With Hurricane #Sandy barreling down in the East Coast and major power outages expected, @FEMA (The Federal Emergency Management Agency) issued a statement today urging people to stay connected via social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook when other modes of communication fail. One of many tweet reads:

People’s in Sandy’s path are also being urged to charge up their phones and to follow certain Twitter accounts, such as @FEMA, for updates, alerts and tips. Local governing agencies are also setting up or pointing people to certain Twitter accounts to keep people informed, since many might still be able to access social media sites via phone during the storm.

During many emergencies over the last few years — tornadoes, hurricanes and the tsunami in Japan — people who found themselves without a landline or land internet connection — were able to connect via smartphone. Many Twitter accounts, especially those for news services and government agencies, dedicated their Twitter accounts to posting information and updates about the disasters. People also were able to locate family members and friends via social sites.

Here’s a list of sites & accounts to follow during #Sandy:

National Hurricane Center - get text/email updates

@NHC_Atlantic - National Hurricane Center

@usNWSgov - NOAA’s National Weather Service

@WeatherChannel - The Weather Channel

@TWC_Hurricane - The Weather Channel Hurricane Updates

LIVE Updates/News from the New York Times

GOOGLE Map for Hurricane Sandy

GOOGLE Map Specifically for New York City

Tags: Facebook, Hurricane Sandy, Natural Disaster, social media, Twitter

Article by Lillian Sanders, Guest Contributor

If you are looking for a new job, you may be judged on your credit rating as well as your social media rating. For jobs that require a good understanding of social media, how often you update your Twitter and Facebook, as well as what you post, may help you get hired.

Third-party companies like Klout use data from many social networking sites to create a score that represents how much influence you have. The higher your score, the more people pay attention to what you have to say. Unfortunately, a high number of followers is not enough to raise your score. You must also engage your followers and influence them with your messages.

In 2009, noted blogger Anil Dash was on Twitter’s list of suggested people to follow. Although he gained upwards of 100 new followers per hour, this did not increase his website traffic, replies or retweets on Twitter. This is because these new followers were not listening to his messages, nor did he have any influence on them.

Twitter co-founder Evan Williams believes that retweets are more important than the number of followers. Retweets help you reach a larger audience, and since they trust the person who retweeted your message, they are likely to trust your message. Twitter does tell users when and who retweeted their message, but they do not display how many users saw your message.

Klout uses a complicated algorithm that is designed to measure how important social media users are. It gives each user a number from 1 to 100, with 100 being the most influential. Companies can use this number to help their customers. Hopefully, this number will not be used to tell how important a person is, but rather give ways the company can help the person.

Some hotels have already started upgrading a person’s room based on their Klout score in hopes the person will give a positive review on Twitter or Facebook. Instead of giving perks to only a select few, companies could use this information to suggest local restaurants and attractions based on the person’s interests on social media sites. In addition to a number score, Klout also gives a list of topics that the user tweets about regularly. This would help the company make suggestions, and the customer will be happy with their stay and have a positive opinion of the company.

This seems to be a better way to use Klout and social media influence. Since not everyone uses social media for their jobs or pleasure, it seems unfair to punish those with a low score. It is like picking the most popular person out of a room and offering them an upgrade.

Lillian Sanders is a creative writer from Michigan. She thanks TweeParties for the guest posting opportunity. As a writer, Lillian is contributes to CD Duplication in Orlando helping create marketing presentations.

Tags: influence, Klout, social media, Twitter

Tags: interactive events, social media, twitter chat, Twitter party

Tweet

Tags: all my children, Facebook, one life to live, reality tv, soap operas, social media, Twitter

Martin Luther King, Jr. would have loved Twitter.

He would have used it as another powerful means to inspire, mobilize and inform those in his movement on a level not possible during his time. In an age before text messaging, emails, blogs and Facebook, spreading a grassroots message often came in the form of phone calls, door-to-door visits, pulpits, and (if you were lucky) mentions on radio, t.v. or in the local paper. 

Some say that the Civil Rights Movement might not have progressed the way it did if it weren’t for images of protest and violence being broadcast via television. But if the internet and social media had existed in the mid-20th century, it could have taken the movement to the next level by increasing awareness, providing a forum for discussion and debate, coordinating and organizing events, and sharing people’s personal thoughts and experiences with the world. Social media could have injected the Civil Rights Movement with a high-level, virtual octane.

