Pinterest’s Impact on Social Media is Worth So Much More Than 1,000 Words

Last week, Mashable’s Sarah Kessler authored an article about Pinterest clones which focused on sites that have copied the look, feel, and/or overall functionality of social media’s most recent phenom. What I haven’t seen though, are posts that put forth some higher order thinking around the act of curating content and what that means for individuals and for social media in general.

Before going any further, let’s agree on a definition. Content curation does not include generating content, but amassing content from a variety of sources, and delivering it in an organized fashion. Anyone interested in finding relevant content pertaining to a specific category and funneling this information to an audience (public or private) in a mash-up style is a content curator.

Let’s face it. Pinterest is beautiful. The images that we are pinning make it so. However, content curation is not only about collecting beautiful, funny, interesting images. It is about collecting information for future use, reference, enjoyment, etc. Pinterest has put a pretty face onto a very important concept and one that we should examine deeper.

What if you (or a loved one) recently received an unexpected medical diagnosis? I bet first thing you would run to Google and start searching for answers, reading everything you could to understand all you could. But then later, how could you share with your family what you have learned? A piece of content from WebMD, a snippet from the Mayo Clinic, an article from the New England Journal of Medicine. “Wait? Where did I read that? I wanted to be sure to ask my Doctor about that one thing…” Some content I might want to keep private and share only with select loved ones, while there are other scenarios where I might be willing to share my learnings with the world.

Imagine a student doing research on a topic from World History WWII to present. Instead of providing a bibliography at the end of his paper, he would provide the mash-up of sources used including news articles, official websites, pictures, music, and audio/video broadcasts. The student would spend more time interacting with the content instead of searching for it, and the class presentation would engage his peers at higher levels than ever before.

There are no limits when it comes to the types of content that can be curated. When you think about it, any piece of online digital content that can be shared can be curated.

Will there come a day when we replace the role of researcher or analyst with professional curators? Maybe. The more we flood the Internet with content (useful and otherwise), the more we need curators and the more we need to become curators ourselves.

Hats off to Pinterest for using the concept of pictures (each being worth 1000 words) to show us the importance of collecting and for sparking a whole new wave of thinking about content and the way we consume, create and share it.

Too Much Information?

Recently there have been numerous debates about privacy and free speech regulations on the Internet.  These debates have arisen because the growth of social media outlets has facilitated free speech in ways we never imagined.

In the past protests and opinions were spread exclusively by word of mouth and printed fliers – now movements spread online.  Facebook offers apps (like the Washington Post Social Reader) that allow friends to share what news articles they read online.  Due to apps like these people worry about the death of print, wondering if the era of good old fashioned news is over.  That may not be entirely the case.

Although print media has suffered blows in the past few years the sentiments are still the same.  People still want access to news articles and opinions without worrying about censorship.  The average American has the ability to publicly express their opinion in nearly a dozen ways on a daily basis.  The modes of voicing beliefs have changed over the years, but citizens still cling to the thought of free speech.

It used to be that people fought for free speech in order to protest wars or acts of racism, but free speech encompasses so much more now.  We could not have dreamed that we would want to share every single aspect of our daily lives online, but since that is now the norm we cannot think of any other way of living.

Spreading information is easier than ever now that all of our friends and coworkers are online.  Any information we want to share can be published with the click of a button, but all that information can be blocked just as simply.  With every new technological improvement we gain the ability to share more of our lives and opinions – but every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

The threat of over sharing now extends beyond awkward stories at office parties.  Just as quickly as relatives can post embarrassing baby photos, a radical across the world can launch a political movement.  While many movements can be seen as threats, just as many can be greatly beneficial to society.  News travels at incredible speeds, and social and political activists take advantage of that speed.  Nations struggle to keep up with the amount of information that is put online on a daily basis and censorship gets more challenging with each passing day.  The easier it is to spread information, the harder it becomes to stop it.

The force at which activists used to protest can now be magnified with online news reports and social media posts.  While the fear of censorship and the battle for free speech may never end, our ability to voice our opinions only grows.

Toddlers and Apps

According to an article by the New York Times, children under the age of eight spend over three hours a day using various forms of media.  Ten years ago parents could not have fathomed their children would be so reliant on technology, but today that reliance is almost taken for granted.

When DVD players started to become standard issue in minivans parents freaked out.  Why would someone need to watch a movie in the car?  Then they saw the magic of Finding Nemo on that ten hour drive to Florida.  When the iPad came out it was for gadget-ridden adults who could afford another toy; now children in Kindergarten are using them to learn to read.

