What I'd change about Twitter (and some other social media channels!)

Using social media for work and play, there are a few things about certain channels that are starting to get on my nerves. If I ruled the internet, there are a few usability and feature changes I'd make to some of the main social media contenders to make my life that little bit easier... 

Twitter

• Instead of having to go through a third party site like bit.ly, I'd LOVE it if Twitter had an option to automatically shorten URLs within the desktop site & mobile. It just makes sense!

• It would also be useful to have the ability to 'quote tweet' from the Twitter mobile app - I can't think why this feature is only on desktop? Sometimes you want to explain why you're RT'ing something. (Since writing this post and updating my twitter app you can now do this - someone must have been listening ;) )

• It would be great if the new ability to upload multiple photos was also available on the desktop version of Twitter - it seems to be only on mobile right now. The other day I found myself taking photos on my phone, emailing myself them to edit on Photoshop, then emailing myself them back to download them again and then upload them to Twitter with my phone - ahh!

• In the twitter ads platform it would be really useful if you could have an 'enter now' call to action with a webcard - makes much more sense for running competitions! 

Instagram

• It's kind of annoying that your 'Following' feed doesn't have a scroll or 'more' functionality so you can look through more of your friends' activity. (maybe I'm just nosey)

• The BIG one. Please Instagram, can we have hyperlinks in image descriptions yet? Pretty please with a cherry on top! (it would also be nice if there was an automatic link shortener - see above)

Linkedin

• When you accept someone as a new connection their little profile picture pops up for a second...then disappears! Of course you want to have a nosey at the employment history of this mysterious new connection. Instead of having to go and then (try and remember) their name and search for it, it would be great if you just had a simple 'view their profile' option after connecting with someone. 

Facebook

• Whadda'ya know - I can't think of anything I'd change about Facebook right now as a user. As a page manager that's a different story and a whole other blog post. 

What about you, do you have any social media 'bug bears'? Comment below! (...and let the revolution commence!)

Thanks, Melissa.

A look at the #WorldCup on Twitter so far!

It's here everybody. Last night the FIFA World Cup kicked off and for the next month we'll have football matches on the telly almost (thank goodness!) every day.

I'll put my hands up and admit that I'm really not that interested in football at all...like, not even a little bit. That being said, working at Glasgow 2014 has piqued my interest in how the biggest football event of the year uses social media, with a particular focus on Twitter, to engage and communicate with their fans.

Last night, the first match of the tournament #BRAvCRO, or Brazil vs Croatia to you and I generated over 12.2million tweets during the match. With 3,336 tweets per minute using the hashtag synonymous with the competition, #WorldCup. The tweets came from all over the world with more than 150 countries joining in the conversation. Check out this cool heat-map which visualises the conversation, and shows the huge influx in activity when a goal was scored. 


As we know, people love to share photos via social media - and that was no different last night. Twitter have pulled together an interactive gallery of some of the most shared photos posted during the match, with the top two coming from the Official @FIFAWorldCup account. The most mentioned player of the match was Brazil's top goal scorer @NeymarJ who consequently gained over 165,000 new followers on the day of the match. (10x the amount of followers he gains a day on average)

Look what happened to @neymarjr’s followers after his #BrazilvsCroatia performance https://t.co/YybPLg6pzg pic.twitter.com/891lw3SfYT
— Twitter Data (@TwitterData) June 13, 2014

Taking a look at the official @FIFAWorldCup twitter account we can see that they have 1.47 million followers. Interestingly, the account has been branded as the 'FIFA World Cup' organisation, rather than the individual event IE twitter.com/Brazil2014. This means that in four year's time when the next world cup rolls around they can just 're-brand' the channel and will have a solid follower-base of 2 million +....give or take a few hundred thousand. 

Another thing I find really interesting, and quite surprising is that the channel doesn't seem to offer any customer service facility - from looking at its 'tweets and replies' feed there aren't any direct @mentions to fans which would indicate them answering questions. With so many people using social media to voice their opinions/make enquiries I wonder if they are missing a trick here. On the other hand they may have made a conscious decision to make the channel purely about pushing out the best/most relevant content - and leave the questions about parking spaces to some poor guy on the end of a phone. 

In terms of content so far they seem to be covering a nice range of different types of material. They are giving fans exclusive insights by showing behind-the-scenes content like the players' dressing room and a shot of the stadium before the Opening Ceremony started. They are also sharing the most up-to-date information like team line ups, and live tweeting throughout matches. Not forgetting to engage with the fans, they're also asking a lot of engaging questions - and RT'ing some of the best answers, which always helps in driving up the replies. The web page they seem to be driving the most traffic to is the match specific Live Blog which is pretty nifty showing a range of content like quotes, facts, stats, weather and photos of people wearing carrots on their head. El dente! I mean....GOOOAAALLLLL!

I'll be looking out for interesting content throughout the rest of the tournament and will be saving my cheers for my sweepstake selection. Go Cameroon!

Thanks for reading, Melissa.

Feel free to share - 
Tweet

The CIA's #FirstTweet makes a splash on Twitter.

I woke up this morning and noticed that twitter was all aflutter with talk of the CIA's surprisingly witty first tweet. The secretive government organisation joined Twitter and Facebook yesterday, with a promise of making #unclassified information more widely available to the public. 

We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet.
— CIA (@CIA) June 6, 2014

In less than 24 hours the tweet has gained 210 RT's and 120K favourites, driving over 383K followers of the new account. Not bad!

I can't say I know too much about the CIA (does anyone?) but I think they've made a smart move in launching the account with more of a 'human' tone of voice, much unlike the @FBI's account which just seems to robotically post out web links. Everyone loves the glamorous idea of secret missions and spies, so the tone they appear to be planning to use definitely further enhances the 'coolness' of the secretive government organisation. I'll certainly be giving the account a follow, and will be sorely disappointed if I don't see some form of extra terrestrial activity.  

Now I'm wondering if MI5 will follow suit in joining the social network, and if they'll use a similar tone of voice to our American cousins...or if the stiff upper lip will remain. 

A parting thought to the hypothetical land of film. 007's #FirstTweet? 

@Bond007: Shaken, not stirred. 


Tweet

Thanks for reading, 
Melissa x

121 with @AshlyLondon!

Hi everyone! The next blogger to be featured on The Creative Frontier is Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle Blogger Ashly Rae! Read on to find out what inspired her to start her blog, and the beauty product she can't live without...


What's your name and where are you from?

Ashly, I am from Aberdeen up north in bonny Scotland.

Why did you want to start a blog?

To be honest I kind of started it by accident, I didn't really know what I was doing and found myself typing away about god knows what and here I am today!!

Where do you get your writing inspiration from?

Other blogs, magazines, shopping, what I have been up to.

What channels do you mainly use to promote your blog?

I love twitter, meeting and chatting to new people. Youtube is fab too.

What's your favourite high street clothing shop and why?

New Look because I find the prices are so great.

What's beauty product could you not live without?

My Arbonne intensive renewal serum, makes my face smoother than smooth.

Do you have any tips for someone looking to start a fashion/beauty/lifestyle blog like yours?

Just go for it. Be prepared to but in a lot of time and effort, it is not easy but in the end it is definitely worth it!!

Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle Blogger
Web: www.ashlylondon.blogspot.com
Twitter: @ashlylondon

If you're a Scottish Blogger who'd like to be featured in the Creative Frontier then just drop me an email at melissa@247-design.co.uk!

121 with Rachael Tordraighen from @capturingbritain

I can't believe that we're into the month of April already - where has the year gone?? This month's interviewee is @capturingbritain co-creator Rachael who talks about her 'phongraphy' habit and why she started blogging...

What's your name and where are you from?
I'm Rachael Tordraighen @rachaeltor @rachaeltor2 on instagram and @rachaeltordraig on twitter and I'm originally from Yorkshire but have lived in the East Neuk of Fife for the past four years. Living near the sea and in a rural location with big skies and fantastic light were part of the reason I took an interest in 'phonography'. This grew to the point where I had a considerable amount of followers on instagram and with that to came the creation of @capturingbritain. The instagram community I co-created and moderate.

