Surprise! We Like TV More Than Social Media

In what is a surprise to no one, a recent study shows that 58% of people would rather give up social networks than their TVs. We love our screen time, and although we're addicted to sharing, we're even more addicted to sitting and staring. And, North Americans are even more attached to their televisions than the rest of the world, as 73% of them would ditch social media over the boob tube.

Check out the Infographic:

(Via AllTwitter)

Google Drive is Here

Ahhh, everyone, it's time to  lose your mind - Google Drive is finally here!
No, no, I kid. We can all stay calm and enjoy the newest product to come from Google. Although there have been rumors about Drive for a while now, it was officially announced on the company blog today.
Google states,

Today, we’re introducing Google Drive—a place where you can create, share, collaborate, and keep all of your stuff. Whether you’re working with a friend on a joint research project, planning a wedding with your fiancé or tracking a budget with roommates, you can do it in Drive. You can upload and access all of your files, including videos, photos, Google Docs, PDFs and beyond.

Tumblr to Feature Advertisements

"We're pretty opposed to advertising. It really turns our stomachs."

This is a quote from Tumblr CEO, David Karp, made back in 2010 to The Los Angeles Times. Looks like he's had a change of a heart, or invested in some Pepto-Bismol, because starting May 2 Tumblr will start featuring advertisements in place of their "Radar" posts.

The "Radar" posts appear in Tumblr's dashboard and usually offer up a current selection of notable posts from bloggers. And while I find Karp's 2010 statement amusing and admirable, I get it - Tumblr's got to keep up with the times and they have to start making real money for their investors (they recently received $125 million in funding).

One thing Tumblr does plan to do differently is infuse their featured advertising with creativity. If you know Tumblr, you know it's image rich. Karp has chastised other tech giants like Facebook and Google for being "devoid of creativity" in designing ads that are too text heavy, and well, just plain boring. And who could argue?

As Tumblr's popularity continues to soar, brands and high profile individuals (hello, Beyonce) are already embracing the platform to reach fans. (Karp's personal favorite: Warby Parker's Warby Barker.) So, really, isn't this the logical next step?

With Tumblr's unique platform and emphasis on the creative the ads will probably be easier to stomach for both Karp and Tumblr's users. And, the advertisers will benefit from the potential 120 million impressions a day - score!

Source Ad Age.

Brands Just Don't Get Facebook

An interesting study was released last week that analyzes what type of Facebook content draws the most engagement...and no surprise, it was video and photos. However, brands just don't seem to understand as the post popular posts were merely status updates. Take a look at the infographic for more insight:

Via AllFacebook.

Story Time on Twitter

One of my favorite Twitter users is R.L. Stine. Maybe it's my love for his classic Goosebumps books, which I consumed non-stop as a kid, but it's also because Stine uses the medium in innovative ways to suit who he is as a writer. Basically, he tells stories through Twitter. Here's his latest, a story about Friday the 13th.

Also - he has one of the best Twitter bios ever:

Google + Redesign Follow Up

Was just reading more on the Google + Redesign and came across this article from Fast Company. It touches on some good points, most notably that Google + is wayyyy more aestheticly pleasing than Facebook "but, you know, it’s just a little too late for design alone to save the day."

 What do you think of the new Google + Redesign?

Instagram Inspiration

Since this week has been filled with all things Instagram, check out this look at one of Instagram's must-follow users, Richard Koci Hernandez. He uses at the app as the medium for his art, and has quite a tendency to photograph people in motion. Enjoy.

Via Slate.

Address is Approximate

Loved this stop-motion video Address is Approximate. I know this isn't exactly SEO/Social Media related, but thought I'd share anyway. It uses Google street view and maps. Plus, I discovered it while voting for The Webby Awards, so that makes it web-related and that counts. Watch it and enjoy...and vote!

Address Is Approximate from The Theory on Vimeo.

Google + Redesign

First Facebook Timeline, and now we have the Google + redesign....and, I like it. I've always liked Google +'s clean interface; I thought it was a nice contrast to the clutter that can be Facebook. And, I also always felt like Google + had great potential for image sharing. Looks like the social network is taking advantage of these things to bring users a more customized, modern experience.

Facebook/Instagram Saga

I'm sure everyone's been hearing a lot about Facebook's recent purchase of Instagram for a whopping $1 billion. While this has many a hipster shaking in their boots (maybe even more so than Instagram's new availability on Android), I think there are some real, concerning questions to be raised outside of the fact that pretty much everyone you went to high school with will now be sharing sepia-toned photos on Facebook (probably of their babies and/or pets).

