Crunchmunch “is a quick camera capture of any business card using an iPhone enables professionals to digitize their collection of business cards, but more importantly get access to richer information about the person behind the card via their LinkedIn profile.” (source: LinkedIn blog)

Even though it’s been around for a bit, I haven’t tried the “bump” functionality for LinkedIn either.

With Bump you literally “clang” your iPhones together (bump them) and they exchange information to each other.

Ah…so many apps…so little time.

Have you used either of these apps? What do you think?

You may have seen them. They are square bar codes you can scan in using an app on your smart phone.

They haven’t been widely adopted just yet, but some companies who are using them have been really creative.

Check out what JCPenney did this last holiday season.

“When you purchased a gift from any JCPenney store, you received a “Santa Tag” with an accompanying QR code. By scanning the code, the giver could record a personalized voice message for the recipient. The the giver stuck the code on the package like a gift card.” (source: Mashable.com)

I think that’s pretty cool!

If JCPenney also encouraged people to sign up to their newsletter, or gave them a coupon for their next purhase, it would be a GREAT way to build their database or encourage new purchases.

In fact, the marketing manager of a local golf course told me they strategically placed QR codes around their golf course and their newsletter database increased from approx 200 subscribers to 1,200 in a few short months.

Think about your audience. Are they early adopters? Do they love new technology?

If they do, you might want to think “out of the box” (pun intended) to creative ways you can leverage this tool to achieve your strategic goals.

What unique strategies have you seen?

In my “downtime”, I’m often checking out what’s happening in the world of Social Media.

I know, I’m a bit of a dork, but I really love to learn about unique ideas, what is working, what’s the next trend etc.

And if you follow me on Twitter, you might even catch me having a conversation

One site that I go to when I just want to give my brain a break is Pinterest.com

Full of pretty pictures, recipes, inspiring ideas, crafts…everytime I’m on this site I swoon and covet (clothes, shoes homes, etc).

Recently, I started collecting “pins” on Infographics.

I love infographics.

They are a whole lot more entertaining to look at than simple boring statistics and numbers. They often seem to tell a story too.

You can follow my infographic “pins” at: http://pinterest.com/punchmedia/social-media/

Though I must forewarn you, Pinterest can be VERY addictive!

Happy pinning!

I am.

I teach people how to optimize their privacy for a living and to be honest, I’m still not 100% comfortable that everything I’ve set on my own personal account is “safe”.

Look at the following graphic from the New York Times which outlines just how complicated Facebook’s privacy settings are:

With 50 settings with more than 170 options, it’s no wonder that people are bewildered about their settings.

According to eMarketer, the more frequent the Facebook user, the less concerned they are about their privacy (duh!)

But that’s not to say people SHOULDN’T be concerned.

I tell people “never publish anything you wouldn’t feel comfortable seeing on a billboard”.

Always remember – What goes on the Internet, stays on the Internet.

I see people “checking in” to their children’s schools on Foursquare (Foursquare is a geo-location social media site).

Many proud parents are sharing pictures of their family online but don’t realize it’s possible their smartphone photos have had a geo-location “stamp” embedded in it.  (How to remove wiki is here: http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-the-Potential-Risks-of-Geotagging)

After my own identity was compromised, I now realize the “dark side” of Social Media; there are bad people out there who want to do you and your family harm.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOOOOOVE Social Media for all the social good it can do, and for the wonderful way it has reconnected me with long lost loved friends.

I just advise you to be mindful of what you post because you just don’t know who is watching.

Facebook will be rolling out the Timeline functionality I mentioned MONTHS ago. It’s already under way in New Zealand.

If you haven’t seen what Timeline looks like, watch the following video.

Essentially it posts EVERY single thing you’ve ever posted since the day you signed up on Facebook.

People who love to share will love this new navigation. Those of us who are a little more concerned about what’s being shared with whom, will not be as comfortable.

Once again, just be conscious of what you post and who may be “spying” on your information.

As they used to say on Hill Street Blues “Be careful out there”.

