StraightUpSocial

Facebook to Upgrade Privacy Settings

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:03:35 -0500

Control. Simplicity. Connection. According to Facebook, these are the three basic principles for effective privacy on the social network. Just last week, Facebook launched the 'Publisher Privacy Control' in beta, which allows people to show their status updates with more control with a 'Who do you want to tell?' option on a per-post basis. So if you wanted to publish a status update only to your friends and family, you can do it. Or if you wanted to tell your work buddies about how delicious the donuts are in the coffee bar, you could with no problem. The beta is only available to those who have their profile's privacy settings set to Everyone. Below is an image of what the 'Publisher Privacy Control' looks like. There is a lock next to the Share button with a drop-down that allows you to choose who will see your post. Facebook states it is in the process of exploring how to make the transition to the new settings for everyone on the social network. That being said, Facebook will roll-out what they call the 'Transtion Tool,' which will allow users to

"be as open or as limited in the sharing of this information as you want."

Below is a screenshot. Facebook is launching six different versions of the tool to a small group in order to test and gain feedback. Once that phase is complete, Facebook plans on opening it up to everyone on the network. Are you currently in the beta for the 'Publisher Privacy Control'? If so, what do you think?

Twitter Following/Follower Links Get Upgrade

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:14:01 -0500

If you haven't already logged into Twitter today, the micro-blogging social network announced yesterday on its blog that new features are now on the "following" and "follower" links of your Twitter account. These features allow you to more easily take actions with the people you follow, or those who follow you. See below for a screenshot of my Twitter account: Noticed the options available in the dropdown menu: Mention (@), Direct Mail, Follow and Block. The only difference for a dropdown menu of someone I do follow is "Unfollow" instead of "Follow." Notice there is a green checkmark next to users who I do follow. This new upgrade reminds me a lot of the application Tweetdeck because of the ease of taking an action with another user. Users can also switch back to the 'unexpanded' or list version of viewing, here's a screenshot of what that looks like: What do you think? Like it, dislike it, don't care? Leave us a comment on your thoughts.

StraightUpSocial News Links for 7/1/2009

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:35:57 -0500

Twitter Rolls Out UI Changes To Simplify Your Social Connections

MG Siegler at TechCrunch tells us about updates to Twitter's user interface for managing your Following and Followers.

Facebook Launches Keyword Suggestions For Ads

Nick O'Neill at All Facebook points out the new keyword suggest feature in Facebook's advertising system, which the social network has been working to improve.

Fans Flock to Michael Jackson's Facebook Page, Now the Fastest Growing Page on Facebook

Jessica Lee at Inside Facebook tells us that Michael Jackson's Facebook Page has become the fastest growing Page on the social network this week, with over 3,261,000 fans as of this posting.

Spending Too Much Time Reading Tweets? Try Twitter for Busy People

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:37:29 -0500

I'm not a big fan of reading tweets via my Twitter homepage. People who don't tweet very often tend to get knocked off the first page of tweets. Then I need to constantly click the "more" button to find the latest tweet from those who have something to say but don't necessarily say it every hour. Enter Twitter for Busy People. The site, which is dead simple to use, was designed to let you see tweets from the people you're following "at a glance." Simply enter your Twitter name (or anyone else's) then hover over someone's profile image to see their latest tweet. In the Last Hour, In the Last Day, and More than 1 Day Ago. You can also choose to see the conversation that preceded someone's most recent tweet, if there is one, in addition to other tweets from the same person. Currently, the service's only limitation is it tops off at 500 of the people/businesses you're following. Hat Tip to @Jason_Pollock

Facebook Frustrates Page Owners with Last Minute Vanity URL Requirements

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:54:00 -0500

More than a few people aren't happy with Facebook this Monday morning. At 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time last night Facebook was scheduled to open up vanity URL registration to Pages (business profiles) with less than 1,000 fans. (11:59 on a Sunday night?!?! OK.) At some point over the weekend, prior to last night's registration time, Facebook implemented a rule that in order to be eligible for a vanity URL, your business Page must have more than 25 fans. This rule wasn't in place last week when I gave a heads up about the upcoming registration. But 25+ fans seemed fair - most small businesses with a Facebook Page should be able to easily call that many customers and employees into action. After all, becoming a Fan of a Facebook Page is a remarkably simple process. And the fan limit would likely prevent spammers from registering bogus Facebook URLs. But then the other shoe dropped. Sometime before 11:59 PM Facebook changed the fan minimum from 25 to 100. In addition, Facebook failed to offer a reason for the last minute increase. Blogger Jay Caruso was nice enough to post this screenshot of a Google search showing that the fan requirement was 25 according to Facebook's help section. So the question remains: why the last minute change in rules that has left so many Facebook Page admins up-in-arms?

Facebook should be smart enough to realize that setting up a Page for a business is frequently a first step for business owners in the social networking realm. If the Page is a success, many business owners may be more likely to move forward with other Facebook advertising options. I guess the question is, will the below-the-belt punch that many small business owners are feeling this morning keep them from exploring future advertising on Facebook? Tell us what you think.

