Exposing Device History Reduces ‘Friendly Fraud’ Rates - Marco Spoerrle
For many online merchants, friendly fraud is a persistent problem. Without the right security tools in place, it is difficult to identify whether or not a customer is committing fraud.
According to the article, “Friend and Foe? Combating E-Commerce ‘Friendly Fraud’,” financial cybercrime against card-not-present (CNP) retailers can take many forms. While MasterCard says 70% of [...]
Dienstag, 31. August 2010
Marco Spoerrle: Dr Akif Khan of CyberSource and Greg Pierson of iovation talk to eGaming Review about the ways in which their companies are fighting fraud within the online gaming arena
Combating cybercrime – Marco Spoerrle
Dr Akif Khan of CyberSource and Greg Pierson of iovation talk to eGaming Review about the ways in which their companies are fighting fraud within the online gaming arenahttp://www2.iovation.com/e/1692/es-pdf-egr-fraudroundtable-pdf/I7OGW/204834332
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Samstag, 28. August 2010
Jobs: Software Update to Address iOS 4 Performance Issues on iPhone 3G 'Coming Soon' Marco Spoerrle
Jobs: Software Update to Address iOS 4 Performance Issues on iPhone 3G 'Coming Soon' Marco Spoerrle: http://bit.ly/a12sgW
Advertising Apple AppleCare Blog Book Facebook FBI iPhone Marco Spoerrle marcospoerrle.com market your business Marketing During Recession Marketing Ideas Privacy Sales and Marketing Security Social Media Social Networking social networks Spoerrle Strategies to Help Teacher Tips for Newbies traffic www.marcospoerrle.com Your Business Grow YouTube
Advertising Apple AppleCare Blog Book Facebook FBI iPhone Marco Spoerrle marcospoerrle.com market your business Marketing During Recession Marketing Ideas Privacy Sales and Marketing Security Social Media Social Networking social networks Spoerrle Strategies to Help Teacher Tips for Newbies traffic www.marcospoerrle.com Your Business Grow YouTube
Marco Spoerrle - Google Adds Gmail and Calendar Push Notifications to iPhone App
Google today announced an update to its Google Mobile App for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, bringing push notifications for Gmail and Google Calendar.
Ever missed an appointment or important email because you were away from your desk? Now Google Mobile App can help with push notifications from your Google account to your iPhone -- an icon badge shows you've got new mail in Gmail, and Google Calendar event reminders appear right on your home screen.
Also included in the update is as-you-type results for searches on flight info, weather, stock quotes and currency conversions.
The update appears to just be going live now, and may not yet be appearing for all users.
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posted by Eric Slivka on Monday August 23, 2010 01:47 PM
Freitag, 27. August 2010
Facebook Sues Teacher Resource for Using the Word "Book" - Marco Spoerrle
Facebook Sues Teacher Resource for Using the Word "Book" - Marco Spoerrle
Facebook is suing a company called Teachbook, which operates a social networking site for teachers, apparently because it has "book" in its name and "competes" with Facebook. Teachbook is described as "a professional community for teachers". Sounds like a threat to Facebook's existence doesn't it?
Do you think Facebook should be suing Teachbook? Tell us what you think.
Ryan Tate at Valleywag draws on some irony, saying, "Imagine: Someone ripping off the name of an existing social networking tool for his own site. Why, that hasn't been done since 2004 when some punk kid at Harvard registered TheFacebook.com while college administrators were already developing their own 'online facebook.'"
The beginning of the suit reads:
Facebook has become a worldwide social, cultural and political phenomenon. With fame comes imitation. Here, Defendant Teachbook.com LLC rides on the coattails of the fame and enormous goodwill of the FACEBOOK trademark. Misappropriating the distinctive BOOK portion of Facebook's trademark, Defendant has created its own competing online networking community in a blatant attempt to become Facebook "for Teachers." Despite Facebook's protests, Defendant has willfully and deliberately persisted in its misappropriation of the Facebook brand, forcing Facebook to protect its user community and the strength of the Famous FACEBOOK trademark through this action.
They're protecting us - the user community.
