Pinterest: Blocking Spammers

 Online Communities, social media, social networks  32 Responses »
May 132012
 

Pinterest chooses not to let users block spammers, encouraging users to report the spammers to them instead. Talk about making a rod for your own back!
I never know whether to be amused or irritated when I see new social networks repeat old errors. In Pinterest’s case, they refuse to give users tools to manage their own networks.

Background

Spammers can  tag you in Pins, meaning you get an email each time “Weight loss- how I lost 20lbs” or “Viagra special offer!!” over and over and over. Oh Joy. Oh Bliss. You can’t filter or block spammers, only send an email to Customer Service.

Impact – Customer Service

Customer Service will be INUNDATED. Instead of an automated message telling users how to block ex friends they have had an argument with, members that are trolling them or spammers selling them stuff, Customer Service has to deal with each request. How many staff do you need for 10.4 million members who see something they don’t like?

Impact: Loss of membership

I’m debating a) removing all email notification (not good) or b) deleting my Pinterest account (worse). For a network 80% women, to not be able to block abusive, intrusive or spammy messages is a massive oversight. Forcing users to turn off email to remove inappropriate communications will lose Pinterest an important distribution channel (no emails means less and less reason to come back to Pinterest). And when women delete social networking accounts they attempt to incite others to do so as well. Never a good thing to build an anti community as you build the Pinterest community.

Impact: Legal

This lack of social management tools is a lawsuit in the making. There just needs to be ONE harassment situation where Customer Service fails to respond (the “report this user” link on email is broken) and the Judge will cite Facebook & Twitter ability to block users as a tool to remove unwanted members from contacting you & Pinterest will face as big a risk as the copyright battles.

Conclusion

Helping members feel safe is Online Community Management 101 & apropos Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, functionally imperative.

NOT to include member to member management tools is costly in staff, time, risk, and loss of members. Add a damn Block button already! Sheesh

PS This is the kind of basic error that happens when too many geeky boys create a social network based around tech & don’t let the humanities/social psych peeps have a say. Typical of Google too …

Rockyou fined and social media implications

 Online Communities, social media, social networks  17 Responses »
Mar 292012
 

Online social gaming company, Rockyou with 32 million gamers, and $129,000,000 of funding, got fined $250,000 for revealing the usernames and passwords of their members, and putting at risk their webmail (Gmail, Yahoo etc) accounts. Oh and they fibbed about their security, compromised by a hack that’s been around ten years.

Occupy Wall Street – The Revolution is Twittervised

 government, Media, Online Communities, social media, social networks  62 Responses »
Oct 022011
 

Occupy Wall Street or #OccupyWallStreet – the demonstrations have turned nasty with NYPD arresting, macing hundreds of people. A summary of social media responses including Citizen Journalism is Process Journalism, Why Governments Fear Social Media and online communities – the Demise of Representational Democracy, Why Traditional Media Ignores or Reviles Social Media, Move over Government, There’s a new Governing Body in Town (Social Network Hosts such as Twitter and Facebook) and The Crowd Feels It’s Power. Thanks to Gary Hayes @garyphayes for his “the Revolution will be Twittervised” inspirational tweet. In this article, I’m looking at process vs product journalism, Continue Reading…

Mary Poppins Online Community – Social Media Manager Leah Howard

 Online Communities, social media, Social Media Australia, Social Media Business, social networks  31 Responses »
Sep 052011
 

I loved interviewing Leah Howard who plays Mrs Corry in Mary Poppins and is Disney’s online community manager slash social media manager for the show. We grabbed a drink, Vashti held the camera and we chatted on about Facebook, Twitter, audiences, story lines and the future of social entertainment. Leah Howard as the social media manager exhibits for me all the clear signs for an engaging online community manager – passion, a love for the community/audience, authenticity and commitment to honest relationship, knowledgeable, interest in extending the story lines (e.g. backstage) not just selling more tickets, longevity. Leah Howard the Continue Reading…

Qantas Airways on Twitter and the Black Face criticism

 Online Communities, social media, Social Media Australia, social networks, Twitter  41 Responses »
Aug 292011
 

Do online communities overreact? Qantas Airways published a photo of two fans with blacked out faces and wigs on, causing a controversy on Twitter, in spite of Radike Samo not minding at all.  My view is that there are deeper issues here -Qantas brand voice on social media is not their traditional marketing voice. What would Virgin do? Staff should be backed on social media and the Community is NOT always right! I received an email from a journalist at B&T asking for a quote on this situation below. For once my social network let me down – I was Continue Reading…

Singapore Social Media Workshop for PR and Online Media: September 2011

 Event, public relations, social media, Social Media Business  7 Responses »
Aug 162011
 

On 13th of September, 2011 I am  teaching a social media workshop in Singapore, AND presenting at a conference. If you want to know how to put out a social media press release, how to set up an online community monitoring station and how to measure social media, this workshop is for you! Details below and also the brochure and a discount coupon for 15% off! That’s not bad for a (full price) $399 workshop or even the full conference plus workshops. You can also download the Social Media PR Singapore brochure from Scribd. Workshop B: Social Media Monitoring Tools Continue Reading…

