I’ve noticed this and couldn’t quite work out what was going on, but Twitter has cleared up the issue after it admitted that it is suffering technical problems that causes Twitter users to randomly unfollow people they are following without their knowledge.

The “unfollow bug” has apparently affected thousands of Twitter users many of whom have been tweeting about the issue using the #Twitterbug hashtag. Read More »

Greggs the baker has been taking advantage of Labour Leader Ed Miliband’s canny media managenent after he was photographed outside of one of its stores today as the row over the “pie tax” heated up.

The retailer has been tweeting away and retweeting some of its mentions as the chatter sends Greggs trending on Twitter not once but twice. Read More »

Pinterest has 2.2 million daily and 22 million monthly active users who have the potential to act as word-of-mouth ambassadors for their favourite products.

The site has been steadily increasing its market share since it first rolled out in the American Mid-West two-years ago and now it wants UK advertisers and marketers to get involved. Read More »

The new Facebook Timelines increases engagement per post for brands by a 46%, according to research done by Simply Measured.

Simply measured looked at engagement stats before and after the launch of Timeline of fifteen major early adopters, and  in addition to overall engagement, their research showed that migrating a brands page to Timeline gives a 14% increase in fan engagement. Read More »

I was asked to write this social media guide for journalists for The Journalism Foundation as part of a free online toolkit for anyone who wants to start up their own local news network.

Social media skills for journalists in 2012 are as essential as a notebook and phone. They are basic must-haves that should be part of your journalistic DNA. If you are not using social media you need to have a very good reason, as you can guarantee that your colleagues and your rivals will be. So get going. Read More »

Recent public reports from internet traffic monitors have highlighted why Pinterest is drawing so much attention and it isn’t just a matter of traffic growth. Traffic matters, of course, and for social networks the traffic trajectory is incredibly important.

But what makes Pinterest rather special as a social platform is the degree to which it runs counter to the “island” mentality most social networks create. Bottom line, Facebook and Twitter are happiest when you’re on Facebook and Twitter. And most social experiences are like that. Read More »