When a user (teacher) joins Teachbook, the site promises the ability to manage a professional profile and all info in the account by choosing to share with admins, colleagues, parents, or public. It lets teachers create lesson plans, instructional videos, and other teaching resources. It lets users manage their classroom communications with secure parent-teacher communication tools (gradebook, events calendar, classroom newsletter, homework space). It lets teachers communicate with colleagues through discussion, chat, blogs, etc. It lets them create and manage online courses and instructional modules. It lets teachers manage student grades by recording, calculating, and sharing them within the Gradebook. (I wonder if Facebook knows they're using the word "gradebook" too).
Facebook drops the following stats in its case for why others shouldn't be able to use the word "book" in their names:
"Through this usage, Facebook has permeated the web and Facebook users are accustomed to seeing and expect to see Facebook across the world wide web, not just on the Facebook site," the suit proclaims. "Facebook, and its FACEBOOK trademark, are famous."
The suit also mentions that Facebook owns a number of U.S. registrations for the mark FACEBOOK, covering a variety of goods and services, such as online networking services, chat functions, electronic media, online journals with user-defined content and electronic publishing services, and software to enable uploading, tagging, and sharing of electronic media or info.
By this logic, other companies that use either "Face" or "Book" may have to fear. It's unclear what the company's stance on the word "the" is, as Facebook was first called "The Facebook". "The" is only slightly more common than "book", especially in the teaching profession, I would imagine. Since "the" is no longer part of the Facbook brand, I'm guessing they won't pursue that.
It's also worth noting that Facebook just launched a product called "Facebook Places" , even though Google (their direct competitor) already had a product called "Google Places".
This suit comes at a time when Facebook is becoming much more integrated with not only the web, as the company pointed out, but the real world as well. Facebook Places is bringing physical locations to Facebook, and other third-parties are also coming up with different ways to connect physical objects (not just places) to Facebook. Watch out, books!
The entire suit can be read here (pdf).
Facebook is suing a company called Teachbook, which operates a social networking site for teachers, apparently because it has "book" in its name and "competes" with Facebook. Teachbook is described as "a professional community for teachers". Sounds like a threat to Facebook's existence doesn't it?
Do you think Facebook should be suing Teachbook? Tell us what you think.
Ryan Tate at Valleywag draws on some irony, saying, "Imagine: Someone ripping off the name of an existing social networking tool for his own site. Why, that hasn't been done since 2004 when some punk kid at Harvard registered TheFacebook.com while college administrators were already developing their own 'online facebook.'"
The beginning of the suit reads:
Facebook has become a worldwide social, cultural and political phenomenon. With fame comes imitation. Here, Defendant Teachbook.com LLC rides on the coattails of the fame and enormous goodwill of the FACEBOOK trademark. Misappropriating the distinctive BOOK portion of Facebook's trademark, Defendant has created its own competing online networking community in a blatant attempt to become Facebook "for Teachers." Despite Facebook's protests, Defendant has willfully and deliberately persisted in its misappropriation of the Facebook brand, forcing Facebook to protect its user community and the strength of the Famous FACEBOOK trademark through this action.
They're protecting us - the user community.
When a user (teacher) joins Teachbook, the site promises the ability to manage a professional profile and all info in the account by choosing to share with admins, colleagues, parents, or public. It lets teachers create lesson plans, instructional videos, and other teaching resources. It lets users manage their classroom communications with secure parent-teacher communication tools (gradebook, events calendar, classroom newsletter, homework space). It lets teachers communicate with colleagues through discussion, chat, blogs, etc. It lets them create and manage online courses and instructional modules. It lets teachers manage student grades by recording, calculating, and sharing them within the Gradebook. (I wonder if Facebook knows they're using the word "gradebook" too).
Facebook drops the following stats in its case for why others shouldn't be able to use the word "book" in their names:
- Facebook has over 500 million active users
- Those users spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook.com.
- Facebook is the second most trafficked site in the U.S.
- Over 150 million Facebook users also engage with FB through third-party sites each month
- Over a million sites have implemented tools Facebook makes available
- Through Facebook, users can interact with over 900 million objects (individual and community pages, groups, and events) and 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.).
- Those users spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook.com.
- Facebook is the second most trafficked site in the U.S.
- Over 150 million Facebook users also engage with FB through third-party sites each month
- Over a million sites have implemented tools Facebook makes available
- Through Facebook, users can interact with over 900 million objects (individual and community pages, groups, and events) and 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.).
"Through this usage, Facebook has permeated the web and Facebook users are accustomed to seeing and expect to see Facebook across the world wide web, not just on the Facebook site," the suit proclaims. "Facebook, and its FACEBOOK trademark, are famous."
