WTF Facebook?

I apologize for not updating regularly, it's likely I'll be moving my thoughts to my LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/comiller1). A version of this post will appear there too, great way to try out their long post feature. My only excuse is being a combination of busy and distracted. I needed to put my thoughts out though on this. Facebook has done it again.

This time, they've dehumanized 700,000 users through subjecting them to an experiment in emotional manipulation. The question of whether or not what you see on your news feed affects how you feel has always been a pressing question. Some days you read your feed in delight at kitten videos, while other days you may be rolling your eyes as you see someone showering praise upon your least-favorite political pundit, and by the end of your browse you're ready to flip a few tables.

For one week Facebook tweaked the feeds of a select group of users. One group was shown only positively toned posts, the other was shown negative. In a shocking revelation, people who saw happy posts felt happier. They seriously thought it would be the other way around and people who saw said posts would feel like miserable shut-ins.

Now research is great, it gives us new insight into our own psychology and can help to make a better platform experience. The only real sin is that the 700,000 guinea pigs did not know, and therefore couldn't consent to the study. I mean, is it really too hard to ask someone if they'd like to participate as a study subject? You know, send a message asking, "Would you be interested in participating in a study on the emotional influence of social networks?" Offer some compensation too, like money or a gift card of choice, maybe some free advertising if the subject is a page maintainer.

Then again I'm not surprised, especially with how Facebook handles privacy. It would be asking too much to request a little integrity.

Why #YesAllWomen is Important

By now, many Twitter users have seen the #YesAllWomen hashtag that's been trending over the weekend in wake of the terrifying shooting that happened in Isla Vista Friday night. For those who have been away from the news, a 22 year old man went on a shooting rampage that was primarily fueled by his hatred and entitlement towards women. Many issues have been brought into the spotlight including the mens' rights movement, and pick-up-artists, both groups that are steeped in a vision of traditional masculinity and an intent to keep things that way.

As usual, unfortunately, when women speak up about what it's like to live in a society where others feel entitled to their bodies, some guys have responded by saying "not all men are like that". I can agree, but enough men are like that for women, including myself, to be the subject of unwanted advances and the worry over saying no to the wrong individual. Enough men are like that for women to be perpetually wary when out in public.

#YesAllWomen is important because as it caught on it gave women room to share their stories of male entitlement. It gave platform to illustrate the fact that as a society gender equality has a long way to go. Women shared stories about sexual assault, threats made towards them, the constant worry that just the act of going outside by yourself makes you subject to objectification. Even men have joined in to support the idea that yes, all women are people deserving of basic human respect.

As mentioned above, I have been subject to unwanted male attention. My first few weeks in Rochester a man tried to proposition me from his apartment window. Another man was after me for eight months, he didn't stop until I showed him my engagement ring, saying I had a boyfriend wasn't enough. I've heard the line, "I'm not a rapist," in response to a refusal to give out my number to a complete stranger. One man asked if he could follow me when I went out for a walk. Even with mentioning my status he still tries to talk to me when he sees me out and about. It's frightening to think I could say no to somebody one day and they'll assault me in some manner. Even worse, I might get told that I could have avoided such suffering if I just said yes. I shared my own stories and added to the voices who have had enough.

It's not just me though. I have a friend in Pittsburgh who gets called racist for turning men down. Another friend in Portland is dealing with a man who constantly buys her gifts despite her having a boyfriend. I saw a couple teenage girls get catcalled by some men on Monroe Ave one afternoon. The East Ave Rapist plead guilty a month ago after attacking two women last year, he also intended to kill one of them. Women everywhere have stories about the physical and verbal violence they face from men on a regular basis.

Of course not all men are like that. The ones who know about this behavior openly support the women in their lives, be they family, friends, or acquaintances. The men who don't, are horrified when they such stories. I think we should spread the conversation offline to raise awareness and take a stand. Nobody should have to feel like a piece of meat just for leaving the sanctuary of their home.

