According to a recent report from Mashable, Google will now have a button comparable to the ever-popular Facebook “like” button called +1. After Google Buzz, I can’t help but be a little skeptical of any Google foray into social media, but perhaps the best feature of this button will be the fact that it’s integrated into the Google search engine itself.
Google Plus One Button
Users who opt in will start to notice a small +1 button beside each link that comes up in Google search results. When you click on this button, your name becomes associated with that link across the web. It also shows up in a feed on your Google profile which is required to use it. You can also +1 an advertisement you like which will subsequently be recommended to your friends.
I’m thinking that the +1 button will most likely be successful (more than Buzz anyway) due to the fact that (according to Google) the data will have a direct influence on its search rankings, but its also another means of combating content farms, as users will be less likely to share their content. Will you be opting in?
Have you ever been stuck at an airport for far longer than your layover? Have you ever been greeted with the annoyed, bored stares of flight attendants?
If this has never happened to you, you’ve either never traveled, or have been lucky in life, and I envy you. People take planes to get to important places on time, and when you miss your connecting flight because the first flight was late, the airline generally assumes a “well, you should’ve given yourself a longer layover” attitude – even though the last thing you’d rather do is spend four hours in an airport. To me, airports smell weird, they take hours to pass through security (and patdowns) and they’re teeming with people carrying enormous luggage.
But, they’re a necessity. So when reputable airlines like JetBlue create a social media brand and stick to it, you tend to expect the same from other airlines.
I recently flew American Airlines, tweeting angrily, but got no response. I have to say, I expected some sort of reply after hearing about other brands replying to their customers.
Piers Morgan flew Delta, and tweeted no less than 46 times about his disapproval. “Delta stands for don’t ever leave the airport,” he wrote.
The PR Week story I read explains that flight attendants should be the face of the airline. After all, they’re the only people from the airline you come in contact with. Flight attendants generally assume the “we know as much as you” formation, so as far as branding, they’re a pretty important group, and I’m surprised no one’s really picked up on this. I think all parties involved would have a much better experience if flight attendants assumed a more social role.
Let’s get one thing straight. No one has ever accused me of being a grammar expert, including my journalism teacher at Emerson College years ago, the great Marsha Della-Guinstina, who occasionally directed me to the school’s Learning Assistance Center to clean up my reports (but at least she did say I could be a great reporter some day…so how did I wind up in PR??? That’s another story…)
With my past grammar mishaps in mind, I’ve worked diligently to eliminate such errors during the course of writing many a client document and endless PR pitches. (Hint: when in doubt about grammar usage, turn to the AP Stylebook — a PR person’s best friend! Your computer’s spell check just doesn’t always cut it).
With all the time I’ve spent writing, over the years I’ve developed a certain respect for well written documents, and ultimately, proper use of the English language.
I figured that the Oxford Dictionary folks felt the same way about the English language, too.
But my opinion changed over the weekend upon learning that MMS abbreviations like OMG, LOL and “heart” (as in “I don’t heart radioactive tap water”) have been included in the latest issue of the Oxford Dictionary. Even LaLa Land, often used to describe those beautiful, plastic surgery addicted folks in Los Angeles, has been included.
As this Mobiledia article points out, the addition of these abbreviations demonstrate the influence of mobile and Internet technologies on contemporary language usage.
Not that I don’t use these terms frequently myself in emails, on Twitter and Facebook, etc. however you really have to wonder about our culture if these abbreviations are now actually considered worthy of inclusion in the Oxford Dictionary.
I’m sure there’s a PR handler spinning this news and why it’s a good thing. The upside for them is they are getting some great coverage for their clients.
But the downside for the rest of us may be the slow death of the English language.
