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| Ready or Not, You're Getting Facebook Timeline | |  Facebook announced in a blog post Tuesday that Timeline will be coming to all users in the next few weeks. According to a Facebook blog post Tuesday -- or rather, an update to the post published when Timeline became available to all users -- you will have seven days to preview your Timeline and hide content you don't want out in the open. Facebook says you'll receive a notification at the top of your home page when Timeline has landed in your account. That seven-day preview period is the same for users who activate Timeline and those whose accounts are activated automatically. The new interface and features have been opt-in, until the roll out becomes universal. Beginning in December 2011, users could enable the new look with one click, and then publish their Timelines for their friends to see. Those particularly eager for the new Facebook could first access Timeline in September 2011 by creating developer accounts. If you're confused by the new look, Facebook describes its new product, "Timeline gives you an easy way to rediscover the things you shared, and collect your most important moments. It also lets you share new experiences, like the music you listen to or the miles you run." Facebook's Introducing Timeline page walks new users through the new features, such as covers, stories and app integration. Once you've gotten the new interface, here's how you can fill in your Timeline: If you've been holding out on activating Timeline, but now think it's time to jump the gun, here's how you can get the new interface now: Have you been holding out hoping this Timeline thing would never become universal? Are you upset to be forced into the new look? Let us know in the comments. |
| 20 TV Shows With the Most Social Media Buzz This Week [CHART] | | Monday, January 23, 2012 9:19 PM | Stephanie Buck |
|  With 1.9 million instances of social media chatter, the CNN Southern Republican Presidential Debate generated more activity than any other debate to have topped our past social TV charts. During the event, CNN posted five Facebook topics, which produced over 6,000 Likes and comments. In response to CNN's 28 Twitter updates regarding the debate, users retweeted 4,500 times, up 258% from the average of the three debates last year. And those are just CNN's stats... American Idol came in second, squeezing into the charts Sunday night, right after the NFL Championship game ended on FOX. Not too shabby. The data below is compliments of our friends at Trendrr, who measure specific TV show activity (mentions, likes, checkins) across Twitter, Facebook, GetGlue and Miso. To see daily rankings, check out Trendrr.TV. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, narvikk |
| Super Bowl XLVI: Who You Need to Follow on Twitter | | Monday, January 23, 2012 8:48 PM | Sam Laird |
|  The New York Giants. The New England Patriots. Super Bowl XLVI. The matchup is set, and the world's biggest annual sporting event is upon us. After 17 weeks of regular season games, three weeks of playoff dogfights and more dramatic moments than we can count, Eli Manning and his G-Men from New York will collide with Tom Brady and his perennially contending Pats. But the ad-heavy Big Game doesn't actually kick off until 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Feb. 5. That leaves two weeks of hype, hoopla and histrionics to endure. How to pass all that time? Well, you could slog through every rumor, blog post and bloviation that gets lobbed out into the Twittersphere. Or, you could narrow the noise down to what's essential with Mashable's list of must-follow feeds. This compilation of 15 players, writers, reporters and organizations is guaranteed to get your trivia and analysis chops where they need to be to hold your own in the most heated of in-game debates. This year's Super Bowl could be the most-social edition yet, and Twitter is the sports media gateway to logistical information, statistical analysis, commentary and pre-game updates. Need to know where to eat in Indianapolis? We've got the source. Want to know what's going on with the stars who will butt heads on Sunday? Check out our player suggestions. Curious about what news the hometown fans are getting in New York and New England? Beat writers are covering each squad like ugly on the gorilla. Scroll through the slideshow above to see who football fans should follow for the next two weeks -- but don't stop there, because we're sure we've missed a few. Who would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments. Thumbnail image courtesy of indanapolissuperbowl.com |
| Justin Bieber's 5th YouTube Anniversary: The Road to Bieber Fever [INFOGRAPHIC] | | Monday, January 23, 2012 7:25 PM | Brian Anthony Hernandez |
