If you have been on any of our social media courses either delivered online or in person, it’s likely that you will have heard us discuss the importance of sourcing relevant content to share with your audience on social media.

One of the big 5 questions people always ask us in relation to social media is what will I say?

We emphasise the importance of using dashboards to manage your social media, and as part of these dashboards there is often some integration of RSS Feeds. RSS readers allow the web come to you, help you keep on top of the latest developments in your industry and other areas of interest, helping you to find that relevant content for your social media audience.

One of the main customisable dashboards with RSS we have recommended is iGoogle. iGoogle offers the best customisable dashboard with different ‘gadgets’ with RSS feeds from particular blogs and websites, social media feeds, Google alert feeds , your Gmail account and almost any other ‘gadget’ you could possibly think of. Unfortunately iGoogle will cease to exist from 1st November 2013.

What is likely to take over the space iGoogle has left is a new Google Chrome extension very fittingly named ‘Awesome New Tab Page’. (You may notice the uncanny similarity of the design to that of the new Windows 8)

As brilliant as iGoogle is, the main issue with it is the set up time when installing different gadgets including RSS readers in order to customise your homepage. Awesome New Tab is much easier to customise and has a much more pleasing and interchangeable interface as icons can be moved around with ease and widgets added in seconds.

Integration with Chrome apps

A main part of the appeal of Awesome New Tab Page is the Google Chrome integration, as it is my browser of choice, and I already use many different Chrome apps. If you already use Google Chrome and have apps installed, they are stored for you and you can easily drag them anywhere on to your homepage so you do not lose anything and have a complete homepage, whether it’s your Gmail, Google Drive or any other type of Chrome app you have installed.

The Google Reader app can easily be added to this homepage, meaning that you never have to go to a different dashboard, as all the content links are on every new tab you open. What is fantastic about Google Chrome is that it uses widgets and development is actively encouraged, so new widgets will always be developed to improve your experience, which is why we think this new Chrome app will meet your past requirements met by iGoogle.

There are some other alternatives on the market including NetVibes and myfav.es which will do the job for you if you’re not a Chrome user, however I very much recommend that you become one. The development of different Google apps and intelligent docs that you can incorporate into your work processes help to substantially enhance your web experience and productivity.

As different software and cloud apps/websites continue to battle to be our first port of call when we go online, it is important to find the system that suits you and makes it easier for you to navigate to the sites you want to in one click and use the content that is coming through your streams rather than searching for the content yourself. It is amazing how many Internet users still start their activity online with the blank Google homepage. Save yourself time and make finding content and the sites you need to use easier by finding a dashboard that suits you.

Do you think Awesome New Tab Page will provide you with an adequate alternative to iGoogle?

How to report spam on Twitter and make a judgement:

So you’ve seen some acitivity on Twitter that you think may be spam? Have you been through @ReachFurther’s49 guide to what is definitely spam on Twitter but you’re still not sure? Take a look at these steps below and check if the user is a spammer before deciding to report it, in this the last of our blog series on Twitter spam.

- If you’re unsure, click on the person’s name to view their twitter profile – if they have hardly any followers, a dodgy photo and have sent loads of tweets it’s likely to be a spammer

- Never click on a link that is shared with you by someone you don’t know and appears to be unrelated to anything you’ve been saying or a link unconnected to a direct message conversation

- If you think it could be genuine, send a message to the person to check before then clicking on the link

- Click on the profile of the offender, click on the head icon next to where it says ‘follow’ and click on ‘Report for spam’

If you get stuck, just take a look at Twitter’s guide to reporting spam.

What if I get hacked?

• Go to your settings in Twitter and change your password

• Tweet and DM any people that might have been affected and tell them you got hacked

It’s a good idea to regularly change your twitter password to avoid your account being hacked.
 

Now we’ve been through what constitutes spam on Twitter in What is and isn’t spam on Twitter: Part 1. In this post I’m going to cover some of the different types of activities on Twitter that may not officially be regarded as spam by Twitter, however some members of the Twitter community can see this behaviour as spam. Instead of calling it spam, we’ll call it 'Twitter Litter.’

What can be seen by some as spam or ‘Twitter litter’

Here are some of the different types of behaviour that some users may see as spammy, or at least unnecessary, meaningless activity on Twitter.

