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It seems there’s always a technology or service threatening to revolutionize the internet. Promising to change the way we access information and how we use it.
In the past it was “web 2.0″, “web 3.0″, “crowd sourcing”; the list goes on!
Recently, “Real Time Web” has entered the arena, it sounds great but in practice, few people have a clue what it is. Simply put it means web resources are published and consumed in real time.
Real Time Web
As as soon as “stuff” is published, a blog post or any other user generated content, it is syndicated around the web and indexed immediately. The most obvious example is google search including up to the second results from twitter. Social media is all about real time, streams of information created constantly and consumed almost instantly (find out more with out social media course). Broadcasting your location in foursquare is pretty useless if people only find out a few hours/days later! Real time web can be thought of as another paradigm of the social web experience.
For a while only the big boys, Google, Facebook and Twitter and others have made use of these real time data streams, with us peons only able to use RSS and ATOM to get our content out there. Recent developments by both Google and Wordpress have put this real time power at the disposal of every blogger and content creator on the web. If you are thinking of using Wordpress and need help check out our Wordpress Training and our Customising Wordpress Templates courses.
You’re probably thinking how does this differ from RSS and ATOM? Well it doesn’t, its an extension to both those protocols to allow for real time publishing, but how exactly have they done this?
What is PuSH or PUbSubHub?
The very definition of “Real Time Web” is to have content consumed in real time. PuSH or PSHB (many names and acronyms have been used in discussions but from here on out I’ll only use PuSH as it best describes what it does) is a protocol that allows RSS and ATOM feeds to change something that you need to ask for into something that is given to you. Read the rest of "Real Time Web and the PubSubHubBub"
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Posted by Daniel Inniss in News, Social Media, Web Design on March 8th, 2010 | 3 Comments »
If you haven’t already heard, Google released a new Social Media offering called Buzz, a hybrid love child of Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter.
Buzz is still in its infancy, one of the easiest ways of jumping on the Buzz wagon is to have your tweets buzzed automatically, which is fairly straightforward. Buzz supports all the same# tags and @ mentions, so your twitter tweets work the same in Buzz.
But in my opinion this is a total waste of time. Buzz is many different things and it may seem similar to twitter but its not! Buzz should be used in a way that plays to its different strengths. I see it as a new tool in the social media armory of the local business (find out how your business can benefit from Social Media training here).
Buzz is many things to a small business, read on and find out what…
Read the rest of "Why Google Buzz is Great for Local Business"
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Posted by Daniel Inniss in SEO, Sales and Marketing, Social Media on March 1st, 2010 | 2 Comments »
TweetDeck vs HootSuite – Which is best?
Once you are up and running on Twitter it can be tricky to catch the best tweets or keep an eye on all of your mentions. TweetDeck and HootSuite attempt to solve those problems, with their user-friendly and functional interfaces really enforcing Twitter’s place as a useful tool for businesses. The uninitiated may wonder what the fuss is all about, but these Twitter tools are highly addictive once you get started – the only problem is, which one should you use? Of course if you’re new to Twitter and other social media platforms our social media training may be a help to get you started.
A comparison of TweetDeck and HootSuite
These two tools have some shared benefits: keep on top of what’s going on with customised and easy to manage columns; reply, re-tweet and and direct message with a click; download a mobile phone application, and manage multiple accounts on Twitter or other social networks. The differences between HootSuite and TweetDeck are subtle, but may be key to which application you choose; read on for our comparison.
Read the rest of "Hootsuite vs Tweetdeck"
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Posted by Natasha Stone in Social Media on February 19th, 2010 | 7 Comments »
By Guest Blogger Natasha Stone
In case you haven’t noticed, Apple launched its much anticipated iPad this week. But what’s all the fuss about? It’s not available until March in the UK anyway. And let’s not forget the multiple faults. Basically, why should we care? And why am I creating yet another blog post to add to this mania?
Well, regardless of whether you like – or care about – this slick 10-inch-flat-screen-touch-screen-tablet-computer, the hyped inauguration of the iPad marks the start of a shift in the way we use the internet, and of course social media. Specifically, portability will change the very place the internet has in our lives; so here are a few things businesses should begin to bear in mind when presenting themselves in this emerging age…
1. Get visual
Some say touch-screen is the future of computing for Apple. So what would you rather point your finger at: a thin line of text or a big bold picture? Whatever you think about touch-screen computing, there’s no questioning the importance of visual content, with Google placing more images in its search engine results. The internet is becoming a visual place; use videos and images to improve your site traffic.
