Social media is quite a hot topic right now. Companies are putting their marketing dollars into social media instead of traditional direct marketing tactics. The media and celebrities are on a tweeting frenzy. Everyone and their mother (literally) are on Facebook. “Social Media experts” have sprung up left and right, claiming to know how to get thousands of followers in just days (they’re called autofollow scripts, get over yourselves).

Although social media is changing the face of marketing, there are some of us that need to be reminded to stop taking things so seriously. So here are some of the funniest videos about social media, some ridiculing the “experts,” some mocking the social media addicts, and some just taking things to an extreme… on the altar. But it’s all in good fun.

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Facebook launched a new feature yesterday that allows fan pages to target updates by geography and language. Admins of fan pages have access to this option, and this functionality will be great for local and global brand integration.

This will be great for brands considering creating separate pages in order to gain an international social presence; now they won’t have to. All international updates, in all different languages, can now live on the same fan page. Read the rest of this entry

Several weeks ago, a widgets center went live on Facebook, where users could create widgets for their blogs or websites. These included both widgets for individuals’ profiles, such as the profile badge, and widgets for businesses’ fan pages, such as the fan box and share functionality.

Now, Facebook users can create a fan badge to promote pages they are fans of. Your most loyal fans will gobble this right up. And what blogger doesn’t like filling up their left sidebar with useless widgets?

Just kidding.

Here’s what the tool to generate a fan badge looks like: Read the rest of this entry

About two months ago, @ mentions went live on Facebook, mimicking the way @ replies work on Twitter. The “social media experts” exclaimed that it would be Twitter’s downfall. Yet very few people actually use @ mentions on Facebook. Fewer understand what the benefits are. And even fewer know the functionality exists.

Way to go, “social media experts.”

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The ability to link Facebook statuses and tweets is great for lazy people, Tweetdeck fans, and social media aficionados boasting “Look at me, see what I can do!”  Ok, that’s a bit harsh. Yes, logging into various social networks to speak your mind may be a bit inconvenient. But it doesn’t mean that the best solution is to say the same exact thing everywhere.

Here are some reasons to consider unmerging your status updates and tweets: Read the rest of this entry

Social icons are important for both encouraging users to share your content and promoting your presence on social networks. So here is a large selection of social icons in different colors to fit the color scheme or your website or blog:

They are available in 20×20, 40×40, and 60×60. Right click and save each icon individually, or click on an icon to download the entire icon pack (.zip file). If you have any color or size requests, leave a comment and I will add them as soon as I can.

If you use one of these images, donations or links back to this site are much appreciated! Read the rest of this entry

Since Web 2.0 exploded, I’ve noticed that there aren’t many websites you can’t sign into anymore. Want to review that hotel you stayed in? Sign in! Want to rate the digital camera you bought? Sign in! Want to discuss Obama’s experience (or lack thereof)? Sign in! It’s the age of the digitally social, and we’re all invited to sign in.

Frankly, it gets confusing. You forget if you’ve already signed up at a site you last visited a year ago. Your passwords become muddled in a memory of account numbers, pins, and everything else in your hectic life. And when you finally do sign in, you’re encouraged to find your friends, even though you’re already friends with your friends on ten other sites. And sometimes it’s so frustrating that you just give up. That’s where Facebook Connect comes in. Read the rest of this entry

While driving home from work a few days ago, I was listening to my usual radio station (Boston’s Mix 104.1), and a host was making fun of his co-host for spending so much time on Facebook. He couldn’t believe people are so “addicted” to Facebook when they could be spending quality time with their friends in person. He ranted on and on, seeming to think that Facebook users are socially inept, and wouldn’t listen to the reasons why Facebook is useful.

Since web 2.0 is a big part of my life, this really got me thinking. My job is to create social media applications, one of my hobbies is blogging, and all my friends are on Facebook. I also started college in Boston when Facebook was new, and I thought it was the most awesome thing since peanut butter.

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