StraightUpSocial News Links for 6/26/2009

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:28:47 -0500

Michael Jackson-Related Traffic Doubled Twitter's Update Frequency, Tripled Facebook's

David Sarno at the Los Angeles Times tells us how news of Michael Jackson's death resulted in waves of traffic to social networking and news sites, with some internet services crashing under the weight.

Mobile Uploads to YouTube Increase Exponentially

According to Dwipal Desai and Mia Quagliarello at the YouTube Blog, uploads from mobile phones to YouTube have increased 1700% in the last 6 months, and 400% a day since the iPhone 3GS was released.

How Charities Are #FindingTheGood With Facebook Pages

Alison Driscoll at Mashable takes a closer look at how a few charities are successfully using Facebook Pages, offering good tips on "building a better Facebook Page."

YouTube Releases New Channel Design

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:00:38 -0500

If your company has a YouTube Channel, you're likely to see the following message the next time you log in to edit your channel: YouTube has been testing out a new channel design for awhile, but yesterday the video sharing network announced that the new design will be applied to all new YouTube accounts. In addition, existing users can now upgrade to the new design, which is still in beta, to start testing it out. The official rollout date for the new channel design is July 15. At that time all channels will automatically switch to the new design, so it's a good idea to start working with the new design before then to make sure your company channel is up to speed. New Channel Features Usability seems to have been top-of-mind for YouTube designers working on the new channel design. Some of the features include: • Simple Video Navigation - Viewers no longer have to jump from page to page to view a channel's videos - all videos are accessible via the main channel page. • User Actions - User functions such as commenting, adding to favorites and playlists, and video sharing are placed in an easy-to-use menu directly beneath the video you're watching. • Easier Editing - Admins have the ability to edit channel elements such as modules, colors, and themes right from the channel page instead of a separate edit-only page. The video below has more information about the new YouTube channel features and how to get started. Update: We updated the Oneupweb YouTube channel to the new design. You can see for yourself here: Oneupweb Videos.

StraightUpSocial News Links for 6/24/2009

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:23:36 -0500

Vizio releasing Twitter-, Flickr-, Netflix-enabled TV

Matt Burns at CrunchGear gives us a preview of the impressive features list of Vizio's soon-to-be released XVT HDTV, which includes social networking support and much more.

Twitter a Boon for Digital Music Sales?

Kenneth Corbin at InternetNews.com shares results from a recent study showing that Twitter users are 77% more likely to buy digital music than non-tweeters.

Coca-Cola Launches Sponsorship Inside Popular Facebook Application LivingSocial

Matt Holliday at Inside Facebook tells us about Coke's ground-breaking marketing campaign inside Living Social's popular "Pick 5" apps on Facebook.

More Facebook Usernames Available June 28th

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:25:48 -0500

If you were unable to secure a personalized Facebook username for your company during the social network's vanity URL land rush earlier this month, you have a second chance to do so this weekend. According to Facebook, on Sunday, June 28, Facebook Pages created after May 31, 2009, in addition to Pages with less than 1,000 fans that same day, will be eligible to claim a personalized username. You can claim your username here: http://www.facebook.com/username/ In an effort to minimize username squatting, Facebook had prevented Pages that did not meet those requirements from claiming usernames on June 13 - the first day that Facebook's vanity URLs were available. Facebook hasn't given an exact time that the registration process will open this Sunday, but since the previous registration began at 12:01 AM Eastern, I expect this time around to be the same. Username Already Taken? So what if you burn the midnight oil this Saturday night in an effort to claim your business's username, only to discover someone has already sniped it? Facebook is working to make sure businesses are able to get their names and trademarks. Just fill out Facebook's Clients: Requesting Your Username form. Please keep in mind that this form is intended for businesses only, not for John Smith's trying unsuccessfully to register http://www.facebook.com/john.smith. Image Credit: Andrew Feinberg

StraightUpSocial News Links for 6/22/2009

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:02:06 -0500

Digg Brainstorming New Communications Tool For Users

Mark Milian at the Los Angeles Times tells us how Digg is working to come up with a replacement for its Shout communication feature, which was removed a couple weeks ago.

Facebook Hires New Director of Engineering Away from Google

Justin Smith at InsideFacebook reports on Facebook's hiring of Greg Badros, a senior director of engineering at Google, as the social network's new director of engineering.

#IranElection Crisis: A Social Media Timeline

Ben Parr at Mashable shows us how social media has been used as a communications tool for Iranians following their disputed presidential election.

StraightUpSocial News Links for 6-19-2009

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:27:07 -0500

YouTube Search Goes Visual With the Wonder Wheel

Mashable's Stan Schroeder takes a look at YouTube's new visual search feature that the Google-owned video search engine has been working on internally.

Tweet No Evil: Twitter Censoring Trending Topics

Marketing Pilgrim's Jordan McCollum takes a look at the "less savory" trending topics that were on the rise on Twitter last night and how they vanished into twin air.

European MySpace Employees Wait for a Bloodbath

With MySpace laying off 30% of its employees a few days back, the 400 former MySpace workers who packed their bags were all from the United States. TechCrunch takes a look at what could be coming up next for MySpace's international offices.

