PR and Social InkLings for the Week of July 25

What's New in Google+, Celebs Doing Good, Blogging Problems, Be a Part of the Olympics, Facial Recognition and Keeping it Funny

So many updates, so little time. This is an issue that Google+ is looking to solve, as the social networking giant has unveiled a new feature update center. Shorter than Google’s traditional blog posts, “What’s New in Google+” aims to provide users with quick feature tips, including helpful “how to” YouTube videos. What’s your experience with the new center? Mashable weighs in here.

There’s nothing like securing a well-known celebrity for a PR campaign. Celebrities have the ability to influence audiences and the endorsement of a respected star helps a brand extend its reach and gain maximum coverage. When celebrities team up with often ignored nonprofits, the results can be amazing. Curious to find out who is helping tackle the water crisis and who is poking fun at Justin Bieber? Mashable shares its list of the top “social good” campaigns here.

A blog is a fantastic way for companies to have a “voice” and engage an audience, and it also acts as a landing page for all social media efforts. If your company has already established a blog, great. But are you using your blog to its full potential? Maybe not. You’ll most likely encounter some obstacles when developing content, such as writer’s block, but it might be what you’re doing during the publishing phase of blogging that’s the problem.

So what if you’ve never been on the uneven bars and your hurdling skills are sub-par? If you have dexterous fingers, you can be a part of the 2012 Olympic Games! The website for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games just added an interactive contest designed to determine which country has the biggest online fan base. As proven by this month’s FIFA Women’s World Cup’s record-breaking Twitter activity, social media plays a huge role in how fans participate with their favorite sport. Learn more here and help Team Twitter USA win the gold!

Last December, Facebook announced its plans to unveil a new facial recognition feature that would allow for easier photo tagging. The problem,however, was that the feature was applied to users’ accounts by default, with many users unaware of the privacy settings change. Following complaints from the Connecticut attorney general's office, Facebook ran an ad on its homepage in June providing more details about the feature and just this week ran its second round of informational ads. So how do you feel about Facebook’s efforts—has it done enough? If you’re unsure how to adjust your account settings, read on to learn more.

Knock knock. Who’s there? A successful social media strategy. With Twitter hosting an average of 200 million tweets per day, there’s a lot of chatter to break through. One great way to do this is by adding a bit of humor to your messages to help them stick out in your audience’s minds, and, hopefully, encourage them to share your content. The key is to know who your target is and avoid controversial topics and jokes in bad taste. Not feeling particularly comedic? Check out these tips and help give your company the last laugh.

Speaking of humor, I’ll end this Friday’s round-up with this funny YouTube video that has gone viral. Enjoy.