Facebook published its 'top 40 list of most shared stories today - and what interesting reading it made. Dominating the shares were stories via CNN and the list, unsurprisingly, has a heavy US bias. It will be interesting to see how this Facebook list has changed in November 2012 when the social graph apps have been in use for more than a month or two. I suspect we'll see more European media shares for starters, with a bunch more online channels. Sadly, I don't expect to see much change in the type or style of the majority of stories that are shared - performing cats, oddball photos and laughing babies have dominated news cycles for decades. Online channels just show that some things never change...
Beware Geeks Bearing Gifts
It's that time of year when people dress up and pretend to be something else. The trend begins around Halloween, then on towards Christmas there is almost a perpetual parade of cowboys, pirates, fairies, elves and magical creatures that - in fiction - can provide all manner of blessings and benefits but in reality, well, they're just pretend.
So a word to the wise as we approach the season of giving. Beware geeks bearing gifts, particularly in the realms of social media and you truly will have yourself that merry little Christmas.
Over the last few months I've stumbled over several sites promising all sorts of miracles for those who buy their social media wares. If you are thinking of using social media and expanding what you do online, good on you. But, if you are one of the small to medium sized businesses that these sites seem to be aiming at, my Christmas wish would be that you think very carefully and consider the points below before you load up a shopping cart full of exciting looking goodies and click 'send':
So, to recap. Think about what you want to achieve first, don't think it is about numbers and popularity because this is the real world, not high school. Talk to real people, hear some real stories. Scrutinise all geeks bearing gifts. Remember at all times that just because someone is dressed up as Father Christmas, it doesn't mean you'll definitely find Santa underneath - it might just be a pirate or a cowboy looking to take you on a ride to nowhere.