As a society we are no longer shocked that teenagers and college students are addicted to media, but should we be shocked that children who can’t even tie their shoes pick out toys from the app store?  Parents and teachers are getting accustomed to using the educational resources offered by technology, but these resources have to be introduced in the proper way.

Media and technology can be incredible educational tools, but they can also be easily misused.  When a college student asks their parent for an iPad so they can read their textbooks electronically, that is probably not the whole story.  While e-readers have steadily grown in popularity, tools like the iPad offer far more than the required technology for reading a book.  Parents have to realize that their children may be duping them into buying gadgets.  Sure, little Susie may be reading her Chemistry book on her iPad, but she could also be catching up on Words With Friends, or reaching a new level on Angry Birds.  College students are experts at taking useful, educational tools and manipulating them into hours of procrastination.

On the other hand…

Many apps help young children get ahead in basic skills such as reading and writing by disguising themselves as games.  Letting a three year old use an iPad or computer screen to identify letters and numbers is an interactive way to reinforce what they are learning.  Not all parents make good teachers, and new media can help bridge the gap between school and home.  Sitting a child in front of a computer may not be all bad.  Games targeting things such as reading, memorization and counting enhance a child’s educational prowess.

Children may always be slaves to television, but now they can also be enslaved to the almighty iPad or a computer game.  The trick is to find ways to use new media to further a child’s education, not hinder it.  The next generations will be media junkies no matter what we do, let’s help them use this power for good, not evil.

Spotted Online

Checking in on foursquare and Facebook is no longer good enough for social media fanatics.  We now have to keep friends and family updated on what we are listening to wherever we are.

Mob Mentality

Mobs are not always a bad thing… especially when they get you sweet deals at local businesses.

Scoutmob, Inc. is a new company that has popped up in cities across the nation.  Started in Atlanta, GA just over a year ago, Scoutmob is an app (or email) that provides customers with discounts on food and services in their area.  Started with the intention of helping out local businesses, Scoutmob capitalizes on customers’ desire to save money while exploring new places in their city.  In an economy where everyone is watching what they spend, this little app goes a long way.

As soon as you download Scoutmob on your smart phone you begin receiving  discounts in your neighborhood.  From the authentic French bistro down the street to the trendy new pizza place, Scoutmob has it all.  By giving customers access to discounts on food and services businesses gain exponentially more foot traffic than with traditional advertising.  New technology means new ways of acquiring business, and companies are aware of the need to keep up.  However, the basic concept of couponing remains the same: the discount pulls you in, but the product makes you stay.  There are plenty of local restaurants that people are hesitant to try, but give them a deal and they will venture into the unknown much more willingly.

With locations from Seattle to Atlanta, Boston to Los Angeles, Scoutmob has created the perfect couponing system for the non-coupon-clipping crowd.  People will buy an app for almost anything these days, and a free app is exponentially better.  The mob effect is three-tiered:

1. it’s free to download;
2. you start saving instantly;
3. and you learn about local businesses.

Every day people grow bored with their standard lunch and dinner options, now there is an app that not only suggests new options but helps you save money at the same time!

As with everything else, couponing must evolve to keep up with the times, and Scoutmob has more than contributed to that financially responsible cause.  No matter what the economy, people will always want to find new, fun places to go – and Scoutmob makes it easy with one teeny tiny app.

Bored with your go-to restaurant?  Craving a good deal?  There’s an app for that.

The Google+ Question

Has Facebook finally met its match?

Last month Google+ appeared on the social networking scene, and in two short weeks the invitation-only network boasted 10 million users.  While still in the trial phase, Google’s new social media site has taken the Internet by storm, acquiring members at an exponential rate that has never been seen before.  Hitting the 10 million member mark after two weeks officially makes Google+ the fastest growing social media network to date.  But will it last?

No social network can be unveiled without being compared to those already in place, and Google+ is no exception.  Better than last year’s Google Buzz, the interface is reminiscent of Facebook, but with one noticeable difference: Google’s use of “circles.”  These circles allow users to share different information with friends, co-workers, and family members – greatly improving upon Facebook’s ever-changing privacy settings.  These streamlined circles offer users a new way to filter information, challenging the way established social  networks operate.  People are responding to Google’s use of social circles to organize online sharing, and that response shows in the rapidly growing number of Google+ members.

