Photo Sharing Don't's

A few random thoughts about photo-sharing:

Be careful about copyright violations when using photos you didn't personally shoot. A story in the New York Times ("Enforcing Copyrights Online, for a Profit",http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/business/media/03righthaven.html?pagewanted=1&_r=3) tells about a 20-year-old blogger being sued for using a picture of an airport security person doing a pat-down of a traveler. It didn't matter that the picture had already "gone viral" by the time the young man put in on his blog. The lawsuit was filed by Righthaven, a company that is in the business of finding copyright violations for newspapers, and then filing the lawsuit. The company has been criticized for "trolling for lawsuits".

Be honest. A Honda product manage got into hot water for commenting on Facebook about a photo of a new Honda model without identifying himself. Apparently, Honda put the photo of the new car on Facebook and asked for comments from friends. A lot of comments were negative so the product manager decided to add his two cents. He was "outed" and made to look foolish.
("5 Social Media Disasters", http://www.penn-olson.com/2009/09/21/5-social-media-disasters/)

The new app, "Color" was backed up with $41-million in start-up money. (Color: A Twitter for Photo and Video", http://blogs.forbes.com/bruceupbin/2011/03/23/color-a-twitter-for-photo-and-video-launches-with-41-million/) It's supposed to be a Twitter-like app for photos but reviews have been less than glowing. ("Color App is Universally Slammed, Expecially by One Reviewer", http://appadvice.com/appnn/2011/03/color-app-universally-slammed-reviewer) I'm not really sure I get it. You take pictures and can also see pictures from other amateur photographers who are near you. One problem is that the app was launched with so much fanfare (and so much money!) I think it was doomed to be heavily criticized from the start.

Do your pictures belong to you? An article in the Business Insider about Twitpic's Terms of Service ("Be Careful What You Post: Twitpic May Be Keeping Photos Even After You Delete Them", http://www.businessinsider.com/twitpic-updates-terms-of-service-2011-5) explains that, while your pictures belong to you, Twitpic can still use them. On Facebook, just because you delete a picture from your site, it still may exist on a friend's page.

And finally, Anthony Wiener is the poster child for over-sharing. But there are plenty of examples of photo sharing gone wrong. They are cautionary tales that remind us not to post anything we wouldn't want Grandma to see.

Wiki What?

If only I had learned about WikiHow before I tried doing a faux finish on one of my bedroom walls, before I started knitting, before I painted my kitchen cabinets. Now that I've found it, I can learn how to put my hair in a classic ponytail, make ramen noodles in my coffee maker and drive a tractor.

Wikis help us be experts in everything and knowledgeable about all. Which reminds me of the saying, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."

Too many people are deluded into thinking they're experts and, therefore, must share their expertise with everyone. Which is why we must approach wikis with caution. Yes, it's great to be able to democratize knowledge. Yes, it's wonderful to get an answer to every question whenever we want it.

But wikis, like almost everything else on the internet, should be viewed with searching, skeptical eye and a healthy dose of common sense. Just because it's there doesn't mean it's true.

Having said that, I admit I'm a huge fan of WikiHow. It's an easy place to get a quick injection of information about almost anything. I can see it as a handy starting point for research on a project or hobby. I just won't go searching medical information when I should be calling the doctor.

As a volunteer at my church, I wish I had used a wiki to organize large projects, such as the "Pie Festival" event I chaired for two years running. Not only would it be helpful in terms of organizing the event, working with my committee and designating tasks, it would provide an excellent record of information for the incoming chair.

I can also see how wikis could be very useful as an internal tool for businesses. I'd like to see our office adopt some kind of wiki that provides information and instructions for our staff. For example, it would be helpful to have written instructions on how to make video files for Youtube or the media hub at UNL. We could have an area devoted to best practices and formats for writing news releases or creating a podcast. Wikis could also help our staff share information about what we're working on so that we can team up and work together more efficiently.

Forums

When it comes to internet forums, I'm definitely a "lurker", as described in Chapter 6 of the Social Media Bible. I like to log on to various forums to see the comments, but I don't add my own. It's fascinating to see on-going discussions and arguments and watch actual friendships develop between active members. While I'm not interested in that kind of "cyber-life" for myself, I can see where it could be a valuable tool for building community.

As with many other forms of social media, one of the key elements is honesty and openness. It's important to win the trust of other forum members and not be doing a hard-sell right off the bat. In the article, "12 Keys To Successful Forum Marketing", (http://onlinebusiness.about.com/od/gettingtrafficmarketing/tp/forum-marketing.htm), author Gregory Go recommends using forums as way to provide helpful information.

"This is the key to successful forum marketing," Go writes. "Whenever anyone asks a question related to your products or services, dazzle them with incredibly useful answers. These situations are opportunities to demonstrate your expertise and to generate good will. Backup your advice with links to trusted sources, and respond to follow up questions quickly.Leave out your sales pitch in the beginning. Any hint of bias in your initial posts will erase all your hard work. By keeping your answers objective, the entire community will start thinking of you as a trusted expert. They will soon start asking you for your recommendations. When you get direct inquiries for recommendations you may then safely mention your business without appearing biased."

