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It is Social Media Day today across the world. That’s right Social Media Day, not Facebook Day, not Twitter Day but Social Media Day. Although you could be excused for thinking it was only all about Twitter and Facebook, as almost every one of the thousands of news stories, written and read across the world this morning, has forgotten to mention anything other than those two, now household names.

Yet social media is more than just the two big social networks as we have explained before. It is almost a way of life. A way of doing things. To some it is even a religion. Just like a religion too there are many ways to practise it and it is Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Tumblr et al that allow the converted to practise their social media habits and beliefs.

One form is AudioBoo. A British company formed by a British entrepreneur who remains CEO today and as passionate about his product as anybody you will ever find. While it may not be as mainstream as the two big names, celebrities (Stephen Fry) and in particular news organisations have already begun to embrace it and the best thing is; whatever your knowledge, whatever your training, whatever audio you are using it to create and share, AudioBoo is as simple to use for everybody. Smartphone Apps and web-uploads are the main ways to upload but as CEO Mark Rock reveals in an audio interview over on our sister blog, new ways are also just round the corner.

Yet, even AudioBoo is not the only audio-blogging tool – and that’s just one section of the social media sphere. HipCast and iPadio are two more very worthy contenders in the audio-blog sector and there are tens of more too. That’s the point, social media is such a broad term and getting broader as technology advances. It would be almost impossible to provide a comprehensive list of all social media sites, tools and networks, because more appear every day. So I don’t expect news outlets to be listing every site under the sun in their reports, but I do expect them to play their part in educating the masses that social media is about more than just Likes and Tweets.

What more unusual social media networks / tools do you use? Do Twitter and Facebook justify their dominance?

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It looks like Facebook. It’s blurb sounds like Facebook. If you got up close, it probably even smell’s like Facebook, but this is Google entering the social networking arena…again.

A select band of people (were you one?) were this week invited into Google’s latest project – a social networking service called Google PLUS.

Those selected few will also soon be able to invite others and the idea is to let people share and discuss status updates, photos and links as you would in Facebook but in a more intimate group. Small groups or ‘Circles’ is the focus – colleagues, best mates, sportsteam teammates etc – and for that purpose there are group text messaging and video chat facilities built into the network.

The Google line is it is more like real life, you have more control and more privacy: “In real life, we have walls and windows and I can speak to you knowing who’s in the room, but in the online world, you get to a ‘Share’ box and you share with the whole world,” said Bradley Horowitz, a vice president of product management at Google.

Pitched by anybody else and actually it probably sounds like a poor-imitation of what is already out there. Yet this is Google saying this and backing the project so people will sit up and take notice. The biggest issue is whether the heavily scientific and engineered approach that has seen Google become so successful using algorithms and data analysis, can be converted to a more touchy-feely and informal approach that social networking thrives on. What Google hopes is that people will sign up with PLUS to enable them to get at least some insight into the valuable world that is developing in social networks in terms of advertising data and trends that so often is not accessible to Google’s search robots or experts.

The ‘reality’ approach includes an attempt to mimic those occasions when people want to be your friend when you don’t really care. Unlike on Facebook, people do not have to agree to be friends with one another. Via your circles however you can have greater control over who sees what about you. So you effectively get more than one persona. The multiple personality aspect is promoted as a benefit and can offer greater control, but could also offer its own difficulties and dangers of course.

The potential winner as we see it at the moment is ‘Sparks’ which is a push type notification of “what you’re into and … stuff it thinks you’ll like”. It may sound a bit Big Brotheresque but the viral aspect and shared interests appeal of Twitter and Facebook could be amplified by this tool.

Google has of course launched big ideas before and then slowly retreated but expect it to push and bang the drum on this one more and more as the year progresses and they tweak based on feedback from a growing user base.

Have  you had an invite to Google PLUS? Have you taken the plunge? What are your thoughts?

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(Image: Flickr user SPakhrin under Creative Commons.)

So, the world’s first adult domain name extension is finally here. In a saga that’s gone on longer than the wait for a white iPhone, US authorities finally cleared the way for the creation of .xxx domain names in March this year.

Domains will initially become available in September (for trademark owners), but general availablility (when anyone can register a .xxx domain name) won’t arrive until December.

When we asked our customers if they wanted us to offer .xxx domain names for sale, over 70% of respondents said yes, so we’re planning to offer them for sale here, in due course. Watch this space.

