New Facebook Feature!

So you are browsing through a friends 'likes' and you see something you like as well, right? Most people will click the Facebook 'like' button and like it themselves. Now, your wall tells everyone what it is that you like. Now, that wall posting could become an ad for big companies! Check out the full article from the Washington Post below:

Facebook 'Sponsored Stories' turn you into the ad

By Rob Pegoraro

Your clicks of Facebook's "Like" button and check-ins at restaurants, stores and other establishments are already valuable marketing material. Now Facebook is letting companies and individuals buy the right to republish those actions to your friends in ads -- including your name and profile photo -- on the social network's site.

Called "Sponsored Stories," these ads look like the other small ads that adorn the right side of the screen (which can already feature your name if you've Liked the product in question). In this case, as a videoposted to Facebook's marketing page Tuesday explains, the ad will simply recycle your check-in or Like as an ad labeled "Sponsored Story."

In the video, Facebook developers explain how the format works and how it lets advertisers get around one disadvantage of people's check-ins and Likes showing up in the usual News Feed: "a lot of impressions do get lost because there's so much content coming through." One staffer also makes an important point that is already getting lost in debates about this: "A sponsored story never goes to somebody who's not one of your friends."

Mashable's story offers a few more details about how this will work. Ben Parr writes that advertisers will be able to bid on the chance to repurpose not just Likes and check-ins but also posts on public pages and "actions within custom applications."

But they won't be able to pluck particular bits of content and instead can only have a percentage of those actions reused as Sponsored Stories -- which could lead to these ads broadcasting critical comments left at a check-in. I can see people checking into a fast-food establishment and leaving remarks along the lines of "better than starving" or "will need angioplasty sooner than I thought."

We'll see -- I haven't seen any of these ads myself yet, and I've only heard from one reader who has.

(Disclosure, part 1: Post Co. Chairman Donald E. Graham sits on Facebook's board of directors. Since he's also on my Facebook friends list, it's possible that I will see a Sponsored Story ad featuring his name and profile picture at some point.)

(Disclosure, part 2: Since I myself use Facebook to market my work, I could buy Sponsored Stories ads to promote myself. I promise you that I will not do that.)

But one aspect of this ad program should be easy to predict: People won't like it. Facebook's poor presentation of it is bad enough -- the Palo Alto, Calif., company should have announced this on its blog, not in a video on a page many of its users don't know exists -- but its core mistake is not letting people opt out of Sponsored Stories.

It's a kind of bait and switch for the company to launch check-ins as a way to connect with friends on the go, then turn that action into an unavoidable advertising medium only five months later.

Facebook should let users tell advertisers "no thanks, you're getting enough publicity already from my check-ins appearing in the News Feed." Better yet, it should let them share in some of the proceeds if they decide to take part: If a coffee shop is going to profit from publicizing my endorsement, the least it can do is offer me a cup on the house in return.

Click Here for the link to the full story

Starting A Career

Sometimes it worries me that I can't keep up with some things that I mean to. Like this blog for example. I just knew that I would be updating it twice a week and was going to really stay on top of it. I just knew it.

We have all seen how that's been working out.

But really, to my own defense, I have been stretched extremely thin lately. I have so many things going on that I just don't have enough hours in the day to keep up with it. However, I am almost to the point in my life where there is a clear dilemma that I will soon face.

My new salary.

Let me explain - because I am asking for help. So, I have a new job and currently I am on a contract position for the first 30 days. This is the first position where I can clearly see growth potential and not being stuck in a dead end job that I hate. I actually like my job. I like that there is enough work to keep me busy. I like the 50-60 hour work weeks that feel as if they are only 30. I really like it. But my dilemma comes in knowing what to ask for when I go on salary.

I have done some research, but it's hard to do that because I don't really have a job title. I do a little of everything, so it's difficult to classify myself in one specific area. This makes doing salary research.. errr... trying to say the least. Without knowing what I am, how can I accurately research what I am worth?

So, here's what I do: a little advertising, a bit of account management (no financials involved) and a little of a gopher. I have a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology so I do have education to go along with my work ethic. I am in the office a minimum of 50 hours a week. This is not including the 10 or so hours I spend working on work from home. When I was brought on, I was told that working hours are 'until it gets done'. I get that, and I have no issue with that.

