Leadpile’s Blog

Facebook is the largest social networking site out there. Whether you are looking so see what your friends are doing, finding old classmates, or just trying to stay connected, Facebook seems to have it all. All except Twitter that is.
When Facebook failed to acquire Twitter.com in the fall of 2008 they decided to do the next best thing and try to be more like them. Within the past week Facebook launched Facebook Lite, which essentially works in the same manner as Twitter. Facebook Lite took out all the frills so a user can only post their status updates. This is a great way to get more people to the site who are looking for a simple way to follow what their friends or favorite businesses are doing.
Facebook has also made it so people who already have Facebook can simply “Tag” a friend and then begin to follow them. This will eliminate the need to juggle between two Facebook accounts. Facebook really did their homework when they decided to start to have some of the same features as Twitter. They even decided to copy the “@” that one puts in front of a name when someone “Tweets” to someone else. So it looks like Facebook didn’t do their homework, but just copy off the person next to them.

Leadpile Lead Exchange is proud to announce we are now a part of the Facebook craze. Social networking sites are key to helping to define a company’s online presence. Leadpile realizes this, and now has it’s own profile. Join our Leadpile list of friends, and become apart of our Lead Exchange if you are not already.

What would you do if you came across your primary care physician on Facebook? How about if you came across a surgeon that was going to be performing some surgery for you in the coming weeks? Would what you see and read about that person affect your decision to trust them and their abilities?

This is something many need to be concerned about when it comes to blog posts, social media sites and other networking groups the public has access to. Too much information could be a bad thing. Too many negative blog posts could put a negative light on some and affect how the outside world perceives them.
According to a recent article on MSNBC, some researchers looked up more than 800 medical students and residents by name on Facebook.com, one of the most popular social-networking sites with about 80 million users worldwide. Everyone can limit who has access to their pages to just friends, however this information could be sometimes accessed.
The study, published recently in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, “found that nearly half the medical students had Facebook pages, with only 37 percent limiting viewership to their friends.” More than half of those whose pages were open for review provided lifestyle information, including sexual orientation, personal relationships and political views and sometimes opinions, according to MSNBC.
Erick W. Black, one of the researchers, said he found pictures with some students grabbing each others private parts, posing with weird objects, and multiple photos of medical students drinking heavily. Does this represent the image that we all have on those that are potentially taking care of us, such as our doctors?
I have to admit Leadpile Lead Exchange has this blog to posts our thoughts and industry news, however I would still be a little hesitant on posting something that I would some day regret or not want another person to see.

When I think of Sears, I think about hardware stores my grandpa and dad used to go to to get that new tool. However, over the years Sears has evolved into a store for more than just tools. No, REALLY! Trendy clothing lines, jewelry, and other non household items has turned Sears into a place all of us can shop at.

According to DMNews, Sears is now going to do some marketing in some social networking sites. They are looking to places like YouTube, Facebook and Myspace as a means to generate interest with the tween (for those of you out of the “loop”, Tween age is between childhood and teenage years) population.

This online marketing campaign is Sears trying to bring in some interest in their back-to-school website arrivelounge.com. There goes the days of Sears in 1886 when they sold watches as a mail order company. Times sure have changed, but I give credit to Sears for realizing that they need to continue to adapt to what is going on in the “world”, in order to stay a store people of all ages shop at.

This just goes to show you, if you want to survive and stay in business- you MUST be open to revising your current business plans, and be open to new ways of running your business. I can guarantee Richard Sears could have never imagined his company marketing to tweeners on social networking sites….social networking WHAT????????