|  Whether you love or despise 17-year-old international pop star Justin Bieber, you have his mom to thank (or blame) for thrusting him into the spotlight five years ago this month. On Jan. 19, 2007, Pattie Mallett uploaded a video of her son performing Ne-Yo's "So Sick" in Stratford, Ontario, to Bieber's YouTube channel -- kidrauhl. Rap star Usher signed Bieber to a record label the following year in 2008. Since then, Bieber has taken the social media world by storm, attracting millions of followers across many networks. Bieber has 16.7 million Twitter followers and 39.4 million Facebook "Likes" and he's just warming up. Google Chrome recently chronicled Bieber's impressive reach and presence on Google and YouTube in an ad below. The YouTube-star-turned-mega-celebrity most recently made a splash at the Consumer Electronics Show where he endorsed a gadget for robotic toys company TOSY. SEE ALSO: YouTube in 2011 -- How Its Busy Year Affects You For a quick glimpse at Bieber's high-profile YouTube ride, check out the fun tidbits below thanks to Danish social media agency Crisp Social, that created the infographic for Mashable. Bieber Fever, anyone? |
| 21 Essential Community Management Resources | | Monday, January 23, 2012 7:00 PM | Lauren Hockenson |
|  Today is Community Manager Appreciation Day, and we have plenty of resources for those who are managing their own communities. With a bevy of social spaces to choose from, creating a potent and tight-knit community around a product or brand can seem daunting, even for those experienced in the social space. Every brand has to have its own tailored and unique message, and cater to its specific demographic of fans. With all of these options, it's hard to keep a focused lens on what's best for a brand, but Mashable is here to help. Make sure you read up on the most recent resources we've published on how to effectively handle and grow your own community -- our appreciation gift to you. Below is our in-depth roundup, and be sure to stay focused on Mashable for future community management advice. Is there a community management tip or tool you can't live without? Let us know in the comments. 4 Community Management Predictions for 2012 Community managers will see new SMO, content and niche social networking trends emerge this year. Prioritizing Discussion: Why Community is as Critical as Content News sites should think less about their comments and more about the discussion they're facilitating. 5 Ways Businesses Can Use Social Media as a Tool For Progress Here are the biggest missteps when it comes to using social media as a tool for progress, plus some advice on how to overcome them. SMO vs. Engagement: Why They're Different and How You Can Rock Both There are two key methods for supercharging your social strategy: social media optimization and engagement. Here's how you can combine both tactics to maximize content distribution for your brand. Content vs. Community: How Online Publishers Can Nurture Both The past decade hasn't fostered thoughtful interaction between publisher content and its consumers. Discover the tools to encourage community engagement within site content. Four Short-form Blogging Networks Perfect for Customer Engagement Which sites help brands keep up in the real-time content race? Which sites really drive engagement? Here are four emerging leaders. 5 Fitness Brands Kicking Butt on Social Media Trying to get fit in the new year? Check out these five fitness brands -- they're all over social media, and their inspiring content on social channels will make you want to break a sweat. 9 Digital Marketing Lessons From Top Social Brands We asked big social brands - MTV, Xbox, AT&T, NBA and AmEx - about the lessons they've learned in their digital marketing efforts. 5 Ways to Turn Social Customers Into Brand Ambassadors Smart businesses will leverage their social channels to spread a positive brand reputation. Here are five ways to turn customers into brand ambassadors through customer service. 10 Tips for Better B2B Community Management The companies that use your products are made up of people, after all. Here are 10 ways to get them talking with each other in ways that can inform your business. How to Build an Effective Google+ Brand Strategy Here are six steps to help jumpstart your brand presence on Google+. The Pros & Cons of Google+ for Small Business Now that brand pages are out, is Google+ a worthwhile landscape for small business? We weigh out the issues here. 5 Ways Brands Can Use Pinterest to Boost Consumer Engagement Here are five ways companies can jump on the Pinterest bandwagon to reach a quickly growing and engaged audience. How To: Build Your Brand on Tumblr As Tumblr's reach continues to grow, more brands are adding the blogging platform to their online marketing mixes. Here's a guide to help you start tumbling. 