Five Ways To Improve Social Media in 2011
The year 2010 was a remarkable year for social media.
Twitter really started to gain traction with millions more people using the service and learning how to use it in different ways.
Facebook continued to dominate the internet, showing no signs of slowing down.
Tumblr became an immensely popular blogging service that people outside of its niche audience still don't understand.
Even MySpace became relevant again for the first time in years as it now offers Facebook connectivity and enhanced social functionality.
To be sure, social media is here to stay but it's still not perfect.
As much as I have enjoyed engaging with social media over the previous years there is still a lot of room for improvement.
This is what I hope to see in 2011 to make everyone's social media experience even better.
More Facebook and Twitter Connectivity.
You know when you go to a website and before you can post a comment and engage with other users you have to sign up? Yeah, that sucks.
No one likes filling out the same boring sign up page for every website they visit and then be burdened with remembering their username and password for every website they've signed up for.
You know what doesn't suck? When you can sign in with Facebook or Twitter! This is a brilliant idea that few websites have gotten on board with.
Everyone has a Facebook account, think of how much better your experience on the Internet would be if you can sign in to every website with an account you've already created.
Yeah, more of this please! Fewer Shut-Downs.
I've seen the Twitter fail whale in 2010 more times than I'd like to remember.
For roughly a 36-hour period in 2010 Tumblr was completely inaccessible, and it seems like every other day their severs are overloaded.
Facebook still keeps on trucking somehow.
Good job, Facebook, now let's see the other networks get their act together.
No Fail Whale in 2011! No More Automation.
This topic touches a nerve with me.
Social networking is all about building a personal connection with other people.
That being said, there is nothing more impersonal than automated posting.
I'm talking about those Twitter accounts that send you an automatic private message thanking you for following them.
I'm talking about those Twitter accounts that are constantly updating day and night when you know there can't possibly be a human being behind the keyboard that often.
I like talking to real people, not scripts that are programmed to update to Twitter automatically.
Some people have more time to update their Twitter accounts than others, but if time is a factor that is NO excuse for auto-tweeting.
It's lazy, impersonal and shows that you just don't 'get' social media.
Not to mention I will immediately unfollow anyone that I suspect to be auto-tweeting.
This is one trend that I would like to see go away completely in 2011.
Stop Treating Social Networks As Rumor Mills.
It's a good thing I waited to post this because I can touch on a rumor that exploded on the Internet over the past few days: Facebook is shutting down in March! Actually no, it's not, that rumor was quickly debunked.
I can't imagine why anyone would have believed it in the first place.
When you read something that sounds unbelievable it usually is.
Please check sources before heading to the social networks and creating a stir of panic.
If you took the time to browse the website that originally posted that rumor you would see that their other headlines are equally as laughable.
Stop flooding my timeline with unconfirmed rumors please! Tumblr Should Stay Exactly The Same.
The business model of any company should be to achieve continued growth each year, but in this case I want Tumblr to stay exactly where it is.
Okay, I'm only being half-serious here because I love Tumblr so much.
Of course I want Tumblr to be successful but I'm afraid if more people start using it they'll ruin it for the rest of us.
I would be completely selfish of me to say I don't want more people to use Tumblr, so if you do just try to be as cool as the rest of us okay? Bear in mind that I'm a millennial and this social network really appeals to my demographic.
For the most part, social media is exactly where it needs to be.
These are just a few ideas for how to perfect the experience.
I have no doubt that there will be some advancements in social media this year that I couldn't possibly predict right now, but I'm excited to go along for the ride.
Here's to a great 2011!
Twitter really started to gain traction with millions more people using the service and learning how to use it in different ways.
Facebook continued to dominate the internet, showing no signs of slowing down.
Tumblr became an immensely popular blogging service that people outside of its niche audience still don't understand.
Even MySpace became relevant again for the first time in years as it now offers Facebook connectivity and enhanced social functionality.
To be sure, social media is here to stay but it's still not perfect.
As much as I have enjoyed engaging with social media over the previous years there is still a lot of room for improvement.
This is what I hope to see in 2011 to make everyone's social media experience even better.
More Facebook and Twitter Connectivity.
You know when you go to a website and before you can post a comment and engage with other users you have to sign up? Yeah, that sucks.
No one likes filling out the same boring sign up page for every website they visit and then be burdened with remembering their username and password for every website they've signed up for.
You know what doesn't suck? When you can sign in with Facebook or Twitter! This is a brilliant idea that few websites have gotten on board with.
Everyone has a Facebook account, think of how much better your experience on the Internet would be if you can sign in to every website with an account you've already created.
Yeah, more of this please! Fewer Shut-Downs.
I've seen the Twitter fail whale in 2010 more times than I'd like to remember.
For roughly a 36-hour period in 2010 Tumblr was completely inaccessible, and it seems like every other day their severs are overloaded.
Facebook still keeps on trucking somehow.
Good job, Facebook, now let's see the other networks get their act together.
No Fail Whale in 2011! No More Automation.
This topic touches a nerve with me.
Social networking is all about building a personal connection with other people.
That being said, there is nothing more impersonal than automated posting.
I'm talking about those Twitter accounts that send you an automatic private message thanking you for following them.
I'm talking about those Twitter accounts that are constantly updating day and night when you know there can't possibly be a human being behind the keyboard that often.
I like talking to real people, not scripts that are programmed to update to Twitter automatically.
Some people have more time to update their Twitter accounts than others, but if time is a factor that is NO excuse for auto-tweeting.
It's lazy, impersonal and shows that you just don't 'get' social media.
Not to mention I will immediately unfollow anyone that I suspect to be auto-tweeting.
This is one trend that I would like to see go away completely in 2011.
Stop Treating Social Networks As Rumor Mills.
It's a good thing I waited to post this because I can touch on a rumor that exploded on the Internet over the past few days: Facebook is shutting down in March! Actually no, it's not, that rumor was quickly debunked.
I can't imagine why anyone would have believed it in the first place.
When you read something that sounds unbelievable it usually is.
Please check sources before heading to the social networks and creating a stir of panic.
If you took the time to browse the website that originally posted that rumor you would see that their other headlines are equally as laughable.
Stop flooding my timeline with unconfirmed rumors please! Tumblr Should Stay Exactly The Same.
The business model of any company should be to achieve continued growth each year, but in this case I want Tumblr to stay exactly where it is.
Okay, I'm only being half-serious here because I love Tumblr so much.
Of course I want Tumblr to be successful but I'm afraid if more people start using it they'll ruin it for the rest of us.
I would be completely selfish of me to say I don't want more people to use Tumblr, so if you do just try to be as cool as the rest of us okay? Bear in mind that I'm a millennial and this social network really appeals to my demographic.
For the most part, social media is exactly where it needs to be.
These are just a few ideas for how to perfect the experience.
I have no doubt that there will be some advancements in social media this year that I couldn't possibly predict right now, but I'm excited to go along for the ride.
Here's to a great 2011!
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