Today, the White House celebrated their second annual Big Block of Cheese Day, in an effort to give Americans access to their government officials.
The (Real) Story of the White House and the Big Block of Cheese
20 Best Social Media Strategies
This slideshow from Irfan Ahmad of digitalinformationworld has some great information on how to run a successful social media campaign.  From the importance of photos and imaging in posts to the usefulness of giving away tips to potential followers, this presentation is loaded with good ideas and practical techniques you can use right now to extend your social network.
What Type Of Social Media Strategy Are You Running?
Thank you, Tom Fishbourne of marketoonist.com for creating great content!
The Oatmeal Sets Ted Cruz Straight On Net Neutrality
As mentioned earlier on this site, President Obama recently crafted a letter in support of net neutrality. This morning, Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) sent a response via Twitter, knocking net neutrality, calling it “Obamacare for the internet.”
While Obamacare has proven to be extremely controversial, until now the net neutrality debate has really only had two sides…High Speed Internet providers, and essentially, everyone else. In order to make sure that Senator Cruz was properly informed regarding the actual issues involved with net neutrality, blogger Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal takes the opportunity to welcome him to the net neutrality party.  While pointing out that Comcast provided a significant amount of money to the Senator’s recent campaign, and acknowledging that this may have had quite a bit to do with the nature of the tweet in the first place, Mr. Inman shows that, “[n]et neutrality is a bipartisan issue.  It’s something liberals, conservatives, sinners and saints, sasquatches, cyborgs, and all the crab-infused-tex-mex-loving men, women, and children of this great country of ours can get behind.”
This quick and entertaining explanation details just what net neutrality is (an equal playing field that has been a tenant of the internet since its inception), why it’s bad for everyone except Internet Service Providers (because charging more for different speeds of service can cripple those with little capital, like start ups, or consumers with little choice in providers, like almost everyone else), and which companies have already began leveraging the issue (Comcast, yes, we’re talking about you). The Oatmeal has crafted a great post that almost anyone can use to help inform our less savvy friends of the dangers of not paying attention to this issue, be they our children, our grandparents, or our less informed public servants.
City Council Votes to Reject Comcast Cable Licence Bid
In a week when President Obama seemingly deals a blow to cable companies by asking for stricter net neutrality rules, Comcast receives another bit of bad news. The city council of Worcester, Mass urged the City Manager not to transfer the city’s cable tv license to Comcast Corp. from Charter Communications in a stunning 8-3 vote. The overwhelming majority vote of the council was completely based upon previous reports of “substandard customer service practices.” City manager, Edward Augustus, Jr., who has the final say in the matter, has requested a two week extension from Comcast during which he plans to study the issues affecting employees and consumers.
Even if Mr. Augustus fails to respond, or disapproves the license transfer, Comcast will be able to appeal the decision to the state Cable Television Commission. Denying the transfer can only be based on company management, technical and legal experience and financial capabilities. Since customer service complaints would not technically affect company management, it is likely that the state Cable Television Commission would approve any such appeal.
Well aware that their vote will likely have no affect on the outcome of the situation, Councilors  Frederick C. Ruston and Gary Rosen both indicate that their constituents desire better customer service from cable companies.
Councilor Konstantina Luke also, feels that even though the vote of the council is unlikely to result in a different cable provider, the vote may succeed in attracting the attention of the Federal Communications Commission. “This is not a paper vote; this is not an empty vote. This is a very clear vote that we are not going to tolerate the kind of responses we got from Charter and Comcast.”
Whether or not Comcast is successful in adding the town of Worcester to its customer base, the national nature of this story once again highlights the importance of a good PR team, and the dangers of not positively engaging with current and POTENTIAL customers.
What Exactly Does a Social Media Manager Do?
A Social Media Manager may be a person who seems to have a phone, tablet, and laptop in some way permanently affixed to their body. They never seem to put their devices down, and are always up to date on the latest fads, fashions, and trends.  There is, of course, just a little bit of work involved in appearing to be on top of everything. Thanks to SocialCast for the nifty graphic below telling you all about their day!