6 Ways Brands Can Earn More Exposure on Tumblr Tumblr is an Internet force of nature that cannot be ignored. If you're embarking on a Tumblr content strategy, these six tips can put you over the top. Circle Up: How Brands Are Using Google+ Since the dawning of brand pages, more companies are hopping on Google+. Check out some strategies adopted by the most popular companies. How to Increase Facebook Engagement Using Custom Page Tabs Brands that invest in the right types of tabs on their Facebook Pages are more likely to increase Likes and achieve real engagement growth. Try these steps. How to Get the Most Out of Google Analytics Google Analytics is a powerful, free tool for measuring your website's traffic and engagement. Here's an overview of the core features and the metrics you should be paying close attention to. How to Access the Best New Features in Google Analytics You may want to take advantage of all the new goodies in Google Analytics, but finding them in the dashboards can be confusing. Here's a breakdown of the new navigation. Hootsuite Analytics Just Got a Whole Lot Better HootSuite launched Social Analytics, its custom solution for measuring your social platforms and site performance in one place. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, romakoshel |
| Portlandia Stars Talk Twitter and the New Face of Comedy | | Monday, January 23, 2012 6:27 PM | Zachary Sniderman |
|  Portlandia, IFC's little sketch show that could, has moved from quirky sleeper hit to beloved comedy darling and one of IFC's most-watched shows. Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein's loving, punchy, demolition of all things hipster and faux has struck a chord not just in Portland, Ore., where the show is based, but with a nation of people reared on organic foods, fiercely independent bookshops and smarter-than-thou know-it-alls. The show's success isn't just about writing funny jokes and booking excellent cameos (including Aubrey Plaza, Jason Sudeikis, St. Vincent, Steve Buscemi, Kyle MacLachan and more). Portlandia strikes a fine balance of killing its targets with kindness. Every lampoon is biting but delivered with just enough love that hipsters and their opponents can both watch the show hand-in-hand. Portlandia is also a hit on the Internet and the social web thanks to a flood of official clips posted on YouTube and the show's website. It's a show that understands the importance of the web even if its, you know, too cool to tweet about everything in its life. Mashable spoke with Brownstein (by phone) and Armisen (by email) about the show's recently launched second season and how the Internet is changing comedy. Interview with Portlandia's Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen Is it a relief to have the second season out to the public? Carrie Brownstein: You start to wonder how people are going to see it and how they perceive it, which you can never predict. So in some ways it's a relief when it finally "exists," it has this validating property. you're releasing one track every single week and you're just kind of waiting to see what song people like. In the first season we were creating in in a vacuum. There were no expectations. It was a trial by fire, throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks. Going into the second season we knew what ideas worked. What's hard is that there's the pressure is that expectations exist, not just your own but the audience's and you don't want to lose that messiness because, I think with comedy especially, when there's a little clumsiness or when something's a little off kilter it makes it a little more interesting. Fred Armisen: We had a better idea of what worked best. We knew what to avoid, shooting-wise. We had a little more time to write endings. At some point do you think you'll run out of things to parody? Brownstein: I think putting characters more at the center of it made me think, "We have a few seasons left in us." You're not just going around town looking at what we can make fun of you, you now, that's a blog post, that's a tweet. I think the people that we portray are not targets, because that would be self-loathing. They're characters that embody traits of I think if there's anything there's a greater fondness for them. It's definitely more of a love letter. Armisen: We are like them. We don't change the way we talk very much when we do them. Do you have a set goal for the show? Brownstein: Of course my barometer for success is that people watch it but it would certainly be flattering if this show could sort of catch the imagination of somebody, that they would sort of desire to share the world of Portlandia. Why do you think this generation has so taken to improv as a form of comedy? Brownstein: I think there's something about improvisation that kind of matches the pace of our conversations that we have with our friends. I have this sort of analogy to it, it matches the pace of our online lives. Like Twitter, our comments online, it has this sort of chaotic pace to it. Has the Internet changed comedy for the better or for the worse? Armisen: It's made it so much more accessible. I think it's a very exciting time for comedy. I am loving so much of what I'm seeing. Brownstein: It seems like it's changed the way everything is created at the same time that it has this highly democratizing element to it. A big network can try to make something go viral but they're up against some 2 year-old kid that got a crappy Christmas gift. You can't force somebody to watch something. What appeals to people is kind of a mystery. People spend a lot of money to get people to watch something Image courtesy of IFC and Damon Locks |
