What’s Facebook’s EdgeRank? In short, EdgeRank is to Facebook, what PageRank is to Google. If you’re managing a Facebook business page, you need to monitor your EdgeRank and determine which variables influence your page’s performance.

Facebook EdgeRank: What is it?

In simple terms, it’s the set of metrics Facebook uses to determine your page’s value.

Why is this important?

Your Facebook EdgeRank determines if your posts are shared with other pages/people that have ‘liked’ you.

What this means is that, even though someone has liked your page, if your posts have a low Facebook EdgeRank… it may not appear in their newsfeed, i.e. the stream of posts that appear on their page when logged in.

If you have a low Facebook EdgeRank, your posts, comments, and ‘likes’ don’t get shared upstream. It’s a bit like not appearing in Google’s search results.

Therefore, if you’ve noticed a drop in the traffic to your Facebook page, it’s probably because your Facebook EdgeRank has dropped.

Facebook EdgeRank: How to Improve it?

There are different tactics, but the following are worth examining:

• Third Party APIs – Reduce (or stop) direct feeds from third party APIs, such as Hootsuite. Research shows that this may have a negative impact on your EdgeRank.
• Embed Videos – Instead of linking to videos, embed the actual video on your page. If you don’t see the option for doing this, install a video plugin or drop me a line.
• Engagement – Instead of posting generic status updates (which have very low social interaction), look for ways to create a dialogue with others.
• Organic Likes – Avoid buying Likes (no, really don’t) and work at getting more Likes from like-minded Facebook users.
• Investment – Think long-term and invest in your page. Invest in tools, templates, and training courses that bring you up to speed faster with Facebook. TechCrunch doesn’t know everything
• Share Images – Words power Google. Images power Facebook. And videos are catching up! Find ways to source, share, and get comments on more images.

Remember, Facebook is all about being social. So, think social, community, and engage. If you’re using the same tactics on Facebook as you do on Google, you’ll get very little returns.

Over to you.

What affects your Facebook EdgeRank the most? What tactics do you use to monitor your page’s performance? And what mistakes do we need to avoid?

Creating your first Facebook ad?  Consider these points when setting up your first ad. Make sure to use the right dimensions when creating your Facebook ad, get the text and image ratio correct, and use compelling call to actions in the copy, otherwise you’re wasting your marketing budget.

Designing your Facebook Ad

In no order of priority, here are the guidelines you need to be aware of:

Character Limits

Your Facebook ad must include a title (the name of the ad) and body (i.e. the text).

• The title can be 25 characters max.
• The body can be 135 characters max.

Images in Facebook Ads

Every ad MUST have an image. However, your image can have text in it Or be all text. But if must technically be in an image format.

Image Size for Facebook Ads

The image can be 110 pixels wide and 80 pixels high (i.e. 110 x 80 px).

One suggestion is to keep an aspect ratio of 4:3 or 16:9.

Maximum File Size

The ads you upload to Facebook must be less than 5 megabytes.

Incorrectly Sized Images

If your image is larger or smaller than the correct dimensions, Facebook will resize your image accordingly.

Using Flash and Animated Gifs

Facebook does not support animated or flash images.

Girls in Facebook Ads

Using pretty girls to increase click-thrus does work but… if it’s not connected with what you’re selling, you’ll simply waste your budget very quickly. Use images that connect to your potential customers.

Best Practices Facebook Ads

Use a compelling image that:

• Draws attention to your product/service
• Does not confuse the viewer into clicking (after all you pay for every click)
• Is fast to load
• Has a clear call to action
• Uses words sparingly. Don’t clutter the image with words.

Facebook Ad Resources

• Webinar – Facebook Advertising Tips, Tricks & Techniques for Marketing Executives
• Facebook Advertising 101 – How To Create Facebook Ads That Work
• Killer Facebook Ads: Master Cutting-Edge Facebook Advertising Techniques
• Shoemoney System (includes Facebook Ad module)

Takeaway

Design your Facebook ads so that you the comply with Facebook’s best practices. Understand how Facebook uses ads and the way it funnels them thru the system. Ads typically peak after 24-36 hours and, unless getting very high clickthrus, will be removed from Facebook. So make sure your ads meet the correct guidelines first.

Any questions about creating a Facebook ad?

Add it in the comments so we can all share & learn.

If you had a choice between email and Facebook for web marketing, which would you choose? I hope you chose email as it’s more effective for long-term customer engagement. Try to segment your customer list on Facebook and see how hard it is. But there is a problem with email.

Email Marketing – Increase Signups By Checking Confirmations

Even though someone signups to your newsletter, that doesn’t mean they’ve actually signed up.

Sound confusing?

Here’s what’s happening and how to fix it.

When someone signups for your newsletter, the following happens:

• On your website, they enter their email address and click Submit.
• This sends a message to your email provider (I use aweber. You can get the $1 trial here).
• Aweber sends a confirmation email to the person.
• They have to confirm that they want to receive the newsletter.

