Proof Your Work, People!

Proof your work, people!

Mitt Romney’s campaign released a new iPhone app yesterday called “With Mitt”.   All in all, a great idea for a simple app that lets you use different Mitt-promoting, stenciled overlays on the pictures you take.  Whoever you might be voting for, the designs are quite nice looking.  But that’s not what brought this app into the news today.  Let’s just say one of the overlays would have failed a standard spell check.

In the first version of the app, one stenciled overlay reads:

 “A Better Amercia”

I’m not joking.  That’s what it said.  A better A-M-E-R-C-I-A.

COMMON!

How does this happen?  That doesn’t even LOOK right!  I am not making a political statement here.  Heck, Obama’s campaign has had several blunders (57 states, anyone?).  We are all human.  Plus, I’m sure Romney didn’t write the app himself.  But, people have GOT to double check things.  Seems like a pretty big accident, don’t you think?  If I was a conspiracy theorist, I’d be all up in arms about this one.

Alas, I am not. I am Social Media Diva!  So, I am up in arms about this blowing up the social media world. The biggest irony of this explosion is that the app itself encourages sharing the pictures on Facebook and Twitter.  And that’s exactly what happened.

Tumblr now has a whole page entitled “Amercia is with Mitt!” which is dedicated to the erred stencil.

Even Mitt’s promoted hash tag “WithMitt” – used initially by the Romney campaign to announce the app – has pretty much been hijacked with images of the mistake.  And to top it off, #Amercia was trending on Twitter last night and into this morning. 

And while the app might be talked about more than anticipated, I’d guess team Romney will be triple checking everything in the future. 

Friendlier Flights with Social Seating!

You could be in store for a much friendlier flight for upcoming summer trips.  That is, if you opt into “social seating”. 

Yep, social media is going up into the skies with KLM and Malaysian Airlines.  They have introduced programs for travelers to choose the people they sit by during their flights.  KLM calls it “Meet and Seat”; Malaysian Airline’s program is named MHBuddy.  Both allow confirmed ticket holders to upload and share information from Facebook or LinkedIn profiles and then view data that other participants have shared.  Then, you just search until you find the perfect travel-mate.  It might be someone with similar interests, shared friends, going to the same conference as you, or just an attractive member of the opposite sex.  Just remember, the systems send messages containing your info to whomever you choose to sit beside, so there is no ‘secret stalking’ taking place. 

The airline industry as a whole has been slow to transition into the social media scene.  You might remember a few years ago when several airlines attempted to build social media sites out of their existing frequent flier members (Virgin Atlantic and Air France to name a few).  Those didn’t fare well, but Meet and Seat and MHBuddy are different because they tap into users current social media networks, a much lower buy-in cost for fliers.

Outside the airlines, the “find a friend on your flight” concept is also gaining popularity.  Planely, a startup that launched in 2010, allows users who submit their itineraries to view the Facebook and Linkedin profiles of others who will be on flights. 

Sadly, none of these allow you to choose who you DON’T sit by (aka, as far away from potential crying babies as possible).

So, who uses these programs?  Research shows that “social seating” appeals mostly to business travelers (going to trade shows and conferences) and backpackers (looking for travel companions and shared rides).   

These scenarios make sense.  But as for me, I typically like to sleep the entire time during a flight.  Neck pillow comes out while the last passengers are boarding and I wake up just as the wheels touchdown in my destination city.  I suppose it might be fun to meet up with someone on a flight and get to network a bit before a business convention.  But then again, it might be more fun to catch up on some much needed zzzzz’s. 

What do you think? What do you typically do during long flights?  Would you use social seating?

Can Your Love Life Survive Facebook?

With the Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg tying the knot this weekend, it seemed timely to bring up this nugget of social media information that shocked even Social Diva.

33% of divorce petitions mention Facebook. 

Crazy! 

This statistic is courtesy of a survey from a UK divorce website.  I have heard of, and actually experienced, Facebook sparking the demise of a relationship.  But a full THIRD of divorces?! That’s massive.  Delving further into the details, here are the top 3 ways Facebook is cited in divorce petitions:

1)      Inappropriate messages to members of the opposite sex. (aka:  they FIND/INITIATE/MAINTAIN an affair on Facebook.)

2)      Separated spouses posting nasty comments about each other. (aka: they FUEL the separation publicly.)

3)      Facebook friends reporting spouse’s behavior.  (aka: maybe waking up to a Facebook message reading, by the way your husband was out last night with another woman.)

