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Making the social media world an easier place to navigate one network at a time.

Prepping for the Funeral of Google Reader

Posted on May 27, 2013 by SocialMediumSphere

We are all preparing for the end of Google Reader and frantically learning about how we can change all of our online reading over to another network. It’s official, and no longer a rumor, that after July 1, 2013, Google Reader will no longer be available.

Although I’ve used Google Reader it is not the only place I’ve read my online material for RSS. I used Google Reader to connect with clients’ related information in order to keep all of their industry updates/information/articles/news in one place. For my non-work side I’ve also used my Yahoo! personal page. Here, I have a LOT of travel related blogs to read.

Here are some directions you can choose to go since Google Reader will be buried soon:

News Blur – I’m all a fan for fun applications. The applications which make it inviting to want to use include a great layout that is vibrant, easy to find information making it easy to navigate, and a free flowing feel. NewsBlur’s iPhone, iPad, and Android apps will bring you the latest stories on the go. The free accounts are allowed to follow 64 blogs, 10 stories at a time, and public sharing options. When created an account I was asked immediately to enter my credit card info. in order to begin the Premium service. I decided to check my email (can you say easily distracted?) and saw that I did indeed have a free account so I proceeded from the link provided in my email.

Feedly is leaning towards being my favorite as far as suggesting more articles. I am one who does not want to only read my favorite bloggers and articles, but I also want to know about those who are new on the block and may have a different perspective. Call it the creative side of me. Feedly offers layout choices that let you read the news in the manner you choose—whether it’s straight headlines from top to bottom, full articles, neatly arranged tiles, or pretty images all laid out on a page. You can also share stories with your friends and post them to your favorite social networks. I will not be doing that part as I am not a fan of seeing article after article shared when I visit Facebook. Maybe I will share via Twitter though, so more to come for that aspect.

Netvibes is actually a social aggregation (heart this part) and dashboard service, but it is also a good RSS news reader. Netvibes does not have mobile apps though, so this may be a factor to you when you’re on the go and not sitting at your laptop.

I like Pulse’s tiled approach. It is very Pinterest-esque and also appeals to that side of me that wants to see things that are visually stimulating and inviting.

These are not the only readers available. There are numerous more. Which ones can you recommend or will be using?

What’s a Polyvore?

Posted on February 15, 2013 by SocialMediumSphere

If you didn’t know the name, then here is a breakdown, and nice infographic from SocialFresh, of the social media website that happened BEFORE Pinterest.

Instagram Heard the Message…or did they?

Posted on December 19, 2012 by SocialMediumSphere

The internet was hot yesterday with people stating they would delete their Instagram accounts. Today Instagram has said it will remove language from its new terms of service that would have allowed users’ photos to be part of advertisements that would run within the photo sharing social network.

Kevin Systrom, the social network’s co-founder, said Instagram doesn’t currently have plans to run such ads, so it will remove that language from the terms of service that kick in Jan. 16.

I’ve been seeing that some say they retracted the policy because of social media, but most big social networks and companies do not simply just do things and not think them through. It would not be a surprise if this were a part of the marketing ploy to gain even more users and for you and I to feel comfortable and begin taking even more pictures.

But if this was Instagram listening, then the power of social media is powerful. The quickness of which the policy was retracted was quick. Perhaps they did see how many were leaving them within hours yesterday.

Although Systrom’s announcement should come as good news to any concerned Instagram users, the social network will still have to update its terms of service to reflect the changes Systrom announced Tuesday.

For now, the terms of service still contain the wording used this week that upset many users. More to come on when the terms will change.

Meanwhile, were you one who decided to leave Instagram and deleted your account? Will you be going back to start Instagramming again?

Can I Use Your #Instagram Photo…for free?

Quote

Posted on December 18, 2012 by SocialMediumSphere

I am a fan of Zuckerburg despite the controversy of Facebook utilizing our information for use to make money. Which company is not out to make money? They found a way and now that all of us are using the website for free many complain about it. I am not opposed to privacy rights nor am I opposed to companies making money, but when I saw the newsline about Instagram I had to take a moment and post…because it’s funny.

