What We Know About Lift: It's Not Twitter

There is probably our world needs more than another social media platform. Right? We need another application to teach grandpa. We need another URL for IT to block at the office. We need another website to drain us of more, what were, potentially productive hours. The fascination with social media has spread like the plague; however, the question remains—what can social media offer us in the future that we are not currently being offered?

A few of the masterminds behind Twitter have been spending their time creating a new networking application. At the moment, we don’t know much about the project, but here is what we do know: the name is Lift; a brief, vague description: “an interesting new application for unlocking human potential through positive reinforcement” (¶2).

Social media experts were quick to sniff around the secretive project and quickly dismiss it as a variation of Twitter. Crowdvine Events Social Media Networks CEO Tony Stubblebine was quick to clarify that Lift will not include anything having to do with tweeting or following. He defends the company’s ambiguous statements by stating that descriptions at this point do not properly depict Lift’s indefinable, innovative qualities. Stubblebine continues by saying if social networking is even a proper categorization for the platform; yes, it’s social, but doesn’t feature photo albums—an obvious reference to Facebook.

Currently, Lift is in alpha testing and there is no formal word when the application will be released or even become available in beta. If you are interested in receiving updates about the development of Lift, join the e-mailing list located on the company landing page.

At the present time, we don’t know how Lift will “unlock human potential”; we don’t know what type of “positive reinforcement” they expect will make that happen. We don’t know if it’s hype or a new concept that will make this world a better place.

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Source: Kolawole, E. (2011). Stubblebine: “Lift is not a variation of Twitter.” The Washington Post. Retrieved on Sept. 20, 2011.

Beef With the Biebers

In previous blogs, I have discussed strategies for achieving YouTube notoriety, including: video ideas, descriptions/tags, upload frequency, promotion via social media, and search engine optimization. Recently, a young YouTube user received fame, on a small scale, for manipulating the system and, by doing so, aggravating many Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna fans.

As most know, when a user signs up for YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or virtually any online platform, there is an acceptance of “terms and conditions.” These rules give the service the ability to terminate your account if you act in a way that could be perceived as wrong or unethical.

YouTube user iLCreation allegedly made several copyright claims against well known the videos of well-known pop artists, which lead to the temporary removal of many popular music videos. Justin Bieber fans fired back on all social media sites, including Twitter. The video takedown lead to #WeWantJustinBieberVEVOBack making Twitter’s top trending list. Additionally, Justin Bieber’s fans identified 13-year-old iLCreation as the responsible party by trending "#iLCreation you totally messed with the wrong fan base dude. Bet you're gonna regret it" (¶13). YouTube terminated iLCreation’s account for “repeated or severe violations of terms and conditions” (¶6).   

YouTube recommends that users with trademark concerns contact the responsible party directly, as doing so may result in a quicker, more appealing resolution; however, if the problem is not resolved, users can submit forms to YouTube identifying the problem and requesting the video’s removal.

This story should be a reminder and verification that ploys to achieve undeserved fame will result in unnecessary problems. If wishing to acquire YouTube followers, focus on creating interesting, original user generated content and market the content via Facebook and Twitter; add relevant tags—which are automatically bookmarked through YouTube’s owner, Google; and keep content updated—even if that means re-uploading videos that have been sitting stagnant for more than a month.

For more information regarding YouTube’s terms and conditions, click here.

Source

Hachman, Mark (2011). “Justin Bieber, Gaga fans enraged as videos disappear from YouTube.” PCMag.com. Retrieved on September 7, 2011.

Using Investor Advice in Developing Business Plan

In my previous post, I discussed the advice from ABC Shark Tank stars, Barbara Corcoran and Robert Herjavec. In this post, I will talk about the implementation of that advice into the development of a business development plan that would be presented to venture capitalists.

