Latino Rebranded: Social Media and Latinos

To continue on the Hispanic Media Conferences 2010 post, I’ve become aware of two more:

NAHJ, has ten multimedia journalism training sessions in Texas, Feb 20. Blogging, social media and content creation will rule these workshops.

Very innovative and keeping in pace of a trend in the Latino sphere – from their website: The New Generation Latino Consortium (NGLC), the only professional organization of its kind dedicated to the enhancement of the New Generation Latino audience, is proud to announce ‘The NGLC Media, Marketing & Entertainment Conference’ taking place in New York City on April 5, 2010.

Popularity: 65% [?]

With the announcement of Google Buzz, I’ve been thinking a lot about the Comments feature in blogs.  I don’t want to say that Buzz is necessarily bad for blogs, but it can de-augment a very powerful pillar of blogging – the Comments section.

Let me back up a little.

In October, I talked about the importance of publishing your content on a blog that you own versus a social media site like Facebook or Twitter.  I subtitled the post as “Centralized Me,” to build on the concept of concentrating your content to one main platform.

The Comment’s section of a blog is the site’s social component, for without it a blog is only a new media site with a one way conversation void of reader interaction.

Google Buzz, in essence does to your blog’s comments what other social media sites does to your content – spreads it far and wide.  If readers use Buzz the exposure of your blog will be multiplied, which is every blogger’s dream.  But I have to ask, will those who use Buzz also comment on your blog?

Latino Rebranded integrates a button called TweetMeme and if you look, more people Tweet posts than actually comment.  On Facebook, my followers comment or “like” my blog posts, as well as Networked Blogs – a Facebook application that delivers new posts to people’s inbox and utilizes an RSS feed as well.   Now Buzz, can be added to the list.  (I just had the thought that an opportunity exists for a program to pool together all these outside conversations and dump them into one spot – the Comment section.  Maybe it already exists?)

Taking all of the above into consideration, the ‘push-button’ interaction that they all offer will subtly deter comments because in the mind of the reader they already have commented – in the form a tweet, a buzz or a ‘like’.

I’m not saying to not use any of these services, because they are great tools that leverage your blog’s exposure – and that’s what you want!  But, with the awareness of conversations happening outside your Comment section you can start thinking of ways to harness them for the benefit of your blog.

Popularity: 57% [?]

While social media is undeniably hot, without evidence of burning out, many established organizations and businesses have been exceedingly slow in accepting social media as the new engagement platform.  In the face of prudence, speculation and convention, enthusiasts – evangelists – have pressed forward with a new and unpredictable, yet powerful and stable form of communication that has haulted an entire industry and forced it look over its shoulders.

In many ways, social media has just begun – 2010, will be its pivot.  Pre-2010 will be looked back as social media being considered only an addition to already established marketing tools, but post-2010 social media will be viewed as a major factor, even replacing traditional media.

Hispanic organizations will be on the far end of the tail, as Hispanics are mostly a conservative population.  To the older generation, social media represents…is, change.  However, the younger generation is embracing new media in droves.  Somewhere in the near future – post 2011? – there will be a huge explosion of Hispanic based industries and organizations in social media.

These are my observations, not my judgments.  I think social media will continue to influence its way into every business sector and will be the fast track to Hispanic related communications.  The fact that Hispanics are the quickest and most abundant adopters of new technologies and media, should move every decision-maker toward the promised land of social media.  Will you be joining me?

Popularity: 42% [?]

Subtitle:  What side of the fence are you on?

When it comes to social media, are you on the outside looking in or on the inside looking out?

This is the question I ask myself when I encounter someone involved in social media.  It gives me insight to their level of engagement, which is important to me toward my own expectations.

Insiders

If you’re one who uses social media to interact with friends and family, then your consider an insider.  This means that you’re using social media in it’s purest form without any interest toward professional interests.

There are some professionals however, who wants to further the cause of social media and has significant value to add – both professionally and personally.  I consider these insiders as well, as they further push the boundaries of social media by defining it, identifying new trends and adding content.

Outsiders

If you’re on the outside looking in you are looking to harness the popularity of social media for a professional means and not necessarily adding to the inherent value of social media.

This group includes marketers/advertisers, companies and brands, as well as sites looking to tap into social media to benefit their own agenda.

Value

Ultimate value lie with Insiders, for without them Outsiders would have no one to target, nothing to reap. For instance, I recall talking with a prestigious industry publication that said it would be of great interest to feature what Hispanics are doing in social media from the user’s perspective.  Once I told them about the outsiders involved the article lost it’s luster.

As I’ve stated above, this categorization of what people do online acts as a measuring stick to help guide what you may talk about with them, or to what extent you want to include them in a project or task…or not.

Popularity: 34% [?]

Yesterday, I posted a piece on Social Media Literacy (SML) and talked about how to identify some characteristics of an ill intentioned communication in social media. 

Some of the examples listed showed how others may try to take advantage of your account on Twitter. Complimenting yesterday’s post, I found a great article that talks about how an insider exploited Facebook to gather information on unsuspecting users – and I’ve seen those ads!