Traditional Media brainwashing Australians about Social Media

 Children, Facebook  94 Responses »
Aug 012011
 

NSW Police have been made aware of a Facebook page that has allegedly made disturbing death threats against baby-faced singer Jack Vidgen. Telephones don’t stalk children, Social Media doesn’t intimidate them either. People do. Investigate People. Don’t blame the online community tools. Thank the tools – they shine a spotlight on all that is horrid in our society. We cannot heal until we know what is wrong with us and acknowledge and address it. And newspapers are not here to heal us, believe me! I must see a dozen articles a day trashing social media in traditional media. I usually Continue Reading…

Facebook: How to View Newsfeed of a Friends List

 Facebook, Online Communities, social media, social networks  19 Responses »
Jun 302011
 

Let’s say you want to see just the status updates of a group or list of friends on Facebook. Perhaps you want to ignore work folk and just see your family’s statuses.  How do you do that? It’s a feature that Facebook had and then I thought they had lost. But apparently not – I found it again! In 2009, I gave some detailed instructions on how to set up a list and then view the newsfeed of that list. As usual, the minute I do that, Facebook changes it’s website. Ah well, I found it again. When you confirm Continue Reading…

Etsy.com: Online Community Revenue

 revenue  16 Responses »
Jun 262011
 

How to craft a billion dollar business. Etsy is a funky boutique of an online community, an independent online marketplace for handmade products and vintage goods where hand made jewellry, with tailor made skirts and vintage jackets live side by side with chocolates and photography. Etsy themselves don’t sell anything, they offer to match dressmakers and vintage resellers with fashionistas looking for a bargain with a story and style. Given that I am still asked if there is money in online communities, I thought it would be interesting to look at how much revenue Etsy.com makes since they started in Continue Reading…

Facebook: Iceland Constitution and Gov 2.0

 Facebook, government, Online Communities, social media, social networks  16 Responses »
Jun 152011
 

Iceland have turned to social media to ask the population to crowdsource writing Iceland’s new constitution. The main online community Facebook – and other social networks such as Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Livestreaming – have been appropriated for the Icelandic Government’s communications channels to it’s own people. Compare to Australia’s Future of Melbourne wiki or New Zealand crowdsourcing their Police Act. Metagovernment is alive and well. HOWEVER and it’s a big however, according to my 7 Steps of Social Media Engagement, these look very campaign based. Meaning, short viral spiked events, then over. No long term engagement, or continued input Continue Reading…

Statistics: Why integrate Facebook into your business

 Facebook, Online Communities, revenue, social media, social networks, statistics  26 Responses »
May 252011
 

STATISTICS WITHIN What are the social media statistics of engaging on Facebook? Will you see an increase in: brand recall, engagement, time on your website, referrals, sales revenue, and so on if you add Facebook social plugins? This post is about social media statistics and Facebook. One of the most common questions I am asked is about Return on Investment for time spent on social media sites. The answers can be sliced and diced many ways (I have to figure out that company representative’s priorities before I answer) but most organisations are at least looking for some hard statistics. From Continue Reading…

Has Social Media Killed Off Privacy?

 Online Communities, social media, social networks  13 Responses »
May 062011
 

The Social Web becomes the Intelligent Web. What with Tom Tom selling our GPS data to the police that then book us for speeding, and facial recognition connecting our faces to our social networks and the privacy implications that entails,  are we thinking enough about the big issues in our rush to upload, tag and share content in online communities? I’ve finally figured out how to use my iPhone as a GPS Navigation system. It sits in the car now, stuck to the windscreen, giving me directions. I’ve thrown out the old system, and not before time. This week, Tom Continue Reading…

What is the Value of a Tweet or Facebook Fan?

 Monetization, Money, Online Communities, revenue, social media, social networks, statistics  24 Responses »
Apr 282011
 

What is the value of a Facebook Like? What is the $$ figure for a Facebook Fan? What is a Twitter Follower worth? What is the value of a Tweet or reTweet? Last week I bought a coupon for Zumba classes from one of the daily deal sites. I received a 50% discount but there was a catch. 1000 coupons had to be sold before the deal became active. Luckily, next to every deal on offer is a button that connects to Facebook. Click the Facebook “Like” button and all your Facebook friends and family and colleagues will see the Continue Reading…

8 ways to deal with negative comments in online communities

 Featured, Featured Articles, Marketing, social media  139 Responses »
Apr 262011
 

How do you respond to a negative comment in an online community,  on Facebook? Shut the Page down, ban the commenter, suck up to them? How about a bitchy tweet on Twitter? Fight with them? Ignore them? Promise to do better? Many social media guidelines have a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to addressing negative criticism in social networks, but assessing the situation and the potential positive vs negative outcomes of responses is a skill that comes from experience. PS:  Your marketing intern may not have that skill!

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