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.

Account Director

The Account Director serves as the primary client contact for existing accounts. He/she will work with clients to determine business needs and objectives. The Account Director is responsible for all client communications and compliance on client deliverables. He/she is responsible for fostering and strengthening all client relationships for existing accounts as well as serving as counsel to the client on best practices in Digital Marketing and Social Media.

Manager, Social Media Marketing

Fanscape is looking to fill both full-time and freelance social media marketing positions to implement effective digital marketing tactics for our Fortune 500 brands including website and blogger outreach, coordinating online contests and sweepstakes, communicating with consumers in social media networks, managing a brand’s social media properties/communities, monitoring online conversations, developing relationships with websites and online influencers, creating and distributing online content, and assisting with overall social media strategy development and tactical plans.

Office Manager / Executive Assistant

Fanscape requires an extremely detail oriented Office Manager who will also serve as the Executive Assistant for our small executive team. The ideal candidate needs to be incredibly organized and personable. You will be responsible for answering the company phones, managing executive calendars, making travel reservations, ordering office supplies and be our go to person for all corporate office needs.

Interns

Fanscape is also looking for a few good interns in the Business Development and Marketing/Communications departments.

Business Development Intern – Research & Proposal

The Business Development intern will assist the Business Development team with various pitching, presentation and proposal needs including potential client research, strategizing, and reviewing proposals to help secure new business and leads for Fanscape. You will play a vital role in assisting the Business Development Team to secure new business while running as smoothly and as organized as possible.

Business Development Intern – Creative Strategy

The Business Development intern (creative and strategy) will assist the Business Development team with brainstorming and conceptualizing client campaigns, proposals, presentations, marketing & promotion strategies as well as general research, administrative tasks, organization and keeping abreast of industry dynamics, trends, and opportunities. Previous coursework (preferably a major) in marketing or advertising is required.

Marketing /Communications Intern

As an Interns you will assist our communications team with projects and ongoing programs that include knowledge documents, byline articles, company newsletter and communications strategy.  Your duties will also include various administrative tasks such as internet research, target list creation, and database management.

Check out all of Fanscape’s available positions and how to apply right HERE.

Numerous game publishers, console manufacturers, and retailers, such as GameStop are taking to social media to further engage their avid fans. Since last year, Facebook has become the primary destination for social gamers, and a videogame, Modern Warfare 2, became the biggest entertainment launch in history, thanks in part to social media and an increasingly engaged consumer.  And as we move into the second half of 2010, we are seeing more opportunities to continue the conversation.

Facebook, MySpace and other social sites have opened their platforms to publishers like Zynga (e.g. Farmville, Mafia Wars and the most recent FrontierVille), Playfish (e.g. Hotel City and Pet Society) and Playdom (e.g Social City and Sorority Life), allowing for games to be built that leverage the networks’ existing user bases. In less than a year’s time, those three publishers alone have amassed more than 300 million monthly active users. Even with Facebook’s recent changes in notifications and requests that eliminated a significant amount of the free advertising these apps have enjoyed, social gaming applications are still a force to be reckoned with.

Console gaming has incorporated social network integration at a slightly slower pace, but is making strides. As mentioned in our September 2009 article about the socialization of gaming, nearly all handhelds and consoles introduced since 2003 include a social element. It was only recently that Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 integrated with Facebook and as of right now the experiences are focused mostly on publishing virtual accomplishments and purchases. Most games with an online component do, however, include a built-in chat room or forum to connect players of the same title. Few games have attempted to make a true tie-in to social media; Sony’s LittleBigPlanet 2 aims to be an exception.

Dubbing itself the “platform for games” (rather than a “platform game”), Sony’s LittleBigPlanet 2 lets users create levels and other game content that can be shared directly with friends via Flickr and YouTube. This allows players to tag, rate and try out user generated content, all while enjoying the benefits of viral sharing, crowdsourcing and mass content organization. This integration also makes it much easier for users to share content via their other social profiles on sites like Facebook and Twitter, to promote their creations and elicit feedback. The users of the first iteration of LittleBigPlanet created more than 2 million custom levels, further adding to the great promise of social integration into the next version.

