Devit!

I’m not a huge fan of flash components.  I’ve run into too many instances of incompatibilities between version and components themselves.  However the ScrollPane component is just too useful to pass up.  The thought of having to build my own basic UI components also seems like a waste of time.

This article is being written because the documentation on this component is not spectacular and can be quite ambiguous to the new actionscript programmer. I ran into trouble in the methodology of how ScrollPane wants you to work.

Normally the addChild method is used to embed one MovieClip in another.  That was the method I assumed would work for the scrollpane.  However after getting the error “Error #2006: The supplied index is out of bounds.” I realized that was not how it worked.

To simplify, use:

scrollPaneInstance.source = movieClipContainer;

NOT:

scrollPaneInstance.addChild(movieClipContainer);

Due to the fact I’m not a huge fan of the components that come with Flash I’m wondering if anyone has found any other ScrollPane type components that are lightweight and open source. TweenLite is an example of a lightweight alternative to the built in flash library for tweening.

At rtraction we don’t like the concept of a ’social media expert” and have offered recommendations on how  to check up on your social media consultant’s credentials before engaging with them.

Recently a number of prominent social media blogs have also come out against the idea of a social media expert. Chris Brogan wrote a post explaining how New Marketing Labs measures social media marketing and David Armano compared the current social media professional scene to the early days of the internet, when people with little expertise flocked to that new field.

The “mainstream” press has even gotten in on the action. Business Week published a cautionary article titled “Beware the Social Media Snake Oil”, in which Stephen Baker does a great job explaining what social media is, the potential pitfalls, but also the huge rewards.

Social media has definitely become a  bandwagon phenomenon that a lot of people are jumping on to in the hopes of making a quick dollar.

The key takeaway from all of these articles is make sure you don’t fall into the “buzz trap” that a lot of so called “social media experts” promote. It is easy to get caught up in the data; number of Twitter followers, Facebook friends, or YouTube views. Ultimately though, social media should been seen as another tool to drive revenue, but in new and exciting ways.

Measuring the return on investment (ROI) of a social media campaign can be tough, but is not altogether impossible. Assessing the data is the first step, but equating the numbers to real world sales is when you see the ROI benefits. An honest social media team should be able to relate your efforts online to an actual benefit.

Case studies and practical examples will separate the doers from the talkers. As Mitch Joel has explained “It’s easy to tell a Social Media Snake Oil Salesman from the real deal: just track and see how much of their work day is spent self-promoting on Twitter, Facebook, Blogs etc… versus doing the actual work for clients”

At rtraction we don’t focus on how social media has helped our brand, but how it has been used to promote and expand our client’s message. We can cite examples like the 1000 Acts of Kindness campaign, and how we used Facebook and Twitter with resounding success. We have many more examples so feel free to contact us.

The Business Week article concludes with ‘[t]he best way to avoid a similar backlash today is for social media’s practitioners, including thousands of consultants, to shift the focus from promises to results. It may be the only way to convert the skeptics—and flush out the snake oil.”

Will a shift like that be enough to weed out the snake oil salesmen, and ultimately help grow social media?

When you post an article of any type on the web, it seems almost mandatory that you include “Tweet This!” and “Post to Facebook” links. Of course, you can get plugins that create sharing links automatically for most blog software (Sociable for Wordpress (this is what we use); Service Links for Drupal; Sexy Social Bookmark for Blogger; I could go on), and they usually cover more networks than Twitter and Facebook. However, some circumstances require a more do-it-yourself approach.

Adding “Share on Twitter” and “Post to Facebook” functionality to your web application is a snap! In this post you will learn:

• -How to prefill a tweet for your user
• -How to let your users share a link on Facebook, including page thumbnails and description
• -How to harness the power of bit.ly’s API for short URLs and click tracking

Share on Twitter

Use the following code to create a “Share on Twitter” link:

<a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Add Sharing to Your Webapps - http://www.rtraction.com/blog/devit/add-sharing-to-your-webapps" target="_blank">Share on Twitter</a>

Share on Twitter

That was easy! Try replacing your link text with a Twitter button:

<a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Add Sharing to Your Webapps -http://www.rtraction.com/blog/devit/add-sharing-to-your-webapps" target="_blank"><img src="shareontwitter.png" alt="Share on Twitter" /></a>

Twitter can’t make it much easier than that! When the user clicks on your button, they are brought to their familiar Twitter timeline, with the next tweet prefilled for them.

Facebook Share Link

Use the following code to create a “Post to Facebook” link:

<a href="http://facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.rtraction.com/blog/devit/add-sharing-to-your-webapps" target="_blank">Post to Facebook</a>

Post to Facebook

Too easy! Now replace the text with a nifty Facebook button:

<a href="http://facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.rtraction.com/blog/devit/add-sharing-to-your-webapps" target="_blank"><img src="posttofacebook.png" alt="Post to Facebook" /></a>

When the user clicks on your “Post to Facebook” button, a new window pops up, prompting them to share the link. The user can optionally update their Facebook status while they are at it.

