Social Media Butterfly

AP to Restrict Content Use on Blogs

Posted by Nathania Johnson

The Associated Press apparently is not to thrilled about how bloggers use their content. So they’re setting out to establish standards by which their content can appear on blogs, according to the New York Times.

I can see both sides of the issues. Bloggers (myself included) don’t often have the same contacts and journalistic skills that large news organizations have. On the flip side, the AP wants to own the content they work so hard to create.

One point the AP might want to consider is that as long as bloggers give them credit, it’s kind of like free publicity.

And bloggers, no matter where you get your news and info - give credit where credit is due!

Do you think the AP should set standards? If so, what standards are reasonable? Give your thoughts in the comments.

Zemanta Blogging Plugin Streamlines the Blogging Process

Posted by Nathania Johnson

Zemanta is a plugin that helps you find relevant material for your blog. Install the plugin (avail for IE and FF) and then login to your blog and bring up a compose page. You’ll see the Zemanta sidebar, ready to make suggestions for photos and articles to include in your post.

Zemanta works with:
Wordpress (including self-hosted wp)
Blogger
Typepad
LiveJournal
MovableType

As you can see in the screenshot below, the Zemanta sidebar takes up a large part of the sidebar. I personally don’t love this. Plus, I like to blog primarily from ScribeFire. But the plugin is only in alpha, so I’m sure we’ll see updates in the future….

Blog Advertising to Reach $746 Million by 2012

Posted by Nathania Johnson

Blog advertising in the US is projected to reach $746 million by 2012, according to a report by eMarketer. Also by 2012, an estimated 145 million people will be reading blogs at least once a month. That’s 67% of the US internet population.

Last year there were 22.6 million bloggers, but by 2012 there will be 34.7 million according to the report. Also last year, blog advertising reached $283 million.

My personal tip for getting a piece of the pie is PERSEVERANCE. It’s easy to start blogs (I’ve started several). It’s difficult to stick with it. But those who do - and I mean for the long haul - are the ones who seem to be the most successful.

via Research and Markets

Disqus + Seesmic = Video Comments

Posted by Nathania Johnson

Writing on the Disqus blog, co-founder Daniel Ha said, “Our main goal with Disqus has always been to enhance how people
interact and participate on blogs. Video comments, while a relatively
new concept, is something we’ve been hearing people chatter about
recently. Enabling video conversation is not our focus, so we came
together with our friends at Seesmic to make this happen.”

via A VC

What do you think about video comments for blogs?

Conversations are Portable; Always Have Been, Always Will Be

Posted by Nathania Johnson

Lately, there’s been discussion about the portability of comments. Should comments be allowed on FriendFeed for example?

But comments are part of conversations, and conversations on blogs or any site have always been portable. People may discuss them in an email, meeting, IM or other blog. Now sites like FriendFeed and Twitter are facilitating off-site conversations.

This isn’t anything new. Newspapers have had conversations about brands, and there is a reason there is such a thing as “word of mouth marketing.” And consumers have always had private conversations with each other.

Attempting to control a conversation should never be the goal of any social media strategy. Participating and influencing are the real goals.

As for bloggers, yes the game is changing. And just like those in the Public Relations and Journalism industries, you too, will have to adapt.

In the meantime, check out these social sites. Be where the crowd gathers, and while there, do your thang!

Quick News: Feeling Blue? Try Blogging

Posted by Nathania Johnson

An Australian study has shown that blogging might just be the ticket if you’re feeling a bit down. The reason? Feeling connected to people who share a similar experience.

As reported by Australia’s ABC news, “The research, from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, found after two months of regular blogging, people felt they had better social support and friendship networks than those who did not blog.”

Click here to read Blogging boosts your social life: research

Quick News: Try Photodropper for a Flickr WP Plugin

Posted by Nathania Johnson

If you love using Flickr photos to complement your blog posts, then you’ll want to give Photodropper a try. It’s a new Wordpress plugin, and while some are experiencing bugs, the developer is working on them. For many, it’s working great.

It basically allows you to search for Flickr photos from the WP interface. Be sure to follow the Creative Commons license for a photo as usual, but the plugin opens a new window for photos you’re checking out.

View the screenshots here. 

Let me know what you think of this plugin.