Changes Coming to Facebook Inbox

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:15:02 -0500

Today the Facebook blog has a new entry announcing that its currently testing changes to the Inbox in order to better organize users' mail and help eliminate spam. The social networking giant has already begun implementing new Inbox filters. According to Facebook:

"The new Inbox design gives you more control over organizing messages and choosing which messages you receive. You'll notice that there are now filters at the top of your Inbox to help you identify unread messages as well as to report any spam, or unwanted messages, you may receive."

The new rollout should be happening over the next few weeks. Have you already received these new changes? What are your thoughts?

StumbleUpon Creates URL Shortener and Traffic Builder Tool - Su.pr

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:00:38 -0500

Su.pr really is super! Ok, I admit that was cheesy. All kidding aside, StumbleUpon's new URL shortener Su.pr has potential to be the next big thing for microblogging and site traffic. StumbleUpon officially announced Su.pr's launch on Tuesday, June 9th on StumbleUpon's official blog. Below is a list of the cool features Su.pr has to offer: ** Post to Facebook and Twitter. Apparently, there are more social networks in the pipeline according to Tim Ferriss's blog. (Ferriss apparently collaborated with StumbleUpon to help develop the tool.) ** Schedule updates/tweets to post at a later time. ** Offers suggested times for your posts. ** Allows you to create your own custom URL, for example http://Oneupweb.com/1234. ** After you click on a Su.pr link, it will post a sidebar of other popular links from that StumbleUpon user. How are StumbleUpon and Su.pr connected? According to Su.pr's FAQ's "Su.pr expands on StumbleUpon's mission of discovery, by increasing discovery opportunity for your site. It allows you to share interesting content with a wider audience, including your circles of friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter, who may not be StumbleUpon users." Su.pr is not only a URL shortener, but a "traffic builder tool" too. It has the ability to increase traffic to your site by distributing it to the StumbleUpon world, Twitter and Facebook all in one shot. You can post an unlimited number of URLs from your own domain, however, the standard "discovery" limits still apply to individual users. Discoveries are when users submit a new URL to StumbleUpon that it does not have in its current database. Su.pr is currently in beta and is only available by invitation. Have you had the chance to check out Su.pr? If so, what are your initial thoughts?

StraightUpSocial News Links for 6/15/2009

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:36:31 -0500

Facebook Members Grab More Than 3 Million Names Within Hours

Brian Womack and Dan Hart at Bloomberg recap the vanity URL giveaway at Facebook, which began early Saturday morning with more than 500,000 user names gobbled up within the first 15 minutes.

Top 5 Twitter Related Trends to Watch

Jennifer Van Grove at Mashable takes a closer look at 5 important Twitter trends to be aware of.

Hunch.com's Decision Making Engine Launches. Someone Add Twitter Now

Mike Butcher at TechCrunch reviews Hunch, a personalized Q&A/social tool from Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake, which launched today.

Tonight, Tonight, Tonight - The Genesis of Facebook's Vanity URLs

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:40:13 -0500

At 12:01 AM Eastern Time tonight (or Saturday morning if you want to be a stickler) Facebook is allowing you to pick a vanity URL, also known as a personalized web address, for both personal Facebook profiles and public Pages. Here's the link you want to click when the clock strikes a minute past midnight: http://www.facebook.com/username/ Of course you have to be logged in to Facebook to access this page. Currently you'll see a countdown to the golden hour. So if you're the manager of a Facebook public Page for your business, make sure to reserve your company's username tonight. The social network is handing these out on a first-come, first-serve basis. In addition, according to Facebook:

Your username must be at least five characters in length and only include alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9), or a period or full stop (".").

Facebook Page Restrictions However, there are a couple restrictions to registering usernames that I should point out: • Only Pages with more than 1,000 fans before May 31st will be eligible to choose a username. Facebook implemented this rule to keep people from creating multiple Pages this week solely for the purpose of squatting on multiple usernames. • Once you pick your username/vanity URL, there's no way to change or transfer it. So when you choose, choose wisely. Check your spelling, twice. • Your chosen username has to closely match your business name. So forget about trying to register facebook.com/food or facebook.com/movies. Here's more information from Facebook: Facebook Usernames Coming Soon for Pages What About Trademarks? If your company has trademarked its name or owns additional trademarked terms, Facebook is helping to prevent your competitors from snatching up those usernames. Simply fill out Facebook's Preventing the Registration of a Username form. If you don't have the required 1,000 fans yet, or even a Facebook Page for that matter, filling out this form will help secure your trademarks. In The Air Tonight So do what you have to do to stay up late tonight. (If you're over 30 and have kids, you know what I'm talking about.) Crank up the Miami Vice soundtrack on your headphones, watch Riptide reruns on Netflix, finish building that toy car model of Magnum's Ferrari, fire up a Tumblr devoted to 80's TV references, whatever it takes. And tomorrow morning, as the sun rises, you'll awake, refreshed and ready to greet the world with your easy-to-link-to, SEO-friendly, personalized Facebook URL.