The suit also mentions that Facebook owns a number of U.S. registrations for the mark FACEBOOK, covering a variety of goods and services, such as online networking services, chat functions, electronic media, online journals with user-defined content and electronic publishing services, and software to enable uploading, tagging, and sharing of electronic media or info.
By this logic, other companies that use either "Face" or "Book" may have to fear. It's unclear what the company's stance on the word "the" is, as Facebook was first called "The Facebook". "The" is only slightly more common than "book", especially in the teaching profession, I would imagine. Since "the" is no longer part of the Facbook brand, I'm guessing they won't pursue that.
It's also worth noting that Facebook just launched a product called "Facebook Places" , even though Google (their direct competitor) already had a product called "Google Places".
This suit comes at a time when Facebook is becoming much more integrated with not only the web, as the company pointed out, but the real world as well. Facebook Places is bringing physical locations to Facebook, and other third-parties are also coming up with different ways to connect physical objects (not just places) to Facebook. Watch out, books!
The entire suit can be read here (pdf).
Dienstag, 10. August 2010
FBI Picks a Fight with Wikipedia - Marco Spoerrle
FBI: Take Down Our Seal, Wikimedia Foundation: No.
This week, the New York Times and BBC News both reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has sent the Wikimedia Foundatation a letter, ordering the removal of an image of the Bureau's seal from its Wikipedia entry. The Wikimedia Foundation's response thus far has basically been, "no."
The NYT provides copies of both the FBI's letter, and the Wikimedia Foundation's response. Pretty entertaining stuff. The FBI's letter, signed by Deputy General Counsel David C. Larson, begins:
It has come to our attention that the FBI seal is posted, without authorization, on Wikipedia at the following site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US-FBIShadedSeal. svg . As the site itself notes, "Unauthorized use of the FBI seal . . . is subject to criminal prosecution under Federal criminal law, including 18 U.S.C. 701."
The FBI Seal is an official insignia of the Department of Justice. Its primary purpose is to authenticate the official communications and actions of the FBI. Unauthorized reproduction or use of the FB I Seal is prohibited by 18 United States Code, Section 701, which provides:
Whoever manufactures, sells, or possesses any insignia, of the design prescribed by the [Department head] or any colordble imitation thereof, or photographs, prints, or in any other manner makes or executes any engraving, photograph, print, or impression in the likeness of any such insignia, or any colorable imitation thereof, except as authorized under regulation made pursuant to law, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both...
See the whole letter here (pdf).
The Wikimedia Foundation's letter, signed by General Counsel Mike Godwin, begins:
Dear Deputy Director Larson,
First, thank you for taking my call Thursday, and congratulations on your imminent retirement after so many years of service. It's unfortunate that on such an otherwise happy occasion I must inform you that the Bureau's reading of 18 U.S.C. 701 is both idiosyncratic (made especially so by your strategic redaction of important language) and, more importantly, incorrect.
I'm writing you, of course, regarding your recent letter reiterating the Bureau's invocation of 18 U.S.C. 701 and your demand for removal of the image of the FBI Seal on Wikipedia (images of which are widely available elsewhere, including on the Encyclopedia Britannica website, last I checked). You may recall that in my initial email response to your estimable Assistant General Counsel, Mr. Binney, I pointed to cases construing Section 701 and that, in a subsequent email, I broadly hinted that ejusdem generis, a standard accepted canon of statutory construction, demonstrates that this statute is inapposite to the use of an image of the seal on an encyclopedia.
It's clear that you and Mr. Binney took the hint, although perhaps not in the way I would have preferred. Entertainingly, in support for your argument, you included a version of 701 in which you removed the very phrases that subject the statute to ejusdem generis analysis. While we appreciate your desire to revise the statute to reflect your expansive vision of it, the fact is that we must work with the actual language of the statute, not the aspirational version of Section 701 that you forwarded to us...
See that whole letter here.
Clearly, the Wikimedia Foundation firmly believes that it is not in the wrong here, and is prepared to go to court with the FBI, if it comes to that, as Godwin notes in the letter.
be interesting to see if the FBI pursues this, as everyone else wonders why the FBI isn't focused on more pressing matters. I can't imagine what harm the FBI's seal is doing on a non-profit community encyclopedia site aimed at spreading knowledge.
Which side do you agree with? The FBI's or the Wikimedia Foundation's?
