A Review of Paper.li: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Topless woman reading a newspaper

Is a news aggregator the best way to keep abreast of news on Twitter?

Paper.li is a news aggregator. It gathers Twitter posts from a keyword, a list, or  a specific Twitter account and collects what it perceives to be the popular stories and tweets. It then puts them together in a unified format that is like an online paper.

I decided to try it out to see what I thought about the service:

The Good

  • Gathers news from the sources of your choice
  • Is a good clearing house of recently tweeted news
  • Great way to view what has been happening online without having to go through thousands of tweets.
  • Easy to set up
  • Easy to read format
  • Visually appealing
  • Nice way to promote people’s tweets and posts
  • Self Promoting, it posts the paper for you
  • You can have morning and night editions, daily or weekly
  • Once you set the parameters, it will create itself according to specifications
  • Establishes authority for people mentioned in the paper

The Bad

  • You cannot edit the paper, only parameters from which it pulls information
  • You do not control who it references in your tweet about the paper coming out
  • You do not have editorial control over your paper
  • You cannot chose what posts get put in and what gets left out
  • No approval before posting
  • Promotes the paper as something you created

The Ugly

  • Not everyone you put in your paper will want to be in your paper
  • People might get mis-credited for posts due to re-tweeting
  • You cannot fix a mis-post
  • Promotes a message as an overall source when it is pulling news based on set parameters as limited as a single Twitter account.

The positives about Paper.li far outweigh the negatives. Overall I feel it is a valuable resource, however the bads and the uglies do cause concern. The lack of editorial control is the biggest issue I have.

In a paper I created to try out the service, a story was mis-credited.  The Tweep that it was mis-credited to pointed it out to me. Of course, because of the lack of editorial control, I could not change it.  To remedy the situation I deleted the paper.

I have also experienced this in other people’s papers. I have seen posts I have written credited to other people. Of course when pointed out, it could not be fixed and properly credited.

I based my paper off a list I created called “Adult Industry”  that became the name of the paper.  Though I could have changed the name, I didn’t think to change it.  So the name indicated that the paper was representative of all Adult Industry, when in fact it was not. It was a sampling of the industry.  Most of the papers I have seen seem to convey the same thing. They are called things like “Music Daily” “Tech Daily” “Adult Daily”.  As readers we are not privy to the parameters of the paper, and most people would probably not think to ask.  So in the name it establishes a sense of authority that is not necessarily warranted.

My review:

I think that Paper.li is a great tool and has a lot of potential, but I also think it has some bugs to work out before it achieves that potential.

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10 Things I Learned from Zombie Strippers

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Zombie Strippers Zombie Strippers is not what I would call a quality movie. OK, it is actually pretty craptastic. However, I was surprised to discover that there are a few tips you can apply to your social media. And really, who doesn’t love Jenna Jameson!

10 Things I learned from Zombie Strippers:

  1. Just because you are dead it does not mean you are done… Constantly look for new ways to evolve.  You are never done, you are just changed.
  2. Being dead just gives you new skills… Sometimes you have to rebrand and refocus your business plan.  When you do that you will develop new skills that will serve you better.
  3. Sometimes being bad is better than being good… If you cannot be great, then be fabulously bad. Sometimes it is better to be really good at being bad then being good at being marginal. Find your niche, even if it is not where you thought you would excel.
  4. It is like watching a train wreck, you can’t turn away… Sometimes when something is really awful we cannot look away.  Be captivating. be edgy. Make your content something that people cannot tear their eyes from.
  5. Zombies read… This was a cinematic first, a zombie was reading. It was not exciting, but it happened and I noticed.  You don’t have to always be breaking rules and taboos to get attention. Sometimes a subtle surprise works better.
  6. You don’t always have to be original.. Sometimes you can just create a new twist on what someone else has already done : Zombies, done. Strippers, done. Zombie Stripper, first!
  7. Zombie strippers make more money… Essentially they are more hardcore. This is all about commitment. Don’t half ass it. If you are going to do it then really do it.
  8. When she says she is going to eat you… Make sure that if you use metaphors your audience understands what you really mean.
  9. Zombies don’t talk in metaphors, eating you alive is literal… Sometimes innuendo gets to be too much. Say what you need to say, then you will not lose followers due to misunderstanding.
  10. Robert England is still in movies… Just because you have fallen out of the public eye does not mean that you are gone for good. You can always come back!
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Paid to Tweet: Did you just sell out?

