Facebook and Google+: Sizing It Up!

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I don't expect the good folks at Facebook and Google+ to start communicating, let alone coordinating ANYTHING, anytime soon.

They are responsible for every hair on my head that I've pulled out lately, namely for their ability to create “double work” when it comes to artwork for a personal profile, pages, or events.

So many sizes! Google+ sizes are longer than Facebook’s and not quite as tall.

Here’s an example from one of the shows on Groovy Reflections Radio. I created the Facebook event art first (714 X 264): 

Then I just elongated the artwork by adding some yellow on either side and sliced the bottom off a bit (this took me all of 5 minutes). Not the best solution but it works in a pinch (1200 X 300):

And here’s an example where I spent a bit more time trying to make it all fit, first Facebook (again, this is event art):

And here is the Google+ version. I find it a challenge to have less height to work with and had to slice some heads (poor Marcia Marcia)! The area for copy was a bit leaner too:

Could never remember the sizes I needed to work with I found myself looking up on the internet the correct sizes over and over. Finally wised up and created this handy little chart:

Feel free to print it the chart above and stick it on your refrigerator (just kidding). How ‘bout your bulletin board or maybe tape it to your desk instead?

Hope you find it helpful. I've found myself creating more and more cover arts and event art pieces so having this handy is a big help! It would be even better of course if Facebook and Google+ could choose some universal sizes. Ha! Not going to happen anytime soon (if ever).

Ah, yes, shapes of things. The Yardbirds sang about them back in the 60's (see below). Luckily, we're only dealing with rectangles here! If your social media efforts are too square, contact us via our website, or say hello on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+.  

How Come, Social Media?

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Sometimes while pondering the meaning of life my mind strays to other matters, namely the state of affairs with social media. It’s in most of our faces every day and keeps many of us captive whether we like it or not. The streams of information whiz by chock full of pics of grumpy cat, words that most of us don’t say in public, news about the latest controversy or a friend in need who’s having a bad day. 

However, for many of us that get paid for our social media prowess, our minds go a little deeper into what’s happening out there in cyberspace. Social media continues to frazzle and frustrate us as we forge through the muck. 

So here's just a few frustrations:  

Dear Facebook: How come we can edit the text on posts that have photos in them or posts that are text only yet we can’t edit our words when it’s a video? Folks, you are aware of the capabilities to edit, no? Suppose we could say two out of three ain’t bad. 

Why does Klout only have a Klout score of 85? Mashable’s score is 89; Techcrunch has a score of 95 and CNN 99. One would think Klout’s Klout would be higher! After all, they know all the workings of their algorithm. Ah, perhaps they are holding back so that they don’t look TOO good!

Customer Service is an attribute associated with Klout’s K’s, yet they never respond to emails or tweets. Who are those people that give them K’s for this? Would love to know if the folks that gave Klout K’s for this have actually had communication with them and broken through the great wall of silence.

Why doesn’t Kred take activity on Google+ into account for calculating your score? Certainly hoping they'll roll in a user’s activity on Google+ soon. And where is Pinterest in regards to both Klout and Kred? Oh, and Klout: Kudos to you for having Instagram included; Kred there’s another one for you to consider.

Facebook, why did you change the friend request methodology so that a message can’t be sent with the request? Okay, this is an oldie but goodie that truly annoys me. Seriously, I would like to know who all these people are that send friend requests to me all the time. Could you at least message me too and explain our alleged connection? And to make matters worse, if I hit ignore Facebook is going to penalize you from friending others. There’s got to be a better way to handle introductions, Facebook!

Why do Facebook users continue to use personal profiles as their business page? There is NO advantage to this; no stats, no opportunity to advertise, and you’ll run out of the ability to add “friends” eventually. For more on this see my past blog about being friends with a movie theater. 

Hello, Google+! Didn’t forget about you. Is there really an advantage to having a page? You don’t provide easy to access stats like Facebook does. It would be nice to have some demographics and regional breakdowns to see who is finding the page. Data on participation would be nice too. And the possibility of advertising if one wanted to do so. I suppose you’ll catch up eventually. 

Neil Young had pondering on his mind when he came out with this song with rockabilly styling back in 1978 (see below). And if you're wonderin' where to learn more about social media and marketing at large don't forget to visit us at our website, or stop by on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+.       

Social Media Marketing and U.

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Back in the fourth grade, I wrote a poem. It may have been my first one ever. It contained words that were easily comprehended by nine year olds. Except for one.


Ubiquitous.


