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It’s no news that apps able to operate across a variety of platforms, or Open Graph apps, offer superb and diverse sharing possibilities. Just the other day Facebook announced that users there share something on the order of a billion instances very day across their apps. Interest sharing, user data, and even a person’s network of pals can all be passed along, if a platform or website is Open Graph friendly that is.

The number and kinds of things that developers can and have leveraged using the Open Graph continues to escalate and improve. Sites like Expedia, Hotels.com, airbnb, and others, Pinterest and Foodspotting plus Zynga, and not to forget Foodily and Spotify, dozens niches and an array of  portals that auto publish to Facebook, these can also be leveraged by other developers too. Below is a list of simple and interesting use cases for Open Graph utility.

BlogBang – From the simple, like this site’s use of the Open Graph for ensuring Facebook shares get special treatment, to the infinitely complex things to come, Facebook’s initiative here has if nothing else provided a developer integration conduit of immense power. BlogBang apparently hooked into the “matrix” of app friendliness via association with OpenGraphy, a company specializing in helping lead others into Open Graph uses. The image below shows one way BlogBang uses the Open Graph for aesthetic timeline goodness. This is one simple use case a lot of app developers can adopt.

Grafetee – This development we have been working with in Finland has a wide scope of use cases. The geo-location app – which leverages iOS and Android operating systems with new and existing services like Foursquare and Yelp, Wikipedia and its own bookmarking tools – can now warp into 100 other use scenarios. By integrating with Open Graph sites like Zillow and Expedia, Grafetee can be anything from an open house real estate tour guide (see screen) to a pal for families about to make a move. Hotel to real estate listing, even off to lunch, Grafetee can lead smart device users by the hand, literally. Simple bookmark a property, your hotel, the diner from your desktop before leaving home, then follow the blue G on your device when mobile. Smart huh?

Spotify – My favorite musical app that just so happens to use Open Graph to help listeners and music fans discover via “opt in” use of dynamic listening data. Spotify can integrate with Ticketmaster, for instance, to notify you when you are near a music event at your local. Location based stuff, being the next huge wave of smart use cases – will likely be tightly integrated with payment and directional tools. This is already happening in several spheres. The screen below shows my latest listening pleasure on my Facebook timeline, but this seemingly simple use of Open Graph possibility, is not in reality. The user preference and statistics underneath are powerful indeed. Tho nobody talks too much about how “opting in” ends up on your ad table.

Foodspotting – Another interesting notion that ends in a simple user utility, showing on Facebook all the food a user has cataloged on a map. While this may not seem so exciting, sharing food with friends, and the places to enjoy them, can be a powerful incentive. Robert Scoble, for instance, had a wonderful Scaloppine Di Vitello Al Tartufo in San Francisco, which I posted to my FB timeline as you can see below. Not rocket science, by any means, but imagine even smarter adaptations of this idea. Bon Apetitte!

Zynga – And about every other game platform under the sun has optimized for Facebook via Open Graph architecture. If you ever played a game on Facebook, chances are either it had something to do with FB developments along these lines, or it will. Aside the implications for monetization and for eCommerce of all kinds, one has to think at least a little, of how games have helped make the web go round. Zynga has, however, begun to move away from Facebook and toward their own playground. Still, as cool uses for Open Graph app deployments, games have to top the list. The image below shows the interact instance between Zynga and Facebook at the onset. I can’t chat with Mike Arrington (he is too busy) much any more, but Zynga can hook me up with a game against him.

Since Facebook announced their first 17 Open Graph partners at the 2011 f8 developer conference, the world of the web now seems ready to climb on board. As you can see, the uses Open Graph apps have chosen to apply range from the super simple alignment of thumbnails and post instances like BlogBang, to reverse engineered geo-location app smartness like that of Grafetee. The technology spawned by so much Facebook love, clearly continues to grow almost exponentially. What can we expect next? Just about anything you can imagine perhaps?

