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New FTC Guidelines Affecting Social Media Marketing

Submitted by admin on Sun, 2009-11-29 21:14

U.S. federal guidelines concerning the disclosure of endorsements or incentives will set a new standard for online advertisers. The revised guidelines are intended to address hidden endorsements and incentives in a variety of new media, including blogs and word of mouth media. The rules are broad enough to affect activity on forums, Twitter and social networks.

(The various statements of fact made in this article concerning the guidelines come from the text of the FTC Guidelines: see, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising,” 16 C.F.R. Part 255. A hyperlink to a download of the full text of the rules can be found at the end of this article.)

The guidelines, promulgated by the United States’ Federal Trade Commission, go into effect on December 1, 2009 and and are intended to regulate endorsements by consumers, experts, organizations, and celebrities, as well as requiring the disclosure of “material connections” between advertisers and endorsers.

The Lights Beyond LAMP

Submitted by mariza on Wed, 2009-10-28 11:09

The 2009 Open Source CMS Market Share Report showed clearly the ongoing dominance of PHP-based content management systems. While the LAMP stack may be the leader in the arena of web content management, it is certainly not the only game in town. For the 2009 Open Source CMS Market Share Report we looked at not only the PHP-based systems, but also the Java and .NET-based systems.

Looking Beyond LAMP

The LAMP stack is populist in nature. Not only does the stack carry the cost advantages of open source, but there also exists a wide assortment of low-cost hosting and a ready (and growing) supply of developers. These characteristics create low barriers for entry and an attractive choice for individuals, hobbyists and small to medium sized enterprises.
While few would dispute that there are numerically more deployments of the common LAMP stack systems, it would be a mistake to assume that this is the only platform that matters. The web content management space is not homogenous. A hobbyist building a personal site, a small company building an online marketing presence, and a medium sized enterprise building a portal for customer relationship management are just three examples of widely disparate, yet common, uses. And while it is possible that all three of those groups might be looking at the same systems, it is more likely that those who require higher level functionality will look beyond the most common PHP-based systems. The argument becomes even more persuasive when you look at enterprise level clients.

Facebook 101: Profiles, Groups & Pages

Submitted by Ric Shreves on Thu, 2009-09-03 23:41

One of the most common -- indeed perhaps the most common question we’re asked during client consultations is: “What’s the difference between Facebook Profiles, Groups and Fan Pages? Why would I want one and not the other?” The questions go right to the heart of one of the most confusing aspects of Facebook.

The issue is made all the more confusing by the visual similarity of these items and by the fact that Profiles, Groups and Fan Pages have common aspects and features. The good news is that there are unique attributes and advantages to each and it is easy to understand once you grasp the purpose behind their creation.

Let’s start by looking at their commonalities: All three types of Facebook pages provide the same basic functions, that is, the ability to post messages and various media that are viewable to others who chose to join or follow that particular page. Beyond those basics, however, these items diverge.

Securing the Joomla! core

Submitted by mariza on Tue, 2009-08-25 14:36

Security is not one single thing; it is a process, a set of steps that need to be taken in order to achieve a result. The process begins with your server settings and the Joomla! core files. If you fail to make this base level of the system secure, than additional steps are at the very least of limited effectiveness, at the very worst -- they are pointless. Note as well, the first step towards assuring your site’s integrity is also one of the easiest: Only install the most recent version of the Joomla! core file packages found at the official download site, JoomlaCode.org. Do not download and install core file archives from other sites, as you cannot be certain of their origins, completeness, or integrity.

This article is excerpted from Ric Shreves' upcoming title, the Joomla! Bible, from Wiley & Sons. That book is due for publication in early November and can be pre-ordered directly from the publisher at www.wiley.com. Watch this site across the coming months as we preview more from this new title. This article originally appeared on the author's site, RicShreves.net.

 

Improving Front End Content Management Work Flow

Submitted by mariza on Tue, 2009-07-21 17:15

If you have ever worked with the front end content management workflow in the default Joomla! system, you will appreciate that, straight out of the box, it is not as user-friendly as you might like it to be (indeed, some might say that is a generous description!). Nonetheless, it remains a powerful tool when properly configured -- and when the team using it is adequately trained.

This article is excerpted from Ric Shreves' upcoming title, the Joomla! Bible, from Wiley & Sons. That book is due for publication in early November and can be pre-ordered directly from the publisher at www.wiley.com. Watch this site across the coming months as we preview more from this new title. This article orignally appeared on the author's site, RicShreves.net.

From a workflow perspective, one of the most frustrating limitations of the front end content management system is the lack of an effective, configurable notifications and tracking system. The more complex your content structures are, the more significant this limitation becomes.

Tools for Tracking Buzz on Twitter

Submitted by Ric Shreves on Sun, 2009-07-19 19:35

Twitter is one of the most popular expressions of the social media boom. Though a very limited "micro-blogging" format -- where speakers are limited to messages that are no more than 140 characters in length -- it has become extremely popular, particularly with early adopters and people who spend a great deal of time online. As someone interested in marketing, I find Twitter to be a way to tap into the buzz from social-minded, technologically-friendly Internet users. Gauging that buzz can be a challenge.

In the course of preparing this year's Open Source CMS Market Share Report, I've spent a fair amount of time researching Twitter as a means of judging buzz and popularity. As a result of that I have bookmarked quite a few tools that I found useful. In this post I share what I've found -- perhaps it will save you some time.

There are 23 tools here, organized topically as follows: