Now that Facebook allows developers to store data for more than 24 hours, social media analytics firms like Sysomos are finally able to include public updates from Facebook users in their databases. Sysomos began surfacing this data on some of its customers’ accounts yesterday and plans to roll these new features out to the rest of its users soon.

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Given the size of Facebook’s user base, being able to analyze this data will be a major boon for anybody who is interested in tracking these kinds of updates.

Sysomos already allowed its users to search and analyze Facebook fan pages and groups for the last few months through its MAP analytics tool. The company now also includes these updates in Heartbeat, Sysomos’ social media monitoring tool. Sysomos’ integration of the Open Graph API will surface all the activity that has been made public by a user, including status updates and public wall posts.

Thanks to Sysomos’ new ability to analyze and search public Facebook updates, we were, for example, able to track the backlash against Facebook’s “instant personalization.” According to Sysomos, only about 15% of the public updates about this topic were positive.

Are Facebook Users Aware that their Updates Will Live a Second Life in Social Media Analytics Tools?

Sysomos, of course, only pulls in public updates, but we have to wonder if most Facebook users are aware that their updates will end up in the vast data repositories of firms like Sysomos and Radian6. Given the current backlash against what some users perceive as an invasion of their privacy by Facebook, it will be interesting to see how Facebook users will react to this.

Discuss

A spin-off of Finnish software development company Nodeta, Flowdock aspires to help developers and others sift out actionable bits of knowledge from ongoing conversations and make them retrievable. Their team messenger services allows separation and tagging of conversational elements.

“In Flowdock, the epiphany comes when you tag a chat message for the first time,” Nodeta and Flowdock’s CTO Otta Hilska wrote us. “You realize how you just took a piece of conversation and turned it into a nugget of knowledge. Somebody talked about a bug, and you turned it into a bug report. Or pasted a snippet of code, and you categorized and organized it. The real validation for the concept comes when you are looking for some other snippet of code, a link to a partner, an eBook or something else and come to think ‘I wonder if it’s tagged in Flowdock”. Sure enough it will be.’”

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Designed for groups, Flowdock attempts to address a new kind of information overload, the one that intensified when social media tools began to be adopted by exponentially more people. The theory is that by tagging bits of the conversation, they are made discreet and retrievable based on folksonomy.

Use examples include agile development and handling to-dos.

Flowdock is out of private data and you the public is invited to try it.

Discuss

A new startup is looking to apply crowdsourcing to the fashion industry. Fashion Stake, whose website will open to the general public in several weeks, will allow the fashion-conscious to directly invest in designers.

Its motto is, “Democratize Fashion” – a tall order.

The site, led by Harvard Business School alumnus Daniel Gulati, will put designers and companies together with consumers on two levels, financially and critically. Financially, an investment in a designer will return the ability to apply credits toward purchasing that designer’s garments.

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Critically, the full space of social media tools will be used. Viewers may browse collections, vote them up or down and suggest ideas for new garments or lines and praise or criticize designer directions.

Although Gulati told us he could not divulge the number or nature of the designers he has waiting in the wings, a screenshot on the company’s blog shows the names Phillip Lim, Alexander Wang, Donna Karan and Jeffrey Montero.

Given the increasing comfort level that consumers have with dialogic shopping – as well as the horrendous downturn in an industry that was already plagued with vicious gatekeepers – it could provide a price-conscious connection to haute couture, as well as the sense of investment that fashion-oriented television shows like Project Runway have tapped into.

In addition to the front page of the website, Fashion Stake also has its blog, a Twitter account and a Facebook page.

Discuss

Getting press coverage can mean a great deal for gaining traffic and overall exposure for your business. That said, there are also ways to take some initiative yourself in getting some exposure from news search.

Is news search part of your strategy? Real-time? Social Search? Press releases? Discuss here.

News Search Optimization

As Lisa Buyer of the Buyer Group talked about with WebProNews at SES last week, news search optimization is getting more powerful with social media and real-time search. Add these to older tactics like blogs and press releases, and there have never been more opportunities to get news-related content discovered.

Press Releases

Press releases can still be a great way to spread the word about any announcements your business might have. They can also drive traffic, particularly from search engines.

Back in the summer, PRWeb shared a case study with us, involving a firm that typically sees a boost in search engine rankings and a 50% spike in web traffic after they issue a release. In fact, for one release in particular, the firm saw a spike of 400% on two different Web sites, and the firm doesn’t believe they were from the same users. They also incorporate social media tools like Twitter to extend the "shelf life" of press releases, and say that drives additional traffic.

"When we included a link to our press releases on Twitter and other social media networks, we saw these both expanded the scope of distribution and the extended the longevity of the announcement," the CEO of the company behind the case study had said.  "With other news releases we saw an initial spike in Web site traffic on the first two days and then it dropped off.  With these features we’ve seen increases in traffic up to five days after the news release was issued."

