The Twitter Book

The Twitter Book by Tim O’Reilly, Sarah Milstein

If you want to know what the difference between  hashtags and @replies or how to upgrade your Twitter prowess, you need to read this book. The Twitter Book covers the basics of setting up a personal Twitter account, all the way to the complex monitoring and correct methods of use for a business account. Did you think Twitter was just a constant status update tool in which you tell people EVERYTHING like, “Hi! I am eating breakfast”? No. Twitter is ANYTHING but that. The Twitter Book explains Twitter is a vital business channel where companies have the opportunity to engage in short conversations under 140 characters. Twitter is a useful tool for any business of any magnitude, in any market or industry. If you’re wondering how to quantify the hours you spend at work tweeting, there are a plethora of sites given to help track your tweets and industry relevance.  Tim O’Reily and Sarah Milstein put in plain words how to create a successful Twitter account.

Overall Feeling After Reading this Book:

Great! Although, I have a lot of catching up to do. I thought I knew enough about Twitter and was simply tweeting interesting tips here and there.

Favorite Quotes:

“Don’t auto-DM (for crying out loud)”

“Twitter often…but not too often: The lesson? Start with whatever feels right, and then tweak it to see what works for you.”

“If you want tons of followers on Twitter, you’re not alone. But here’s a secret: a small number of great followers is much more than a herd of uninterested people.”

Tweet Ideas: Seven Things to Do on Twitter Besides Tweet

Since Mashable is an amazing site to find great advice for the marketing/business/PR world, we are reposting an article titled “Tweet Ideas: 13 Things to Do on Twitter Besides Tweet.” Only seven of them are useful for marketing/PR, but feel free to visit the original article:

Tired of delivering the typical stream of status updates on Twitter? Why not try some of the following ideas for other things you can do with the service?

Thanks to an open API and a philosophy of interconnectivity, Twitter’s vast array of third-party services has you covered on a number of alternative uses for the famed microblogging tool.

Let’s take a look at a few of them.

1. Share Files

filesocial

A service called FileSocial provides a great way to send files smaller than 50 MB. Simply sign-in with your Twitter credentials to share your file with all your followers. FileSocial uses OAuth to log you in, which is more secure than asking for your Twitter username and password.

If you want to send a person-to-person file privately, check out FileTwt. You’ll have to sign up for an account on the site to enable private file-sharing up to 20 MB in size. The downside is they don’t use OAuth for authentication.

2. Exchange Business Cards

twtBizCard

Routinely running out of those business cards made of dead trees? Work in an industry where almost everyone you meet is on Twitter? Check out twtBizCard, a simple service that lets you set up an electronic business card that can be easily tweeted to your new contacts by sending them an @reply with the hastag #twtBizCard.

When you sign up, the service will pull in the data from your Twitter profile as starter information, and you can add other details to customize your card.

3. Share Music

SONGZA

Music lovers have a lot of options in this category (see 10 Ways to Share Music on Twitter). Depending on exactly what you want to do, you might want to check out a few of these. For example, Blip.fm (Blip.fm) is very much like Twitter but specifically for music, and can integrate with your Twitter account to share what tracks you’re listening to or “blipping.”

To that list we’d also like to add Songza, a very easy to use music search engine that lets you easily tweet any track you’re listening to by clicking the song name and selecting the “Share: Twitter this” option.

4. Share Images

flickr2twitter-best

The media-specific Twitter tools abound, with a goodly number of options available for image sharing here too. Perhaps the “classic” service here is Twitpic, but even beyond image hosting services there are a number of alternative methods for sharing photos on Twitter by SMS, email and more.

To this list we’d also like to add that Flickr added Twitter posting earlier this summer as well, so if you already use Flickr (Flickr) to host your image collection, this is a great way to also share photos to Twitter in one fell swoop.

