Cross-posted from Miss604.com

To many people, Facebook is the internet. It’s open in a browser throughout the day, it could be their home screen, and on average users are connected to 130 “friends” at a time [Facebook: Stats]. However, even with close to 400 million users (11 million in Canada alone) Facebook isn’t on everyone’s friend’s list.

Recent changes from everything to layout, policies, and terms of use have some people wanting to quit the platform. This has prompted the creation of “Quit Facebook Day” which will be coming up May 31, 2010.

For a bit of background as to why the extraordinarily popular site is seemingly losing momentum, here’s a brief history of Facebook:

Facebook Timeline

2004
February: Mark Zuckerberg and co-founders Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes and Eduardo Saverin launch Facebook from their Harvard dorm room
December: Facebook reaches nearly 1 million active users

2005
August: The company officially changes its name to Facebook from thefacebook.com
September: Facebook expands to add high school networks
December: Facebook reaches more than 5.5 million active users

2006
August: Facebook and Microsoft form strategic relationship for banner ad syndication
September: Facebook expands registration so anyone can join (not just school networks)
December: Facebook reaches more than 12 million active users

2007
February: Virtual gift shop launches as a feature
March: Facebook reaches over 2 million active Canadian users and 1 million active UK users
July: I wrote a post about why I use Facebook (and you should too)
October: Facebook and Microsoft expand advertising deal to cover international markets; Microsoft takes a $240 million equity stake in Facebook

2008
January: Facebook co-sponsors Presidential Debates with ABC News, Vancouver hosts first Facebook Awards
April: Facebook launches Facebook Chat and releases Translation application to 21 additional languages
August: Facebook reaches over 100 million active users
The Privacy Commissioner of Canada launches the world’s first investigation into Facebook’s scanty privacy safeguards [Globe&Mail]

2009
February: Facebook updates its Term of Service, backlash follows: “Facebook’s terms of service (TOS) used to say that when you closed an account on their network, any rights they claimed to the original content you uploaded would expire. Not anymore. Now, anything you upload to Facebook can be used by Facebook in any way they deem fit, forever, no matter what you do later. ”

December: Facebook reaches over 350 million active users

2010
February: Facebook reaches over 400 million active users
April: A new privacy setting called “Instant Personalization” was launched. It shares data with non-Facebook websites and it is automatically set to “Allow.” Go to Account > Privacy Settings > Applications and Websites and uncheck “Allow”, then repost this to your profile. “Many users take issue with the social network’s now-default opt-out inclusion of its users in new features and services and “How do I delete my Facebook account” has become a top search suggestion on Google.”[ReadWriteWeb]

Quit Facebook Day

When I give presentations about social media for business I usually focus on Twitter and blogs however Facebook always comes up. It’s a great way to connect with millions of users and it’s good to have a presence there. However, in every presentation I have at least two people who were completely unaware about Facebook’s Terms of Service. What you upload to Facebook, belongs to Facebook and they may share your information at will. See: “Shocker: Facebook Does What’s Best for Facebook“.

That being said, many users are rightfully unhappy about the “opt out” information sharing that can now take place on Facebook. This is where “Quit Facebook Day” comes in. Created by Matthew Milan and Joseph Dee they are hoping to organize a mass exodus of users from the platform.

From the campaign’s website:
“Why are we quitting? For us it comes down to two things: fair choices and best intentions. In our view, Facebook doesn’t do a good job in either department. Facebook gives you choices about how to manage your data, but they aren’t fair choices, and while the onus is on the individual to manage these choices, Facebook makes it damn difficult for the average user to understand or manage this. We also don’t think Facebook has much respect for you or your data, especially in the context of the future.”

Still, ReadWriteWeb has us ask ourselves some valid questions:
“And while the sharing of your data sounds quite scary, we have to wonder if this reactionary unchecking is causing some who would otherwise benefit to miss out. After all, are we really all that concerned about Pandora knowing, from the moment we load the site, that we’re huge Weezer fans?”

You may take a look through the updated policy (with changes highlighted) in order to form your own opinion on the matter.

I’ve been interviewed at least a dozen times about how social media people are covering the Olympics in Vancouver. However, I think an equally interesting story is how traditional media outlets are using social media to add to their coverage.