Encountering the Black Hat: Why Slow and Steady is Better

Last night I attended a social. Open socials are not my strong point, especially if I'm in a room of unfamiliar faces. I gave it a shot though and had the opportunity to try a new product out. I won't name any names, because I believe it to be poor taste to name names when bringing up examples of what not to do.

Now the product itself was great, and it was wonderful that the Developer had it out for people to use and enjoy. It gave people a chance to try it out, there was even an opportunity to win a T shirt. The in-person engagement was spot-on. After I tried it out I had the opportunity to discuss social media with the Developer. We agreed that it is crucial to marketing, and agreed that Facebook's pay for play tactics were questionable particularly for small businesses/start ups. That's where it ended though.

He encouraged me to look into Black Hat tactic tools for building engagement. Some are quite pricey, but they can build your numbers via bots crawling social networks for you. Many of us have likely encountered bot use as users, how else do porn blogs follow Tumblr users minutes after posting something tagged #nsfw? Or when your tweet includes a key word that some company enters into a search and you find a new follower who is selling something you may have minute interest in?

In SEO, Black Hat incorporates many strategies that are both outdated and put into overkill. Keyword stuffing is a big one. Other tactics include hiding those stuffed key words, or human visitors going to a page different from the one that search engine crawlers are directed to. Things that will get your page taken off Google listings if Google finds out.

Real social media strategy takes time, patience, and a human touch. Manually combing for followers might be tedious, but you're more likely to find your brand advocates there. If you want to bring the followers to you, make yourself visible. This product developer could have easily Instagrammed photos from last night, added some key hash tags, and viola, new followers. If people check the tag for the event they attended and see themselves, they'll be happy to be acknowledged. This developer could tweet where the next product demo is going to be and tag the location to let fans of that location know. All it takes is some time and effort and you can build a good strategy.

In the short term Black Hat can lead to a quick boost in profit and numbers, but it won't last. The numbers you gain are more likely to be empty figures than customers who have an actual relationship with your brand. Social media is about building a relationship online, it's not just an numbers game. If you think it is, you're committing an indignity to your followers. Yes building your audience takes time, but those followers will be the ones who remember you and will remain loyal. They'll be the ones who tell their friends about your brand, and they'll be your promoters. Ultimately they'll be the ones who may be key to keeping your brand in business. Slow and steady definitely wins on this one.

59 Days of Independence

As promised, I would make a post about the 59 Days of Independence project, a project created by Heather Layton and Brian Bailey to celebrate Independence Days all over the world. Like with the US Independence Day, these days generally celebrate freedom from British rule. I say generally, because the celebration I participated in was for South Africa's Freedom Day, commemorating their first post-apartheid election and the election of Nelson Mandela. South Africa has its own Independence Day that originated in the 1930s, but Freedom Day is an important day.

How the project works is you can pick an Independence Day that is not for your native country (list in the info page)and find a way to celebrate. It can be big or small. You can make a shirt featuring a country's flag, cook dishes native to that country, educate a classroom of children about the country, you can do pretty much anything. Then post photos to the 59 Days of Independence Facebook page and they will be boosted to that country. People from that particular country will see your post. This is a global project with people from all over the world participating. You can also contact Heather and Brian at hlayton@mail.rochester.edu if you're interesting.

I know I've taken jabs at Facebook here in the past, and I'm still a critic, but I know that they're still the top network. Projects like this one would be more difficult to pull off without Facebook. Aside from my issues with the pay system, boosting posts to specific locations to show people you're thinking about them is a wonderful idea. Especially with the world getting smaller. It's also a great way to take a stand and support your fellow human beings.

If you're interested, First Unitarian celebrated by singing the South African national anthem while South Africa's flag was unfurled. It was truly a joyous occasion.

It's Been a While

Well, not that long. To be perfectly honest, I've been rather busy. This is a lull before I get back to being busy.