Barbara Corcoran, being the female balance on Shark Tank, heavily relies on an entrepreneur’s passion to help decide if the business is of interest to her. In my business plan, if presenting to Corcoran, I would convey the needs for my company’s concept that I have witnessed first hand. She wants to see that you have a great idea and that it is relevant to your life in some way; after all, its difficult to be perceived as genuinely passionate about something you don’t completely understand. (Bischoff 2011)

The investor pitch to a venture capitalist like Robert Herjavec is likely to go very different. Though Herjavec doesn’t appear to personify greed in the style of cast mate Kevin O’Leary, he still will be less impressed by passion and more concerned with numbers—or sales. After watching Shark Tank, its obvious that Herjavec’s favorite question is “what are your sales?” If you want an investment from Robert Herjavec, you need to come professional and prepared. The entrepreneur’s time is likely going to be wasted if they don’t have impressive sale patterns. (“Business Tips” 2011)

The reason why you don’t see Corcoran and Herjavec enter into many deals together is due to the fact they are different investors with different criteria, in regards to who and what they invest their money. To grasp the interest of both investors, an entrepreneur would need to have a revenue history that indicates long-term success potential (success being measured by profit) and a passion, or enthusiasm, which reflects the time and effort the entrepreneur has and will put into this endeavor. (Taylor 2010)

Source:

Bischoff, Dan (2011). “Interview with a shark.” Lendio. Retrieved on August 3, 2011, from click here.

“Business Tips from the Sharks (2011). ABC: Shark Tank. Retrieved on August 24, 2011, from click here. 

Taylor, K. (2010). Dragon’s Den. Yourmoney.ca. Retrieved on August 3, 2011, from click here.

Tips From The Tank

To many, the idea of starting their own company is the ultimate dream—be the boss and limitless profit potential. Who wouldn’t want to be the CEO of the next Snuggie company? The starting of a business requires money—but what are investors looking for in a business development plan?

Barbara Corcoran was a below-average student, who then went on to take a $1,000 loan and create The Corcoran Group—developing it into a $5 billion real estate company. In 2001, Corcoran sold her company for $66 million. She is currently the female shark on ABC’s hit show Shark Tank. (“About Barbara” 2011)

Corcoran tells entrepreneurs that, when approaching investors, passion cannot be faked. The business development pitch needs to display the enthusiasm and belief in the concept. She further explains that she has invested in people who she wouldn’t consider extremely intelligent, but there passion was undeniable. Additionally, Corcoran warns entrepreneurs to first seek a business loan, verse a venture capitalist, because, though the bank will charge interest, they won’t demand any equity. (Bischoff 2011)

Another Shark Tank investor, Robert Herjavec, has an interesting journey to wealth. In college, Herjavec waited tables, while he worked on a dot com company at night. The company was a provider of Internet security software. The company was valued at $100 million—then Herjavec negotiated a deal with Nokia for $225 million. (“Shark Tank” 2011)

Herjavec emphasizes the importance of presentation in a business development pitch—“don’t dress like a clown, unless you’re selling clown makeup.” He continued by saying entrepreneurs need to add value to their concepts—how are you going to make the venture capitalist more money? Herjavec also discusses keeping your development pitch in terms the investor can relate—“a banker doesn’t want to hear about the risks.” Lastly, Herjavec recommends exuding a humble arrogance to show you’re a hard worker who is going to put everything into his or her idea. (Taylor, 2010)

Source:

“About Barbara” (2011). Barbara Corcoran. Retrieved on August 3, 2011, from click here.

Bischoff, Dan (2011). “Interview with a shark.” Lendio. Retrieved on August 3, 2011, from click here.

“Shark Tank” (2011). Robert Herjavec Bio. ABC. Retrieved on August 3, 2011, from click here.

Taylor, K. (2010). Dragon’s Den. Yourmoney.ca. Retrieved on August 3, 2011, from click here.

YouTube Suspends Lady Gaga

The most popular woman on YouTube found herself in a little trouble recently. According to Gil Kaufman of MTV News (2011), Lady Gaga had her account suspended on July 14^th for “violating YouTube’s Copyright Policy” (¶2).

It all began when Lady Gaga’s official YouTube account posted a video of a performance where the pop star performed with Japanese boy band SMAP on Fuji TV’s “SMAP x SMAP.” The video shows the band dancing with Lady Gaga’s dancers during a performance of “Born This Way”. The problem? Lady Gaga’s team did not secure the digital rights to post the performance. Consequently, YouTube received a takedown notice from Media Interactive Inc. (¶3-4).

The problem Lady Gaga’s team faced is a problem many YouTube users have encountered—you cannot use audio and video that you don’t have appropriate licenses and/or permission to use. If you were working on a special project and you would like to include an artist’s music there are ways to get the needed licenses. First, research what type of license your project requires, then check out the websites for ASCAP and BMI for information on what steps to take and the financial obligation.

