbleupon representative told VentureBeat the company now does 25,000 stumbles per minute
Please share this:
Social Media: An Essential Recruitment Tool
December 15, 2011 1 Comment
You’ve heard how companies are increasingly utilizing social media to recruit new associates, but what exactly does that mean? Jobvite‘s 2011 survey provides a look at which social networks recruiters and hiring managers use to find and assess prospective employees.
How Many Businesses Use Social Media?
The answer is just about every company does, with almost 90% responding that they either already do or plan to use social media as a recruitment tool.
This makes sense, as more job seekers search for positions via digital means. Early in my career I poured over pages of job listings in the Sunday New York Times classifieds section weekly. Today’s digital route is much more efficient in finding opportunities and marketing themselves online.
Which Social Networks Are Most Important?
No surprise here, LinkedIn, long known as the social network of professionals and recruiters, gets the most play with 86.6% of respondents utilizing that network. Launched in May 2003 as a business-related social network, LinkedIn’s 120 million members are a prime audience for talent recruiting and vetting.
What’s impressive are the numbers posted by Twitter and Facebook. Dismissed by many businesses, they provide a large, often different recruitment pool, with insight into prospects’ character via status updates, photos and affiliations.
When Do Companies Look at Your Social Footprint?
And as you can see, you’ve got an almost three out of four chance that the company you’ve applied to will search out your online presence – even if you do not provide them with their links.
Advice: Do your own social media audit. Perform a Google search on your own name and see what is returned. Check out all of your mentions to see which you should take down, modify or request a correction.
Remember: What happens online, stays online — for all to see or discover.
Related articles
- More Companies Recruit Via Social Networks (informationweek.com)
Please share this:
Bottom of the Food Chain 