1.) What's going to happen to Instagram's ease of usability in terms of sharing with other social networks?
One of my favorite things about Instagram is how easy it easy for me to snap a picture and then post it to Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr. This makes live-blogging a cinch. And, to be honest, I'm more apt to share on Twitter or my Tumblr blog than I am on Facebook (again with those creepy old "friends" from high school). Let's hope Facebook doesn't kill these sharing capabilities (Facebook is all about sharing, remember) in order to squash competitors - or, worse yet, force us to into sharing on Facebook. If this starts happening, I may be one of the 200,000+ people turning to Instaport to save my photos upon abandoning the platform.

2.) The Facebook Threat - would Facebook really kill something it just paid $1 billion for? 
Further to #1, I surely hope not. While Instagram had been a major threat to Facebook with it's 30 million users and photo-sharing capabilities, Facebook has a lot to gain here - most notably enhanced visibility on mobile - because, let's face it, Facebook kind of sucks on mobile. Sure, enhanced capability with Timeline was an improvement, but when using my iPhone, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest have my attention before Facebook. Sorry, Zuck. Let's hope Facebook

Let's hope Facebook and Instagram can work together to grow together. Instagram now has Facebook's resources to leverage, which we can hope will only improve the site.

For further reading, check out Mashable's plea to Facebook.

Instagram Infographic

Via Mashable.

Instagram for Android

So the big news yesterday was that Instagram finally made its way onto the Android platform. As a former Droid user and current iPhone-er, I was feeling pretty ambivalent to this expansion. I like Instagram - not just for its creative filters, but for its ease of use. I maintain another blog that is photo based, and Instagram couldn't make it easier for me to snap, upload, and share my images to other social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.

However, not everyone shared my feel-good sentiments. The best thing to come from Instagram for Android was some iPhone users disgust...

via Buzzfeed.

It's Here: Facebook Timeline

While I had been aware of that Facebook Timeline was coming for brands at the end of last month something deep inside me just didn't want to admit it. Maybe it was the uneasiness of having to sift through my company's less than adequate inventory of graphics to find a suitable cover photo that would take up nearly half of the screen or...no, it was the cover photo. Either way, when my company's brand page switched over at the end of last week, I definitely wasn't feeling prepared.

And, I don't think I was the only one. Facebook received a rather lukewarm welcome from individuals that made the switch and it seemed as though brands wanted to resist the change as well. However, now that Timeline has forced it's way into our lives for better or worse, we need to understand how to use it to it's full potential. That means highlighting posts - a favorite feature of mine - to adding milestones; Timeline is about telling your brand's story.

In addition, early reports are showing increased fan engagement. However, I think these studies should be taken with a grain of salt as they center on early adopters that have been pushed by Facebook and touted in social media news outlets.

While I'm still not raving about Timeline or ready for it. It is starting to grow on me. Looking at other brands' pages, I am inspired. The stories created through the visuals is fun and engaging. But this is just the beginning.  Only time will tell how well Timeline will work. Until then...I better find a compelling cover photo.

What's Happening?

Hello and welcome to Media Minded!

As an SEO and social media specialist touting the benefits of this ever-evolving field, I feel it's important to stay up to date on what's happening online. I also hope to share with others on how and why they need to be taking advantage of all that social media has to offer - and this blog will help me do just that.

Social media and SEO are now tied together like never before, and should go hand-in-hand when developing an online marketing strategy for yourself or your company.  Through this blog I hope to write and comment on the latest happenings in the SEO and social media world, as well as, provide tips and tricks for strategies that work. But first, some definitions, please?

Social Media
Social media comprises various communication tools online that connect us to people with similar interests. The goal of social media is to discover and share content. And, for branding purposes, you want that content to be relevant to your target audience.

Content is king and good content is SHAREABLE.

SEO
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, can refer to paid or organic strategies to build traffic to your site. Ideally, you'd like to focus your efforts on organic traffic like keywords and inbound links to help your SEO, and therefore, decrease any spending you may have to do to increase page views.

I'll address SEO techniques like site structure and writing for the web best practices in this blog. 

Social Media & SEO
From Twitter to Pinterest, the effects social has on SEO cannot be ignored. Google has recently announced they will be giving more weight to social links in search, so if your company isn't currently employing a social strategy, you better start now. As it turns out, what your friends like is now considered relevant content.

However, this blog isn't call social media minded...it's called Media Minded, because like most everyone I have many interests and they aren't just limited to social and SEO. I also love new media design, videos, blog memes (who doesn't?), and just general fun stuff we can find on this wild and wacky webernet. So I'll be bringing all that cool stuff to cool people like you. Because, remember, good content is shareable content.

OK. That about sums it up for now. Till next time.