The Missing Link?

As the guy who has taken over programming and web design duties for Daily Axioms the last few months, I've had to make decisions about different sharing features, most important of which have been about what sharing buttons to put up on our site.

What was once an easy decision (one Share This/Add This button and you're done) has been expanded to Facebook buttons, TweetMeme buttons, Twitter buttons, Evernote buttons, and scores of others that I can't rattle off the top of my head. 

Now LinkedIn has added to the mix with a sharing button of their own. That in itself isn't necessarily newsworthy, but what it means for the future of LinkedIn is. 

LinkedIn has achieved rare success and become a part of that pantheon of social media elite along with the likes of Facebook and Twitter. It's carved out and dominated its niche as a professionals' network, steady progressing and evolving along the way.

That's why this new button worries me. Yes, there has always been (and will always be) link-sharing with large social networks, including LinkedIn. The issue is that the entire concept of sharing buttons is predicated upon making link-sharing as fast and easy as possible, which is perfect for networks like Twitter and Facebook.

But LinkedIn isn't meant to be a barrage of links. Users, myself included, enjoy LinkedIn because you aren't inundated with links. And while I understand the reason for posting the occasional story to LinkedIn because it pertains to your industry or has some relevance to your professional life, LinkedIn may be opening the flood gates to overwhelming users with pointless links that other users have no interest in.

Of course, all of this depends on web developers actually implementing it into their sites, which has yet to be seen. And maybe I'm off the mark with how LinkedIn users will receive this new sharing button, but I for one don't believe LinkedIn should try to be something it's not and should stick to being the professionals' network that made it successful in the first place.

Black Friday Leads to Green Weekend for Online Retailers

Welcome back, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and successful Black Friday shopping excursion. And yes, I do mean excursion because every mall and shopping center was a madhouse over the biggest shopping weekend of the year.

But even though lines of eager shoppers camped outside stores in anticipation of great deals and specials, Internet retailers enjoyed Black Friday success as well.

There were several Black Friday spending reports that came out in the aftermath of the sales frenzy, with comScore reporting a 9% increase in online spending this past Black Friday versus the same day in 2009. 

Also, a Coremetrics report that came out over the weekend reports a nearly 16% increase in online spending. There may be varying reports, but the general consensus is that online retailers showed marked improvement. That improvement is even more impressive considering another report showed that retailers only saw a 0.3% increase in in-store spending from last year.

The Coremetrics report also highlights a 26.7% jump in the number of people utilizing mobile websites, illustrating the importance of a strong mobile website. If shoppers can't easily access your website on the go, chances are they'll move on.

So as another Black Friday has come and gone, it's a good economic sign that we saw at least a slight increase across the board for retailers. And the significant spike we saw from Internet retailers is an even better sign for mobile and online development in the ongoing holiday shopping season.

Axiom Gives Thanks

A common topic of discussion around the office the last week or so has revolved around the Thanksgiving dinners we all plan to cook and enjoy in a few days. But while most of us will be eating ourselves into a coma (as I plan to do), there are many out there who don't get that luxury.

That's why I'm excited about the opportunity our office is getting to help out some of those in need when we go volunteer at Feed My Starving Children this afternoon. It's incredibly easy to give up a few hours and help out, especially when you consider how much good it can do.

It's also a fitting end to the work day before we close down the office for the week. So I'll be taking a short break from blogging and analyzing the social media universe while the doors are closed, but you can be sure Daily Axioms will be back up and running on Monday.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Scanning TSA's Troubles for Any Signs of Hope

Remember when the worst thing people said about the TSA were jokes about its initials meaning "Thousands Standing Around"?

Boy, have things changed. In the wake of full body scans and pat downs, the TSA has seemingly become more hated than BP in the eyes of the Internet. They've inspired numerous parodies on Twitter and lots of scathing blog posts.

Is the social media hate justified? For the most it is, because many of the things we've all been hearing since these new security procedures have been implemented show egregious lapses in judgment by the individual TSA agents.

But that's the thing; it's been individuals showing the lack of professionalism behind these horror stories.

This is why companies and organizations have (or should have) a solid PR team behind them, because it's the PR team's job to assure the public that the actions and immaturity shown by several of their agents is not indicative of the organization as a whole. More importantly, the TSA PR team needs to let us all know that they are taking steps to solve these issues.

The TSA's response? A Twitter account...that spams links from its TSA blog to users who tweet out negative comments about the new scanners and pat down procedures. A Twitter account can be a useful weapon in the crisis management arsenal if its used effectively, which it isn't in this case.

But this post isn't about full body scanners or pat downs, because I still believe that it's been a lack of professionalism by the TSA's individual agents that the root cause of most of the controversy. However, the oversights made by the TSA on the PR front are making things worse by not taking advantage of social media to influence their image or public perception. 

And until that happens, I'm afraid the TSA may be securing their place at the top of the Internet's no-fly list.

Video Post: Blood is Thicker Than Water

We've covered our blood donations here on Daily Axioms several times in the past, mostly because it is something we really care about. Unfortunately, however, the need for more blood donations is still incredibly high. That's why we decided to show how easy the process is and why it's so important.