#FF new followers auto tweets

Some users may use third-party apps to set up automated tweets to send messages sucha as “#FF Thanks for following” and @ mention multiple users. This may not be seen as spam behaviour at all by some users, but it has diminished the real function of #FF Follow Friday, as it used to mainly be used to recommend people to follow with particular reasons or suggestions why someone would want to follow that recommendation to follow. How can you genuinely recommend your followers to follow a user who has only begun to follow you?

Thanks for following @ mentions or direct messages

Again this may not be seen as spammy behaviour at all by some, however the overuse and misuse of this type of function has meant it has become disliked by some users. These messages are usually set up to be automated by third-party apps, therefore little effort and thought has gone into the messages. 

Duplicates of the same @replies

This behaviour can be seen as spammy and your account can be seen as inauthentic. If you search for tweets containing keywords related to your area of interest or a particular product you are trying to sell and you reply someone who mentions that product with exactly the same tweet, it can be seen as aggressive marketing. Users want to have conversations about brands and products without being bombarded by sales tweets.

Some people may not consider these actions as spam at all and find them perfectly acceptable, however I feel they have de-valued functions on Twitter people used to use approproately, such as Follow Friday and direct messages thanking for new followers. They’re looking for mass engagement rather than more quality engagement.

I hope that has helped clear up some of the differences between clear spamming activity and what may be seen as acceptable by some. There are always different opinions on the matter and different levels of tolerance so the guides will never been set in stone.

As Twitter says ‘What constitutes “spamming” will evolve as we respond to new tricks and tactics by spammers.’

In the next blog post in our series on spam we look at how to moderate and report spam on Twitter.
 

There has been discussion amongst our 12 Days of Twitter delegates recently as to what they think constitutes spam on Twitter, which is often a difficult question to give a definitive answer to.

There are particular actions on Twitter that can easily be determined as spam; however there are also certain types of behaviour that are a little more subjective. So in this two-part blog series I’m going to break down the different elements to help you more easily determine what types of activity on Twitter are spammy and what activity may just be par for the course!

What is spam on Twitter?

Definitely SPAM!

These are the actions on Twitter that are definitely considered spam by Twitter itself and the Twitter community. They include actions that are unsolicited, that users haven’t chosen to happen or instigated themselves.

An @mention with an unexplained or unrelated link
Have you ever received unexplained @mentions, often immediately after you’ve sent a tweet? Often you will receive @ mentions with just a link that more than likely have no relation to anything you have tweeted about. They often appear from spammy accounts that tweet the same link at many different users.

You may also receive @mentions that feature links in relation to getting more followers like the ones below.

Direct Messages with unexplained links

Similarly, if you receive a direct message from a user with a link with no explanation, this is also spam. It is more than likely that some of these accounts will have been hacked and may be unaware that they are sending these Direct Messages and that their accounts have been hacked.

So the best thing to do is to have a look at the profile of the user to see if they have a legitimate, genuine Twitter presence. If you get one of these messages, never click on the link (or it will send the same spam message to your followers). If it has come from someone you know on Twitter, send them a DM to say you think they’ve been hacked and recommend that they change their password.

Mass following and unfollowing of accounts

Twitter does not like you to follow and/or unfollow large amounts of users on mass. You may notice that once you follow 2,000 users on Twitter you will not be able to follow anymore until you have as many followers, so you will need to unfollow users to ensure you have at least a 1:1 ratio.

Twitter says that it takes into account whether your behaviour is considered spamming if ‘you have followed a large amount of users in a short amount of time’ and/or if you’ve ‘followed and unfollowed people in a short time period, particularly by automated means (aggressive follower churn)’
 

Hashtag hijacking

You may notice that users will include popular and often trending topics on Twitter, whether they be phrases or hashtags in order to bring attention to their tweets when people search on these phrases, or see them in the trending topics. This is a common example of Twitter bad practice that even major brands have been found guilty of which damaged their brand reputation online. 

Trending Topic hashtag hijacking by major brands

Kenneth Cole

 Habitat

 Trending Topic hashtag hijacking by spam accounts

These are some of the main types of spam activity you will see on Twitter, however there are other types of activities Twitter also class as spam, including username squatting and the sale of followers. For a full list have a look at The Twitter Rules. 

In the next on our blog series on spam we will look at other types of activity on Twitter that can be considered as spam in What is and isn’t spam on Twitter Part 2!