For monthly tips on using Social Media, please subscribe to the PUNCH!media newsletter at http://www.punchmedia.ca/email.html

What tips do you have?

Do you have any questions I can help answer? Email leslie@punchmedia.ca

I regularly preach about the importance of providing new, relevant content to your followers to:

• stay top-of-mind with your prospects and clients
• showcase yourself as an expert in your industry
• provide a personality behind your brand
• improve SEO

and like the shoemaker’s children who has no shoes…I confess that coming up with new, unique content is not always easy.

Just as a follow-up to my previous post. It seems Facebook STILL hasn’t launched the Timeline functionality yet. The rumor mill seems to say that Facebook is in a legal battle about the name or the functionality and privacy is also a concern.

I should HOPE privacy is a concern. In my humble opinion, I think the Timeline will cause a lot of problems for people once it rolls out.  It would be nice to think that Facebook actually cares about people’s privacy, but their mandate is to have you “share everything with everyone” while they capture all your data and information.

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. I love that it’s allowed me to reconnect with many of my childhood chums and provide me with a great resource to help engage with people for my business.

I hate the fact that all our data is not only being captured (Google does it too…who’s kidding who) but that they SHARE it.

A few years ago, I was naive to think that my sharing was just “amongst friends”. Years later, I now realize that it goes much further than that. I think what’s the most frustrating part is that all those years of posting random things will come back to haunt me with Timeline.

Not that I posted anything BAD, but now I’m a business owner, have had my identity compromised and am much more protective of the information I’m sharing.

Timeline is likely to expose us all.

In the meantime, if you haven’t already, launch the Beta version of Timeline by becoming a developer and deleting your past content.

If you need assistance with this, let me know.

Facebook’s goal with this new navigation is to share everything with everyone you know.   Share the route you ran today and how long it took you. Share what you watched on TV, what you’re reading, what you’re listening to. Share every. single. post. you’ve ever made since the first day you were on Facebook. 

Sharing is caring. I get it. Thing is, I don’t want to have my whole life exposed to the word.

Since someone stole my identity last year, I’ve become hyperaware of publishing where I am and sharing personal information. I don’t want to publish information about where I am, who I’m with. I don’t want to share pictures of my family with the entire world.

Unfortunately there is a very dark side to all this sharing. There are rats that will rob your house, prey on you (or your child), or steal your identity.

And from another perspective, perhaps you’ve amassed a bunch of business friends in addition to your personal friends over the past few years. You’ve set up lists to keep your personal life separate from your business life. With Timeline, anything you published prior to creating those lists will be visible to your business friends.

Or perhaps all those things you said about Johnny (or your in-laws) in 2007 were meant to a limited audience of Facebook friends. Now, in 2011 Johnny, is your Facebook friend. He’s now going to have access to all those things you said about him.

You can “Limit the Audience for Past Posts” but this didn’t seem to allow me to customize or tailor which friends see what content.

I’m forewarning you, my friends, that this Timeline feature is going to be nasty.

So what can you do?

I’m  speaking about this very issue at a few upcoming seminars and webinars.

1) October 19th – Shes Connected Fast Track for Business Women http://socialmediaforbusinesswomen.com/

2) Online webinar – stay tuned…date will be announced soon

3) Book an appointment with me for one-on-one consulting to walk you through all these changes step-by-step.

Despite all these changes and the dark side of Social Media, I still love it. I’ve reconnected with long-lost friends, made new friends, helped build my business and l have learned a TON.

I just think everyone should be aware of the potential pitfalls and protect themselves.

Check out the Facebook promotional video about Timeline here: http://youtu.be/hzPEPfJHfKU

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I LOVE to answer YOUR Social Media questions. What do you wanna know? Ask below or email me at leslie@punchmedia.ca

Have you signed up to our monthly newsletter yet?

We’ll send you “insider” info we don’t publish anywhere else.

And truthfully, when I first signed on as @diaperdisco (my first business), I only kinda, sorta “got it” but thought it was a pretty big “time suck”.

I’m a chatty girl in real life. I have real life friends.