Why did you want to start a blog?
I enjoy writing. I do it in my regular job as a researcher but the tone is always very academic. I like sharing ideas and making people think about their actions.  I've always been interested in how people interact in a changing social landscape (My Masters thesis looked at this). That fascination continues to grow so it was obvious that I'd eventually start blogging on people and social networking with the scope that eventually I'll apply my talents to working in social media management.

Where do you get your writing inspiration from?
Conversations I have at random and people watching. People are full of ideas even if they don't realise it. I love people and people watching be that in the real world or even how they interact online - the things they post etc.

What would you say is the biggest misconception about a Community Managers job?
I think people don't realise the amount of time that goes into community management. To me it's like a labour of love. You also get a lot of feedback sometimes negative. You can't please everybody in the way that communities develop even if it's down to the font used on a post but i think it's key to remain my pleasant self. Any feedback is constructive. As @capturingbritain has grown and the interaction along with it I have had to recruit a team of moderators and 'manage' not only the page but them. In all fairness though as I like creativity and individuality there is no real regulation over what people post as long as it's relevant. 

Who is your favourite person to follow on Instagram?
That's a tough one to answer. @jimmybobbins @marcamachofebrel are among favourites - James has amazing BNW pics and Mar is diverse and posts from her phone often with little editing but still producing amazing captures.


Where would be your favourite place to photograph in Scotland?
I'd like to go to the Isles of Lewis and Harris if any one wants to take me :).

Do you have any tips for someone looking to start a blog similar to yours?
If you want to write just do it. Write just for you and if anyone else enjoys what you have to say it's a bonus.

Thanks Rachael!

If you're a Scottish blogger and would like to be featured on The Creative Frontier then drop me an email at melissa@247-design.co.uk 

Thanks, Melissa x

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121 with The Foodie Quine

As part of a new series on my blog I'm going to interview a different Scottish blogger every month to find out a bit about their blog, and their tips for people looking to start out blogging in their industry. I thought this would be a good way to build links with other bloggers in Scotland and to give readers a break from me nattering on! (please get in touch if you'd like to be featured)

*dramatic drumroll*....

The first blogger I'm interviewing is food blogger The Foodie Quine based in Aberdeen!

What's your name and where are you from?
I'm Claire Jessiman aka The Foodie Quine. Originally from The Black Isle and now living in a village to the south of Aberdeen. I've been blogging for almost two years. Married to Foodie Loon and have two bairns. One who is a complete mini foodie and the other is more of a chicken nuggets kinda gal.

What inspired the name of your blog?
My blog is called Foodie Quine because that's exactly what what I am! Foodie - foody, [ˈfu:di] Someone greatly (even excessively) interested in the preparation and consumption of good food.  Epicure, Gastronome, Gourmet, Bon Vivant  
Quine - quean (Scottish Doric dialect ) a young woman, girl or daughter. A female person from Aberdeen/shire

Why did you start food blogging in the first place?
I started blogging because it was suggested by some that I should share my ongoing adventures in food on the interweb. Bet they wish they'd kept their mouths shut now. The blog has brought me some fantastic opportunities and I've met some great people along the way. As a result of it I'm now a Freelance Foodie doing cookery demonstrations, foraging events, food education, community cookery classes, consultancy, radio and more. 

Where do you get your ideas for blog posts?
Food is all around us every day so inspiration is everywhere. I blog about events I attend, dishes I cook, places we visit and dates on the foodie calendar. I'm passionate about promoting the fantastic natural larder we have in Scotland and championing local farmers and producers. Blogger link ups and challenges are also great fun where time allows and I'm happy to undertake product reviews if anyone is nice enough to send me a food parcel.

What food item do you always have in your fridge? 

Cheese. See below...

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life what would it be? 

That's a really tricky one. I'm going to turn it around and nominate the the food that I couldn't live without and that would be Cheese. I'm a huge fan of it. I had an amazing Cake of Cheese for my 40th Birthday Party. Can I have a drink too? Make mine a G&T.

Do you have any tips for people looking to get into the world of food blogging?
Don't go into it for what you think you can get out of it. 
Be yourself. 
Share your passion. 
Find your voice. 
Keep your integrity. 
Stick at it. Even if you think it's only your Mum reading. 