Yikes.  These wall posts and messages are then public information and being brought into court for child custody cases and financial disputes during the divorce. 

How can you protect your marriage?  There is actually a book out called “Facebook and Your Marriage” that discusses just that.  I have a few friends that, after they got married, deleted their individual profiles and started one profile as a couple. 

Is this extreme?  Have you had any relationship Facebook faux pas?  Or been burned by other social media?

Corporate Death By Twitter

Looks like the Death By Twitter curse has crossed over from Hollywood celebrities to corporate America.  The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the CFO of fashion retailer Francesca’s Holding Corp., Gene Morphis, was fired for his social media musings.

It is not clear if there is a certain company policy that Mr. Morphis violated with his tweets.  What is clear, however, is that the company was unhappy enough to fire him as he “improperly communicated company information through social media.”

The culprits?  Tweets from his account @theoldcfo (which is still live, by the way) including:

-          Earnings released.  Conference call completed.  How do you like me now Mr. Shortie?

-          Board meeting.  Good numbers=Happy Board.

-          Roadshow completed.  Sold $275 million of secondary shares.  Earned my pay this week.

-          Dinner w/ Board tonite.  Used to be fun.  Now one must be on guard every second.

The scariest thing about this Death By Twitter is that none of the tweets are THAT bad.  True, some give financial numbers, reference the board, and don’t ask me who “Mr. Shortie” is; but nothing is horrendous.  Twitter firings we’ve seen in the past have typically been overtly offensive.  Remember Gilbert Gottfried being fired as the Aflac voice due to tweets joking about the tragic tsunami in Japan?  Or, perhaps you recall CNN’s senior editor Octavia Nasr being canned after tweeting her respect for the deceased Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, who the AP called “staunchly anti-American and linked to bombings that killed more than 260 Americans”.

What we learn from Morphis’s tweets is that it doesn’t take malicious intent or blatantly provocative commentary to constitute corporate Death by Twitter.  Sometimes, it happens by slow, insidious over-sharing. 

Is Breastfeeding The Most Controversial Form of Nudity?

The latest Time magazine cover features Jamie Lynne Grumet, a pretty California-blonde 26-year-old mom, breastfeeding her almost 4-year-old son, Aram.  The title “Are You Mom Enough?” teases an article where Grumet is interviewed about the modern relationship between mom and baby. 

Well, social media blew up with discussion over the magazine cover.  Within hours of hitting the shelves, the image had been mocked, praised, criticized, and photoshopped into many satirical iterations.

Doctors, specialists and mothers everywhere chimed in on their thoughts about health, social growth and bonding between mother and child.  Surpassing that, however, was the controversy over the cover image itself.  The photograph was divisive to say the least.  Some applauded, others were appalled.

What is it about breastfeeding that causes such uproar?  We have certainly seen more nudity than this on the front of MOST magazines.  It is interesting that the public seems to handle sexualized images with a grain of immunity, but this image of a child past the standard age of breast feeding causes such commotion.

Do you think the image is appropriate or offensive?

It's A Wi-Fi World!

We want to be online, everywhere.  If I can’t access my email at any given time, I get a bit of a nervous tick.  What if something important is happening!  Well worry no longer, because it is a Wi-Fi world!

AT&T, the winner of Wireless Week’s Industry Leader award for its Wi-Fi strategy, integration and growth, recently released some Q1 stats showing just how much this Wi-Fi craze is skyrocketing.

On AT&T’s Wi-Fi Network there were more than 626 million connections in the first 3 months of this year.  Crazy!  That means 79 connections every single second, which is 3x more than in the first quarter last year. 

Another reason we’re so hungry for Wi-Fi?  Who’s not on a budget these days?!  Wi-Fi is *free* for most customers and doesn’t eat into your monthly data plan!  So, to satisfy your craving, here’s a list of 10 places you didn’t know had Wi-Fi.  Enjoy!

•              Buses: MegaBus and Bolt now offer Wi-Fi while on board.  Buses just got way more cool.

•              Courthouses: Some courthouses are now offering Wi-Fi to help you get through the jury duty day that seems to drag on forever! 

•              Zoos: AT&T just launched free Wi-Fi at Manhattan’s Central Park Zoo, so you can upload that pic of you and the monkey immediately!

•              EZ Lube: Waiting for an oil change just got more enjoyable thank s to free Wi-Fi offered to EZ Lube customers.