Gmail users have an advantage on people using other email clients, as Google+ seamlessly incorporates itself into the gmail interface.  Users who sign up for Google+ are instantly connected with friends already using gmail, and gain a Google+ dashboard at the top of their gmail inbox.  Google makes it easy for people to post while they are checking their email, a tantalizing convenience for existing users.

Although it seems Google+ is catching on, it is hard to make any concrete predictions about its future.  Can people accommodate yet another social media site?  How many accounts are people willing to sync – or give up?  People who network today are experts at multitasking, but the question is how far they are willing to stretch that expertise.  Twitter turned into the perfect sibling for Facebook, allowing users to link their accounts in order to update statuses.  Google+ offers the same syncing option with Twitter, raising the debate of whether people will give up Facebook for Google.  Whether it makes sense to keep up with Twitter, Facebook, and Google is up to the individual, but it is hard to believe that people will maintain that many social media outlets.

Currently Google+ is merely a baby in the wide world of social networking, but with its streamlined interface and seamless integration with gmail, it is off to a good start.  The social networking trend is one that is increasingly hard to predict, and networking junkies are known to be more than a little fickle.  Once Google+ moves out of its trial phase users may find more reasons to love it, or reasons to hate it.  Only time will tell.

Facial Recognition: Creepy, or Cool?

Facial recognition software: it sounds like something out of a science fiction movie – but it’s not.

Facebook recently unveiled its latest trick in the form of automatic tagging.  At first I thought it was cool, being able to mass tag friends in pictures rather than having to select each face individually; but then it started to creep me out a bit.  All of a sudden I realized that Facebook could actually tell the difference between all of my friends’ faces, suggesting peoples’ names as pictures uploaded.  The line between cool and weird began to blur very quickly.

This line blurred even more quickly when I tried to log into my Facebook from a new computer the other day.  While on vacation I accessed my account from a “foreign” device, prompting a quiz to appear in order to verify my identity.  One of the ways to verify my identity was to name friends in selected pictures.  I suddenly got very nervous.  For the first time I was afraid that the computer would win and I would be locked out of my own Facebook account – was this some kind of cruel joke?  I think I identified six different people, some of whom I barely even know in real life.  At that point I was sufficiently freaked out.  You know the saying, “the student becomes the teacher,” I felt as though Facebook was wagging its proverbial finger at me.

When new technology like this is released into the mainstream it is invariably met with some discord, and this addition has European Union members in an uproar.  Apparently people don’t like being ushered in to the world of facial recognition without proper notice.  Society always takes a while to catch up with technology, but has Facebook gone too far this time?  Admittedly, users can log into Facebook and turn off the auto-tagging feature, but those upset by the new addition argue that the option should have been to turn on the feature instead.  Automatically implementing this new technology without properly notifying users ahead of time is one of the main concerns in the EU upheaval.  People don’t seem to be as upset by the software itself but rather by the way it was implemented.

Although there is so much debate about the invasion of privacy the idea behind the new feature is genius.  Every Facebook user has experienced the mundane task of tagging friends in group photos, and now that feeling may be obsolete.  Regardless of protests, users will get used to this change just as they have adjusted to all the others over the years.  The only question now is: what’s next?

Sources: http://news.consumerreports.org/electronics/2011/06/eu-probes-facebooks-facial-recognition-software.html

Economy: 0 Social Media: 1

This time of year students around the nation are turning their tassels to the left and entering the workforce – hypothetically speaking. In today’s economy the majority of graduates emerge unemployed or underemployed, disheartened by the number of layoffs that are occurring in the so-called real world. The intriguing part about the current job market is the growing number of jobs available in social media. If you type “jobs in social media” into a search engine such as careerbuilder.com approximately 4,000 results appear for jobs. Admittedly, these search engines are not always accurate, but the sheer number of results that claim to be associated with social media is staggering.

Merely a decade ago I would wager that there were not half as many results for jobs in social media, but the modern world has evolved so quickly that the workforce must adjust. The number of social media sites available means that someone has to be behind the proverbial curtain calling the shots. That person could be you. The top job title in one search is “Social Media/Networking Analyst,” a title that may not have existed five years ago. Of course there have been analysts throughout the years but a social media analyst is a vastly different breed. For centuries people have learned about companies and services by word of mouth, today that word of mouth appears in the form of social media. Any company looking to significantly expand its presence must be connected through some form of social media. That may seem like an extreme statement but today’s world operates based on who posted what link and how often something pops up as a hash tag. Who keeps track of the success rate of these social plugs? I’m guessing a Social Media/Networking Analyst.