5. Share Videos

12s

To round out the media-specific categories, there are also third party services lining up to help you share video on Twitter as well. From TwitVid.io to Tweetube (which handles other sharing duties as well), there’s probably a service out there to cover your needs.

We’d also like to add TwitVid.com and 12seconds.TV to that list. The latter perhaps obviously limits you to only 12 seconds’ worth of video, but it meshes well with the spirit of Twitter’s 140 character homage to brevity.

6. Screencast

screenr

Looking for a one-stop shop to whip up a quick screencast and distribute it on Twitter? Check out Screenr, a screencast tool with seamless Twitter integration.

You have 5 minutes to record your videos including the ability to pause and restart, and you can preview the screencast before sending it out.

7. Social Bookmarking

fleck-lite

Delicious (Delicious), diigo, et al feeling like too much overkill? Or just looking for an easy way to archive the links you share on Twitter?

Enter Fleck Lite, a simple bookmarklet-based tool that will both generate a shortened URL based on the page you’re sharing and archive the collection of links you’ve shared for later reference. If you share a lot of links on Twitter and want a convenient way to remember them for later, definitely give this one a try.

(Written by Barb Dybwad on Mashable.com)

Inside the OM Boxing Ring: Facebook Pages vs. Facebook Groups

Since Harvard University student Mark Zuckenberg founded Facebook in 2004, the online social networking site has quickly grown and changed. What originally was used to connect college students to one another, Facebook has become a medium for free business promotion.

With the recent addition of the Facebook page, OM has begun to transfer all clients from Facebook groups to pages. So what’s the difference between a Facebook group and page? This is a common question that has been asked by fans of The Center for Birds of Prey and Social Restaurant + Wine Bar, clients whom OM recently converted from the Facebook group to page. To answer this popular question we have sent Social’s page and group to the OM boxing ring.

Round One: Professional Appearance
The Facebook page is a more professional outlet for businesses, while the group is formatted like a personal profile. The page’s information box breaks into categories allowing a business to submit hours of operation, contact information and general information. Administrators of Facebook groups are made visual to all members, thus making the information being posted seem to come from them personally, rather than the company that the group represents. Through the page the creator is not indicated.

Round Two: Public Viewing
The Facebook page is available for public viewing. Unlike the Facebook group, a page can be searched through a search engine and viewed by Facebook members and nonmembers. The ability for non-Facebook members to view makes the scope of viewers even larger. The Social group would not be indexed through a search engine. In order to view a group your viewer must be a member of Facebook.

Round Three: Facebook Applications
Pages can host applications while groups can not. Applications allow the pages to hold more content and have a more appealing look. Applications include adding an RSS/Blog feed, Twitter link, notes and videos as well as various other userful ad-ons.

Round Four: Amount of Content
There is no limit to the information provided on the Social page. Group information includes the type of group, recent news, location and a description. Sure, pictures and videos can be uploaded and members can comment on the group’s wall but the Facebook page includes this and more, including tabs on the top of all pages–similar to the profiles– making content easier to locate.

NOTE: The amount of information a page can show depends on the type of organization you are. For example, if you are a non-profit your page will not allow you to post the hours of operation or prices of merchandise.

Round Five: Communication
Fans of the Facebook page are allowed to suggest the page to their friends and receive feeds on their homepage when the Facebook page has been updated. The only way that group members can find the latest news on the group is by receiving a message in your inbox or by visiting the group.

Round Six: Display
When a person becomes a fan of the Social’s Facebook page, the page is displayed as a thumbnail with a picture and name. The group, however, is only shown with one line of text. No photo. The thumbnail enhances the page and reinforces the brand influencing more users to become fans.

Ding! Ding! Ding!
Six rounds in the ring is all that is needed for Facebook page to show its strength against Facebook group. Social’s Facebook page proved to more suitable and effective in all areas for professionalism, content and even display.

The Facebook group didn’t stand a chance.

-Whitney Welcome

Facebook vs. Twitter

When Mark Zuckerberg first experimented with social networking, Harvard University charged him with violating individual privacy and threatened expulsion. Facebook, founded just over five years ago, now has more than 200 million members who connect with friends, share photos, chat, play games and more.

In a less dramatic fashion, Jack Dorsey started Twitter with the idea of creating a service that used SMS to give personal updates. Dorsey sent the first twitter message, “just setting up my twittr,” in 2006 and Twitter launched full scale a year later.

Today, many people have an account with both to connect with friends, family, colleagues and clients. It’s even possible to update both statuses from a single place. Some would argue the sites are not in competition. Others would like to know if Facebook and Twitter ever came to blows, who would win?

A post on Brandflakes for Breakfast, a blog run by Plaid, recently explored this inquiry. Through a simple graphic, BFB put Facebook and Twitter head to head. While Facebook dominates in global traffic and functionality, Twitter has less severe social implications and high profile users like President Obama. One major difference in the two sites is overall value. At $250 million, Twitter is only about 2% of Facebook’s value.

Facebook wins rounds one and two, but tweeple fear not! Twitter has chartered unprecedented growth, jumping 414 positions in popularity ranking and increasing page visits by 500% in the last 90 days.

Final Score: With 3.5 billion minutes spent on the site every day, Facebook is still head honcho but shouldn’t get too comfortable at the top. Twitter is eagerly nipping at its elder’s heels.

When Drinking Is So Good: OM Wins Mercury Award for Work with Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka

OM recently won the Award of Merit for the Marketing Consumer Products category from the South Carolina Public Relations Society of America (SCPRSA) at the Mercury’s.  The recognition was for the national launch of Sweet Tea Vodka for Firefly Distillery.

Prompted by the release of their new product,  Firefly Distillery Co-owners Jim Irvin and Scott Newitt hired OM to help them build a marketing campaign with the intent to launch their product nationally, an exciting move toward the future for Firefly Distillery, which eventually led to the launch of four more flavors. OM successfully orchestrated national sponsorship opportunities and secured state-wide and national press, while still keeping in mind the importance of the company’s traditional Southern roots.

South Carolina Naturalist, Rudy Mancke, to visit the Center for Birds of Prey

 

On Saturday May 9, 2009, The Center for the Birds of Prey will host South Carolina’s leading naturalist, Rudy Mancke.  Mancke will lead walking tours through the Center’s 152 acres. 

 

Mancke is best known as the host of Nature Notes on public radio and for NatureScene, a nationally syndicated TV show on which he appeared for 23 years.  Before his television career, Mancke was natural history curator at the South Carolina State Museum and, before that, a high school biology and geology teacher. He received honorary doctorate degrees from the College of Charleston, Converse College, Coker College, Presbyterian College, Winthrop University, and Wofford College.

 

The tours are open to the public and will begin at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.  Guests are welcome to stay for a Birds of Prey flight demonstration scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.  The cost will be $30 member and $45 for non-members.  Space is limited.  To register call Laura Buchta at (843) 971-7474. 

 

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Center for Birds of Prey/Avian Conservation Center.

 

 

 

Complete Building Corporation’s Race to End Waste Program: 60,000 Pounds Strong

60,000 pounds. That’s how many pounds of recyclable materials College Park Middle School students have collected within the last five months. That’s 20,000 bags of Easter candy, 17,455 iPods and 240,000 cell phones worth of recyclable materials. Although most middle school students would prefer collecting candy, iPods and cell phones, College Park Middle School students have discovered a greater need in conservation with the help of the school-wide program, ‘Race to End Waste: Conservation in the Classroom.’

CPM students at 'Race' rally

The environmental program, which was developed by Complete Building Corporation, a commercial general contracting company located in Charleston, SC, launched in October 2008 at College Park Middle School with the intent to educate students on sustainable and eco-friendly initiatives. The company began working with College Park Middle School as a way to embark upon their employee directed charitable giving program.