I do think there's still room for misuse of forum sites by businesses. I remember reading about companies that would hire people to pose as unbiased users of a product in order to provide rave reviews on forum sites. I often visit the site TripAdvisor.com before I take a vacation to check out reviews of hotels and resorts. But I'm always aware that glowing reviews could be coming from hotel employees, for example, especially of most of the other comments are not as positive.

One of the reasons I like the site, VRBO.com ), Vacation Rental By Owner, is that you can often contact the person by email or on the phone and actually talk to them. I get a better feeling from speaking directly to a property owner and asking questions. There are definitely limitations to using social media for advice on the purchase of a product.

Goodbye PC, Hello Cloud

I write this blog on the day Apple announced iCloud, a service that will allow consumers to keep photos, music, books, videos, documents, all in the same place and then synchronize the information so that it can be used across all platforms. That way, you'd have easy access to the information from your mobile phone, your iPad or any other device that has internet access.

The Washington Post with Bloomberg Business report says iCloud is a step toward the demise of the personal computer. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/icloud-cloud-computing-services-promise-to-change-the-way-we-use-computers/2011/06/06/AGBdTgKH_story.html)

The report quotes Paul Saffo, managing director of foresight at Discern Analytics.

"The whole idea of a standalone personal computer with a big processor is going the way of the VCR," said Saffo. "Steve Jobs, who delivered personal computing to the rest of us, is now doing more through the iCloud to get rid of personal computing than anyone.

Cloud computing is not new. Washington Post with Bloomberg reports new technologies are forcing companies like Microsoft and Dell to struggle to keep up.

"Saffo added that some of those companies haven’t quite figured it out. Founder Michael Dell was rehired at Dell largely to deal with the emergence of the cloud, Saffo said, and Microsoft is just 'stumbling.'

'It’s a rough transition for those used to selling keyboards,' he said."

The story reports many government agencies are "embracing cloud computing." Companies like Amazon and Kindle already use cloud technology.

So what does this mean for social media?

Chapter 5 in the Social Media Bible discusses the importance of web sites as a vehicle for connecting with your audience, selling a product, providing information. But I think the traditional website will have to change dramatically in order to be part of the trend toward smaller, faster, more mobile.

If the predictions are true, and small, portable devices replace personal computers, websites will have to be redesigned to live and breathe on the small screen. Information, transactions, conversations will have to take place in an environment that fits the smart phone and the iPad. Web designers will need to create sites for the small screen first, instead of creating a full website with a mobile version.

In a way, social media is already moving that direction. More and more, users are tweeting from a restaurant, checking in on Four Square and posting pictures from a phone. They are more trusting of web applications and more willing to trust the small device over the personal computer.

Websites have to play catchup. Smart businesses will need to think ahead to a time when a larger percentage of the population is equipped with mobile devices and more likely to own an iPad than a desktop or even a laptop.

I've resisted getting a smart phone. But I can see that's where we're headed so I probably will jump on board within a year or so. It's going to soon be a requirement and in order to stay ahead, I'll need to make the investment.

I just got back from a day trip to see the Jun Kaneko exhibit at the Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha. It was absolutely beautiful and I've decided that when I win the lottery, I'm going to own a Kaneko sculpture. (I will put it in the backyard, next to the pond and waterfall.)

On the way back from Omaha, we stopped in Ashland for some wine tasting. And, of course, I had to buy a bottle of wine at the tasting room and sign up with my e-mail address to be notified of future events.

I am on MANY e-mail lists. It's my own fault; I sign up for them or I buy things on-line and then I'm followed forever. For awhile, I thought about getting a spam filter but to be honest, I like getting e-mail. Okay, sometimes when I'm busy at work or when I've just come back from a

no-technology vacation, I resent having to wade through my in-box and delete dozens and dozens of messages. But when I have time, I enjoy getting my monthly newsletter from Sanibel, Florida or a notice that the K-Cups for my one-cup coffeemaker are on sale.

So I found the chapter on email to be very interesting. I'm definitely one of those people who's attention can be grabbed or lost in the subject line. And I'm certain I don't spend more than five seconds evaluating whether I should go further. That "What's In It For Me" thing is definitely critical. The information about the best time of day or day of the week to send an email is also interesting. Certainly, a business must keep in mind the best way to reach customers, and that means doing a little "retail psychology" to figure out when is the best time to send an e-mail.

I used to think e-mail was on it's way out. It seemed like there was so MANY messages that the important ones were getting lost in the deluge. But it really just means that it's more important than ever to keep content brief and to the point.

It'll be interesting to see what kind of messages I get from the tasting room in Ashland. It's possible that it'll come at the same time as the "Maui Vacations" e-mail. I may dream about Maui, but I can definitely afford Ashland.