Although I am not entirely sure what a social media analyst does, my guess is that he monitors how profitable a company’s efforts are in the realm of social media. There is an art to gaining a word of mouth reputation and modern companies have realized that. Having someone keep track of how often people should post on Facebook or Twitter to promote a new product can skyrocket that product’s sales percentage. For example, if Nike comes out with a new sneaker someone should make a Facebook page, create a Facebook advertisement, post numerous blurbs on Twitter and create a Foursquare check-in for everyone who buys the new product. Each one of those small events can trigger a chain reaction that will drive a new consumer to buy a new pair of Nike shoes.

When you think of all the people it takes to create a traditional advertising campaign you now have to factor in the social gurus to incorporate that into social media. The easiest way to reach people is now through the Internet and the sites consumers visit most often, and targeting those areas is something that a Social Media/Networking Analyst should be familiar with. Although the job market is stumbling right now there are so many new jobs available that did not exist five or ten years ago. Social media is a hot commodity right now – even Zuckerberg has people working for him.

Facebook Yellow Pages

Advertising is an industry that changes on a constant basis, and with the influence of social media growing over the past decade businesses have more and more ways to reach consumers.  The banners on the sides of Facebook dominate every user’s page – and with the number of people on Facebook (more than 600 million) exposure is instantaneous.

By some stroke of genius Facebook designs advertisements so that they are tailored to users themselves.  For example, change your relationship status to engaged and you will now be inundated with banners for wedding dresses, venues, honeymoon spots, you name it.  That, my friends, is marketing genius.

Beyond the advertising banners that plaster Facebook profiles and news feeds are the all-powerful pages.  Corporations, student clubs, bands and non-profits alike create Facebook pages to promote their services.  Simply clicking “Like” subscribes users to everything there is to know about that particular company, adding that page to their all-powerful news feed.

Publishing coupons and specials on Facebook through company pages makes deals go viral instantly.  College students spend more time on Facebook than actually hanging out together, so promoting businesses via social media only makes sense.  Give college students a deal on something and they will instantly re-post it on their friends’ pages, creating instant and free advertising.

Facebook pages spotlight a company’s newest products with images, giving users a way to stay up to date with the most popular trends.  Fashion companies are by far the most popular corporate pages on Facebook, featuring new styles on a regular basis.  For a consumerist nation Facebook pages and advertisements are gold in America and no doubt around the world.  If you don’t already have a slew of pages that you “Like” on Facebook you’re missing out on all the fun.

Keeping Up with The Facebookers: The New Social Caste Benchmark

“Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life.”  That’s the home page pitch that has convinced so many of us to sign-up for a personalized virtual neighborhood.

After agreeing to the homeowners’ contract, or the Terms and Conditions, we are welcomed with a newsletter, an event planning tool, a message board, and a neighborhood chat room. We even have the power to add new neighbors to our territory, and to delete neighbors at will.

When we first move-in, we feel as though we reside in a back-country home. There is no one in sight, except for the friends who convinced us to join the community. We wonder what the Facebook fuss is about.

Soon thereafter, word gets around about our vacant lot. Overnight, our mailbox becomes flooded with building requests, as friends seek to gain acceptance into our space. We gladly approve requests from close friends and family, and reluctantly accept those from enemies.

A few months later, corporations apply for approval to build. Companies such as Coca-Cola and Nike wonder whether we “like” their products. Before we know it, our quiet country home becomes a noisy city apartment.

It’s then when we start to wonder what our fellow tenants are up to.

We begin to pry open their photo albums and inspect notes written on their front door. We examine fellow occupants’ friends that we do not know, and also the friends of these unknown friends.

During these investigations, we pass judgments about inhabitant lifestyles. Conjuring up feelings from jealously to arrogance, we compare Facebook resident activity to activity of our own. And based on these comparisons, we filter our own profile to reflect, what we believe as, the “proper” way to live.

To neighbors, our profile image becomes an identity. To employers, this image epitomizes self-competence. To ourselves, this image embodies our social reputation, and even our social standing.

We remove tags, crop pictures, and censor content to promote our good name. When continually edited millions of times by millions of users, this filtered facade becomes the new social caste benchmark for the hundreds or thousands of residents in our personalized neighborhoods.

And as we strive to keep up with our neighbors’ standard of living, and edit our own standard to maintain our social standing, we generate a new, far more extensive method to “keep up with the Joneses.”