The secret of the BAZINGA cat ….
or jeepers creepers how do I secure a view from your peepers…
did the title get your attention ?
here’s a very classic BAZINGA moment…
but what’s a cat got to do with anything, well here’s a cat dressed as a shark vacuuming the kitchen…
as of writing this article this Shark Cat video has almost 8.5 million views, wouldn’t you like that kind of traffic going through your website…
so this piece is all about how to get eyeballs to view and interact with the material that you share online and cat’s really do seem seem to rule the interweb and get people’s instant attention !
So, how far will you continue reading before you get bored, for me it has to be really interesting if it’s more than a page of “stuff” – so hope I can deliver !
here’s some stuff that gets and holds my attention :-
- an e-mail from a real person
- things shared by friends or colleagues
- items shared from trusted groups or institutions
- items shared in trusted groups
In the 21st century are we overwhelmed with the amount of information we consume ?
Personally I believe that over the ages the human mind has developed the ability to rapidly filter and assimilate the information it requires to move forward. Back in the day (3 BC) we had the library of Alexandria that contained the whole of human knowledge and learning – to this day we have similar libraries in most of our towns, that have within their walls more information and knowledge than any one person could ever assimilate in a lifetime and in the 21st century many of us carry around smartphones in our pockets that can access, in an instant, the whole knowledge of human kind and what do we do with such incredible power, well we watch videos of cats dressed as sharks sitting on a vacuum cleaner !
So onwards to discuss a few areas that capture our attention…
MEME’s
A meme is generally a picture with some simple text that get’s shared from one person to another very quickly, it’s generally humorous and informational.
A very famous meme that spread very quickly was the “RICKROLL” where you read a great article and were asked to click on a link to a very special piece of information, like this very important information HERE – you just got “RICKROLLED”
So meme’s can travel very quickly and get a message across very easily and are the marketeer’s and promoter’s dream, like the following video, you will NEVER forget the airline in this clever video !
I joined facebook on 2nd July 2007 and find it a great way to connect with friends and family and I actually get a view into what people are upto and who they are by there interactions on the site.
I have personally learned or heard of things much quicker via posts from friends and family of what is occurring in the world than the regular news, a couple examples being the death of the incredible comedian Rik Mayall and the release of the updated Raspberry Pi.
So seeing as people are in this virtual world alot, I thought I would move my blogging and writings from this WORDPRESS blog page to a page within the facebook world, so I created www.facebook.com/infostocksy page, but it turns out that facebook will only share a post on your page with a subset of about 16% of people that like / follow your page, UNLESS you pay facebook to boost your post to many more of your followers !
I personally find this a real shame for small business that are trying to get going and organisations that have put in significant effort in creating a great audience of like minded people – I guess like the old adage goes there ain’t such a thing as a free meal !
YouTube
You tube is a fantastic and very low cost way of sharing information succinctly and quickly with others, if a picture paints a thousand works, so a short video can convey information via multiple channels, auditory and visual, very quickly and easily.
The following short video allowed me to quickly and easily discuss what 21st century teaching is all about :-
and this next short video allowed me to quickly and easily discuss what digital inclusion is all about :-
I also find You Tube a very go to place to find information to solve technical problems quickly and easily, as it demonstrates exactly how to solve a particular issue and I have used it for computing issues as well as how to’s for servicing the motorbike.
You Tube is also a great way of promoting stuff you’ve been involved in, as well as your skills and experience :-
I first joined twitter on the 9th October 2009, it’s a really great place for following people and trends and what’s happening in the world, again as with facebook, when following twitter, I have found out about many things occurring before it has hit the mainstream media, if it even hits the mainstream media at all ! and it’s also great for interacting real time at event’s and seeing what others are thinking about at such events.
I previously wrote about twitter to bring others upto speed about what it’s all about here – What’s twitter all about ….
Recently I helped support a local charity on their great social evening with a TWITTER WALL
basically we took all the real time incoming twitter information and displayed it on a large wall at the event. Post event I would liked to have gathered some analytics and stats and put some numbers together of how many tweets we received over the week of activities etc, but I found that if I wanted to do things at this level, a bit like facebook, I would have to pay for the privilege, which again for small businesses and charities was very disappointing !
I find TWITTER very interesting, but the amount of information coming through can be very difficult to keep up with, so you really need to choose what you follow carefully or you can be overcome by information overload very quickly. Tools such as HOOTSUITE, TWEETDECK etc can help manage this torrent of information easier.
Blogging
I find blogging a great way to share information or a great story or a bit of both and it’s not about people reading the article, but personally creating something that can be shared.
I have written many articles over the years and have had a bit of a dig around while preparing this one, I can trace my internet activity back to 1996 and my first webpage, that unfortunately or luckily is no longer available back to 1998.
I started blogging in 2005 on a Microsoft Live spaces service, Microsoft in their ultimate wisdom decided to delete all 7 million of their live blog pages from the internet, what a sad thing to happen, so those early entires are now gone forever.
I moved on from the Microsoft service to a BLOGGER service in 2009 http://stevestocks.blogspot.co.uk/ and then moved on to this current WORDPRESS blog in march 2010.
I personally don’t write that many blog entries. I find it has to be something that I am passionate about or very interested in and the process itself is quite time consuming, but as with any creative process you don’t really watch the clock while your putting something interesting together.
I also find that the blogging process can be very useful in documenting training courses I have delivered and sharing information from such courses :-
- Raspberry Pi training course
- Tablet technology training course
- Mental Health awareness training course
Linked in is a great place to stay connected with your professional circle, share professional articles, detail your skills, knowledge and experience, as well as write or receive recommendations from people you have interacted with previously.
Google+, Instagram, Pinterest
I have been connected to Google+ for sometime now and have yet to understand how it works and how it interconnects with an audience, unlike facebook that just works.
There are many other social interconnectivity services out there, some of which fulfil a specific niche area i.e. Instagram deals specifically with images and to date I have not had reason to use it, Pinterest is another niche product used to collect things together and share with others, again to date I have had no use for this product.
Conclusion
So I’m personally disappointed that facebook doesn’t allow small businesses and charities to develop their world presence via their pages without spending money.
You Tube is a great tool to quickly and easily get a message across using multiple channels i.e. auditory and visual.
Twitter is a great way of connecting with people, the world in real time and also see whats trending, but it takes careful management to ensure that you don’t get swamped with information overload.
Blogging is a great way to express yourself and share a message and / or a story with others.
LinkedIn is a great place to connect and interact with your professional friends and colleagues.
Finally
- Messages in social media are in people’s consciousness for minutes, so share your message again in a different way !
- The creative MEME rules, but aren’t born everyday !
- As the old adage goes “todays news is tomorrows fish and chip paper !”
- Do bee’s really have knee’s and are they really that great ?
This is the end…
well till next time…
If you got all the way here, please take a moment and drop a comment below – thanks
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