Recently I formed a networking group for marketers with someone in my network. This morning was supposed to be our second meeting, but it's kind of hard to hold a meeting when everyone invited is unable to attend. If any job seeking marketers are interested, these meetings are weekly at the Panera on Monroe & Winton at 9:30 AM. I recommend the cinnamon crunch bagel.

The other exciting thing I did was help out Center for Emerging and Innovative Sciences (CEIS) with their annual University Technology Showcase. I had the pleasure of checking in many of the researchers who had registered for the event. It was a great event, and it's amazing what university researchers have been working on in Rochester and surrounding areas. A lot of great ideas.

My latest project is helping out with The August Group's June Career Fair. Just like with their December Fair, I am the marketing team lead again. This is going to be an exciting event, as MCC gave permission to expand the number of companies we'll be allowed to put on the roster.

Despite how much I've done, those are really the major things to report on. The other things I've been up to are still in development. Since the opportunity has arisen, later this month I'll be attending a celebration that's a part of the 59 Days of Independence project. Seeing as I'll have a personal experience with this project, and it utilizes social media, it will have its own entry. As much as I have knocked on Facebook in the past, they are still a very relevant tool.

Is Facebook Committing Social Extortion?

Facebook can't seem to stop dropping organic reach. Reports are in that organic reach is going down to 1%-2%. This is Facebook's way of saying, "Give us money!" While it's understandable that as a business Facebook needs revenue of some sort, it's going to do this through a pay-to-play system. If you don't have the money for an ad or sponsored post, nobody's going to see you. Will this be yet another nail in Facebook's social platform coffin?

Again, Facebook has every right to charge. They can do whatever they want with their platform. It doesn't mean that's it's good for their users though. Back in the earlier days of business pages, those who paid got a leg-up. Buying an ad guaranteed exposure, but so did a dedicated fanbase spreading the word for you. When I started the ArtWorks page in October of 2010, I could reach audiences through having a loyal fanbase.

Now your page content is going to be hidden from the view of that loyal fanbase, the people who want to see your posts the most. In the social media world, where connection is key, would we call this extortion? You're paying to protect your exposure. There's no worry of anybody's kneecaps getting broken (yet), but your reach may suffer if you don't pay up. Quality can edge in and get the upper-hand every now and then, but the bar has been raised on the money hurdle.

An article I came across today outlines some very good pros and cons to this move. Cons include the focus shift going more towards old-fashioned Pay-Per-Click methods, as well as Facebook's role as a leader in the social media world and its potential influence on other platforms. On the other hand, it may drive businesses to take their social media more seriously, as the organic reach that does happen will be stellar. Unless you're in a place like New York City, jobs solely in social media content are hard to come by. The role is usually left to unpaid interns or stuffed into the job description of an administrative professional who has a whole office to attend to. When not there, if there is a budget for it, it's usually outsourced to a company that specializes in social media marketing (although those places make great employers!).

Buying a Facebook ad is still more affordable than buying a print one. All you really need is a dollar a day for however long you wish to run your ad. But what do you do if your budget is still too slim for buying an ad, or you are unable to access your company's or organization's budget for an ad? You could direct your audience directly to your page, where they will see all posts. Sharing also gives you exposure as your post will be placed under the profile of whoever shared it.

The other thing not mentioned in many of these Facebook-related articles is to keep yourself on other platforms. You don't have to be on every platform under the sun. Just choose the ones that will benefit your brand the best. If your brand is very visual, use Pinterest. If you want something Facebook-esque with greater opportunity for social engagement, get Google+. Twitter is also great for news blurbs or conversation. It's entirely up to you! Just remember that those other networks will help your strategy. Don't ditch Facebook yet, it's still one of the key platforms, but don't rely on it either.

I Love Google+

It's been a few weeks since I put up the Google+ page for Saranac Lake ArtWorks, and I love it! I'm sold.

