When YouTube said it was running a competition to determine the best video submitted online, it was meant to be a joke for April Fool’s Day.  But when YouTube recently announced it was coming up with a paid subscription plan for some video distributors, they were not joking this time.

Recently YouTube finalized some channels which will now be available for subscription over YouTube.

“Starting today, we’re launching a pilot program for a small group of partners that will offer paid channels on YouTube with subscription fees starting at $0.99 per month.  Every channel has a 14-day free trial, and many offer discounted yearly rates.  For example, Sesame Street will be offering full episodes on their paid channel when it launches.  And UFC fans can see classic fights, like a full version of their first event from UFC’s new channel.  “Once you subscribe from a computer, you’ll be able to watch paid channels on your computer, phone, tablet and TV, and soon you’ll be able to subscribe to them from more devices,” read their statement on the official YouTube blog.

YouTube will have 54 channels available for paid subscription; the list includes a wide variety of channels like the kid-friendly Treehouse Direct and Baby First Plus, music channels like Rap Battle Network and sports channels like PGA Digital Golf Academy, TNA Wrestling Plus and UFC Select.

As expected, there were immediate negative reactions from the public.

“No to paying a YouTube subscription fee.  No to pay-per-view.  We already pay for cable TV and select news-related companies.  Are institutional investors and hedge funds pushing this business model on the tech industry?” said PV of Hudson, Wisconsin.

“Where does it all end?  Increasingly, the Web is the source of virtually everything we do: news, books, magazines, video, music, weather, shopping, banking, socializing, everything.  The days of printed books and physical media are numbered.  DVDs and blu-rays are going the way of VHS tapes.  The new business model wants to stream everything to us, and wants us to pay for it not just once, but over and over again,” said Gemli from Boston.

Others were more understanding of the digital marketing strategy.

“I don’t mind paying for something I’ll use, especially if I can cancel at any time; however, I will not pay for anything that I cannot pay cash for.  Unless Google comes out with credits that come on cards with pre-determined amounts that I can pay cash for, they will not be getting my money,” said CSR Chad of Davenport City in Iowa.

Note: There are now pre-paid cards available

“I think this makes perfect sense.  The traditional TV format is outdated and what YouTube is proposing very attractive.  I’m not opposed to paying especially if I can cancel my cable subscription, and get access to what I really want to watch.  Plus, with original content making its way to streaming (ie. Netflix) it’s only a matter of time before producers and advertisers want in on this new format,” said Chris of Chicago.

Remember that this is still a pilot program and YouTube can cancel it if it goes badly.  But if this catches on, YouTube will have another source of revenue apart from ads.  The online strategy is also seen to put pressure on the cable TV industry which is already under assault from video on demand available in online platforms.

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The ultra-reduced price, coming just over a month after the launch of First last April, has tech pundits wondering whether the move is a desperate ploy to get consumers to bite or just a common promotional pricing by the manufacturers.

An AT&T rep was quick to say the sudden drop in price of the First, which comes with a two-year contract with AT&T, should not be taken for more than a marketing campaign.

“We do promotions like this all the time,” the representative said. He would not say how long the promo would last.

A representative from HTC spoke along the lines of AT&T, but when asked on the sales figures of First models, the rep declined to comment saying HTC does not discuss sales figures outside of their official financial announcements.

Before we proceed, what are the specs of this HTC First anyway?

By itself the HTC First, also referred to in informal channels as the Facebook phone, is not a thing of beauty. It’s not exactly ugly, but rather simple and, in the words of a tech website editor, “not very exciting to look at.” It only has three buttons at the bottom for back, home and menu.

Other HTC First specs:
• 4.3-inch HD display
• Android 4.1.2 Jellybean operating system
• 16GB internal storage (not upgradable)
• 1.6 megapixel camera in the front
• 5 megapixel cam in the back with LED flash
• Qualcomm dual-core processor

The phone is sealed and users will have no access to the battery.  The cover is a soft-touch material that feels nice to hold, but is not interchangeable.  The phone only comes in the colors black, white, light blue and red.

The First also comes pre-loaded with Facebook Home. For those not familiar with Home, it’s an app that places the online platform as the main feature of your phone.  With the First you will have immediate access to your newsfeed on your cover, or what they call the “coverfeed”.  You can also quickly like any post or photos of your friends.

Take away Facebook Home and the HTC First becomes just another, cheaper, Android phone.