Let us know.
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FBI, Marco Spoerrle, marcospoerrle.com, Advertising, Blog, Facebook, market your business, Spoerrle, Social Networking, Social Media, Security
By Chris Crum | Staff Writer
This week, the New York Times and BBC News both reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has sent the Wikimedia Foundatation a letter, ordering the removal of an image of the Bureau's seal from its Wikipedia entry. The Wikimedia Foundation's response thus far has basically been, "no."
The NYT provides copies of both the FBI's letter, and the Wikimedia Foundation's response. Pretty entertaining stuff. The FBI's letter, signed by Deputy General Counsel David C. Larson, begins:
The FBI Seal is an official insignia of the Department of Justice. Its primary purpose is to authenticate the official communications and actions of the FBI. Unauthorized reproduction or use of the FB I Seal is prohibited by 18 United States Code, Section 701, which provides:
Whoever manufactures, sells, or possesses any insignia, of the design prescribed by the [Department head] or any colordble imitation thereof, or photographs, prints, or in any other manner makes or executes any engraving, photograph, print, or impression in the likeness of any such insignia, or any colorable imitation thereof, except as authorized under regulation made pursuant to law, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both...
See the whole letter here (pdf).
The Wikimedia Foundation's letter, signed by General Counsel Mike Godwin, begins:
Dear Deputy Director Larson,
First, thank you for taking my call Thursday, and congratulations on your imminent retirement after so many years of service. It's unfortunate that on such an otherwise happy occasion I must inform you that the Bureau's reading of 18 U.S.C. 701 is both idiosyncratic (made especially so by your strategic redaction of important language) and, more importantly, incorrect.
I'm writing you, of course, regarding your recent letter reiterating the Bureau's invocation of 18 U.S.C. 701 and your demand for removal of the image of the FBI Seal on Wikipedia (images of which are widely available elsewhere, including on the Encyclopedia Britannica website, last I checked). You may recall that in my initial email response to your estimable Assistant General Counsel, Mr. Binney, I pointed to cases construing Section 701 and that, in a subsequent email, I broadly hinted that ejusdem generis, a standard accepted canon of statutory construction, demonstrates that this statute is inapposite to the use of an image of the seal on an encyclopedia.
It's clear that you and Mr. Binney took the hint, although perhaps not in the way I would have preferred. Entertainingly, in support for your argument, you included a version of 701 in which you removed the very phrases that subject the statute to ejusdem generis analysis. While we appreciate your desire to revise the statute to reflect your expansive vision of it, the fact is that we must work with the actual language of the statute, not the aspirational version of Section 701 that you forwarded to us...
See that whole letter here.
Clearly, the Wikimedia Foundation firmly believes that it is not in the wrong here, and is prepared to go to court with the FBI, if it comes to that, as Godwin notes in the letter.
be interesting to see if the FBI pursues this, as everyone else wonders why the FBI isn't focused on more pressing matters. I can't imagine what harm the FBI's seal is doing on a non-profit community encyclopedia site aimed at spreading knowledge.
Which side do you agree with? The FBI's or the Wikimedia Foundation's?
Let us know.
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http://marcospoerrle.com/blog/
https://twitter.com/marcospoerrle
https://twitter.com/spoerrle
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marco-Spoerrle/108765315840487
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FBI, Marco Spoerrle, marcospoerrle.com, Advertising, Blog, Facebook, market your business, Spoerrle, Social Networking, Social Media, Security
By Chris Crum | Staff Writer
Donnerstag, 5. August 2010
WebProNews IT Team Confirms Facebook "Leak" Not Much of a Story, Marco Spoerrle
Facebook has put a lot of people on edge about privacy in recent months, and while some of it may be legitimate concern, a lot of the discussion is simply getting blown out of proportion.
You've probably read about the infamous "leaked" list of user names this week, that a security researcher shared in a torrent. A bunch of companies have reportedly been downloading the info leading to some unnecessary paranoia. Our own IT department took a look at that torrent, and there's really nothing to get freaked out about. It just contains data that's already public (170,879,858 URLs by our count), as the "leaker" Ron Bowes told BBC News.