Nov 10-20 Hootsuite Free Webinars
We all know that managing a personal or professional Social Media presence can be extremely difficult. The quickest and easiest way to get up to speed on trending topics and techniques in social media is to attend an online Webinar. Many of these presentations cost money, a lot of money, making them cost prohibitive for the beginner or small business owners. That’s why Psyntax is starting a new weekly series of Hootsuite webinars that are available for FREE! That’s right, they’re free! There’s no need to thank us.  Feel free to check out the links below in order to register, and we just may see you there!
How to Grow your Social Media Presence
Wednesday, November 12th 2014 – 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM PST
Essential Social Media Analytics
Wednesday, November 13th, 2014 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM PST
Team up on Social
How Voice Search Could Affect The Future Of SEO – Forbes
The future of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) could be shaped by voice search platforms like Google Now, Siri, and Cortana. Jason Demers shares why this is important, and how you can leverage the power of voice search services to better your business.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/11/05/how-voice-search-could-affect-the-future-of-seo/
Funniest Tweets of the Week from Women Are Actually Funny
Each week the Huffington Post takes the time to scour twitter for the funniest content posted by a woman. Despite the tongue in cheek attempt to highlight the often times frustrating tasks women face in their every day lives and showcase the many times overlooked comedic talents of women, some people have taken to bashing the Huffington Post column.
Critics are saying that the weekly article somehow creates a dangerous stereotype and does not do the women being featured any favors. Its important to remember that going out of the way to feature the creative talents of women makes it more acceptable for women to be seen as creative and talented. Female comediannes have a difficult enough time getting their name recognized, and the efforts of these women should be applauded for leveraging social media to publicize their craft.
Should Employees Use Social Media at Work?
In every business environment, the question of whether or not not allow employees to engage in social media during business hours always arises. The concept of productivity and keeping individuals engaged in business related tasks while on the job would seem to conflict with an individual’s need to stay connected. However, savvy businesses CAN find ways to leverage their workforce to increase their brand value across a number of social media platforms. Keeping employees happy and driving traffic to the company’s brand messaging can be accomplished by creating a culture of engagement.
Start by focusing on employee amplification – designating employees to interact with company social media avenues while working has the potential to drive hits and shares of your content. The first step in this process is understanding that an increase in engagement has the potential to significantly affect your bottom line.
Create a clear social media policy – Key stakeholders should examine the current engagement level, and set targets for what they would like to see. Identify individual employees and specific roles with the ability to create a positive influence on brand dispersal. This information should be used to develop and roll out a clear social media policy. it is important for employees to understand the strategy, and rules behind what it is that their employeer is expecting them to do. The policy should be easy to understand and readily available to any employee expected to engage.
Training, Training, Training – you are expecting employees to retweet particular messaging, let them know when and how often. If you want them to engage with users, enable them to do so. Make sure that they not only understand the mechanics of social media and the different ways to operate within each platform, but also make sure that they understand the why behind social media engagement. This will probably be a huge culture shift for much of your workforce, but over time, it will enable greater ROI.
Let your people sell your brand – The biggest mistake that many businesses make when engaging in social media is that their corporate tone does not comer across as authentic. The marketing manager is sharing the company line, and it is apparent that the verbiage has been tested by legal and the PR team. Your biggest way to avoid that is your employee advocates. A good corporate culture not only helps retention, but satisfied employees become your best brand ambassadors. Let the natural enthusiasm of your workforce work for you across social media. Don’t feed them soundbites, inspire them with ideas, and watch their engagement grow!
How to let your employees use social media at work without losing their focus
Facebook Is Finally Going to Stop Showing You Garbage Hoaxes
Facebook Is Finally Going to Stop Showing You Garbage Hoaxes – http://pulse.me/s/3jiQWr
Harley Crawshaw: Why My Generation Has No Social Skills
Harley Crawshaw: Why My Generation Has No Social Skills – http://pulse.me/s/3ifet2
Facebook And LinkedIn Are Headed For The Office
Facebook And LinkedIn Are Headed For The Office – http://pulse.me/s/3dRl81
Maggie Morona
Psyntax 