Read the rest of "The Apple iPad Age: 5 Tips for Future Social Media Use"
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Posted by Natasha Stone in New Free Resources, News, Social Media on January 29th, 2010 | 4 Comments »
By Guest Blogger Jodi Nelson
If you aren’t regularly communicating with your subscribers, it’s not a great way to build brand, trust, relationship, familiarity – it means that when you do send something it’s less likely to be read.
People forget they subscribed, people are more likely to view you with suspicion, people could feel slighted.
Some might call it letting your list go ‘cold‘ – I call it a big mistake. This applies to newsletters, blogs, RSS feeds and social media, such as your Twitter account as well.
1. Don’t take on more than you have
There are only so many hours in the day and the temptation in this game is to commit to every single social media outlet out there and be in too many places at once – Newsletters, Facebook, LinkedIn…and if you have more than one blog, then forget about getting home by dinner time.
In most cases, it’s better to do a few things well than do too many things poorly.
Read the rest of "Keeping your Blog Regular in 5 Easy Lessons"
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Posted by Jodi Nelson in New Free Resources, Social Media on January 27th, 2010 | 3 Comments »
So – you’ve invested time in your company’s Social Media presence – but how do you monitor how much people are talking about your brand as a result?
If you’re using Twitter regularly you probably already keep an eye on all of the re-tweets and mentions, which reference your username (e.g. @SBTtraining)
But what about all of the people who are talking about your company, products or your important keywords without mentioning your Twitter name?
Here’s our top 5 tools for monitoring conversations about your brand on Twitter:
If you’ve used Google Alerts to monior when your website is linked to on the web, Tweet Beep provides the same service for Twitter.
Once you’ve created an account you can tell Tweet Beep to inform you every time something is mentioned – whether that be your company’s name, the name of a product or person, your @mentions and re-tweets or any other keyword. Tweet Beep can also tell you everytime a URL is mentioned (e.g. your company website) – even if it’s been shortened by a URL shortener like bit.ly
You’ll get an e-mail every hour with the results – great for monitoring campaign impact.
Read the rest of "Monitor Your Brand on Twitter – Top 5 Tools"
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Posted by Colin Welch in New Free Resources, Sales and Marketing, Social Media on January 22nd, 2010 | 6 Comments »
How many blogs have you read selling you the idea of making money on the web? Probably not as many as you think – you will be so used to these that you read the first line and click out. Your blog becomes a great marketing tool when you use it as a way of connecting, forming relationships, giving stuff away and initiating dialogue. Forget about selling, think about giving and you will soon develop a following that should result in generating long term clients and relationships.
5 Top Tips for generous blogging
- Avoid pop-ups and keep advertising and affiliate links to a minimum, most of your space should be about you and what you have to say.
- Promote the work of others, encourage them, and support what they’re doing.
- Provide links to other resources. People will return to you if you are a great resource provider. Tell others that you are linking to them, they are much more likely to comment or link back.
- Give stuff away.
- Provide answers to questions, respond to comments.
Silicon Beach Training provide Social Media Training in Brighton.
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Posted by Heather Buckley in Business Skills, Social Media on January 19th, 2010 | 2 Comments »
By Guest Blogger Natasha Stone
Looking back over the past year, you won’t have failed to notice the emergence of a new kind of news event: the most famous example is perhaps the thrashing of X Factor winner Joe McElderry by Rage Against The Machine in the race for Christmas number one, thanks to a grassroots Facebook campaign; in contrast, the Susan Boyle obsession worked in music mogul Simon Cowell’s favour with almost 86 million views of her Britain’s Got Talent first audition on Youtube; we also saw London’s Liverpool Street Station grind to a halt after thousands attended for a Facebook organised flashmob; on the global scale, online campaigns organisation Avaaz ran some of the largest petitions in history, with millions of signees from around the world, and we shouldn’t fail to mention those smaller events, like everyone mysteriously updating their Twitter and Facebook statuses as the colour of their bra just last week, purportedly to raise breast cancer awareness.
Read the rest of "2010 The Year of People Power – how can your business gain?"
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Posted by Natasha Stone in News, Social Media on January 18th, 2010 | 1 Comment »
