Social Media Roundup In USA

Automated tweets get less engagement than handcrafted ones, WhatsApp is making inroads at a USA Today sports site, and sometimes all you can do when a years-old piece takes off on Facebook is shrug.

It's been a good week for gleaning insights from media outlets, which seem increasingly willing to share which social strategies are working for them. Here's a rundown of recent social media news you might have missed.

Human tweets > RSS tweets

Los Angeles Times social media editor Stacey Leasca shared some tips on Twitter's media blog this week.

Among her insights was the fact that moving from RSS tweets improved engagement. It's no surprise that a human touch makes a difference, but it's interesting to see how much the change seems to have increased the rate at which the newspaper's accounts are gaining new followers

A perfect example of this is, again, @LANow. We moved @LANow off of an automated feed in the summer of 2013. The account was then staffed by editors and reporters working in the section. They are our real local experts and the Twitter account quickly became richer with information and much more personal for Angelenos. @LANow quickly went from averaging about 1,500 fans a week to more than 2,500 fans a week.

I've noticed Times tweets generally seem very by-the-book, to the extent that the occasional tweet with a human flair seems jarring (the tell is that they're written down-style instead of up-style, as Times headlines are). The Wall Street Journal, perhaps its chief competitor, has embraced pictures and charts on Twitter, and is much more conversational at times. The Journal also liberally retweets its reporters. It's fascinating to see how much the two newspapers — still somewhat staid in print and on their websites — diverge when it comes to social media.

Ryan Osborn, NBCUniversal News Group vice president of innovation and strategic integration, echoed most of the other outlets' reasons for choosing not to automate social media posts: "While scaling a strategy 24/7 has taken time, we’ve found that engagement is greater when the accounts are manually curated."

After Facebook's acquisition of the messenger platform in February, I wrote that WhatsApp could become a useful tool for "dark social" content sharing — in other words, an alternative to email for sharing links privately rather than publicly. BuzzFeed had already started experimenting with a WhatsApp button in stories on the mobile Web.

Now, Digiday's Ricardo Bilton reports that USA Today's viral, mobile-friendly sports site, FTW, saw 18 percent of its mobile sharing activity come from WhatsApp in its first week of using the WhatsApp share button. That's more than Twitter.

Facebook launches new website for nonprofits master

The social media giant announced a new website on Thursday dedicated to resources for nonprofits and NGOs to get the most out of their Facebook Pages. The new site reads like an extensive instruction manual, covering everything from setting up a Page to building a support network of "likes," and it also includes a step-by-step guide covering how to use the platform's latest fundraising tools.

Facebook says the new resource will be essential for nonprofits and NGOs looking to create a presence on the social network — or for organizations looking to up their game when it comes to their existing Pages. The site serves as a simple, accessible roadmap of best practices, with tips and tricks coming from the platform itself.

"We are constantly blown away by the ways people and organizations use Facebook — not just to connect, but to make an impact in their communities and around the world," Joanne Sprague, marketing manager of social good at Facebook, wrote in a blog post announcing the release.

"This is especially true of nonprofits, who inspire us every day by raising awareness about their causes, activating supporters and raising the funds they need to support their organizations. We want to help nonprofits use Facebook more effectively to achieve these goals," she said.

The company hopes the Facebook for Nonprofits toolkit will allow nonprofits and NGOs to strengthen their presence on the platform, teach them how to further their work through social media, and instruct organizations on how to use Facebook features specifically tailored to charitable efforts.

The site also shows innovative ways nonprofits have used the platform effectively through a section of success stories.

This toolkit, Facebook hopes, will help solve those issues, giving nonprofits "a valuable resource ... regardless of their size, focus or location."

More than half of children use social media by the age of 10

52 per cent of eight to 16-year-olds ignored Facebook's age limit

Other popular sites include WhatsApp, BBM, SnapChat and Ask.fm

43 per cent had messaged strangers, starting from an average age of 12

Other popular sites include WhatsApp, used by 40 per cent of eight to 16-year-olds, BBM (24 per cent), SnapChat (11 per cent) and Ask.fm (8 per cent).

The study found that although 59 per cent of children are social networking by 10 years old, just 32 per cent of parents feel 'very confident' about helping them stay safe online.

The poll found 21 per cent of children had posted negative comments, starting from an average age of 11, and 26 per cent had 'hijacked' another person's account and posted without permission.

Some 43 per cent had messaged strangers, starting from an average age of 12.

