Over the past several weeks, BP has mobilized its messengers on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr, and according to Marketing Vox, the company has also purchased “oil spill” ad words through Google and Yahoo, with results linking to the BP website. These online effort are being coupled with a $50 million television campaign.

As a professional communicator, I don’t envy the challenge in front of BP’s PR team. This monster has a particularly prickly tail.

I recently started to wonder what will happen to my social network accounts when I pass away.  I currently have accounts for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Vimeo, WordPress and yes, I still even have one for MySpace. I’m sure there are even more that I don’t even remember. I also have multiple e-mail accounts, an online banking account and numerous other online accounts.

If I died tomorrow, what would happen to all of that stuff?

Last year, Time magazine published two articles related to this subject, “What Happens to Your Facebook After You Die?”  and “How to Manage Your Online Life When You’re Dead.”

Facebook’s policy is to “memoralize” accounts for decased users. The company does important things like removing people who have passed away from pubic search and sealing the account from any log-in attempts. What I like most though is that Facebook leaves the dead person’s wall open so that friends and family can post messages and connect via Facebook.

The second Time article mentions three companies that can help you pass on your digital assets: Legacy Locker, Asset Lock and Deathswitch.

I think everyone should look into these services, especially if you have any e-commerce sites or make money from a blog.

The other question to consider is: Do you really want everything you put online to live on after you’re gone?

The reason that design trumps content is that first impressions are everything. Take a job interview: your potential boss has already decided whether or not he/she wants to hire you 30 seconds after meeting you. In this situation, you at least have 20 minutes to an hour to persuade him/her otherwise. With the Internet, shoddy design is just one click to the “back” arrow away from yet another unemployment check.

Granted, without solid content, readers aren’t going to stick around very long. So that’s important too. However, good design implies professionalism, and professionalism implies trustworthiness. I don’t really care about the design of, say, beer blogs or food blogs, because those aren’t professional and don’t aim to be; my career is not going to be made or broken based on what my favorite food blogger writes.

However, I do read social media blogs for professional development. Social media isn’t medicine or law– anyone can promote themselves as a social media “expert.” A well-designed blog implies a certain degree of seriousness in the topic, as templates, hosts and domain names cost time and money to set up. I don’t trust advice and information I receive from most blogs that don’t own a domain name for this reason.

Sure, there are exceptions. Seth Godin’s blog (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/) is hosted on typepad. Typepad. However, other social media thought leaders argue against free. Chris Brogan “promotes the hell out of Thesis” for a reason: sure, it helps with SEO and they pay him, but his site just looks nice. A post by Ben Spark on BloggingTips.com, the post which inspired this post, visually shows what a difference a little design can make.

So, I’m going to continue my search for a well-designed (but free) theme for my current blog and all subsequent blogs.

An image speaks more than a thousand words, so this is how a Favicon looks like:

They also show up in your bookmarked sites, on the tabs in tabbed browsers, and as the icon for Internet shortcuts on your desktop.

This is how Wikipedia defines a Favicon:

A favicon (short for favorites icon), also known as a website icon, shortcut icon, URL icon, or bookmark iconis a 16×16, 32×32 or 64×64 pixel square icon associated with a particular website or webpage.^[1] A web designer can create such an icon and install it into a website (or webpage) by several means, and most graphical web browsers will then make use of it. Browsers that provide favicon support typically display a page’s favicon in the browser’s address bar and next to the page’s name in a list of bookmarks. Browsers that support a tabbed document interface typically show a page’s favicon next to the page’s title on the tab. Some programs allow the user to select an icon of his own from the hard drive and associate it with a website.

How to add a Favicon to your WordPress website?

One easy way to add identity to your website or blog is by simply adding the following code in your functions.php

// add a favicon to your
function blog_favicon() {
echo ‘<link rel=”Shortcut Icon” type=”image/x-icon” href=”‘.get_bloginfo(‘wpurl’).’/favicon.ico” />’;
}
add_action(‘wp_head’, ‘blog_favicon’);

How to create your ICO File?