At the moment, third-party gaming sites like Playfire.com offer the best solution for gamers who seek a social network that is platform agnostic. At Playfire, users can import data from their existing gaming profiles to connect with each other and schedule online games, meet similar gamers, build a group website, quiz each other and discuss tactics. It can be expected that such features will be built into console titles in the near future, but for now, external solutions will have to suffice.

With the impending release of Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox 360 (formerly Project Natal) and Sony’s PS3 Move motion technologies, both companies are making its hardware more personal and interactive. Other hot trends such as 3DTV will also have a profound effect on the way games are designed and played, but don’t expect to see social media be a key feature for right away.

Taking a step away from the platform and games themselves; retailers are taking to social media to build excitement around title releases. GameStop, the country’s biggest gaming retailer, has been keeping its followers up to date on the latest deals and promotions via Twitter and recently launched its Facebook page with announcements, title information, and community discussions. Publishers are also taking to the medium to further connect with its fans and to build awareness surrounding titles and developments. EA, Rockstar Games, Square Enix and many, many more have jumped into social media to connect with their core fans and to further brand its products – indicating that it is only a matter of time before social is fully integrated into the gaming experience.

With a community that welcomes the interaction, gamers and social media are a natural fit. As game developers, console manufacturers and retailers move toward a more social experience, the time for meaningful engagement is here and we can’t wait for what’s next.

What I won’t be doing is following anything social media, anything online or even checking my Blackberry for that matter – from early evening, until I have watched Jack & Chloe’s final scene. This holds true for the Olympics, awards shows and any other TV program that I am obsessed with that doesn’t air live or that I TiVo to watch after I get home.

Sorry social media and my Backberry, I love you, I really really do, but I learned way early on that people love to talk, text, chat and tweet the millisecond something happens – be it on TV or in real life. And I have been mad at myself for checking too many times to know that I should know better.

So with all of the chatter out there, I will be on a personal social media and Blackberry hiatus while we say goodbye to the TV version of Jack Bower.

Damn it Chloe!

Culled from years of experience and interviewing hundreds of people, I have some ideas that will give you an edge, separate you from the pack.  The central point is to create your personal brand, the authentic you.  Do that first and exemplify it through these following three areas and I guarantee you’ll stand out from the crowd:

1. LinkedIn
2. Blog
3. Lose Big

LinkedIn

How long have resumes been around?  I have no idea.  My guess is that it has been common practice to deliver those one or two sheets of paper to potential employers for at least a hundred years.

You still need to do it, so definitely put in the effort, but don’t stop there.  LinkedIn should be your new best friend.  It is the amped up online version of your resume.  It offers you the opportunity to not only expand on your work history, it also allows you more room to emphasize your experience and make the words jump off the page.

Most of your contemporaries haven’t embraced LinkedIn yet.  For those of us who have been working for several years now, we have learned to make LinkedIn our go to resource for sharing information about our careers.  But college students have typically been slow to board this train.  So, while your sorority sisters are busy checking out what photos have been uploaded to Facebook today, you can be leaping ahead of them by building out your LinkedIn profile.  By all means keep up the tweets, check-ins and status updates, just be more conscious of what you’re putting out there for potential employers to see.

When we post a job at Fanscape we get hundreds of resumes within the first day of the post.  Do you know how hard it is to go through that many resumes?  It is a giant pain.  So, we go through a weeding out process.  If your resume pops and my hiring manager likes what they see, then it gets sent to me.  My next step is to go to your LinkedIn profile.  Your page better look great.  Well written, no spelling errors, great insight into you; that is what I want to see.

You can drop in widgets on your LinkedIn profile that point me to your blog posts, your Twitter feed, even what books you are reading.

And don’t forget about recommendations.  Have people recommend you.  Haven’t had that many jobs?  Start with your teachers, your counselors, the bosses where you did your internships.  Ask them nicely if they will give you a recommendation on LinkedIn.  I bet they use LinkedIn.  Another tip, recommend others.  The best way to get people to recommend you is to recommend them first.  Nothing makes me happier than to see that you’ve actually recommended more people than have recommended you.  Yep, I can see all that when I look at your LinkedIn page.