It’s worth mentioning that Home, released also a month ago, is downloadable from the App Store but only compatible with models like HTC First, HTC One X, HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 2. It should also be mentioned that Home received a less than warm housewarming from users, with 1,864 of 3,930 users rating it one star at the App Store just a few days after launch.

Some tech pundits were quick to point out that AT&T and HTC were trying to hide the obvious, that the First had flopped, and badly.  They said that aside from using the social media’s Home, widely regarded as a failure, to market the HTC First, the model is now facing stiff competition from its own model, the HTC One.  It is also allegedly being snubbed in the anticipated release of the Samsung Galaxy S4 which is set for wide release this July.

Will this drastic price cut pay off?  We’ll have to wait for the HTC figure releases to be able to tell.

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So you’ve set up your company’s Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. You have an able social media manager at the helm and he or she is part of the digital marketing strategy team. You pay attention to what is being said about your business everyday and respond to complaints accordingly. Do you think you have this social media thing all worked out now? Do you think you are utilizing it for all it’s worth? You may be surprised by what else social media can do to help your company.

Assists your HR Department

To some extent, a person’s online profile might actually serve as his or her work resume, showing where he or she has gone to school and what work he or she has done. Of course we know that not all profiles posted online belong to real people and some information may be false, but it gives your personnel department a guide, a direction where to start looking.

It might also help them keep track of former employees and identify prospective employees and possible candidates for a recruitment campaign. It can even track current employees.  The Internet has a ton of stories about people getting busted by their Facebook accounts, the most common ones being of employees calling in sick, only to post photos of them in very comprising positions and locations.

It’s also worth mentioning that LinkedIn also allows their user profiles to function as resumes.

Serves as Internal Communication

You have always thought of social media as means of communication from the company to the outside world, but have you ever thought of making it work as a means of communicating within the company itself? Aside from improving employee relationship, a social network also gives the ‘smaller fish’ a voice against the bigger fish. Let’s face it, not everyone has the gall to just walk up to the boss and talk to him, even if he or she has a good idea.

But beware, there are pitfalls of having employees in your social circle, you may spew a tirade against a co-worker –or worse, a superior– forgetting that he or she is actually your friend in social media. There have been many cases of people getting fired for mouthing off against someone and forgetting they friended that particular person on Facebook only last week.

The company itself might also be placed at risk or its reputation soiled when its dirty laundry is washed in public. The best thing to do is set up a communication platform account limited only to the employees of that office and make sure it is not mixed with the regular account that reaches the outside world.

Builds Good PR

Your company shouldn’t just keep track of current employees and prospective ones, it should also keep in touch with business partners, customers and other people you are dealing with. Sending them messages during their birthdays, anniversaries or any milestone made public in their account will not hurt your relationship with them. Others may also start to take notice of what a nice and thoughtful company you have.

Protects You from Hackers

Strange as this may sound, it is true. A company without a presence in social media can become prey to anyone who can make a fake online account in your company’s brand name. This has happened to oil giant ExxonMobile and a telephone company in the Philippines, which has long since bought the domain name an activist group once used to spread their message.

Try to think of other things social media can do for your company. Remember that business practices evolve with time, and so does technology and human interaction.

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Of that billion, an estimated 618 million check their Facebook page at least once a day. Some check twice, others thrice, and still others multiple times. For them the communication platform has become an obsession. It is now an addiction to browse, to constantly update their page with the latest in the news, their lives, their loves.

Is such an addiction healthy?  The health problems are not the focus of this article, but the social problems that may arise from it are.

So what social problems may actually arise out of social networking?

•    Reduces our ability to communicate.  But no!  You say Facebook is all about communication!  Well yes, but it’s about online communication, not actual personal communication.  Sure you can express yourself well enough when you write posts, but how good  are you at actually meeting people and talking to them outside the familiarity of your office or bedroom?

•    Makes us obsessive about one-upping others.  You open a friend’s page, see his pictures and go “I can top that!” and you do by posting a better, more awesome image.  You open another friend’s page and she has a great story about what happened last weekend, but you feel you have a better one so you write it.  Then you see a status that is deeper than yours and you just have to have one that’s even more meaningful.  Before you know it you can’t stop changing everything because you feel your Facebook page has to be better than everyone else’s.

•    Gives us inferiority. This is a direct result of being one-upped.  You open someone else’s page and see that he or she has been to more exotic places than you have been, done things more interesting than you’ve done or have more stuff than you do.  Wouldn’t you feel just the littlest bit jealous?  Unsatisfied?  Even depressed?

