Social Media Update – March 11, 2011

Good morning. The tsunami that hit Japan this morning caused an instant spike in communication on Twitter as Japan’s residents took to the site for communication once the phone lines died. Twitter seems to be the go to communication tool in the heart of natural disasters due to its ease of use, real time information and wide spread popularity. Chrysler found itself in hot water on Twitter earlier this week when one of their agencies employees dropped the F-bomb from the companies account. This happens form time to time as people confuse their own account for the companies account, but Chrysler is not taking his lightly. The agency quickly fired the employee and Chrysler quickly decided not to renew their contract with the agency. The incident also rekindled a long standing issue with Chryslers internal team. Marketing and Communications both want control over the companies accounts primarily because of headcount and budget, but when things go wrong the Communications team is quick to step in and handle the issue despite their marketing team managing the accounts. It’s an interesting dichotomy that many other companies face, but events like these seem to remind us all that customers and fans don’t care who screwed up. Bring a fan of infographics and all things in picture form I wanted to share a great chart highlighting the top social sites and the strengths and weaknesses of each. YouTube is not shy about their growth plans or the long term goals of making the channel more mainstream. The company announced that they are hiring 30% more staff this year to handle their global expansion. Enjoy.

I. Twitter Users React To Massive Quake, Tsunami In Japan, mashable.com, March 11, 2011
II. Chrysler Splits With New Media Strategies Over F-Bomb Tweet, adage.com, March 10, 2011
III. Which Social Sites Are Best for Which Marketing Outcomes?, mashable.com, March 11, 2011
IV. YouTube to Boost Staff by 30% This Year, wsj.com, March 10, 2011

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I. Twitter Users React To Massive Quake, Tsunami In Japan, Mashable.com, March 11, 2011
http://mashable.com/2011/03/11/japan-tsunami/
A powerful 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck the coast of Japan on Friday, causing widespread power outages, fires and a severe tsunami that was reported to be up to 10 meters high in places. It was the seventh most powerful earthquake in recorded history. The reaction on Twitter, quickly becoming the go-to service in emergencies, was immediate and intense. Less than an hour after the quake, with the country’s phone system knocked out, the number of tweets coming from Tokyo were topping 1,200 per minute, according to Tweet-o-Meter.

II. Chrysler Splits With New Media Strategies Over F-Bomb Tweet, adage.com, March 10, 2011
http://adage.com/article/digital/chrysler-splits-media-strategies-f-bomb-tweet/149335/
When an employee of New Media Strategies dropped the f-bomb in a tweet from client Chrysler’s Twitter account March 9, it might have been chalked up to one of those things that can happen to someone on a bad day. Instead, Chrysler decided not to renew its contract with the agency. The dustup began yesterday when one of the agency’s staffers tweeted from the @ChryslerAutos account: “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to fucking drive.”

III. Which Social Sites Are Best for Which Marketing Outcomes?, mashable.com, March 11, 2011
http://mashable.com/2011/03/11/social-media-marketing-chart/
Is Flickr good for SEO? Can Tumblr drive traffic? If these questions are part of your day-to-day work, hold onto your hats; here’s an infographic that’s actually useful for a change. If you’re doing any social media marketing, here’s something for your to print out and hang up near your desk as a handy point of reference. CMO.com, together with SEO firm 97th Floor, have created this chart showing which social networks are best for various organizational, CRM and marketing goals.
PDF here: http://www.cmo.com/sites/default/files/CMOcom-SocialMediaLandscape2011.pdf

IV. YouTube to Boost Staff by 30% This Year, wsj.com, March 10, 2011
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704399804576193044126399836.html?mod=WSJ_newsreel_technology
YouTube plans to increase staffing by more than 30% this year as the Google Inc. video-sharing service rapidly expands around the world.
In a blog post, YouTube said the hiring plans are the biggest in its six-year history. YouTube said it is looking for “top talent from around the world,”