Fill that profile up.  You can’t write too much.  LinkedIn will stop you if you get too wordy.  It will force you to fine-tune your descriptions and make them pop.

Trust me on this.  Your friends aren’t doing any of this.  Do this and you jump 10 steps ahead of them.  LinkedIn is my favorite social media tool.  For the business world it is the most important social network and you need to get a handle on this now!

Blog

Want to know where I go after I’ve read your LinkedIn profile?  Your blog.  What?  You don’t have one?  You really should.

See, your resume and your LinkedIn profile give me insight into your professional capabilities, but what about your personality?  How can I see where your passions lie?  What do you do when you aren’t working?  What movies have you seen?  What do you collect?  What is important to you in this world besides your career?

You are probably asking, “Why do you care?”  You are wondering, what your personal life has to do with your work life?   .

Look, like I said, I’m trying to make a decision on hiring a new employee.  I want someone that is not only a professional fit but someone who is also a cultural fit.  My company is filled with people who love reality television, play video games, and check in on Foursquare.  I’ve hired some who looked good on paper, but turned out to be loners who’d prefer to code in a dark room than participate in a brainstorm about a new client. And they never worked out.  I need to know upfront whether or not you’d be a good fit and whether or not to interview you.  Your blog helps me make that determination.

If you are not blogging, start now.  Set yourself up on Blogger, Wordpress or Tumblr.  It doesn’t cost a thing.  Start writing or posting photos.  Maybe video is more your thing.  Start a YouTube channel.  Just do something that shows your personality.  Try to post something every few days.  It might take you a couple of months to find your voice, the thing you want to share with the world, but it will come, you just have to start.

Again, want an edge over the competition?  Blog.  And let me know it.

Lose Big

Here is the brutal reality.  You are not going to get most of the jobs you apply for.  You are not even going to get an interview.  When you send in your resume, understand that hundreds of others did the very same thing.

But when you get the interview, and you will get a few, know that you will most likely lose.  So lose big.

I have interviewed over 500 people since I started Fanscape 12 years ago.  95% of them were nervous and told me what they thought I wanted to hear.  Only a couple of them stood out and only one ever looked me in the eye, stood up, and told me I needed them.  That person told me I was missing out on huge opportunities and that they would make those happen for me.  That person told me that I didn’t have to pay them much, that they would prove their value immediately, and that soon I would be paying them much more.

I hired that person.  That person won more business for me than anyone ever had before.  I’ve never forgotten that first meeting.  Everyone I’ve met since has been compared in my mind to that person.

Now a different boss might have been turned off by that approach.  They might have thrown that person out of the office.  That’s the risk you take.  Remember, the odds are you are not going to get the job.  So if you are going to lose, lose big.

In conclusion, what I’ve explained here is not difficult.  It doesn’t cost any money and it doesn’t require any technical experience or training.  Everyone can do it.  But they don’t.  So it’s up to you.  You are setting out on the next great adventure in your life.  Have fun with it.  You are great.  You know that.  But you are about to meet a lot of people who don’t know that yet.  So you need to let them in on your secret.  You rule!

One final thing I’d like to share.  Many in the working world (especially those of us in the digital marketing world) have seen this video – but it’s incredibly inspirational.

It’s a speech given by Gary Vaynerchuck, creator of WineLibrary.tv where he encourages you to “Kill it!”  Follow my thoughts, create your personal brand, watch this video and you will in fact, kill it!

