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Tag: blog

  • What Are the Best Days to Post

    What Are the Best Days to Post

    There’s more to consider than just posting pieces of content consistently if you want your business blog to take-off. The posting time does affect levels of engagement. This article details what days are best for publishing blogs.

    Best Days to Post for Traffic

    Tuesdays through Thursdays are the best days to post for traffic, as people are more likely to browse the internet. However, if your company has a sale, you may want to post on Friday or Saturday when they are probably shopping. Mondays are best if you have something newsworthy to share.

    Best Time to Publish for Pageviews

    To increase page views on your website, post content at the right time. Posts published in the early morning tend to have a higher clickthrough rate. 

    The best day for a blogger to post is Wednesdays at 10 a.m. That is one of the peak times when people read blogs. That’s not to say other times won’t work.

    Best Time for Social Shares

    Our social web is alive when people are at their desks during the workday. The most popular times for social media engagement are early weekday mornings and late afternoons but vary depending on the sites you use.

    This is the best time of day to post for increased social media shares:

    • Tuesdays – 2 p.m.
    • Thursdays – 12, 6, and 11 p.m.
    • Fridays – 1 and 10 p.m.
    • Saturdays – 8 a.m., 12 and 5 p.m.
    • Sundays – 7 a.m. and 2 p.m.

    Best Day to Publish for Social Shares

    According to a study by Track Social, the best day to publish content for social media shares is Tuesday. However, every brand’s audience is different, so it’s essential to test what works best for your company.

    When to Post for Consistent Engagement  

    Every company posts content on its website. However, suppose no people are checking out social media platforms. In that case, there is no point in creating posts randomly throughout the day because nobody will see them.

    The best time to post comments is between 9–11 a.m. That’s because people check for social media posts at that time.

    How Many Times Should You Publish In a Week?

    Three days a week is best, but not standard. The best days of the week to publish are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Tuesdays and Thursdays see a slight dip, while Sundays witness the least readership.

    Best Time to Blog on Facebook

    The optimal time for a Facebook post is typically Monday through Friday between 9–11 a.m. Understanding the best day to post on Facebook is important because there are clear trends based on age demographics.

    A study by TrackMaven looked at 400 million Facebook posts to determine the best time for every demographic. The information from Facebook page insights helps marketers save time when scheduling blog content.

    Best times for each demographic:

    • 18 to 24-years: Wednesday at 3 p.m.
    • 25 to 34-years: Thursday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
    • 35 to 44-years: Friday at 8 a.m.
    • 45 to 54-years: Saturday at 7 a.m.
    • 55 to 64-years: Thursday at 3 p.m.
    • 65 and over: Wednesday at 10 a.m.

    Best Time to Post on Twitter  

    Twitter is a fast-paced platform with a lot of competition for attention. The best time to tweet on Twitter for your business might be different than the best time for other types of accounts. According to CoSchedule, these are the best times for a tweet:

    • 8 a.m.
    • noon
    • 3 p.m.
    • 5 p.m.
    • 11 p.m. to midnight

    Social Media Today suggests that the best time is 1:45 p.m. EST and 4:30 p.m. EST weekdays for retail companies.

    Buffer recommends posting at the following times:

    • Mondays to Thursdays, 5 to 6 p.m.
    • Fridays, 3 to 4 p.m.
    • Saturdays and Sundays, 10 to 11 a.m.

    Best Time to Publish on LinkedIn

    The best times to post on LinkedIn are Mondays to Fridays at 9 a.m., noon, and 5 p.m. These three times were the most optimal across every demographic studied by TrackMaven. Like other social networks, the worst days to post are over the weekend.

    Best Time to Post on Instagram

    Different brands will have different target audiences with varying levels of engagement at other times of the day. A Sprout Social study found that the best time for Instagram posts is weekdays between 8 and 9 p.m. EST.

    Buffer studied the Instagram algorithm and has excellent insights on the best time to post on Instagram.

    Best Time to Publish on Tiktok

    TikTok’s audience is incredibly diverse. A study by Locowise found that the best time to post is between 6 and 7 p.m. EST on weekdays. Buffer data shows that weekends are not optimal for engagement.