•    Forces us to be someone we are not.  Usually done by others who feel they have been one-upped. Some will start to fabricate stories about the places they have been, the people they know, even their educational background.

•    Makes us think too highly of ourselves.  This goes for those who have one-upped others.  Doesn’t it feel good that you have better photos, a better status message and more interesting stories than the others?  Yes, it feels good.  And so you bask in this cloud of euphoric self-praise… until you see that someone else has one-upped you again and the vicious cycle goes on and on.

•    Makes us ‘friend’ collectors. So, you have 3,000 Facebook friends?  How many of them are your actual friends outside the social network?  What is your actual relationship with them in real life?

•    Loss of privacy.  Some people feel the need to announce what they are about to do, what they are doing and what they just did.  Not everyone needs to know that.  By putting your entire routine under public scrutiny you may actually be setting yourself up for trouble, like calling in sick only to post a picture of yourself headbanging at a rock concert, or sharing sensitive, private or embarrassing information that might eventually be used against you.

We’re not saying you should stop using Facebook.   There’s a lot of benefits to being able to reach a lot of friends and relatives quickly and there’s fun in making new friends and unparalleled joy in reconnecting with old ones you gave up hope of ever finding.  There’s also a certain satisfaction in posting your achievements in an online platform for others to see.

But like in life, everything should be taken in moderation.  It’s when anything is taken to the extreme that it usually becomes an ugly thing.

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It’s a form of advertising and helps you keep track of the general sentiment for or against your company and acquire customers, among other things. But just like everything in this world there is a downside to social media. Aside from helping your business it can also hurt your business as well.

How social media can help your business

It can advertise your business. Yes, you can advertise with social media, and at a fraction of the cost of a TV spot too!  In some ways you can actually say it is better than a broadcast ad. While the broadcast ad lasts for only a few seconds up to a minute over the airwaves, your ad will stay in a webpage indefinitely.

It helps you find potential customers.  And you don’t even have to do anything! Okay, maybe you have to do something. Social media is the new grapevine and with today’s technology you can be sure word will travel fast. Happy customers will report of their satisfaction with your product or service to a friend, and that friend might think about trying you out. The thing you have to do is keep your customers satisfied, but isn’t that what you are supposed to be doing anyway?

It informs you about the competition. With a little “research” you can actually learn about your competition by what their customers talk about.  What you do with that information is up to you, of course, but we recommend using that info to optimize your business any way you can.

It’s a feedback tool. You can keep track of what people are saying about your business in Twitter or Facebook. Learn what you are doing wrong, what you are doing right or even defend yourself from any baseless troll comments. Do this with diplomacy and restraint, of course.

It can be an education tool. For any business to stay on top it has to innovate, keep up with the trends, the changes and the industry standards. Don’t expect your competition to give up their trade secrets. Try using social media to keep informed of the latest happenings in your trade.

How social media can hurt your business

If a well-managed social media campaign can bring your business success, a poorly managed one does just the opposite.

Having no original site content. Sure it’s just tempting to copy-paste content from somewhere and put it on your site, but avid surfers might notice they have read this somewhere else. No one wants to read something at a website which they have read in another website before.

Putting the wrong person in charge of the social media account.  This is not one of those positions to just let people ‘try’. You must have someone who is familiar with how it all works in charge. There are a lot of social media managers for hire nowadays it’s just a matter of finding one who fits with your team.

Lack of consistency.  This may be a result of having the wrong person in charge of managing your social media account. Maybe he or she started something, a feature, a contest, a program, a gimmick – that suddenly just stops for no discernible reason. That may give users the impression that you are not willing to follow through on anything you commit to once it becomes too hard.

Ignoring followers and fans.  So they were disappointed about that short-lived program and now they are complaining or asking questions about it. What do you do? You have to give them an explanation. You cannot just take the Hollywood approach and lay low, hoping it will soon boil over.

It should also be mentioned that you don’t have to wait for complaints just to answer fans or followers. Many of them might have a kind comment or constructive idea or even a query. Make sure you answer them, it makes for a good relationship.

Using the wrong online platform.  What works for one social media platform does not actually apply to another. Plus there are other social media platforms out there aside from Facebook and Twitter. While you may not be familiar with them, a competent social media manager would be and knows how to exploit them.

Using social media to attack your competition. While this may be tempting to do, in the end it will only look bad on you, not the competition. We’ve all seen how ugly an online exchange of heated words looks like. Sure, use social media for an occasional critique or two, but using online communication for a vendetta is just getting way too personal.