Don’t remember where I found the word. The line in the poem read “ubiquitous is this season”; the only line I recall from it. 


Guess I was really proud to find such a big word. I even pronounced it wrong. Instead of u-biq-ui-tous I spoke it as u-bi-quit-ous when we had to stand up in front of the class and read our poems. Hey, I was a kid!


Little used, under loved, ubiquitous, an adjective that’s really so big. Dictionary.com defines it as “existing or being everywhere”. Another source cites is as “having or seeming to have the ability to be everywhere at once; omnipresent”.

It’s really a word that more of us should use. Especially with social media.
Simply put, you and your business really do have to be “everywhere” as far as the major social networks. On Twitter. On Facebook. On LinkedIn. On Google+. On Pinterest. Rudolph, let your nose shine bright. 


You DO have to know what level of participation works best for your branding and company. There is no “one size fits all.” DO be experimental and play on all of them and have a good understanding of the nuances of each. It’s not “one post fits all either” and you’ll see over time how your fits in to a particular social network. It WILL take time. Have patience and do not expect immediate results.


Social media marketing is a long-term commitment; you have to stick with it and be involved for the long haul. 


And Social Media is ubiquitous. And since roses are pretty much everywhere, I posted  one. Here's a song from the ubiquitous Johnny Cash:

This is U in the Blogging A to Z challenge. Here's S and T.
Stop by and say hello!   Facebook, Twitter, or Google+. 

Social Media, Creativity, and You.

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Turquoise Flowerpots

Google+, as of this writing, has hit about 90 million with around two-thirds active on the social network. That’s a far cry from the membership of that monster we all know as Facebook, with over 800 million.

Let’s keep in mind that the dynamics of Google+ are much different from Facebook, so should we even be comparing? There seems to be all manners of ways to bring together people on Google+ that just don’t exist on Facebook.

Like this:

Towards the end of the year, I received a shared message on Google+ regarding a photography project. There are several of these projects out there going strong; the one I was notified about and ultimately jumped into is called the Creative 366 Project.

The “rules” are simple. Take a photo every day in 2012. Post the photo, use the hashtag #creative366project, include +creative366project in the commentary for the post, and tag Creative 366 Project. If you can’t load the photo up on that day, it’s okay, upload it tomorrow.

Walmart Ladies Room

The important aspect is to take a photo EVERY day. There isn’t a selling or marketing motive behind it, however, professional photographers and artists will ultimately benefit as more eyeballs will have an opportunity to see their work as the project grows via the  sharing of photos.

The results so far? A mind blowing display of creativity; some are great beginner photographers, while others are more seasoned. This is a lot more exciting than Facebook where the norm is share after share of an animal in a compromising position with a caption saying something silly. Not only that, a quick search revealed that projects like this just don’t exist on Facebook. How could they? Facebook doesn’t have the easy “share-a-bility” in place that Google+ does.

The project brings us sunsets, sunrises, trees, flowers…okay, some of the usual. However, there's a lot of out of the box thinking as folks explore everyday life and objects. A photo of a turquoise house generated quite a bit of conversation. Some examples of the comments include:

“That's an old house. Look at the cellar.”

“Reminds me of the house I grew up...similar shape, but wasn't turquoise!”

From the gent who took the photo: “I was hoping someone would notice the cellar. I wanted to take this picture yesterday, but I did not have my phone or a camera. The sun was not out today. Darn it!”

The commenting did drift and turn towards business page issues between me and the photo taker. Ultimately, he circled both my business pages, we circled each other, and a new friendship was born. Nice!

A third person jumped in and was very helpful as the conversation further expanded, this time to the quirkiness of Chrome. She was not part of the Creative 366 Project; however, she does post a lot of interesting information about technical issues. Boom. Another circling!

Mid-century modern chair

Now this project just oozes with the essence of social media: Sharing, lively dialog, creative expression, people coming together, making the acquaintance of others. You get the point.

You're probably wondering why I decided to participate? Three reasons:

#1 The opportunity to share my creativity with others for the sheer enjoyment of it.
#2 Allowing greater exposure for my Groovy Reflections endeavor. This is where I post the photos.
#3 Having a record of my growth as a beginner photographer (I take 50 to 400+ photos a day, then choose ONE.)

Thank you Google+ for designing such a fine platform.

I can’t wait to see other interesting methods of engagement emerging in the future; can you? What heights can social media soar to?

Come fly with me! 

The photos in this post are my Creative 366 Project entries from Day 9, 8, 12, and 21.