CTV Olympics Video
The official broadcaster of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games has been posting footage to YouTube. The type of event action videos that would get pulled down with a cease & desist letter from the IOC are up and running in full glory on the CTV Olympics channel. Although you cannot embed the videos, you can watch clips of medal moments and even streaming replays of televised events on their main website.

Government of BC
The Province of British Columbia has been capturing Olympic moments and posting them to their official YouTube channel as well. They have athlete interviews, montages, and even an interview with yours truly.

They don’t have Games footage but they have been everywhere around town, profiling businesses and the fan experience.

Global has added a video section to their website and although they’re not posting the videos as shareable items on YouTube, they are blogging and tweeting to enhance their coverage. Same goes for the CBC who has a Road to the Games section of their site, acting as a 2010 newsroom complete with sidebar event listings. You can read more about their coverage game plan in my post from last week.

With such restrictions for non-official broadcasters these Olympics haven’t necessarily made journalists out of citizens, they’ve made the mainstream realize that social media can help them with their coverage — and it can make it that much more interesting.

I recently discovered that my account on Twitter now has the “Lists” capability so I thought I would produce a quick screencast to help others understand this cool function that was introduced last month.

You’ll also find roundups or mass postings of lists on blogs in the coming weeks, such as ReadWriteWeb’s “10 Twitter Lists You Should Follow” or the mega directory over at Listorious.

Update November 2nd, 2009: Mashable has also put out a “HOW TO” for Twitter lists using images.

Technorati, the authority on blog listings and ranks, has released their 2009 State of the Blogosphere. This annual report looks at household incomes of bloggers, genders, topics, measures of success and more. Here are a few interesting stats:

Who are the Bloggers

The “Why” of Blogging

The “How” of Blogging

Each part of the report is being released day by day with new articles to follow later this week.

To say that Twitter is huge in Vancouver is an understatement. During Vancouver Canucks hockey games the word #Canucks is often within the top ten trending topics on the service which is used by millions worldwide. Combining Vancouver and top trending topics has been a bit impossible, until now.

This afternoon Mashable featured Trendsmap, a way to find the hot topics specifically in your area. The big football match in Buffalo might not be on your top trends list however if you’re based in Vancouver perhaps you want to see why so many people are talking about the Olympics, traffic, weather, or the latest celebrity sighting.

As of this afternoon, the top trends in Vancouver are: Organic, Olyimpics, Oakridge (I assume because we have a new Apple store opening up there), Canucks, Climate, and Craig Ferguson. The Trendsmap packs hundreds of cities’ information into an interactive Google Map so it’s a big clunky right now, however the information it provides is pretty interesting. I see this being useful for hyper-local news agencies, businesses, and individuals who would just like to keep on top of what’s being talked about the most in Vancouver at any given time.

The South by Southwest festival brings together music, entertainment, film, technology, social media, and a whole lot of BBQ each year down in Austin, Texas. There has always been a strong Canadian contingency, in particular from the Vancouver area. In preparation for next year’s SXSW Interactive, submissions have been collected and the public is being asked to vote on their favourite topics, which they will see presented in March of 2010.

I took a look through the 2,219 submissions in the PanelPicker and have weeded out some of the gems that are being proposed by some of our own local talent.

• Our good friend John Biehler is putting together a panel about the way we do business: Do Cool Kids Leave When the Suits Arrive?
• With the Olympics coming to Vancouver in 2010 this session proposed by Robert Scales is of great interest: Social Media and the Olympics: A Case Study
• Another one of our good friends, Dave Olson, has prepared: Hitchiking to the Boardroom
• James Chutter has two talks up for your consideration: Ubiquitous Participation: Graffiti Streets to Social Networks and the other is Beta Campaigns: Planning for User Driven Advertising
• Cecily Walker from the Vancouver Public Library proposed: Can I Reserve This Book With My iPhone?
• Ellitot Hurst from Supernova.com wants to talk about things like the CFOX Vancouver Seeds competition: Online Community Saved the Radio Star
• SXSW veteran and photographer Kris Krug is pitching the following: Your Content is You, Your Website is Dead and Listening the the Internet: Online Media Monitoring
• Not from Vancouver but our friend Meghan at Hill & Knowlton has proposed: Passionate People: The Key Ingredient to Social Media Success

The public vote counts for 30% with another 30% coming from staff and 40% decided upon by an advisory board. Should you have a panel submission you’d like us to check out, please feel free to link to it in the comments of this post. Best of luck to our peers and counterparts from Vancouver and we look forward to joining you down in Austin.