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The social media’s business site, originally launched in 2011, is meant to help business owners build a successful online presence by learning how they can integrate Twitter into their operations and marketing efforts.

The site provides users with tutorials on practically everything they need to know including the basics like opening a Twitter account to building a community, to the more advanced ones like how to use Twitter Ads self service function.

For those who are still having second thoughts on working with Twitter, the site also has a wide variety of business success stories made possible by Twitter, arranged by the type of industry and the size of the business.

Much of the content of the new site is similar to the original Twitter for Business webpage launched by the online platform in December 2011, although the new site is now more organized and easier to browse through.

How Twitter can Help Your Business

Unless you have been living under a rock, you should have at least probably heard of Twitter. This micro-blogging site and online social network lets users send real-time messages of up to 140 characters which are now known as Tweets. Like many social networks out there it was originally intended for communication between friends and acquaintances, but businesses were quick to realize its potential as a business tool.

Because you can see what others are tweeting, this becomes a good way to monitor or keep track of when your business is mentioned. You can also read the conversations where your business was mentioned to know what is being said about your business. This provides an excellent (and legal) way to gather data that can be useful for formulating strategies for customer acquisition and customer retention.

The social media’s first major-release app for the Android, Facebook Home, integrates itself into the Android OS, changing your wallpaper and menu to make it appear similar to what you see when you open your Facebook page.

Users immediately complained that while it optimized Facebook for easier to use on their smartphones, it made everything else, including using the features of the phone itself, very complicated.

The main complaint was that, as mentioned above, the app turned Facebook into something like an in-your-facebook.  The app essentially replaces your smartphone’s lock screen with a slideshow made up of updates from your Facebook newsfeed.

Reviews from the Google Play app store started coming.

“Not an intuitive app. Made my phone so frustratingly complicated to use that I uninstalled after just four or five hours. Unless major changes are made including an easy way to get to my home screen I will not reinstall,” one user laments.

“It was cool at first but needs some tweaking to be more user-friendly. It takes a lot of different moves and clicks just to get to your main home screen. I installed it last night and uninstalled it this morning,” another user said.

“Not intuitive and it makes my phone butt-ugly. Major fail. And Facebook is starting to grow pretty tiresome; I don’t really want to have to look at it every time I pick up my phone. Uninstall,” another user added.

Others were also complaining about how much life the app took out of the battery.

“Kills my battery on my galaxy note 2.:-)  IT’S COOL but I need my phones battery to last the day,” was the reaction of another user.

The apps store ratings also speaks for itself.  As of April 15 only 689 users rated the app 5 stars while an overwhelming 1,864 rated it one star.  A total of 3,930 users rated their experience with Facebook Home.  The total average was a measly 2.3 stars.

While it can be argued that only those people with a particular dislike for Facebook are posting the negative comments, Google Play said it only accepts rating and reviews from users who have downloaded and installed the app, so it’s safe to assume the bulk of negative reviews and comments do come from people who have actually tried the app for themselves.

For now the free downloadable app, which 258 KB, is only available in the US and only for devices that support Android 4.0 and up like the HTC First, HTC One X, HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 2.  Facebook’s decision to have the app distributed via Google Play to such a limited number of users has also raised other questions as to whether the app is actually a social media marketing strategy or a mere test to see how receptive users are to such a program.

Facebook recently unveiled plans to release Facebook Home internationally.  And, perhaps eager to patch up its relationship with Home haters, announced that the fist update for the app is scheduled for the second week of May.

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After we pass from this world and into the next it’s probably safe to assume our material possessions will either be stored, thrown away or fought over by bickering relatives. But have you even given thought to what happens to the data you have put up in social media after you die?

Spare a thought for what happens to the data like the blogs and photos you placed in the Internet. Will they be saved?  Will they be deleted?  Or will they be fought over by your kin and the owner of the social media where you posted your data?

If you are a Google+ user, then maybe your family will be spared a lengthy legal battle over your digital remains. Google has recently unveiled what it calls its Inactive Account Manager, a feature that lets people decide ahead what happens to their email, blogs and photos after they die.

Google product manager Andreas Tuerk said Google users can opt to have this feature activated after they have not logged in for either three months, six months, nine months or after a year.  They can choose to either have the data automatically deleted, or sent to someone they have previously nominated.