Triple-X domains explained

The idea of .xxx is to provide a clear home for adult content on the internet. In theory, once every adult website is located at a .xxx address, it’ll be easy for people to find them (if that’s what they want), and easy for people to block them (if they don’t want to see them).

However, in practice the chance of all adult websites migrating to .xxx is minimal. That means .xxx is more about creating a safe environment where people can find adult websites without fear that those sites will contain malware.

Indeed, ICM, the company responsible for managing and controlling .xxx domain names, has teamed up with experts McAfee to check .xxx sites for security risks.

ICM also isn’t shy about the obvious business opportunities, talking of offering ‘micropayment opportunities’ for adult sites (presumably taking a slice for itself). It also has plans to create a search portal for .xxx sites. More details over on the ICM website.

But ICM seems keen to do business responsibly, and is giving $10 a year for every registered domain to the International Foundation for Online Responsibility (IFFOR). This new, independent organisation will set some of the policies for the use of .xxx domains, focusing on privacy, security, free speech and child protection.

Anyone who registers a triple-X domain name will have to follow these policies. Of course, how effective they are will all depend on how well they’re policed.

Brand protection

So, what do .xxx domains mean for the rest of us? If you don’t have a direct interest in the adult entertainment industry, you’ll still need to be on your toes when .xxx domain names become available.

As with any other domain name extension, you might want to consider registering .xxx variations of your own domain name, to stop anyone else using them.

If you’re a trademark holder, you’ll be able to apply to block your trademarks being registered as .xxx domain names. If not, you’ll be able to pre-order .xxx domain names from our website, in due course.

Does sex sell?

There’s been a lot of controversy over .xxx domain names. The vote on whether to introduce them was tight, and – as you can imagine – there have been some strong discussions along the way.

It’s certainly true that .xxx isn’t just another domain name extension. The adult entertainment industry is always going to be a controversial one, and online there’s no doubt it has some murkier aspects.

ICM would claim that they’re doing their bit to help clean up this industry. Others would argue that it simply legitimises it. And there’s another view: that introducing .xxx makes it easier to block and censor people’s self-expression.

It’s not easy, is it? What do you think?

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I like to think myself as fairly tech-savvy but there are still certain things that make me step back in amazement. Friends who are experts in Microsoft Excel are one, the things some of them can make data to do is amazing. The same is true of programmers. Ever since struggling to create a movable box on my first ZX Sinclair Spectrum I’ve been in awe as to how people can manipulate information to get it do wonderful things.

Social search is one such phenomena. Not really rocket science, it is based simply upon the premise of linking two things with each other but what you can do with that is amazing. ‘Recommendation’ links are the same. What did we do before them?

So the latest big wow in the app world, is not really a surprise but still quite inspiring – in fact its success is built upon you and your friends inspiring each other, in terms of music.

Exfm has been around for a while as a Google Chrome extension but is now available as an iPhone app. Integrated with social media tools like Last.fm, Twitter and Facebook it analyses friends musical suggestions with your own  tastes as ‘noted’ during your online time. The result a musical journey listing songs pertinent to you with a playlist even the most dedicated of iTunes users would struggle to perfect.

For the full experience you need the web version installed too. Then when out and about online you choose to ‘note’  tracks you think worthy, as you would with say the Facebook like button. Collect and share via social networks and follow others – like Twitter – that you think might share similar tastes.

The tool will also scrobbling your tracks to last.fm effectively helping you ensure your favourite songs are available in the cloud.

There is no way to yet upload existing mp3 files already on your PC, but expect that soon with music in the cloud set to become a big asset later this year.

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We seem to report these slip-ups on a regular basis but this time Disney are the big corporate left with egg on their face after failing to automatically renew the domain name for their kid-focused social-media / entertainment site Club Penguin.

With an estimated 12 million members and lots of media coverage sure to follow, it’s a bit of a PR gaff by Disney who really should have known better. A technical glitch was how the official blog described it once the issue had been dealt with and the site was back up and running.

Club Penguin Insiders an unofficial blog and fan-site ran the true story on Monday including a WHOIS screen grab showing the domain actually expired on 13 June.

As domain owners though, Disney were able to rectify things within a few hours, obviously paying their renewal fee to their registrar and getting the site back online, but it is a lesson to everybody. Make sure you don’t suffer the same fate. Check all your essential domains and services are set to auto-renew and that we hold up to date payment details for you. You can do this via your 123-reg Control Panel.

