The Mobile Workstyle [Infographic]

Would you say you are more or less productive with the use of a smartphone?

One thing is for sure… it rarely ever leaves my side.  I don’t know about my productivity level, but with a smartphone, I am definitely well-connected (whether this is good or bad is based on perspective, I suppose).  I recently came across this Infographic from Gist (a personal tool for accessing and organizing mobile contacts) that highlights some very interesting statistics about how the mobile phone has shifted our work productivity… for better or worse!

Weekly Social Media Roundup

WordPress

HOW TO: Integrate Google+ Into Your WordPress Site 
When it comes to getting found, Google+ is fast becoming a great asset for bloggers and content producers thanks to its ever-expanding user base and simple sharing tools. This article shows you a few ways to start spreading a little of that Google+ love on your WordPress-powered website.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn Launches Button That Lets You Apply for Jobs 
Making it easier to apply for jobs online, LinkedIn has added an “Apply with LinkedIn” button to its networking site.

Twitter

Twitter Search Gets “New Twitter” Look & Feel 
Along with a new URL, Twitter Search gets a new interface.  See what else is updated, thanks to this article.

Twitter To Add Parental Controls 
Not yet functional, but coming soon: Twitter is adding a way to flag links within tweets as “possibly sensitive.”

Facebook

Facebook iPad App Preview Leaks Out [PICS] 
Facebook users were able to get a sneak peek of the social networking site’s long-rumored iPad app.

Facebook Runs Ads Teaching Users How To Turn Off Facial Recognition 
In an effort to help educate their users rather than frustrate them, Facebook is running ads showing users how to turn the facial recognition feature off — though it is still turned on by default.

Google

Google+ Tips & Tricks: 10 Hints for New Users 
A few handy tips to help you make the most of your Google+ profile.

Tip: Configure Google+ to Limit Who can Huddle (group message) With You 
Huddle is Google+’s group messaging feature that can work with SMS (text messaging) but does not require it, available only on mobile platforms.

New Google Service Improves Web Page Load Speed 
Google’s new Page Speed Service takes many of the optimizations outlined in the company’s Page Speed Online API and applies it to sites automatically.

Google Launches Hotel Search Tool With Room Price Data 
Google has launched Hotel Finder, an experimental search tool, which enables users to define key lodging preferences in hopes of finding the perfect hotel for their travel needs.

Marketing

Captain America: The First Avenger Targets Social Media Success 
Since the movie is based on a comic book, it makes sense that much of the social media campaign around Captain America is targeted at comic book lovers. This article showcases some of the bigger initiatives.

Buying Books On Apple Devices Has Changed 
All of the major eReader apps, along with other apps that sell items, have been changed to remove the ability to buy the items within the app.

Domino’s Pizza Runs Unfiltered Customer Comments on Times Square Billboard 
Some call it brave… some call it crazy. Domino’s is running an electronic ticker in Times Square displaying real-time customer opinions of the brand.

Wal-Mart Putting Vudu to Work Streaming Movies
Wal-Mart purchased the video-streaming platform Vudu last year and is planning to put it to work streaming movies on WalMart.com.

2012 Olympics Launches New Event: Competitive Tweeting 
The website for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games just got a bit more rowdy… it now features an interactive contest designed to discover which country has the biggest online fan base… through tweeting.

Rdio To Let Your Entire Family Share One Music Subscription Account 
Responding to customer demand, Rdio will soon be rolling out a new subscription plan called “Unlimited Family,” which will allow your entire family to share one account at a discounted rate.

 

Twitter: Promoted Tweets

The Twitter “Promoted Tweets” in your timeline is not as scary as it may initially seem.

Yesterday, Twitter released an announcement that they are pushing promoted tweets through your timeline.  If that’s all you read in each of the news stories from yesterday and today, then you have most likely prematurely “freaked out.” When people are comfortable with something, they most often don’t want to see it change… and adding more clutter to the Twitter timeline seems like an uncomfortable change.

Here is the big piece of information that should not be overlooked, though: Users will only see Promoted Tweets from brands or companies that they already follow.  Did you catch that? The idea is, if you already connected to a brand or company and have decided to follow them, then you are most likely looking for key information, headlines, or deals and discounts.  So in order to ensure that the most important tweets from these organizations are made visible to you, they will appear at or near the top of your timeline.  These Promoted Tweets will scroll through your timeline just like any other tweet, though, and will only appear in y our timeline once.  And if you are looking for a way to hide these Promoted Tweets, there will be an easy way to dismiss them from your timeline with a single click (according to Twitter).

For now, Twitter is rolling out this feature in a “testing” phase, for several major companies and partners from a selected group, with more coming in the near future.  Along with major companies and brand names, Twitter is also using Promoted Tweets for non-profit organizations that you already follow.

  

This is not the first time that things have been “Promoted” on Twitter.  Initially there were Promoted hashtags (or “Trends”) as well as Promoted followers (“Who to Follow”).  Promoted Tweets are just the next step in this advertising platform for Twitter, and if they keep it to the format of only showing Promoted Tweets in timelines for brands/companies/organizations that you already follow… then I can only see it as a positive experience in the long-run vision and use for Twitter!

What do you think about Promoted Tweets in your timeline? Good? Bad? Uncertain?