So, go ahead and take a look at that article it’s full of a lot of information…and…WYB!!!

Popularity: 19% [?]

Subtitle: WYB – Watch Your Back in social media!!!

As netizens connect and grow, so do more unsavory individuals look to take advantage of those communications.

Having a background in technology, I’ve seen many cases of users unknowingly causing computer problems which easily could of been prevented if they new more about the computer environment.

With this in mind, imagine what can happen to an individual who unknowing falls prey to a computer virus or a phishing attempt, that could of been prevented if the knowledge of the characteristics of such attacks could of been recognized.

Social Media Literacy (SML), permits us to identify such threats.

SML goes beyond the knowledge of  pushing your content through different social media channels; it involves the critique of received media.  If media literacy broadly applies to digital media,  then SML would be specific to social media platforms.

Tips

Here are some suggestions for Twitter:

- If you see many of your friends sharing the same strange new Twitter icon, or tweeting the same strange message, it’s probably a hoax, or they’ve already fell victim to one.

- Be weary of tweets that contain news or calls to action, without having links.  This may be a prank/hoax, and the joke may be on you.

Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together, otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!!

- If tweet contains all CAPS or multiple symbols, take heed!

- “Think before you click.”  Is this too good to be true?  Do you know the user?

- Mouseover the link and make sure you can verify the link (enable status bar in most web browsers).  If you can’t see it, or the link looks like bad news (IP number, instead of URL), the WYB!

- Does the persons tweets have a lot of links in many of them?  They have an incessant need to get you somewhere.

I can count on one hand how many times I’ve used the ‘block’ feature on Twitter.  This is because, I spend so much time on the internet that I’ve developed a heightened awareness of what looks right and what looks suspect, so I don’t spend too much time blocking people from my feed…I just unfriend them.

If someone is trying to take advantage of others, and you want to take the extra step then, submit their name to Twitter Help for investigation.

Has anyone experienced, or have more suggestions for Twitter or any other site?

Popularity: 52% [?]

Subtitle:  Media devours youth.

Sometimes studies confirm what we all already know.  As you can tell, I wasn’t surprised by much of the information below, but I know it’s newsworthy for some.

A new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows a “dramatic” rise in the amount of time children and teens spend using entertainment media, “especially among minority youth.” [...] Hispanics and blacks average about 13 hours of media exposure daily compared to just over eight and half hours among whites.

The study is an interesting one, as it breaks down texting, social media, TV, books and more.

What I like about this report is a small portion of added value:  Of course not all use of social media can be lumped as entertainment or recreational. It’s also about communicating and–at times–can be a valuable part of young people’s education and development.

Amen.

Popularity: 41% [?]

Please, check out my post about the Shorty Awards, over at the LATISM blog.

Another interesting internet related story is  the blocking of SuicideMachine.org service by Facebook.  SuicideMachine.org permanently deletes your social media presence from sm silos, and FB found a ‘loophole’ in their Terms of Service agreement to block them.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Subtitle: Filling in the ranks w/ the power of social media.

People often ask me how I select people or pick teams.  Honestly, with social media so big that when I need help either via volunteers or partners I look to various social media portals by making an announcement of intent and asking if there’s any interest.

So, I haven’t hand picked any teams, but do pick certain portals and trust the power of social networks and individual’s self determination and ambition.

Twitter and LinkedIn  are two of the biggest channels I do this with.  Follow me on these channels if you are looking to get involved…or just drop a note.

Popularity: 5% [?]

As impressive as the numbers are of the increasing involvement of Latinos on the web are (22% of the internet population), I think the one common denominator is population growth (45.5 million people).  All of the below, are summaries of what I’ve discussed via my social media portals throughout the year.

Spanish Language Content

With more Latinos now on the web, it only makes sense that we’ll start seeing more Spanish content. This may be misleading because those who access the web are generally more acculturated (78%), but there are those who are entering exclusively via mobile devices and it is this population that we’ll see more targeted material directed toward.

Latino Organizations Including Social Media

There will be more Latino organizations including ’social media’ within their agendas and conferences.  This year there was a conference from LatinVision:  Convergence 2009 Digital & Social Media Conference,  and then there is the upcoming  The 2010 Hispanic Public Relations & Social Marketing Conference. I know of another conference in Florida, and yet another in California that follow the same suit (not to mention the bold and ballsy LATISM group).

Multicultural Marketing

It’s always been a numbers games, because numbers equal influence.  With over 45.5 million Latinos in the US, with a buying power to reach $1 trillion by 2011, combined with an impressive adoption of technology, Latinos are poised to be the sweethearts of big business and professionals alike, if not already.  There will be huge increases toward targeting the Latino population and their money through 2010.

More Latinos in Social Media

With the recent release of Facebook demographics showing the trend of increasing diversity, it only makes sense that it won’t slow down.  Latinos are social, and are adapting social media by storm.  This also means more Latinos on micro-networks, and more blogs.

Popularity: 16% [?]