http://www.econtentmag.com/rss/rss_feeds/default.aspxRSS feeds from EContent magazine.All Content Copyright 1998-2013, Information Today Inc.60http://www.econtentmag.com/Images/econtent122x50.gifhttp://www.econtentmag.comJose CastilloThu, 20 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMTThe popularity of the hashtag (#) has just received another boost with the recent news that Facebook will now be rolling them out to their users. The official Facebook announcement states that hashtags will be clickable and allow users to see public posts around shared topics like #NBAFinals, #Oscars, and more. While most of us are familiar with those four simple lines and their rise to fame on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, their background and meaning remains shrouded in internet lore. Who created the hashtag? Why is it called a pound sign, number sign, and a host of other names? And why do we use them, are they actually helpful?http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/Column/Content-Throwdown/The-Humble-History-of-the-Hashtag-And-Why-It-Matters-90249.htmLin Grensing-PophalWed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMTAs organizations and individuals work to build their Twitter followers they eagerly watch for mentions and RTs (retweets). And then they spot something like this: "XYZ E-publication is out today! Top stories by @thisperson @thatperson @YOU!" Your first inclination is to quickly RT the tweet to all of your followers and respond to the poster with a heart-felt "gee, thanks so much for including me!" But, wait a minute, is there any real value in this kind of exposure? http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/News/News-Feature/Content-Curation-Tools-Possibilities-and-Pitfalls-90312.htmTue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMTVideo content discovery solutions provider Jinni, announced the release of "Watch Together," an effective social discovery feature to recommend content that suits the tastes of more than one viewer. The feature is part of the latest Jinni discovery engine API, and is now available for implementation by the company's global customers and technology partners.http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/News/News-Item/Jinni-Launches-Social-Recommendations-for-TV-Shows-and-Movies-90294.htmSean GellesThu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMTIn the past month I have attended two webinars with thought-leaders from the social media marketing space in which one of the luminaries referred to Likes on Facebook as "vanity metrics" as if this were uncontestable common knowledge. This was troubling for three reasons. First, it reveals engrained prejudices about social media that are simply false. Second, it suggests a profound ignorance about the mechanics of social media platforms. Third, it indicates that direct-response thinking still dominates much of the discourse around social media marketing.http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/Column/Social-Pulse/Facebook-Likes-Are-Not-Vanity-Metrics-90190.htmThu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMTYou've probably already seen hashtags on Facebook even though, until now, they served no practical purpose. But on June 12, Facebook announced it would introduce hashtags to its platform to facilitate public conversations.http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/News/News-Item/Hashtags-Move-to-Facebook-90255.htmThu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMTOn June 11, Flipboard introduced the ability for users to collaboratively build a magazine. With interesting implications-especially for the content marketing community-- in a post on the company blog, Flipboard wrote: "Starting today, Flipboard curators can invite others to contribute to their magazines."http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/News/News-Item/Flipboard-Introduces-Collaborative-Magazines-90256.htmTue, 11 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMTDave Kerpen, founder and CEO of Likeable Local announced the company has closed a seed round of fundraising with $660,000. Likeable Local aims to make social media easy and effective for small businesses through automated content, targeted social advertising, and Facebook applications. Launched in beta last year as Likeable Dentists, in conjunction with Fortune 500 partner Henry Schein, Likeable will use the funds raised to build out development and sales teams, expand to additional verticals, and launch a mobile application.http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/News/News-Item/Likeable-Local-Completes-Seed-Round-90177.htmThu, 06 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMTAnametrix, a cloud-based, real-time marketing analytics platform, introduces Anametrix Social Analytics. This solution aggregates all social-media data in one place and allows marketers to quantify the ROI of this earned media by analyzing and correlating key marketing metrics and comparing it to paid and owned media.http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/News/News-Item/Anametrix-Introduces-Social-Analytics--90095.htmWed, 05 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMTPost Planner, a Facebook content curation and scheduling app, released its newest feature that helps page managers find and post trending content on and topic or keyword. The feature uses a unique algorithm to search for trending content on a variety of topics and generates a stream of shareable articles for page managers.http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/News/News-Item/Post-Planner-Announces-Trending-Content-Feature-90045.htmMike ThompsonMon, 03 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMTAs the internet exploded and more and more sites have constant streams of news and commentary on everything from world politics to which celebrities are dead (dead-celeb.com), the importance placed on content curation was, perhaps, inevitable. Separating the wheat from the chaff is sometimes so important to people, they're willing to pay for it.http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/Editorial/Feature/Are-Content-Curators-The-New-Editors--89953.htmErik J. MartinFri, 31 May 2013 00:00:00 GMTThey say home is where the heart is. But judging by its lukewarm initial reception from users, that adage may not be so true of Facebook Home, the social media giant's new software suite for certain Android devices that's designed to dominate home and lock screens with social networking capabilities. Yet, despite only being downloaded between 500,000 and 1 million times since it launched in early April and notwithstanding its 2.2 out of five stars average rating from nearly 15,000 users, according to the Google Play Store, experts say Facebook Home may hold promising potential for digital content providers (DCPs) to push their brands and offerings.http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/News/News-Feature/Facebook-Home-May-Offer-Opportunity-for-Content-Providers--89596.htmThu, 30 May 2013 00:00:00 GMTRandom House, Inc., announced the release of the mobile version of BookScout, its Facebook app, which enables book lovers to connect with friends and receive personalized book recommendations. Developed in response to user feedback, this mobile release follows recent tablet optimization and enhancements to the app's social-sharing features.http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/News/News-Item/Random-House-Debuts-Mobile-Version-of-BookScout-for-Facebook-Seasonal-Book-Recommedations-89939.htmTheresa CramerWed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 GMTThere were plenty of lessons to be learned from this year's Streaming Media East conference, held May 21-22, in New York City. Digital content creators of all stripes have plenty to learn from the video-focused crowd at SME, but a few key takeaways stood out above the rest. http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/News/News-Feature/Three-Lessons-from-Streaming-Media-East-to-Apply-to-Your-Digital-Content-Today-89793.htmSean GellesTue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 GMTThe purpose of brand marketing is to generate sales. Whether we specialize in traditional or digital media--whether our focus is paid advertising or earned publicity--the sole reason for our existence is to get consumers to buy. Yet this idea gives us pause. We tend to associate immediate sales impact with ephemeral price promotions that we know produce short-lived sales bursts and precious little in the way of true brand growth. We know from decades of research that price promotions function essentially as giveaways to existing customers and play a very minor role in the acquisition of new customers. Meanwhile, given the nature of brand marketing, we're rarely able to demonstrate the full impact our efforts have.http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/Column/Social-Pulse/-What-Are-the-KPIs-for-Brand-Marketing-in-Social-Media-89084.htmTue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 GMTNimble, the social CRM solution, announced the debut of its 3.0 offering. The new version offers a "Today Screen" where users land when they open Nimble and can immediately act on the intelligence Nimble surfaces each day. The complete experience includes a to-do list, engagement opportunities personalized to users' network, deals in the pipeline, milestones such as birthdays and job changes among contacts. Nimble also offers "Today's Top 3" which pulls contacts from your network to engage and follow-up with effectively.http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/News/News-Item/Nimble-3.0-Debuts-89724.htm