Did I need to go online and meet more people? Did I have the time? The energy?

When PUNCH!media kicked into high gear, as a Social Media specialist, I HAD to learn what the big deal was all about.  How else was I going to train others on how to use it, if I wasn’t using it myself?

And then I fell in love….with my Twitter peeps.

The more I joined conversations, the more I shared my thoughts and opinions, the more I realized the true value of what Twitter has to offer.

This week, I spoke at the *amazing* #140ConfONT in Kitchener/Waterloo to share my story “The Day My Online Behavior Changed Forever” about being impersonated online.

Each speaker had 10 minutes to tell their story.

There was @tjzmommy who spoke about this online community who rallied to help her honour her son Zack’s memory and build an Elmo suite at the hospital.

And @touchbykenadie who spoke about her daughter’s primordial dwarfism, the struggles they’ve had as a family and how the online community can be both supportive and cruel.

There was @karmicevolution who spoke about being homeless and turning to Twitter where random strangers would show up at her house to give her necessities – like pillows.

And @tj who has been featured on ABC news, has just signed a book deal and is off to California because his website: http://dearphotograph.com is a wonderfully unique way to go down “memory lane” using pictures.

@BigDaddyKreative shared how Twitter helped him build a new business after he’d been laid off from his job.

@MattScobel , @Peter_Sweeney , @mmperspectives , @phdinparenting who are helping the world become a better place.

We shared tears, we shared laughter (@cocktaildeeva and @optimom are hilarious), and we shared LOTS of hugs. Lots of warm, squishy, heartfelt hugs.

People squealing with delight after they finally get to meet their Twitter friend – @WhateverTheirNameIs (we often know each other by Twitter handles, not by first name)

Twitter may be less than 13% of the population online, and it may not be for everyone, but the #140ConfONT personifies why Twitter is the powerful network that it is.

Real people, sharing real stories and having their lives changed by random acts of kindness and support from virtual strangers.

Strangers from the other side of a computer who reach out and say “Me too!” (as @mombizcoach spoke about).

Strangers who share they’ve been where you are. They understand what you’re going through. That you’re not alone.

So the next time you wonder “what’s the big deal with Twitter?”, take a good look at some of the conversations out there.

You just might find yourself saying “Me too” too.

P.S. For those NOT on Twitter – each tweet is limited to 140 characters, hence #140Conf

Click here to watch my 10 minute speech: http://bit.ly/oG5kRx  or http://youtu.be/ZmKtuOYESRk

BIG hugs and thanks to @jeffpulver , @juliarosien, @mumby, (who looks like the only audience member in this pict!) and the entire #140ConfONT team for a wildly successful event.

Creative designer extraordinaire (Art Director and Sheridan College Professor), Eva MacNeil answers the question:

Q: Are there any design “secrets” you can share with us? 

(Meaning, what’s a little insider tip that we could all benefit from knowing about?)

A: Simplicity is the best recipe!

Graphic designers are visual communicators and they bring meaning to your message.

This message, however, does not need to be complicated and busy to be effective. In fact, a busy message will only confuse your audience, and therefore the message is lost, along with the viewer who has quickly turned his attention elsewhere.

A good designer can take the necessary elements to simplify the message and say it clearly and effectively using images, text and colour.

One dead give-away of an amateur designer is a cluttered design.

Simply because there is white space on a page doesn’t mean that it must be filled.

Following the basic design principles can certainly help to achieve a direct and effective message, while attracting and pleasing the eye of the audience. Use of too many typefaces, images, styles and words is the kiss of death to a strong and effective visual message.

Sooo true, Eva. As a small business owner, budgets can be tight. Investing in my image and brand is an investment well spent. 

The next question for Eva in this series: What are the current trends in graphic design?   Stay tuned!!

(or email me at leslie@punchmedia.ca and I’ll email you an advanced version of the post)

About Eva MacNeil Creative

A full service design studio that offers graphic design services from print to web — including brochure & ad design, photography & image retouching, visual identity concepts, along with social media strategies & graphics that visually promote your business.
email: evamacneil@mac.com