Remember, Google News indexes press releases as well.

Real-Time Search

You’re probably already using social media in some capacity at this point. Real-time search presents an added benefit to talking about timely topics using channels that you are already using (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, blogs, etc.). That doesn’t mean spam. Spamming won’t get you very far here anyway, because Google is pretty good at filtering this. We went over a few basic tips for real-time search optimization a while back. The recap is below, but you can find them elaborated on here.

1. Use keywords
2. Talk about timely events
3. Have a lot of followers (who can share your content)
4. Promote Conversation
5. Include Calls to Engagement

Real-time search is much more than just Google. There are an increasing number of players in this space, and with the rise in smartphone usage, mobile apps are giving consumers a lot of choices in how to obtain their information.

Social Search

Another great benefit of using social media means you get to show up in your friends/followers personalized social search results for numerous queries on Google. Newsy topics are frequently the ones that trend, and that means lots of people searching. If something big happens, there’s a chance that some of your social network contacts will search for something related to that, and if you have something to say about it, there’s a good chance they’ll see it in their results.

Of course people search with the social networks themselves as well. Facebook search queries were on the rise last time I checked.

Google News

Last September, we ran down a number of Google News SEO tips here. Google shared some tips of their own on the subject as well:

Optimizing for news search means more shots at showing up in search results period. Do you have other ideas about getting in front of news seekers? Share here.

Getting press coverage can mean a great deal for gaining traffic and overall exposure for your business. That said, there are also ways to take some initiative yourself in getting some exposure from news search.

News Search Optimization

As Lisa Buyer of the Buyer Group talked about with WebProNews at SES last week, news search optimization is getting more powerful with social media and real-time search. Add these to older tactics like blogs and press releases, and there have never been more opportunities to get news-related content discovered.

Press Releases

Press releases can still be a great way to spread the word about any announcements your business might have. They can also drive traffic, particularly from search engines.

Back in the summer, PRWeb shared a case study with us, involving a firm that typically sees a boost in search engine rankings and a 50% spike in web traffic after they issue a release. In fact, for one release in particular, the firm saw a spike of 400% on two different Web sites, and the firm doesn’t believe they were from the same users. They also incorporate social media tools like Twitter to extend the "shelf life" of press releases, and say that drives additional traffic.

"When we included a link to our press releases on Twitter and other social media networks, we saw these both expanded the scope of distribution and the extended the longevity of the announcement," the CEO of the company behind the case study had said.  "With other news releases we saw an initial spike in Web site traffic on the first two days and then it dropped off.  With these features we’ve seen increases in traffic up to five days after the news release was issued."

Remember, Google News indexes press releases as well.

Real-Time Search

You’re probably already using social media in some capacity at this point. Real-time search presents an added benefit to talking about timely topics using channels that you are already using (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, blogs, etc.). That doesn’t mean spam. Spamming won’t get you very far here anyway, because Google is pretty good at filtering this. We went over a few basic tips for real-time search optimization a while back. The recap is below, but you can find them elaborated on here.

1. Use keywords
2. Talk about timely events
3. Have a lot of followers (who can share your content)
4. Promote Conversation
5. Include Calls to Engagement

Real-time search is much more than just Google. There are an increasing number of players in this space, and with the rise in smartphone usage, mobile apps are giving consumers a lot of choices in how to obtain their information.

Social Search

Another great benefit of using social media means you get to show up in your friends/followers personalized social search results for numerous queries on Google. Newsy topics are frequently the ones that trend, and that means lots of people searching. If something big happens, there’s a chance that some of your social network contacts will search for something related to that, and if you have something to say about it, there’s a good chance they’ll see it in their results.

Of course people search with the social networks themselves as well. Facebook search queries were on the rise last time I checked.

Google News

Last September, we ran down a number of Google News SEO tips here. Google shared some tips of their own on the subject as well:

Optimizing for news search means more shots at showing up in search results period. Do you have other ideas about getting in front of news seekers? Share here.

A study by Burson-Marsteller finds that 79 percent of the largest 100 companies in the Fortune Global 500 index are using social media tools.

At first glance, this may seem significant. But a closer look shows that Fortune 100 companies are showing interest but nothing to prove that social media tools are gaining significant corporate acceptance. Here’s a copy of the full report and an accompanying power point presentation.

But it is early in the game and these are results show that social media tools are making credible gains.

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The services of choice? No surprise: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blog platforms.
Twitter is number one, followed by Facebook, YouTube and corporate blogs.

The study found that 65 percent of the largest 100 international companies have active accounts on Twitter, 54 percent have a Facebook fan page, 50 percent have a YouTube channel, and one-third (33 percent) have corporate blogs. Only 20 percent of the major international companies are utilizing all four platforms to engage with stakeholders.