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Twitter bird holding a dollar bill in his beak

Is being paid to Tweet a great way to earn some extra money doing what you already do or are you selling out and compromising your Twitter integrity?

Everyone wants to know how to make money online and with their social media accounts. You are using them anyway, why not get paid for it?  Well, there is such a thing as getting paid to tweet; sponsored tweets are probably the easiest way to get paid for tweeting. But what does it do to your credibility? Does getting paid to tweet an ad affect your authority, or public opinion? Did you just sell out?

There are many services out there where you can sign up to become a sponsored tweeter.  What happens is: you sign up, they analyze your Twitter account for reach and influence, and then they create a pay range based on these criteria. The range is anywhere from $0.50 to $10,000 per tweet.

However, only people like Kim Kardashian are getting paid $10,000 for a tweet.

Paid to tweet or paid for a tweet

Wondering what the difference is between being paid to tweet and paid for a tweet? I don’t blame you.  Plenty of people are paid to tweet. What this means is they work for someone like an individual client or a business and they are paid to take care of their Twitter account, including making posts.  They are acting as a representative of the person, company or brand. This also means they can promote their own products without it being considered an ad.

A person who is paid for a tweet means that their tweet is an advertisement.  It is not something they would normally post, it’s like a commercial in the midst of their Twitter stream. It is something they are getting paid to tweet, but not paid a commission or bonus for sales.

I’m in Porn

Excellent!  Don’t worry, you are not excluded.  Porn stars can get paid to tweet! You can become a sponsored tweeter or an advertiser.  Twitter continues to be a place in social media where porn is not totally back-listed, even with sponsored tweets.

Rules of Engagement

Yup, there definitely are.  If you are a sponsored tweeter you have to make it known that your tweet is an ad.  Oftentimes, the hashtag #ad is used.  If you use a service that pays you to tweet, like SponsoredTweets.com or PaidPerTweet.com, they will give you parameters for your tweets: the appropriateness of your phrasing, not slandering the client, not using swear words and making it clear that the tweet is an ad.

Ultimately even if you don’t use a service, you have to mark a paid tweet as an ad. The FCC is regulating this and they will fine you.

I want to make the big bucks

If you want to make the big money with sponsored tweets, like Kim Kardashian, then you basically need to be famous. Oh wait..you are famous!  Well then, you will want to go to either SponsoredTweets.com or Ad.ly – these work with celebrity clients and will be able to help you command a high price.

Your Reputation

From an advertiser: As an advertiser it is in my interest to pay someone with good reach and influence to tweet my ads.  I will reach an audience I don’t normally reach and generate leads I would not otherwise be able to create. The better your reputation, the more I want you to tweet for me.

From a Tweeter: This is a great way to make some extra money. Most of your tweets are your own but then maybe 1 out of 50 you are paid for.

From a Follower: Most of the time I don’t mind seeing the very occasional ad.  But I do wonder, when I see one, if your Twitter is about making money or about engaging.  I question the integrity of your feed.  Do I understand it? Yes. But I also know about sponsored tweets. What about the people who don’t?  Did you just sell out?

Did I just sell out?

Since the ability to make money with sponsored tweets is based on your influence and your reach, if you are a popular and engaged Tweeter then you will be able to command a higher price.  However, if you are exceptionally engaged, you might be compromising your authenticity and integrity. It may seem a bit extreme to say that if 1 out of 50 tweets is an ad you have automatically compromised your integrity, but remember, it may be an issue for your followers.

The conclusion

Once you get your first payday your 1 in 50 tweets might become 1 in 20, then 1 in 10. So be careful; making money is addictive and getting paid to tweet is simple.   Before you know it you may have compromised your entire account, lose followers, lose influence and now your Twitter isn’t good for anything. You are just another spammer.

So keep your end goal in mind;  your Twitter is ultimately about you and putting forward your message. You could be ok inserting the occasional ad.

As a follower I prefer that my tweeps don’t ad.  It bugs me.

As a Tweeter, I decided not to ad because it bugs me as a follower. However, I understand why people do it.

