New Uses of Social Media

This is a growing “collection” post, where we post information about businesses and organizations using social media in new ways.

Australian Elections

HootSuite, makers of the market-leading social media management system, has built a custom Australian Election Tracker to share real-time social media updates about the 2013 Australian federal election. The live display will highlight the social element of this hard-fought campaign in one place right up until the next prime minister is announced.
We saw the original story here: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1342783#ixzz2YAt9f7Tl

Here’s a screen shot of the Australian Election Tracker:

Screen shot of the Australian Election Tracker built by Hootsuite to help voters follow the election commentary in social media.

Charities Using Images in Social Media (or not)

Charities are failing to exploit the potential of images and video in social media, according to a survey carried out by PR and social media agency Aberfield Communications.
This article is a tiny bit suspect because it was written by a business wanting to make money helping charities do social media. At the same time, the article presents a reasonably balanced perspective of how charities can increase the impact of their message with carefully planned images and video.
If you will be working for a non-profit organization, it’s worth reading to help understand the different points of view.