The biggest file is called facebook-urls.txt. The top of the file looks like this (with "xxxxx" representing the unique number associated with the accounts):
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/-/xxxxxxx
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/-/xxxxxxxx
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/-/xxxxxxx
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/-/xxxxxxxxx
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/-/xxxxxxxxxx
Eventually, once you get past the dashes, they start looking like this (where the "xxxx" represents people's names):
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/A-xxx-xxx-xxx/100001172054083
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/A-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxx/100000816806409
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/A-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-xxx-xxxxxx/643427473
"So you could figure out somebody's name from the profile URL, but that's really about it,” our IT manager says. "Anything else, you'd have to actually go to the URL and crawl it."
And of course, these people are already in the Facebook Directory anyway, as Bowes noted. There's no other information.
From the README file included in the torrent, here are the list of all the files:
Filname Description
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
facebook.rb The script used to generate these files (v1)
facebook.nse The script that will be used for the second pass (v2)
facebook-urls The full URLs to every profile
facebook-names-original All names, including duplicates
facebook-names-unique All names, no duplicates
facebook-names-withcount All names, no duplicates but with a count
facebook-firstnames-withcount All first names (with count)
facebook-lastnames-withcount All last names (with count)
facebook-f.last-withcount All first initial last name (with count)
facebook-first.l-withcount All first name last initial (with count)
Bowes said that collecting the data was in no way irresponsible and likened it to a telephone directory. On top of that, there's not any info to distinguish people with the same names apart from one another.
Facebook has also confirmed that the info in the list was already freely available online, and that "no private data is available or has been compromised."
This article from the Telegraph claims that the torrent contains info like profile pictures, lists of friends, etc. Our team says that's not true and that you'd have to re-crawl the profile URL in order to get that data.
The bottom line is that the info in the torrent is public info, just like any other personal info that is published publicly on the web that's out there for Google, Yahoo, Bing, or any other crawler to index. Essentially, all that's really in the torrent is big list of URLs. Whoa!
The companies downloading the torrent for whatever purposes they have in mind, would probably be better served to just look at the directory. Facebook has a lot more users than 170,879,858.
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By Chris Crum
You've probably read about the infamous "leaked" list of user names this week, that a security researcher shared in a torrent. A bunch of companies have reportedly been downloading the info leading to some unnecessary paranoia. Our own IT department took a look at that torrent, and there's really nothing to get freaked out about. It just contains data that's already public (170,879,858 URLs by our count), as the "leaker" Ron Bowes told BBC News.
The biggest file is called facebook-urls.txt. The top of the file looks like this (with "xxxxx" representing the unique number associated with the accounts):
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/-/xxxxxxx
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/-/xxxxxxxx
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/-/xxxxxxx
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/-/xxxxxxxxx
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/-/xxxxxxxxxx
Eventually, once you get past the dashes, they start looking like this (where the "xxxx" represents people's names):
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/A-xxx-xxx-xxx/100001172054083
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/A-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxx/100000816806409
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/A-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-xxx-xxxxxx/643427473
"So you could figure out somebody's name from the profile URL, but that's really about it,” our IT manager says. "Anything else, you'd have to actually go to the URL and crawl it."
And of course, these people are already in the Facebook Directory anyway, as Bowes noted. There's no other information.
From the README file included in the torrent, here are the list of all the files:
Filname Description
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
facebook.rb The script used to generate these files (v1)
facebook.nse The script that will be used for the second pass (v2)
facebook-urls The full URLs to every profile
facebook-names-original All names, including duplicates
facebook-names-unique All names, no duplicates
facebook-names-withcount All names, no duplicates but with a count
facebook-firstnames-withcount All first names (with count)
facebook-lastnames-withcount All last names (with count)
facebook-f.last-withcount All first initial last name (with count)
facebook-first.l-withcount All first name last initial (with count)
Bowes said that collecting the data was in no way irresponsible and likened it to a telephone directory. On top of that, there's not any info to distinguish people with the same names apart from one another.
Facebook has also confirmed that the info in the list was already freely available online, and that "no private data is available or has been compromised."
This article from the Telegraph claims that the torrent contains info like profile pictures, lists of friends, etc. Our team says that's not true and that you'd have to re-crawl the profile URL in order to get that data.
The bottom line is that the info in the torrent is public info, just like any other personal info that is published publicly on the web that's out there for Google, Yahoo, Bing, or any other crawler to index. Essentially, all that's really in the torrent is big list of URLs. Whoa!