    Apps for Publishing Automation

    These tools are handy for scheduling blog posts. They ensure you publish posts at the ideal time even when you are out of office and can’t post:

    • SocialBee
    • Hootsuite
    • Agorapulse
    • CoSchedule

    In Conclusion

    It would seem the best days for blog posts are workdays. Remember that what works for one company might not for another. It’s essential to test what days and times generate the most traffic for your website.

    If you’re looking for a way to automate your blog publishing, consider using a content management system. These platforms allow you to preview and schedule posts ahead of time. You won’t ever have to worry about forgetting to publish, whatever the time or day.

  • Fun & Funky Christmas Stockings!

    You walk into a co-worker’s holiday party and look around. The Christmas decor is out in all its glory and twinkling its tinsel off. As you walk through the gathering of slightly tipsy ladies from human resources and the IT guys discussing the latest tech trends something catches your eye. Across the room, hanging from the mantle, are the most beautiful Christmas stockings you’ve ever seen. Hand-made, cable knit, even painted designs are on display proudly among these truly unique treasures. While this scenario may not be a common one, the Christmas stockings exist – you’ve just got to look for them.

    Upon searching, one particular line of Christmas stockings caught my attention. They aren’t glitzy or name brand, and they don’t come with a high price tag. In fact, they don’t have a price tag at all. These Christmas stockings are handmade by one Canadian woman, purely for her family and the simple joy of creating a work of art that can be used and treasured for years to come.

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    Canadian blogger Wicked Faerie Queen offered up a pleasant surprise whilst on my journey to find a few Christmas stockings that truly stood out from the rest. Knitted stockings, felt stockings, curled toe stockings, even stockings with ice skates on the bottom – each more beautiful than the last.

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    This particular blogger tells her followers that the knitted stockings were a favorite of her children for the simple fact that they expanded to several times their original size upon “Santa” filling them with goodies.

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    Her personal preference seems to be felt stockings, noting how easy the material is to work with whether you’re sewing or gluing.

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    You may not be the queen of the sewing machine or a wiz with a glue gun, but these Christmas stockings go to show that even the most simple of fabrics can wow a crowd. Perhaps its the love and care that go in to making each one that allows them such an air of superiority. Because it’s very clear that these particular Christmas stockings aren’t going to be found in your local department store. No retailer that I know of stocks the imagination, love and care that can be found within the hand-stitched seams of these stunning stockings. Those ingredients come from within, and this Christmas stocking guru has them in spades.

    Image via Wicked Faerie Queen Blog

  • Girl Gets Unsolicited Wiener Pic, Sends It on to the Guy’s Mom

    This post is slightly NSFW.

    “Attention assholes: don’t sexually harass a girl when she can easily find you on Facebook and send your mom proof of your perpetuation of rape culture. Moral of the day? Don’t mess with me,” says one Tumblr blogger who took action against a guy who sent her an unwanted photo of his junk.

    According to BuzzFeed, the woman met the guy on a dating app, Let’s Date, created by a co-founder of the alternative site Suicide Girls.

    Short version: Guy sends unwanted photo of his wiener. Girl doesn’t appreciate it. The two exchange non-pleasantries. Girl gets fed up, finds the guy on Facebook, and forwards the photo to his mother.

    “Oh, I sent it. And I expressed to her my extreme worry over his treatment of women. Feels good, bro,” says our blogger.

    Here’s the cringeworthy long version, as told via texts:

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    Ouch. Lesson learned, I assume.

  • Fake Abercrombie Ads Fire Back At CEO

    Fake Abercrombie Ads Fire Back At CEO

    A woman from Tucson has a lot to say about the way Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries runs his company, and she’s getting it across with several photos meant to look like ads.

    Jeffries ruffled a lot of feathers a few years back when he spoke about the reasons his company doesn’t offer XL sizes and above to women. The quote was repeated in a new book recently, which re-stoked the fire.

    “In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely….”That’s why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that,” Jeffries told Salon in 2006.

    Jeffries’ comments had a huge effect all over the country, with one filmmaker even making it his mission recently to buy up every piece of A&F clothing he could find at Goodwill stores and donate them to the homeless.

