By: Samantha Gill, Copywriter / Social Media Strategist, Quinlan & Company

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about the new changes to Facebook. And, if you’re like me, almost every single friend on your news feed has been complaining about it. So…what gives?

To start, here’s a brief run-down on the basic new features unveiled from the F8 Conference.

• Ticker: Almost everything your friends are doing on Facebook shows up in real-time on your “ticker” side-bar, including when they comment on their friends’ photos, statuses, links, etc. You’ll see these updates even if they’re commenting on random strangers’ pages, which also means that those same random strangers are probably seeing when the same friend comments on your updates.

• Lists: Facebook took the initiative (how kind of them) to build on their current lists feature by auto-populating categories with your friends. These lists can be edited and added to, you can manage what types of updates you see, or you can hide them from your side bar completely.

• Timeline: Probably the most noted feature from F8 is the Timeline, which is exactly what it sounds like – a timeline of your life from birth to current updates. The timeline lets users easily click through the past years to see what their friends have been up to, when they’ve had important life events, etc. Timeline also drastically changed the layout of the profile page to focus more on images and apps than what you’ve “liked” or commented on recently. With Timeline, you also have the ability to “feature” important items, favorite photos, and more to make them more visible on your page.

• Cover Photo: This change came along with the Timeline and is a large, horizontal photo (which you choose and upload) to give visitors to your profile a glimpse into “who you are.”

My thoughts:

• I like the ticker. I am an active “Facebook creeper” and I like seeing what my friends are up to. I don’t mind that random people may see my statuses or photos, because I don’t post anything incriminating anyway, so what do I have to lose? I love seeing what music my friends are listening to, what pages they’re liking, and more. The ticker is a great way to connect with things and people you may not have ever noticed before.

• Lists are annoying. There you have it. My one complaint about the new Facebook. The numbered notifications along my side bar are enough to drive me insane. Luckily, this feature is easy to hide with just a few clicks.

• Timeline is great. I think the new Timeline layout is awesome. I love that I can feature items that are important to me, like photos from my recent wedding, and hide previous updates from my not-so-socially-smart early days of college. The Timeline is fun to customize and nostalgic to look back on what your life updates were “back in the day.”

• The Cover Photo is a big win. The Cover Photo is my favorite change in the new Facebook. I love looking at the different Cover Photo choices of my tech-savvy friends who have already updated to the Timeline layout (you can do it too. Just click here and follow the instructions). The Cover Photo really does give you a glimpse into people’s personalities, lives, and interests.

Overall, I am a firm believer that change is good. Comment below and tell us your thoughts on the new Facebook features. Do you love it, or do you “H8” the changes from F8? 

A lot of work…

…and a little play.

Stay tuned for more!

]]> http://quinlancompany.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/what-weve-been-up-to/feed/ 0 quinlancompany myswitchstoryfinal appfinal trocairefinal EnergsmartYouTubeFinal ARPYoutubeFinal MrFrosteeFinal http://quinlancompany.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/back-to-school/ http://quinlancompany.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/back-to-school/#comments Wed, 24 Aug 2011 08:00:52 +0000 quinlancompany http://quinlancompany.wordpress.com/?p=535 ]]> It’s that time of year again! The clothing stores are transitioning to fall lines, grocery stores are depressing us with Halloween candy, and almost every kid you know is either cramming to finish their summer reading or getting ready to move into college, while their brains prepare to soak up as much new information as possible in the next 9 months.

We place such an emphasis on education for over 13 years, but as we become adults and enter the working world, the learning aspect of our lives seems to get pushed to the back burner.

In today’s world, that can’t happen anymore. In order to meet growing demands of the marketplace (no matter what field you’re in), it’s absolutely crucial to stay up to date on new information.

With the steady flow of changes happening every day, how do you maintain awareness on what’s new, exciting, and important?

Read Books. It may seem counter-intuitive to turn to one of the older forms of learning for current information, but there are many books being written on new trends in advertising, consumer behavior, social media, and more. Search Amazon.com, support your local bookstore, or research college and graduate level reading lists for some suggestions if you’re not sure where to start.