This is where the problem occurs.

Email Marketing – Problems with Email Confirmations

The confirmation email will:

• Go into their inbox. If it does they may click Confirm or ignore it. Maybe they’re too busy. Or…
• Go into their spam folder. They never see it unless they check this folder. Or…
• It never got to them as they’ve entered the wrong email address. For example, I see people enter

Hotmal instead of Hotmail
Gmial instead of Gmail

And so on…

How do you fix this?

You have a few options.

One of the things I like about aweber is that it shows me the number of people who have signed up but NOT confirmed yet.

In other words, they went to the site, entered their email, but (for whatever reason) haven’t confirmed.

And until they do, I can’t send them my blog posts, newsletters, special offers and so on…

Email Marketing – How to Rescue Lost Signups

Here’s what I do.

• I give them four days to confirm. Why? If they signed up on Friday pm, they may not see it until Monday pm. So allow for this.
• I send them a short email (from my personal business account).
• I thank them for signing up and highlight that they have not confirmed yet.

Is there a problem we can help with? Did they get the email?

And then I leave it and wait for them to come back. I don’t chase them a second time.

Takeaway

You can use this technique to identify who has signed up but not confirmed.

Contact those who are in ‘limbo’ and use discretion. Many emails go to the spam folder. Remind then to add your email to their address book and your newsletter will get delivered.

What other problems have you had delivering emails? What tactic works best?

How can I schedule status updates to Facebook? One of the limitations with Facebook is that you can’t schedule posts inside Facebook itself. But there is a workaround. Here’s how to schedule updates to your Facebook page so you can keep you page active while on vacation, business trips, or even when off the web.

How To Schedule Facebook Status Updates With Hootsuite

I use Hootsuite to manage both my Twitter and Facebook accounts. You can also use it to monitor your LinkedIn page and others Social Media sites, such as Foursquare.

To schedule blog posts, for example, to your Facebook page, do the following:

1. Open Hootsuite (it’s free to use and there is no download.)
2. Add Facebook to your Social Media accounts. This adds a new tab where you can see your Facebook status updates.
3. Enter a message in the text box, for example, a link to your new blog post.
4. Click Schedule and choose the date when you want it to be published.
5. Click Facebook from the tab. You can change the text if you wish and the image that goes with the blog post.
6. Click Ok.

This blog post, status update, or message will appear on Facebook later.

Note: you can select other Twitter accounts and send the same message (or blog post) to these accounts at the same time.

That’s it.

You can now schedule as many blog posts, messages or whatever to Facebook. Hootsuite has some other great tools in there. Let me know if you know of any others.

Should Your Kids use Facebook? It’s a pretty straightforward question and, for most parents, the answer is No. But, life is never that simple. This raises other issues: should kids have a mobile phone, or a Playstation, or big Macs? Here are some dos and don’ts.

Should Kids Be on Facebook?

The first point is that Facebook is, I believe, for over 18s. But, it’s a real world and under 18s get into pubs, bars, movies and so on.

Of course, this doesn’t make it right or justify shoddy monitoring.

Nor, does it abdicate responsibility from the store owners or Facebook.

Strictly speaking in an ideal world kids wouldn’t be on Facebook, right?

But, if they are not on Facebook, then where do they hang out online?

Why Kids Use Facebook

With the breakdown of the family unit and the tendency of kids to spend more time indoors – getting them out of the house is an issue now – it’s understandable that they want to connect online.

• Kids use Facebook to connect with each other. It’s a logical extension of texting each other, which paradoxically is another issue.
• Kids use Facebook to express themselves.
• Kids use Facebook to connect with distant friends.
• Kids use Facebook as they are more digital savvy. What’s an issue to you is the norm to them.
• Kids use Facebook to form groups (as they do offline) and share information with their inner circle.
• Kids use Facebook to demonstrate loyalty to each other. I’ll friend you but not him.

How Kids Abuse Facebook

But then there is the less pleasant side.

• Kids use Facebook to intimidate others – as they do offline.
• Kids use Facebook to exclude others – as they do offline.
• Kids use Facebook to isolate themselves – as they do offline.

The pattern here is that most of what happens is mirrored offline.

The difference is that the expression – eg likes v party invitation – has changed.

Kids on Facebook – Dos and Don’ts

I lived in the UK, USA, and China most of my adult life. My spectrum of friends is worldwide. Indeed I have more distant friends than local ones. Sound familiar?

And our kids are the same. Thus the attraction of Facebook when they want to connect.

But this still doesn’t explain how to manage Facebook when your kids want to use it. So, here’s what we did.

• Tell them that you will periodically check their Facebook page to make sure all is well. Don’t spy on them. Be honest and they will respect you more.
• Before they use Facebook explain how it works. Show them how you use Facebook’s security settings.
• Change their privacy settings so that only friends – and not friends of friends – can see their pictures, posts etc.
• Explain what to do if/when they start to get bullied, harassed etc.
• Remind them that not everyone will accept your friend request.
• Change the Facebook settings to Https so the connection is more secure and others can’t hack into it. See Privacy settings.
• Teach them how to create a strong password.

Like I said, the easy option would be to ban Facebook in the house. But this can backfire.

Conclusion

Studies have shown that discussing these issues – and other sensitive issues such as alcohol usage, drugs etc – is more productive than hiding and pretending that it will go away.

The challenge is to help your child navigate its way through life. Facebook is one of the many little journeys they will have to make.

The challenge for us is to show – not tell – the best ways to use these tools to enhance their life.

These are some ideas I quickly put together this Sunday morning before we head off to mass, so forgive the poor grammar in parts.

Please share your thoughts – and this blog post – with your friends.

How strong are your passwords? I attended a course in London last year and one of the topics covered security. In Mel Brook’s movie SpaceBalls, the password to all the earth’s natural resources was…12345. It’s a comedy but you get the idea. All those efforts to control the planet and the password is child’s play. Here are some ways to strengthen your passwords and also how to show others the mistakes to avoid.

9 Ways To Create Supe Strong Passwords

This week we look at how to setup a strong password and test its strength. I’ll also look at the type of mistakes people make when creating passwords and how to avoid these.

1. Passwords should be 8 or more characters in length; 14 characters or more is ideal.
2. Strongest passwords combine both length and different types of symbols.
3. Long passwords are stronger than short ones.
4. The more characters you add to your password, the more you increase its level of protection.
5. Use symbols by holding down the ‘Shift’ key and typing a number are very useful in developing strong passwords.
6. Choose symbols unique to your language.
7. Use the space bar in passwords.
8. Combine letters, numbers, and symbols.
9. The greater the combination you use in your password, the harder it is to guess.

10 WAys to avoid weak, easy-to-guess passwords

Here are some of the mistakes to avoid when creating passwords:

1. Avoid using look-alike substitutions of numbers and symbols. This means that you don’t replace an ‘i’ with a ‘1′ or an ‘a’ with ‘@’ as in “M1cr0$0ft” or “P@ssw0rd. These are too easy to guess.
2. However, these substitutions can be effective when combined with other measures, such as length, misspellings, or variations in upper and lowercase, to improve the strength of your password.
3. Avoid sequences of word or repeated characters. Examples of these are “12345678,” “778899″ “abcdefg,”
4. Letters on your keyboard that sit next to each other are also a mistake. For example, qwertqwert.  These are very weak passwords.
5. Avoid your login name.
6. Avoid words from the dictionary.
7. Don’t use any part of your name, birthday, social security number.
8. Tools can guess passwords based on words in multiple dictionaries, including words spelled backwards, common misspellings, and substitutions.
9. Use password combinations. If any one of the computers or websites using your password is compromised, then all of your other information protected by that password will be compromised as well. Use different passwords for different systems.
10. Don’t store your password online.

I know this sounds obvious but, if others find your passwords stored online (or on a networked computer), they have access to all your information.

Remember to change your passwords on a regular basic, for example, every six weeks. If you’re planning on opening a PayPal or Ebay account to buy and sell goods online, then I think you should read this. There’s no point making all this money, if someone can walk in a run off with your profits.

What do you think? How do you create strong passwords?

Can you really use Facebook for marketing? To be honest, I was a bit skeptical about this until I really made an effort to figure out how Facebook works, especially it advertising platform. I was comparing it to Google Adwords and that didn’t work. This course on Shoemoney about Facebook Advertising really helped. It’s not cheap but then the good stuff never is.

How to generate leads on Facebook?

The answer I wanted to know was, ‘how can you take advantage of Facebook and leverage it for your business?’

Here are some tactics that can help put Facebook and Social Media to work.

1. Use Facebook pages as hubs — use your Facebook page to launch different campaigns. Promote it and include it in other marketing activates. Facebook pages work if you regularly publish status updates on other peoples’ home pages. Remember, Google indexes fan pages as these are public, whereas personal pages are not.
2. Be exclusive — Use your Fan page as the hub for social activities. Run offers exclusive to Facebook. Once the word gets out, others will want to join. “Being ‘in’ is a key emotional driver for Facebook users. The more exclusive, the more likely people will flock to join. But it has to be compelling.
3. Use coupons — Customers respond to coupons, regardless of the medium in which it appears. For example, a photographer can easily post an offer on Facebook that gives free sessions for large parties or make it time sensitive.
4. Integrate Facebook into your overall marketing plan — Don’t work on Facebook in isolation. Test it to how well it compliments others marketing strategies. Use it for crowdsourcing, product testing and brand development.

Looking for examples?

If you’re seeking an example of those community-building tenets in action, check out Victoria’s Secret Facebook page. The retailer has steadily built a community of more than 2.5-million fans by offering an exclusive element, special offers and the “street cred” that comes with being a fan.

Conclusion

Facebook is a tool in your marketing arsenal. Like any tool, it works if you know how to use it and keep testing. I lost about 200 dollars before my Ad campaigns kicked in. The problem was that I was focusing on writing slogans, straplines and others teasers that work on Google Adwords.

Wrong.

Facebook is visual. It’s the photos you use that make the difference. Credit to Jeremy for this tip.

Facebook’s new security features help control your privacy, especially if you log in on cybercafés, hotels or at airports. You can now force Facebook to logoff from a remote location and create one time passwords. These are easier to use than you’d think and, for me, give greater confidence when using Facebook on business trips. Here’s how it works.

How to Sign Out of Facebook Remotely

Facebook has added more security features to its social network. I’ll avoid the technical details and explain three ways to protect your privacy and stay more secure on Facebook.

1. One Time Passwords

Facebook has released one-time passwords to make it safer to use public computers in places like hotels, cafes or airports. If you have any concerns about security when accessing Facebook, they can text you a one-time password to use instead of your regular password.

To do this:

• Text “otp” to 32665 on your mobile phone
• Facebook will send you a password that can be used only once.
• It expires in 20 minutes.
• To access this feature, you’ll need a mobile phone number in your account.

2. Sign Out From Facebook Remotely

You now also sign out of Facebook from a remote location.  These session controls are ideal if you log into Facebook from a friend’s phone or computer and then forget to sign out.

To do this:

• Go to your Account Settings, you can check if you’re still logged in on other devices and remotely log out.
• Under the Account Security section of your Account Settings page you’ll see all of your active sessions, along with information about each session.
• If someone accesses your account without your permission, you can also shut down the unauthorized login before resetting your password and taking other steps to secure your account and computer.

3. Keep Secrets Secret!

When you log in to Facebook, it will regularly prompt you to keep their security information updated.

If you ever lose access to your account, having this information helps us verify who you are and get you back into your account quickly.

Tip: You don’t have to wait for us to prompt you; you can update your Facebook security setting here.

Want to Know Even More?

You can get more security tips and updates on the Facebook Security Page at www.facebook.com/security.

I’ve never had any issues (touch wood!) with Facebook and it’s security.

What’s the best trick you know to protect yourself online?

This week we look at how to setup a strong password and test its strength. I’ll also look at the type of mistakes people make when creating passwords and how to avoid these. Remember to change your passwords on a regular basic, for example, every six weeks. If you’re planning on opening a PayPal or Ebay account to buy and sell goods online, then I think you should read this. There’s no point making all this money, if someone can walk in a run off with your profits.

How to avoid weak, easy-to-guess passwords:

1. Avoid sequences of word or repeated characters. Examples of these are “12345678,” “778899″ “abcdefg,”
2. Letters on your keyboard that sit next to each other are also a mistake. For example, qwertqwert.  These are very weak passwords.
3. Avoid using look-alike substitutions of numbers and symbols. This means that you don’t replace an ‘i’ with a ‘1′ or an ‘a’ with ‘@’ as in “M1cr0$0ft” or “P@ssw0rd. These are too easy to guess.
4. However, these substitutions can be effective when combined with other measures, such as length, misspellings, or variations in upper and lowercase, to improve the strength of your password.
5. Avoid your login name.
6. Don’t use any part of your name, birthday, social security number.
7. Avoid words from the dictionary.
8. Tools can guess passwords based on words in multiple dictionaries, including words spelled backwards, common misspellings, and substitutions.
9. Use password combinations. If any one of the computers or websites using your password is compromised, then all of your other information protected by that password will be compromised as well. Use different passwords for different systems.
10. Don’t store your password online.

I know this sounds obvious but, if others find your passwords stored online (or on a networked computer), they have access to all your information.

How to create strong passwords:

• Passwords should be 8 or more characters in length; 14 characters or more is ideal.
• Strongest passwords combine both length and different types of symbols.
• Long passwords are stronger than short ones.
• The more characters you add to your password, the more you increase its level of protection.
• Use symbols by holding down the ‘Shift’ key and typing a number are very useful in developing strong passwords.
• Choose symbols unique to your language.
• Use the space bar in passwords.
• Combine letters, numbers, and symbols.
• The greater the combination you use in your password, the harder it is to guess.

You can now use Facebook’s import feature to add your Flickr photos into Facebook. To do this from Flickr, follow the instructions below. To do it directly from Facebook, use the Import link at the top of your Mini-Feed. Right now, only a few sites—Flickr, Yelp, Picasa, and del.icio.us—are available for importing. Digg and other sites are scheduled. These posts will look just like any other Mini-Feed stories, and will hopefully increase your ability to share information with your friends. I prefer the Flickr to Facebook method as I’ve had issues with different Facebook apps. But, its up to you!

How to Import Flickr Photos into Facebook

Tip: You have to put in your full email account name that you use at Flickr.

Here’s how it works.

1. Login to Flickr and click http://flickr.com/account?tab=extend

2. Scroll down the page until you find this “Your Facebook account. Link your accounts to share your Flickr updates on Facebook. ”

3. Click Link the Accounts. This starts the import process.

4. In Facebook, click the Import button to import into Facebook

5 You then get confirmation that your Flickr and Facebook accounts are connected.

Once you’ve done that, your latest Flickr uploads will be added into your Facebook News Feed and Mini-Feed.

Does this work for you?  If not, let me know.

Guest article by Shannon Suetos from Resource Nation

When implementing any type of marketing campaign it is wise to first take a step back and decide how to develop your campaign. Many companies are have made the executive decision to go forward with social media—they just aren’t so sure what to do.

Decide where your target audience is engaging

Tackling a social media campaign is much like, if not exactly like a traditional marketing campaigning. The first order of action is to decide where your target audience is. You could have the latest and greatest product or services in the world, but if your core audience isn’t hearing the message there is no benefit to your company.

According to a study conducted by Chitika (a full service online advertising network) broke down the users of Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Digg.com. This study concluded that:

1. 47% of Twitter users are there for news
2. 52% of Myspace users are there for video games or celebrity/entertainment
3. Digg was spread out between news, tech, and video games

Once you have decided on where your target audience is, you can then go to develop strategies for each site that best fits your company.

Social Tone

The tone of your campaign should be less formal, and more conversational. This is not to say you should throw out all social etiquette—but rather a “business casual” approach. People like talking, especially about themselves, but make sure in your campaign you provide information not only about your services, but current events or even industry news.

Staying away from topics such as religion and politics is a good idea as well—especially if you have many clients from diverse backgrounds. Staying neutral will keep your clients happy and keep you out of hot water.

Define Goals and Measuring Results

Going back to traditional marketing tactics, you need to have a clear objective and measurable goals in your social marketing campaign. Knowing how effective your tactics are can also help you determine your social media ROI and help you decide what tactics work and which don’t for your company.

TwitterFriends determines what they call a conversion quotient, which measures how effective your tweets are on Twitter by looking at how many @ replies you receive as well as re-tweets. The goal of Twitter for business owners should be to get as many @ replies (gains you exposure) and re-tweets (helps get your link/links exposed). Once you know how effective your efforts are you will be able to decide on the best social media outlets for your business.

Another great tool to use has been developed by Email Data Source. This tool will allow marketers to measure Twitter’s impact on the traditional brand marketing perspectives of reach, frequency and effectiveness. This tool seems similar to TwitterFriends in the sense it will help you understand what type of people are re-tweeting you, but explains it in a more traditional marketing way. This is a great tool for marketers who aren’t familiar with Twitter yet.

Getting Creative

This is always the fun part of any marketing campaign. There are many types of tactics out there that are useful for brand awareness and fun for the customer as well. Many companies are using quizzes to do this.

Jennifer Stolte, marketing director for Celestial Seasonings (who implemented a Facebook quiz earlier this year) says, “Social media is something that’s really growing. So many people are online, especially on Facebook, so we’re excited to step into the water.”

Another company doing social media right is Dunkin Donuts. Jesse Greco, founder of PRBreakfast Club says, “It’s the small things that they [Dunkin Donuts] truly excel at. They know how to keep consumers engaged and interested on a daily basis and they have a way of making you feel like you’re special, even as just one of their millions of consumers.”

In the end it is up to you how you are going to run your campaign. The main things to remember is research and use measurable means for your tactics. The world of Internet marketing is evolving fast, and it is up to you to keep up.

Shannon Suetos is a writer based in San Diego, California. She writes extensively for an online resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs such as payroll services & small business services at Resource Nation.

Guest article by Shannon Suetos from Resource Nation

The terms social media and social networking have been tossed around for quite some time now, but businesses are struggling with how to implement these strategies in their budgets.  How much is too much, how much is too little?  There are many factors on how to plan a budget, and the same goes for social media.

A study done by Econsultancy and bigmouthmedia has found that of the, “companies (86%) [they] surveyed plan to spend more money on social media in 2010, and a further 13% are planning to keep the same level of budget.”  With that being said, it seems the biggest struggle for companies is not that they don’t want to spend the money, but they don’t know what to spend it on.

Credit: TW Collins

The good news is many social media outlets are free.  Yes, there are programs you can purchase to help manage your accounts and are necessary for some social networking efforts, but for the most part it’s free to sign up on these sites.

Time

The main cost is how much time you are going to dedicate to your social media campaign.  Someone has to put into action your ideas, and they most likely aren’t going to work for free.  When writing up your budget make sure you take into account the time your employee(s) are going to be dedicating to this new project.

You also need to take into account if you need to hire someone to run your social media efforts.  With the social media industry becoming more popular, there are many people out there claiming to be social media gurus.  There are plenty of quality people in the industry who know what they are doing, but make sure you are getting someone with enough background in social media that makes you comfortable.

Monitoring

Once you have set up who and how much time will be spent on social media, the next step is to decide how you are going to monitor everything.  These analytical tools come in all shapes and sizes and the cost varies from application to application—and in some circumstances are free.

If you are just getting your feet wet, it is a good idea to start small and then grow.  See how effective your efforts are before going full blast.  You need to know where your target audience is engaging.  If your customers are mostly on Twitter and you aren’t there how will they get your message?  Play around with the different social networking sites and figure out which sites are best for your company.

Time will tell

Once you have done some research and dabbled in the different social networking you should be able to get a feel of what tactics work for your company and what don’t.  After you get a better feeling for where your key audience is participating with you, you can then focus your efforts and better know how to manage your time and money.

Shannon Suetos is a writer based in San Diego, California. She writes extensively for an online resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs such as postage meters & postage scales at Resource Nation.

I have a troll. Do you? We call him Spartacus. Trolls slither over the internet. They start as lurkers, then get brave, creep out and spit things at you. 10 out of 10 trolls feed on attention.

Negative or positive – they don’t care. Attention is the oxygen that keeps them going. Here’s the story of how I found my troll and what we may do next?

How did I get my troll?

I found him on LinkedIn. Or rather he found me. Then (this is true!) he popped up on my site. Odd, I thought, but ‘hey, it’s the web’. Then played peek-a-bo on Twitter (sad but true!) and back on my website again.

Little trolls fingers go click, click, click all day, looking for the next place to make a ‘stand’. Paradoxically, most trolls are highly-moral and like to sermonize. Middle-aged trolls especially. I guess the kids don’t listen to them at home, so they wander online.

Etymology of Trolls

Troll is possibly a truncation of the phrase trolling for suckers derived from the fishing technique of slowly dragging a baited hook from a moving boat, waiting for fish to strike, a technique known as trolling. The word also evokes the trolls portrayed in Scandinavian folklore and children’s tales, as they are often creatures bent on mischief and wickedness. The verb “troll” originates from Old French “troller”, a hunting term.

6 Signs of Trolls

1. Clinging to the high moral ground. They live there. Convenient, I guess.
2. Looking for a ‘fight’.
3. Having the last word. Trolls can’t rest unless they’ve had the final say thus…
4. Finishing tweets with the word PERIOD. Remember: it’s one-way traffic with these folks.
5. Warped pleasure in others misfortunes. Grammar police are often pseudo-trolls or apprentice trolls.
6. Quoting. Prepare to have biblical passages & Gandhi thrown at you. They’re better than you!

What to do with Trolls?

There are different ways to approach this:

1. Don’t correct them when they misquote passages.
2. Agree with them. This confuses the troll. What to do next?
3. Give them the last word and pray they go away.
4. ‘Even if this is true……’ and give your side
5. Although this is on-topic..’
6. Don’t DM your troll. Ever!
7. ‘Can you provide a source for this…’

We’ve nicknamed our troll Spartacus. He’s a bit of a joke at the table.

‘Any word from your Spartacus today?’

Over to you

Do you have a troll or trollette? How did you get rid of it? We’re hoping it will go away but sometimes I wonder what he’s doing now…

Ask. That’s it. If you want more Facebook fans, ask people to connect. But, here’s Catch 22. You have to ask in the right way. Asking strangers doesn’t work. Here’s how I do it.

Facebook: the Quickest Way To Get More Fans

I run twelve Facebook pages and this seems to work best. To get more followers:

1. Join groups – with less than 1000 members. More than this and you can’t make an impression.
   
2. Join fan pages – same as above. Choose niche or specialist subjects.
3. Contribute – add comments, photos and videos. Stand out from the crowd in a nice way. Don’t be weird!
4. Respond – to questions people have. Help others. Do this once a week minimum.
5. Suggest – quality links that you find that relate to the group.  Share, share, share.
6. Off Facebook – talk up your Facebook groups on your blog, LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/in/ivanwalsh) and elsewhere.

Then Ask!

Here’s how you ask:

1. Open Notepad
2. Copy/paste your invite text. Don’t write it from scratch every time. Keep this on your desktop, so you don’t  have to go rooting around.
3. Choose someone you’ve helped, complimented etc (i.e. they’ll most likely know who you are)
4. Click Add as Friend
5. Click the Add a Personal Message link.
   
6. Personalize the message, “Hi David, this is Ivan from the Camtasia group, if you’d like to connect, that would be great. Ivan.”
7. Click Send Request.

And that’s it

How about you?

What do you do when you want to connect to someone on Facebook? What’s the worst mistake people make? Spelling your name wrong?

While most consumers tightened their real-world purse strings in 2009, but that did not seem to hurt sales of virtual goods. Users of virtual world Second Life spent $567 million buying virtual goods in 2009. 65% year-over-year increase in spending on user-generated virtual items for avatars. It’s marketplace saw virtual goods sales of $6.1 million. The economy is based on the Linden™ dollar (L$), Second Life’s virtual currency. You can buy and sell L$ on the LindeX™ the official virtual currency exchange of Second Life. In 2008 more than USD $100 million worth of L$ were bought and sold on the LindeX. While Facebook gets the media hype, Second Life generates real money – even though it starts as virtual money. Let’s look at the figures.

Second Life: Virtual Economies Continue To Rise

Second Life’s worldwide user base increased by 15% to 769 million, while the amount of time spent in the virtual world climbed even faster, by more than 21%, indicating increased engagement.

In 2009, Piper Jaffray predicted more than $2.2 billion in virtual goods revenues worldwide, including $621 million in the US. By 2013, more than $6 billion will be spent worldwide on virtual items.

It predicted that virtual worlds such as Second Life would fall behind in the virtual-goods economy while social network players like Facebook become more involved in the space.

Second Life Highlights of Q4 2009

• US$153 million in User-to-User Transactions, 53% growth over the same quarter last year
• All-time high and continuing rapid growth for the Xstreet SL online marketplace
• All-time high in Monthly Repeat Logins, at 769,000 in December 2009
• 3.1 billion Voice minutes, up 15% from the same quarter last year

Total user hours continued to trend downward in Q4 while peak concurrency remained flat. This decline stems from a decrease in user hours contributed by heavy usage accounts (300+ hours per months).

Second Life Economy – Financial Highlights

• User-to-User transactions in 2009 totaled US$567 million in 2009, growth of 65% over 2008.
• Virtual currency in circulation reached L$6.95 billion, growth of 23% over December 2008
• US Dollar value of L$ in circulation totaled US$26.5 million in December 2009
• Sales of User Generated virtual items on Xstreet SL, reached L$1.6 billion or US$6.1 million, growth of 74% over 2008
• Total US dollar value of all Linden dollars traded on the LindeX™ currency exchange in 2009 reached US$115 million in value,  7% growth over 2008
• Total US dollar value of all Linden dollars traded on the Xstreet SL™ currency exchange in 2009 reached US$1.5 million in value, 169% growth over 2008

Cary Rosenzweig, CEO of IMVU, another virtual world with extensive user-to-user virtual item offerings, described that service as “more like an e-commerce company … in the sense that we get our money from the purchase of these virtual credits that people use to buy virtual items.

“Virtual goods have value to people,” Mr. Rosenzweig told eMarketer. “People buy virtual goods usually for one of three reasons: to express themselves—so they’re buying virtual goods to make their avatar look terrific—or to build relationships with other people in the form of gifts. And [the] third reason, especially in gaming environments, is that virtual goods enhance your power to effect change, to win, to do what you would like to do in that area.”

Do you buy Virtual Goods?

Have you ever bought any Virtual Goods for your avatar? How much would you pay to bling your avatar or online user experience? What do you think are the main barriers for Second Life? Do people think it’s too weird? Do you use it?

What’s the most common mistake people make when shooting their first video? Christopher Ming Ryan points out that most video-makers don’t get in close enough to the person talking. This lessens the impact of the message. Zoom in. Frame the face. Here’s some tips from Ivan.

#1 Mistake When Making Your First YouTube Video

I took this video in Beijing. Twice. In the second take, I’m closer to you and the impact is better. The first take was scrapped. Pointless.

But I still made mistakes:

• The sun is in my eyes, which is why I’m squinting
• The noise was louder that you’d think, making it harder to concentrate
• The camera was not stabilized, i.e. free-hand. Try to use a tripod if possible.

How to Make a Near Perfect YouTube Video

Ok, it’s not on YT, but you get the point. Seth Godin is the guy talking.

Try and beat this!

‘curiosity’ from Nic Askew on Vimeo.

What Other Mistakes Did You See?

This video is far from perfect. I know that. What else did I do wrong?

Fire away below!

What’s the difference between men and women when they go online? eMarketer highlight that when women go online entertainment takes a backseat to utility and socializing, usually with people they already know. Men’s surfing habits are different.

5 Ways UK Women Use Social Media Different Than Men

The report shows that in the UK, women are much less likely than men to seek out entertainment or pass the time on the Internet or mobile phone.

1. Women typically share content and experiences with selected friends.
2. UK women are less numerous than men online; 79% penetration compared with men’s 84%, according to Eurostat.
3. Daily usage is high; data from Nielsen indicates engagement is increasing.
4. Involvement in the social media world, where women’s adoption is outpacing men’s, is rising.
5. Women Internet users were 8% more likely than males to have a social networking site profile.

“Social networks are a primary channel for women online to strengthen existing bonds with friends and family,” said Ms. von Abrams.

According to data from Universal McCann, women’s top activities on social networks in 2009 included managing their own profile and visiting blogs maintained by people they knew.

Men, by contrast, were more interested in making new contacts.

Do Women Use Social Media Different Than Men?

Do these finding surprise you?

What do you see as the main difference in how men and women use the internet? If you’re a man, do you use it to make new contacts or strengthen your existing friendships?

I’ve started to use my social networks more strategically rather than adopting a ‘shotgun approach’. In other words, I try to leverage each site by seeing the opportunities it offers and then using these. Recently, I’ve started to shift away from Facebook and moved to LinkedIn.

Ivan Walsh's Linkedin Profile page

5 Reasons You Should Leave Facebook and Join LinkedIn

What does LinkedIn offer that Facebook doesn’t? Here are five reasons to Leave Facebook and join LinkedIn instead.

1. Target Audience – the average age on Facebook is 20 something and female. It’s a great place to meet people, swap videos, and chat. But it’s not a business platform. LinkedIn’s average age is 41. Most everyone is a business professional trying to meet other business professionals. So, for me, this gives it a huge edge of Facebook.
2. Business Groups – LinkedIn is designed around business groups. You can join these and instantly connect with people with similar interest. On Facebook, there may be fan pages, but it’s often just that, fans! No real dialogue goes on.
3. Recommendations – you can build relationships with people on LinkedIn and once they know/trust/do business with you, will give you recommendations. These professional endorsements give you an element of credibility that you don’t get elsewhere. And while this can be abused (I recommend you if you recommend me) it does seem to work.
4. Integration with other platforms – you can connect to LinkedIn from multiple social media portals, such as BusinessWeek, AMEX Open Platform, and even from Facebook.
5. Knowledge Exchange – I’ve kept the best for last. The conversations I have on LinkedIn are with the best people in their fields. You can learn a huge amount just by listening. Ask questions and see what comes back. The quality is very high. And unlike other sites, the conversations rarely degenerate into slanging matches. You can also receive the comments by email every day or bundled into a single email every week.

I will highlight other business benefits in the coming weeks. These are the first that come to mind.

Your thoughts

What do you think of LinkedIn? How does it compare to other business sites you’ve used? What would you like to see changed in it? How could it be improved?

PS – You can view my profile here – http://www.linkedin.com/in/ivanwalsh

If you have multiple Twitter accounts, want to schedule your tweets, want to see stats on your tweets, and want it all in a new user interface, then try Hootsuite. I used to use TweetDeck but have moved to Hootsuite as it offers better stats and integration with Facebook. Here are 10 tips to get the most out of this desktop twitter client.

1. How to add multiple Twitter accounts

To add multiple Twitter accounts (ie profiles), click Settings and then the Social Networks tab.

Enter your Twitter credentials and it will display in a new tab (usually to the right).

2. How to allow an Editor (e.g. friend) to access a Twitter profile?

Once you have added an editor to your account, click the Social Networks tab in Settings. Select the Twitter profiles an editor can have access to.

Click the box next to the editor(s) name in order to grant access to the Twitter profile.

3. How to monitor my brands?

Set up a search column or a keyword column.

Click Add Column and enter the keywords you want to track. This column is displayed to the right of the screen.

4. How to add tabs?

To add a tab, click the [+] Add Tab button next to your current tabs .

Name it and decide how often you’d like that tab to refresh.

Hootsuite gives you 20 tabs – should be enough!.

5. How to add columns to tabs?

Click Add Column and choose which type of feed you’d like to add.

6. How to configure column options?

The Profile Feed lets you add your Home feed, Mentions feed, Pending tweets, Sent tweets, and Favorite tweets.

7. How to use Keyword Tracking

Enter the keyword and then hit Add.

Hootsuite lets you create customized Twitter searches and perform searches like “from:username” or @username

8. How to change refresh frequency?

Click Edit Tab and select the frequency.

The default is 30 min.

9. How to change the user interface layout

You can drag and drop the tabs to change thee layout.You can also drag/drop the columns in each profile.10 How to create a List?

Create a new column and click Lists.

Enter an existing list or create a new one.

Here I’ve added a LinkedIn list. This let’s me see all the people I have ‘tagged’ as having useful links/info regarding LinkedIn.

Do you know any other good Hootsuite tricks? If you do, please add them below.

For those of you with an interest in social media and real-time data distribution, Adobe’s Andrew Shorten talks to Iain Dodsworth, founder of TweetDeck, about his experiences of developing this AIR application and how using Adobe technology contributed to TweetDeck’s success. See this intervieww withTweetdeck_Founder