    Now, a Tucson blogger named Jes Baker is making it clear that she’s going to take his negativity and turn it into an opportunity to change social awareness.

    In an open letter to Jeffries, Baker writes:

    Hey Mike,
    I know you’ve been flooded with mail regarding your comments on sizeism, but I wanted to take a second to write you about a project I’ve been working on.
    As a preface: Your opinion isn’t shocking; millions share the same sentiment. You’ve used your wealth and public platform to echo what many already say. However, it’s important you know that regardless of the numbers on your tax forms, your comments don’t stop anyone from being who they are; the world is progressing in inclusive ways whether you deem it cool or not. The only thing you’ve done through your comments (about thin being beautiful and only offering XL and XXL in your stores for men) is reinforce the unoriginal concept that fat women are social failures, valueless, and undesirable. Your apology doesn’t change this.
    Well, actually, that’s not all you have done. You have also created an incredible opportunity for social change.
    Never in our culture do we see sexy photo shoots that pair short, fat, unconventional models with not short, not fat, professional models. To put it in your words: “unpopular kids” with “cool kids”. It’s socially acceptable for same to be paired with same, but never are contrasting bodies positively mixed in the world of advertisement. The juxtaposition of uncommonly paired bodies is visually jarring, and, even though I wish it didn’t, it causes viewers to feel uncomfortable. This is largely attributed to companies like yours that perpetuate the thought that fat women are not beautiful. This is inaccurate, but if someone were to look through your infamous catalog, they wouldn’t believe me.
    I’ve enclosed some images for your consideration. Please let me know what you think.
    A note: I didn’t take these pictures to show that the male model found me attractive, or that the photographer found me photogenic, or to prove that you’re an ostentatious dick. Rather, I was inspired by the opportunity to show that I am secure in my skin and to flaunt this by using the controversial platform that you created. I challenge the separation of attractive and fat, and I assert that they are compatible regardless of what you believe. Not only do I know that I’m sexy, but I also have the confidence to pose nude in ways you don’t dare. You are more than welcome to prove me wrong by posing shirtless with a hot fat chick; it would thrill me to see such a shoot.
    I’m sure you didn’t intend for this to be the outcome, but in many ways you’re kind of brilliant. Not only are you a marketing genius (brand exclusivity really is a profitable move) but you also accidentally created an opportunity to challenge our current social construct. My hope is that the combination of these contrasting bodies will someday be as ubiquitous as the socially accepted ideal.
    Ever so sincerely,
    Jes
    P.S. If you would like to offer me a “substantial amount” to stop wearing your brand so my association won’t “cause significant damage to your image”, don’t hesitate to email me. I respect you as a business man, and my agent and I would be happy to contribute in furthering your established success.
    P.P.S. You should know your Large t-shirt comfortably fits a size 22    . You might want to work on that.

    Baker said recently that she’s not interested in Jeffries’ reaction; she didn’t do this for him, after all.

    “I don’t really care what Abercrombie really truly thinks about this, to be honest with you. I don’t have the energy to dislike Mike Jeffries,” she said. “There’s so much negativity in the world, it doesn’t need to be perpetuated.”

    You can check out more photos on Baker’s blog, The Militant Baker.

    Images: Liora K Photography

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  • White And Nerdy Takes On A Whole New Meaning With Google Glass

    Glasses are totally sexy, but that used to not be the case. Glasses used to be an indicator that somebody was a nerd. If you wore glasses, you probably played Dungeons and Dragons late into the night while stuffing your face with Doritos. Now thanks to Google Glass, all the pasty white guys can be identified as nerds using only eye wear once again.

    A new tumblr popped up recently called “White men wearing Google Glass.” Turns out the title is incredibly descriptive because that’s what you get. Here are some of the standouts:

    White and nerdy google glass

    white and nerdy google glass

    white and nerdy google glass

    The most popular image by far is the one below of Robert Scoble testing Google Glass’ water resistance.

    white and nerdy google glass

    It is waterproof to an extent, but Google itself says not to go scuba diving with Glass on.

