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Is Google + Competing with Facebook?
Posted Jul 25th, 2011 By Mirna Bard in Google With | 4 Comments

Hands-down, Google is the most popular website on earth. Yet they seem to be worried about their stiff competition coming in at a close second – none other than Facebook.

This is precisely why Google has decided to introduce their own social network as Google +. Google has tried to make a number of different social media channels over the years, like Google Buzz and Google Wave. Yet nothing has caught on so far…

But now we can consider Google + for a second. Google + makes no bones about the fact that it is supposed to be just like Facebook with a few enhancements. Maybe we could call it “Facebook with a facelift”? Instead of opening up Google + to the public, Google has decided to create a little bit of buzz, so to speak.

Upon its introduction, you can’t sign up directly for Google + just yet. Initially, you have to be invited by someone else who is a member in the beta stage of this social network. But even with this type of exclusive appeal, Google + has managed to gather 10 million members as of July 2011. This is nowhere near the mega benchmark set by Facebook at 750 million members, but it seems to be off to a strong start.

Google + versus Facebook

At first glance, Google + looks like a copycat of Facebook. You can post your thoughts and updates, just like you can to the Facebook wall. There is also something called a Stream, which is exactly like the Newsfeed on Facebook. And to compete with the “Like” button on Facebook, Google + offers a +1 button so that you can show that you are a fan of a post, picture, video, or what have you.

But the big, shiny difference between the two is that Google + has a little something called Circles.

If you’ve ever had the thought when using Facebook that you’d love to say something a little more inappropriate, a little more private, or a little wackier than what you would share with all of your friends, Circles may be the answer. You can create circles of friends, family, acquaintances, and following, which is similar to Twitter. You can also create your own circles with specific members, like Grandparents or College Friends, where you can share private jokes or special stories to your heart’s content without boring everyone else on your Stream.

And when you decide to share something, you are able to specify which circle that it is sent to. Of course, you can choose to send the information to all of your circles or just one to keep a bit of news private. This minimizes much of the fuss surrounding social media, like teachers getting fired for posting pictures of a drunken party or saying something inappropriate. If you want to post something that you don’t want your boss to see, then don’t post it to a public circle, plain and simple.

Although this may be a subtle difference between Google + and Facebook, only time will tell how the Circles feature attracts users to this new social network.

Guest Author: Bethany Ramos is an expert in Internet marketing and social media marketing, and she also co-owns her own e-commerce website, The Coffee Bump.
Social Espionage – The beginnings of the trend for real business intelligence?
Posted Apr 27th, 2011 By Mirna Bard in Social Networking With | 2 Comments

Social Espionage?

The very term “Social Espionage” gives rise to images of an Orwellian future, or a really cool new John Le Carre novel. It could be imagined the book received funding solely on the creation of the term, which would be not too far from the truth. The term comes from Umberto Milletti, the CEO of InsideView.

InsideView, in business since 2005, just announced a $12 million round of funding. However, most are quick to point out that they are using the term to describe high-level sales executives gathering information on potential sales contacts, who don’t have the time to waste in letting a salesperson get to know them, being busy CEOs and all. Get all the inside scoop-hence the product name, InsideView-on your target before you strike; learn from twitter posts that he’s against continued fossil fuel production, or the current administration’s policy on such-n-such.

It’s Not That Kind Of Spying

While CRM’s stated purpose is to codify business intelligence with regard to sales prospects using social networking, it is hard to imagine a sales person that wouldn’t be tempted to keep tabs on the key people at his or her’s nearest rival for signs of what they may do.

Hey, if it is out there why not use it? This could lead to a blackout of information and the use of social networking for many business professionals in an effort to avoid giving their competition too much information. Which many do already. There has been a controversy boiling over default business policies regarding social networking and its proper use. Employers have fired employees, and even sued them over the use of social networking in the work place. This is not going to help.

The kind of high-level tool that this new start up represents has been in the hands of enterprise level executives for a while. Business is war and in war, intelligence rules. The difference here is that salespersons and small companies all over the place will be spying on each other and making that first contact with the prospect count by already knowing the answers and the questions. Maybe, as most people in business use social networking for business and sales prospecting is already an online experience. What this package does is use semantic search and online information aggregation to make it a lot easier. (more…)
10 Simple Ways Hotels Can Use Social Media
Posted Feb 3rd, 2011 By Mirna Bard in Social Media With | No Comments

Image courtesy of http://younghoteliers.blogspot.com/

Because social media is so huge today, more and more businesses are using it. Even hotels are getting involved with marketing on social media sites because they see the value in finding customers that way. If you own or manage a hotel, work for one, you’re thinking of starting one, or you’re thinking about studying hospitality management, you may want to consider the top 10 ways hotels should be using social media.

1. Twitter questions and answers

Create a Twitter page and let people ask questions about the hotel. They can get quick answers that way, without needing to call and talk to an employee.

2. Set yourself as an expert

Set yourself apart as an expert on something or as a specific kind of destination — like a wedding hotel, etc. Use social media to market your niche.

3. Write content

Write good content about your industry and offer it for others to use/purchase. This really helps get your name out there.

4. Blog

You don’t want to get left behind when it comes to a presence on the Internet. A website is great, but a blog can help ensure that you connect with your customers and keep them up to date.

5. Respond to bad press

If you get bad press or comments on social media sites, respond to them — appropriately. Don’t just fight back or argue, because that won’t help you keep or redeem your reputation. Instead, be respectful, polite, and clear about the issue. (more…)
20 of the Most Favored Social Media Blog Posts of 2010
Posted Dec 20th, 2010 By Mirna Bard in Blogging, Business, Social Media With | 1 Comment
Here are 20 most read and widely-shared social media blog posts of 2010 on MirnaBard.com. It’s a good time to revisit many of these posts, as they are great reminders when planning for 2011. Please let me know what your favorite one was in the comments below.

Thank you for all my supportive readers. I appreciate you more than you know!
Which one of the 20 was your favorite of 2010?
Did You Hear? Mirna Bard is a SmartBrief Contest Finalist and Needs Your Vote!
Posted Oct 9th, 2010 By Mirna Bard in Business, Social Media With | 19 Comments
A few weeks ago, SmartBrief, a well-respected media company used crowdsourcing for the first time to launch a competition giving their blog and newsletter readers a shot at joining their social media advisory board.

On October 1, they announced four finalists from close to 40 submissions, and I was one of the four selected! The other finalists were Jeremy Victor, Erik Deckers, and Mike Sansone. All finalists were asked to come up with a poll question and then analyze the poll results through a blog post for the SmartBlog on Social Media blog between October 6 and October 15. I was the lucky one to go first (ladies first?). My analysis posted on October 8.

I need your help!

I am asking my entire community to help me win by voting for me to become the next social media advisory board member for SmartBrief. I would love to get your support and votes, only if you think I am worthy! There is absolutely no pressure, of course.

It is very simple to vote. Here’s what you have to do:
1. Read my blog post and leave a comment if you choose.
2. Sign-up for the SmartBrief on Social Media newsletter by October 14, 2010 October 17, 2010. Note: You must sign up for the newsletter by that date to vote.
3. Please help spread the word to your community.
4. Look for the October 18 newsletter in your email and vote for Mirna Bard.
And, it’s that simple!

The winners will be announced on October 20. You can read more about the SmartBrief social media contest and learn more about the other contestants here.

Thank you in advance for your support, and I look forward to sharing good news on October 20!

***UPDATE***

I won! On October 20, 2010, I was announced the winner of the contest! You can read more information on the SmartBrief blog post. Here is my new badge too! Click the badge to see the impressive members of the advisory board.

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