Meerkat- it’s kind of a big deal…

Background

In case you missed it Twitter has gotten a huge upgrade by way of the Meerkat app. Weird name I know- but as someone who has never successfully created or marketed an app I’m in no place to judge. Perhaps Timon was the developers favorite character in Lion King -who knows.

After launching about a month ago Meerkat has taken Twitter by storm, by creating a way for Twitter users to share live video content.

Why People Are Freaking Out

Twitter itself has not had a direct way to post video content. Generally, if you want to share any video content in the Twittersphere you would link your tweet through another application.  I personally use Instagram or Vine, or in some cases for large videos links to Youtube. Long story short,  there are a lot of ways to post video on Twitter. HOWEVER, up until now there hasn’t been a way to link LIVE STREAM videos to Twitter.

What that means for Twitter users is that now instead of recording content to post later (either by a day or a couple of minutes) Meerkat allows users to post videos as the action is happening. Essentially, users log into Meerkat with a Twitter account and the followers of that Twitter account can see what the person filming is seeing in real-time.

So What?

As a sports professional my mind immediately goes to this app’s implications for the future of live events. For example, why pay to live stream a non-network game when I can follow someone who is live streaming it with Meerkat for free?

Yes, in reality I will probably just see a lot more obnoxious videos on my timeline posted by people who think live streaming is an excuse to share EVERYTHING they’re doing (ain’t nobody got time for that!).

However, with major events coming up like SXSW, Coachella, as well as major league baseball starting up again, there will be plenty of high profile opportunities for Meerkat to make a colossal impression on the public and make itself a household name in the technology world.

Dubsmash- Fun App of the Week

I am obsessed with this week’s Fun App of the Week- it’s call Dubsmash.

 

Here’s the logo in the app store:

One of my friends recently sent me a video of her little cousin lip-dubbing “Let It Go” from Frozen (what else do little kids want to sing?).

Here are a couple of examples so you can see what the deal is-

Ever since I saw that video I have been non-stop recording Dubsmashes and sending them to pretty much everyone in my contacts list. I swear, no one I know is getting texts or calls. It’s all me lip syncing to

Originally, the app came out in November 2014, but I am jumping on the bandwagon now.

 

If you’re interested here are the details

 

Price: FREE (although you can pay more for more effects- I’m all about the free apps though)

 

Account: You can create an account through an email of Facebook

 

Search Feature: There’s a search feature at the top right- for example I have tirelessly searched “The Office” for Michael Scott quotes

 

Sending Videos: You can choose to send the video through Facebook messenger (assuming you signed up for your account with your Facebook login), Whatsapp (for those with international ties), through text message or you can save it to your phone to post to other platforms.

Snapwhat?

Basic tips and tricks for Snapchat beginners

 

I got a Snapchat account once it became a part of mainstream culture, and ditched the social stigma of solely being used to send compromising pictures *wink wink*.

For awhile I’ve been anti-Snapchat.  I never really understood the hype, to be honest. However, once my family started using Snapchat to send pictures of their babies I decided to join the herd and sign up again.

Little did I know there have been some huge changes in the Snapchat that I knew. Now all my friends were sharing their Snapchats with filters and personalized location-based icons.

So for all of you out there who were just as confused as I was here is what I found out after doing a little detective work.

Pictures vs. Video:

With Snapchat you can take pictures or videos. To take a picture you press the circular button (I’m using the word button loosely) in the center of the screen.

To take a video hold down the circular button. When the circle turns red, that’s how you’ll know it’s recording.

 

Snapchat Story:

This is where all your friends can see any picture of video you post. You can control who can see your story by going to your settings. You can find your settings by clicking the Snapchat icon at the top of the screen and then pressing the gear icon in the top right corner of the screen. Then scroll down until you see “Who can..” and one of the options is “View my story”. In that section you can choose whether between everyone being able to see your story, just your friends, or if you customize it you can select which friends can see your story. For example, if you want to post some an early morning selfie where you’re not looking your best but don’t want your crush or coworkers to see it, you can select only your group of close friends who have seen you at your worst.

 

Filters:

To get filters all you need to do is swipe left on the screen. This will give your Snap different color overlays, geographical or holiday related stamps (I saw so many St. Patrick’s Day stamps this past week), etc.

Changing Text Sizes:

Ever wonder how your friends on have CRAZY BIG fonts. To achieve the same effect you need to pull up the type box on your screen. Then click the T in the top right corner to enlarge the text.

BONUS: this also applies to emojis!

More Colors:

Who doesn’t like to draw? And now you can add even more colors to your Snaps. To do this put your finger on the color bar and without your finger leaving the screen and move it up or down to select the color from white to black.