The companies downloading the torrent for whatever purposes they have in mind, would probably be better served to just look at the directory. Facebook has a lot more users than 170,879,858.
http://marcospoerrle.blogspot.com/
http://marcospoerrle.com/blog/
https://twitter.com/marcospoerrle
https://twitter.com/spoerrle
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marco-Spoerrle/108765315840487
http://advertising-marketing-techniques.marcospoerrle.net/
By Chris Crum
Dienstag, 3. August 2010
Marco Spoerrle, Spoerrle, YouTube, Social Networking
Almost There - YouTube and Social Networking, Marco Spoerrle
Innovation doesn't wait for anybody. It's a constant, vital force, thriving on new ideas, new interpretations of old ideas, and a deep desire to understand the next important step. This generation has been defined by its technological advances, and the creation of a global society on the Web. This society is as complex and dynamic as any physical city or province, and has become the important battleground of ideas for the foreseeable future.
YouTube has played a vital part in this process virtually since its inception. In less than a decade it has grown into a tool for political discourse, a venue for amateur filmmakers and artists to showcase their talents, and a means by which the common citizen opposes tyranny by posting film of those abusing their station and authority. Without a doubt, it is one of the major forces in modern innovation.
Part of innovation is of course the combination of ideas. The telephone wasn't strictly a new concept; electrical transmission of messages existed in the telegraph, and the transmission of recorded sound existed in the phonograph. Combining these two technologies is what led to the telephone. This is also the path much of the Web seems bent on taking, combining and integrating services, and YouTube seems to be no exception.
YouTube's designers have, for example, pledged to implement more Social Networking functionality in future versions of the site. They also set up a new interface that focuses on Playlist content rather than individual videos. What other ideas may be unveiled is a mystery, but while the Web is waiting for more concrete information there are a few steps that can be taken to integrate YouTube into an existing social media program.
Step 1 - Familiarize
Whoever said 'familiarity breeds contempt' only had part of the story. Yes, being exposed to something consistently can cause someone to gloss over or underestimate its value. On the other hand, being intensely and exceptionally familiar with a process or a tool can open up many varied ways to understanding it.
Consider the humble knife. On the surface it's made to cut, either as a tool or as a weapon. However, if the blade is heated up it can sterilize a wound. Knives with a strong enough blade and enough surface can be used as screwdrivers, or to pry open containers. Or think of a car engine. The average user can probably learn enough on their own to keep it running in reasonable condition, but someone familiar with the specific model type in front of them can get exceptional performance out of the machine.
To this end, become familiar with YouTube's new layout. Learn how to put together a playlist, and look at how the rating and comments systems display themselves. Examine the interface aesthetically; does your channel warrant a flashy, playful background, or does it need something more conservative? Spending time with the site on a regular basis will begin to fill in your understanding, and allow you to innovate when it's really needed.
Step 2 - Observe
There is a saying that, "All good ideas having already been discovered, what remains for the innovator is to borrow judiciously." No one has all the best people, and no one has the strongest notions under monopoly. Select YouTube channels that are performing well, and try to discern why. Consider the quality of comments available, and the presentation of videos.
Note, however, that this admonition is to observe, not to imitate. Yes, feel free to borrow a good idea or a presentational technique that will work with your gróup. However, your gróup is not the same as any other. Don't try to slavishly duplicate another organization's technique or content. You will be called on it, and despite its penchant for hyperactivity, the Web tends to have an incredibly long memory for failure.
Step 3 - Discourse
As mentioned, YouTube's designers intend to implement greater social networking functionality. What's interesting is that there is already a limited sort of social networking present on the site, in several forms.
The first is in the comments section for each video, and for channels. People can leave the feedback they feel is relevant, and they do so in staggering numbers. It's not uncommon for even unremarkable videos to garner thousands of views and comments, some of them profitable and others drivel. The trick is to use the social media techniques that work elsewhere to cultivate the image you wish. Converse with them, share ideas and give hints about upcoming projects, and do what is needed to gather their interest in your channel.
Second is the 'reply to' style of video. In short, one party will make a video, and another party who sees it will create a second video and flag it as a response. This can be done for any number of reasons, ranging from tribute and commentary to rebuttal and confrontation.
This is an excellent social marketing tool, as it creates a 'link back' friendliness. Respond to a video you found interesting, and you will send at least some of your audience to that video, increasing their numbers. They may return the favor, or the site may simply link your video in the search function as a related topic. Either way, your traffic increases, and your message gets out.