The fact that the Fortune 100 do not leverage multiple tools is a sign of how consumer-based social media tools are not fully understood or leveraged for maximum benefit. It’s also evident of just how much of an opportunity big companies have in using the social Web if they use it to its full extent. Companies that extend to multiple media networks still have a chance to get ahead of competitors.

The frequency of posts illustrates that companies are posting but not nearly as often as they could.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the findings for Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and corporate blogs:

Twitter

The report says that Deutsche Telekom uses Twitter for announcements while Volkswagen uses it to RT and Home Depot for customer service. Conclusion? Fortune 100 companies are still searching for the best way to use Twitter. But just posting announcements seems pretty sterile.

From the white paper:

“Leaders of the pack on the Fortune Global 100 are Sony’s SonyPlayStation with well over 115,000 followers and SonyPictures who is followed by almost 50,000 people and following over 6,000 Twitterers themselves.”

Burson-Marsteller also states that Fortune 100 companies are supporting multiple accounts. This is perhaps most encouraging: customer engagement is beginning to be more widespread across product groups.

Facebook

Facebook shows some of the most promise. Most of the Fortune 100 companies have tens of thousands of users.

Perhaps the strongest sing of acceptance is in the number of corporate product groups that use Facebook. Companies like Sony have multiple fan pages.

YouTube

YouTube is used mostly by U.S. companies. Entertainment, electronics and auto companies are the most likely to have YouTube channels. Viewership shows promise. Consumers want to see product videos. Connecting YouTube with Twitter, Facebook and a blog can make for a potent combination if all are updated on a regular basis.

Blogs

Fifty-percent of the Fortune 100 companies from the Asia Pacific have blogs. Burson-Marsteller says Asian companies prefer blogging due to the control they can have over the conversation.

“Only 11% of active U.S. company blogs had posts in the past three months as compared to 83% of European blogs and 77% of Asia-Pacific blogs. The U.S. blogs also had fewer blog posts.”

The results show the increasing popularity of the real-time web and its use across the enterprise. But is it smart not to update a blog? We wonder what company fares better. The one that is active on its Twitter account and its blogs or the one that has an active Twitter account but infrequently updates its blog?

Conclusion

Corporate America is using the social Web. It’s apparent that companies have waded a bit deeper into the water but the opportunities are clear. The companies that embrace multiple mediums and keep up with a consistent volume of updates will be the big winners, no matter if they are a Fortune 100 or a Fortune 1,000 company.

Discuss

Last week, Google launched the much talked about Google Buzz, its new social media product that ties into users’ Gmail accounts (among other things). Privacy issues have been widely discussed (and addressed accordingly by Google), but Security firm Websense tells us that spammers are already exploiting the service as well.

"With all the buzz last week about Google Buzz, we were just waiting for malicious activity to show up on the newly launched service," a Websense representative told WebProNews. "We didn’t quite expect it to happen this fast. Last Friday we saw the first spam using Google Buzz to spread a message about smoking."

"The spammer was already following 237 people, and we can only imagine that he or she has sent similar messages to all of them," she added. "This particular message leads to a site hosted on a free Web hosting service talking about how to quit smoking."

It goes to show that spammers waste no time in exploiting new opportunities, and something as big as a Google social network is sure to have a great deal of potential victims.

"When Twitter was launched, it took a while before it was used to send spam and other malicious messages," the representative said. "In this case, it only took two days. It’s clear that the bad guys have learned from their experience using social networks to distribute these type of messages. We hope that Google is geared up for dealing with the volume of spam it’s bound to see on the new service. Until then, we advise users to be careful, as usual, when clicking on unknown links."

Carl Leonard, Security Research Manager EMEA, Websense says, "It’s worrying that spammers have an improved knowledge of social networks these days that allows them to hit new services like Google Buzz so rapidly. Users want to communicate through multiple channels and use social media tools as part of their everyday lives including at work, but it’s important they are savvy to potential threats."

We’ve contacted Google about its efforts for combating Google Buzz spam. We don’t know how widespread a problem this is. I haven’t noticed any spam in my own Buzz account yet, and its hard to say how common it is. I would say, however, that the best precaution you can probably take is to only follow people you trust. We’ll update this post when we hear back from Google on the subject.

Google uses Buzz in its own real-time search results, which will show up in SERPs for many newsy or "buzzy" (if you will) queries, but Google is generally pretty good at keeping spam in its search results to a minimum. When Google’s real-time search first launched, the spam quickly followed, but I can’t say I’ve seen much in the way of spam showing up here anytime recently. As I write this, I’m watching the " Mardi Gras " results roll in, and I’m not seeing anything that doesn’t appear legitimate (spammers are often quick to exploit events).