| Facebook Spent More than $1 Million on Lobbying in 2011 [REPORT] | | Monday, January 23, 2012 5:45 PM | Joann Pan |
|  Facebook Inc. contributed $1.35 million to lobby various tech-related efforts last year, breaking the $1 million mark for the first time. During the last quarter of 2011, Facebook donated $440,000, targeting issues including international regulation of software companies and restrictions on Internet access by foreign governments. Facebook continually lobbies for online security measures for private industry, data storage, online safety for Internet users, the Do Not Track Kids Act, proposed amendment to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 to protect personal information of children, the Video Privacy Protection Act and various patent legislation. SEE ALSO: 'We The Lobby' Crowdsources Funds for an Anti-SOPA Lobby This is the largest amount Facebook has ever contributed in a quarter -- nearly double the $230,000 set aside for Congress in the first quarter (along with the $320,000 in the second quarter and $360,000 in third quarter), according to AllFacebook.com, whose report added up the public lobbying amounts filed by the social media giant. This immense lobbying effort follows Facebook's expansion of the Public Policy Facebook team based in Washington, D.C. last year. The company hired former George W. Bush Deputy Chief of Staff Joel Kaplan as its vice president of U.S. public policy in June, and former White House employee Myriah Jordan as Facebook's congressional relations policy manager soon after. Facebook's competitor Google remains on the top of the list of tech companies that have contributed the most to lobbyists. Google spent $9.98 million in federal lobbying in 2011, according to reports. Microsoft spent $7.34 million. Hewlett-Packard, Oracle Corp and IBM close out the top five tech companies with the highest lobbying expenditures, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Tell us what you think of this trend -- the world's biggest tech companies contributing huge amounts of money to interests that would affect Internet and social media use. Image Courtesy of Flickr, Ken Lund |
| 6 Top Community Managers to Appreciate | | Monday, January 23, 2012 5:37 PM | Meghan Peters |
|  Happy Community Managers Appreciation Day! On this third annual CMAD, we celebrate community management, an industry that has become increasingly important in the rise of social media. Brands and organizations are now finding creative ways to connect with their audiences -- and their community managers are leading the charge. The role is far from being standardized from organization to organization, and may never be. Yet most community managers share the ability to multitask, make quick judgement calls and think critically. The gallery above features six community managers paving the way, and tells you a little bit about their contributions to the industry. What community managers do you appreciate? Why are they so awesome? Share your thoughts in the comments below. |
| Tumblr Hits 15 Billion Monthly Pageviews | | Monday, January 23, 2012 4:14 PM | Brian Anthony Hernandez |
|  After an explosive 2011, Tumblr is rolling full steam into the new year with impressive numbers that highlight the microblogging platform's continue growth: 15 billion monthly pageviews and 120 million monthly unique visitors. Tumblr CEO David Karp revealed the statistics in Munich this week at the Digital Life Design conference, where he also discussed goals for 2012 regarding product development, revenue and staff size (see audio clip below). Last time Tumblr unleashed figures was in September when monthly pageviews hovered around 13 billion, up from 2 billion at the beginning of 2011, reflecting a 218% year-over-year increase. To put the stats into perspective, WordPress.com blogs attract roughly 316 million people internationally who view 2.5 billion pages each month, while Reddit's almost 35 million monthly unique visitors check out 2 billion pages. Facebook reportedly surpassed 1 trillion monthly pageviews in in mid-2011. When looking at U.S. stats alone, however, WordPress.com sites trumped Tumblr blogs on average each month in 2011: 20.4 million vs. 10.9 million pageviews. Tumblr, which