Every month, we curate our brains and give you the goods...

Industry News: April, 2012

The Buzz

WOOT!: Want to give your photos a little extra kick? Check out the app, Flixel that lets you bring your photos to life by animating a portion of each image. We're not sure if the final effect is creepy or cool, but there's no denying that the technology behind it is impressive.

WHAA?: In what can only be described as one of the ugliest infographics in history, Mashable recently published research fromForensicPsychology.net on how the Internet negatively affects our brains and mental state. So, don't forget to turn off your computer and smart phone now and then.

Other News

Google Analytics Social: One of the trickier aspects of social media is measuring the results of your efforts. Things just got a lot easier with the new social media tracking data now available in Google Analytics. The wicked smart, Shelly Kramer walks through how to use it in the post, "Measure Social Media ROI with Google Analytics Social."

YouTube Annotations: When we learn a new trick, you get to learn one too! We just stumbled across this helpful video from Adrienne Smith on how to add hyperlinked annotations to your YouTube videos. We don't know Adrienne, but she seems sweet as pie and her southern accent is fun to listen to.

Blog Bonanza! According to the Content Marketing Institute, your blog is the most important pillar of your content marketing strategy. If you're not sure how to get yours up and running, download their Ultimate Guide to Blogging. Interestingly, you don't even need to fill out a lead gen form to access it.

Industry News: March, 2012

The Buzz

WOOT!: Twice we've stumbled across blog posts where people are singing about their topic instead of writing about it. Now, we're not saying that all of you should jump on the Glee-train and start singing in your social channels too. But it is a good reminder that sometimes you need to shake things up a bit and explore new ways to share your content.

WHAA?:

Really G+? We're not sure if this isreal but if it is, it kind of seems like a "Man, we're getting creamed out there. Let's throw the kitchen sink at our network's users" kind of tactic. Sorry, we like you and all, but we're going to pass on the puppy dog ears for our next video chat. 

Other News

Remember last month when we were so excited to have joined Pinterest? Yeah...well, we take that back. In the past month we've read  many disturbing blog posts detailing concerns with the platform's Terms of Use. For example, if you're pinning images you don't own, you can get sued. Individual users may not find themselves in hot water about these issues right away, but companies with accounts should proceed with much caution. In the meantime, we've taken down our KaneCo boards until this mess gets sorted out.

Last week, Facebook rolled out Timeline for Brands, and approximately a billion jillion blog posts were posted discussing them ad nauseam. This one from Mashable has a good overview. We also liked this Kikolani post for showing us how to take advantage of the new "about" copy. Although you have until March 30 to convert your Fan Page to this new format, we've already done so. Feel free to peruse our KaneCo Timeline for ideas too (but please note, it's a work in progress.)

We understand that our clients and community members are busy people. Because of this, Kane Consulting has started creating a weekly "Itty Bitty Blog Post" to act as a companion to the longer written ones on our site. The itty bitty video summaries last "about a minute" and provide an overview of each week's topic. We hope you find them helpful.

New Facebook Ad Model: Facebook sure was a busy beaver last week. In addition to Timeline, they also announced some big changes in theiradvertising model. The reality is that, due to Facebook's EdgeRank algorithm, only 16% of your brand's posts are likely seen in your Fan's newsfeeds. So Facebook is offering you a solution...for a price. Keep an eye on this folks...this type of "we're going to make it suck more, but you can pay to have it suck less" philosophy is a trend in Facebook that we think will continue to grow.

Blogging Mistakes: Mark Schaefer shares his five biggest blogging mistakes in thisgreat post. With nearly 1,000 posts under his belt, he's got some good lessons to teach the rest of us. If you'd like to meet Mark, he'll be here in Minneapolis on May 17, keynoting the AMA'sannual conference. Our own Jennifer Kane will be presenting at that event, too. Watch the AMA site for more information on registration.

Industry News: February, 2012

The Buzz

WOOT!: KaneCo is on Pinterest and we'd like to hook up with you there and also invite you to be a guest pinner to our crowdsourced "Guest Pinapalloza" board of new and interesting social and tech ideas. Interested? Send us an email. 

WHAA?: Social spam is gross. Want to help put a stop to it? Check out this post on the latest digital spam trends which has some great suggestions of things to look out for as well as tips for avoiding spam traps.

Other News

If you're looking to dive into Content Marketing, Marketing Profs can help you get started with their free Digital Marketing World virtual conference on March 9. Our own Jen Kane will be kicking off the series starting at 10:00 am CT. The conference includes a live Q&A with each of the three speakers, virtual roundtable discussions and a resource library of supplementary takeaway materials.

We understand that blogging can be...er...less than satisfying sometimes. If you and your blog have "Lost that Lovin Feeling," try some of these tips from Pushing Social to bring the fire back. Then, check out these eight tips from Hector Cuevas to share your reinvigorated blog with the rest of the world.

