If you’re a student, your summer is just about over. It’s time to head back to school and get back into your normal school-time routine. For some, this includes an internship. A few of Fanscape’s new interns talk about the importance of internships and tips for those of you who are looking for one.

If you’ve already graduated and are looking to start your career or are even looking to make a career change, you probably already know there are a number of online job postings sites you can visit. However, if you’re looking for top-notch positions and tips from real people who have been where you are, you need to visit Monster.com and check out the site’s new community, Success Stories. Get tips from real job seekers, hear about their success in landing a great job using Monster.com and share your own stories. Want to know what to wear to an interview? Want to hear how military veterans use monster.com to find a career post-military service? Want to hear how employers are using Monster.com to find the right candidates? Success Stories has it all.

As our interns said, it’s all about finding the position that’s right for you.

I’ll cut to the chase, vote for me HERE. What is this? Well, let me tell you.

I had such a good time at SXSW Interactive this year that I wanted to see if I could put together a panel that was both exciting and entertaining. No offense to the other panels, but I didn’t want to just have a handful of talking heads discussing the benefits of social media or location-based marketing. Nope, when you leave my proposed panel, you’ll have an understanding of where things are going and how they’ll get paid for.

My thought is this: let’s get down to the nitty gritty of making money in the new era of media. And who is the most honest new generation broadcaster? Adam Carolla. Ask Adam how much money he’s making, exactly what it costs to produce his podcast, what mistakes he’s made, what the next plan is, and he’ll answer.

My vision for this discussion is part information and part Adam doing his show live… in Austin!

I know he doesn’t have all the answers. But he’s the closest thing we’ve seen to a new era of radio. And in a perfect world, we’ll pull in some others who are figuring it out too like Adam Curry, Leo Laporte, and Kevin Rose.

And we’ll have fun. Because all of these guys seem to have fun first and make money second. But they know that they need money to keep it going.

So please help make this panel a reality. I need your votes to make it past the next round.

If I get this panel off the ground, and you are not able to make it, I’ll do everything in my power to get it recorded (or at least transcribed) so that everyone can learn even if you aren’t there.

Thanks!

In the market for a new car? Knowing where to look and how to compare is just the start. Last month we showed you that there was a seemingly endless supply of resources to help you with travel, the same is true with buying a car. From blogs and consumer reports to mobile applications and social sites, Fanscape is always on the look out for the best online utilities and resources to help simplify our lives.

Social networking has become a valuable platform to showcase cars and provide valuable research tools, and automakers are doing their part to keep you engaged; Ford recently used Facebook to debut its 2011 Explorer. But, if you have no set idea on what kind of car you want or the cost associated, we have some suggestions on where to begin. Edmunds.com should be your first stop. This site has everything from reviews to a finance calculator. Want to know what others have paid for that same car you have your eye on? Visit one of our new favorites, TrueCar. On the go and want to research via your smartphone? Kelley Blue Book has a free mobile app that includes its most popular online tools. Whether you’re looking for a new car or one that’s new to you, keep reading, we have 10 more great resources to help you make the best car-buying decisions.

Online

MotorMouths – Mashable hails this site as the Rotten Tomatoes of car reviews. Simply put, MotorMouths helps you shop smarter for new cars. The site offers an aggregated list of independent analysis and review data. Expert critics from trusted outlets such as AutoBlog, Motor Trend and even Tech Crunch, contributing an unbiased approach to new car information and also provides an overall vehicle review rating.

Autocheck – Looking for a car with a little personality, but no hidden secrets? Autocheck is where you need to be when researching a pre-owned car. Provide a VIN number and a complete list of the vehicle’s history is available to help you make an educated decision to purchase the car or not. The Autocheck service offers much more than its predicessor, CarFax, including unlimited options, Experian-backed data and Autocheck scoring system.

MotherProof – A car blog for women in general, but mothers in particular and written by mom reviewers. MotherProof features reviews of various cars based on the growing demands of the family. Also features the ability to look up which cars would best suit you based on the age of your children – everything from which cars have the best storage, which ones are the most comfortable.

Honk – One of my faves. The creators of Honk understand that buying a car is a pretty big decision for most people and that most like to hear what other real people think about the cars they drive or have driven. Car shopping with a social twist if you will. With a built in community that allows for comments, likes and reviews, Honk helps you find the right car for you based upon what you actually want out of one.

