Most Americans now know the feeling of typing something into a social media input box, thinking again, and deciding against posting whatever it was. But while it certainly seemed like a widespread phenomenon, no one had actually quantified the extent of this "self-censorship."

But now, new research based on a sample of 3.9 million Facebook reveals precisely how widespread this activity is. Carnegie Mellon PhD student Sauvik Das and Facebook's Adam Kramer measured how many people typed more than five characters into Facebook content-input boxes, but then did not post them.

They term this "last-minute self-censorship." The research was posted to Das' website and will presented at the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence's conference on Weblogs and Social Media in July.

The numbers are impressively large. Fully one-third of all Facebook posts were self-censored, according to the method Das and Kramer devised, though they warn they probably captured a substantial number of false positives. Seventy one percent of all the users surveyed engaged in some self-censorship either on new posts or in comments, and the median self-censorer did so multiple times.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the study was the demographic correlations with self-censorship. Men self-censored more often, particularly if they had large numbers of male friends. Interestingly, people with more diverse friend groups — measured by age, political affiliation, and gender — were less likely to self-censor.

While the researchers declined to speculate in this study about why people may or may not have self-censored, earlier research with a small group of users found five reasons people chose not share what they'd written: aversion to sparking an argument or other discussion, concern their post would offend or hurt someone, felt their post was boring or repetitive, decided the content undermined their desired self-presentation or were just unable to post due to a technological or other constraint.

For Facebook users, the main takeaway here is probably: Feel free not to share. Facebook, on the other hand, has to have a more complex relationship to this research. Their interaction and business models depend on sharing, but it's not hard to imagine some circumstances in which it would be better not to share: racist content, say.

Das and Kramer say future research should address when the non-sharing is "adaptive," (which I think means good, in this context) and when, in the words of Das and Kramer, "users and their audience could fail to achieve potential social value from not sharing certain content, and the [social-network service] loses value from the lack of content generation."
Image via Manjunath Kiran/AFP/GettyImages










































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Feedly, a news aggregator which promised to make the migration from Google Reader — which is being shut down on July 1 — seamless, has already seen an influx of over 500,000 million Reader users.

"More than 500,000 Google Reader users have joined the feedly community over the last 48 hours. We love passionate readers. Welcome on board," said Feedly on its official blog.

And that's not all: Feedly's Twitter account is buzzing with activity, with new users asking about features and new versions of the software, and Feedly's iOS app has quickly become the top free app in Apple's App Store.

To cope with all the new users and their feedback, Feedly has upped its bandwidth by 10x, added new servers and launched a suggestion forum for new features.

Of course, Feedly is not the only alternative to Google Reader, but its example shows how a smaller service can benefit from a big player exiting its space.

Have you tried Feedly out? How do you like it? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, wibs24, composite by Mashable





































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Every person reaches a comfort zone. From salesmen satisfied with reaching their monthly quotas (and nothing more), to students who are content with just getting B’s, individuals in their comfort zones work at an anxiety-neutral state and operate without a sense of risk.



If you’re in social media, your comfort zone state will usually creep in the moment you’ve reached a respectable number of likers and followers. Also known as being on a plateau, this is a stage where you’ve already settled into your social media routine and your initial networking efforts have started to pay off.

Reaching your plateau isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s a steady state that’s usually free from stress, and it’s a good stage to be at when you’re celebrating your accomplishments. However, staying too long on it and being too comfortable can lead to complacency and ignorance.

While it’s perfectly acceptable to bask in your success (after all, you deserve it), always be on the lookout for new social media heights that can you can achieve. Remember that there are a lot more readers, fans, and followers out there that you haven’t reached yet, and there are still a lot of things that you can do to take your social campaigns to a whole new level.

Not sure where to start? Check out the following ideas that are sure to stir up your current social media state:

1. Utilize the power of video

Need a boost in your fan engagement? Then consider getting in front of the camera. Demonstrate your expertise using a how-to video or gain insights from others by interviewing them on camera. Want to interact with your fans? Do a webinar or conduct a Google+ hangout so can you can get first hand comments and suggestions.

2. Stop playing it safe when it comes to content

Take a good look at the content that you’ve published. Are you being too safe or too much of a crowd pleaser? If so, then you may want to spice up your content strategy by producing posts that will open up discussions or debates. Take a stand on a current issue or trending topic, and voice out constructive criticisms and concerns. Invite your fans to do the same. Doing so will encourage conversation, and will guarantee that your social media strategy won’t be boring.

3. Connect with other businesses

Social media isn’t solely about reaching customers. It’s also about networking with potential partners or colleagues so that you can help each other succeed. Fellow entrepreneurs or companies can be sources for referrals and recommendations, so be sure to make friends with other businesses as well. Find other companies or entrepreneurs (preferably those that complement your products and services) and connect with them online. Tag them on Facebook, strike up a conversation on their wall, and find engagement opportunities. If you’re on Twitter, send a couple of mentions their way, and be generous when it comes to Retweets.