    [h/t: Mashable]

  • DMX Isn’t Too Keen on the Google [VIDEO]

    DMX Isn’t Too Keen on the Google [VIDEO]

    Apparently, internet technology makes DMX lose his mind (up in here, up in here).

    Earlier this week, the Grammy-nominated rapper stopped by New York city’s Power 105.1 studios to discuss, among other things, Google. Not only is he not really into using the world’s biggest search engine, but he doesn’t really like the term “google” either.

    DMX isn’t really feeling the word “blog,” either:

    DMX does have a verified Twitter account, so at least he’s ok with that (or he employes a social media guy). We’re not sure if DMX really is this averse to internet technology, or this is just a bit. Either way, it’s pretty damn funny.

    [via reddit]

  • WordPress by Far the Most Popular Blog Platform

    A new study by Pingdom has revealed that WordPress is by far the world’s most popular blogging platform, and is used by 48% of the top 100 blogs on the internet, up from 32% 3 years ago. The chart below illustrates the top blogging platforms used by the top blogs over the last three years:

    top blogging platforms

    As mentioned, WordPress takes up the lion’s share at 48%, and interestingly, custom blog platforms are on the rise, coming in at 14%. No one is using Bricolage or Expression Engine anymore, and strangely, Tumblr only accounted for one site. Movable Type and Drupal are relatively popular at 7 and 6 % respectively. Five sites use Gawker. TypePad and BlogSmith are notably on the decline since 2009.

    WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg had this to say on the current position of his platform, ”The last few years we’ve really focused on both the usability and flexibility of WordPress, which has resulted in accelerating growth in both big and small sites. I expect even higher adoption among the largest sites and blogs over the next year.” Speaking of the “big” sites, here is a list of the top 10:

    top ten blogs

    Interestingly, WordPress accounts for only 3 of the top 10 blogs presently online. The Huffington Post, the world’s biggest, uses Movable Type, and 50% of the blogs on the list use a custom platform or opted not to answer.

    With Tumblr rapidly becoming very popular, reporting 100 million unique visitors and over 15 billion pageviews per month in January, it’s evident that the survey results might look a bit different in 2015.

  • GDC 2012: Ubisoft Creates Engine Room, Blog For Developers By Developers

    GDC is a great place for developers to share insights and ideas with each other for one week a year. Ubisoft wants to create the GDC experience year round with a new blog directed at developers.

    The new blog is called Engine Room and it was created “as a result of the employees’ desire to spread their knowledge and expertise beyond Ubisoft.” This isn’t like the PlayStation blog where developers talk to gamers about their new products and what not. This is squarely targeted at developers who want to learn from other developers the tools of the trade. That doesn’t mean that regular gamers shouldn’t read it, quite the contrary, as any gamer who is interested in the technical side of making games will find something here.

    Engine Room is really cool in that Ubisoft is making it an “open platform.” What this means is that anybody, even non-Ubisoft employees, can comment or even publish a post if they’re signed up and follow the blog’s guidelines. The hope is that anybody involved in the game industry – programmers, artists and developers – will use this new platform to share ideas and collaborate on new innovations. For any interested developers who wants to submit a blog post, you only need to send them to engineroom@ubisoft.com.

    I wholeheartedly recommend that developers take advantage of this to learn more about the art of making games from their peers. Game creation is a collaborative process that needs more ideas like this to keep it fresh. I commend Ubisoft on taking a proactive approach in helping to cultivate the developer community.

    Ubisoft threw together a quick video that has their employees talking about technology and what it means to them. It’s pretty neat, so check it out.

  • Android Design Releases Stencils

    The Latest news from the Android developers blog is the recent release of stencils for Android Design. According to Android designer Alex Faaborg, it was “by far the number one request we received.”:

    When we initially released Android Design, by far the number one request we received was for us to release stencils as well. The fine folks on the Android User Experience team are pleased today to release some official Android Design stencils for your mockup-creating pleasure.

    With these stencils you can now drag and drop your way to beautifully designed Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) applications, with grace and ease. The stencils feature the rich typography, colors, interactive controls, and icons found throughout Ice Cream Sandwich, along with some phone and tablet outlines to frame your meticulously crafted creations.

