Social Media Update – Feb 28, 2011

Good morning. Sharing seems to be overrated these days on Facebook. The social networking site is removing the share buttons from the page, and incorporating a lot of the share functionality into the like button. This is great news for brands because content will be shared more often within wall streams, and it eliminates the extra step people have to go through to push information out. Ever wondered what was in that teachers edition text book when you were sitting in class. Me too, and I’m still not sure, but I can tell you it’s nothing relevant to digital or social media. Teachers are falling behind in the technology field while students are spending more and more time getting familiar with advancements in communication. As the technology gap widens teachers are finding ways to learn from students and incorporate more social/digital learning’s into the classroom. Twitter’s IPO is getting some interest from investment firm JPMorgan to the tune of $450 million. With social sites expanding globally and the markets struggling we’ll have to see if the social boom looks anything like the .com boom we’ve all seen. Enjoy.

I. Facebook Like Button Takes Over Share Button Functionality, mashable.com, February 27, 2011
II. Classroom Tech: What to Do When Students Know More Than Teachers?, fox.com, February 27, 2011
III. JPMorgan fund eyes 10% stake in Twitter, ft.com, February 27, 2011

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I. Facebook Like Button Takes Over Share Button Functionality, mashable.com, February 27, 2011
http://mashable.com/2011/02/27/facebook-like-button-takes-over-share-button-functionality/
Say goodbye to the Share button because the Like button is taking over. After months of updates to its Like button, Facebook has released an update that fundamentally changes the button’s functionality to that of a Share button. Now after hitting the Like button, a full story with a headline, blurb and thumbnail will be posted to your profile wall. You’ll also be given an option to comment on the story link. Previously, only a link to the story would appear in the recent activity, often going unnoticed by users.
Though users may now think twice about hitting the button, given how prominently it will appear on their walls and in their networks’ newsfeeds, it should ultimately increase traffic to publishers’ websites.

II. Classroom Tech: What to Do When Students Know More Than Teachers?, fox.com, February 27, 2011
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/02/27/classroom-tech-students-know-teachers/
In a day and age where students know more than their teachers about different forms of technology — whether it be iPhones, computers or video games – schools are making every effort to get their teachers talking tech.
But that’s easier said than done for most. Walden University in Minneapolis conducted a survey of more than 1,000 K-12 educators and found that 60 percent consider themselves either sporadic or infrequent users of technology, while only 22 percent considered themselves frequent users.

III. JPMorgan fund eyes 10% stake in Twitter, ft.com, February 27, 2011
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/618e0bb4-42a9-11e0-8b34-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1FGEnhpLJ
A JPMorgan fund is in talks to acquire a substantial stake in Twitter, one of the fastest-growing social networking sites. The fund hopes to acquire 10 per cent of the online messaging service for $450m, valuing Twitter at $4.5bn, according to people familiar with the plans. It is not clear if the JPMorgan fund will make a direct investment or buy out existing investors and shareholders with Twitter’s approval. But the fund does not intend to buy shares on the secondary market, the people said. The deal has not closed. JPMorgan’s Digital Growth Fund was established this month to give rich clients exposure to fast-growing private tech companies, and follows a similar effort by Goldman Sachs to invest in Facebook.