About The Author
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to www.Brandsplat.com or visit our blog at www.iBrandCasting.com.
http://marcospoerrle.blogspot.com/
http://marcospoerrle.com/blog/
https://twitter.com/marcospoerrle
https://twitter.com/spoerrle
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marco-Spoerrle/108765315840487
Marco Spoerrle, marcospoerrle.com
Innovation doesn't wait for anybody. It's a constant, vital force, thriving on new ideas, new interpretations of old ideas, and a deep desire to understand the next important step. This generation has been defined by its technological advances, and the creation of a global society on the Web. This society is as complex and dynamic as any physical city or province, and has become the important battleground of ideas for the foreseeable future.
YouTube has played a vital part in this process virtually since its inception. In less than a decade it has grown into a tool for political discourse, a venue for amateur filmmakers and artists to showcase their talents, and a means by which the common citizen opposes tyranny by posting film of those abusing their station and authority. Without a doubt, it is one of the major forces in modern innovation.
Part of innovation is of course the combination of ideas. The telephone wasn't strictly a new concept; electrical transmission of messages existed in the telegraph, and the transmission of recorded sound existed in the phonograph. Combining these two technologies is what led to the telephone. This is also the path much of the Web seems bent on taking, combining and integrating services, and YouTube seems to be no exception.
YouTube's designers have, for example, pledged to implement more Social Networking functionality in future versions of the site. They also set up a new interface that focuses on Playlist content rather than individual videos. What other ideas may be unveiled is a mystery, but while the Web is waiting for more concrete information there are a few steps that can be taken to integrate YouTube into an existing social media program.
Step 1 - Familiarize
Whoever said 'familiarity breeds contempt' only had part of the story. Yes, being exposed to something consistently can cause someone to gloss over or underestimate its value. On the other hand, being intensely and exceptionally familiar with a process or a tool can open up many varied ways to understanding it.
Consider the humble knife. On the surface it's made to cut, either as a tool or as a weapon. However, if the blade is heated up it can sterilize a wound. Knives with a strong enough blade and enough surface can be used as screwdrivers, or to pry open containers. Or think of a car engine. The average user can probably learn enough on their own to keep it running in reasonable condition, but someone familiar with the specific model type in front of them can get exceptional performance out of the machine.
To this end, become familiar with YouTube's new layout. Learn how to put together a playlist, and look at how the rating and comments systems display themselves. Examine the interface aesthetically; does your channel warrant a flashy, playful background, or does it need something more conservative? Spending time with the site on a regular basis will begin to fill in your understanding, and allow you to innovate when it's really needed.
Step 2 - Observe
There is a saying that, "All good ideas having already been discovered, what remains for the innovator is to borrow judiciously." No one has all the best people, and no one has the strongest notions under monopoly. Select YouTube channels that are performing well, and try to discern why. Consider the quality of comments available, and the presentation of videos.
Note, however, that this admonition is to observe, not to imitate. Yes, feel free to borrow a good idea or a presentational technique that will work with your gróup. However, your gróup is not the same as any other. Don't try to slavishly duplicate another organization's technique or content. You will be called on it, and despite its penchant for hyperactivity, the Web tends to have an incredibly long memory for failure.
Step 3 - Discourse
As mentioned, YouTube's designers intend to implement greater social networking functionality. What's interesting is that there is already a limited sort of social networking present on the site, in several forms.
The first is in the comments section for each video, and for channels. People can leave the feedback they feel is relevant, and they do so in staggering numbers. It's not uncommon for even unremarkable videos to garner thousands of views and comments, some of them profitable and others drivel. The trick is to use the social media techniques that work elsewhere to cultivate the image you wish. Converse with them, share ideas and give hints about upcoming projects, and do what is needed to gather their interest in your channel.
Second is the 'reply to' style of video. In short, one party will make a video, and another party who sees it will create a second video and flag it as a response. This can be done for any number of reasons, ranging from tribute and commentary to rebuttal and confrontation.
This is an excellent social marketing tool, as it creates a 'link back' friendliness. Respond to a video you found interesting, and you will send at least some of your audience to that video, increasing their numbers. They may return the favor, or the site may simply link your video in the search function as a related topic. Either way, your traffic increases, and your message gets out.
About The Author
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to www.Brandsplat.com or visit our blog at www.iBrandCasting.com.
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Marco Spoerrle, marcospoerrle.com
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