So, how do I calculate what I want to ask for in salary? Do I just throw a random number out? It's a lot of work, what I do. It's not that it's difficult - just a lot. It's taking me away from my family more and more and I want to be compensated for that. I rarely take lunch - and when I do I am NEVER gone for an hour (like most). I am just stuck on how to calculate what I want to ask for. What about getting all the job titles for everything I do and then averaging out the salaries? I tried that but the average for what I do was $70,000!

Sometimes I have an issue of underselling myself. Like now. That average number seems extremely high to me. I mean, I just graduated, this is my first career job and I just don't know. Any thoughts? How would you calculate salary?

Life gets in the way…

So, as you all may already know (for those that keep up with the happenings on my Facebook page), I have been dealing with a true tragedy that struck my family last weekend. Although I have wanted to keep up with this blog on a weekly basis, life has just gotten in the way. My life now consists of work, home, sleep, repeat. That’s all; nothing more and nothing less. I like it though, I feel like it’s keeping me on my toes lately. It’s almost as if my week seems like it’s only 4 days instead of 5. Who would have thought that when you get a job and you truly enjoy it – time will really fly.

Family update: Sunshine pulled a muscle in his back. Sad, but I completely blame him. He went to the gym after several months of not going and thought he was the hulk still. Not the case. Sister is doing the same thing that she does every year (for those that know her – yes, she has done it again.). Mom is, well, mom! She is still running around working, and then working again. This is in between being a teenager’s taxi and taking care of the house. Although I can’t wait to be a mom.. I think I can!

Photography news: I recently booked a progressive maternity shoot. I am very excited about this! My client is an old friend of mine from High School. She’s a wonderful person with such a great spirit. Not only is she great, she is very anxious and excited as this is her first child. We are doing something completely out of the box and very artistic for her shoot. I am excited to see what is going to turn out from this! I just can’t wait!!

I did not finish my Valentine’s day photo giveaway due to family emergencies. I just didn’t have the willpower or emotional strength to blog and give away anything. For this, I am deeply sorry. I promise to all of you that the next time I set up a giveaway, I will be sure to follow my own words. For now, please take care of yourselves, and each other. I will have more free things coming soon.

RIP Megan Rider - February 13, 2011

To my friends, family and readers...

Yesterday, February 13, 2011, at 6:30am, the body of an unknown female and male were found fatally shot in their Chesterfield, IN home. The bodies were later identified as Megan Rider, 25, of Chesterfield, IN and Aaron Wagers, 36, of Anderson IN.

Megan Rider is my dearest cousin. She was shot by an angry, jealous and controlling boyfriend. This could have been avoided. She apparently had left him several times. On the morning of the 13th of February, she had planned to tell him to leave. He then shot her and turned the .44 caliber on himself.

This is such a tragedy. An avoidable, depressing, tragedy. She was my age. How could something like this happen? I don't understand why or how someone could take another persons life. It just isn't fair.

Throughout this ordeal, I just can't shake the feeling that this could have been me. This could have been a sister of mine. I feel so open and exposed and vulnerable.

I want to take the time recognize how many women are victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse from men each and every day. Please, notice the signs of domestic violence and seek help.

Reaffirming

Good morning! I am currently doing something that I have be unable to do for quite sometime. That 'something' is sit outside while writing! It's a beautiful day here in NC, and somewhat unusual for mid-February. I was so tired last night when I finally went to bed and just wanted to sleep in. My loving mom and sister had other plans for that. They called me early in the morning freaking out about the Tom Tom not being in my car that I let them borrow. The GPS was definitely in the car - neither one of them seemed to know how to look! After dealing with the morning panic, I decided to step outside and get some fresh air.

Today is going to be great, I know it. I have a meeting with a potential client at 2. It is for a maternity shoot and the client wants something creative, artistic and out-of-the-box. Although this will be my second maternity shoot, I have been searching for someone who was on the same path as me for wanting to create something more original and artsy. After scouring the web last night for some ideas, I think that I have put together something really nice for her to look at!

We will see how everything goes and hopefully in a while have some examples to show everyone.

For now, I wanted to reaffirm that my mom and sister are still nuts and that sleep never comes.

