Social Media - what does it stand for during a crisis

The recent Christchurch earthquake has impacted us all in some way.  Once we have moved past the inevitable shock and grief we want to do something that can help those in need.

Social Media is taking a front line in communications, being regarded by many as the primary source of up to the minute and accurate information from victims with mobiles to the media searching for stories.

Watching the Twitter and Facebook feeds over the past few days I have been surprised at how respectful and careful the majority of users have been. There is always the risk of misinformation through by far the few occasions seem to be as a result of mistake rather than mischief.

I have used the cloud bookmarking site Delicious to create this referenced site to pages and resources relevant to the Christchurch Earthquake. This includes Accommodation, Transport, Fundraising etc. If you know of any other resources let me know and I will add them.

New Features for Facebook Business Pages

Facebook Pages are evolving and their latest profile update introduced today gives users the ability to physically switch between their personal and business page profiles.

While previously you could be seen only as the business while updating your page (Business Persona) you could only like and comment on other pages as yourself (Personal Persona), this is all about to change.   This change to the way Facebook profiles work means you can now fan other pages as your page giving your own business presence an increased profile.

From a business and promotional perspective this is great news. Many marketers have been hesitant to use Facebook pages for fear that it is linked with their personal profile. While technically this has never been the case, from an external user’s perspective at least, it has been a bit of a barrier for the less experienced user who is rightly protective of their personal privacy and the desire to keep home life and work life separate.

Introduced today and currently in preview mode it goes live officially on March 10th. To get a preview and jump the early upgrade queue just log into your page and take the quick demo tour.

You will receive the following added functionality to help enhance your fan base engagement:

• Notifications when fans interact with your page or posts
• A place to showcase photos along the top of your page
• A news feed for your page
• The ability to Like and post on other pages as your page

We think this is way overdue but a good move on Facebook’s part. Finally they are taking the role of business pages more seriously reinforcing the idea that there is as much a place for business in social as there is for play.

Go to our Facebook page and let us know what you like and dislike about Facebook pages. http://www.facebook.com/MagpieMedia