Are you using Instagram? If so, then you have until January 16, 2013 to decide if you want to post your pictures for free usage of Facebook. This means that the app can use the pics you post to sell to whomever brings the money.

This new intellectual property policy, which takes effect on January 16, 2013 comes only three months after Facebook completed its acquisition of the popular photo-sharing site.

Sydney on the beach in Florida.

Again, unless Instagram users delete their accounts before the January deadline, they cannot opt out. After that, it’s your picture being used on someone’s tourism website. Yes, that means the photos of your kids too. They looked cute at the hotel in Florida or at the park while you were on vacation, so why wouldn’t a company use their face to promote their business?! (Facebook thanks you in advance.)

In the intellectual rights property acquisition it does not specifically state that your photos will not be used because you deleted your account. And do not expect any class action lawsuits to occur in the near future because the word usage also does not allow this to happen either.

Second section as per Facebook’s change in policy to Instagram states that “a business or other entity may pay us to display your… photos… in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you.”

This hugely impacts those in the photography business realm whom sell their photos for profit. Many photographers make a living from using services such as iStock and other photographic websites of which companies and individuals can patronize their artistic abilities by buying the photos. With policies such as these in place, now companies can bypass the photographer’s services and go straight to Instagram for your beautiful picture instead – for free, of course.

Ready to delete your Instagram account? You can download all of your photos. Instaport will download your entire Instagram photo library in a few minutes. Currently the service only offers a zip file download of your photos.

After you’ve removed your photos from Instagram, you can delete your account. But once you delete your account, that’s it. Instagram cannot reactivate deactivated accounts and you will not be able to sign up for Instagram later with the same account name.

So now that the news is out there it should be less bitching about how a company is using your photos to make a profit without paying you, right?

Social Hotspot

Posted on December 5, 2012 by SocialMediumSphere

Traveling will leave you to the fun times of not having to hunt for reliable internet service. I look forward to the days when this new social network of creating 4G hotspots is available internationally. The company will have to create some partnerships in order to extend it’s national reach. Meanwhile, you can enjoy the usage and the cool way of connecting with other Starbucks’ and Panera Bread internet users. (You know plenty of us sit there for hours nursing that pastry or beverage.)

Introducing the Karma 4G, WiFi Hotspot. This pocket sized connector has eight hours of battery from a single charge and works just as fast. Once the device is received, create a Karma account (sign in via Facebook) and immediately you will be given 100MB of free bandwidth. If you go over that limit, pay $14 for each additional GB of data I use.

No, it’s not unlimited, but it’s competitive with other mobile plans. If you don’t use that much, you pay less, and if you happen to go over that 5GB, you don’t have to deal with overage charges, which is grand.

Head to your local Panera Bread or Starbucks or other cool hip place that you sit and surf and Karma’s open WiFi network is bound to find some poachers. If those thieves sign up for Karma via Facebook, they too get 100MB free (as do you too) attached to their Facebook ID. Even if they don’t have their own Hotspot, they still get free access to WiFi, and since, as the admin, you can see the incoming WiFi connections and their Facebook profile. Very cool to connect with that person sitting across from you who might be a good business connection or even another person to click Like on your page.

Pocket sized and connecting with others around you – I like this! What do you think about Karma? Do you really want to connect like this with the people around you?

Old Media v. New Media

Posted on November 20, 2012 by SocialMediumSphere

I was perusing Twitter and saw the mention of “new media.” I wondered what this phrase was and dug a little deeper to see that the journalistic gods were at work creating a new buzz around old and new forms of media. Hell, I have done the same – look at the name of this blog: SocialMediumSphere. My aim was to sum up not only social networks, but also what they encompass.

Old media would include newspapers, press releases by fax, radio, and I’d dare venture to say that even email is an old manner. The word “old” does not mean that those tactics are not to be used anymore, but simply renovated. I like that approach much better. People are still reading newspapers – no matter the decline in readership, it still exists, so why not use it?