While 63 per cent of parents check their child's internet activity at least once a week, more than a fifth (21 per cent) are not confident they could install parental controls, and just under a half (46 per cent) admit not being confident or aware of the school internet policy.

Dr Richard Woolfson, child psychologist and Knowthenet spokesman, said: 'The internet offers wonderful experiences for growing and inquisitive young minds.

'Yet, as social media has removed the barriers between a young person's public and private self, children can become vulnerable, and compulsive online sharing can lead to danger.

'Parents can no longer protect children by simply trying to limit their online experiences. Instead parents need to maintain an open dialogue and encourage children to share both good and bad online experiences, talk openly and straightforwardly about the risks they may encounter online without scaring them and make sure they keep up with the latest social media crazes and work with their children rather than trying to control them.'

Opinium surveyed 1,006 parents of children aged eight to 16 online and 1,004 children aged eight to 16 between October 17-24.

Iphone 6s Rumors!! Apple Phablet Is Releasing In Next 13 Days

Oh noes: The Apple iPhone 6s will be bigger than today's iPhone. Confirming previous mutterings, photographs from China show an iPhablet that's taller, fatter and wider than before.

But not by much. The thought is Apple's making the case stronger, to prevent another rash of bendgate headlines, and making room for Force Touch hardware.

But Apple isn't making room for a bigger battery. On the contrary, it seems the new cells in the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will actually hold less charge than the previous models. That sounds like a terrible idea.

And, as usual in early September, our thoughts turn to the release date for the new shinies. But commentators are saying it might not sell well. And others are saying it'll break records. So that's clear, then.

In IT Blogwatch, bloggers experience denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Not to mention: "The best thing to come out of Alabama"...

Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment.

Here's Eric Slivka with this oh-so astoundingrevelation:

For months, rumors have indicated the upcoming "iPhone 6s" may be...larger than its predecessor, likely due to...a change in the aluminum being used for the shell, thickening of weak spots [to] address concerns over bending, and new support for Force Touch.

[I've] received several photos showing an iPhone 6s [showing] full measurements of the device. [They] show the iPhone 6s measuring 7.08 mm thick compared to Apple's official measurement of 6.9 mm on the iPhone 6. ... The new photos also reveal slight increases for the height and width...138.19 mm tall and 67.68 mm wide, compared to 138.1 mm and 67.0 mm.

On a percentage basis, the thickness would see the biggest increase [which] could be enough to prevent some tight-fitting iPhone 6 cases from fitting the 6s, but many cases should have enough wiggle room.

And Matt Hanson describes fatt handsets: [You're fired -Ed.]

As size increases go [it] isn't the most ground (or pocket) breaking leap, but it does make us wonder what other tech Apple could be making room for. 

Individually the increases in size might not seem like much, but...if you're already struggling to fit an iPhone 6 into your pocket, you're going to have even more trouble with the iPhone 6S.

But Ben Lovejoy is overjoyed to read yet another rumor:

A report from the usually-reliable KGI [says] the front camera will be upgraded to 5MP [and] the rear camera lens may not be sapphire, as it...failed drop tests. ... It is more brittle, and thus at greater risk of shattering when dropped.

[KGI] also repeated its concerns [about] flat or negative sales growth. [But] KGI’s pessimism...contrasted with data from Kantar, which suggested “ample opportunity for iPhone upgrades” this year and next

The Next Social Network Is The Virtual Reality

Oculus VR, the virtual reality company owned by Facebook, released an app called the Oculus Social alpha. It's for users of the Samsung Gear VR virtual reality headset, which uses a Samsung phone as the screen and brains of the headset and is based on Oculus technology

Oculus Social is, for now, a virtual reality movie-watching app. The experience is that you choose an avatar to represent yourself, and then you suddenly show up in a kind of small movie theater, sitting in one of the seats. You can watch a video from Twitch or a preselected video from Vimeo and, if you want to, chat with up to four other people who are also in the theater and are also represented by avatars.

In the current version, there are no avatar bodies. Just heads floating above the seats. As the real-life users talk, nod or turn their heads, so do their avatars. Stereo sound bolsters the illusion of presence by making the sound of the movie come from the screen, but the sound of users talking comes from the avatars.

Next year is going to be the Year of Virtual Reality. The Oculus Rift platform is expected to ship in the first quarter of 2016. The enterprise version of Microsoft's Hololens should also emerge some time next year. Google's Cardboard platform, an open-source way for any company to make inexpensive VR headsets that can be used with a smartphone, should finally gain mainstream traction. And many other hardware, software and VR content products should become available for consumers.

