September 2012

Orlando, Social Media, The New iPhone, Whatever

in Social Media  by iqmadmin 0 comments

chrisNice day at iQuarius! Can’t complain about the turn the weather’s taking here in Orlando.

Chris, our social media manager, got the new iPhone 5. We say this with a little sigh of exasperation, but also with a complete acceptance that iQuarius personnel are avid consumers of the technology we design for and produce content for.  We work on the Internet, but we also play on the Internet. We don’t just manage social media – we love social media! We produce websites, copy, streaming video, 3D animation, mobile apps, and audio post-production… but we also consume all of the above like there’s no tomorrow.

And, technically, there’s no tomorrow.

Tech changes. Tomorrows change. At any rate, it’s part of our jobs to keep up with the changes, which we do with confidence.

Social Media Group on Facebook

We’ve been talking a lot about Orlando social media here. We keep it pretty light with plenty of pics, infographics, and the sort. Come join us if you’d like.

So the ability to take panoramic photos is a pretty cool new feature on the new iPhone. Here’s a view from our offices.

orlando social media

Instagram Infographic | Instagram Filters On Old-School Cameras

in Internet Marketing  by iqmadmin 0 comments

Things we love at iQuarius:

We also like when those pics of people’s lunch tacos and overall lives look more exciting thanks to Instagram filters.

Can you imagine what it would have taken, a couple of decades ago, to get these same effects? Each effect now take a single click on a mouse. Check this out, though.

instagram infographic

Free Starbucks | iQuarius Starbucks Giveaway 9/19 ~ 9/28

in Social Media  by iqmadmin 0 comments

free starbucksiQuarius Media is giving away Starbucks giftcards for being our friend!

Here’s the link to the Starbucks Giveaway contest page on Facebook.

Winners will be notified by email first, so make sure to leave your name and email at the contest page.

Even current clients and fans are eligible to win!

The contest runs from 9/19 through 9/28 (Friday). Winners will be notified soon after through email and on Facebook. Good luck, coffee lovers (or friends of coffee lovers)!

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If the link above does not work, you can manual copy and paste this into your browser address bar:

https://www.facebook.com/iQuariusMedia/app_197602066931325

Twitter Redesign: Who's Moaning About It?

in Social Media  by iqmadmin 0 comments

twitterWith each new Facebook update, there’s a good, loud whining that comes along from people who proclaim they’re fixing something that ain’t broke. It’s not as if Twitter were exempt from that same outcry when they do an overhaul.

Trust us, we hear it firsthand.

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo went on NBC’s Today show to announce the changes: Profile pages on Twitter look different now. Twitter is also throwing its weight behind mobile (which is still Facebook’s weak spot, despite recent changes to its mobile apps). Of course, literally a few seconds later, the first wave of complaints started on social media.

The Twitter Re-Design is More Visual and Fast

Expansion of visuals is the main call of the day with the new Twitter redesign:

  • Huge header image (banner) across the top
  • User avatars getting pushed to prominence

It’s all part of what the company calls “our mobile-first strategy.” Costolo described the new mobile apps: “We rebuilt Twitter for iPad from the ground up to make it fast, beautiful and easy to use.”

Sizing Hints For Your New Header Image

  • Original image size cannot exceed 1252×626 pixels (with a max file size of 5MB)
  • Try to keep above 640 px
  • Call us to do it for you

Why They Need To Keep Updating, Despite Protests

For all the voices decrying the changes, there is a reality that the social media landscape is changing drastically and rapidly. It’s for the simple fact that technology changes the people who use it, drastically and rapidly. Moore’s Law applies to social media as well, folks.

The smartphones and tablets and getting more powerful and getting into the hands of more and more people, and the apps need to perform. Twitter needs to perform on these devices or they lose relevance (same goes for Facebook and other networks, of course).

And by this logic, more changes are coming. Those who are still moaning about it will, themselves, become irrelevant.

iQuarius Media Blogs for Good

in Internet Marketing  by iqmadmin 0 comments

As part of the Blogging For Good program, we would like to highlight a local organization that is bringing good to the Central Florida community: The Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.

According to the site, the Second Harvest Food Bank  (SCFBCF) is a “private, nonprofit organization that collects and distributes donated food to more than 500 nonprofit partner agencies in six Central Florida counties: Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia.”

The Central Florida area is no exception to the hunger epidemic sweeping the nation with 1 in 5 of our population (approximately 732,000 people) needing food assistance last year.

How Second Harvest Helps

In response to this need, Second Harvest distributed more than 33 million pounds of grocery product, which is the equivalent to more than 21 million meals. Still not convinced? The SCFBCP also aids in the following ways: 

–       47% of clients served are children.

–       20% of the households served have at least one member age 65 or older.

–       33% of households served have at least one working adult.

With your help and donations, Second Harvest is able to collect and distribute food, assist with food stamp applications, provide disaster relief, and so much more. Want to get involved? Check out this link.

Enter to Win!

Second Harvest has created a raffle just for the Blogging for Good campaign! By simply buying a raffle ticket for just $10, you can win $100 in prizes. The raffle prizes include: 

–       3 day/2 night stay in a 2-bedroom villa at any Westgate Resort (excluding Westgate south beach)

–       $25 gift card for Elephant Bar

–       2 GA Wine Women & Shoes Tickets (we don’t have our date set yet for next year. working on a venue this month)

–       Pair of stemless wine glasses (with Second Harvest and Wine Women & Shoes logo)

–       Second Harvest Food Bank T-shirt

iQuarius Media is here for all of your blogging needs! Contact us today for content marketing and more.

Clinton Speech And The Ridiculous Amount of Tweets That Accompanied It

in Social Media  by iqmadmin 0 comments

clintonWhen news happens, tweets happen.

During the 48 minutes that Bill Clinton spoke during the DNC to nominate Pres. Obama for the running, there were a total of 496,222 tweets. All included the hashtag #DNC alone or in combo with other relevant hashtags.

Besides the (literally) hundreds of thousands of “regular” folk tweeting their feelings on President Clinton’s talking points, there were relevant tweets by the pundits, news personalities, journalists, members of fact-checking organizations, and others. It’s always an interesting to see what kind of material was most re-tweeted. The easily shared nature of tweets makes it a good barometer of real-time trends in a population. Check these out.

clinton

Don't Buy Followers on Facebook and Twitter

in Social Media  by iqmadmin 0 comments

buy followersDon’t Buy Facebook Likes

The whole point of social networking is to be social. And to network. Buying Likes is neither. But it’s also more damaging than you might think.

Don’t Buy Twitter Followers Either

Sometimes, we’re hired to clean up an online reputation. And we admit that some messes are harder to clean up than others.

Can we tell you something, though? One of the messiest situations we are called to fix is so unnecessary. We understand the importance of having a good following on Facebook or Twitter so that anyone else who chances upon it gets the right impression. We also understand the pull to buy those Likes and followers.

But it’s just not a good idea.

Chances are, you will not be publicly ridiculed for buying followers (like Mr. Romney there). But just because you’re not getting the celebrity treatment when it comes to being outed for fake fans, it doesn’t mean that someone who matters won’t be coming to the same conclusion about you. And if that someone found out about fake followers while they were researching you and trying to decide if they wanted to do business with you, well, this could be a costly mess, indeed.

Seriously, Don’t Buy Followers, Likes, or Fans

Most companies purporting to selling fans are selling you fake or inactive accounts.

  1. Regular fans, potential booking agents or venues, etc. can see a spike in your analytics with a single click of their mouse.  Look at any Facebook page. Click on Likes, and a graph appears. Anyone can see this. A jump in the number of Likes is easy to spot – and can look mighty suspicious.
  2. Getting caught can make you look like a phony! Zero credibility.
  3. Your Most Popular City may turn out to be Pakistan. Which is great if you live and work in Pakistan. …Do you live and work in Pakistan?
  4. How will it look if your average follower is between the ages of 13 ~17? Or completely skewed on the side of one gender? This may work in your favor if you’re marketing, say, pre-teen apparel, but what if your target audience was high-end homeowners? You may be sending a vastly different message than you intend.
  5. The BIGGEST thing: “People Talking About This” vs. “Likes” will be horribly skewed. A huge number of followers is great! But if they’re silent, that can be more damaging to your reputation than not having them at all.

The point of social media is to engage. Buying followers shows a complete misunderstanding of this point – and power – of social networking.

The Bottom Line

It’s quality over quantity. Despite the growth of the Internet and the changing of the business landscape, the basics tenets of good business have not changed.

We know business. We know social networking. Ask us your questions here or on Facebook. iQuarius.

407-378-7817