Something that all three agree with is to research the company before applying and again before interviewing. Allie simply states, do your homework before you speak with a potential employer and Irene suggests that you also check out the company’s social activity (Facebook page, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) to see if it’s one you’d like to work for. But before you even get to the application process, Andrew (Fanscape’s most recent hire) strongly suggests that your public image serves as your professional image – clean up those Facebook pages everyone. Here are six other great tips that can help you land that perfect first job:

• Get organized – Not all job opportunities are listed on Mashable and Monster. Make an excel spreadsheet with your dream places to work in one column, and links to their job opportunities pages in another. Check each link daily or every other day. That’s how I found my job at Fanscape – right on the careers page! (Allie)

• Identify your strengths and recognize your core competencies – This can be tricky, especially if you have little or no work experience, so take some time to evaluate yourself – main takeaways from previous experiences and what you hope to learn from the new position.  As honestly as you can, try to find things that distinguish you from your peers.  Try to think of your skills that will translate to the professional world (communication, project management) rather than academic skills (courses completed, GPA).  Leverage those skills and you will be more confident and comfortable when talking about yourself. (Irene and Andrew)

• Tailor that cover letter – this may sound like a no-brainer, but when employers receive hundreds and even thousands of applications via various online sources, this is your way to stand out. They may be one of the hardest things to write but this is your chance to illustrate why you want to work for the company, what you can offer the company and how THEY can benefit from hiring you. Feel free to be bold – using phrases like “I am writing to request an interview in person at your earliest convenience so that we may discuss my potential fit for this opening in more detail,” this shows to an hiring manager that you are confident and clearly expresses that you are serious. (Allie and Andrew)

• Professionalize your online life – just as you are researching a company online, they are also researching you. Once you make the more obvious edits, such as cleaning up those photos on your Facebook or MySpace pages, “Google” yourself and check out the first 8-10 pages to make sure there’s no erroneous or inappropriate results that could be hazardous to your job hunt. The more and more you congregate online, the more and more it is available to the general public, so be careful what you’re saying out there, it could hamper your ability to land that dream job.  Also make sure those Facebook privacy settings are set to your liking – keep in mind that Facebook defaults its settings to public. It is up to you to if you want those photos, opinions and “likes” private or public. (Andrew)

• Blog about it already – With sites like WordPress, Tumblr and Posterous, blogging has become incredibly easy. Host a blog and contribute to it regularly. If it is not already taken, you should immediately secure the web domain of your name, for example, JoeSmith.com.  Domains are very affordable ($10 or less per year) and are something that will add to your professional appearance.  Also, most blog sites will let you use another domain as the blog’s address. If the first result on Google is yourname.com and your site contains postings about topics relevant to your potential industry, you are pretty much guaranteed to have made a great impression on the employer and have given yourself the edge you need. (Andrew)

• Look sharp and be prepared for that interview – in addition to getting a good night’s sleep the night before, a good rule of thumb is that it’s always better to over dress than under dress. Sure, it can be sort of weird when you’re in a suit and the person interviewing you is in jeans – but it leaves a lasting impression and shows you mean business. Take that research you did on the company and be prepared to ask questions that are germane to the position and company and while you’re at it be prepared to answer why you feel that you’re the right person for the job. (Allie and Irene)

And by all means send a Thank You note. In addition to being polite and the right thing to do, it keeps you top-of-mind in this competitive job market.

Congratulations on graduating and good luck on the job hunt!

Allie, Irene & Andrew

Fanscaper's @germer and @lardog2000

It was great seeing so many people involved in Social Media and finally getting to meet @jeffpulver was a highlight of the (my) night. Hearing people speak to the power of Social Media and how purposeful it can be takes it well beyond the proverbial fun and games of checking in here and building a farm there and I was impressed.

The ladies room is always worth a visit during any gathering, as it is a haven for some of the best one liners of any evening. Case in point, in between speakers I made my traditional pit stop and apparently @SimonMainwaring made quite an impression, as a number of the ladies were commenting on how hot and handsome he was. (Note to future #140conf organizers, the ladies like the good looking guys on stage.)

The evening even turned into an impromptu fundraiser for a patient of @Krupali where every attendee donated at least $1 to help make her patient’s dream of making it to the home of her beloved Pittsburgh Steelers come true.  Granted, this didn’t take place via a tweet or Facebook campaign, but if it wasn’t for the love of Social Media none of us would’ve been there to lend a hand, miles or a few bucks. 

I wasn’t able to take part in the purple Viper Room flash mob, but before I left, it looked like it was going to be a crazy walk down the Sunset Strip. Who’s got pictures of that…come on now share!