Join Clubs. Connecting with other people with experience and expertise in your shared field is extremely important in expanding knowledge. Groups give you a flow of information and thought-provoking interaction, not to mention they add to your network. If you don’t have time to make it to meetings, ask a club member to jot down some notes for you, or check to see if the meeting minutes are posted online.

Visit Forums, Subscribe to Blogs and e-Newsletters. Try to do this on a daily basis. Joining topic groups on LinedIn, subscribing to industry blogs, and joining in on forums are all great ways for new information. Joining e-Newsletter mailing lists also gives you a steady flow of updates and information, but not so many as to be obnoxious (most of the time).

Try to take five-minute pauses throughout your workday to check for updates, read interesting articles, or scroll through comment feeds. After work, try to make it through at least one chapter of your book of choice. Take notes on what you learn, and think about how it applies to you.

How are you planning on getting back into school mode? Are you reading any books? Have you found any thought-provoking articles or come across any interesting discussions? Let us know what’s in your backpack for 2011!

Today, it’s extremely difficult to define relationships. We know so many more people, without ever really knowing them. We communicate via email rather than by phone or face-to-face meetings, we’re “friends” with people on Facebook and “follow” people on Twitter, and share more information with basic strangers than we do with our own families and actual friends.

Although our networks are constantly growing and we’re undoubtedly gaining more information from these acquaintances, it is very possible to push the limits. There are certain boundaries you should set to be sure you don’t blend too much business with pleasure, or too much personal information with strangers!

For “Friends” and “Followers” You Don’t Actually Know:

• Don’t share too much personal information! It’s probably not a great idea to check into your house on 4-Square unless you like stalkers, peeping Toms, or robberies. Think back on that “Stranger Danger” talk your mom had with you in grade school and follow her advice.

• Try not to start controversy or add to controversial discussion on a regular basis. Some people just like to argue, and that’s fine. But when you’re chronically picking fights over social media, you will lose a lot of friends – fast. It’s fine to stand up for what you believe in, as long as you do it respectfully. Just like in “real life,” no one likes being attacked.

• Social media is NOT the place for extremely personal information! I’m sure everyone reading this has seen their fair share of “TMI.” If that person sharing way too many details is you, read carefully: 99% of your network could care less and would most likely prefer not to hear your private details. Keep private matters private, and think before you type.

• When it comes to your personal Facbeook page, make sure you have at least heard of the person trying to contact you before you friend them or talk to them. There are a lot of sketchy people in this world! Check out mutual friends, see if they have a phony profile picture, and in extreme cases, GOOGLE.

For Professional Connections:

• The basic rule for professional interaction on social media is simple: KEEP IT PROFESSIONAL! Set your privacy settings accordingly. Don’t post any information on anything you would feel uncomfortable discussing at your next meeting.

If you’re stuck on what’s acceptable to post, we recommend you visit this entry, or leave your questions in the comments section! We’ll be happy to help you figure out your personal social media policy.

An “intern-view” with Jessica Alessandra, one of Quinlan’s five new interns.

What school do you go to and what year are you?

I go to Syracuse University. I’m going to be a junior in the fall.
What is your major and what made you pursue that path?

Advertising - I didn’t decide to become an advertising major until the end of my sophomore year.  I think what really intrigued me about advertising is how powerful it is and how it can basically make or break your brand.
How did you find out about Quinlan & Company?

I was searching local internships in Buffalo and I found a listing that Quinlan & Company was looking for media interns.

What department are you interning with and who is your Boss?

Media- Julia Vona

What is your favorite experience so far?

I don’t really have a specific favorite experience just yet. I think it’s cool seeing a lot of things I’ve learned at school being applied in a real business setting.

What made you interested in the agency setting?

I still don’t know what I want to do as a career when I graduate, so I figured at an agency I can get an idea of what everyone does. It doesn’t just limit me to one thing.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned so far?

This is a setting that I’ve never worked in before, so I think all of it has been really beneficial. It definitely has helped me with my ability to multi-task and my professionalism.
What do you hope to learn in the future while working at Quinlan?

I hope that I can get more involved in the future.  As of now, I’ve been doing a lot of working with numbers and the buying of the media, but I think it would be cool to be able to contribute to other departments and see all of the other aspects of running a campaign.