While old media was a passive form of entertainment, new media is interactive entertainment. It’s fun for me to post the high cost of Enterprise’s rental cars and to get a response back quickly on how they can assist. {I’m disappointed that they couldn’t offer me a discount, but that’s another post.}

Social media, on the other hand requires a conversation between the content creator/s and the audience. Social media is about the people who engage on the platform. If people are connecting through the media, then it is social.

In order for new media to be considered social, it needs to have an element of interactivity where the audience can contribute, connect or collaborate with the content. There are big brands right now that are not utilizing this aspect – they ignore posts on Facebook and Twitter and fail to interact with their audiences which costs them money in the long run.

The Ricki Lake Show recently began creating social media communities and producing new media programming that integrates the old and new media. I’ve watched the show in the past and haven’t really been a fan, but I think that’s taking all mediums with a Tweet in the right direction.

No Drama or Intrigue on Get Glue

Posted on November 6, 2012 by SocialMediumSphere

Get Glue is a name I was excited about. I signed up without exactly knowing what to expect, but since I’ve signed up I have been disappointed. The social network focuses on rating and checking on which television show you’re watching. I am a big fan of reality tv shows (which really isn’t reality, but that’s another post and blog altogether). But GetGlue didn’t have any listed – not even Jersey Shore! *gasp!

I piddled around for a while rating the tv drama shows that I was familiar with and liked and checked in as I watched Will & Grace, but I wasn’t exactly thrilled to want to return to the site to check in.

The advantage seems to only be one sided – which is to the networks of the shows promoted on the social network. The audience can rate, but not communicate with each other and there doesn’t seem to be a way to encourage engagement between the tv show and the viewer or even amongst viewers except to say that we’re watching the same show. Yippee. (And I mean that exclamation in its driest form.)

Are you a user or fan of GetGlue? If so, chime in and let me know your thoughts because to me GetGlue is…stuck.

Tired of all the voting commercials yet?: Voting for Romney or Obama via social media

Posted on October 30, 2012 by SocialMediumSphere

I won’t get in to the political banter and mudslinging, but I am tired of being subjected to the sameness that is politics. I’m sure you are too. We’ve been subjected to the business as usual style of politics for a long time, but with the onset of the social media world it sure makes clicking Like/Following/Retweeting/Sharing/lol’ing more fun and interesting.

Truthfully, I signed up for Votizen, but was skeptical thinking it may be driven by one of the political parties – beware the ides of astroturfing in these social media driven times of political power struggles. But seriously, I did think this and who wouldn’t be apprehensive? We live in a time where the thought is that someone is spying on us and why should this be any different?

The social site allows the citizen to leverage her own networks to self-organize in voting blocks and advance her causes and interests, which redefines the political system and places the voter at the center instead of the politician.

When you sign up for Votizen you include your social network of which connects you with your area’s upcoming elections as well as your friends or followers whom may share the same political views. This is not only for the upcoming Obama/Romney showdown, but also for State Legislatures, school boards, and other local governments, depending on by how many friends you know in a certain district.

Votizen is a web service that allows you to discover how your friends on social networks are registered to vote, and campaign with them to elect candidates that share your values.Voters can connect to their own records to see their voting registration and history, as well as use it to prove their power to those that hold and seek office.

As a past community organizer this is a great tool to use via social media because then you can harness political cheerleaders to assist in the political campaigns and do social media outreach. This only further encourages people to only take political action behind a keyboard, but if coupled with face to face rallies and physical action this tool can be a good motivator and reminder to participants. Certainly this appeals to the new and emerging computer community organizer and those who want to feel that they are participating by reacting to this medium.

For campaigns and those running for office, Votizen offers a low-cost application that lives on your Facebook page and finds voters that live in your district. This gives the person’s fans and volunteers a simple way to campaign on their behalf.

After this election this website may not be as happening as it is right now. The trail is hot as Obama and Romney hit us with binders. I think the people who will visit the page will be organizers and local politicians, but the new start up has stated they may evolve and change from their original plan for the site. What’s your take?

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