So thinks Stephen Haines of Social Media behemoth Facebook. As some companies already get more monthly likes on Facebook than hits on their websites, might companies in the future no longer bother having their own website? After all, likes are qualified by several demographic markers, Facebook e-commerce sites can be built into pages, and developer apps let businesses create custom made interactive programs.

So does Facebook look like finishing off the company website?


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Reading, or rather, re-reading a great book at the moment. The second time around and I'm taking the message a bit more seriously this time. I'm starting to see some great advice creeping out of this book and into my psyche. Have a look...it might be the best £7 you ever spend!
The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need

We came across another great social media article today. This time, business social networking site LinkedIn takes centre stage. Established in 2003, it's become the place to be for business networking, but is often eclipsed in profile by Facebook and Twitter.

LinkedIn has some great features, including groups for like-minded folks and LinkedIn Answers. It's most definitely a must-do for serious networkers. Have a look through the suggestions in this article for some new ideas to refresh your own LinkedIn experience..


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We came across a great article recently, from the Mashable site. As the title of this blog post suggests, it's all about making your twitter stream more attractive to your followers.

Twitter can and has been a boon for small and medium business' marketing but all too often, It ends up being used as a medium to broadcast information. Successful use of Twitter is all about engaging with your followers and providing content which is of value to them. But it's not just the content itself, but the ways in which it is offered and the conversations it stimulates which leads to this engagement.

This great post by Erica Swallow gives five great tips for livening up your Twitter stream. With over a billion tweets a week, can you really afford not to stand out from this crowd?


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Imagine, what would the world be like? It's hard, I know... No more excuses for using your mobile during meetings and presentations, waiting for the evening news to watch 737's landing on the Hudson River, politicians not being able to tell us what they ha for lunch on the stump, Saturday morning radio programmes free of social media consultants telling us how good their particular political paymeister's campaign was....the list might be endless.

Anyway, I came across this Infographic this morning. A nice reminder !


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I recently came across an interesting article in a LinkedIn group I’m a member of. Its all about the impact of the iPad and its uses, or not, in education.

Now I have to admit, I’m a confirmed fan of both my iPad and my iPhone. As friends and colleagues as well as regular readers of this blog know, this has not always been the case ! and to those who took a sustained shed-load of abuse and ridicule over their alleged lemming-like rush into so-called Apple slavery, I apologise wholeheartedly. But can we take things too far,as the image in this post (from technology.desktopnexus.com)might suggest?

But I was press-ganged into having an iPhone by my other half and my excuse is that I was taking my time, evaluating, and making informed decisions based on experiences and technological advances in operating systems functionality and the merits of one Smartphone vs the others blah blah blah

Anyway, I digress somewhat…

The article argued that, whilst the iPad is a fantastic device for collecting, storing, and consuming content, this ‘content controlled’ aspect is perhaps limiting in an education system being currently regeared towards creativity. (rather like the difference between Trad jazz so beloved of my father and freestyle jazz, which is more to my taste). The writer goes on to extend this argument into the area of textbooks, positing the view that having spent the best part of the last hundred years delivering up our students to the text-book publishers, we are now doing the same by sending down Apple street, Kindle rise, or Microsoft Alley.

So is the iPad a creative tool ? well I wrote this blog post on mine using a creative writing tool, which also has drawing software for our Glass Arts design business.
So judge for yourself

As the social media platform with the most registered users, Facebook is a serious player. It came from nowhere to oust MySpace from the number one spot and has evolved into the multi-purpose all singing all dancing behemoth we all know and love today. In fact, there are probably not that many web-savvy businesses still not on it. But being 'on' Facebook, and using it effectively to promote your organisation and build a lasting following are two entirely different things all together.

So many businesses are failing to capture the full potential of Facebook, and, you know, its not actually that difficult. Just try these ideas to pimp up your page and start feeling the power of Facebook boosting your social media ROI....


1. Make your site an InfoHub. Apart from the 'Like' button, keep your visitors longer by using some of the Facebook apps. Locator functionality lets your visitors see at a glance where you are. Adding Tabs can display your daily deals or offers. Go explore Facebook apps and see what they can do for you..

2. Welcome tabs make great landing pages. Have a look and see what you could do at Facebook welcome tabs. You can add video and 'what do you want?' interactivity to engage and converse with your visitors.

3. Make sure you have a contributor tab. Get your visitors adding their opinions on your industry or business. We do social media at Ruby's Future. Our contributor tabbed page should have customer feedback, as well as opinions on the latest industry trends, and what works for you? top tips thrown into a common melting pot of ideas.

4. Reward your fans. Run special offers and promotions just for them ! Exclusive content, vouchers for deals, a monthly special... the possibilities are endless, so go figure.

5. Sell your product. Setting up a facebook store is easy. Fans can browse your range, look at photos, watch video, and buy online. Visit Facebook Store and explore!

6. Add your blog. Use NetworkedBlogs to add a feed from your blog to the Facebook front page. Share your organisation news and events, and invite comments. Blogs are great for informal engagement and quick and easy to set up and update.

7. Be brave- ask for feedback. Only by asking your fans what you need to do better can you hope to grow your business activities successfully, so go on, take a risk and ask your fans. You might be pleasantly surprised !

8. Spread the love. You are passionate about your business, otherwise you wouldn't be doing it, so share this passion with your fans and engage them with your message. Add music and share buttons and watch your passion go viral across the Facebook universe.


Is it time for you to revisit your Facebook site ? Let us know how you got on...


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