What We Are Reading

What We’re Reading | Week of July 9, 2012

July 12, 2012 | Posted by Ashley Orr

Ashley: We’ve covered the role of social media at the 2012 Olympics, but no one has really been discussing the role online media will play in the 2012 Paralympics. That’s about to change. The International Paralympics Committee has put a huge emphasis on driving awareness through online outlets including social media. They’re working with the athletes as well as streaming live coverage of the London Olympic Games to help cross promote to  additional Olympic fans. It’s a pretty interesting tactic to get in front of potential fans, and I hope it works.

Paula: The Federal Trade Commission has ordered Google to pay a record fine in the amount of 22.5 million for privacy violations, which seems like a lot of money for a big thing, but it translates to just five business hours for Google. When Internet giants can scoff at such a high price tag that’s just the cost of doing business, the question becomes, can the FTC make their regulations stick, and what can Google and others do with all that extra information?

Amanda: Do you feel like searching on Google is difficult? Most would say no. But there may be a lot of useful features that you are missing. For example, did you know you can read pages in a language you’ve never studied?  Or use the search box as a calculator? In order to inform its users of these “hidden” features, Google has Senior Research Scientist Dan Russell teaching six free 50-minute courses termed “Power Searching with Google” over the next two weeks. What are your thoughts on Google’s innovative approach to help users get more out of its search results?

Sally: I didn’t so much read as watch this week. NASA is turning to social media to generate interest in Curiosity Rover, the spacecraft presently plummeting towards Mars at 13,000 mph. Their educational and entertaining video, “Seven Minutes of Terror,” has accrued more than 500,000 million views since its debut a few weeks ago. In addition, the Twitter account for the spacecraft, Mars Curiosity, has more than 111,000 followers. NASA will be holding meetups for its Twitter followers, called tweetups, for the anticipated Mars landing.

Tiffany: Is your company prepared  for an onslaught of online criticism? If not, you’re not alone. According to the survey “Communications, Campaigns and Social Media,” 72% of businesses rated their preparedness as average or below with 20% being completely unprepared for crisis. What are you waiting for? Let’s get planning!