Valentine's Day Giveaway (Cont'd)

Good morning everyone! Time for another free give away! First, however, let me tell you about how great my day was yesterday.. until 4:30... Well, for confidentiality sake - I won't post what happened.. I think that's what got me into hot water in the first place >_<. Here's the next image in the valentine free giveaway!

Here is the link for the full size image: http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=download&id=1328044

Valentine's Day Card - Free Images!

Valentine's day is just around the corner! Will you be sharing this with a loved one or flying solo? A girl's night out, watching sports with the guys or romancing your partner at the finest restaurant in town? Valentine's day is special no matter how you spend it. There is always a lingering thought in the back of our minds that we should be with someone if we aren't and that we are with the exact person we were meant to be with if we are. So here's to you Cupid. However, you can put those arrows away before someone really gets hurt. Besides, if you want to hit someone with an arrow of love - just poke them on Facebook.

Check out the V-Day card I am giving away. I will be giving an image away everyday from now until Valentine's. Be sure to check in daily to see what I have in store for you. Here's a hint - you won't want to miss what I have for you tomorrow!

Here is the link for the full size image: http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=download&id=1331454

A Picture A Day

Photos are important here due to the fact that, the blog is kind of centered around them. So, I want to introduce something that I will be doing quite often. I love finding great stock photos. Sometimes I need an image that I just cannot do myself for whatever reason. So, I want to give away an image that I find useful and maybe you will too. Here is the first one that I chose.

I chose this image not only because of the way that it looks, but of a secret wish of my own. Let's face it, my family (including myself) is about as musical as a pot of beans. Yes, I said that. However, if I were to be more musically inclined, who knows what I could have done!

Here is the link to the full size image (I warn you, it's gigantic) if you would like to have it. Just click here. That's the free image for today, come back tomorrow, or later on to see what other goodies I can dig up for you.

Welcome to Shutter Bugg!

Hello everyone! Welcome to Shutter Bugg! First, a little about the blog, and myself. Although I prefer not to speak about myself, I suppose a brief rundown of who I am would make sense. Besides, I will not have to do it later - or answer a ton of fan boy questions, which will come! So, I am a twenty something with a BS in Information Technology and currently working on my grad degree in the same field. Yes, I understand that not many women work in the IT field, and I also understand that not many IT persons go on to work on graduate degrees. I know. I am different. That's okay. I live and work in my home state of North Carolina where I absolutely love it. Please, do not think I am sheltered in any way, in fact, when I was 17 I left NC to travel the States and eventually settled into Puerto Rico for four years before returning home. Although I have seen many different places, it is true that there is no place like home. I work at a very small software development company in the creative department and I love it.

My family life consists of my live-in boyfriend (we'll call him Sunshine, because that's the nickname that I gave him and for all intents and purposes - it works for this as well). I have an erratic yet loving mother who I will often refer to as 'my mom' (easy, right?). I also have a not-all-there-should-have-been-a-blonde sister who I will call, sister. Oh, I also have a miniature pincher named Marley whom we should have named Spaz, but it's too late now. Okay, family life covered, moving on.

Some of my hobbies include surfing, body boarding, snorkeling and almost anything that one can do in the ocean. Diving was left out of the previous sentence for a reason - I know that I wouldn't do well when faced with a fish much larger than my 5-foot-nothing frame. In the ocean, that's all of them. I love spending time with my chaotic family. Because I was away from them for so long, having them around all the time is like getting my cake and eating it too. I never understood that phrase. I mean, who the hell gets cake and doesn't eat it? How many people have you seen in your life just staring at the cake in front of them? Moving on. I should start getting to the purpose of the blog!

In my free time (which isn't much) I am a web designer and local photographer. Thus far, I have done engagement sessions, cheer/sports portraits, senior portraits, family portraits and a new baby session. I started out with a Kodak Easy Share camera and worked my way up to the Sony a200 DSLR. When I first started shooting, I never thought in a million years that someone would ever want to pay me to do it! Although I do realize that making a living off of it probably will not ever happen, I am content to have it as a fun and interesting way to earn some extra cash. I have created this blog to share some stories of my organized and chaotic life within photos, websites and other things. Please join me for a wild ride and I promise you will laugh, cry and get angry right along with me. I will have free things to give away and give pointers and tips to the newcomer (things I wish I would have had four years ago).

So grab a cup of coffee and a robe (please, dress appropriately!) and step into the craziness with me!