social media | Media Culpa

Social media dominates Google search results for Brand Me

In February I blogged about taking control over Brand You online and especially in terms of how your name appears in a Google search. I concluded that my blog and other social media properties that I use ranked high in a search for “Hans Kullin” on Google. The top ten results for my name on Google.se in February were:

1. The “About me” page on this blog
2. This blog
3. Blog posts tagged with my name on www.s-bloggar.se
4. Blog posts tagged with my name on mindpark.se
5. Blog post at fyranyanser.se with my name in the headline
6. My profile page on profsweden.ning.com
7. Blog post at bisonblog.blogs.com/blog with my name in the headline
8. My page at micro blog service bloggy.se
9. My page at micro blog service jaiku.com
10. Blog posts tagged with my name on sv.wordpress.com

I was more or less in control of results number 1, 2, 6, 8 and 9, with Media Culpa claiming the two top spots.

A few weeks later, in March 2009, I launched a Swedish language blog called Sociala Medier (“Social Media” in Swedish) on a very good domain: www.socialamedier.com. In spite of being active less than a year, that blog (which is built on WordPress) is already among the very top results.

Top ten today are:

1. The “About me” page on this blog
2. This blog
3. My Swedish blog Sociala Medier
4. My page on Twitter
5. My profile page on profsweden.ning.com
6. My page at micro blog service bloggy.se
7. Article about me in Dagens Media
8. Article about me in Resumé
9. Article about me in Medievärlden
10. Blog post at techrisk.se tagged with my name

I now “control” results 1-6, which is an improvement in only 11 months. My Twitter page has moved up to #4, while my Jaiku page is no longer among the top results. Back then, the first traditional media link was at #16, but now there are three in the top ten. It’s clear that blog posts and articles in online media that have my name in the title, tend to rank high.

Other social media properties that rank high are my FriendFeed page and the LinkedIn page, both in top 20, but there are still no links in the top 30 results to me on Facebook.

I wonder if there is an “easy” way to get hold of the remaining top ten spots without starting a third blog. Let’s see in 12 months what the status is.

Update: Results slightly adjusted.

Tags: brand you, micro blogs, bloggy, kullin, sociala medier, twitter. Ping.

Flight 447 discussed in social media

Airlines are probably among the businesses that are best prepared to communicate in crisis situations. If something should happen to a plane for example, there is a very high risk that the lives of passengers and crew are in danger. A worst case scenario for an airline is much more devastating than for most other businesses, so they need to be well prepared.

The tragic events today with the missing Air France Flight 447 highlights how airlines communicate in a crisis. When a plane goes missing there is a great need for information and people flock online to find out as much as possible. Among the first places we look for information are in traditional media. We also go to the company web site and in this case Air France has put up brief statements on the top of the site. People also turn to Google to find information and the very first hit on Google.se is a press release from Air France informing us about which flight is missing and where to turn for more info.

However, today we also turn to social media in times of crisis. Yesterday there was a power outage in the north of Stockholm and although the two events are not comparable in any way, it was interesting to see how the discussion started immediately on Twitter. I tweeted as soon as the lights went out and got responses from others in the neighbourhood. Soon someone came up with the hashtag #sthlmblackout and we quickly got a better understanding of the geographic scope of the blackout. Traditional media reported much later about the event that left 100,000 households without electricity for several hours.

In the same way people turn to Twitter to find information about flight 447 and to discuss the catastrophic indicent. Earlier today, “Atlantic” was one of the most discussed topics on Twitter and then “Air France” has been top five for most of the day. Thousands of tweets have also been tagged #AF447. A dedicated Wikipedia page for flight 447 has also been established and is continuously updated throughout the day.

I noticed the story first on Twitter when a person I follow retweeted the news from the account Breaking News which has more than 470,000 followers. Breaking News describes itself as “Your most credible Twitter news source. First in online breaking news!”. As more and more people join Twitter it will become an increasingly important channel for businesses in crisis situations. Air France doesn’t use the account http://twitter.com/airfrance and it is not even clear if the company is in possesion of the account. In the near future, Twitter will have to become an integral part of any company crisis plan because that is where many discuss current topics.

Related story in Swedish about Com hem and Twitter.

Update: Air France is a subsidiary of Air France-KLM Group, which many people may not be aware of. KLM has a Twitter account at www.twitter.com/KLM with four tweets about the tragedy. If I was responsible for this account, I would definitely change the background image which currently includes an image of a smiling young woman.