Have more tricks of the trade? Let me know- I’d be happy to try them out!

Popular Hashtags

Popular Hashtags

Let’s face it, there’s no way we can all keep on top of ALL the hashtags that are on Twitter. Here is a starter-kit, or cheat sheet, for popular hashtags in the Twittersphere.

To those of you who don’t know Hashtags are basically the first letters of phrases after a # symbol.

For the most part, a lot are based on days of the week.

#MCM: Man Crush Monday- you post a picture of your favorite celebrity (or non celebrity) man, my go to is Hugh Jackman, specifically when he plays Wolverine.

#WCW: Woman Crush Wednesday- you post a picture of your favorite celebrity (or non celebrity) woman

#TBT: Throwback Thursday- you post a picture of you or your friends from the past (like baby pictures, although more recent pictures are also acceptable)

#FBF- Flashback Friday- similarly to Throwback Thursday this is an excuse to post older pictures on new media

#FF- Follow Friday- you can suggest people for your followers to follow

Non-weekday hashtags are also popular.

#Igers- this stands for Instagrammers, or people who use Instagram

#Oomf- stands for one of my followers

#YOLO- You only live once, immortalized by Drake’s song The Motto,

#Lrt- stands for last retweet, so it references your last retweet

#Smh- for the longest time I though this hashtag stood for so much hate, however, it actually stands for shaking my head

Twitter is all about joining in on the conversation. Hopefully this Hashtag dictionary will enable you to get chatting!

How to Participate in a Twitter Chat

So wise, and perfect advice for those who want to expand their Twitter base!

These are a Few of My Favorite Things: My Top 3 Reasons to Love Social Media

 

1. Versatility

There are so many things people can do with social media! This one is obvious but there’s a reason it’s my all-time favorite. Because social media is so integrated into our daily lives and we all get stuck in our own routines it’s easy to forget how different our lives would be without it. You can use Facebook, Twitter, etc. to keep in touch with family members, to receive news, to make a living (which this blogger one day hopes to achieve), or any other number of cool and innovative purposes. The best part—the ways social media is used JUST KEEPS GROWING!

 2. Interactivity

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE that with new media people can easily and actively participate in conversations with news organizations. For example, you can Tweet events happening in your community and share them with news sources or respond to stories from you favorite news channel. Yes, it may cause some problems but ideally everyone can voice their opinions and participate in our increasingly post-broadcast world.

3. The Guilty Pleasure Factor

I admit, I have a weird affinity for all of Disney’s teen stars. Social media let’s me follow all the drama that if was in my non-virtual life would drive me crazy. We’ve all heard about some sort of celebrity Twitter fight or something equally ridiculous (check out these stunners…http://bit.ly/124GUdX ). Basically it’s like being part of a tabloid or a Real Housewives Reunion without having to personally deal with all the emotional baggage. Shallow? Perhaps, but hey, it’s my Twitter account and I’ll follow whoever I want.  The best part of the virtual cat-fights is that if I get sick of them I can ignore them!

There are literally HUNDREDS more reasons to love social media, share yours!

Insta-Update

Hey, hey, hey! Social media news headed your way–

A month ago Instagram added a video feature to it’s app (most likely to keep up with the continued success of Vine). One of the major problems users were having with the video  feature was that to post an Instagram video users would have to post it in real time, which means that you’d have to have your Instagram app ready for use when exciting new things were happening and you couldn’t use videos you had taken earlier to put into you feed.

To remedy this dilemma Instagram announced yesterday that now Instagram 4.1 will allow Insta-fanatics to post previously recorded videos on to their Instagram accounts.

HUZZAH! Go out a celebrate with a Insta-video! 

Hashtags 101

Hey there! Long time no post- but I have returned from the wifi-less zone and now I’m back in action!

Ok so down to business, let’s talk hashtags. Hashtags, for those of you don’t know, are any words or set of words with the # symbol in front of it and they are most commonly used on social media. Although I’m sure we all have that annoying friend who adds verbal hashtags to conversations.

Why Hashtags are Cool, and Super Practical:

Hastags are a quirky way to brand your social media post, as well as search for posts that are interesting to you.

For example, if you tweet about your puppy and use the hashtag #puppylove, as I am wont to do with my dog Marley (as in Bob Marley, not the mischievous dog in the book/movie), the hashtag is a way to tell people what your post is about. Similarly, other dog lovers can search on their social media for hashtags, like #puppylove, and your tweet will come up.

It’s also a great way to keep up with events, topics of personal interest or news. Many times a specific event will have its own hashtag, like a movie premiere or conference. This way all of the guests can all connect without having to know each other or follow each other. As long as the same hashtag is used you’ll be able to see anyone else’s social media posts with that same hashtag identifier.