I heard this story on the radio this morning, and it got me thinking. Why are there not more city services, such as those run by a city hall in any township, using more elements of social media?

One local politician wants the Vancouver Park Board to get in on the act.

A motion going before the Board Monday night will ask members to look at not only posting audio of their meetings on-line but also to explore providing citizens with regular updates via social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. [...]

“I think that with all this social media that we have there is just so much that we can do. The more we can bring people in, the more we’ll know about what people want and the better job we can do.”

Blyth says the web is a good way to keep people informed about issues covered in upcoming meetings, as well as little known Park Board events. [news1130]

Now before you start rolling your eyes at the notion of another pusher of the Facebook and Twitter bandwagon, you need to start considering the ramifications of what these free and easy tools of direct contact really are.

Let me say those keywords again. Free and easy. Direct contact.

These terms should be enough for those organizations and committees to perk up a little bit if you have ever heard or said the notion of things getting done in local government but the public doesn’t get involved. Perhaps they judge interest on who shows up at those meetings in which anyone can attend.

Even better, how many times have you heard of something being decided by a city council to only have it be exactly the opposite of what the majority of the public wanted to have happen? Usually that happens because the public was unaware of it even being a matter of discussion because, and let’s be completely honest, reading those city council minutes are not the top priority of every single person that they affect.

So, to give you some basic idea of what your local government could be doing, here are some tips that I brainstormed this morning. Consider them starting points because you can really push things much further depending on how far you want to take these concepts.

Facebook: I’ll start here because there are some brilliant ways to use this service. Most importantly, starting Groups and then using it to announce and invite members to Events are great. It gets added to their profile and they can see when, where, and who is going to be there. And since you don’t need one person to moderate the group, you can utilize your whole organization to interact with the community online and in person. In fact, you never know if your members will start having meetups, outside of official meetings.

Twitter: Say what you will, but Twitter has a reach that is tough to beat. Announce scheduled meetings, send out updates, remind followers of scheduled events, take feedback from your followers, make live updates of what is going on at meetings or events, send out links to your agendas and minutes as soon as they are published to your website, etc. The possibilities are really endless.

UStream: In the past month, I’ve seen more and more high schools using UStream’s free, live video streaming service to show basketball games as they happen. So why can’t more local governments being using the same technology to “webcast” city council meetings or school board meetings? You don’t need a local cable access channel to do it. All it takes is an Internet connection, a laptop with decent audio input, and a webcam. It might not be the ideal setup, but you can embed that video into your organization’s website where anyone can watch and listen from home. You’ll also want to send out an update on Twitter to let everyone know that the video stream is live and that the meeting is about to start.

YouTube: President Barack Obama is using YouTube to do his weekly address to the nation, so why can’t your local mayor do the same thing? Get a video camera, edit, upload, and release it. Embed that to your city’s website and keep the people informed on a regular basis all the while giving your mayor a face and a voice rather than just a name. Twitter that as well when the new video is posted.

Podcasting: More often than none, official, city meetings usually have a PA system in the rooms they are held in. Get something you can record audio with and find out how you can get a feed off of the system in the room so you can record it, and then you can post every recording as an episode of the official podcast of your local city council. Even if you have some device you can stick in the middle of the room that can capture all of the conversations in an audible enough manner, that’s perfect, too. It might take some work to edit and publish every episode, but the more you do this, the more archives you’ll create over time. Oh, and be sure to post an update on Twitter that the latest podcast episode is up as well as a link directly to it.

Blogs: Text is always going to be the saving grace of any official organization, and creating content that is search-able is key. If you have a new resident to a community, what better way is there to get to know a community than to have an official blog from the office of the mayor with his weekly/bi-weekly/monthly video addresses, thoughts on events going on in or around the area, progress reports on his or her city plan, or announcements of great community events that you should go check out because the mayor will be there as well? I think the new person in town might have to subscribe to the RSS feed of the mayor’s blog because it seems like a good way to stay informed about this new city they are now living in.