Mobile Apps

Car & Driver’s Buyer’s Guide (iPhone / iPod Touch only) – Based on popular auto magazine, this app features the same resources as its online counterpart, such as search, listings, and advice. It also provides a guide to understanding pricing structures and a My Garage section for users to create and save personalized car search information.  The best part of this app is having all these great resources at your fingertips and on the the go.

Nationwide’s Cartopia (iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad) – Now that you know what kinds of car you want, better make sure you have the right insurance. Yes, you can shop for Nationwide auto insurance rates. However, what makes this more than just a branded insurance sales  and marketing tool is it also allows users to compare makes and models based on what is important to them specifically, whether that be safety ratings, gas mileage, color, or the total cost of ownership.

CarTell (iPhone) – This recently launched mobile app goes beyond Blue Book to help consumers find out how much dealers are paying for its used car inventory. Although this app costs $10, it will provide valuable car auction information and prices that will help you negotiate a much better price when at the dealership. The more than 60,000 records (so far) covers all makes, from every day passenger cars to SUVs and minivans.

On Twitter

@MyAutoLoan – The twitter home of MyAutoLoan.com a customer focused service designed to empower consumers with trustworthy and complete information surrounding the researching, financing, buying and driving experience

@StateFarm – A good company to follow on Twitter if you’re a policy holder looking for advice after getting into a fender bender or if you’re looking for information on the  right auto insurance policy for you.

@CarMax – CarMax is the world’s largest pre-owned retailer. The company’s Twitter page offers quick advice, links to customer reviews and from time to time, a contest. Who doesn’t like a contest.

No more are the days of just test driving cars and trusting sales people to get you the best deal. As mentioned at the onset, there are many, many resources that are as close as a few mouse clicks or a tap of your mobile device. It’s all about doing your homework before you even set foot on the showroom floor. Fanscape has given you some of our favorites to check out, what are yours?

The events of the 2011 South By South West (SXSW) conference and festival aren’t set to kick off until March 11, 2011. However, the time has come for attendees to have their say in how it’s programmed. There are many compelling choices, but one we’d personally like to recommend is presented by Fanscape CEO, Larry Weintraub.  This proposed SXSW Interactive session, entitled How To Make Money Podcasting, is sure to be one of the best panels of next year’s gathering.

What you’ll learn from this session:

1. Strategy behind creating a podcast – can’t just wing it anymore
2. Ways to monetize your podcasting efforts
3. How to brand yourself and your podcast
4. Content creation – taking an idea and making it a reality
5. Building an audience beyond your friends and family

We hope you’ll join us in trying to make this session a reality by giving us the thumbs up when placing your vote.

Check out the full session details HERE. Let us know what you think!

Fanscape just released a new white paper – The Value of a Social Relationship.

The focus of this white paper is the long-term business value of a social relationship. In this we also introduce our Social Relationship Value (SRV™) formula for calculating this monetary value. This formula focuses specifically on factors within each individual business, providing a measurement that is appropriate and commensurate with the goals, needs, and values of that particular organization.

Check it out and let us know what you think.

For additional information, visit www.Fanscape.com

I recently came across a post on econsultancy.com entitled Social Media Monitoring: time to ‘sod it? The post raises two major concerns regarding social media monitoring:

Firstly, people will become more negative towards organisations using monitoring technology in order to “gatecrash” conversations. Brand consumer trust will diminish. 

Secondly, the time, effort and resources associated with managing online buzz will become too much. Organisations will realise (some already do) that people will always express their opinions and they should be allowed to do it in, what they consider to be private.

While these concerns are reasonable, they make a case for better/ clearly defined/ purposeful monitoring initiatives. The consumers we are dealing with are empowered and want to be heard. And they should be. They are increasingly connecting with brands on social networks. According to SheSpeaks “Annual Social Media Study 2009”, 80% of female Internet users said they had become a fan of a product or brand on a social network. In addition, 72% had learned about a new product or brand, or joined a group around one.