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Rarely does the world’s media get excited over a domain name story but yesterday’s announcement that Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the regulating body for international domain names, had voted to introducing new gTLDs (generic top level domains) in 2012, seemed to get plenty of coverage.

That is probably because the new releases could change the way we look at domain names forever. The plan is to introduce new domains like ‘.eco’, ‘.green’, ‘.berlin’, ‘.paris’, ‘.auto’. Whereas a .com has almost lost its commercial-tag, and even .org lots its original not-profit making connotation, the new proposals from ICANN would launch a who new set of domain suffixes that offer an immediate description and identifier for the type of site or organisation using it. Where the new domains could also lead is the possibility of branding the internet, with the application procedure being very much pitched towards big businesses looking to secure their unique domain identifier.

As well as increasing the potential domain options available to the future it also opens up some interesting legal debates too. Ownership of the new domains can be applied for early next year via a 360 page application form and an application fee of around £114,000. Not cheap and therefore only really open to the very rich and biggest brands. Will this only serve to enhance their dominance? Is it right that an internet domain suffix be available simple to the person who could most afford it and with it their control over how it is policed and used? Some fear it is also a move too far away from the original internet ideals where everybody is equal and respected in equal measure.

The intellectual property lawyers will no doubt be kept busy too across the globe, arguing for and against what trademark and property rights owners should have preference for owning a domain suffix that clearly fits with two brands with equal claim but who in the traditional world operate in different spheres so have never really experienced conflict before.

Yet, once applied for and captured the hefty investment made by brand owners in obtaining that branded top level domain could be priceless. Imagine every one of your network, users or fans being able to use the username@yourdomain for their email address. No .com, just your brand. Tempting for sure.

How it all shakes up is yet to be seen. The application procedure will only be open for a handful of weeks at the start of next year and then, according to trusted rumour, the chance to grab your own gTLDs might not become available again for many years. It is almost now or never.

What are your thoughts on ICANN’s decision? Is it a positive thing for the internet?

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We flagged up the closing date for nominations for the Nominet Internet Awards back in April so there’s no excuse if you didn’t get yours in. The shortlist has now been revealed in each of the five categories and as ever there is a diverse range of very worth nominees. The competition recognises organisations, groups or individuals who have embraced the challenge of making the Internet a secure, open, accessible or diverse experience for all and from the shortlists it is clear the internet has a strong and worthy future. So here’s a run-down of the shortlists.

1. Building a networked nation – In association with Race Online 2012

• Ace IT
• Digital Unite – Silver Surfers’s Day
• E2BN – Community Broadband
• Go ON adopt a care home – Go ON Adopt
• South West Internet CIC – Improving Rural Connectivity in the South West
• Internet Buttons – We are what we do

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A blog today from the Harvard Business Review suggests that the art of brand building via social media was first mooted 50 years ago.

David Aaker the author of Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant reveals that Ernest Dichter, the father of motivation research, did a large study of word of mouth persuasion that was reported way back in a 1966 Harvard Business Review article.

It’s some interesting academic backing for the message we’ve been promoting for ages: Social media is just traditional marketing in digital clothes.

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This month’s figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index reveal that online shopping just gets stronger and stronger. £5.3 billion was spent online during May according to the report which is a year-on-year increase of 18% and up 2% on an already impressive April.

However, with economic times pinching it appears big money purchases, which helped fuel the original trend for online buying, are not doing as well as so called ‘low-ticket’ items sales of which are booming.

As people’s social trends change due to economic pressures so different sectors seem to be benefiting from online sales. Stay at home entertainment is growing with the alcohol sector growing to an average order reaching £161, which is up a massive 25% on May 2010. Staying-in every night also makes people want to make the most of when they do leave the house so it is no surprise then to find the average travel spend online soaring to £869 a year.

To date, £25.7 billion has been spent online during 2011. That is in stark contrast to figures released by the British Retail Consortium earlier this month, which showed that, despite a surge for the Royal Wedding and Easter holidays, high street sales were down 0.3% year-on-year and down 2.1% on April 2011.

Are you spending more online? Are you selling online? Our Eshop range offers everything you need to be selling online via a professional looking shop with a few clicks and our InstantSite Pro and SiteFusion offerings have ecommerce functionality that is simple to set up too.

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