On top of that, the more text based content you have, the better your search engine optimization (SEO) goes up when some one tries to search for something on Google about your community. Wouldn’t it be best if some of the first search results that come up are those coming directly from the folks running the city? That would seem very important to people involved in local tourism and chamber of commerces. Of course, Twitter any and all updates to the blog or website so your followers are reminded to check it out.

By no means are all of these thoughts complete or are they everything that one could do when taking social media into consideration for a governmental organization that run cities large or small. The fact is, the tools are there and within easy grasp of using, and it’s not out of the question to get going on some of these concepts within a matter of days, on little to no budget. The results might surprise you as suddenly a public service actually opens itself up to the public it is meant to serve.

If you have additional ideas or even examples of cities doing concepts like this, feel free to share them in the comments below.

Over the last few months of 2008 Profectio.com began a campaign to find the most influential individuals in Canada. They had an open nomination process for several weeks, following by weeks of voting. Their final tally was based on various metrics (see below) and sixty4media’s own, Rebecca Bollwitt, was on the list.

Rebecca Bollwitt ranked #4 in the country for the “Most Influential Women in Social Media” and the exciting news kept coming as we found out that a good friend of sixty4media, Darren Barefoot was also up there on the list of men.

“It’s always nice to be recognized by your peers and see your hard work pay off,” said Bollwitt. “If even in the form of a link on a website, or a friendly hat tip. I am listed among many amazing individuals that continue to share and create such excellent content, as well as those who have personally helped me grow over the years — it’s an honor.”

I wrote this recently on my personal site although it’s the prefect content for our business site as well.

Over the last few weeks my company, sixty4media, has themed, coded, and tweaked quite a few WordPress sites (and even more over the years before we even had the company). I am often asked what I use to code or theme so here are some of the basic tools that make my life a whole lot easier.

MAMP
MAMP allows you to run a mini WordPress web server from your computer so that you can theme sites locally, without having them published online or on a development site.

FTP
You need a good FTP application for uploading files and images on the fly. I’m using Cyberduck right now but I’ve had many suggestions for more productive tools (and I can’t for the life of me remember the one that Tod recommended).

Smultron
For Mac OS X and Leopard
A great text editor (used for PHP files) that works nicely with Cyberduck by selecting it as your file editor under preferences. It colour-codes nicely and is very simple to use.

CSS Edit
MacRabbit – CSS Edit (for Macs only)
All in one CSS editing tool. Allows you to eyedrop colours, shows your properties in a sidebar, knows where to place brackets etc. and even auto-completes some elements. In the sidebar it also displays colours on anything that has a background colour ie. if your footer is blue, it will show up blue in the sidebar list.

WordPress Codex
This last one isn’t downloadable, the codex is an online resource for all issues, questions, and reference materials in the WordPress realm.

John is usually on top of all the latest applications and is even a beta tester for some upgraded versions of the software listed above. He’s great at staying on the cutting edge and then passing the knowledge on to me so I’m sure my staple apps will probably change soon, but for now – they’re great basics.

Last month I wrote about using Twitter for Business and it was the most popular post we’ve had on sixty4media to date.

Tech Crunch just released some Twitter stats and the proof is in the numbers: Twitter is here, now, and it’ll be staying for quite some time.

Twitter is having its hockey stick moment in terms of its growth just shooting up. Last week it may have delivered its billionth Tweet, at least nominally. And it looks like it is approaching escape velocity. If it doesn’t break up from all the pressure and is able to keep its service up and running more or less, it could soon—gasp!—break into the mainstream. [TechCrunch]

When I was first on Facebook some people laughed, “Why would you need to do that? Who wants to know all that?” and since they’ve recorded 15.8 billion page views in 2007 [TechCrunch]. Twitter was next. It is the latest platform (even though it’s been around since 2006) to start slowly and build momentum – just like the Tech Crunch article says, this could now be going mainstream – and it can definitely be used for Business.