Studies also suggest that consumers not only want brands to be on social networks but also want to engage with them. As per Cone Inc., new media users overwhelmingly believe companies or brands should not only have a presence in new media (95%) but also interact with their consumers in this space (89%). Consumers feel companies’ or brands’ top priorities within new media should be to problem solve and provide information (61%, up from 43% in 2008).

Further, solving customer service issues on the social web gives the consumers ready tools to share their positive experience with their network. We know that “75% of Americans are very likely to speak positively about a company after a good service experience in contrast with 59% who are very likely to speak negatively about a company after poor service”. (American Express, 2010)

At the end of the day. companies will need to put in place a social intelligence infrastructure for managing and analyzing social media conversations. Tough questions such as is this a departmental or an organizational initiative will need to be answered. Another mind bender, should companies listen to everyone or a chosen few?

I would suggest a three pronged strategy:

1. Identifying a set of influencers and/ or category enthusiasts who have social clout and setting up filters so that all conversations from this set – blog posts, tweets, forum replies etc – pour into a manageable database for further analysis and action.
2. Shifting conversations to “Brand Backyard” to solve relevant issues and garner actionable insights. The Brand Backyard includes sources such as customer communities, blogs, discussion forums and profiles on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter maintained by the brand. Further synergy can be built within these sources by integrating them to provide customers a seamless experience.  Lithium Community for Facebook does exactly that. A brand’s Facebook fans and its private community members can ask questions, access discussions and review products without ever leaving the Facebook page or the site.
3. Monitoring the social web by setting up alerts to identify any potential issues. Even with the above two in place, it is necessary to monitor the social web even if on cruise control. The idea is to identify any emerging issues or PR opportunities.

These steps should help brands to not only manage the quantum of online conversations but also build a positive customer experience overall. These are some of my ideas. What are your thoughts on managing this challenge?

Getting there is half the fun, right? Rarely. If you are like us, you are always searching for the best deal and the best advice when you are planning your vacation. There are a tremendous amount of resources out there to help make this process a little less painful and a little more enjoyable. Social websites, blogs, and applications have proliferated over the past few years and we’ve done our fair share of testing many of them.

If you’re looking for reviews from people who have “been there,” WhereIveBeen is for you. Want to sidestep the Internet cafes and use your mobile phone or laptop, the Wi-Fi Finder is the must have app. Wondering if you chose the best seat on that transatlantic flight? Seatguru.com is for you. In search of exclusive hotel deals, don’t forget to visit the Hotels.com Facebook page. Running through the streets of Rome and need a bathroom, SitOrSquat will be your best friend. Having a little staycation, don’t forget about your daily steals on GroupOn and LivingSocial. Whether you’re headed out on the open road, hopping on a plane or spending a little quality time with the family poolside, let Fanscape help you make the most out of your vacation time with 10 more of our favorite travel apps and resources.

TripIt (Free: Android / Blackberry / iPhone / Online)

TripIt makes order out of the paper trail (virtual or otherwise) that has been created by planning a trip. It is a hub for all of your travel plans to reside – from flights to room reservations to rentals. After you’ve created a free account, simply email your confirmations to plans@tripit.com and TripIt processes the information and creates a master itinerary for you. The service also connects you with local weather, directions and city guides to help you make the most of your vacation or business travel time. This information can also be shared with your friends, family and associates. The “Pro” version offers travel alerts, frequent flyer mile tracking and exclusive travel benefits. And at $49 per year the Pro version could be a life saver for the well-traveled business person.  USA Today’s AutoPilot (iPhone.iTouch only), is a very similar service, but is designed to sync up with TripIt.

Yelp (Free: Blackberry / iPhone / Online)

True, Yelp has been around for a while now, but there’s hardly ever a time where this doesn’t come in handy when trying to figure out where to eat – at home or away. If your taste buds feel adventurous you can always try UrbanSpoon, but Yelp and its more than 11 million user-generated reviews can help you find the perfect restaurant, event or special offer. Businesses can set up accounts, but it is the users who provide the reviews in an unfiltered and unbiased manner – allowing for us to pick places based on real-life experiences.

Around Me (Free: iPhone only)

If you like to go where the day takes you, or even looking for the nearest gas station, try Around Me. It let’s a traveler or even a local quickly find information and businesses based upon your location. For every listing you can see the location on a map or view from where you are.