As an advertiser, I think it is a good opportunity to expand my reach.

Do you think you will become a sponsored tweeter?

**Side note, 7 Veils was not paid to mention any link in this post. We do not blog for money.  There are many pay-for-tweet companies out there, we just listed a couple of reputable ones.

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Create your own Banner Ad on Facebook

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Facebook has a new profile layout.  It is designed to make your experience more YOU-centric.  An interesting discovery has been made with regard to the photo strip at the top of your profile.  It can be made into a make-shift banner ad.  Oh yes, it’s true!

The top of your profile now has a photo strip that shows the images you have most recently been tagged in.  Seems pretty innocuous, however clever internet advertising people have figured out a way to capitalize on this space.

If you create images and tag yourself in the proper order you will be able to create what appears to be a banner ad.

Regular Profile

This is what a regular profile film strip looks like:

Facebook Film Strip

This is what most Facebook profile film strips look like.

Pretty simple. A series of 5 photos that you or your friends have tagged you in, meant to give people an idea of your recent photographic activity.

“Banner Ad” Profile

This is what a film strip tagged to look like a banner ad looks like.

The photo strip on facebook profiles creating what looks like a banner ad for Justin Bieber

It can't be linked. It can't be searched. But it can be seen when people land on your profile. Of course, these sections would contain images of Trevor... How would you turn your photo-strip into an ad?

*Image courtesy of Inside Facebook

Essentially images were tagged so they would appear sequentially in the film strip to look like a banner ad. Instead of having pictures that show tagged images of your life, you create a mini-mosaic creating a singular image out of 5.

If you click on the image it will take you to that photo, or segment of the banner ad. The caption could potentially have information about a website, product or promotional message.  But the picture itself would not link to any outside website.

Benefits of Tagging a Banner Ad

  • Another location online for putting your business message forward
  • Additional branding
  • Free
  • Tag your own profile
  • Tag and put a banner ad on another person’s profile*

*Read the disadvantages to see what can happen if you do this…

Disadvantages of Tagging a Banner Ad

  • It does not link to an outside site
  • CTR – No tracking of click-through rate – without a link there is no click-through
  • No metrics to analyze its effectiveness
  • Spam – you could get flagged for spam. If you tag someone else in your photos, to create a banner ad on another person’s profile page, you could get flagged for inappropriate activity and have your account deactivated. This is definitely a violation of the Facebook Terms of Service.
  • Spam? – if you tag your own profile you may still be at risk for being flagged for spam.  Even doing this to your own profile could be considered an abuse of the feature.  However, the likelihood that you will be noticed is much lower, because it is not like you are going to flag yourself(!)

How to do it

It is not as easy as it looks. Facebook does not put your full image in the tagged boxes. It takes a skewed thumbnail, most likely as a way to try to prevent this. However with a little perseverance you can figure out how to create a series of images that will line up.

If you are thinking of doing this, I would not suggest adding urls, business names or brand message. Basically anything that could be blatantly categorized as an ad should be avoided. Stick to an image, maybe even a name. Have something like “Welcome to…” “Your name here…with picture”

The question that remains is: will Facebook change this feature to prevent homemade banner ads? The spam possibilities are endless, but the potential for passive promotion on a personal page is huge.

photo of Lauren MacEwenLauren MacEwen is the senior strategist at 7 Veils Media, Inc., a premier social media firm for the adult entertainment industry.  She is a speaker at the upcoming AEE on the Selling through Social Networks panel and blogs regularly at www.7veils.com.  You can follow Lauren on Twitter: @7_veils

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The Hazards of Half-Assed

Shakespeare on the computer saying "To Blog or not to Blog"

Are you half-assing your social media?

There are two sides to social media. You have the people who jump in and get super excited and create accounts on every social network they can find.  Then they realize that they completely over committed and get overwhelmed.  The other side is the people who half-ass their social media. They know they should be involved, but they don’t really want to be. So they set up their accounts, make a couple of posts and then hop on every few weeks to post something new.

The problem with both sides of is that there is no strategy, no consistency.

The Hazards of Half-Assed:

  • Customers try to talk to you but no one is there to listen.
  • You receive negative feedback and are not aware of it.
  • You look unprofessional because you did not put any effort into your profile.
  • There is misinformation on the wall or profile.
  • Your page is being used as a posting board for spam.
  • No strategy, and you probably don’t think you need one.