My cousin actually just got married and she asked guests to use a specific hashtag for pictures or videos from the ceremony and reception. That way after the wedding she could search for the hashtag she created and see all the great moments her guests captured that night.

Hashtag Know How:

            When you create or use hashtags it’s important to keep some basics in mind. One such basic is that hashtags don’t include apostrophes or other kinds of punctuation, including spaces.

            For example:

 #youremyfavorite- correct

#you’remyfavorite- WRONG!!

The hashtag is only what is directly connected to the # symbol, and shows up blue on Twitter, anything that breaks up the hashtag cuts off the rest of what you intend to hashtag.

I know all of you grammar sticklers are going NUTS right now, but hey, get on board or get out of the way!

Also, when you’re using a predestinated hashtag, like I did for my cousin’s wedding, make sure you have the right hashtag. There’s nothing more embarrassing than using the wrong or misspelled hashtag in a post, thank God there’s that screen there so no one can see you blush! People who post on smart phones with autocorrect should be particularly wary of this common hashtag faux pas.

Oh, and one more EXTREMELY CRUCIAL detail to make sure you come off sounding like a hashtagging fiend, never, and I mean never, call it a pound symbol. As tech savvy as you may be, by saying pound you will not only completely date yourself but also loose digital street cred.

Until next time,

          Your Gal Friday

When to Post on Social Media

If you’re new to the social media game, or haven’t been receiving as many clickthroughs as you want you might be asking yourself  “WHEN SHOULD I POST?”

Have no fear, expert researchers, as well as the personal experience of yours truly can lead you in the right direction!

TWITTER: 1PM-3PM

The best time to tweet is between 1PM and 3PM. Let’s face it, unless you’re Superman, everyone starts to drag in the early afternoon which makes it the perfect time for a little distraction. Cue Twitter! What better way to stave off boredom than by seeing what other people are doing?

FACEBOOK: 1PM-4PM

Likewise Facebook also serves as a respite for the after-lunch slump. Another similarity between Twitter and Facebook clickthrough rates is their worst times to post. Anytime after 8PM until around 8AM or 9AM the next morning is sending your tweet or post into the Bermuda Triangle, it may get some positive reception but you’re definitely taking a risk. My suggestion if you choose to post between these hours is to re-post during times with higher traffic. Unless, of course, you cater your social media to chronic insomniacs or vampires in which, case rock on with late night tweets.

PINTEREST: 2PM-4PM or 8PM-1AM

The best time to post on Pinterest is ALL THE TIME. Just kidding, I am just slightly addicted to Pinterest, as evidenced by the 12 weddings I have planned down to the flower arrangements although they are currently useless (wedding plans:12, romantic relationships:0).  The actual best times to post to Pinterest is Saturday mornings and any other days between 2PM-4PM or 8PM-1AM. Because Pinterest is not a news source the same way Facebook or Twitter are the timing is slightly different. Pinterest, being less timely than the other two social media covered so far, will also receive relative success to posts later in the night too. For example, when people are eating ice cream and watching trashy TV shows at 11:30 at night instead of hanging out with actual people…just saying.

LINKEDIN:  7AM-9AM or 5PM- 6PM

LinkedIn is a little different. Because LinkedIn is a mostly professional site people who are viewing your page or your company’s page are going to be mostly looking from 9AM to 5PM. Therefore, try to post at the very beginning of the business day or the very end, between 7AM-9AM and 5PM-6PM. These time windows ensure that your content is read by either the office early birds or everyone that stays late to catch up.

GOOGLE+: 9AM-11AM

Like LinkedIn, Google+ is mostly a business or industrial site. Consequently, successful posting times are from 9AM-11AM, so professionals just starting their day have something to ease them into the daily grind.

BLOGS: 8AM-11AM

New blog articles are best posted during the early to late morning. That way the posts are right there when people wake up, or as they’re scrolling through their e-mail or other social media online, your new post pops up and grabs their attention. If you post much later that 11AM chances are your post is going to be piled on by other posts so that the next time when they look at their blog sites you new post is all the way at the bottom and less likely to be read.

*I realize as I’m posting this article I’m breaking my own rule, as it’s 3:40PM, but I am spending the week in a non-wifi residence so I am currently trying to optimize my wifi time by drinking a coffee at a small café as slowly as I can, all the while getting dirty looks from the wait staff who clearly know I’m using them for their internet connection—EEK!*

That’s all for now! If you have any other sites I didn’t have here or want to share your own experience please do!

Yours truly,

    Your Gal Friday  

(For the visual learners out there!)