You can create ICO files by adding a plugin to Photoshop, but the easiest way is to create online in favicon.cc or HTMLkits.

Once you have created and downloaded your .ico file, just upload it in the root folder where the blog is uploaded. You can also modify the file destination if you like.

Good luck!

• The goal for having everyone install WordPress (a theme, plugins, etc) is so that everyone is at least familiar with the technology. I think that this becomes a two-step process: a mid-term assessment for everyone. Then those people who are using this installation as a final project will springboard from this point. Those people who are working together on a final project can shift focus and tweak design based on feedback.
• I think the weekend workshop was timed pretty well – although we might be able to work it in a week sooner. However, I think we should have a second weekend workshop about week 8.
• I thought the discussion leader sessions went well. Yes?
• How do we better incorporate design/usability issues?
• How much actual “code” writing (CSS, HTML) do we need to integrate?

Privacy features aside, I think that most of us lose track of who we friend/fan/connect with across the various social networks we manage.  We forget that certain messages meant to impress one crowd may not be received well by others.  Your boss might not find it funny that you faked being sick to go to the beach.  Your current boyfriend may not enjoy seeing wall posts between you and your ex.   Your parents aren’t necessarily going to like the fact that you are hung over from one too many drinks.   So while it may seem fun at the time, it’s not always the best strategy to universally add all contacts across all social networks.  There’s a time and place for each one depending on what role they play in your life.

Brenna Ehrlich and Andrea Bartz, editors of the CNN column, “Netiquette,” help to clear up the social protocols and etiquette behind adding Facebook friends, Twitter followers, Linkedin connections and Foursquare stalkers (I mean friends).  The scenarios below outline when it is appropriate to add someone to a particular social network (and how) so that you can avoid sharing too much information with the wrong person:

Situation No. 1: You make a legit business contact at a network event (before spilling your drink on an intern). You arrive home, business card clutched in your damp, shaking hand.

Do you add them on …?

LinkedIn: Go for it. This social networking site is basically a digital Rolodex. Although you might not have a pressing reason to e-mail this contact the day after meeting him, adding him on LinkedIn reminds him that you exist in case he, too, got sloshed at said networking event.

Twitter: Proceed with caution. Dunbar’s Number claims that we can be friends with only 150 people at a time, a concept that applies to social networks: If Joe Business has 50 Twitter followers, they’re probably all inner-circle; if he has 150 or more, he probably views Twitter as a business tool.

Facebook: In most cases, hell, no. Unless homeboy has more than 1,000 friends. But then you have to ask yourself if you want to associate with what is commonly known as a “friend whore.”

Foursquare: Um. Does a potential employer need to know you’ve unlocked the “Crunked” badge?

Situation No. 2: You make a new friend! Yay! Friends are life’s gifts! Or something. Whatever.

LinkedIn: Hell, no. No one likes to make a new bud, only to discover that he was being “networked” all along.

Twitter: Proceed with caution. It’s fine to keep up with your buds on this microblogging site, but we suggest hanging out with your new bro three or four times before getting all up in his lifestream. Unless you’re an agoraphobe, and then you’re on your own (literally).

Facebook: Go for it. Everyone knows you’re not really friends until Facebook says so.

Foursquare: Proceed with caution. After you hang out (shoot for three times in a month), it’s OK to add someone on this location-based tool. While your new bud might not be the first person you text when embarking on a night out, your respective groups might be keen to hook up along the way via nearby check-ins. It’s the equivalent of a late-night “What are you up to?” text.

Situation No. 3: You’re perusing the stacks at your local used bookstore when you brush hands with a dark-eyed dreamboat. She’s a doctor. You enjoy being stethoscoped.

LinkedIn: Hell, no. However, feel free to check the suitor’s LinkedIn profile to ensure that she is not a dirty liar.

Twitter: Hell, no. You don’t need to follow someone on Twitter to read her tweets (unless they’re protected, in which case, what is she hiding?). Snoop silently for now.

