A few days ago, Facebook published an article entitled “What Happens After You Click ‘Report’” which talks about a recently released guide in the form of an infographic that gives users a better understanding on how the reporting process works.

[click on the image to view the larger version]

The safety and security of the people who use our site is of paramount importance to everyone here at Facebook. We are all working tirelessly at iterating our reporting system to provide the best possible support for the people who use our site. While the complexity of our system may be bewildering we hope that this note and infographic have increased your understanding of our processes. And, even though we hope you don’t ever need to report content on Facebook, you will now know exactly what happened to that report and how it was routed.

It’s good to know that Facebook is serious about improving user safety and security as well as raising awareness about the importance of using the reporting system. Personally, I’ve clicked on the Report/Mark as Spam button several times to report stuff that were spammy and offensive.

Have you used Facebook’s reporting system? What do you think of the Facebook Reporting Guide infographic?

Here are some details regarding the different social media personas:

• No Shows (41% of US population) – least involved with social media, if at all; infrequently engage in online commerce.
• Newcomers (15%) – passive users of a single social media network, primarily to enhance offline relationships.
• Onlookers (16%) – observe others via social channels on a regular basis, but share almost no personal information.
• Cliquers (6%) – active users of one network; influential among their small group of friends and family.
• Mix-n-Minglers (19%) – those who regularly share and interact with a diverse group of connections via social media.
• Sparks (3%) – most active and deeply engaged users of social media; will serve as enthusiastic online ambassadors for their favorite brands.

To get a better view/understanding of the study, check out the infographic below:

[click on image to view larger version of the infographic]

Based on the infographic below, which social media persona are you? Do you think that the study and the infographic are more or less accurate in grouping or categorizing social media users?

[via Aimia]

StudioPress recently released the Simple Social Icons WordPress plugin. Coded by Nathan Rice, this plugin/widget enables users to easily display social media/networking icons on any widget area of the blog and link it to different social profiles.

Like its name, the Simple Social Icons plugin is very simple and easy to use that it doesn’t even need a settings page. It is also very customizable – users can customize the color and size of the icons and choose to align the icons left or right.

Screenshot:
Widget Admin Screen

Installation:

1. Upload the entire simple-social-icons folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory
2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
3. In your Widgets menu, simply drag the widget labeled “Simple Social Icons” into a widgetized Area.
4. Configure the widget by choosing a title, icon size and color, and the URLs to your various social profiles.

Social icons included in the plugin:

• Dribbble
• Email
• Facebook
• Google +
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest
• RSS
• StumbleUpon
• Twitter

I think it would be great if more social icons could be added to it like Reddit, Flickr, YouTube, FriendFeed, Instagram, Path, etc. One more thing, at this time the plugin doesn’t allow users to re-order the icons so it would be nice to have the option/functionality in the next update. But other than those two things, there’s nothing really much to say or complain about this WordPress plugin because it is easy to use and does what its supposed to do.

Thanks to Nathan Rice and the good folks over at StudioPress for creating and releasing this cool and very useful plugin to the WordPress community.

NOTE: The Simple Social Icons plugin requires WordPress 3.3 or higher.

Download the Simple Social Icons plugin from the official WordPress plugin repository

How do you like the Simple Social Icons plugin/widget? Anyone tried or already use this plugin on their blog? Please share your thoughts.

Last month I blogged about a social photo sharing app called Photovine. This app was released almost the same time as Google+ and was created by Slide a company acquired by Google last year. I only got to try out Photovine a few days ago and I really like it. I love Instagram but Photovine provides a different type of experience.

Photovine has a lot of potential and I believe that it can be successful in the social photo sharing market. Unfortunately, we’ll never get to find out because Photovine along with other Slide social apps like Slideshow, SuperPoke! Pets, Video Inbox and Pool Party will be “retired” in the coming months. This was announced yesterday via Slide’s official blog.

