December 2014 archive

How Libraries Reach Kids

Talk, Sing, Read, Write, Play: How Libraries Reach Kids Before They Can Read

http://www.npr.org/2014/12/30/373783189/talk-sing-read-write-play-how-libraries-reach-kids-before-they-can-read?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2056

My note: it takes a village to raise a kid. It does not matter if it is public library, or pre-school kids or students; it matter that the library does not “serve,” but takes to the heart their education. The academic library must go beyond “assisting,” and get engaged as deep as possible with the students’ assignments.

 

Twitter Profile Stand Out

How to Make Your Twitter Profile Stand Out

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/make-your-twitter-profile-stand-out

#1: Zig When They Zag

This one’s easy: Don’t do what everyone else is doing. If you see a trend popping up in bios, don’t immediately change your bio to reflect that trend. Everyone ends up using the same verbiage, the same phrases, the same descriptors.

Another trend is to include a disclaimer—the most popular being, “Views are my own.” This is the Twitter equivalent of saying “I will bore you to death.” This disclaimer doesn’t serve any real legal purpose, nor will it save your job. If your employer requires it, do it, but other than that, leave it off.

The key takeaway here? When you see a trend, run the other way. If you’re compelled to follow a popular trend, at least put it through your personal lens first. Change it enough that the thread is there, but it’s clear you’ve put more thought into it than simply following the crowd.

#2: Use Brief Sentences and Links

Make an impact on your audience by crafting a sentence or two that convey your expertise. Choose the most important things you do; state them in a clear, compelling way; and then explain why your skills should matter to the visitor. The challenge, of course, is brevity.

In addition consider that hashtags, @s and links—the language of Twitter—are clickable in your profile. I’m always surprised that more people aren’t using these valuable opportunities in their Twitter bios.

Jim Cramer’s Twitter bio has two simple, concise sentences that promote and link to his website, charitable trust, his CNBC show and his blog.

It would have been easy to make a laundry list of those properties along with his book titles and accolades (just like everyone else). Instead, two well-crafted sentences emphasize his most important efforts and include links to each.

 

In your Twitter settings you have the option to set your location and provide a link to your website. Since Cramer’s main bio already links to his website, he uses his sidebar link to point to his author page.

Make the most of your real estate. If you have too much to convey in a sentence or two, get creative—use your sidebar link.

If you operate other accounts, go ahead and add them. These simple links are such an easy way to build your followers for other accounts or your website. Don’t miss out on this opportunity.

#3: Use One Word

On the other hand, you don’t always need a list of keywords or even sentences to convey your sentiment. Sometimes, a single word can make a serious impact.

If you can creatively distill your abilities to one word, you’ve snagged yourself a punchy, powerful piece of the creativity pie.

#4: Stretch the Truth

I’m not talking about lying about your abilities. I’m talking about tongue-in-cheek obvious exaggeration.

An obvious “lie” can be funny and attract attention. For example, since when is Ellen an ice road trucker?

#5: Update Frequently

Smart Twitter users know that a static profile is boring and uncreative. Change it up based on what’s current in your career or marketing initiatives.

Changing your profile bio helps you keep followers abreast of your new accolades or endeavors (e.g., launching a new business or writing a book). Adapting your profile keeps you interesting. And best of all, it forces you to be creative more often.

#6: Acknowledge Your Audience

Say “hello” or “goodbye” to your followers. When you speak directly to someone, you stand a much better chance of actually gaining his or her attention.

Use the word “you” rather than “I” in your profile—it becomes more of a personal message and less of a brag. With that simple change, your bio becomes more inviting.

Over to You

The New York Times calls Twitter bios a postmodern art form. If it’s an art form, then we are the artists. I encourage you to try some of these tips and see where your own creative artistry takes you.

Creativity doesn’t come with an instruction manual. You’ll probably find yours at weird moments when you least expect it. I know a lot of people who have that a-ha! moment in the shower!

Minecraft for Math

6 Minecraft lesson ideas for your Common Core math class

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/12/01/minecraft-lesson-ideas-243


Minecraft EDU – Part 3: Mathematics on the Farm

http://www.classthink.com/2014/01/24/minecraft-edu-part-3-mathematics-farm/

Engage NY Module 3 Area and Perimeter Minecraft Math activity

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Engage-NY-Module-3-Area-and-Perimeter-Minecraft-Math-activity-1570866

Mathematica Minecraft

http://mathematica.stackexchange.com/questions/19669/mathematica-minecraft

 

Social Media improvements

Facebook Media Publishing Tools: This Week in Social Media

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-media-publishing-tools-news

Facebook Introduces New Tools for Media Publishers: These new Facebook media publishing tools allow you “to target posts, remove posts that are no longer relevant and identify popular links that you haven’t shared.”

Facebook Makes Improvements to Insights: These include improvements “to Domain Insights to show how pages and social plugins drive traffic to websites.”

Facebook Updates Search: Now it’s “easier to find the posts that have been shared with you.”

Facebook Brings Trending to Mobile: Now “making it easy for people to explore stories from different sources.”

Twitter Introduces Tailored Audiences From Mobile Apps: “A new way for advertisers to create targetable audience segments based on mobile app actions such as an install, purchase or sign-up.”

SlideShare Releases Analytics to all Users: As a SlideShare user, you can get “deeper insight into the effectiveness of your content through the release of SlideShare Analytics.”

Google Updates Hangouts App for Android: To “make it easier to express yourself, and have more fun along the way.”

YouTube Adds New Feature to Help When Choosing a Track: “You can search the YouTube Audio Library to determine how using a particular track in your video will affect it on YouTube; specifically if it will stay live on YouTube or if any restrictions apply.”

Tumblr Introduces New Explore Button: “It’s kind of like search, but for when you can’t think of anything.”

Google+ Supports a Number of Ways to Express Gender Identity: “Now, the gender field on your profile will contain four entries, ‘Male,’ ‘Female,’ ‘Decline to state’ and ‘Custom.’”

Facebook Revamps Slingshot: “A simpler, cleaner, more fun Slingshot.”

Foursquare Unveils the All-New Foursquare for Windows Desktop/Tablet: “It’s got an all-new look and feel to help lead you to places you’ll love.”

Here are some interesting studies to note:

The Top 14 Social Media Metrics Tracked by Marketers

40% of Facebook Accounts That Represent Fortune 100 Brands Are Unauthorized

PlayBuzz Tops Publishers on Facebook in Shares for November

Here’s a cool social media tool worth checking out:

Workflow: “Your personal automation tool, enabling you to drag and drop any combination of actions to create powerful workflows.”

 

Metrics for Social Media Marketing

Metrics to Improve Your Social Media Marketing

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/metrics-improve-social-media-marketing/

optimize for sharing, click-throughs, signups or even just visits.

arketing strategy is the editorial calendar,” explains Ben Harper in his article, How to Use Data to Improve Your Content Marketing Strategy

ROI

related articles in this blog:

https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2014/11/02/roi-of-social-media/

Google+ Hashtags

How to Use Google+ Hashtags for More Exposure

Google+ uses hashtags to explore a topic rather than curate it. When you search for a hashtag within Google+, the network auto-selects related hashtags and trending topics and returns those along with the hashtag you typed in.

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