How Africa Tweets
Twitter in Africa is taking off in a big way. Tweetminster has provided us with a great source of information regarding the growth of Twitter within the continent. Check it out, it’s quite interesting.
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Google Collected 4.5 Million Anti-SOPA Signatures Today
Even though many people thought that Google’s stand against SOPA was a little soft (all they did in protest was blackout their name), they still managed to collect an impressive 4.5 million signatures.
“Google generally gets in hot water when it is thought to be abusing its pole position in the search industry. But it’s no use denying that while some moves skirt the edges of abusing monopoly, others are more than welcome. During natural disasters, for instance, Google has provided helpful links and resources for people who want to donate or volunteer. And their logo doodles pay homage to personages and events many people would otherwise have overlooked.”
Read the full TechCrunch rticle here: http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/18/google-collected-4-5-million-anti-sopa-signatures-today/
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Geeks vs Nerds
You gotta love great infographics. The provide a wealth of (mostly) relevant information in an easy-to-digest usually humorous fashion. The latest from memeburn is no exception.
“Traditionally most people don’t like being called geeks or nerds, but the derogatory connotations associated with these words are being cast away like sand in the hourglass these days.”
See full article and infographic here: http://memeburn.com/2012/01/geek-or-nerd/
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Useful social media tools
So the guys over at TheNextWeb.com have been blogging a series of installments about the most useful social media tools of 2011. We scanned their lists and chose these 5 social media tools (if you haven’t used them yet, best you check them out):
1. Unilyzer.com – Perfect for any social media marketers. If you are responsible for for your organisation’s social media channels and reporting on their performance, then this is the analytics hub for you.
2. Quixey.com – Too many apps, too little time? Now there is a search engine for apps. TRY IT.
3. GroupHigh.com – Best blogger outreach research and engagement tool EVER. We are in awe.
4. PeopleBrowsr.com – PeopleBrowsr is a social media analytics tool which includes 1,000 days of Twitter data at your disposal.
5. Knowem.com – Fantastic place to start when looking to create awareness within specific online communities relevant to your brand or topic.
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Your Ultimate Guide to Facebook Ads
Since many business owners and marketers are managing and running Facebook ads on a daily basis, it is vital they are aware of how to create an effective, engaging Facebook advert. Facebook ads promote links within Facebook, pages, apps, or events — to users selected based on interest, demographics and other targeting data.
So how do you go about creating an effective Facebook ad?
- It’s all about targeting the right audience. Facebook allows you to focus on region, interests, age, and other demographics when setting up your Facebook ad. You should also try to target anyone who has ‘’Liked’’ your competition’s ads.
- Have a clear Call To Action: You have 25 characters in your headline to grab the reader’s attention. Make them count.
- Original, innovative images are the best. People are tired of seeing company’s logos. Be different, be creative, be real. Your headline and image are your one shot to get them to specifically click on yours.
- Measure performance. Facebook offers an in-depth performance overview in terms of reach, CTR, engagement and many other factors. Use this data wisely to optimise your ads so they perform more effectively.
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Is there value on Twitter?
Our all time favourite joke about Twitter runs something along these lines:
How do you make money on Twitter? Go to Settings -> Account -> Deactivate my account. Now get back to work.
Funny? Yes.
Is this true? Not entirely.
There is value on Twitter, you just need to know who to follow, be careful about how many people you follow and make sure you are utilizing this social media platform in a way to benefit your work. If you are a marketer and your company is focused on consumers and finding out the latest themes, trends and experiences then you might just be able to find quality information.
The below Twitter stream visualization infographic focuses on the competitive landscape, uncovering trends, focusing on user experiences and which words dominate the conversations:
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What is Path?
Path is the San Francisco-based company that has become popular for its photo sharing app. The company (co-founded by ex-Facebooker Dave Morin and Napster co-founder Shawn Fanning) has raised a small fortune in venture capital. Path’s unique selling proposition is that it allows you to share photos and short video clips privately with 50 of your close contacts.
According to Colleen Taylor writing about the app’s launch for GigaOm:
Path 2 aims to be a “smart journal” that catalogs all the big and small moments of your daily life. Along with your photos and videos, the new app has features that let you keep track of your thoughts, the music you’re listening to, where you are, who you’re with, and even when you wake and when you sleep. You can choose to keep each update entirely to yourself, share it with your Path contacts (limited to 150 based on Dunbar’s number), or share it publicly via Facebook, Twitter, or Foursquare (Tumblr support is on the way.)
What do we think? Whilst the app is beautiful and dynamic we do find that pushing content to those close to us is something we already do via the Facebook platform. Plus sharing only works if you want to share with people who are using same service as you.
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What are people doing online? (Infographic)
It’s not what you think. A new infographic from Flowtown and Column Five reveals the percentage of adult internet users who are doing everything from social networking to shopping, banking, blogging, playing games and so much more.
Things that surprised us:
81% of you use the internet to check the weather
Only 15% of you sell something online (have you never seen Etsy?)
Only 36% of you play games (yeah, right…far from it juding by all the Farmville addicts out there).
One of the more interesting parts of the infographic for us, was the Top 5 Things People Do The Most Online and the Top 5 Things People Do The Least Online. The top five things people do the most may be obvious—email, Google, etc,etc. However, the top five things people do the least was surprising to social media addicts like us. Only 13 percent use Twitter (how is that possible?!)
Anyway check it out and let us know if anything surprises you.
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Our App Find of the Week
Our new app addiction? App.bg (OBVIOUSLY). App.bg is a pretty basic app, in that it works on a geo location principle by using your current location through your desktop or mobile browser, and then aggregating all local Instagram photos, foursquare tips, and tweets. For those on the go, this is pretty much a dream application.
One application. One page. All the data. All you have to do is sit down, open your laptop and refresh the page each time. Simple as that.
Once you allow the app to gain access to your location, all you have to do is refresh the page or tap the icon in the top right if you move along to somewhere new. We love the simple, user friendly design especially as it’s just as easy to use from your mobile browser.
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Social Media and Wine
According to Winemag.com, wine is a very social beverage. The whole experience of drinking wine is enhanced when you are discussing it with others online, whether it’s exploring new wines or comparing tasting notes.
Below are some of the wine and social media stats that any social media fanatic (and wine connoisseur) will find fascinating:
Most-watched Wine Videos
1. Wine in an upside down glass trick
3. Borat’s guide to wine tasting
Top Wine Blogs
3. DRINKnectar
Top Wine Tweeters
1. @Jancisrobinson
2. @winetwits
3. @garyvee
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