We wanted to give you all advance notice that in the coming months, a number of Slide’s products and applications will be retired. This includes Slide’s products such as Slideshow and SuperPoke! Pets, as well as more recent products such as Photovine, Video Inbox and Pool Party. We created products with the goal of providing a fun way for people to connect, communicate and share. While we are incredibly grateful to our users and for all of the wonderful feedback over the years, many of these products are no longer as active or haven’t caught on as we originally hoped.

Most importantly, we wanted to take this opportunity to reassure you that we’re committed to helping our users preserve their data as easily as possible. We recognize that many of you have stored valuable content with us and want to assure you that, wherever possible, you will have ample time to download that information or transfer it to another service.

For example, on Slide.com, we will enable users to either download their photos or export them to a Picasa account. We are working to release this export feature over the coming weeks and, once added, users will have several months to take advantage of transferring their photos.

Thanks again for all of your support, and we appreciate your patience as we continue to share more details in the coming days and weeks on how to access and save your content from specific Slide products. If you have any questions or feedback, don’t hesitate to contact us at feedback@slide.com. Or visit this page for any additional updates.

Anybody else use Photovine or other Slide social apps? Do you think Google’s decision to shut down Slide’s social apps is a good one? Should Google keep Photovine running? Please share your thoughts.

Believe it or not, more and more employers are using social media to find talent. According to a survey by Jobvite, 80% of employers are using to support their recruitment efforts and the top 3 channels being used are LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Getting a job via social media is without doubt common as much as job seeking in online ads.

With its easy access, there will be more and more applicant flow in those channels. It will be more competitive. Now, the challenge is how to maximize your job search on social media to make sure you find all the possible jobs you are qualified in.

1. Search within social media

The magic word is “search”. But where to start? LinkedIn is an undisputed social media job search platform but other popular channels like Facebook and Twitter should never be left out of your search lists. LinkedIn’s Job section provides a list of jobs closely related to your LinkedIn profile which is based on your work history and connections.

In Facebook’s case, what you do is to search for company pages (you want to work with) and follow them. Some pages post vacancies on their wall or some have a dedicated jobs tab like one of TeleTech Pilipinas. If you are not aiming for a certain company and simply a job title, use the Facebook search function. Try searching for the keyword “jobs” on search and you’ll get useful links and pages.

For Twitter, simply follow a company or do the tweet search function. Some brands have a dedicated channel for recruitment but others integrate it to their main social media accounts.

2. Network with the recruiter

LinkedIn makes it easy for anyone to network with a hiring manager. If you already set up your profile with a profile picture, upload your email contacts. This is to start with a few set of networks in LinkedIn. See your immediate network if you can get introduced to a hiring manager. You can also search for a company and a position readily accessible in LinkedIn.

Also, join groups relevant to your industry and follow companies. They post career opportunities there as well.

3. Grow your online influence

Not all can be considered influencers – or the thought movers and conversational leaders – but everyone has influence. Most businesses operate online. Having a bigger network than your fellow applicants gives you a better chance. Why? It’s a skill. It’s not only the numbers. It’s what you do in the internet that manifests a soft skill of online influence. If you got more network and influence, especially when a job benefits from it (e.g. PR, marketing), it’s a given advantage. Klout.com can be a way of measuring your influence online.

Some employers even check out on your online profiles in Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, blogs, etc. Just a name search on Google and they’ll found out who you are and what you say online (as long as your profile is public).

4. Leverage Smartphone Job Apps

LinkUp found that 20% of jobseekers use their smartphones to look for a job. Apps like CareerBuilder, JobCompass, Monster, BusyBee and many more will help you find one customized and filtered to your needs. Also, utilize RSS or job alerts from your favorite job boards. You can’t miss an opportunity on the go.

5. Start a social resume

Get attention by showing off your creativity skills using video, infographics, or slideshow presentations as an alternative/additional resume and upload them to video/presentation-sharing websites like Youtube and Slideshare.

You can start a website or a blog. Design its format and design. Put content relevant to your job like blog posts, multimedia, about yourself, and integrate your social networks. Don’t forget to include a portfolio of your works and how they can contact you. Land a job by having your online profile easily shareable.