There’s a debate going on about the role Twitter has played in the Tunisian uprising. Some are even going as far as calling it the first “Twitter Revolution.” Others argue that Twitter didn’t cause a revolution, the Tunisian people did. However, there’s no doubt that Twitter has played a role in helping spread news and images about the goings-on in the African country. Twitter can put power in the hands of people who might be restricted by regimes that try to prevent them from having any.

And perhaps that’s the difference. Before social media, we had to rely on the professionals to disseminate news: print and broadcast journalists, photojournalists, wire services, writers. But in the internet age, anyone can disseminate news quickly and easily and without a lengthy resume: just take a pic with your phone, upload a photo, add a caption, and you just might have the next ‘tweet seen around the world.’ Or the tweet that might convince the world that your world desperately needs help or change.

Since I joined Twitter & Facebook for personal use in 2009, I have felt that those who use social media are an informed, socially conscious, aware, philanthropic group. Tweet an important cause-a bit of vital breaking news, a plea for help for a good cause, a newsworthy story-and watch it get retweeted more than your average post. Even Twitter itself has said that it sees itself not as a social network but more of a news and information network. We saw so many tweets from ‘regular people’ in Iran, in the southern U.S. during the Gulf Oil spill, in Haiti. We saw many photos that we might not have seen had ‘regular, non-news people’ not had the courage or ability to send them. 

Though some have criticized Twitter and Facebook as being ‘flashes in the pan’ that might not exist in a decade, if not those two, then something will take their place. We are all connected now, and now that we have it, that desire for connectivity won’t just disappear. People use social media to feel that they are a part of something larger than themselves: a group of friends, a shared interest or opinion, a cause, a movement, a moment in time. It’s up to those who use Twitter to advance their causes to figure out how to get our attention and get us to act.

Tags: Social Change, social media, Tunisia, Twitter Revolution

Yesterday, I spent a good portion of my day baking cookies with my 3-year-old daughter. Christmas cutouts in the shapes of gingerbread men, the making of which somehow dispersed sprinkles, flour and dough into nearly every nook and cranny of our home.

My daughter had a blast, and so did I. But this was the same recipe I have been making for dozens of years, since I was about her age. Tradition is great, comforting, and fun—but I have vowed to try something new this week and treat my family to a new recipe that will surprise them as long as it’s not burned (which, actually, would be no surprise!).

During the hours that we spent baking, I got to thinking: this principle could be used in the world of social media. So many businesses are trying to leave their mark on Twitter and Facebook. They set up accounts, send out some tweets or posts, and hope all of their efforts make an impact on the bottom line and generate sales.

But as social media marketers (which all business people are, these days), we should always be experimenting, adding new ingredients to our social recipe, and trying something new to keep our followers following. Here are some ideas to keep your Twitter kitchen churning out tweets worth viewing:

Keep it fresh: It takes the right mix of ingredients to make a good recipe. The same goes for social media. If you’re sending out the same tweet every day, people will start to overlook what you post. Keep your tweets interesting and timely. Mix it up! Don’t always tweet about the same subject matter. Make it interesting. Throughout the day, write a couple of tweets about your company. Then include a few informative tweets with tips or news. Have a special offer reserved only for your Twitter followers. Variety is the spice of life…and tweets!

Keep it frequent: The more you bake, the better baker you’ll be and the greater the chance someone will have to sample your offerings. Sending out one tweet per day or a few tweets within an hour might make not much of an impact nor reach many followers. It helps to spread your tweets out over the course of the day. There are programs out there that allow you to schedule tweets to help cover more hours. Sprout Social, Social Oomph and Twuffer are some examples of services that let you pre-program a tweet.

Make it fun: Baking Christmas cookies is all about fun—together! Don’t just send out one-way communiques. Engage your followers. Ask them questions. Get their feedback. Post a survey, hold a contest, a Twitter party or chat. Make your Twitter account fun and something people look forward to viewing. Get your followers talking and they’ll most likely help spread the word about your event and in turn, your company. Don’t talk to your followers. Have a conversation with them.

Make it stand out: Which one would you grab first: a plain cookie or one with frosting & sprinkles? Each tweet you send has the potential either to be overlooked or read. With so many tweets appearing each hour in our timeline, we look for ones that grab our attention either by whom they’re from or how they appear. Try to use language that will get your tweets noticed. Using caps can be effective if you use them sparingly. Write as if you’re talking to a friend (which your followers are!) not like you’re writing a memo. Be conversational. Make your tweets easy to read and succinct. Try to avoid too many abbreviations. The shorter, the better.