The Hazards of Assed:

  • Over committed and overwhelmed
  • Too many accounts to actually engage
  • No consistency in posting
  • No strategy, your efforts are all at once instead of thoughtful and targeted
  • You have too many accounts to monitor the real activity
  • You are not connecting with people that matter, because you are trying to connect with everyone.

It can be worse to do your social media halfway then to not do it at all. As the movie The Social Network proposes, the Internet is written in ink.  Anything that is said, whether you say it or someone says it about you, once it is out there it is out there permanently. Now think about that in terms of your neglected social media account. What if someone is questioning your business practices, or saying bad things about you? You want the opportunity to respond.

Ultimately you need to embrace social media and you need to do it with sincerity and honesty.

So don’t be an ass. Meet your audience. Join the conversation – don’t let it happen without you. And make sure that you do it with intention and consistency. Don’t just jump in, create a plan.

Let us know if you need help with your plan.

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The Facebook Reveal

A woman slowly revealing herself naked from behind drapes, vinage 1920's photo

We have been using the slow reveal as a way to intrigue and tantalize people forever. Now you can use it on Facebook.

The landing page on your Fan Page is your first impression on Facebook. What if you could have a slow reveal on your page?  What if you could use your page to tantalize potential new fans and give them a little thrill right from their first encounter with you?  The Facebook reveal allows you to do this. Be mysterious. Be seductive. Be intriguing. And be effective at converting lurkers into fans and clients.

Most of us have seen the landing pages on Facebook Fan Pages. They look like a mini website inside a fan page that you usually only see when someone comes to your page for the first time. Once  they have “liked” you, they are directed to your wall.

For a one time show, Facebook landing pages are highly influential in getting people to like your page. If you have a really good one, you might get someone to like your page; then they may be more inclined to go to your website, sign up on your mailing list, or just start engaging with you right off the bat.

The landing pages are what make Fan Pages so influential.

There are a lot of great examples of strong landing pages: Red Bull and Gap.

There is a code that you can use to keep a portion of your landing page blurred out to non-followers.  Then when someone clicks “Like” it is revealed to them and the image/text is no longer blurry.

The Big Reveal

Here is an example of the reveal:

Facebook Reveal

Can you imagine what you could put on your landing page that is hidden behind a blur? You can be highly provocative and use the desire to see what is there to convert people into fans.

“Like” me and I reveal a little more…

Now you can offer the promise of even more on your page with special links and content just for fans.

How do I do it?

Well if you are the one creating your landing page then you are familiar with FBML and how to code for Facebook.  Click here and you will find the code to make your page a reveal.

If you are not a FBML wiz kid, (really, how many of us are) then you can talk to a FBML designer who can create this for you. Click here to talk to a designer.

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Follow Friday: More than just Shameless Promotion!

Are you growing the quality of your network with Follow Friday?

What is the point of Follow Friday? People ask this all the time. It so often seems like it’s just gratuitous plugging of people’s friends.  Well, you are not wrong; however, you are not right either.

What is Follow Friday?

Follow Friday is a hashtag event that happens every Friday.

People tag their posts with #FF and then list names of tweeps they want to give a shout out to.

Why should I bother?

What Follow Friday promotes is engagement.  People offer the coveted #FF to a list of people they engaged with that week.  It is tells everyone who reads your tweets, “these are people I talk to, and people who talk to me”.  These are individuals with whom I have real relationships – they are concerned with conversation rather than just promoting their message.

So when some gives you a #FF they are telling all of their followers that you are a quality tweep.

The FF Strategy

#FF is as simple as listing names.  However the way you group people matters.  You do not talk to them without thinking about what you say, so do not #FF without thinking about it first.  Put similar people in like groups.

  1. When you group people in a niche you can categorize your #FF by saying “My social media #FF” or “My adult super star #FF”. This allows for easier and more effective networking.
  2. People can be peculiar about who they are grouped with. I had a social media tweep comment about being grouped with a bunch of porn stars. Afterward I realized they did not necessarily want that association. They know that I am in social media for adult entertainment, but they weren’t.  So you might not want to have your business development tweeps in with your Titty Tuesday tweeps.  Its like a seating chart at a wedding. Just because they like you does not mean they like each other.