The popularity of social networking is skyrocketing and it’s encouraging to see Twitter taking off. However, even though it is a microblogging platform, there is still such a stigma attached to blogging in general. I’m waiting for the day someone can say “I’m a blogger” and not be immediately pictured sitting in their parents’ basement in their pajamas writing a diary blog entry about their cat.

All of these social media sites are tools that can help you and your business reach the world, or your own specific local audience. Websites these days can have the full functions of a blog but not necessarily be just a blog. They become content management systems that can integrate blogs, pages, Facebook and Twitter updates. It’s for this reason that all of these technologies (together) are so beneficial. It’s where your audience is, so it’s where you need to be.

As a blogger (on my personal site) who is sometimes approached by other businesses, PR firms or marketers, the one thing that makes me click “delete” on an email almost instantly is the opening phrase, “Dear Sir or Madam”. Aside from using the correct pronouns you don’t want to sound like a press release, a robot or a faceless entity when dealing with bloggers and the same goes for running your own business blog.

Last April I attended Open Web Vancouver and sat in on two amazing keynotes, one of which was by Tim Bray. I have since used some of his quotes in presentations and have seen his sentiments echoed across the social media sphere since they are simple, accurate, and they make the most sense.

On the topic of writing your content, here are a few suggestions:

Be human: Don’t have an eleven step editorial process ie. if you’ve ever been in an organization that needs to put out a press release. You may have experienced that it could take 2 weeks for 2 page release and “then you end up with something no human being would have ever written…. or now would want to read.”[From Miss604 Live Blog]

Think about the text you put on your site. Write long, then cut short. If you have 100 words you can fit into a screen without scrolling, write 150. Then, slash back to 75 and see if you’ve got the right message. “Say what you have to say with the fewest possible words.” [Crawford Kilian at the IMC]

Aside from writing in a readable and comfortable tone for your audience you also need to put a face to your blog. This doesn’t mean hundreds of self portraits from your webcam, it just means that people, clients, and customers respond better to names. “Admin” or “Company Name” as an author on your site may not be as well received as “Betty”, “Jim”, or “Sue from Marketing”.

Example: Carnival Cruise Lines

The final tip is to not dupe your audience. If you are an official blog of ABC Company, please state that in your sidebar or on your about page ie. “This is the official blog of ABC Company”. That way it lets readers know you are a reliable resource, and you are accountable for your content. Disclosure is everything.

For many reasons, some companies may be apprehensive about sharing too much or being too transparent in the online realm and that is a valid concern. However, having a reliable, strong, and open community within your business blogging space can still be achieved if you are calm and professional. Write in a readable tone, disclose your objectives, address readers as people (have authors that are “real” people), and start conversations with your audience.

Most importantly, read other blogs (especially if they are in the same industry as you). You can see what others are doing right, have discussions, and make real and lasting connections.

It’s been just over three months since I dove into the deep end of self-employment and I’m having a blast so far. So much so, that I thought Wednesday was Friday – either I accomplished enough work in 3 workdays to make my body think it was Friday or I’ve been so buried by projects I haven’t noticed what day it is on the calendar. Either way, I’m really excited about what sixty4media has been doing; we have clients across North America, my freelance writing is going strong, and I’ve had the time to speak at events like Ideas on Tap and plan the successful Food Bank food drive we just had at Third Tuesday.

The only snag I’ve encountered is the need for a meeting place when I collaborate with clients or do interviews. Since I work out of the home I suppose I could enlist the services of Workspace (I hear they have amazing coffee) or The Network Hub, however I have just been heading to coffee shops for this purpose.

A few weeks ago I hit four seperate coffee shops across town (for four different meetings/interviews), and seeing as how I make sure to purchase something at every location, I was pretty buzzed on coffee (or peanut butter cookies) by the time the afternoon rolled around – I recommend switching to water on days like those.

So what do I look for when I want to pick a coffee shop? The most important item is wifi, and the most extensive listing of internet-juiced venues around can be found on this site. You can also check the FreeTheNet map and browse by neighbourhood downtown.

Next, they need to have a good atmosphere; perhaps some couches or loungers along with tables and chairs that offer enough of a buffer between you and the other patrons. Also be sure to find a spot away from the barista as bubbling steamy coffee-making noises can be rather loud at times.

