Category: Social Media

App.net: A New Hope

I just joined App.net. In my line of work it is kind of mandatory to join new networks. So I join them all, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Triberr, Diaspora* and so on and so on… Tried UNTHINK, Zurker and several others. Not all of them work out or even exist anymore. Some are strong, most are similar and a few really stand out.

And now App.net is here. A new hope…

App.net header

App.net

According to App.net: “App.net is a different kind of social platform. We’re building a real-time social service where users and developers come first, not advertisers.”

This quote can be found on join.app.net, here you can also sign up. Mind you, it is a paid service, a paid social network.., what? I’m typing this and thinking.., wait, I paid to join a social network.., that is unheard of! How dare they…

Well.., actually it just might be the future. Join Facebook or Twitter and you’ll expose yourself to their commercial activities.., you are the product!

With App.net you pay with money instead of with personal information and invasive advertisement.., sounds a lot better now, doesn’t it?

$50 for a year, for the first year ($100 if you want to develop).
We get to figure out whether or not we like the service, the developers can go nuts without (many) restrictions and App.net gets a chance.
Sounds like a good deal.., because let’s face it.., the business model the others have might in the long run cost you more than a meager $50 a year.

FAQ

If you want to know more about App.net, and you do, read the user generated FAQ.
Or just start at join.app.net.

If you decide to join.., find and join me. You can find me at https://alpha.app.net/rogiernoort

A Completely Unshareable Social Event

In this day and age.., how can you create a website for a social event which is completely unshareable?

In Brussels we have an event.., the “Roller Bike Parade” (I don’t even want to link to it, but for the sake of the post I will).
It would seem to me that when organizing such an event you’d want to share the heck out of it.., and make it as easy as possible for anyone to do just that.

So, how come..,  in 2012.., when everybody is fully aware of Social Media a web design company claiming to be “building brand experiences” does not add any social sharing tools right off the bat? I do not know.

Now.., next to the fact there is an extremely annoying ‘puppet’ jumping around all the time and that the whole site is made in Flash there just is no social platform present on the whole page.., anywhere.

Now.., if you click one of the menu items there are some “articles” and those articles have a FB share button. But those are hardly share-able too.

Well.., no problem then.., I will just copy the main URL (http://www.belgiumrollers.com/#/en/home/) and share that on Facebook as a status update.., surely we get an image and some useful text to share…

Wrong again…

Instead of creating a post for the Roller Bike Parade the status only mentions and links directly to the makers of the website!

Now.., I’m sure somewhere in this mess there is some brand experience being build.., but I doubt if it is a positive one.

I don’t use Flash.., I used to.., in 1999, but no longer… However, I’m quite sure inserting social sharing into Flash must be possible.

Lesson learned: Make it share-able! You can create the most amazing content, but if it can’t be shared it is worthless.

Content is King.., sharing is Queen.

 

Storytelling on your blog

More and more storytelling is becoming on the lists of how to write a blog.

I would say that even under the best of circumstances telling a good story is a fair challenge.
Now the social guru’s want us to create a storyline over multiple blogposts and in my case with multiple authors. These authors are only united by the logo on their paycheck.., we are colleagues, they work for the same company.., but all in different disciplines and with different objectives.

A Good Book

I just finished a book, Purrfect Storm by R.S. Emeline (@RSEMELINE) It’s a short story about.., well.., you read it yourself.

Point is.., it’s a great story. It has adventure, romance and a plot. And I enoyed reading it. I can imagine this being a series of blogposts creating one big story which people would want to read and would come back for.

So.., how do I get my company to write blogposts that can sustain a cohesive storyline? No seriously.., I’m asking.., because I do not know.

Storytelling

According to Coca-Cola every expression on (social) media is part of their story. If it’s not.., it doesn’t get used. They call it Liquid and everything(!) is linked.

I reckon we have to find the “voice” of the company and find the story it wants to tell.