Facebook: Proceed with caution. Facebook friending someone you’re dating fuels angst: Who’s that dude on her wall? Why does she have time to change her status but no time to text me back? And the web-wide “like” button thing — really, she “likes” this cat video from CollegeHumor.com? Inevitably, however, your date will friend you, and you must accept. Welcome to the beginning of the end.

Foursquare: Excuse me while I have a patronizing laughing fit. How many “serendipitous” check-ins until you get your “Stalker” badge?

Lesson to be learned – take caution when adding individuals to your social networks, frequently manage your contacts (someone who was once Facebook worthy may one day evolve into a Linkedin only connection) and stay cognizant of the messages you communicate to each group.  After all – what happens on Facebook doesn’t always stay on Facebook!

PS: Rumor has it that MCDM is offering a SEO class in the Fall — can you guess which class I plan to take?

As the person who manages my organization’s Facebook page, I’ve noticed that it’s hard for me to search for people outside of my own personal network, and invite them to an event or to just be a fan of the Facebook page. To me this is frustrating and annoying.  If they are a fan already, then why can’t you invite them?  You can update the fans, but there’s no way to pick and choose.

Now I realize that certain aspects of Facebook are set to be this way due to privacy settings put into place by Facebook, and no amount of money would obviously change that. But obviously putting money into Facebook maximizes your exposure.  Based on my own experience, understanding and research, the only way an organization can continue to grow it’s presence on Facebook is by having all staff inviting their friends, and promoting social media presence through all forms of corporate communications such as the website, e-newsletter and blog.  If I am wrong, please feel free to enlighten me.

Apple is getting ready to launch iPhone OS 4 this summer, and once that happens, tethering will be available for new and existing iPhone users.  AT&T will offer different Data plans that will allow subscribers to pay an additional $15 – $30 per month for 200MB – 5GB of monthly data usage.  Those who purchase the next model of iPhone that comes out, will not even be eligible for an unlimited data use plan, but current users will still have the option for the unlimited data-plan, or the tethering plan, but not both.

So is this the fault of Apple or AT&T? Evidently, this is the doing of AT&T who complains that iPhone customers consume most of the data capacity.  AT&T argues that this will actually save 98% of it’s users at least $5 per month. Because of the massive demand with the iPhone, this could lead to the need of another carrier to step in and level the playing field – Verizon Wireless.  Steve Jobs confirmed that this could be a possibility in the near future.

So will tethering be advantageous for it’s users? If browsing the internet on a computer takes a lot more data than a phone, you can bet that exceeding the caps that AT&T has put into place will be easy to do.  What should be a celebratory feature for iPhone users, is now a nuisance and not what it’s been marketed to be.

References:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9177692/AT_T_forces_iPhone_owners_to_choose_unlimited_data_or_tethering

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9177598/AT_T_dumps_iPhone_unlimited_data_plan_adds_tethering?taxonomyId=16&pageNumber=1

For perspective, this is how Zuckerberg explained the impact of the adoption of the Open Graph:

“Facebook has focused mostly on mapping out the part of the graph around people and their relationships.
At the same time, other sites and services have been mapping out other parts of the graph so you can get relevant information about different types of things. For example, Yelp maps out the best local businesses and Pandora maps out which songs are related to each other.

All of these connections are important parts of the social graph, but until now it hasn’t been possible to easily share the connections you make on sites like Yelp or Pandora with your friends on Facebook. And you haven’t been able to bring your friends from Facebook to share experiences on these sites or personalize them to you”.

Consequently, Social Plug-ins will play a key role in facilitating the connections involved in this Open Graph. For example, now websites can include a Facebook “Like” button on their pages. By doing that, the website will integrated to Facebook through the Graph API. This information will feed your profile in Facebook and in theory improve your user experience. Traffic over Information Bridge generated by the Graph API will become more interesting as more and more developers are able to exploit its potential.