launched in 2007, wants to give a "much more deliberate international effort" in reaching the audience outside of the U.S. in 2012, Karp says in the SoundCloud clip below from The Next Web. To accomplish this, Karp says Tumblr will spend more time with the foreign press and pay more attention to local markets. Right now, about 40% to 45% of Tumblr's users reside in the U.S. Karp also says 2012 will be a "big year for revenue development products," meaning several experimental initiatives from last year will soon become "full-blown products." We've reached out to Tumblr's press folks to elaborate on these products and will update this post accordingly once they respond. SEE ALSO: Tumblr Numbers -- The Rapid Rise of Social Blogging/a> Expanding Tumblr's staff -- which grew from 15 members to 70 last year -- is another major goal for Karp. Are you surprised by Tumblr's continued growth? How do you effectively use Tumblr? Chime in below. BONUS: 20 Tumblr Blogs About Food or Parents |
| Handle This: Google+ Finally Allows Pseudonyms | | Monday, January 23, 2012 4:02 PM | Lance Ulanoff |
|  The Google+ Common Name policy will never be the same. Google promised it would take a close look at the requirement that only real names and identities reside on its seven-month-old social network, and now the search giant has reversed course, allowing both nicknames and full-fledged pseudonyms on Google+. Google VP of Product Bradley Horowitz acknowledged that "the stakes around this have always been very high" and called these changed an "important step in a long journey . We're talking with our users around the expression of identity." The change, which begins rolling out to users Monday, is "a big step for the system," said Horowitz, and one that will likely be welcomed by fierce common name critics like the Electronics Frontiers Foundation and popular blogger and Google+ early adopter and champion Robert Scoble. The ever-voluble Scoble, who often goes by the handle "Scobleizer" online, pressed Google's Senior Vice President, Engineering Vic Gundotra on the topic last summer after Google began deleting Google+ accounts that violated the Common Names rules. More than 99% of those who sign up for Google+ "sail through" the account naming process, but these changes address the, according to Google, less than 0.1% that now end up in appeal. Among that small number are companies (roughly 20%) that Google+ now steers to Google+ Pages, which allows brands to set up destinations on the social network. Another 20%, Google told Mashable "would either prefer to use a pseudonym or another seemingly unconventional name." The majority of the 0.1% just want to add a nickname. Adding a nickname to your account is quite simple. There's a new field under your Profile/About page. Enter the nickname and it appears either in the middle of your actual name (Lance "Lancealot" Ulanoff) or at the end in parenthesis. Though there is no option to show only your nickname, Horowitz did not rule out the possibility in a future iteration of the service. "We don't consider ourselves finished here," he said. The use of actual pseudonyms is a little more complex. All pseudonym requests will require some kind of evidence, which could range from a URL to your scanned driver's license. Google+ is not, however, accepting new pseudonyms. This is designed for "established ones." Horowitz explained that the new account naming option is intended for "people who have earned credit in other social systems and want to redeem that credit in Google+ . We will swing the doors open and welcome them to our system." Google will destroy all documentation you send them once the account verification process is complete. Google+ profile updates also support "alternate names," "maiden names," and "names in other scripts." While Google+'s late embrace of nicknames and pseudonyms is an indication that Google heard its critics, that doesn't mean it necessarily agreed with those criticisms. "It's not an awakening," said Horowitz. "This has always been part of the plan." Google execs also know that this is not a perfect or final profile naming solution. "We care about identify and people being authentic on our service. We realize that what we have now is not the final destination either. This is a journey," added Horowitz who is also outlining the Google+ changes in a Google+ post. Ultimately this change means that those who know you by nicknames can find that appellation as part of your Google Profile and, more importantly, if you've branded yourself as "Master of Social Media" and are recognized as such on other services, you can proudly wear that label on Google+, too. What do you think? Do these changes make Google+ a more palatable online destination? Were you kicked out and now, maybe, ready to try again? Sound off in the comments. Bonus: Inside Google+ |
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