The MTV News story about Lady Gaga’s YouTube suspension discusses a very minor consequence of posting content without proper permission. In many cases, a situation like this would result in more than a cease and desist—possibly a lawsuit claiming copyright infringement or intellectual property violations.

The Queen of YouTube has been compared to icons, such as Madonna—and with the sold-out shows, interesting fashion, and provocative lyrics—its no surprise as to why. Lady Gaga has racked up more than a billion YouTube views, so chances are this suspension was more of an annoyance to her fans than Lady Gaga herself; however, for the average YouTube user, it is important to understand and obey copyright policies or you might be standing on the edge of glory a lawsuit.

Photo Courtesy of: Paul Flynn (Flickr)

Source:

Kaufman, G (2011). “Lady Gaga’s YouTube account suspended.” MTV News. Retrieved on July 21, 2011, from http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/ 1667242/lady-gaga-youtube-suspended.jhtml. 

Google+: Google's Social Media Platform

Do you think that any company could produce a social media platform that could go toe-to-toe with Facebook? Well, if any company can accomplish such a goal—it’s Google. In article by Julie Na, of ABC News, she discusses additional details about the speculated components of the platform.

The news of Google’s plans to produce a social media platform that would combine Google’s already successful products with added privacy was released this week. Google+ is said to be Google’s most ambitious effort to make a footprint in the social media world.

Charlene Li, owner of Altimeter Group, said this new platform would not be an attempt to compete with Facebook: “Key thing here is that going against Facebook directly is suicidal (Na 2011)”. Currently, Facebook commands 700 billion minutes of users’ time per month.

Google+ will give users the ability to categorize their contact list, so they can choose whom to share certain information. A selling point for Google+ is said to be the added privacy and structure. According to Li, Google+ will be comforting to parents who have concerns about their child being online. She continued to say that maintaining privacy in communication is very important. This statement could be a response to the constant warnings Facebook users’ receive about posting material that will tarnish their reputation or hinder their ability to get a job.

Google+ has some promising ideas and features; however, regardless of their published comments about not directly competing with Facebook, there is certainly an intention or desire to take a metaphorical stab in the social networking empire. If they want to beat Facebook, they need to introduce this site like Facebook. Google needs to release Google+ geographically little by little—similarly to Facebook releasing school by school.

Google+ is still in the works and available only by invitation. What are you thoughts on this new project? Does Facebook have any reason to feel threatened?

Source 

Na, J (2011). Google takes on Facebook with Google-Plus. ABC News. Retrieved on June 30, 2011 from ABC News

Where Did "Friday" Go? Rebecca Black Removes Hit Song From YouTube

“Today is Friday, Friday, Friday.” Most people know exactly the song I’m quoting. Rebecca Black became famous from her one hit wonder, “Friday” (and yes, I’m speculating on the “one hit” part). Katy Perry and countless YouTube users have covered her song, but it seems her original song won’t be playing legally on YouTube anymore. According to an article by Garrett Downing (2011) of kypost.com, the video was requiring a payment of $2.99 to view and has now been taken off of YouTube all together.

Downing sourced TMZ.com: “Ark Music [who claims to have written the song] operated the YouTube account, and put the video behind paywall, and Black responded by having the video removed” (¶6). Black’s “Friday” had received over 160 million views prior to the video’s removal.

I haven’t been able to find an official word from Black’s reps; however, this seems to foreshadow a lawsuit where copyright and intellectual property infringement will be argued.

Rebecca Black had received a lot of extreme comments that clearly transcended into the bullying category—which, though inexcusable, is to be expected when a young person is made a star over night from a practical joke with music. That said, she created a unique song and video and commanded attention. She had kids and adults a like singing the lyrics as they left school and work. In my time analyzing social media platforms, I can’t remember a time when someone received that much attention—what appeared to be, overnight.

Rebecca Black is the perfect example of how social media websites give anyone, and I mean anyone, the potential to be famous. At 160 million views, that calculates to $160K in Ms. Black’s pocket—earning $10K for every million views received. Whether Black has the rights to the song or not, I’m sure between appearances or endorsements she will have some extravagant Fridays. 

Source

Downing, G. (2011). Rebecca Black's 'Friday' video removed from YouTube. kypost.com. Retrieved on June 23, 2011, from click here.