FF Tools

  • Follow Friday Helper is a good tool. It makes it easy to see who you have been engaging with and helps you put them all in one tweet.
  • Top Follow Friday will let you see who is endorsing whom.
  • The Twitter Tag Project will look at your last 200 tweets and identify who you have engaged with and will create your #FF post.

It is Monday. You have all week to collect your Follow Friday tweeps.

Will you #FF?

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10 Tips for the best Twitter Bio

Tights with "Follow me" printed on the legsHaving a strong Twitter bio is important. This is your first impression – your first chance to get someone to like you. This is also how search engines find your profile, so you want to make sure it is SEO optimized.

Once a week I go through my new Twitter followers and I decide who I am going to follow back.  I consider a lot of factors in deciding why I follow or don’t follow someone.  One of the biggest reasons is their bio on Twitter.

Think of your bio as your 10 second elevator pitch. You have 160 characters to tell me why I should be interested in you.  If I like what I see, maybe I’ll click your profile and check out your most recent posts.  If those are interesting then I’ll follow you.  But the bio is your handshake.

5 Tips for a strong Twitter Bio:

  1. Tell me who you are. Are you a public figure? What do you do? Why are you here? I want to know who I am following
  2. Web Address: if you have a website, put the url in your bio.
  3. Don’t be crass or abrasive.  If you seem unfriendly and rude, then why would I want to follow you?
  4. Don’t try to sell me.  If your bio is trying to push a product, that tells me that you are about your sales and not about engaging with your followers.
  5. Be charming. Be nice. I want to think that if I follow you that you are approachable.

5 Tips to SEO optimize your Twitter Bio

  1. Web address in the bio. This is an easy way to have your Twitter associated with your business in the search engines.
  2. Business name in the bio. When people search for you, they often search for business names, so include it.
  3. Use industry key words in your bio. Do some keyword research and make sure to use some of the big keywords, that way when people search for those you have a chance of coming up in the search results.
  4. If your name is branded, use your name. This way when people search your name, they have an even better chance of finding you.
  5. Don’t shorten any words.  Search engines don’t search for abbreviations of words. So unless your key term is usually abbreviated, spell it out.
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Kim Kardashian does it, do you?

Kim Kardashian in a big feathery dressLast week I was drinking my morning coffee when I saw a brief interview on the Today Show with Kim Kardashian. Matt Lauer was talking to her about her personal brand-based empire. Though they did not focus on it, Kim shared that she often crowdsurfed Twitter to make both personal and business decisions.

In case you are not sure who Kim Kardashian is, she is the star of the reality TV show “Keeping up with the Kardashians”. If that didn’t answer your question (I know it didn’t for me), she is the daughter of Kris and Robert Kardashian. Her father, Robert, is a prominent defense attorney. Her parents divorced and later her mom married Olympic Gold Medalist Bruce Jenner. She has 9 siblings; 3 from her mom, 4 from Bruce and 2 from Bruce and her mom. Her family dynamic contributed to getting the reality show. But Kim is a PR maven. Like Paris Hilton, she is another person who has managed to become famous just for being famous.

Though Kim did not rely on her fame as a basis of success, she has created a very successful business. Starting off as a fashion stylist, she and her sister opened up a clothing store called DAS. She has also launched that into a high end fashion line in conjunction with fashion house Bebe; an Armenian-inspired jewelry line; a shoe company (shoedazzle.com); a fitness DVD, and most recently her own brand of perfume.

In the interview, Kim mentioned that she is often indecisive and will ask her Twitter followers for their opinion, whether it be about what color nail polish she should use or design concepts for the bottle for her new perfume. She said that involving her followers made her more accessible. It allows them to relate to her more easily and feel like they are a part of what she is doing.

This is the key. Crowdsurfing is great for gathering opinions and thoughts, but it is also an excellent way to allow people to feel that they are playing a role in your decisions. It keeps your audience involved and turns them into active participants. However, if you ask your followers for their thoughts and opinions and then completely ignore them, you will have accomplished the opposite of what you set out to do. If you are not actually interested in people’s opinions, then don’t ask.

Below is the short video interview from the Today Show – enjoy.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

This post was originally posted on Blog Cubed

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