2015 - Page 21 of 25 - Sam Harrelson

Going Viral on Twitter Just Got More Difficult

Yesterday, Twitter released an anticipated new feature that allows users to retweet without using any of the precious 140 characters available. The new feature is only available on the official Twitter app for iOS now, but expected to roll out to Android and desktop apps soon.

In essence, this sounds like a win for users as well as marketers who use the (lucrative) Twitter experience to get their messages out there. The original concept of a retweet goes back to March 2007 when users were searching for a way to share a tweet someone else had published. Originally called an “echo,” retweets became quickly recognizable using the “RT” convention, much like the concept of using # to denote “hashtags” developed from the bottom-up by users. Twitter incorporated RT into its official platform and now provides a means to retweet without having to include RT as it has gained mainstream adoption (though some of us old timers that were there from the beginning still prefer this method).

However, marketers should be aware of a few issues with the new retweet convention as it makes its way into wider adoption. Good post here with some things to think about regarding sharing, stats, images, and “virality” (which is still very important on Twitter)…

Going viral on Twitter? It’s harder. The first retweet with comment is not a disaster, but the subsequent retweet with comment is. Few chances to get one more retweet.The previous Retweet button was a bad choice for marketers. The new one is even worse.

via Retweet with Comment Punches Marketers in the Face | Adrian Jock’s Internet Marketing Tips.

Reedsy For Author Pages

Our sister (is that sexist?) Harrelson Press does a lot of work with author marketing and promotion. One of the key points of that conversation involves authors needing to have their own site or web presence.

Reedsy looks like an interesting go-between to solve some of those issues and needs that authors have.

Anything to blow up the publishing industry and make it more author focused is a good thing.

What do you think, Merianna?

Reedsy just launched author profiles on its website where writers can collect and showcase their work on a single page. This way, Reedsy provides a simple way to share your profile on the web, much like an About.me link.

As a reminder, Reedsy unbundles the good old publishing company and provides all the services you need to self publish a book. The startup helps you find an editor, copy editor and cover illustrator to turn your draft into a book.

via Reedsy Launches Behance-Like Profiles To Let Authors Showcase Their Books | TechCrunch.

Why Your Business Needs a Web Page More Than Ever

I have a similar conversation almost daily with clients or potential clients that involves the need for web sites. Not Facebook pages, Instagram accounts, Twitter profiles, or Snapchat presence. A good ole-fashioned web site.

Many of our new clients bring with them at least something like a Facebook page. A small percentage of them may have a site set up on GoDaddy, Wix or the other number of “budget” website builders out there.

However, web sites are just as crucial for business success in 2015 as they were in 1999. Having a presence outside of social media silos means taking discoverability seriously. However, setting up a site is not the end of the story. The site needs to move and evolve with the ever-evolving web.

What many business owners overlook is the notion that having a web site also makes you a part of the conversation about your own name (or brand). Whether you intend it or not (or realize it or not), people will talk about you and your business. Having a site that will be indexed and ranked by Google provides you with the insurance and protection that you need if or when the talk turns to negative.

Don’t forget, we live in the era of the .sucks domain now. Here are a few good examples of cautionary tales that should raise the hair on the back of your neck.

“The biggest myth about Google is they’re somehow the first amendment,” says Fertik. “That there’s a natural order of things of how Google presents stuff that is inevitable, inexorable and correct. That whatever floats to the top of Google deserves to be there.”

via Welcome To The Outrage Machine – Digg.

But It’s In the New York Times, So It Must Be True…

Incredible Editor’s Note following Thursday’s article by New York Times “tech” writer Nick Bilton…

The Disruptions column in the Styles section on Thursday, discussing possible health concerns related to wearable technology, gave an inadequate account of the status of research about cellphone radiation and cancer risk.

Neither epidemiological nor laboratory studies have found reliable evidence of such risks, and there is no widely accepted theory as to how they might arise. According to the World Health Organization, “To date, no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use.” The American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have all said there is no convincing evidence for a causal relationship. While researchers are continuing to study possible risks, the column should have included more of this background for balance.

In addition, one source quoted in the article, Dr. Joseph Mercola, has been widely criticized by experts for his claims about disease risks and treatments. More of that background should have been included, or he should not have been cited as a source.

An early version of the headline for the article online — “Could Wearable Computers Be as Harmful as Cigarettes?” — also went too far in suggesting any such comparison.

via The Health Concerns in Wearable Tech – NYTimes.com.

R.I.P. Terry Pratchett

I first encountered the Discworld books as a young reader trying to find something interesting at our public library, and they changed the way I thought about science fiction, satire, and our own world. I’m sad there won’t be more from him (his daughter might continue the series), but what a legacy (and a good way to leave this world)…

It is with immeasurable sadness that we announce that author Sir Terry Pratchett has died at the age of 66. Terry passed away in his home, with his cat sleeping on his bed surrounded by his family on 12th March 2015.

via Terry Pratchett / Paul Kidby Discworld.

Colonizing the Colonials

To get the full implication of this piece, you have to listen to the Thinking Religion that Thomas Whitley and I recorded yesterday. Great show and the thought piece at the end regarding post-colonialism and the import of valuing plays in nicely with this…

In the same period, American public diplomats tried to influence education reforms in Western Europe, in view of the integration of North-Atlantic school systems and their cooperation in cold-war competition. Not by chance, in the 1950s Conant and his collaborators visited West Germany, Italy, Britain, and Switzerland as policy advisers.

via Why the US liberal arts tradition failed to take hold in Europe.

Dura Europos Looting and Devastation Update

Tragic.

“There is a complete and massive change to this site,” Wolfinbarger says, comparing the pre-war images to those collected in 2014 of the renowned archaeological treasure.

British soldiers discovered Dura Europus in the 1920s. They hit on the wall of the ancient city while digging a trench during World War I. Excavation revealed a provincial Roman town founded in 300 B.C.

Brian Daniels, director of research at the Penn Cultural Heritage Center in Philadelphia, describes Dura Europos as “a snapshot in time.”

“It has the oldest synagogue known in the world and it also has one of the oldest house church known in the world,” Daniels says. “The level of looting and devastation that’s happened to Dura Europus is heart-breaking.”

via Via Satellite, Tracking The Plunder Of Middle East Cultural History : Parallels : NPR.

GigaOm or How Not to End A Great Tech Site’s Existence

I started reading and writing about GigaOm way back in 2006 or 2007 with the advent of CostPerNews. When Arrington sold TechCrunch, I was glad that at least sites driven by their creators such as GigaOm were still there (post Read/WriteWeb etc etc).

I was sad to see that GigaOm and company are now shutting down due to lack of funding.

The web is changing and all things drift towards entropy. But GigaOm was one of those sites that employed tech writers I loved to read like Kevin Tofel and Matthew Ingram. It’s disheartening to see an outlet like that not able to survive in 2015.

Here’s to a better web that supports great writers.

I’m guessing this was written by someone who either was callous or someone who was disinterested…

A brief note on our company

Gigaom recently became unable to pay its creditors in full at this time. As a result, the company is working with its creditors that have rights to all of the company’s assets as their collateral. All operations have ceased. We do not know at this time what the lenders intend to do with the assets or if there will be any future operations using those assets. The company does not currently intend to file bankruptcy. We would like to take a moment and thank our readers and our community for supporting us all along.

— Gigaom management