Note to coffee shops, if you’re going to offer and advertise free wifi, please make sure you have enough power outlets as well (I know my friend Raul would appreciate that one).

Working with friends occasionally is also highly recommended (especially if you miss having an office crew). I know, it sounds terribly geeky but if I meet up with a friend in a coffee shop we not only get to have a treat and catch up, we can also plug in and work on our various projects. It allows for instant feedback or help should we need any problem solving or comments about a new post or idea.

A few spots that I can recommend downtown (that may also have other stores around the Lower Mainland) include Waves, Blenz, and Raging Bean in Yaletown. Take 5 Cafes also have wifi, and if you need a full breakfast or lunch on the go, there’s always Cactus Club or The Templeton on Granville as well.

It’s only been just over a year since I started blogging remotely (on my lunch break while working a 9-5 job). Now that I’m free to be wherever I want, whenever I want, I actually do miss office camaraderie and in all honesty (in some strange way) I actually love cubicles. But being able to wake up early, head to the gym, come home, put on a pot of coffee and accomplish a ton of work before 9am is still pretty awesome.

I love being my own boss although I think the only drawback is that I can get burnt out easily since my projects, events, and commitments could have me out several evenings a week – on top of the work I do all day. Mandatory down-time is recommended, which is why you may notice me blogging less over the weekends on my personal site.

As sixty4media grows, I look forward to meeting more people, getting out and about, and expanding our operation. Until that time I’m enjoying all the city has to offer a young business like us, especially great remote working spaces (and coffee).

Sean Moffitt writes the Buzz Canuck blog, which admittedly makes me do a double take when I see it in my feeds – thinking it should be under the sports tab, but I digress.

He is “Canada’s Word of Mouth Firestarter” as the President of Agent Wildfire and recently added to this post, “The 6 Dangerous Fallacies of Social Media” by Jason Baer by writing his own, “12 Massive Oversights of Social Media“.

I’ll list the “myths” and topics here in point form, in the hopes that some discussion may follow, as Sean notes, “It would appear both the aloof corporate types and the social media zealots in their distracted apathy and/or super-enthusiasm have attributed social media with traits it simply does not have.”

1. Social media is the end game…
2. Social Media is Facebook…
3. Social media is a fad…
4. Social Media should be well planned…
5. Social Media Drives Exposure and Awareness…
6. Social Media is Frugal…
7. Social Media is Quick Relief…
8. Social Media is Avoidable…
9. Social Media is a Panacea…
10. Social Media is Predictable…
11. Social Media is a Media…
12. Social Media is Technology…

You can read all of the details, comments, and explanations over on Sean’s post.

The first thing we did when launching sixty4media was pick a domain name, from there we were able to register everything we needed and get the company off the ground. The next few steps were establishing our online presence and that pretty much started with Twitter, a service we have been using individually since early 2007.

John and I each have our own visibility but taking sixty4media out of the shrink wrap and putting it out there is currently one of my biggest tasks. A large part of being online and being visible isn’t necessarily judged by how many FriendFeeds, Tumblrs, Plurks, Jaikus, BrightKites, Identi.ca or Pownces you happen to be on. If Blog World Expo taught me one thing, it’s that the population is on Twitter.

sixty4media’s account is alive and well, although admittedly we have to step it up a bit since right now it’s a publishing platform for our new blog posts. The main thing is that we’re there.

Now, some people think Twitter is a joke – that it’s nothing more than a chat room or Facebook status updates on steroids. I would love to take a few minutes and educate the population about social media and the “power of millions” that Twitter has harnessed. One need only look at the election stream to see the effectiveness of an open global conversation online.

Not only can you find out what Bobby had for dinner or what Susie’s cat just chewed, you can also use Twitter for business. It’s a way to engage your audience, update, take polls, and share information. To prove it, here are a few choice examples:

Whole Foods Market
Blog: Whole Story
Twitter: @WholeFoods
Updates: Whole Foods updates their shoppers on in-store events and specials, as well as their latest blog posts and podcasts.

Learn more about cooking dried beans at home with this week’s food podcast: http://poprl.com/1ky [October 2008]

We’re sponsoring this year’s Chicago Gourmet event at Millennium Park and hosting a special family friendly section: http://is.gd/38p3 [September 2008]

Carnival Cruise Lines
Blog: By Senior Cruise Director John Heald
Twitter: @CarnivalCruise
Update: Carnival loves featuring their talented staff, crew and even interns through videos, blog posts and promotions.