Each month we're doing a Google Plus Hangout (and some guerrilla consulting) with up to ten people from our KaneCo community. The first one will be Tuesday, February 28 from 11:30 am to noon CT on the topic of social media measurement. Want to participate? Visit the hangout thread on G+ today and contribute a question (or express interest). Then, on Feb. 28, we'll invite everyone in the thread to chat virtually. (Yes, you can eat your lunch while you hang out. This is a casual affair.)

Looking for a unique way to expand your content marketing strategy? Consider Answer sites. The post "What Do You Know? Examining the Big 4 Online Answer Sites" by Arnie Kuenn givesa great breakdown on how to approach the idea and get started.

In addition to being social folks, we're also parents, so we were tickled to hear about UrbanSitter. It's like an Open Table, but for babysitters (they also help you pay your sitter at the end of the gig. Dee-lightful!). UrbanSitter doesn't provide services in our hometown of Minneapolis....yet. Here is their email, if you'd like to join us in getting that changed.

Industry News: January, 2012 

The Buzz

WOOT!: Congrats to our friends at 5 by 5 Design on the coverage in this month's Minnesota Business on their policy of giving back to their community. Even if they hadn't designed KaneCo's logo and avatars (and done us many pro bono favors) we'd still think they were pretty great.

WHAA?: Facebook in your car? No thanks. We're thinking the last thing drivers need is more distraction when they're behind the wheel. We'll be taking a pass on Facebook's new "death app" too.

Other News

Google just took search to a whole new level, with "Search, plus Your World" which will likely make having a Google+ page a very wise investment for your business. Check it out. This is a game changer. This post from Top Rank also does a nice job of explaining the details.

The KaneCo book club is back, and we're kicking off the year with Brian Solis' latest book, The End of Business As Usual. Brian will be Skyping in to join us for our first salon on February 21. It's free to attend, but registration is requested. Hope to see you there.

What social platform is the "quiet giant" of content marketing? Believe it or not, it's SlideShare. For more info, check out this infographic to learn more about the world's largest professional content-sharing community.

There is very little that is super funny about North Korea, but, this fake Twitter account for the country's new leader, Kim Jong Un, might be the one lone exception. (Man, we hope we don't get blown up for saying that).

Industry News: December, 2011

The Buzz

WOOT!: We'd like to invite you to join us over at our new G+ brand page. And, speaking of the big "G" - here are some great tips for using Google Plus, plus some info on its new integration with Gmail.

WHAA?: We love us some social media, but gotta admit, these new social apps feel like "jump the shark" territory to us. TMI, anyone?

Other News

Upgrades and Facelifts: Twitter just got a major upgrade rolling out a brand-new look and a bunch of new features including the addition of brand pages that will give companies the chance to customize their Twitter page with large logos and an extended tagline. Are the changes seeming pretty Facebooky to you? You're not alone.

Social Commerce Infographic: Curious about why people buy the things they buy and how that thinking influences their social media behaviors? Then check out this fascinating infographic on Social Commerce Psychology.

Yikes to this: A recent online study reveals that, while 52 percent of marketers surveyed say their brands have enjoyed greater influence thanks to their presence in social networks, only 17 percent said that social media is fully meshed, aligned, and integrated into the overall marketing mix. Dear marketers in that study, please call us. Sincerely, KaneCo.

The Contnet Marketing Continuum: Is it always a net positive to create and give away content on behalf of your company? Jay Baer tackles this question and the 6 stages on the content marketing continuum in this post which includes a slide deck from his presentation on this topic with Joe Pulizzi at Blogworld in Los Angeles.

Industry News: November, 2011

The Buzz

WOOT!: The coolest thing to hit our feeds this month is Lytro, a digital camera that creates "living pictures" that can be refocused after taking a picture and even by people users share their pictures with. Now that's what we call social.

 

WHAA?: Our newsroom hosting service, Pitch Engine made some major changes recently which caused cosmetic and usability glitches for many of our clients' newsrooms. Our apologies if yours was affected. Please know that we were caught unawares too and are working hard with PE to resolve any issues. 

Other News

Got Klout? You do, even if you don't realize it. Open graph API makes it possible for Klout to score individuals who haven't activated a Klout account (some people are even finding duplicate accounts). Whether you are appearing on Klout against your wishes or have a Klout account and no longer want one, you can follow these steps to permanently delete your account. (This post by Danny Brown points out a lot of the recent concerns with the system as well.)

Who owns your LinkedIn contacts? In a recent UK court case, the judge said that the employer did, not the employee. While this is still murky water in the US, this article gives interesting fuel for thought on this increasingly complicated question.

Check out the latest book from KaneCo book club favorites, Chip and Dan Heath on the Kindle for free. "The Myth of the Garage: And Other Minor Surprises" is a collection of the authors' best columns forFast Company magazine.

Growing up in the age of Google is making kids experts at finding things, but seriously compromised in their ability to understand what it is that they've found. This fascinating article from WIRED on "Why Kids Can't Search" talks more about the importance of "learning how to learn."