Give them something to tweet about: People like to share recipes that are fabulous! So give them tweets that they’ll find so interesting and helpful they will want to share them with their followers. If you just tweet about your own company, you might not generate much sustained interest or retweets. Tweet about what’s happening with you, but also tweet about news, topics and tips your followers might find interesting enough to retweet. Set up a blog and write informative, helpful posts then tweet a link to that post. Make your tweets worth reading and sharing.

The bottom line: Creating a great batch of cookies takes time. Social media won’t instantly bring in big sales. It’s more about creating and building relationships and gaining (and keeping) the attention of your followers. So experiment. Try new things. And alter your recipe now and then to learn what works and what does not. Keep it fresh and you just might find that your efforts lead to followers who are hungry for more.

Tags: business, social media, twitter tips

When I was in college, I studied the history of broadcasting very nearly religiously.

I was a journalism major specializing in broadcasting, but the history of the medium wasn’t covered much in our school. To satisfy that need, I had to head on over to the radio, tv, film department. After taking a couple of courses, one curious professor approached me and asked what I was doing there. Apparently non-majors didn’t care much about hearing about Guglielmo Marconi or Philo Farnsworth if they didn’t have to. But I did.

I loved hearing about pioneers in radio, film, television and documentaries. The development of the technology was fascinating (often various inventors pursuing the same results thousands of miles apart), as was the creation of content. People experimented on both ends: sometimes they made it work, other times they failed (depending on the opinion, Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds broadcast could have fallen into either category). The early history of radio, tv and film was one big invention, a grand experiment filled with passionate people trying to figure out how to reach people better to tell their stories. And, I suppose, to use broadcasting to make a buck.

When I was about to graduate and start my job search, I realized something that made my heart sink: my dream job didn’t exist. What I was searching for was long-since over. I wanted to work in broadcasting, but I wanted to work in the early days of broadcasting, when an air of excitement was paired with uncertainty. When the next few minutes could either soar or succumb to technical failure. I went out into the world at a broadcasting job that rarely varied—everything was set in place; it was my job to help keep things moving along as usual. There was a handbook filled with rules and regulations that I didn’t even really understand.

But then came the internet. It was mainly informational at first, then interactive. And now we have social media. It’s new. It doesn’t always work. It can be a source of frustration. Businesses are still trying to figure out what to do with it. People are constantly experimenting, seeing what works and what doesn’t work. Developers are trying to come up with ways to use it differently through the use of thousands of applications. These are very exciting times. The sky’s the limit.

If you own a business, be a pioneer. Dive on into social media. Explore it. Experiment. Don’t be afraid of failure. Be creative. Be fearless. And have fun. Social media is an adventure: a big, bold, vast landscape that is changing daily. And like kids from the old days who bought dime store radio kits, it doesn’t cost much to get in on the action.

In studying broadcasting, I often wanted to go back in time and take a job at an early-20th Century radio station. Now, if I could go back in time, I’d visit college-aged me and tell myself not to worry. That it’s true what they say: history does repeat itself. And to get ready for one wild ride.

Tags: history of broadcasting, radio history, social media, television pioneers

Earlier this week, the British woman billed as “the world’s oldest Twitter user”—Ivy Bean—died. She was 104.

Ms. Bean had been active on Twitter (with 53,000+ followers) and Facebook, often posting entries about her daily life and sometimes video. I’m not sure if she did all of this herself, or had help, but the fact that she wanted to become involved on both Twitter and Facebook really says something.

It’s a simple lesson—and an old one at that—but when it comes to technology, perhaps a new one:

You’re never too old to learn something new.

Social media is proving that it is, in fact, for everyone—not just for tech-savvy youth. It connects entire families and has gained popularity as a way for Grandma to see that picture of Junior that was taken five seconds ago at the park. One could easily argue that social media has made people feel more connected; geographically distant or even extended families and friends have a greater presence in each other’s lives if they can keep up with them in real or nearly real-time.

Ms. Bean was not raised on computers, video games, or cell phones. In fact, when she was born—in 1905—people weren’t even using telephones. But she was drawn to social media and by measuring the size of her following, people were drawn to her.

Research has shown that the demographics of social media users might be older than some first thought:  18-34 year olds comprise the largest group of U.S. users on Twitter and the 50+ demographic has nearly the same number of Twitter users as the 13-17 year old demographic (via Quantcast).

Whether they grew up with technology or not, people are using social media and becoming less intimidated by the technology. Once registered, people might find the learning curve to be lower than expected and they get hooked. Besides, who wants to miss an upload of Junior’s first solo attempt at the monkey bars? Not @Grandma.

Erin Boudreau

Tags: age, demographics, Facebook, Ivy Bean, Quantcast, social media, technology, Twitter, users