    Currently we have stencils available for those venerable interactive design powerhouses Adobe Fireworks, and Omni OmniGraffle and we may expand to other applications in the future. The source files for the various icons and controls are also available, created in Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator.

  • Twitter Helps Man Sell Home For $135,000 Above Asking Price

    A tech-savvy Melbourne homeowner used social media to go all out in selling his home and was rewarded with $135,000 above his asking price. Not bad for a little extra work around the house. Real Estate agents, neighbors and most everyone in general is impressed with the 33% increase Kurt Opray received above median home sales for his Northcote neighborhood.

    Does this mean Real Estate prices are on the rise? Not necessarily. What it does show is that when a seller includes social media in the process of marketing their home, the extra effort is proving to be very fiscally rewarding and well worth it. The Real Estate agent, Rob Elsom of Hocking Stuart Northcote, hired by this homeowner was blown away when 80 people (30% more than expected) showed up for the auction.

    So what did Kurt do to get so much for his home? In tandem with his Real Estate firm and a website, he employed the use of free, easy to use online tools available to everyone. He set up a Twitter account and used it to promote his auction and feed traffic to his blog about the property. He created his blog in WordPress, posted his photos on Picasa and hosted videos on YouTube.

    @NorthcoteHouse
    Northcote house sale    Amazing Northcote house for sale by auction Feb 11 2012. Visit http://t.co/Iaz4qKEb for pics & owners blog. 44 days ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    Homeowners know their properties better than anyone and can share the interesting, emotional stories and details through social media to engage and excite potential buyers. This added value can help turn a property into a home and take the seller all the way to the bank.

  • Social Media: Who Are the Most Powerful Influencers?

    Social Media: Who Are the Most Powerful Influencers?

    Forbes Magazine, they of the lists, has released a list of the “Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers“.

    The list is comprised of social writers whose networks are most active and identifiable. This is not the same as having millions of followers on Twitter. These are people who write about social media, predicting trends, influencing where things go in the future. Some standouts from the list include:

    #1 – Chris Brogan @chrisbrogan – Author of “Social Media 101: Tactics and Tips to Develop Your Business Online”.

    #3 – Guy Kawasaki @guykawasaki – Early Apple employee who really pushed the Mac; went on to venture capital and found Alltop.

    #4 – Gary Vaynerchuk @garyvee – Wine connoisseur, video blogger, author of “Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on your Passion”

    #6 – Robert Scoble @scobleizer – Uber-Blogger. Formerly with Microsoft, Fast Company. Currently with Rackspace.

  • DirecTV Petite Lap Giraffe Story Controversy

    If you ever need proof that truth is stranger than fiction, simply give this story a read. It tells of how a newspaper site ripped off a blog over a story concerning the legitimacy of DirecTV’s viral campaign regarding fictional Petite Lap Giraffes.

    Ian Dennis Miller runs a site called localshow.tv, a nifty music video player. He also writes on a personal blog, of which he released an article titled – “Petite Lap Giraffes: Real?” In the article, he writes about research he conducted to find out if Petite Lap Giraffes are real or not. He cites some specific research, concerning the Petite Lap Giraffe site’s URL registration, by way of a WHOIS query, and this photo which originated from a stock photo website.

    The story becomes particularly interesting when Miller discovers that LongIslandPress.com used his research to release their own article , without a creditable link directed towards Miller’s website. As any blog owner would do in his situation, he called LongIslandPress out on their exclusion. He did so by posting a comment on the article, getting straight to point without being nasty.

    Let’s see if you can guess what LongIslandPress did next, after Miller called them out. Did they:

    A.) Admit to the link exclusion, apologize, and keep the story up on their site since it’s sort of funny in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way.

    B.) Retract enough information from the original article so they could use information that is attainable through easy means.

    C.) Take the article offline, and wash their hands of any wrong doing. Even after search engines crawled their site for content.

    Sorry, it’s a trick multiple choice test. Answers B.) and C.) are both correct. The original article written by LongIslandPress included Miller’s research regarding the stock photo image. However, Miller kept up with the article and discovered the stock photo information was taken down. However, the WHOIS domain information, which can be discovered easily by anyone was left up.