•              Gyms: Many gyms including Equinox and Gold’s Gym now offer free Wi-Fi to their patrons so they can stay online and stay in shape!

•              Laundromat: The dreaded chore of laundry has become much more enjoyable as some Laundromats offer Wi-Fi for customers to use when they aren’t folding clothes!

•              Parks: This one is my favorite.  Catch up on your emails while soaking in the greenery of your local park!  AT&T has launched free Wi-Fi at 21 park locations in NYC.  It’s the new big thing.

•              Special Events:  From the Super Bowl to the huge Coachella concert, many special events are now offering Wi-Fi.  In fact, AT&T’s Wi-Fi coverage at Coachella 2012 covered an area totaling 45 football fields!

•              Grocery Stores:  In case you need to compare prices, nutritional information, or check that recipe you always forget, many grocery stores are now offering their patrons Wi-Fi service. 

•              Stadiums:  Stay connected during the most exciting moments of the game with Wi-Fi at the stadium!  Joining many East Coast sports arenas that are now offering Wi-Fi, The Honda Center recently announced that AT&T Wi-Fi has been installed throughout the venue.  This makes Honda Center one of the first entertainment venues on the West Coast to offer free Wi-Fi!

Is A Digital Click The Same As Speech?

Think twice – or thrice - before clicking that little blue thumb in the future.  A Virginia judge ruled recently that the Facebook “Like” button does not constitute free speech, and is not protected by the Constitution.

So what’s this mean?

Well, to Daniel Ray Carter, an ex-employee of the Hampton, VA sheriff’s department, it means no more job.  Here’s the deal: Carter was fired after he “liked” his boss’ political opponent on Facebook.  He filed a lawsuit claiming that his First Amendment right to freedom of speech was violated by his firing. 

The judge ruled, however, that “Simply liking a Facebook page is insufficient. It is not the kind of substantive statement that has previously warranted constitutional protection. The Court will not attempt to infer the actual content of Carter's posts from one click of a button on Adams' Facebook page. For the Court to assume that the Plaintiffs made some specific statement without evidence of such statements is improper. Facebook posts can be a matter of public concern; however the Court does not believe Plaintiffs Carter and McCoy have alleged sufficient speech to garner First Amendment protection.”

An appeal is expected.  This sticky subject of the digital thumbs up just may be debatable enough for the Supreme Court. 

What do you think? Would you fire someone for “Liking” a competitor?  Should this be free speech?

Don't Get Pricked By Pinterest Spammers

Pinterest is one of the latest darlings of social media.  Yet with its invite-only policy and open sharing pages, there has been a “we’re all friends here” mentality on Pinterest that apparently is too ripe for scammers to miss.  The site has been plagued with scams from free gift cards to huge discounts on your next Starbucks latte.  

Last month in its official blog, Pinterest acknowledged the scam problem and committed to improving its anti-spam technology.   It added a “Report Pin” button and reminded users that Pinterest doesn’t do any surveys, giveaways or other promotions and not to click on pins that promote such things. 

Even with Pinterest on the case, spammers are finding ways to monetize and hack the typical user experience.  Here are three of the latest Pinterest scams to watch out for!

FAKE ANDROID APPS

The scams start even before you enter the Pinterest site.  Multiple fake apps have shown up on Google Play claiming to be the official Pinterest mobile app.  But wait!  As of now, there is no Android Pinterest App, only a mobile app for iPhone. So don’t be tricked!  These impostor apps display ads on the mobile device and some can gain access to your browser history, bookmarks or even your location.  

JUSTIN BEIBER

Of course there is a scam that has to do with the Bieb.  Recently, a pinned image of Justin Beiber - coming out of the ocean sans swim trunks - encouraged users to click through to a Facebook page to see even more images.  Once users clicked, however, they found themselves in a maze of survey sites to complete before they were able to see the “additional pictures”.  The scam is one of the first to use dual social media platforms.

WONDER DIET

These posts claim to offer a wonder diet and are usually posted under pictures of thin models, motivational sayings or scrumptious looking food.  One reads, “Summer is about to come and I finally took off these last 27 pounds!  If you’re interested too, [clickable link here].”  After clicking on that link, hopeful users are redirected to a fake news page promoting the alleged diet products. While these sites typically don’t harm your computer, some users are convinced to pay for these fake drugs which they never receive or input their private details to the fake site.  This type of scam is so prevalent that Pinterest is now blocking these posts.  The spamming profiles, however, have yet to be shut down, so the problem has yet to be solved.