Have you witnessed any Google Buzz spam? Comment here.

Social media maven and “average Joe” wine connoisseur Gary Vaynerchuk is the author of “Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion“, a step-by-step how-to guide for taking advantage of the Internet and social networking to create a powerful and influential personal brand. While any web savvy entrepreneur knows the importance of social media, this book is great for those looking for a crash course and an insider’s view into what it takes to create a thriving business from a personal passion.

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Vaynerchuk turned his father’s discount liquor store into Wine Library, a multi-million dollar online wine store, thanks in no small part to the popular Wine Library TV video podcast, just one of the various social media tools he outlines in his book. Fans of Vaynerchuk’s podcast will feel his enthusiastic and energetically friendly personality they know and love emanating from the pages of this no-frills, straightforward, slap-in-the-face social media wake-up call.

“Everyone knows the Internet represents one of the biggest cultural shifts since the printing press,” Vaynerchuk says. “But I think society has been slow to recognize that it represents the biggest shift in history in how we do business.”

From discovering your true passion, to setting up a Wordpress blog, or from creating a Facebook Fan Page and to engaging with your audience on Twitter, Vaynerchuk covers all of his bases for social media. Most importantly, Vaynerchuk keeps it honest, managing to dispense his advice without coming across like a used car salesman or a cheap, “you can do it!” self-help author.

“Crush It!” is an intriguing inside look at Vaynerchuk’s practices and a quick entertaining read at just 160 dense pages. The audio version comes in at just over 3 hours and 40 minutes and is narrated by the author with his usual “pumped up” enthusiasm. The audiobook may be a better choice not just because Vaynerchuk reads it himself, but in the true nature of openness and transparency, he veers off his script dozens of times to add insightful asides and updates to the written text. It wouldn’t be surprising if Vaynerchuk read the book straight through in one take.

Photo by Flickr user Adam Tinworth.

Discuss

Check out the events on tap in this week’s events guide. You can download the entire event calendar in iCal format or import it into your Google Calendar. You can also import individual events using the link beside each entry. This events guide is a weekly feature here on ReadWriteWeb. We publish it every weekend, as good a time as any to review your conference plans.

Know of an event taking place that should appear here? Let us know in the comments below or contact us.

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26 October 2009: London

Media140 London

The need for brand transparency is here. Engage your consumers and share best practices and case studies of social media engagement at Media140. With award-winning speakers from AKQA, Unilever, easyJet, BBH Labs and Innocent Drinks, we explore together what works and how to do it in this burgeoning sector of marketing strategy.

The real-time Web is revolutionizing communication with consumers. By pushing products and services as soon as they become available to market and monitoring direct instant feedback on your promotions you can become head of the game.

Social media tools like Twitter, Flickr and Facebook are disrupting and changing traditional media and advertising. Media140 strives to understand and progress the potential of disruptive real-time social media. Share with us at info@media140.com or @media140.

Go to www.media140.com/brands and use discount code “readwrite” for a £95 ticket.

27 October 2009: San Francisco

FailCon

FailCon is the first of its kind and will be one of the most relevent events ever designed for entrepreneurs and startups! We’re bringing major founders and investors in the online world to talk about mistakes they’ve made, failures they’ve experienced, what they learned and how they recovered. Topics will include founding team communication, design mishaps, investment mistakes, how not to build a viral app and much more! These talks will leave you inspired and excited to be an entrepreneur today and get you prepared for what lies ahead. More information is at snapsummit.com, and get 15% off your ticket by clicking here.

28 – 30 October 2009: Amsterdam

eComm Fall

The Emerging Communications Conference & Awards is the world’s leading-edge event, spanning telecom, mobile and Internet-based communications. It’s designed to showcase and accelerate both technology and business model innovation.

There is not a migratory way for telecom operators and media outlets to the future; emergent social practice is increasingly clashing with their very structure and desires. This means unprecedented opportunity for those ahead of the curve. The emerging transformations require big thoughts and big bets. eComm the venue for those thoughts and bets to be shared and heard.

ReadWriteWeb readers save 10% off general admission by using the discount code “READWRITEWEB.”

29 – 30 October 2009: San Francisco, California

Virtual Goods Summit

The virtual goods market has exploded as developers and publishers dive into this new opportunity. The third annual Virtual Goods Summit in October 2009 will bring together thought leaders in this space from Asia, Europe, and the US to talk about what’s changed and what’s working and the key challenges facing the industry. If you’re active in virtual goods — or thinking of jumping in — the Virtual Goods Summit is a must-attend event.

New for 2009 is VGS University, a half-day seminar designed to provide a comprehensive overview of how to succeed with virtual goods. Hear from experts on topics such as why virtual goods are effective and the ins and outs of managing a virtual economy. Whether you’re new to virtual goods or seeking insights and lessons from the leaders, we encourage you to join us for the day and learn from some of our industry’s leading-edge thinkers.