    Miller’s story caught a bit of steam, and was eventually posted on Slashdot. All the negative attention lead LongIslandPress to take down the story.

    Go ahead and file this story under “Newspaper sites that aren’t ready for the internet“. While LongIslandPress is a regional paper and doesn’t have the attention of other major newspaper sites, it paints a portrait of how the needless fight between newspaper sites and blogs rages on. Miller could have really made more of his story, but instead had a bit of fun with it and kept everyone updated with the proceedings. The remarkable part of the story is all of this could have been avoided if they just posted a single link to Miller’s site.

    If you haven’t seen the latest DirecTV commercial with the Petite Lap Giraffe being featured, here’s the YouTube video. It’s really quite genius.

    UPDATE: It looks as though LongIslandPress.com has seen enough heat from the internet, and have now posted the article with creditable links attached.

    UPDATE (04/18): The official Petite Lap Giraffe website has received a rather interesting update. The original video posted on the front page featured a recording, which could have easily have been doctored. They’ve now added a live feed, which has an up-to-the second time code in the top left corner.

    The caption below the feed reads: See what our Bull Vladimir do around farm! If not see him, don’t worry he come back.

    If people were ready to believe in Petite Lap Giraffes before, imagine how they’ll be fooled by a seemingly live video feed.

  • Top Tech Blogs in The UK During August

    Next week, European search engine and news portal Wikio will be publishing the rankings for August 2010 of their lists of the top blogs in the many categories under which they’re classified.

    For the past 18 months, I’ve been posting an advance look each month at the top 20 or 30 technology blogs in the UK from the data my friends at Wikio have let me see. Last month, that advance look also included the top 30 online marketing blogs in the UK.

    I’ve just received the latest details for both categories:

    Top 30 Tech Blogs in the UK: August 2010

    1. TechCrunch Europe
    2. Geeky Gadgets
    3. Electricpig.co.uk
    4. Econsultancy blog
    5. Coolest Gadgets
    6. dot.Rory
    7. Gadget Venue dot com
    8. The Red Ferret Journal
    9. All About Symbian
    10. Speckyboy – WordPress and Design
    11. The Next Web UK
    12. Gaj-It.com – UK Gadget News
    13. Photography Blog
    14. currybetdotnet
    15. Carsonified!
    16. Zath
    17. Telegraph Blogs – Technology
    18. andrewallen/blog
    19. Mark Shuttleworth
    20. TechDigest
    21. Wonderland
    22. GadgetLite Blog
    23. We Are Social
    24. Blog.Spoon Graphics
    25. eWEEKeurope
    26. Boagworld
    27. jonobacon@home
    28. Dial-a-Phone
    29. NevilleHobson.com
    30. The Ed Techie

    Full list at Wikio: Top 100 Technology Blogs in the UK

    Top 30 Online Marketing Blogs in the UK: August 2010

    1. Econsultancy blog
    2. We Are Social
    3. SEOptimise Blog
    4. iCrossing
    5. SEOgadget
    6. Distilled
    7. BlogStorm
    8. David Naylor a UK SEO
    9. FeverBee
    10. Hobo
    11. FreshNetworks Blog
    12. Murray Newlands
    13. Chris Garrett on New Media
    14. SEO Chicks
    15. Blending The Mix
    16. UK Offer Media Affiliate Blog
    17. SEO Consult
    18. No Man’s Blog
    19. that canadian girl
    20. 360innovate blog
    21. Vertical Leap Blog
    22. SEOidiot
    23. Feeding the Puppy
    24. How To Make My Blog
    25. Tim Nash UK SEO Blog
    26. furtherandfaster
    27. Smart Insights Digital Marketing
    28. SEO Blog
    29. SEO News from Just Search
    30. SEO Positive Blog: SEO Blog Updated Daily

    Full list at Wikio: Top 100 Online Marketing Blogs in the UK

    If you want to suggest others blogs for inclusion in Wikio’s tech or online marketing lists that aren’t there already, either let me know or apply on the Wikio website.

