After all, the direction of the blog has changed to being about tech in general instead of social media, and I’m now labeled as a “Writer” instead of “Social Media Specialist”. So, I decided to fire up the trusty webcam and lay everything out to dry. There are a few f-bombs, so you’ve been warned.

“Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign. Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember one rule of thumb: the more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.” Steven Pressfield

The post Why I Left The Social Media Industry appeared first on Mike Stenger.

After spending several days with All Access, I’ve found several pros and cons. Will this be the Spotify killer that helps Google dominate in yet another area? Watch the video below to find out.

The post Review: Google Play Music All Access appeared first on Mike Stenger.

While many of us were questioning Google’s ability to pull off a similar feature, they pulled it off to much success, even having their iOS app remain in the top 100 free apps. For many months, Now integration on the web was talked about. Finally, on May 15 during the I/O 2013 keynote, news was made official.

With Google expanding well beyond search, the possibilities for Now on the web are (almost) endless. Utilizing a Google Now Chrome extension, users could have a wealth of functionality at the sound of their voice, no matter what tab they’re currently in.

I don’t know if Google has such an extension planned, but if they did, here is a small list of commands/integration that I think would be pretty epic to see:

Google Play Music

Okay Google, skip song/pause song/shuffle songs/repeat song(s)/listen to playlist [playlist name]/start radio/

Google Voice

Okay Google, call [person's name]/send text to [person's name] [your message]/listen to new voicemail/

Gmail

Okay Google, compose email to [person's name]/show new email/reply to email with [your message]/

Hangouts (replaces Google Talk)

Okay Google, start hangout [video/chat] with [person or person's names]/read most recent hangout message/send new hangout message to [person or person's name] [your message]

What commands or integration would you like to see, or do you see yourself not using Now at all?

The post How Google Now web integration could be epic appeared first on Mike Stenger.

Even if you’re an active Google+ user, the redesign is quite the departure from the layout of past. However, change is a good thing. In the video below, I walkthrough the new design, what’s new, how to get where you wanna go, and the Google Talk replacement called “Hangouts”.

What do you think about the new Google+ design?

Update: You’ll also be able to send and receive SMS messages via Hangouts.

The post Walkthrough: Getting acquainted with the new Google+ appeared first on Mike Stenger.

With the internet picking up steam the last several decades, content has taken a new role in the form of ones and zeroes. We now consume content from blogs and websites not just on our desktops or laptops, but also from our phones and tablets.

Apps such as Flipboard and Google Currents provide an easy, visually appealing way to consume your favorite content. However, at least with Flipboard, recently only a select few could have their content featured proudly. As we’ve seen with doing well on social media, it’s all about being where your audience is. That, and making it super easy to consume your content wherever they may be.

With Flipboard having over 50 million users as of March 2013, and Google Currents not too far behind, they’re not your typical run-of-the-mill content aggregators. In the video below, I show you how to add your content to both platforms in a few simple steps. Where do you consume content the most?

Links:

Flipboard Editor

Flip It Bookmarklet

Google Currents Producer

The post How to get your content on Flipboard and Google Currents appeared first on Mike Stenger.

Take this group entry on LinkedIn for example:

“I’ve got complete strangers who I have never met, who know nothing about me, making endorsements on my profile and asking me for endorsements. What is this? These are not meaningful, like recommendations that have substantive comments and are almost always written by or for someone you know and have worked with. What value are endorsements? Is there now a race, as seems to be occuring [sic] with some people, to collect as many endorsements as possible?”

Those are good questions, and in the video below, we get down to the answer. What’s been your experience with Endorsements?

The post How truly valuable are LinkedIn Endorsements? appeared first on Mike Stenger.

However, most reviewers are mistaking Facebook Home for a regular app when it’s actually something quite different. In the video below, I walkthrough the UI, bust some misconceptions, show off an awesome feature called Chat Heads, and share my findings…

Download Facebook Home

The post Facebook Home Review: The Ultimate Mobile Experience? appeared first on Mike Stenger.

Chances are, you’ve heard of the word “Swag” and may have even seen some of their t-shirts like this one available at Walmart.

They’re looking to expand their online presence and connect with a younger audience that connects with their message of having fun and looking good doing it. Well, without further announcement, I am now the Head of Social for Swag International.

There’s a good reason why I haven’t posted anything here in the past week. We’ve been talking back and forth, discussing strategies, initiatives, and working out further details. As far as what will happen with my current services and posting on this blog, it’ll have to be put on the back burner. Having such a big role in furthering Swag will take up a ton of time and my posting will go down considerably.

Everyone on this planet has Swag. It’s your style, it’s your presence, it’s how you present yourself. Do you have it? Thank you for your support over the years and here’s to a bright future for the both of us!

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Actually, I’m not really the head of social for some organization who’s founded on some word that is misused in an effort to look and be cool when they’re really not. April Fool’s!

In fact, I have an even bigger announcement to make. This just seemed like a better, more humorous way to go about it. A lot of things have changed over the past year. While my love for helping others with social media is still there, I’ve pursued writing about technology for various websites.

Writing has always been my first passion and over this past year, I’ve started to replace my social media income with my writing income. Some may say, “You can always do both”, but to be completely honest, I’m having much more fun writing. The bureaucracy and amount of bullshit in the social media industry has turned me off quite a bit, but that’s far from the only one reason nor is an excuse.

I’ve thought about this for many months now and have procrastinated making any real decisions. Hell, I’ve invested my entire life into social media for eight years, three years as a full-time business. However, things change and people change.

From this point forward, I will no longer offer any social media related services.

I will however continue to ocassionaly write about social media here and thoughts have been brewing about writing a book. There’s no guarantee a book will ever happen, and if it does, it’ll be completely independent and not backed by traditional publishers. But there are some ideas that have been appealing to me so we’ll see.

If we’re already connected on social media, nothing will change. I’ll still be posting great articles, discussions, photos of my stupid dogs, you know, the usual.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions and will hopefully see you around the blog or wherever we follow one another online!

The post Do You Have Swag? appeared first on Mike Stenger.

While it is sad to see Reader go by the wayside, there is some good news. In fact, it’s a good wake up call for blog owners who’ve relied off of the RSS subscription model for years and years. Listen to the short audio below to learn why the death of Google Reader is actually a good thing…

The post Why The Death Of Google Reader Is Great For Blogs appeared first on Mike Stenger.

Getting away from the computer and meeting people face to face is great, but you can also network online. If you’re on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or a number of other social networks, you’re already doing it.

Be Present Where It Matters

Each of us work in different fields. Maybe you’re the CEO of a construction company or run a local bakery. Whatever it may be, people in your industry or those you sell to, are on multiple social networks. Utilizing tools such as Graph Search or Twitter Search can help you see just who is out there to connect with.

Be Helpful, Not Salesy

One of the big problems with networking is the tendency to try and sell without first building a relationship. You don’t go to a party and immediately try and close with a cute girl. People do business with those they know, like, and trust. If you’re being Mr. or Mrs. McPitchFace, people will be turned off. Instead, be helpful and bring value to a conversation. Stop throwing out business cards like tic tacs at a halitosis convention.

Be A Connector

Everyone wants to get business for themselves and focusing too much on that can distract you from the people around you who can be helped. Connecting others with relevant people you know, instantly ups your value and burns you into people’s mind’s. The next time that person comes across someone who needs products or services that you provide, who do you think they’ll refer? Bingo. What other networking tips would you add?

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