4. Run contests or promotions

Giveaways aren’t just for those who want to gain more likers or followers; they also work great if you want to increase engagement and interactions within your current fan base. If you have a lot of inactive fans, consider waking them up with a promotion. This will not only stir up the activity on your page, but the excitement and contests bring can effectively get your out of your safe comfort zone.

In addition to boosting interaction levels, a promotion also can also act as a funnel for users. For example, if you want your fans to check out your blog or sign up for your newsletter instead of simply hanging out on Facebook or Twitter, then conduct a promotion involving your blog or newsletter and use that as a funnel to direct users to where you want them to go.




































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Yahoo Mail-subscribing-households use 11% more electricity per year than Gmail households, a recent study by Opower found. That adds up to nearly a whole extra month of electricity, about an extra $110 per year.


“It’s as if, relative to the average Yahoo household, the average Gmailer is strictly hang-drying their laundry, forgoing high-definition TV, and hand-washing their dishes with cold water for a year,” Opower writes in its’ blog.


So what makes for this drastic disparity in energy usage? Opower — a research company that unpacks and analyzes energy data to present to everyday consumers in an actionable way — found that the problem is one of “correlation not causation.” Meaning that the email domains aren’t driving the issue of energy usage. Instead, discrepancies are related to the core demographics of each site’s users.

“Yahoo subscribers tend to live in suburbs, be in longterm relationships, have a family,” says Barry Fischer, a head writer and a research for Opower. “Those types of lifestyle characteristics carry with them greater energy needs compared to Gmail household. [Gmailers] are found more in urban areas, are younger and are single.”

Ultimately, Opower found that even though Yahoo users live in larger residences than Gmail users, Yahoo subscribers need more electricity per square foot than Gmail users.

Opower matched up 2011 electricity rates with more than 1.5 million email addresses over 23 states to draw their conclusions — focusing on Gmail and Yahoo specifically because they were the top two email service providers of those surveyed, Fischer told Mashable.

Though Opower only analyzed 2011 data, Fischer says he believes similar patterns of higher Yahoo energy usage would have been found in previous years.

But Yahoo users can’t simply cut down on electricity charges now by signing up for a Gmail account. It’s all about lifestyle adjustments to cut back on overall energy costs, Opower says.
See more about the differences in Yahoo and Gmail users’ energy spending in the infographics below. Tell us how you cut down on energy costs in your home in the comments:









































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I recently wrote an article about Google+ vs Facebook and a tribe turned up from Google+ and became 
rather engaged!



The question that  had been posed was whether Google+ was a ghost town.

I received an answer.

What was revealed was a vibrant city bustling with passion and people that were happy to point out the real value of Google+

The post to date has received 440 comments with some in depth contributions on how Google+ should be used. The Disqus comment system I have installed on this blog almost had a meltdown with over 300 comments arriving in just 1 hour.

You just have to love the leverage that social networks provide to create and spread stories!

Here are just three people among the hundreds who spent the time to make a positive contribution to the conversation, left lengthy comments and have provided real insights as to the power of Google+.

Here are their stories unedited.

#1. The Dutch Guy 

From my experience, G+ gives back what you put into it. When I ditched facebook, and instead signed up for G+, I was afraid that it was going to be a marketing driven semi-interactive experience. As a result, my stream was mostly dead, and my circle of contacts hovered around 30 people, half of which it seems had the same experience.

It wasn’t until I started interacting with people, that my circles started growing rapidly… and at the same time I noticed I was being added to more people’s circles.

If I see someone who circles me, and there’s no original content or nothing but marketing speak, I ignore, and many of the people in my circles have the same attitude. We’re not interested in pure marketing, ads or PR. What we expect is *engagement*. Bring something interesting to the table. Start actual conversations. Respond to people’s questions and inquiries.

G+ is an *active* community – some of the people in my circles have, themselves, thousands of people in theirs, and vice versa.

The way I see it is pretty simple: if you have a product you want to sell, facebook lets you plaster people’s walls with ads (and many people *block* these very ads with a plethora of plug-ins and add-ons, because they’re jarring, in the way). On G+, you can’t just toss an ad in, because it will ignored – you need some people to actually spend time and communicate to advertise your product. And I’m not talking about bots that circle people and puch ad-talk… they *will* be living in a ghost town, because nobody wants those in their circles. I’m talking about a dedicated team that becomes part of the stream.

To throw in a phrase I’ve seen a lot: the paradigms are shifting. People are fleeing from TV, blocking old-fashioned advertisements. If you’re in it for the money, you’ll need to adjust to the increasing demand for interaction and acknowledgement of your customers.