Meet the Carnival Splendor crew- check out a video interview with Claudia, Casino Host extraordinaire – http://tinyurl.com/6n7yer [August 2008]

Commemorating the arrival of Jacksonville’s largest cruise ship- http://tinyurl.com/4k7qoo [September 2008]

Taking our social efforts beyond onboard fun – http://tinyurl.com/6eo8jq [September 2008]

Luxor Hotel and Casino
Blog: Luxor Insider
Twitter: @LuxorLV
Updates: The Luxor’s updates include featured performers at the hotel, Las Vegas trends, marketing tips, and during Blog World I was able to pick up some drink vouchers at Aurora thanks to their answering their shout out on Twitter for bloggers. The updates also have a nice personal feel.

At Mandalay Bay… Big meeting with all my counterparts from our sister properties. We’re talking about mobile mktg [September 2008]

Headed to CatHouse for a CRISS ANGEL Believe cast and crew party! – http://bkite.com/01GXP [September 2008]

Another great thing about Twitter (compared to other microblogging clients) is that there are so many applications and outside tools you can use to update such as the WordPress plugin, WordTwit, or managers like Tweet Deck or Twitterffic.

Because of their authenticity and genuine interest in social media as a way to keep in touch with their clients, and potential customers, I can see people having more trust in businesses like those mentioned above. I am probably more likely to book my next Las Vegas visit at the Luxor because of their outreach, and I’m seriously interested in this “Blogger Cruise” I read about on John Heald’s blog.

Twitter can be professional and also productive, as with any service you need to know when to ignore all of the noise and find out how this powerful tool can work best for you.

Photo by miss604 on Flickr

Rebecca had the extreme pleasure of attending Blog World Expo 2008 in Las Vegas this past weekend. Needless to say, there is wealth of information to be shared at this event. True to her live blogging skills, you can see many of her posts on miss604.com.

As we have been slowly molding sixty4media into shape, we have recently made our very own Twitter account open and available to the public.

Twitter is a popular social media site that combines micro-blogging and instant messaging to an international phenomenon of letting people know what you’re doing. Sounds insignificant to some, but there are more ways to use it other than telling people that you’re hungry or doing the laundry.

For instance, we use a great plugin for WordPress called WordTwit. This was made by our good friend Duane at BraveNewCode, and the whole purpose of it is to make an update to your Twitter account when you publish a new post on your WordPress site. Combined with any other updates we do on the account, you can get the latest news from our site as we publish it.

In the age of iPhones and Blackberries, what better way to connect to your audience directly?

Continuing in their series of explaining all things new media and Web 2.0, the great folks at CommonCraft have released “Social Media in Plain English“. You can view the video below and help yourself understand what social media is all about. Better yet, use this to help yourself explain what social media is to those who might not be in tune with what social media means.

If you would like to see some of the other creations from CommonCraft, please visit their website.

One thing that came up in reference to the last post we made about the MOMAR blog was the added advantage of having a RSS feed on the site, something that was not possible with the previous design and easily implemented by our ability to install WordPress into the site.

We understand that a lot of people don’t know what a RSS feed is, yet alone how it can benefit to have one implemented for the content on your website. Thanks to our friends at CommonCraft, they made a great video helping to explain RSS in plain english.

RSS has the ability to take your message to the world in a more effective manner than just simple page views or Google searches. There are people around the world who might be interested in what kind of content you are producing, and this technology is a great way for your target audience to subscribe and stay up to date with your message.

Rebecca was invited to the Massive Tech Show this week to be on a panel regarding social media and what it can do for businesses. The annual event takes place in downtown Vancouver, and it’s pretty tough to say no to something we have such an interest in while not having to go too far to talk about it.

The Massive Technology Show is a three-part, interactive event that showcases technology for business. In one action packed day, Massive connects business professionals with high tech companies, giving them a chance to learn about technology in a user friendly environment. [massivetechshow.com]

She made a couple of posts on her personal blog here and here. You’re invited to read more of her take there.