Many of us spend hours of our lives posting content on Social media sites like Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, Flickr, Youtube, LinkedIN, and Pinterest etc. Some folks have been doing this for many years.
Online networking and collaboration have become a dominant part of our daily routines. According to this study conducted by Nielsen back in 2010, social networking occupies more time online than any other activity. Facebook and Twitter alone accounted for 22.7% of our time on the web, with online games and e-mail a distant second and third, respectively.
So what happens to all YOUR content if something were to ever happen to any of these sites?
Ethan Watrall from Chronicle.com said
“Granted, the likelihood of a massive server failure at Facebook that would cause a loss of data for users is extremely low. However, there is always the possibility that your account might get hacked (through no fault of your own) and irrevocably messed up. You’ve also got to remember that while companies like Facebook and Twitter will most likely be around for a long time, they make no promises to provide you with your content if the company goes belly up. But what can you do? The data is all stored on their servers, right?…hmm“
Why ever risk losing your data, contacts, and content etc.? I’ve done some extensive research on this topic and can give you some peace of mind showing you how to backup all your social media content.
Here’s are the links and tutorials needed to backup all your social media content:
1. Login to your Facebook account and go to your timeline
2. Click on the pull-down arrow located next to the “home” icon in the upper right hand corner
3. Select the “Account Settings” option
4. Select the “Download a copy of your Facebook data” Link located just below the General Settings box
1. Login to your Google Account.
2. Click on the “Accounts Link” located
3. Select the “Download Your Data” link on the left sidebar
4. Now choose the “Download Your Circles and Contacts” link on the page
(Download and backup other Google content here)
Twitter
1. Twitter does not currently offer a backup option, so you have this alternative
2. Download and Use this FREE Twitter Backup Tool
3. Now Launch the Twitter backup tool after it’s downloaded
4. Follow these simple instructions to backup your tweets and updates
(BackUpMyTweets is also a free alternative)
1. Make sure you’re logged into your LinkedIN account
2. Go to the LinkedIN “Address Book Export” page
3. Open and Select the format you want to export to
4. Now Import contacts into your desired program or database
1. Login to your Channel and Youtube account
2. Select the “Video Manager” button from the toolbar at top of page
3. Each video has an “Edit” button with a pull-down menu next to it
4. Select the “Download MP4” link option and save to desktop or Hard-drive
To backup your subscriptions, playlists, and favorites use
YoutubeBackup.com
Pinterest
Pinterest does not currently offer a backup feature, so try this:
1. Go to PinBackup.com
2. Register with your desired email address
(You’ll have to wait to be selected and notified)
3. Backup all your pins, this site includes an analytics tool
Flickr
While Flickr promises this feature one day with no ETA, try this utility
1. Go to http://sunkencity.org/flickrbackup
2. Run the java script application
3. Backup your uploaded flickr photos to a safe place
4. Keep in mind that photo tags, titles, comments etc. are lost
WordPress Blogs
Your WordPress Blog(s) is in essence considered social media
1. Login to your WordPress Account
2. Go to the “WordPress Dashboard” and select the blog for Backup
3. Select the “Tools” option form the sidebar navigation menu
4. Choose the “Export” link from the menu and select ALL
Without your contacts, you have no true social media audience
1. Sign in to Gmail account
2. Click “Gmail” at the top-left corner of your Gmail page, then choose “Contacts”
3. From the “More actions” drop-down menu, select “Export”
4. Choose whether to export all contacts or only one group.
If free isn’t important to you, or if you simply don’t have the time, there are sites like SocialSafe.net and Backupify.com that can do it all for a fee.
Remember this: You can’t ever go “back” if something happens to your online/offline content, but with the knowledge you have now, at least you can “backup” before it’s too late.
If we’re not currently connected on any or all of the above, we can get connected here:
Brad Andersohn
Fred
Brad Andersohn