10 Golden Rules of Social Media – These are aimed more at marketing types, but it never hurts to know the golden rules of the community you hope to join.
Sorry I’ve not been posting any “real” posts for awhile. Like everyone else in the journalism business, I’ve taken on more work than I can really handle, which makes me dead inside by the time I get home. I have still been scouring my usual haunts for helpful links and news, though, so you’ll see a lot of that.
Anyway, in the forever since I posted, Google has been tinkering with their services – making a new option available that could rival Facebook to be your “must have” social media profile. The Google Profile essentially allows you to control your presence on Google searches. You can enter all the info you’d want to make available when someone Googles you: Your name, your city, what you do and links to all of your social media accounts. When you have it all set up, you’ll get something like this when you search for yourself on Google:
If you have a Gmail or Google account, you already have the means to set this up. If not – get a Google account already (they have tons of tools you could be using). When you are signed in to Google, go to where it says My Account. On that page, you can go to edit your profile.
Add a photo, add the cities you’ve lived and what you do for a living (or what you did before you were laid off). Google has a nifty search built in to the profile page that searches for your accounts on tons of social media sites, blogs and other web services. Claim whatever is yours and give it links to anything it is missing – thus making an easy hub for all that online work you’ve been doing.
That’s it! Now you’re easy to find on Google – even if your website has terrible SEO.
These are my recommended links for the past couple of weeks (sorry, I’ve been busy!):
New ‘WSJ’ Conduct Rules Target Twitter, Facebook – These rules for WSJ staff could and should be applied at any news organization. You want your reporters to be out there in social media – but there’s so much potential for disaster if they don’t conduct themselves very well. These are good rules to live by.
Why journalists deserve low pay | csmonitor.com – Not that I’m advocating to be paid less, but they have a point: If we can’t find a way to provide unique value in this new world, the pay may not last long.
Twitter’s Big News has Huge Implications for Search – Website Magazine – If this plays out, web pages could be ranked according to user interest and relationships rather than relying on incoming links and SEO. In short – you should start promoting your content on the social web as if your job depended on it (cause it might).
The Top 7 types of Twitter avatars :: 10,000 Words – I always stress to the reporters and brands in our company that they HAVE to get a Twitter icon. I don’t care what it is – but it can’t be the default. I wouldn’t assume the person tweeting was any sort of professional if they didn’t have an image of some sort.
Did Google just sneakily launch a Facebook killer? – Slate Magazine – Farhad Manjoo takes a look at Google’s new profile option, which lets you control your brand in Google (to some extent). It could be a Facebook killer – or at leats be a new place you need to keep an eye on your brand.
Comments on news stories a double-edged sword – As a person who manages a newspaper website’s commenting community, I can also attest to the fact that there are very strong pros and cons to having comments on your stories. This is a good study on the subject and worth a read for any journalist.
Check Username Availability at Multiple Social Networking Sites – An amazing (and lightning fast) tool that helps you search common usernames across social networking sites. Check to see if your brand or name is available – or sneak a peek at where else your contacts have accounts.
Recommended reading for April 24th through May 5th
By Mandy
On May 5, 2009
In Recommended Links
These are my recommended links for April 24th through May 5th: