LinkedIn, Aim, Digg, Myspace, Squidoo, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit express some holiday cheer!

It’s now November and Christmas is just 52 days away. Gift shopping, turkey feasting, and snow shoveling (Hope I don’t jinx it!) seem to occupy the top of your to-do list, and tweeting and posting may not be such a priority. Anyone who engages in social media, either personally or professionally, knows that it’s one of those tasks you know you have dedicate time to, but when things get crazy busy with work projects and personal schedules, it’s what usually gets pushed aside. Here are a few basic tips to keep in mind that will make sure your Klout score doesn’t suffer during one of the busiest times of the year.

1. Start now and plan ahead

Take a cue from department stores that are already playing Christmas songs and selling holiday decor. Start thinking about what topics you should be blogging, posting, and tweeting about now so, when you have to leave work early for that holiday party, you’re covered. Tools like HootSuite and Crowdbooster allow you to schedule tweets and Facebook posts to be published at a future, predetermined time which is really useful when you’re out on vacation or just plain swamped.

2. Be timely and newsworthy

The risk you encounter when you schedule tweets and posts is that your content may be stale (or as Eric would say, “So nine minutes ago!”) by the time it gets pushed out. For your content to stay relevant, don’t just say what happened, but include your take on it. Don’t tweet “It’s 52 days till Christmas,” but say “Tips for tweeting your Christmas countdown.” This is where your brand’s voice comes in giving your content added value.

3. Go mobile

If you haven’t already, definitely get access to your social platforms on your smart phone. Some of you might be thinking that this is a given, but just this week, I’ve encountered a few people who work in the online media field who don’t have Twitter and Facebook apps on their phone. Enough said.

4. Keep your audience top of mind

It’s important to remind yourself when generating content, that your audience is in the same boat. They’re also as busy as you, if not more, and you have a smaller window of opportunity to engage them. Echoing number 2, be smart about when and what you tweet. If you know that most of your audience tend to comment on Facebook during their lunch break, then concentrate your Facebook activity at that time. Crowdbooster has a useful feature that gives you suggested times on when you should tweet and Facebook post based on previous clicks, replies, and shares on your content.

5. Get in the holiday spirit

One “perk” of this busy season is since there is a lot going on, there’s more to talk about. Do your coworkers decorate their offices? (Yes, Danielle, I’m talking about you.) Is your company holding a holiday marketing campaign, sale, promotion or the like? These all make for good ideas for blogging, posting, and tweeting. Tis’ the season to be jolly after all.

These simple and somewhat logical tips do not only apply to the holiday season and can be quite helpful if practiced throughout the year. Just based on my informal research, people rarely follow all of the above which can save you a lot of time and maybe even your sanity. If you have any other tips in mind, please do share!

I am a sucker for beautiful packaging. So it is no surprise that while drifting through the aisles at my local Safeway three years ago, I spied some hand soap and moisturizer that was absolutely beautiful and also at closeout prices. Needless to say, as the bargain shopper that I am, I scarfed up 10 bars of soap and several bottles of body wash. And that is how I was introduced to the Method brand, one of the most progressive brands in the market today.

When customers expressed their thoughts on the blog to changes to the packaging, a Method employee gave an informed and thoughtful response

I recommend spending some time on their website and to pay close attention to their social media (Twitter and Facebook) since they seem to be doing everything right. They use their site and their blog to tap into the desires of their loyal fan base—and most importantly they actually listen and act on what users say. Take the pink grapefruit dish soap. Now this is a dish soap that I can really get behind—it has a lovely smell, has great packaging and is priced right. About a year ago they decided to change not only the packaging, but to rotate in a new fragrance. BTW—they are unique in that they are constantly changing fragrances and producing limited editions. If a limited edition proves to be very popular, it is elevated to permanent status. Well, pink grapefruit was rotated out. Pink grapefruit lovers were irked, voiced their complaints, and the company has brought back the fragrance and will most likely give it permanent status.

Not only is Method customer friendly, but environmentally friendly as well. Method uses the minimum amount of materials when creating their package design, and the few materials that are used, are  biodegradable. Even the product (inside their package) has been designed to be eco friendly as well. Their site has a section devoted to the environment, their products and many of the their mantras have to do with being more eco-friendly.

Perhaps what I like most about this brand is that they are aggressive about engaging their audience. Their blog is up-to-date and interesting. They listen to and respond to comments in a thoughtful way, and their web presence fosters a friendly, engaged, progressive brand, and most importantly, they have brought back pink grapefruit!

My Facebook profile is being stalked!

Do you remember when you were a child and your mother told you not to take candy from strangers? Well, this general rule still stays true as an adult, and apparently also in the interactive space.

TakeThisLillipop.com is a website that has gone viral on Facebook and Twitter for the past few days and presents a terrifying interactive experience that taps into everyone’s inner fears of social privacy issues. When you first enter the site you’re tempted by an image of a lollipop (with a “hidden” blade) and a simple, but provoking statement: “I Dare You.” If you do dare enter, you are prompted to grant access to your Facebook account—not much different from when you use social apps or games on Facebook. Now, I only proceeded because Brandon swore it was harmless—well, I guess only physically. You are then taken though your own little personalized, Halloween-appropriate, horror film. The victim? You.

Without divulging the details of the experience (you have to go and experience it for yourself!), the three-minute video showcases what could happen if a Michael Myers/Norman Bates/Chucky-type got ahold of your Facebook profile, and used your information to hunt you down. There is a disclaimer on the homepage that states your information won’t be saved, but it does teach everyone a valuable lesson: use social media wisely and know your privacy settings. Digital marketer Jason Zada is the mind behind the site, and in an Ad Age Digital article, he spoke about how “the scariest part is that your information is in the video. The piece is scary because a person is violating your privacy, not because it’s bloody or there’s anything jumping out.”

Social media is a very power tool for communication available to basically everyone, but everyone who uses it should have a basic understanding who sees what, and what granting access to your account means. Facebook has a very straightforward and informative Privacy section in its Help Center. I suggest everyone take 10 minutes to get to know the basics of protecting your information. I generally would have preferred less shock value—I still get the creeps thinking about it—but this site is certainly diabolically brilliant.

The actor who plays the stalker, Bill Oberst Jr., gives such a creepy stare.

Facebook stealthily made two fairly big announcements yesterday afternoon—one is the launch of the long-awaited Facebook for iPad app and the other is the announcement of social apps being extended to mobile platforms. These two announcements seem to come hand in hand showing the network’s strong push to go mobile.

Just based on a glance at my Twitter feed and a few opinions from colleagues, not many really care about the new iPad app. I, however, am quite happy that it’s finally available. If you are a casual Facebook user and just need basic access to notifications and the News Feed, existing apps such as Friendly and MyPad should more than suffice your needs. But for someone who spends a considerable time logged in for both work and personal reasons, I often find that those other apps are not as easy on the eyes and to use as they could be. That is another story all together. The major difference between these apps and Facebook’s is that the native app is as robust (if not more with a few cool additional features) and easy to navigate as viewing in a browser. It mimics the browser experience which is crucial for me who manages a few pages and groups on top of a personal profile.

The left menu allows for quick navigation such as accessing Grafik's page

In light of that, the rift between the browser and mobile Facebook experience is further closing with the start of social apps availability on the iPhone, iPad, iTouch and the mobile site with Android coming soon. Facebook Software Development Engineer Luke Shepard wrote on the developer’s blog about using social channels such as Bookmarks, Requests, and the News Feed to propel the use apps and create a more seamless integration of both the web and mobile experiences. You can view which apps and games are now mobile ready here.

Invitations to third-party apps and games can now be accessed and opened via mobile

According to a new study from ComScore, U.S. mobile web traffic grew 19 percent from last year to 116 million people, almost half of the U.S. population. That number is just likely to increase and these steps by Facebook show that this is definitely a market worth watching out for.

Last week, Mark Zuckerberg announced a major redesign of the Facebook profile. To be rolling out in the coming weeks, the new profile called Timeline aims to paint a more accurate picture of who you are.

“Timeline is the story of your life,” said Mark Zuckerberg. “All your stories, all your apps, express who you are.”

Timeline will essentially take all your profile’s content—photos, comments, activities, events, apps, etc.—and reweave them into a timeline format that goes as far back as the day you were born. The Timeline highlights the most important content, with what seems to have a strong emphasis on photos, wherein your more recent activities are in detail and then becomes more summarized as you go further down the timeline. Think of it as the scrapbook of your life, but all in one single Facebook page.

As I watched Zuckerberg explain the new features onstage at the f8 developer conference, it made me realize my reliance on the social network to learn about new and existing friends—consequently, also the importance of the accuracy of the profile.

The look of my Facebook Timeline

When I meet someone and I generally get along with that person, it has become my instinct to look for that person on Facebook and add them as a friend. If I want to learn about that person I just met or catch up on what my other friends are doing lately, I turn to their Facebook profiles—that is if I don’t readily have the opportunity to catch up in person. Just as the name suggests, Facebook is essentially an online book resource of who you are. But, does it really reflect who you are? Your accomplishments, interests and what you do? I believe to some extent it does express your basic info and what you have been up to recently, but it does not depict a true picture of who you are—the important events, relationships, and experiences in your life. And Timeline aims to change that with the use of new social apps.

One of the first apps I installed was Spotify which shows on my Timeline the music I'm listening to as well as what my friends are listening to.

The new Open Graph Apps seamlessly integrate within your Timeline. Divided in different categories such as games, media, and lifestyle, apps are a new way of showing your interests and activities on your profile in a much more robust fashion than the simple “Like” button. One interesting facet about these apps is how easy they are to add and use boasting about the ridding of useless prompts after the initial add.

I was able to get the Timeline profile yesterday and have just barely scratched the surface on how rich Timeline and the apps truly are. Overall, it may take some getting used to, but I like this change. I was starting to feel like the Facebook interface was getting cluttered with small add ons here and there and this fresh, streamlined look is a lot more pleasing to the eye, at least to mine.

You can view your Facebook Places check-ins plotted on a map

What do you think about Timeline? Love it? Hate it? I would love to hear your thoughts. If your profile hasn’t converted yet, watch the short introduction video here.

Due to a mixture of out-of-town trips, getting sick, and just plain piling up of work, I wasn’t able to post a social media review last week. But, there’s no need to fret. Although still a slave to seasonal allergies, I’m back with a more aggregated rundown of the interesting stories in social media this past two weeks.

Facebook launches a Subscribe button and Friend Lists

Facebook seems to be taking a cue from competitors Twitter and Google+ with the debut of the Subscribe button which allows users to follow anyone’s profile updates whether you are their friend with that person or not, and Friend Lists which enables users to arrange their various friend connections into lists. Doesn’t this sound familiar? If you subscribe to a user’s updates from someone who is a friend, you can keep track of more than just public updates and can also customize what kind of updates you would like see in your Newsfeed. With Friend Lists, users have the option to put their friends in either the basic, smart, or custom lists (see the differences here) and the lists are directly integrated with the chat and Newsfeed functions. Do you think Facebook is experiencing an identity crisis or is integrating Twitter and Google+’s key elements a smart move? Source

Twitter introduces an analytics tool and serves branded tweets to non-followers

It’s a little late in the game, but Twitter finally releases their own measurement feature called Twitter Web Analytics. The tool aims to give website owners a better grasp of how much of their content is being shared in the Twitterverse, how much traffic is driven to their website via Twitter, and how effective is their website’s Twitter integration. This means A LOT to companies and online marketers (given they are not already using a different tool that provides this insight) because this sheds light on just how beneficial a company’s Twitter activity is. Another new Twitter offering that greatly affects businesses, is branded tweets for non-followers of the brand. Last month, I blogged about the introduction of Promoted Tweets which allows brands to place their tweets at the top of their followers feed (take note: you must be a follower of that brand to see the tweet). This restriction has stunted Twitter’s revenue growth so now they have announced that brands can inject ads into users’ feeds, even if they are not brand followers. This is definitely great for companies wanting to advertise on this platform, but as a user, I would hate to get “spammed” ads from brands I don’t care for. Wouldn’t you? Source

100 million is the magic number for both Twitter and Klout

Twitter has reached 100 million registered, active users. Announced in a blog post, this milestone also marks five years since Founder Jack Dorsey aka @jack sent his first tweet to only seven followers. Twitter has definitely come a long way since then. Coincidentally, Klout also announced their 100 millionth Klout score via blog post. This means two things at minimum. First, there are 100 million Twitter users who identify the importance in engaging with social media, enough to actively tweet. Second, there are 100 million people who are strategically looking at their performance and influence over various social media mediums. Two years ago, I would start the day reading the paper versions of the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, and WWD before going out to produce a video news story to be published at 6:00 P.M. when I used to report for an online publication. Now, I start my day reading news from the WaPo and NYT Twitter feeds and tweet my blogs and videos at any time of the day. Obviously, Twitter, and social media in general, has changed the way I consume and produce information. How has social media changed the way you communicate?

First we all had to deal with finding embarrassing tagged photos of ourselves on Facebook for everybody to see, like that shot of you in a bathing suit when you were 14. PittPatt, a new application developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon, makes all of that seem like child’s play. They have developed an app that can take a photo of a person, and through advanced facial recognition can find his identity by searching through the millions of images on Facebook, Picasa, Flickr, or Google.

Imagine that you are taking a walk through the park with your dog. A stranger approaches, snaps a shot of you. He can immediately identify you and find all of the publicly available images of you in less than a minute. It does not matter if you are wearing a mask, glasses, or a hat tilted at a roguish angle obscuring your face. PittPatt’s proprietary technology can still find your match. Even scarier—not only are you identified to total strangers, but the application scans public databases. It can take a pretty good guess at your social security number, if it can pick up your birthday from Facebook. Armed with your social security number it can get close to accessing lots of important financial data as well. YIKES!!

Is PittPatt a Pandora's Box?

PittPatt is not available to the public yet—for now, we’ll have to wait for a hacker, or leak for this to spread. The technology that powers PittPatt was developed in the early 1990s as a reaction to 9/11. Post World Trade Center, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency was interested in investigating advanced spatial recognition and poured millions of dollars into R&D. So far the app has been kept under wraps, but it has just been announced that Google has purchased PittPatt in July. Google states that they do not know if, or when, they will make this application available, but they promise not to launch it unless stringent privacy protections are put in place. Given all of the recent “WikiLeaks” from supposedly secure sites, I wonder just how long before this application will be in the hands of the wrong people.

Technological advances can be wonderful if there are protections in place. It seems to me that we are facing a Pandora’s box where protection of personal privacy could be completely eliminated. Is this a box we really want to open?

The future of facial recognition online is here, now!

Driving into the office from the beach a few weekends ago, I was face to face with an eye catching Monsanto billboard. I wish I could have captured a photograph of the billboard but I was zipping along the road and there was no way to snap a shot of it. And, that is precisely the point.  Monsanto’s advertising and social media is well executed, especially for a behemoth corporation that is often in the crosshairs of environmental groups.

Their “America’s farmers grow America” is a smart, beautiful campaign that most advertising agencies would be proud to show. So I was surprised to see this billboard with a large QR code on the lower right-hand side of the ad. What ever possessed them to put a QR code on a billboard on a major highway? Was it to show that they are tech savvy? To demonstrate the latest “hip” technique? Whatever the reason, it is certain that almost no one, especially drivers passing at 55 mph are going to whip out their phones, center on the code, and then peruse a site while they are driving. Oh, and did I mention that it is illegal in the State of Maryland to use a cell phone while driving?

This is not to say that QR codes do not belong on billboard spaces. There have been QR codes used successfully on billboards notably, Calvin Klein’s billboards that were focused not on drivers in Manhattan but pedestrians. And in all of the successful QR billboards the code is very large allowing the pedestrian to easily get it into the crosshairs of their RedLaser application. In Monsanto’s case the QR code was very small and not the main feature.

On the other hand, that morning as I entered the elevator lobby there was a very poorly designed flyer taped to the wall advertising a free seminar offered by a law firm in the building. On the bottom of the flyer was a QR code. Standing there waiting for the elevator (we have the slowest elevators in the world), I did use the QR code to find out more information about the event.

The point? Appropriate use of technology always trumps early adoption. And employing technology without understanding how it will actually be used leaves you open to potshots from people like me. QR codes have their place, and we have used them successfully for many of our clients, but putting them on billboards on high speed highways is just plain silly, and I doubt that this was Monsanto’s intention.

Foursquare Speaks Five New Languages

Last Thursday, Foursquare expanded their language offering by adding five new languages to their app—Bahasa Indonesian, Korean, Russian, Portuguese, and Thai. With a reported 10+ million users globally, this is the second wave of language translations after the addition of French, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese last February.

Given the recent introduction of Tip Lists and event check-ins, Foursquare is proving to be quite a power tool for brands. Now with the app available in numerous languages, this location-based social service has also, in my opinion, further increased its appeal to global brands. What do you think of the language additions? Which languages should they add next? Source

Crowdbooster Launches Intuitive Social Medial Dashboard

Yes, another social media dashboard has hit the market, but is it just like any other dashboard out there? Apparently not. Last Wednesday, Crowdbooster launched the public beta offering of its “intelligent social media optimization, monitoring and analytics platform.” Crowdbooster’s technology differentiates itself with its ability to understand one’s social activity and, consequently, suggest what to share, when and with whom.

A Y Combinator startup, Crowdbooster can make such recommendations by producing detailed analytics across Facebook and Twitter—evaluating the popularity of content based on Retweets, Mentions, Replies, Likes, Impressions, and Comments—among other key features. This can be quite revolutionary for social media marketers. Managing numerous social media accounts can quickly be overwhelming (believe me, I know) just because of its real-time nature. The ability to cut through massive amounts of information to the content that counts is invaluable to a marketer or anyone looking to have a meaningful social media presence. I am looking forward to giving this dashboard a try. Keep a lookout for my review. Source

Condé Nast Leverages “Tweets” and Facebook “Likes” For Online Magazines

Last Wednesday, Condé Nast kickedoff the Social Sidekick which aggregates content from Style.com, Glamour, Self, Teen Vogue, Lucky and W . This module allows readers click to view cross-publication content that have been popular across Facebook and Twitter, and gives advertisers additional space to advertise and promote branded multimedia content.

This feature, which is a floating bar at the bottom of each site page, may be new to Condé Nast, but the concept isn’t. Other sites, like Gawker.com and Wired.com, already have the option to view most popular and most shared articles, but Condé Nast is hoping to not only further promote already well-received content, but to also cross promote articles among their many publications with the consumer’s social media engagement in mind. As an avid reader of Style.com, I’d like to see if this new feature does, in fact, get me to read content on their other sites—sites I very rarely visit. Do you think this new feature is a game changer? Source

The Social Sidekick is a floating bar located on the bottom of each page.

Gucci is the first brand to advertise on the Social Sidekick module which expands to the menu shown here.

Grafik has been fighting the fight against Prostate Cancer with partner and client, the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PFC) for two years since we were first chosen to work with the organization to evolve the brand, design their website and mobile app, and support them with ongoing programs and promotions. Inherent in Grafik culture, is our passion to support our clients in whatever way we can. So this month, Grafik is indeed “Blue All Over.” Our normally orange logo has gone blue . . . everywhere it appears—Twitter, Facebook, our blog . . . yes, even on the homepage of our website! And we are not stopping there.

We recently developed a microsite to launch the Blue All Over campaign, as well as designed t-shirts that are for sale on the site. Grafik has gifted a shirt to each staff member and has asked in return, that our staff “pay it forward” and reach out to an important man in their life, and spark an important conversation about becoming aware of prostate cancer by gifting the shirt to them. We will be sharing these stories all month. You can follow our progress with updates here on our blog, on facebook, and on twitter—#whatitoldhim.

We are spreading the word with these great Grafik-designed shirts!

In other PCF news, Grafik was proud to be an invited guest at the ringing of the closing bell at NASDAQ this week. And trust me, it was a huge effort to make our way there!  Hurricane Irene threw a wrench in our transportation plans as Amtrak still wasn’t running. But with dogged determination, Lance and I got on a very shady magical, mystery bus, to support all of our friends at PCF for the ringing of the bell and the kickoff of the Take Aim campaign and Prostate Cancer Awareness month. It was a well worth the effort and a seriously cool experience.

PCF ringing the closing bell at NASDAQ

So, stay tuned to see how the Grafites personally spread the word about prostate cancer. We know men don’t talk about it, but they should! So if you need some inspiration to talk to the important men in your life, check back here to find out how we have been doing it. I’m off to call my Dad and start the ball rolling.