Travel Channel GO (Free: iPhone only – coming soon to Android and Blackberry)

The Travel Channel’s GPS-enabled travel tool allows you to explore the world and experience a city like a local – discovering the best things to do and see. Discover nearby places that were featured on the Travel Channel and get tips from trusted Travel Channel hosts. You can also share travel hot spots and experiences with your friends as well as fellow travelers.

Trip Journal ($0.99 iPhone / Android)

This is one cool app. Google Earth integration allows for friends and family to follow your routes, locations, full screen photos, video and blog entries. The app is also integrated with Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Twitter, making this a f-u-n and highly interactive app.

VRBO.com (Online)

VRBO – Vacation Rentals By Owner – is a fantastic site to find some of the best privately owned vacation rentals, homes, condos, cabins, villas and apartments. They have a blog that’s brought to you by the VRBO bear highlighting some of the actual rental properties available. You can search for a rental and even list your own property.

CruiseCritic.com (Online)

If you are a fan of the cruise ship lifestyle, CruiseCritic.com is a must visit site. This site offers editorial content, offers and news. What’s great about this site is its member review section. The member reviews are extensive and honest – providing specific information on cruise lines, particular ships and destinations as well as ratings on different aspects of the experience such as entertainment, excursions, family and children’s options.

TripAdvisor.com

TripAdvisor is like a trusted friend – helping you plan and have the perfect trip. Hotels, flights, restaurants and rentals, the site has’em. Unsure of where you even want to go? They also offer recommendations based upon your preferences. They’ve taken to the social space with a Facebook page and Twitter account than is the perfect complement to its website – offering discussions and relevant travel news for those about to depart.

Jetsetter.com

Get yourself invited! Jetsetter is a private online community geared for the more sophisticated traveler that provides its members with great insider access to special sales to some of the world’s greatest resorts and destinations. If you’re familiar with Jetsetter’s sister site,  discounted high fashion shopping hub, Gilt Groupe, you’ll understand that once you’re invited to be a part, you’ll have access to some great merchandise at fantastic prices.

Gadling

This travel blog is part of the AOL family of blogs and is chock full of travel information and pictures. The great thing about this blog is it isn’t centered around one city or one component of travel, but rather covers just about everything – from deals to healthy road trip snacks. Interested in info on the Opryland Hotel, they have that too (psst, it’s re-opening on November 15^th).

As we mentioned at the start, there are an incredible amount of travel resources at our fingertips – all devised to help simplify our lives. The more socially plugged-in we become, the easier it gets for us to make the best travel decisions and purchases. The result is a more carefree and enjoyable experience. Just what a vacation should be.

Fanscape CEO, Larry Weintraub, recently expanded on a piece he did a few weeks back about graduating with an edge. With Fanscape now looking to fill a few social media positions of our own and so many people looking for work, Larry opened up about how to apply for and How to Get a Job – not just at Fanscape, but for companies in general.

His tips include:

1. Do you have the experience we need?
2. Are you an expert?
3. How do you stay ahead?

Click HERE to read about Larry’s advice.

MSBNC.com’s new site design featuring fewer banner ads prompted MarketingVox to pose the question, Are banner Ads Dead? Fanscape CEO, Larry Weintraub, answered this question and was featured in the MarketingVox story.

Weintraub points out that banner ads and other graphic-based ads won’t soon go away, but they should become more appealing by featuring content that pertains to readers’ needs based upon where they live and what other websites they’ve recently visited.

Click HERE to read more

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With Zynga growing in popularity and VC’s lining up to help fund this social gaming giant, Fanscape CEO, Larry Weintraub spoke with Internet Evolution about the company’s success and the future of social gaming.

An excerpt:

First, a fast recap of what Zynga sells, which are multi-player games such as MafiaWars, primarily on Facebook. Lately, Facebook has expressed some annoyance with Zynga’s games. They definitely aren’t core to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for the platform.

Further, Facebook has muscled in on Zynga’s revenues by insisting Zynga players spend Facebook credits on such necessities as virtual cows (for FarmVille) or virtual bullets (for MafiaWars). In the process, Facebook has demanded 30 percent of Zynga’s action on such purchases. Ouch.

So why the VC love — at the very moment when the primary distribution vehicle is showing powerful signs of annoyance?

Click HERE to read the full story.