You probably already know it, the Carve team are a group of massive geeks who love to hang around on the internet to catch every social media related news story. They share it by email, by Twitter, by Facebook, but in the end it always stays in the office. So we’ve decided to share it with you. Concretely, every day the team will post a blog showcasing three articles to keep you posted about what’s hot in social media. No need to thank us, it’s our pleasure!

So for today….

Hootsuite announce new Facebook features: “Facebook Groups, Events, Photos & Geo Make #HootSuite Even Friendlier”

“How Younger Adults React to Brands on Social Networks”

“Google Explores Re-Ranking Search Results Using +1 Button Data”

Have a good read and see you tomorrow!

The Carve Team

The rise of social media usage has undoubtedly changed the way we communicate, but does it mean that the art of conversation is dead?

Paul Harrison gave his views on this to BBC Radio this week. He believes that rather than social media tools hampering our ability to talk, we are now able to participate in a more global conversation. Yes there is a certain amount of inanity on social sites (Paul too was questioning the value of his beer-related tweets during a bbq this weekend) but that aside, there is a tremendous amount of value to be found in our wider online conversational abilities.

Paul also discussed how we unconsciously give away private information on social sites. As we mentioned in a previous blog, we should be mindful of our privacy settings and ensure that we think about the impact (preferably in advance) of what we post online.

You can listen to Paul’s interview with BBC Radio in full here, from 49:11 into the broadcast:

Paul Harrison was quoted in an article by Charlotte Gill in the Daily Mail on the 4th April, highlighting why we should all be mindful of what we post online.   You can no longer treat your online communications as “private conversations” because online everything you say is published and potentially broadcast to thousands.

The full article is available here: One click to disaster: Ever moaned about work on Facebook? Or joked about your boss? It could end in a P45…

Paul believes employees need to be given strict guidelines as to what people can and can’t say on Facebook: ‘Unless firms are explicit about how their staff use social networks, it’s unfair for people who are not internet gurus. Facebook’s privacy settings are longer than the U.S. Constitution.’

More and more employers are using what’s said online in their recruitment decisions.  Don Leslie, from recruitment agency Beament Leslie Thomas was also quoted in the article, ‘People post things that maybe they shouldn’t, even years before they apply for the job but find that it’s difficult to erase from the internet. If they’re savvy they can block access to what people see on Facebook and other sites. But while some are savvy, some aren’t.’

Paul was also interviewed by BBC Radio on this subject. The interview can be heard from 17.30 minutes into the broadcast:

The internet has a long memory…think before you post. And be mindful of your privacy settings!

Social Services are being forced to re-examine guidelines for closely monitoring contact between adopted children, siblings and birth parents, as the explosion of social media brings new challenges to this delicate issue. The BAAF (British Association for Adoption and Fostering) has held several conferences in 2010 to discuss the rise of Facebook and other social media channels, and their impact on these traditional guidelines. Paul was delighted to speak at these events and we are very proud of his contribution to this important topic.

The BBC has covered this in depth following the latest BAAF conference in Cardiff, and Paul is quoted here

Paul’s comments on social networking and adoption were also included in Claudia Hammond’s recent Radio 4 programme. (from 20′ onwards)

Thanks,

Kate & Chris

Following today’s  Mashable article about Facebook Careers app BranchOut, it’s high time we devoted some time to looking at its implications for individuals and employers ( and agencies. )  First, the intro video:

Well, the average age of a Twitter user  is 39 years old
The Average Age of LinkedIn User? 44
And the Average Age of Facebook User? 38

This and a bunch of other social media insights on this infographic from the tweeps at Flowtown: click here for the full hi-res version.

We were thrilled to have been at the launch of the community consultations for the update of the South Australian Strategic Plan today.

It was inspiring to see so many community groups, businesses, individuals and government come together for the common goal of making the place we live the best it can be.

Launch of South Australia's Strategic Plan community consultations

South Australia has been really innovative in its approach - which has been recently acknowledged with an international award.

Carve has been working hard alongside the SA Plan team to develop a social media strategy that raises awareness of the plan, its relevance to everyday South Aussies and ultimately encourages them to ‘join the conversation’ wherever it suits them.

This also involved putting the tools in place to allow as many South Australian as possible to engage in the consultation process including a website that allows debate and discussion, a presence on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and more to come as the consultations progress over the next few months.

This is an enlightening presentation for anyone who is involved in social networking by Paul Adams, a UX researcher from Google.

Probably most relevant for someone who’s daily actions can be fairly consistently tracked on Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter and particularly those who want to keep their personal and professional lives separate online.

And while we are on the topic of social profiles, another great post you might like to check out is about knowing and maintaining your own social footprint effectively from Michelle Prak here.

Robert Greene : King of Facebook 12-14 June 2010
Anelka : King of Facebook 19 june 2010
Find here the World Cup players as ranked by Facebook users, that is by their respective number of mentions on a given day.
Simple and fun. As well as the best way to know who’s buzzing now. Probably applicable for other events…Olympics, Academy Awards, National Elections…

Carve likes it.

Hot on the heels of considerable user concern about recent privacy changes (cleverly demonstrated by the already-notorious http://youropenbook.org/) Facebook has been burning the midnight oil with a “Privacy Redesign”.  Just got this email illustrating the advertiser perspective.

Hi Paul,

Facebook will roll out changes today that will make it easier for our users to understand and control their privacy settings. As this change will have an impact on our users, we wanted to let you, a valued advertising partner, know about it. Please note that this change will not affect your advertising campaigns and there is no action required on your part.

Facebook is a company that moves quickly, constantly innovating and launching new products to improve the user experience. The feedback we heard from users was that in our efforts to innovate, some of our privacy settings h ad become confusing.

We believe in listening to our users and taking their feedback into account whenever possible. We think the following changes address these concerns by providing users with more control over their privacy settings and making them more simple to use.

Starting today, Facebook will:

*	Provide an easy-to-use “master” control that enables users to set who can see the content they share through Facebook.  This enables users to choose, with just one click, the overall privacy level they’re comfortable with for the content they share on Facebook. Of course, users can still use all of the granular controls we’ve always offered, if they wish.
*	Significantly reduce the amount of information that must be visible to everyone on Facebook. Facebook will no longer require that users’ friends and connections are visible to everyone. Only Name, Profile Picture, Networks and Gender must be publicly available. Users can opt to make all other connections private.
*	Make it simple to control whether other applications and websites access any user information. While a majority of our users love Facebook apps and Facebook-enhanced websites, some may prefer not to share their information outside of Facebook. Users can now opt out with just one click.

I encourage you to take a moment to read our CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s blog post and check out the new Facebook Privacy Page.

Thanks,
The Facebook Ads Team