The public thinks the big VR app will be gaming. But I think it will be social interaction. That's why the appearance of the Oculus Social alpha is significant. It's a milestone as important as when the first smartphone came out -- a first product in its category that will completely change how humans interact with one another.

When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in March of last year that Facebook would acquire Oculus VR, the news was greeted with a collective "Huh?!"

After all, why would a social network company buy what everyone viewed as a gaming console? Zuckerberg himself addressed that question in his announcement post. He wrote: Oculus Rift "is really a new communication platform. By feeling truly present, you can share unbounded spaces and experiences with the people in your life. Imagine sharing not just moments with your friends online, but entire experiences and adventures."

In other words, virtual reality is a social space, or will be one day. But why?

Social Media Is Actually A Very Big Addiction Problem

Social networks are massively addictive. Most people I know check and interact on social sites constantly throughout the day. And they have no idea how much actual time they spend on social media.

If you're a social media addict, and your addiction is getting worse, there's a reason for that: Most of the major social network companies, as well as social content creators, are working hard every day to make their networks so addictive that you can't resist them.

Facebook: I wish I knew how to quit you

Cornell Information Science published research earlier this month that looked at (among other things) the difficulty some people have in quitting Facebook and other social networks. They even have a label for the failure to quit: "social media reversion."

The study used data from a site called 99DaysofFreedom.com, which encourages people to stop using Facebook for 99 days.

The site and study are interesting because they revealed the difficulty people have quitting Facebook because of addiction. Participants intended to quit, wanted to quit and believed they could quit (for 99 days), but many couldn't make more than a few days.

The network effect itself is addicting, according to Instagram software engineer Greg Hochmuth, as quoted by The New York Times. (A network effect is the idea that any network becomes more valuable as more people connect to that network. The phone system is the best example of this phenomenon -- you have to have a phone because everybody else has a phone.)

In fact, Hochmuth and artist and computer scientist Jonathan Harris created a web experience called Network Effect. The site simulates the experience of browsing through social media by giving you a feed of people engaging on various activities. Then, after a few minutes, the site won't let you watch anymore (for 24 hours) so you can experience the subtle withdrawal symptoms.

In the world of social networking, Facebook benefits most from network effect. Facebook happened to be the top social network when social networking busted out as a mainstream activity. Now, everybody's on Facebook because everybody's on Facebook. And even people who don't like the social network use it anyway, because that's where their family, friends and colleagues are -- and because of addiction.

How A New Launched Company Can Get Likes And Shares On Facebook Within A Week

In an interview Mr.James Told that:

We pre-launched Reader’s Legacy six months ago but decided that it was time to start our publicity campaign on February 1. Over the past six months, we have had many discussions on where we will start spending our advertising dollars. We are still in the middle of a major fundraising campaign, but we knew that we had to start driving people, who loved to read, to our community. We also knew that Facebook advertising was going to be part of the plan, so I started studying the art of Facebook advertising four months ago.

I decided to share the results of our first week to my tribe, as I know that there are thousands of us (entrepreneurs) out there who are trying to figure out how to bring new customers and users to our web properties. I think those results were very respectable -- and I learned a lot. I’ve even included screenshots to help you really understand what we learned. 

Related: 10 Quick Steps to Creating a Facebook Ad Campaign

Here are few points that we learned in the past week.

1. Decide who your clients / users are, and market directly to them.

Facebook gives you the ability to choose exactly who you want to advertise to. Take this very seriously. Do your own research to determine who your targets are. We decided that we were going to market to men and women in America and Canada between the ages of 35 and 60 who liked to read. All of our research told us that 75 percent of readers were women, but we decided to advertise to men and women in order to determine if the statistic on the female dominated space was correct. We choose these criteria very specifically.

2. Offer real value.

Our research told us that everyone is advertising on Facebook now, and that we would have to offer real value to catch our readers attention. We did the math and decided that we could afford to give each new user that joined a free Book. Yes, that’s right, a real physical book that we would ship to them.

We sell over 16 million books and operate an affinity program (points program) where users can collect points (LitCoins) to buy books. So we decided to run a promotion for the months of February and March, whereby every new user would get enough LitCoins to buy a new book and, if they referred another user, they would get enough LitCoins for a second book.