After it is triggered, the Inactive Account Manager will first send a text message to the mobile phone number associated with the account and the mobile phone number of the person who is to receive the information.  If the account owner logs in then the account is considered active again and no further action will be taken until the another period of inactivity.

Only the owner of the account can set up the Inactive Account Manager.  The information that could be passed on to the designated person includes the files in the Google Drive, Gmail account, Google+ profiles, blog posts and comments, Google contacts, Picasa photo albums and Google voice phone data.

If an account owner dies without setting up the account manager and his family wants his data, they may have to get a court order to access his account as required by data protection laws.

It turns out Google isn’t the only one looking out for the data of their dearly departed. Since 2009 Facebook has been offering what is calls memorializing services.  What this does is it keeps the account of the dead person open but only accessible to family and confirmed friends.  It is also no longer used for content marketing and the account will no longer be shown in the Suggestions list of other active accounts, although there will still be a limited form of online communication as family and friends can still write on his or her wall.

To request for a person’s account to be memorialized, a friend of family member of the deceased must submit a form to Facebook proving relationship and other information along with proof of death.  An account can also be completely removed if the family so wishes.

But Facebook also said if the family of the deceased wants full access to his or her accounts a court order is also required.

Cases such as these are no longer uncommon as more and more families encounter problems on what to do with the data of their deceased still available, or in some cases unavailable, in various online platforms.

It may not be such a bad idea to start thinking ahead about your digital afterlife. Now we know how to prepare our data for digital death…if only our souls were just as easy to prepare for the afterlife.

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Social media can advertise your business cost effectively

When big businesses want exposure they start off with a TV spot blitz, then a newspaper ad blitz, then a radio commercial blitz, it’s all so complicated not to mention expensive.  But small businesses do not have a huge corporate budget to wage a wide media campaign. What’s the next best thing to do?  Advertise with a social media agency.  Advertising with social media can reach more prospective customers as more and more people today would rather go online for news and entertainment than open the TV or read the newspaper. An ad online does not have the perishability of a broadcasted ad, it will not last just a few seconds over the air, it will stay put in a webpage and people will be able to see it repeatedly. Even the mere act of seeing the ad again and again is enough for some viewers to develop brand recall, and that is a good thing.

Social media is an excellent feedback tool

Public relations is important for business, and for good PR you need feedback and someone who can handle that feedback. If you cannot afford a flashy PR firm then you can have a social media manager to run your PR.  Constant communication is a great way to retain customers and get in touch with prospective ones.  Learn what you are doing right about your business, what you may be doing wrong, what can be done to improve service, or other concerns.  People would rather deal with a person they can easily reach and converse with. Email exchanges and phone conversations have their limits, and in the case of the latter, costs.

Social media can help you find customers

The best part of this is that it will mostly be the doing of your customers. While word-of-mouth has largely been replaced by online communication these days the principle remains the same. Some of your customers talk about how good your services are, in addition to your excellent PR and feedback system, and others may get curious enough to try your services. In turn they spread the word about their good experience.

Social media can be used as your own education tool

For any business to stay on top it has to be innovative in its field, keeping up with the latest developments, trends and even industry practices. Many business owners offer refresher courses amongst themselves and their people, but not all businesses practice this and you can’t expect competitors to give up trade secrets. Online platforms are a good source of staying informed.

Social media keeps you updated about the competition

Admit it; you’re curious about the competition.  Many a businessman has read Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” and treat business like war; the more you know about your enemy the better you will be in a position to outmaneuver them. Or in this case, the more you know about your competitors, what online strategy they are employing, strengths and weaknesses, the better you will be in a position to counter what they have and exploit what they don’t.  Of course you can’t expect to get all the information about your competitors via social networks, but it’s a good place to start looking.

The list of ways social media can help your business is long.  If you are not exploiting social media to the advantage of your business, then you could be missing out on a lot of opportunities.

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Is Street Art real art or just graffiti?

Public places are filled with Street Art, it is a way to let younger generations and older generations with pure talent express themselves in the name of art.

The councils don’t actually look into the art that is painted they just tell people to paint over it.  Is this fair?

Contemporary art is also a way of expressing yourself  just on a canvas in a studio rather than on the street for everyone who passes it to see.  Contemporary is a much rounder clear style and actually has a picture to follow, unlike the Street Art which has nothing to follow but is more just a way of that person.

Some street art is actually re-interpreted and painted onto canvases and hung in galleries with no recognition for the real artist.

Image Courtesy: Banksy, www.unurth.com

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