Tags: air+france, twitter, af447, twitter, sociala medier, air france, twitter, digital pr. Ping.

Social media in the Hudson River plane crash

The plane crash in the Hudson River in New York yesterday, is front page news also here in Sweden. It’s a fascinating story with a happy ending for the 155 people onboard thanks to a heroic performance by the pilot and his crew. And once more we see the power in social media when it comes to reporting breaking news in real time. My colleague Erin Byrne has a good description about how she heard the news first via Twitter.

“I first learned of the story via a “newsbreak” type alert from Twitter to my mobile phone.”

Among the very first reports was a Twitter post by Janis Krums from Sarasota, Florida, who was on a ferry that arrived on the scene just a few minutes after the plane had crashed into the freezing water. People were standing on the wings waiting to be rescued when Krums posted a note via TwitPic: “http://twitpic.com/135xa – There’s a plane in the Hudson. I’m on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy.” The photo he took from his iPhone was probably the first to be posted online and it has already been viewed more than 90,000 times on TwitPic alone.

Only thirty-four minutes after Krums had posted his photo online he was interviewed live on TV by MSNBC (video here). Other traditional media also reached out via social media to get hold of eyewitness stories. The Charlotte Observer first sent a news alert via Twitter and then posted several requests on Twitter.

BREAKING: US Airways Flt.1549, bound for Charlotte, has crashed into the Hudson River in New York City. Updates at www.charlotteobserver.com

If anybody sees passengers or witnesses on crashed jet twittering, pls DM to Observer

we’re looking for stringers with a journalism background for tonight in suburban New Jersey. DM to the Observer

we’re looking for stringers with a journalism background for tonight in suburban New Jersey. DM to the Observer #planecrash

#flight1549 Contact the Observer if you were on the plane – we’d love to tell your story. DM this address

#Hudson #USAirways Contact the Observer if you were on the plane – we’d love to tell your story!

The pilot Sully Sullenberger already has 22 fan groups on Facebook and there is even a Swedish one. Well deserved.

Update: Here is a map of Flight 1549 flight path.

Tags: twitter, hudson river, plane crash, flygkrash, usa, twitter. Ping.

Social media important in the 2010 election says Moderate Party

Moderaterna, the Swedish Moderate Party which is part of the ruling right-wing coalition, predict that blogs and social media will become an integral part of the 2010 election campaign. In a speech this weekend in Sollentuna outside of Stockholm, Secretary-general Per Schlingmann said that the web will be the hub in the next campaign (my translation below).

The web will be the hub in the campaign. In ten days we will release our new digital platform which will create new opportunities. How well it turns out depends on us. How open do we dare to be? Dare we let go? For me one thing is clear: in the election 2010, every Moderate blog will be valuable, every Moderate video, every Moderate Facebook group. Let us make sure that there will be as many as possible. I am also convinced that we will carry out more activities where we will meet voters directly, but these activities will be co-ordinatet online and will make it easier for people to take part of our campaign.

The prediction that the next election will be web-centric is not very risky, but nevertheless it is interesting to see that the Moderate Party is stressing social media tools so actively almost two years ahead of the election.

During the last few months, blogs have made a huge impact on the political arena, first and foremost from the FRA debate, i.e. the resistance to the new controversial Swedish wiretapping law that enables FRA, Swedish National Defence Radio Establishement, to screen and store all digital traffic passing Swedish borders. Blogs about politics and society are also one of the most popular categories in the Swedish blogosphere. The blog portal Knuff.se lists the 50 most linked to blogs in Sweden and currently about 24 of the top 50 are commenting regularly on political topics.

A question I would like Swedish party strategists to answer is how they plan to engage with female voters via social media. If my latest blog survey BlogSweden 3 is anything to go by, female blog readers don’t see blogs as an interesting channel for news about politics and society. While this was the most popular topic among male blog readers (49.2% of all male blog readers), the situation was radically different among female blog readers.

Female blog readers prefer reading blogs about (Jan 2008):
– Fashion and design (53.0%)
– Everyday life experiences (51.6%)
– Photography and art (26.6%)
– Parenthood and children (24.3%)
– Music (22.0%)
– Literature and writing (17.2%)
– Movies and tv (16.9%)
– Journalism and media (16.7%)
– Sex and dating (16.5%)
– Politics and society (14.4%)

Tags: election, blogs, 2010, moderaterna, politik, fra. Ping.