Basically, as we all know, as of late it's getting tougher and tougher to gain exposure with Facebook business pages. Their algorithms are developed for crowd control, which is understandable with the number of businesses on Facebook, and the number of pages people follow. Unfortunately it leaves a lot of smaller businesses and organizations in the dust, particularly with the fact that exposure on Facebook can be bought. You either have to have money, or your audience has to take enough interest in your page or category, for Facebook to give some organic reach.

It's a good idea for brands to use more than one social network, unless that's specifically where your audience is. You can try out emerging platforms if you feel your brand is a shoe-in for them, but it's best to be where your audience is.

Google+ has been a great step in the process for the ArtWorks page. In the nearly three weeks the page has been up, seventeen people and businesses have added the page to their circles. That averages to a little less than one person a day, but for the region ArtWorks is based in, I consider that good starting growth. Especially since the audience is engaged. Looking at engagement in proportion to the number of followers, engagement is higher than it is on the Facebook page. Content is very similar, primarily because news needs to be shared, but engagement on Google+ is definitely higher. Very important when there's emergency announcements, like the film screening that was canceled tonight due to the storm.

The other fun thing about Google+ is that you can look for potential followers. Circles are also nifty because I can keep track of who is following and to what context, whether they're an ArtWorks member, or a potential fan. It not only engages the audience, it engages the maintainer a bit more than Facebook. Again, an experience I feel like I have to pay for to receive.

The Pinterest on the other hand is taking a while to get attention. I've confirmed that I don't have a personal Pinterest because I'd spend all of my time there. It's still an emerging social network for the Saranac Lake area, but I'm happy to say one of the artists in ArtWorks has an account and posts her work there regularly.

When Going Viral, Keep it Honest!

By now many of you have seen images of a homophobic RSVP floating around the net. Story goes that a girl by the name of Sophia handed out invitations to her upcoming birthday party to her classmates. Tommy's mother wasn't happy over the fact that Sophia has two dads, and delivered the response above. Yesterday this was revealed to be a hoax by two radio DJs who wanted to stir up discussion.

Steve and Leeana of K-98.3 in Long Island were, in short, successful. Images of the RSVP spread like wildfire over news and social media sites, and people were talking. If this had not been a carefully crafted hoax, it would have been even more successful. Steve and Leeana have been suspended and K-98.3's PR has gone into crisis management mode. Even if their original intentions were good, the stunt wasn't worth the effort.

Viral is good, viral brings things to attention in a short amount of time. Viral content stirs our emotions on a very level. Unfortunately when crafted to tug our heart strings, viral content is manipulative. Usually, this intentional viral content backfires. Anyone remember the Kony 2012 video Invisible Children produced? How many of you felt the urge to join the movement shortly after? How many seriously thought that your effort in the movement to stop Kony would change the world for the better? How many of you then saw articles that criticized the Kony 2012 movement, and Invisible Children as an organization in the days following the March 5th release? They started popping up two days after the video. Articles that pointed out Uganda's government also uses child soldiers, and that the path Invisible Children wanted would only lead to more bloodshed in Africa. Or how supporting Invisible Children was a means to supporting a Western colonialist mindset?

I'll admit, I initially drank the Kool Aid, too. The video produced was powerful, and initially it did it's job. After the hype wore off, the Kony 2012 campaign became a humorous meme. Between the majority of their donations going to lavish travel expenses, the infamous gun photo, and the unstable behavior of founder Jason Russell, Kony became the butt of internet jokes ranging from the futility of armchair activism to the infamous Horny 2012 hashtag.

So what makes viral content effective in addressing issues? Keeping it real, and honest. The downside is that in this regard viral content is also unexpected and can't be planned. The contributors of said content are looking to be heard, but usually don't expect to go viral. In other cases, the creator of the content is bearing witness to something interesting. In early September of last year, the staff at a Journeys store in Marketplace Mall quit midday. According to Niki, Jess, and TJ, their district manager Jamie was abusive. Fed up with Jamie's treatment of them, they closed down the store midday and left a note on the gate informing customers as to why the store was closed. These weren't just entry-level employees either. These were people who managed that store.