Blog www.foodiequine.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/FoodieQuine
Twitter @foodiequine

Thank you very much to Claire (The Foodie Quine) for taking part and answering my questions. Best of luck with your blog in the future and I must admit I'm very jealous of your Cake of Cheese!

As I said I'm looking for more Scottish bloggers to interview, if you're interested please send me an email! :)

Thanks, Melissa x

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Going viral: what makes people share content via social media?

I've noticed recently that everyone seems to be talking about making content 'go viral', as if there is a magic lever you can pull that will...*poof!* make your content spread like wildfire across the internet. Unfortunately, there isn't a magic formula or 'Viral content for Dummies' book out there (actually is there? must check amazon) and if there was I'm sure Zuckerberg would have tried to buy it for oh let's say, 13 billion by now?

Content goes 'viral' when it is shared in quick succession by a large group of people, then their friends share it, and their friends....and their friends...and their - you get the picture!

Although there isn't a sure fire way to tell which content will be widely shared or not, I've had a think about it and I think there are things that a piece of content should do, or make people feel to allow it to be worthy of a share/RT in their opinion. 


Shock people

Shocking content can be something that surprises them, baffles them or just simply makes them sharply intake breath then let out an "Ohmigoddddddd" "Can you believe this??" "This is crazy!"

Content like this is most likely to be created organically (happen on it's own) but if you can be there to capture moments on video or camera then you're onto a winner. Just like the CCTV camera that caught this bear scoping out unsuspecting Scottish couple Bob & Irene in California...

Make them laugh

From what I've seen, positive content tends to get shared more than negative content online and what better way to make someone feel positive than to make them laugh? Funny content might not be for everyone, depending on what industry you're in - but for the majority of businesses I'd say it's a good idea to let your metaphorical hair down and test the comedy waters*.

* Good writers/content producers essential. You don't want to seem too try-hard and be like the weird uncle at a family party cracking out the obscure jokes that nobody gets. 

Making me chuckle recently is the Cadbury Creme Egg Facebook page...

Activate their FOMO (Fear of missing out)

"Have you seen this???"

Us humanoids are naturally curious and when we hear whisperings of something that's going on in the internet, we're more than likely to seek it out so we can see it/watch it and be able to join in the conversations with everyone else. We'll also then feel inclined to share the content to show that we're part of the gang. 

It also helps if the content is hard to find or even banned. When someone tells you NOT to think of a black cat, what do you think about? And when someone tells you that no matter what, you must NOT look inside the box - what can't you stop thinking about doing? ...and when you hear that something is banned on the internet then by-jolly you're going to find it! 

Admit it...you searched for Scarlett Johansson's banned superbowl ad didn't you? (along with about 13 million other viewers)

Relate to them

My Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds are becoming overrun with the relate-able graphics known as memes. People seem almost unable to control themselves when it comes to sharing these graphics, as they allow them to show that they relate with the content in an 'I agree with that', 'I do that too!' way without having to actually say it. Take this one for example, you're having a crappy day and don't really want to be seen to be moaning about it... just click 'share' show that you concur with the populous in 'Monday hating' without coming across as too negative or a bit of a grumpy guts.

Connect emotionally 

Content that connects emotionally with someone is always going to perform well as it's another way for people to relate to the content. By 'connect emotionally' I mean content that has been produced with a certain mood or feeling in mind that will elicit emotions from people or mirror what they are already feeling which will in turn lead them to engage with, or share the content. On the most basic levels, this could be split into four categories:

Happy - share because the content makes you feel good, laugh, feel positive vibes.
Supportive/Proud - share to show your support for a cause, person or organisation.
Sad - share to raise awareness of a cause, event, show you empathise.  
Angry - share to get reaction, generate conversation, protest.



Give them useful information

Lastly, people will be inclined to share content they feel will be useful to others - such as an interesting article, informative graphic or demonstrative video. If you know your business/industry then this type of content should be one of the most accessible to produce. Work in beauty? produce make-up tutorial videos using your products. Work in DIY? produce an info-graphic on how to tile a bathroom (can you tell I don't do DIY??)

Just think, how can you teach people something new?



I'd love to hear any of your thoughts on why you share content, or if you've found any good examples of viral content you couldn't resist sharing!


Thanks for reading, Melissa x


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