ReadWriteWeb readers save 15% off general admission by registering here using the discount code “READWRITEWEB.”

2 – 5 November 2009: San Francisco

Enterprise 2.0 Conference

The Enterprise 2.0 Conference is the largest gathering for people ready to connect teams and harness collective intelligence with social tools and 2.0 technologies. Enterprise 2.0 includes visionary keynotes, informative sessions, case studies and an Expo Pavilion featuring the latest technologies. Register today and save 20% (code: CNGXES07) or get a free Pavilion Pass (code: CNGXES01).

4 – 5 November 2009: Raleigh, North Carolina

Internet Summit 2009

Internet Summit ‘09 will feature over 75 speakers, including representatives of major Internet brands such as Twitter, Pandora, Google, Salesforce.com, Digg, Technorati, CBS Interactive, Huffington Post, Blogger, Tree.com, and many more.

Topics will include social media, blogging, real time, mobile, video, search, online advertising, e-commerce, analytics, the cloud, and more.

Join over 1200 entrepreneurs, senior marketers, and executives in the conversation about the future of the industry and how to capitalize on the shifting dynamics of the Internet and tap into its unlimited business potential.

5 – 6 November 2009: Sydney

Media140 Sydney: Future of Journalism in the Social Media age

News broadcasting is evolving. Citizen journalists are coming to the fore, saving lives by tracking brush fires and changing the course of history at elections.

Media140 Sydney addresses the changing face of journalism. Partnered by ABC, we bring together Australia’s leading lights in journalism, broadcasting, blogging and citizen journalism. Are Twitter and the real-time Web truly shaking up traditional media?

Tickets from $165. Register at www.media140.com/sydney using promo code “readwrite” for a 20% discount.

6 – 8 November 2009: Savannah, Georgia

Geekend 2009

Geekend 2009 is an interactive conference that brings together geeks from all walks of life for three days of cutting edge speakers, expert panels, afterparties, networking and mash-up opportunities. Speaker highlights include Major Nelson of Xbox Live, renowned designer David Carson, Eric Snowden of Atlantic Records, Joey Hasty of Disney, and Matias Corea of Behance, among many others. Get your geek on and enter “RWW” for $30 off the full price weekend badge.

9 – 10 November 2009: Santa Clara, California

Social Networking World Forum — California

This event taking place at the Santa Clara Convention Center actually consists of three conferences: two days dedicated to social networking, one day dedicated to enterprise social media, and one day dedicated to social TV. Key speakers include social networking publishers, advertising agencies, industry analysts, software developers and equipment manufacturers, pay-TV and network service providers, mobile operators, and more.

• Joint exhibition combining social networking and enterprise social media formats
• Pre-show online meeting planner for delegates
• Discount for early booking (expires September 25th)
• Free pass for exhibition only

10 – 13 November 2009: Las Vegas

PubCon Vegas

PubCon Las Vegas is a multi-track educational conference hosted by SearchEngineWorld & WebmasterWorld. PubCon events are for thought leaders and professionals in search engine and Internet marketing to gather and to share best practices in the design, development, promotion and marketing of their Internet businesses and brands. PubCon London 2009 is a social networking event.

11 – 12 November 2009: Denver, Colorado

Defrag 2009 Conference

As online data is growing and fragmenting at an exponential pace, individuals, groups and organizations are struggling to discover, assemble, organize, act on and gather feedback from that data. In the largest sense, we’re all looking to augment the pace at which we achieve insights on raw data — to accelerate the “A-ha” moment.

Defrag explores the intersection of topics like:

• Business intelligence
• Business process management
• Social computing and analytics
• Next-level discovery
• Enterprise 2.0
• Next-gen email
• The semantic Web

18 – 19 November 2009: San Francisco

GreenBeat 2009

VentureBeat, the leading innovation-focused business blog, will host the seminal conference on The Smart Grid, November 18-19 in San Francisco. GreenBeat 2009 brings together the nation’s 500 leading entrepreneurs, investors, utility and technology executives, policymakers and press to affect accelerated development of a leaner, more efficient electrical grid. With participation by Al Gore, former Vice President and Nobel Prize Winner; John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins; and industry leaders, including from Cisco, Tendril, PG&E, expect lively discussion and power networking. The program will highlight new technologies and explore the opportunities afforded by the stimulus package. For more, visit www.greenbeat2009.com.

ReadWriteWeb readers, save 20% on regular price tickets with discount code GREENRWW09 here.