As the community’s always a top priority for Complete Building Corporation, the company developed “Race to End Waste” to educate Berkley County students on environmental initiatives. They choose College Park Middle School for the program’s inaugural run, but intend to expand the program to a new school in Berkley County each year. Victor Apat, Complete Building Corporation’s president is excited about expanding ‘Race.’ “When starting a new program, you never know how people will respond to it,” Apat said. “However, the passion that the College Park students have put into our program has been phenomenal. We could not have asked for a better start.”

The school-wide interdisciplinary project strives to educate students, teachers and the community through various initiatives concerning conservation and sustainability. The ‘Race to End Waste’ program involves various competitions including the recycled mascot design competition and the classroom recycling competition. Additionally, curriculum in each subject has incorporated the principles of conservation and environmental sustainability. For example, a science class created recycled paper and a language arts class wrote PSA’s and created commercials t6hat will be previewed by elementary school students.

The students’ work and progress with the program has been tracked on the ‘Race to End Waste’ Web site. The site, which offers an overview of the program and school, has highlighted several students who have gone above and beyond to recycle at home and in their community. Additionally, the site has tallied the progress of each classroom with the recycling competition. So far the school has collected over 60,000 pounds of recyclable materials in only five months—a number that continues to grow daily.

CPM student creates recycled art

The year-long project will end on April 16, 2009 with Complete Building Corporation unveiling a greenhouse for the students, as well as announcing winners of the mascot and classroom recycling competitions. “The competition and greenhouse ceremony are important, but our long-term goal is for the children to take the things they’ve learned and continue using the conservation initiatives in there daily lives,” said Apat.

Complete Building Corporation’s goal is to add an additional school to the program each year so that in the next ten years every middle school in Berkeley County will have conservation initiatives as part of their curriculum, as well as a greenhouse to use as a resource. Hopefully next year, another group of students will be willing to put aside their iPods and cell phones to improve the earth they live on.

For more information, please visit www.racetoendwaste.com.

South Carolina’s AIA Elects Jane Frederick As Next President

South Carolina’s chapter of the American Institute of Architects announced that Jane Frederick, of Frederick + Frederick Architects, will serve as the president for 2010-2011.

The AIA/SC Board of Directors for 2010-2011 will include David Moore II as Secretary-Treasurer, Seth Cantley as Lowcountry Director, Luke McCary as Midlands Director, and Meg Terry as Upstate Director.

SIB Development and Coastal Occupational Medicine Work Together to Save Money for Charleston Businesses

A new accord between SIB Development & Consulting and Coastal Occupational Medicine is aimed at helping existing Coastal Occupational Medicine clients by reviewing up to five years for misclassification, billing errors, and discrepancies to look for overpayments and obtain a refund on the company’s workman compensation policy.

Coastal Occupational Medicine is one of Charleston’s most experienced occupational medical clinics. With over 25 years in business, Dr. Byron Williams and his staff provide honest diagnosis with appropriate, cost effective treatment. Coastal Occupational Medicine does not see private patients and only works with workman’s compensation cases, making care less time consuming, more specialized and more cost effective when compared to hospital emergency rooms. 

“I think it will be very advantageous for the clients and future clients of Coastal to have the benefit of the services offered by SIB Development at their fingertips,” said Brooke Jones, Marketing Director for Coastal Occupational Medicine. “Given the current business and economic climate, offering SIB’s services to folks we’re involved with brings added value to the company’s bottom line.”

For more information visit www.SIBDevelopment.com.

Owner of Social Wins Charleston Food + Wine Festival Top Sommelier Competition

Social Owner and Sommelier, Brad Ball

Brad Ball, owner of Social Restaurant + Wine Bar, took first place in the Charleston Food + Wine Top Sommelier Competition that was held this morning at Charleston Place. Edging out competitors from all over the state, including last year’s winner, Rick Rubel, Brad correctly identified four out of the five wines presented. Cheers to that!