What about Page Thumbnails?

That looks pretty good, but it could use a little more flair. Facebook attempts to add a thumbnail and a description to your link. Facebook scours your page for <img> tags, and uses those for thumbnail options, in the order that they appear on the page. If you want a screenshot of part of your webapp to be the first choice, you’ll have to put the following code near the top (before any other <img> tags) of your page:

<img src="screenshot.jpg" style="display: none" alt="" />

This will not be visible to users due to the inline CSS, but Facebook will pick it up.

What about Page Description?

Facebook uses the page’s meta description. Make sure the following code is present in the header of your page, between <head> and </head>:

<meta name="description" content="rtraction - Add Sharing to Your Webapps - Twitter and Facebook sharing links are a snap to build!" />

Now your Facebook share is complete with a thumbnail and description.

Shortened URLs with Bit.ly

Bit.ly’s API makes it easy to dynamically create shortened URLs. A big advantage of this is that you can make use Bit.ly’s click tracking.

You can learn how to use the Bit.ly API on your own, or use an existing library. There is a DLL file for .NET projects to use Bit.ly. This is untested by us, but the Hashbangcode Bit.ly PHP Class looks like a promising PHP solution. Let us know in the comments if you have tried this library!

If you have any other tips for creating share links, let us know in the comments.

We’ve set an ambitious goal for our involvement with the 2009 Business Cares Food drive. The need is so great this year, we’re aiming to collect 500 lbs of food and you can help.

For every pound of non-perishable food items collected here at the office, rtraction will also contribute $2.00 in cash to the London and Area Food Bank.

Items can be dropped off at the rtraction offices, 148 Fullarton St. Suite 1508 in the Talbot Centre. We will be accepting donations until the end of business on December 23rd.

The London and Area Food Bank really needs help this year. Please feel free to drop in, say hello, and make your contribution go even further.

Update: When the rtraction team got to the office on Monday morning we found this:

We’re still not sure who the charitable person was, but thanks for the great show of support!

Further update: After many good-natured accusations and denials, the masterminds were revealed to be Gavin and Zoe Blair. Awesome donation, you two!

The release of Google Street View for London Ontario has got me thinking about how businesses and industry can take advantage of user generated maps to promote their businesses and connect with their clients, customers or partners.

Business Listings

Adding your business location and description to a map is a simple technique that does not require any further active involvement. Google Local Business Center and Bing’s Local Listing Center make adding your business to a map as easy as filling out a form. Google also provides data and metrics about your listing so you can see how people are finding you online. The Google maps listing for rtraction shows what type of information can be included.

Photos and Videos

Google and Bing maps both have the ability to add your own information to them; such as photos or video or links to articles about landmarks or features. You can add rich content about your business that is included on the map when someone searches for your business or industry.

Geo-location

This technology allows any kind of post or update to indicate the specific location of the upload. One of the biggest benefits is with Twitter. Tweets can be placed on a map to show exactly where they were sent from.

Another feature, only available on Bing, is to identify points of interests along a planned route. So when I input my starting and ending points, I can find out what businesses are along my route.

There are a number of applications being rolled out to Bing in the coming weeks.

Don’t Neglect the Maps

User generated maps are the Yellow Pages of the 21st century but are often forgotten as a strategy. Incorporating them into your social media campaign doesn’t require a lot of effort and will increase your online presence organically.

When social media became a mainstream concept, a profusion of self-proclaimed experts quickly appeared; people with little or no experience who wanted to capitalize on a new industry. Along with them came a flood of books on the topic and unfortunately Socialnomics is an unremarkable book perched on top of that big pile.

I must start by saying that Erik Qualman writes with a very personal style that is easy to follow and to understand. I was able to quickly read through and grasp the essence of his book. However, he often loses track of his main point and rambles on for paragraphs before eventually returning. Between this and some dubious facts and statistics, I think the book could have greatly benefited from heavier editing.

Worse, the author doesn’t seem to have a firm understanding of the industries or businesses he uses for examples. While I agree that big brands can definitely benefit from social media, they often face further challenges than “just not getting it”. Qualman could have made his case stronger if he had used new and interesting case studies instead of the typical Dell, JetBlue and Obama campaign stories.

It’s not all bad, though. Qualman does spend some time explaining potential revenue models that could be derived from social media campaigns. Its just regrettable that he doesn’t develop these further.

I could not recommend Socialnomics to someone who doesn’t yet understand the power of the social internet. I believe there are a number of other books that do a much better job explaining that. Titles like Six Pixels of Separation, or the amazing Groundswell and Here Comes Everybody. However, if you want a quick read that provides a basic overview of the concepts behind social media, you might want to flip through Socialnomics.

This promotional video does a great job diving into the statistics behind social media

If you are struggling to understand how to use social networks for your business be sure to check out the training options that we offer.

Recorded Presentation:

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