19 November 2009: Mountain View, California

Under the Radar

Featuring the most cutting-edge mobile startups from around the globe, Under the Radar will get you dialed in to what the 2010 mobile innovation marketplace will look like. It’s a must-attend event for dealmakers from global carriers, brands, media companies, and handset manufacturers responsible for helping their companies leverage new mobile technology and innovation in the fast-evolving digital landscape.

Save $200: book by 2 October 2009, and get the early-bird rate.

30 November 2009

New Way to Work

Do you have a great story about your work environment? Job marketplace Elance and Vator.tv have partnered to host the “New Way to Work” competition, with a grand prize of $10,000 in cash or health insurance for the most compelling story. You can tell your story on Vator.tv, the premier platform for entrepreneurs to broadcast their voice, by uploading a video, posting an update, linking to a blog entry, or sharing a photo. Hurry, the competition ends on 30 November 2009.

1 – 3 December 2009: London, England

Online Information & IMS 2009

Online Information and IMS together create the largest event dedicated to the information industry. Consisting of an exhibition delivering over 9,000 visitors from 70 countries, a conference and a show-floor seminar program, the event provides an annual meeting place for the global information industry.

Online Information is once again set to play host to thousands of information professionals, information end-users and publishers from around the globe, meeting suppliers of online content, e-publishing, and library management solutions. IMS provides a forum for IT, business, and information management professionals to find unlimited, relevant advice, educational content and compare solutions under one roof. Attend IMS and meet suppliers of content management, search solutions, and Web 2.0 technologies.

1 – 3 December 2009: Boston, Massachusetts

Gilbane Conference Boston

Join us at the sixth annual “Gilbane Conference Boston: Content, Collaboration and Customers.”

Your content is your business, and you need to make your Web content part of an integrated platform for
customers. You need to know solutions and technologies that are ready to be implemented today. Gilbane Conference Boston is built around the four major areas of how enterprises use Web and content technologies:

• Web business and engagement;
• Managing collaboration and social media: internal and external;
• Enterprise content: searching, integrating and publishing;
• Content infrastructure.

Visit www.gilbaneboston.com for conference details. ReadWriteWeb readers, use the discount code “GILBANE” to save an additional $200. Register today!

1 – 3 December 2009: San Francisco

Supernova

The Supernova Conference is the thought-leadership forum for the network age. It brings together over 500 business, government and technology influencers to understand how decentralization and pervasive connectivity are changing our world. It’s the only conference to focus on how networks have become the main instruments of change from both business and social perspectives.

An ever-evolving network itself, the conference has become the place for highly interactive and spirited debates, making significant business connections and revelations on new innovation.

ReadWriteWeb readers get a discount of $700 off the regular price when registering by 16 October 2009. Use code “RRW09″. After October 16th, the discount changes to $200 off the regular price. Register here.

7 December 2009: San Francisco

SF MusicTech Summit

The SF MusicTech Summit brings together 600+ visionaries in the music/technology space, along with the best and brightest developers, entrepreneurs, investors, service providers, journalists, musicians and organizations who work with them at the convergence of culture and commerce. We meet to discuss the evolving music/business/technology eco-system in a proactive environment, highly conducive to deal making. Register with a great ReadWriteWeb 15% discount.

7 – 11 December 2009: Chicago, Illinois

Search Engine Strategies 2009

From social media to local search to video SEO, Search Engine Strategies Chicago puts you in front of the experts who will help you sort which technologies and channel will take you to the next level and which are just hype.

Search Engine Strategies is the pioneer of educational conference series in search engine marketing. It’s the venue where the industry visionaries and thought leaders gather each year to discuss the newest trends, share insights and present the strategic action plans you need to grow your business. Sessions include:

• SEO Through Blogs and Feeds
• Duplicate Content and Multiple Site Issues
• What’s the Link Between Search and Social?
• Online PR: Where to Next?
• Search Analytics

See more at www.SearchEngineStrategies.com/chicago. ReadWriteWeb readers receive a 15% discount when registering here using RWW15 code.

27 – 28 January 2010: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Enterprise Social 2.0: Rip or ROI?

This senior executive event will bring together decision makers from the Top Fortune companies to discuss innovative strategies on how to maximise business performance through social media engagement. The event will include keynote speeches, best-practice presentations as well as interactive discussion sessions.

The summit will provide excellent opportunities for you to hear international experts discuss best practices on how to drive business performance using Web 2.0 and social media. Key issues to be discussed include:

• How to integrate social media programs successfully into business strategies?
• Building business momentum, visibility and market growth through social media
• Measuring success and influence using metrics and analytics: what are the tools and techniques
• Integrating viral marketing and social media into traditional marketing mix
• Developing and activating audiences using social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs

15 – 16 March 2010: London, England

2nd Annual Social Networking World Forum — London

The 2nd Annual Social Networking World Forum takes place at the Olympia Conference Centre in London. The two-day event features four dedicated conference streams:

1. Social Networking World Forum
2. Enterprise social media
3. Social TV World Forum
4. Mobile Social Networking Forum

The event features key speakers from global brands, organizations, social networking publishers and developers, pioneering social media leaders, top agencies, content producers, and more.