Simply sitting there, tossing out a block of text and waiting for no reaction to come, and then stating there is no active community worth targeting is a thing of the past, and it shows you’re missing the point of what *communities* are about.

facebook isn’t a community: it’s a loose sampling of people who keep in touch with their rfamily and friends, that play games all day. G+ is a community of people—strangers to each other—who like to talk about all kinds of subjects, have civil discussions and share experiences

#2. Kathy Morlock

Hi, Jeff,

I’ve been on Google+ for about a year now. I have over 25,000 people who have circled me. I use Google+ for engagement and information. I post mainly public. I spend about 9 active hours a day on the site. Many people don’t post public, you won’t see that, it’s not information that you have access to.

Today the stream was so busy, even on my large monitor the info was moving at a very fast pace. I make sure I vary my hours, because I have so many people all over the world, that I make contact with and I don’t want to miss interacting with them. The United States, Russia, India, Thailand, Pakistan, South Africa, Germany, Australia, Belgium all over South America and Canada to name a few. I have been voted an expert on Google+ for interaction and social media, as well as coaching new members.

You may hear from some people it’s a ghost town. Well of course it looks like a ghost town if you come in, make an account, sit there and look at the screen and say where are all the people? It is all about interaction. Please stop comparing Google+ with Facebook. We are a lot of people with a wealth of different viewpoints, from all over the world interacting together; online, in hangouts, and sometimes in real life. Google+ is full of information, news, science, politics, tech, parenting, music, photography, friendship and lots of love. Hanging in Real Life (HIRL) with people you met on Google+, photo walks, concerts, artists and so much more. We raise money for charities and we try to help people in need. We have Book Clubs, Poetry Circles, Food & Cooking Circles and all kinds of different themed hangouts for business and for learning and/or pleasure.

Click the mouse a few times and you can make your own page, mine is a reading page, where I post book reviews, so people have a place to browse and see what other Google+ members are reading. It’s an interactive page, where anyone can share and write reviews. These are just the personal pages. Click the mouse a couple more times and you are blogging. The business pages on our site our amazing, they are varied and there is an enormous amount of them.

I look at the stats posted above and laugh. The minute you walk through that virtual Google+ door everything is there just waiting for you, the possibilities are really endless, but it’s all what you make of it. Isn’t that the way life is?

When you walk through that door someone is there waiting to help you and guide you, all you have to do is wave and let them know you are there.

Come on over and make an account, sign in and I’ll show you around. You will find a thriving, integrated community. You won’t find a ghost town.

To date, I’ve not yet, seen one single ghost.

#3. J.C. Kendall

Not only is Google + a source for bloggers and brands, I believe it is by far the best source. The critical factor is Engagement. You cannot sit on the sidelines and expect Google + to start throwing customers in your direction.

I have been using Google + since Day 1 of the closed beta, and I must tell you, that for those of us who have been actively engaging with others, using important tools like the +1 button, and Rel=Author in our content, we have built great awareness for what we do. I have the honor of hosting Canadian politicians in virtual town-hall meetings from Councillors to Mayors to members of the Canadian Parliament in Google + Hangouts, including one just last evening discussing the Montreal Protests. Tomorrow at 10am, my company is hosting the first in a Seminar Series on using Hangouts in your business.

Since Nov of last year, 95% of my clients have come from the Google + streams, both public and private. It is critical to be active, and develop a following which serves to enhance both your corporate and personal brand. Bloggers who are not using Rel=Author in their writings run the risk of someone else showing up with a re-share of someone else’s work on Google SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) Because of the visibility of Google + used properly, my hangouts have been the subject of newspaper articles:
http://www.princegeorgecitizen… stemming from articles of my own about the subject:
http://socialmediatoday.com/jc…

The important thing, is to not look at Google + as a competitor to Facebook. Google + is an “Identity Engine” for Google search. What it does, is tie Identity to Activity, resulting in a more relevant return of search results, including local optimization and actual sales conversion. Facebook has no mechanisms in place (though Facebook Exchange is coming) to provide highly relevant real time ads to its users, which is why they are challenged in coming up with a credible long-term revenue model.

I would encourage you to look at Mashable, Forbes and others through a critical lens, because none of their authors has engaged on Google+ to the point of knowledge or understanding of the forum. They usually join up, and base their output on their 20-50 circles, and conclude the forum is dead. I have well over 20,000, and was voted by peers one of the top Google + users for 2011. My stream rocks night and day, and I invite you to take an in depth look at what Google + offers for yourself, and pay no attention to a bunch of clowns in the media crying over Facebook’s stock price.

We’ve done business off LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter as well, but our engagement off those forums come from our Google + postings, fed to those forums via extensions and RSS feeds. It works, dude. Check it out.

What About You

How are you finding Google+?

Do you have time and resources to spend on Google+ and Facebook or do you need  to focus on just one?

Which one will you be choosing?

Look forward to your comments.






























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