The post Open Graph App Love Growing Still Stronger appeared first on About Social Media.

YouTube notched another mark in its belt, as the video-sharing giant sets the record with four million videos under Creative Commons license. Even though it was only a year ago when it launched its Creative Commons library, YouTube now has the largest collection of Creative Commons-licensed videos in the world.

On the official YouTube blog, Cathy Casserly, CEO of Creative Commons, invited the public to “reuse, remix, and reimagine” the large trove of creative commons videos available at their disposal. Casserly wrote:

Since the Creative Commons video library launched on YouTube a year ago, you’ve added more than 40 years’ worth of video to the mix. Anyone, anywhere can edit, build on and republish the library’s videos for free thanks to the Creative Commons Attribution license, otherwise known as CC BY.

YouTube only had 10,000 videos in its CC library when it was launched, much of the content came from well-known organizations like C-SPAN, PublicResource.org, Voice of America, and Al Jazeera.

What Are the Benefits of the CC BY License?

Casserly asked the readers:

Do you need a professional opening for your San Francisco vacation video? Perhaps some gorgeous footage of the moon for your science project? How about a squirrel eating a walnut to accompany your hot new dubstep track?

Thanks to the CC BY license, users are granted the permission to borrow content, edit video, and share it without any worry about copyright infringement. Of course, users need to give credit to the original creator. They can edit the borrowed material, which is marked with CC BY, in YouTube Video Editor.

In addition, Casserly also encouraged videographers and other artists to publish and circulate their work under the CC BY license. She invites them to “join the fun and open the door to collective imagination.”

Imagine seeing your footage used by a student in Mumbai, a filmmaker in Mexico City, or a music video director in Detroit. By letting other people play with your videos, you let them into a global sandbox, kicking off a worldwide team of collaborators.

How to Add the CC BY License?

If you want to share your original works under the Creative Commons license, just select the “Creative Commons Attribution license” option on the upload page or on the Video Description page. You can also follow the simple steps explained in the YouTube’s Commons Creative page.

Also, starting July 25, YouTube users can now make future uploads have CC license by default.

Ready to jump into the CC bandwagon? Check out the video below for more information.

Image Source: YouTube Blog

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With the popularity of using Facebook as a tool to promote a business, a website or a public figure, it only shows that social media now has a big place in today’s online world. That’s why millions of brands are using the most popular social networking site to update their fans about the business that they’re currently in.

However, having a Facebook Page is not enough. You should also learn how to engage your fans.

Post Content Regularly

It is important that you post content regularly in order to keep your fans interested and engaged with your page. However, posting status updates alone is not enough. You should also share entertaining content by adding funny photos, viral videos and interesting links. If your content is compelling enough, your fans will share it with their Facebook friends, promoting your page further.

Ask Your Fans a Question

It is ideal that your status update would provide a quick request for user response. So instead of talking about what’s going on in your business, ask your fans a question. This would keep the boll rolling and your fans will be encouraged to share their experience. And since answering a question will be posted on a user’s News Feed, his or her friends will see it, which could help leverage your business’ Facebook Page.

Generate Communication through Contests

A great way to generate communication between you and your fans is by creating a fun contest. This could be as simple as “Why should you win our prize?” to making a regular caption contest. By keeping your fans engaged on your content, you are also leveraging your page through the community have. Make them more interested to join your contest by giving them a price, even if it’s as simple as bragging rights.

Use a Handful of Call to Action

Another great way to keep your fans engaged is by using plenty of call to action campaign. Anything that has a “Click Here” is a great tool to catch your fans’ attention. This gives your fans something specific to do, and it will also help you promote your website or its content. After all, a Facebook page is used to drive traffic to your homepage. Furthermore, it secures your consumer or audience base.

 

When it comes to promoting a brand on Facebook, you should also find interesting and entertaining ways on how to keep your fans hooked on your page.

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