    Comments

  • Colleges Embracing Social Media At More Fleeted Pace Than Businesses

    A new study by Nora Ganim Barnes and Eric Mattson, Social Media and College Admissions: Higher-Ed Beats Business in Adoption of New Tools for Third Year, suggests that US colleges are studying the "rules of engagement" in the online world in order to increase their effectiveness at recruiting prospective students.  This is the third year of their data collecting on this topic.

    The longitudinal analysis shows that colleges and universities continue to embrace social media as their adoption of blogging again outpaces both the Fortune 500 (22% have a corporate blog) and the fast-growing Inc. 500 (42% have a corporate blog). The latest research shows 51% of colleges and universities have an admissions blog for their school. It is not limited to blogging. My alma mater, Tufts, has prospective students send them YouTube videos.

    There have been many reports of business looking through social media to screen out prospective employees.  They should look to schools to learn of more positive ways to use social media for recruiting.  Colleges are also looking at social media for screening purposes. There was an increase in social media use for screening in 2009 while a decrease in the use of search engines for the same purpose.

    Social networking, the social media that was most familiar to college admissions officers in 2007 and 2008 is still the most familiar. Familiarity with social networking has jumped from 55% reporting they were very familiar with it in 2007, to 63% in 2008 and now to 83%. Fifty-five percent of admissions officers report they are very familiar with Twitter.

    This familiarity extends to usage as 95% of college admissions offices used at least one form of social media in 2009. Social networking is the most common form with 87% of admissions departments using it. Fifty-nine percent have a school Twitter account and, as noted above, 51% have a blog. In addition, more admissions departments feel that social media is “very important” to their future strategy than Inc. 500 businesses (50% compared to 43%). Good for them.

    The colleges are also looking at social media to see what is being said about them. Fifty-three percent in 2007 and 54% in 2008 report they monitored the Internet for buzz, posts, conversations and news about their institution. The latest research shows an increase of close to 20% with 73% of schools now monitoring their school name. I wonder how that compares with business.

    Barnes and Matteson at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research have conducted a number of studies on social media.  See for example, Social Media in the Inc. 500: 2007 – 2009. This one is another useful addition to their work.

    Comments

  • Study Breaks Down The Demographic Of Bloggers

    Social Media monitoring company, Sysomos has just released a study in which they analyzed over a 100 million blogs and reported data on age, gender and location of bloggers. Below is a summary of their findings:
    • Most bloggers are 21-35 years old
    • 51% of all blog posts are written by females
    • USA contributes to a third of all blog posts, followed by the UK
    • Japan accounts for the third-most bloggers (4.9%), followed by Brazil (4.2%), Canada (3.9%), Germany (3.3%), Italy (3.2%), Spain (3.1%), France (2.9%) and Russia (2.3%).
    • California had the highest share of bloggers in the US
    • Ontario was the top province in Canada

  • The Pope Urges Priests To Get On The Blogosphere

    Pope Benedict XVI has been the Holy See for almost five years, and during that time, he (and the Catholic church along with him) has become more and more involved in social media. Last year, he launched a YouTube channel, social media outreach initiative, and apps for Facebook and the iPhone. And now he’s urging parish priests to follow his lead into the Internet.

    And just to show how with-it he really is, this message is from . . . the future. (No, really—it’s dated 16 May 2010.) For the 44th World Communications Day, the Supreme Pontiff noted the advancements in communications thanks to the Internet, and said (will say?):

    Priests are thus challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis.

    (Vocab lesson: evangelization: preaching the gospel; catechesis: teaching the doctrine.)

    Naturally, of course, the 82-year-old pope must have a staff dedicated to maintaining these sites with videos and messages from the Bishop of Rome—and yeah, it was probably their idea. But hey, the Sovereign of the Vatican not only signed off but has continued to participate with his image and messages, and he’s the one urging local priests to become similarly involved.

    Many priests and deacons are already active in the Catholic blogosphere, but the official impetus is new. In the end, reaching parishioners where they already congregate (well, outside of church ;) ) is always a good idea. And it seems pretty forward-thinking for a church that old and that large.

    What do you think? Will the Pope’s support of priestly blogging mark a change in the way local officials relate to their communities?

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