• Full workshop program within exhibition area
• Evening networking reception
• Pre-show online meeting planner for delegates
• Free pass for exhibition only

Download this entire events calendar in iCal format.

Discuss

This past weekend, public media enthusiasts, developers, and staffers from around the country met in Washington, D.C. for the first Public Media Camp. I was there on behalf of the Public Radio Exchange (PRX.org), where I produce EconomyStory.org, one of several new projects that fits neatly into public media’s latest forays online.

While I’m willing to admit here that I went to yearbook camp and computer camp as a kid, this one might take the cake as far as camps that don’t include S’mores and Kumbaya go.

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“Both NPR and PBS have very loyal and talented fans who are interested in new ways to be involved in our work,” Andy Carvin, senior strategist at NPR’s social media desk told us, “and the Internet is making it easier than ever for new types of collaboration to take place, from citizen journalism initiatives to volunteers developing iPhone apps for stations.”

The organizers hope this was the start of a series of “unconferences” for public media outlets around the country, funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Public Media Camp is the latest in a slew of events and projects pushing the public media agenda forward on the Web.

Recently, NPR gathered its executives, including CEO Vivian Schiller, in San Francisco to meet with Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs and funders. The Columbia Journalism Review reported on the conference, called NPR Digital Think In. And the ongoing Engage project at PBS, funded by the Knight Foundation, is creating social media tools for PBS stations and producers, such as a chat series with PBS personalities and a map showcasing projects at stations around the country.

“In many communities, public broadcasters are among the few news outlets that are weathering the financial crisis intact. As more news outlets close due to economic pressures, our public service mission is going to be more important than ever, creating a powerful opportunity to provide accountability journalism at both the local and national level,” Carvin says.

Having been a part of many of these projects, I’m excited to see the changes that have happened in the public media sphere online, from the This American Life/Planet Money collaboration taking on a life of its own, to CPB 2008’s collection of election projects like Video Your Vote and Twitter VoteReport.

Some of the most exciting projects happening in public media include:

Local Aggregation Sites

The Economy Project at the University of Missouri and Public Media Texas are two new local public media sites that are aggregating stories using blogging software and encouraging public participation in the news conversation at the local level. WBUR’s Commonhealth blog covers health care issues in Massachusetts by tapping doctors, lawmakers and citizens to help report. And WNYC’s Brian Lehrer show is crowdsourcing “Uncommon Economic Indicators” – from the price of pizza to for-rent signs.

Economy Coverage

Covering the economy is a major focus of public media this year. Station and producer projects are drawing a line between local and national coverage in new ways. EconomyStory.org aims to collect these stories and feature exciting new projects from around the country, and EconomyBeat.org features user-generated content about the economy.

PBS NewsHour’s Patchwork Nation map incorporates statistics and stories from 12 types of communities around the country and compares how they are coping with various economic issues.

Facing the Mortgage Crisis asks users to share their experiences in dealing with foreclosure and other recent real-estate woes, as well as provides community resources to help cope. A variety of public stations nationwide are involved in this project at a local level.

NPR’s Social Media Guidelines for Reporters

This list, released last week, includes concerns about expressing political views online and how reporters should present themselves on Twitter and Facebook. It’s a great starting point for other organizations concerned about similar issues. Carvin says that while NPR reporters are using online tools more and more, it still can be a challenge.

“The one thing I never do is show up and insist that they use a particular tool simply because lots of other people are using it,” he says. “People are often resistant to learning new tools simply because they don’t seem relevant to them, so you need to figure out with them what may or may not be relevant.”

Guest author: Laura Hertzfeld is a freelance journalist based in Los Angeles. She has worked in public media in several capacities, including her current role as managing editor of EconomyStory.org, a Public Radio Exchange (PRX.org) project aggregating public media coverage of the economy. She previously produced PBS.org’s coverage of the 2008 presidential election.

Discuss

Press releases are a form of online marketing that we don’t discuss very often. They don’t have the new and exciting appeal of social media or even search engine marketing, but they’ve been around a lot longer and are still working. In fact, they can play right into those other forms.

"Search engine rankings are arguably the most important small business marketing tool available today because it drives Web traffic — and potential prospects — to a small business’ Web site," a PRWeb spokesperson tells WebProNews. "However, because improving search rankings is desirable, achieving results can be both challenging and highly competitive."