These people were probably not expecting their public resignation note to be all over the Internet. Expectations were likely that the note would be seen by mall shoppers, and that particular store would feel the burn of lost business between closure and lost customers in general. They probably didn't expect a shopper to take a picture of their note to put up online. They were just three angry employees who were fed up with being treated poorly by their DM. Yet this shows that the best way to go viral is to be unscripted. It's not foolproof, some critics have come out and claimed the employees were troublemakers from the get-go, but like the story of the cop giving boots to the barefoot homeless man, the onlooker taking the photo may not know the real story. The onlooker may have just believed they were capturing something extraordinary.

Facebook and the Future

Facebook turns 10 today! Birthed as a Harvard students only social network it grew into a social media force that is still one of today's biggest movers and shakers in social media. Yesterday Facebook released Paper, a Flipboard style app that allows users to view their personal feed as well as various news feeds. Unfortunately for some Facebook fans, Paper is only available for iPhones, with no plans for an Android version, or for an international release.

Will Facebook be able to continue going strong? As seen in this timeline by brandnetworks, Facebook has had a history of innovation first taking the world by storm in 2006 when it allowed anyone with online access to have an account. Shortly after Myspace faded into obscurity. On the other hand, Facebook has seen a massive drop in younger users, many of whom have fled to more youth-oriented and privacy focused social networks. For the moment, Facebook's older users are happy to remain.

On the marketing front, the frequent change in algorithms leave marketers struggling to keep up. The moment one algorithm is mastered, it's changed to something else. Understandably Facebook is working to weed out page posts that provide little in terms of useful information. Unfortunately between Facebook making visibility more competitive, as well as line-bypassing for paid content, many pages have seen a dramatic drop in engagement despite any tips Facebook gives for page maintainers. Small business in particular have been feeling the burn. I've even found in my own experiences that it has become more difficult to create and retain engagement on the pages I run, especially since they're for organizations with no budget for online marketing. To make matters more difficult, as of late the insights pages seem to be stuck in a perpetual load state, at least for me anyways.

Then there's the Princeton study, predicting an 80% drop in users in one to three years based on data used to track disease outbreaks. In essence, our minds will grow immune to the idea of a network like Facebook, leaving it to fade from memory.

It's hard to tell what Facebook's next ten years will be like, if it lives to see another ten. Facebook has been crucial in the development aspect, having become one of the first social media platforms that could be used as a marketing tool (something Myspace had originally intended with music). Facebook is a mobile technology pioneer from its first mobile app to Paper, and they have solidified their place in mobile significance with the purchase of Instagram in 2012. In terms of userbase and marketing, Facebook can do better. Its algorithms frustrate marketers, and its spotty privacy drives away younger users. Only time will tell what's in store for Facebook.

Playing the Adviser

It looks like the latest of my specialties is advising others on their social media strategy. I had two meetings in the span of a week, and another one coming up. I'm glad to help though :)

First I met with one of the staff members of an area social justice organization to discuss strategy and primarily how to improve engagement on their Facebook page. I also threw in a couple other ideas featuring more "just for fun" strategies as a way to draw in a younger, more energetic audience. Only part I find amusing is that most of the pages I run are frequented by an older demographic. Plus I'm getting used to living in a community where young people graduate high school or college, and then leave the area. I'll be meeting up with this organization again to help strengthen their strategy.

I also met with one of the board members of a small cancer charity. Gave her some pointers as well, because I saw a lot of fun ways to engage with the audience. Things like sharing photos from the parties held to create fund-raising bracelets, as well as ways to enhance the charity's relationship the businesses that sell those bracelets. I've also offered assistance when needed for marketing fundraising events.

The long and short of it is that my schedule has been fairly full. When I'm not offering advice I'm either at a networking group I'm over at School 15 volunteering. The kids there are so sweet.