Thanks @ericgreenspan, @jeffpulver and everyone else in attendance for making my first #140conf L.A. Meetup so memorable. I can’t wait for the next one.

What follows is an excerpt from Larry Weintraub’s latest post to his Smart Marketing Blog that highlights the new trend of Social Shopping.

A year ago if you had asked me about social shopping I would have pointed you to Amazon and told you that the product reviews from actual buyers were examples of social shopping.  Six months ago I would have told you about shopping aggregation websites like Kaboodle which allow you to view, comment, and receive deals from multiple retailers.  Two weeks ago I would have told you about the new Facebook integration into websites like Levi’s “Friend Store” and how you can see what your friends like.  And today.  Well today I’d tell you it’s all about what I call the Discount Crowdsourced Shopping Experience (DCSE) being powered by Groupon, Living Social, Gilt, Blackboard Eats, Wines Til Sold Out (WTSO) and more.

A few months back I wrote a post about a new business ready to take off.  What I described there was the advancement of location-based applications like Foursquare, Gowalla, and MyTown combined with recommendation websites like Yelp and Citysearch, and how they were providing huge opportunities for shop owners to drive people into their stores.  DCSE’s go the next step and offer discounts to drive you into these stores.  All of these DCSE’s are essentially mailing lists and you get regular (often daily) deals sent to your inbox.

Click HERE to read more

Public reaction began to steer toward the negative in January of this year when Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, expressed his opinion that public sharing of information is the new social norm.  This was in support of the decision to make users’ profile picture, gender, current city, networks, friends list and page subscriptions public information by default.  The changes meant that users who did not want this information to be public had to manually navigate through the maze of privacy options and individually change preferences.  The backlash was fairly strong, but more recent changes have added fuel to the fire.

At Facebook’s F8 conference last week, Zuckerberg made another wave of announcements regarding the dissemination of “like” buttons, public sharing of information and external site partnerships.  He discussed the change from being a “fan” of something to “liking” something as a tactic designed to make opting-in more attractive and universal.  Further, “like” buttons will now be appearing on sites across the web, giving users the ability to publish content to their Facebook news feed without ever leaving the page they are browsing.  By default, this “liked” content will be visible to everyone, unless privacy preferences are changed.

More ominous changes loom in the form of Facebook’s new policies for listing education, employment and interests.  If you have logged into Facebook recently, you have probably seen a popup like the one below that asks if you would like a suggested list of pages linked to your profile.  Essentially, Facebook has removed users’ ability to manually type interests or enter employment or school information without also “liking” the corresponding page.  This can be avoided by checking the subtly placed “choose pages individually” button in the bottom left, but again, the lack of clarity has caused many users to join pages and groups without being aware.  If you do not want to publicize your liked pages, go the “Account” tab, choose “Privacy settings,” then “Friends, Tags and Connections” and check the corresponding preferences.

The major issue with all of Facebook’s changes is not so much the things that are changing as it is the methods by which Facebook is justifying and implementing them.  Twitter has been consistent about their privacy standards from day one while Facebook’s have changed multiple times; it’s this inconsistency that seems duplicitous, as changes are often made unexpectedly or without warning or very little notice.

For the average Facebook user, the changes make it even more difficult to manage privacy.  For advanced and power users, the changes can actually be a boon to traffic and exposure, but only because they are understood and adjusted appropriately.  Users’ data drives clicks, comments and the targeted advertising network that is the backbone of the company’s current revenue stream, so it is no surprise that Zuckerberg doesn’t believe in privacy.  Privacy is something that Facebook must worry about because it has to, not because it wants to, so it follows why they are not privacy advocates.  The underlying reality is that users maintain the same controls they always have over their privacy.

The best thing to do is to be hip to changes and stay educated about the way they might affect your personal information.  If you have made your best efforts and doubts still remain, then act in line with the mantra “do not click, comment, post, share, etc. unless you are comfortable with the whole world seeing it.”  While public may be the new social norm, it need not determine or otherwise affect individual social preference.  Facebook only provides a platform.  It is up to each user to understand and decide how they want to use it for themselves.