PRWeb shared a case study with us, involving a firm that typically sees a boost in search engine rankings and a 50% spike in web traffic after they issue a release. In fact, for one release in particular, the firm saw a spike of 400% on two different Web sites, and the firm doesn’t believe they were from the same users. They also incorporate social media tools like Twitter to extend the "shelf life" of press releases, and say that drives additional traffic.

"If you want a release to rank highly in search engines you have to use key words and link those to your Web site," says Peter Figueredo, CEO of NETexponent, the subject of the case study.  "In addition, you need to put them in the release a few of times, for example in the headline, the sub-headline and again in the body. This is different from a traditional news release with a catchy headline where you may not have your key words included." 

"When we included a link to our press releases on Twitter and other social media networks, we saw these both expanded the scope of distribution and the extended the longevity of the announcement," adds Figueredo.  "With other news releases we saw an initial spike in Web site traffic on the first two days and then it dropped off.  With these features we’ve seen increases in traffic up to five days after the news release was issued."

Some have suggested that Twitter could actually replace the press release. I wouldn’t go that far, but it provides a complimentary service for announcing news quickly. The press release just has much broader potential. That hasn’t stopped at least one company from offering a service that provides one line "Twitter-style" press releases.

When we think of press releases, we often think of distribution, which is a huge part of it definitely. But when using a newswire service like PRWeb, BusinessWire, PRNewswire, etc., don’t forget about your own website as well. Earlier this year I discussed how some companies’ own press centers are holding back some marketing opportunities for them.

Your site should have a section for press releases, and that should be up to date with the latest release when it goes out. You’d be surprised at how often these go without being updated even when a press release has been spotted elsewhere. It is also a good idea to link to any company blogs, Twitter accounts, or any other place where company announcements are made.

Another thing I notice is that many company press pages also do not have RSS feeds set up. Some offer different kinds of press alerts, but otherwise, they are relying on people to frequently check back to see what is happening. Google does this well. They announce a lot of their news via their wide range of blogs (which is a great strategy in itself), and while their press release section doesn’t get nearly as many updates, they offer a feed so that users know when it has been updated. They also provide links to other press-related resources where their latest info can be obtained.

The bottom line is that press releases inform interested parties of what is going on with your business. Despite their name, they’re not just about the press anymore. The web has made them available to anyone. Social media is an extension of this, and opens up the opportunity for sharing. Search engine rankings of course bring releases right to searchers. Make your releases good.

Do you get good boosts in traffic from press releases? Tell us about it.

More employers are turning to social media tools in an effort to deal with reduced communication budgets and to keep their workforce engaged, according to new survey out today.

In its "Employee Engagement Survey," the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) partnered with Buck Consultants, to examine how organizations are communicating with employees to keep them engaged and productive.

Robin McCaseland

"Communicating for optimal employee engagement is always a timely topic, but even more so during challenging economic times," said Robin McCasland, a director in Buck Consultants’ communication practice and 2009-2010 chair of IABC Research Foundation.

"Our results represent opportunities for communicators to have greater influence in delivering messages that encourage employees to remain productive, and to understand how their work contributes toward achieving business priorities."

More than three-quarters (79%) of respondents said they use social media frequently to engage employees and foster productivity, outranking even email (75%). Company blogs are the most popular social media tool currently in use (47%), with discussion boards ranking as the highest for future planned use.

"It’s encouraging to see the rising popularity of social media in employee communication," said Julie Freeman, ABC, APR, president of IABC. "Companies are moving away from the one-way communication model where they would send out information hoping people would read it."

"Using the various social media tools, companies can now engage employees in discussions and foster conversations between teams across geographic and other boundaries."

Current use of social networking sites such as Twitter (21%), Yammer (20%), and Facebook (18%) is significant, but organizations are planning to use those tools even more in the future.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is calling for an online campaign to help with the release of two American women journalists being held in North Korea.

Clinton made the remarks at a graduation ceremony at Barnard College, a women’s university in New York City.

"We have two young women journalists right now imprisoned in North Korea and you can get busy on the Internet and let the North Koreans know that we find that absolutely unacceptable," Clinton told the graduation ceremony.

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Clinton was speaking about using social media tools to raise awareness and fight injustices.

North Korea announced last week that it had set a June 4 trial for the two journalists, Euna Lee, a Korean-American, and Laura Ling, a Chinese American, but did not offer information about the charges against them.

In her address Clinton cited other examples of college students using social media as a political tool.

"You can unite your friends through Facebook to fight human trafficking or child marriage, like the two recent college graduates in Colombia – the country – who organized 14 million people into the largest anti-terrorism demonstration in history, doing as much damage to the FARC terrorist network in a few weeks than had been done in years of military action."

"And you can organize through Twitter, like the undergraduates at Northwestern who launched a global fast to bring attention to Iran’s imprisonment of an American journalist."

"These new tools are available for everyone. They are democratizing diplomacy."