Business. List. Seo. Measurement. Blog. Ceo. Top 10 Social Media Myths. Thanks, but no thanks: Enough with the nonsense already. « The B. Today, I received this email from a group calling itself the International Social Media Association. ISMA for short (not to be confused with the International Society of Management Accountants – or International Sports Management Australasia for that matter): Hope you are having a fabulous day! My name is (…) and I work with (…) and (…) for The International Social Media Association, (ISMA).Both (…) and (…) have expressed that you are absolutely amazing. You bring so much knowledge with such excitement to the social media world. Before I share my reply – which I think will be pretty self-explanatory – let me share a few thoughts with you about where this email came from and what it is really about: First, let’s start this discussion with a little basic background: ISMA is the brain child of Mari Smith and Mark Eldridge.
And there’s the real rub: Aside from lacking the slightest sliver of real legitimacy in the space, what exactly is this certification program? Come on, Mari. 1. 2. 3. 4. How to spot a social media snake oil salesman | Blog | Econsulta. It's inevitable: when opportunity pops up on the internet, there are plenty of snake oil salesmen waiting to take advantage of it. The field of SEO provides the perfect example. While there are plenty of reputable guns for hire and firms providing SEO services, there are also plenty of snake oil salesmen promising the moon but delivering a bag full of sand. Unfortunately, the rise of social media has created another internet opportunity that is ripe for snake oil salesmen.
And boy have they taken advantage of it. There are more social media 'experts' hawking their wares than can be counted. While many of them are reputable, competent and interested in helping their clients, many aren't. A questionable background. While being a capable social media consultant probably doesn't require a Ph.D., there are an awful lot of social media 'experts' whose backgrounds raise questions. More talk than work. Personal social media prolificacy as proof. An unrealistic approach. A lack of professionalism. Social Media: Buy Organic. We were in a pitch earlier this week with a name-brand company. High pressure. After the dog-and-pony part of the meeting, in the afterglow as we were saying our good-byes, we got some candid feedback from one of the prospective client contacts. She said: “This presentation was different than the others we’ve been hearing.
I smiled. When evaluating a prospective partner’s Social Media expertise, or when doing your own planning, I advise keeping Forrester Research’s POST methodology in mind. Put the people first: who are they, where do they hang out, what do they care about, what do they avoid? Once you know these fundamental attributes of your audiences, the obvious parts of the program (the where, when, why) readily present themselves and all that’s left is a burst of creativity to make the ideas for engagement (the how) really sticky, impactful and fun. BlogHer '09 reveals the ugly side of social media | Blog | Social media can be a great tool but there's an ugly side. Because of the nature of social media, its commercialization has raised a number of issues around subjects like disclosure and integrity. The reality is that paying to play is an easy and effective way for brands to get into the social media game. The downsides of this were demonstrated quite well at this year's BlogHer conference.
The first BlogHer conference was held in 2005. And a popular one for brands. That was evident at this BlogHer '09, where much of the pre-and-post-conference talk is focused on swag. One attendee: Everywhere at the conference swag seemed to be the attraction...The lines for the swag bags were long. And another: When I arrived at the party a few hours later, I noticed a herd of women squeezing together so tight it looked like they were in an imaginary corral.
Not an unusual experience, apparently: Blog posts and tweets make it pretty clear: these are accurate depictions of BlogHer '09. It gets even uglier. 10 Opportunity Costs and Risks of Ignoring Social Media. Social Signal | Social media that comes alive. 'Flocking' behavior lands on social networking sites -
By Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY The interconnected web of our friends, family, neighbors and acquaintances may dominate our lives more than we know. They've always been there, making up our social support systems. But now, largely thanks to the burgeoning popularity of online social networks like Facebook, researchers are discovering what a powerful influence our connections — both online and off — really have over our lives. "Those of us who study social networks believe they matter — that things do spread along social networks," says Claude Fischer, a sociology professor at the University of California-Berkeley.
Because social networks online are much more clearly defined than offline connections, they have been a boon to researchers. And studies are finding that despite dire predictions from naysayers who warned that spending too much time online would be damaging to real-life relationships, the opposite appears to be true. 'The nature of the beast' Measuring friendships.