A group of talented students at the Rochester Institute of Technology has just released a video about the destruction in Haiti. They put in over 70 hours of work into this philanthropic effort and would appreciate your help making this video go viral.
Your help will remind people that the problem in Haiti has not gone away. Do not let people forget!
The Whuffie bank is bring a new calculation of worth. The premise of the bank is based upon a book in which money's value comes from reputation. The more popular a person was, the more they earned. The Whuffie Bank is bring this concept to the virtual world. Still in its early stages, it measures your retweets to determine your monthly income. The more retweets, the more you will earn monthly. The whuffies can be given/paid to other users in exchange for their services or products.
The eventual goal is to provide a market-based transaction system where people/organizations can engage regular people in marketing services for whuffies. The whuffies would then be able to be exchanged for goods or other services.
Mobile texting ads aren't as accepted as marketers and advertisers would like. Despite the positives it would provide to those who receive the ads, even the most avid texters don't approve. It's just an intrusion. I know I wouldn't appreciate it.
Nielson, an online research firm, hasjust published its most recent study findings and has found that 79% of people polled would avoid websites that require their money. Nielson went above and beyond, asking 27,000 participants from over 50 countries about their feelings on ads and paying money online. 43% said that a simple payment process would make them more likely to pay for content. The study also found that if a user must pay for content, 63% said that there should be no ads on the site. The study found that content that users would and do pay for are things that are professionally done such as movies and television shows. The study also found that 62% of people, if they pay for content should have the right to share it with whomever they please.
What does this mean for ad-based companies? What websites will charge us next?
Five of the best corporate "social media for social good" campaigns were created by Crate & Barrel, Target, Ford, Stonyfield and Pepsi. Crate & Barrel spends part of its advertising budget to send DonorsChoose gift certificates to their customers. This allows them to determine the education initiative they want to invest in online. DonorsChoose displays projects posted by teachers across the country and donors can view the projects and post reviews. Target created, Target's Bullseye Gives program where they agreed to donate $3 million to a non-profit organization that their customers voted on. Ford conducted a different campaign where they sponsored Mark Horvath's drive across America. The company provided a Ford Flex and a company-promoted social site to Horvath's "Invisible People" campaign, which was created to fight homelessness. The Stonyfield Have-A-Cow program educates people about life on organic farms and its impact. The CSR effort ties into the company's organic differentiator and Stonyfield gives away 10% of its profits to support the environment and organic programs. Pepsi Refresh was another successful campaign that is still in the works.
A recent case filing in Robbins vs. Lower Merion School District, a Pennsylvania school, is a class action suit on behalf of students with school-issued laptops whose web-cams have been used to watch the students and their families at home.
The laptops issued by the high school had software on the laptop where the web-cam could be activated. The plaintiff, Blake J. Robbins, was disciplined by the school for “improper behavior in his home.”
This is very alarming. Privacy is disappearing rapidly, and it seems that now is a time where the limits are being pushed and tested.
Businesses try to broaden their audience through geological platforms, “which attach real-world locations to phones.”
Las year, Twitter launched ‘geolocation for tweets’ which locates trendy topics. Now, Google is launching Buzz which supports location-tagging options. The media platform makes a list of nearby places, and users can read information about these places from people in and out their social network. These platforms are prominent because it is an easy and free way to advertise businesses.
Other geolocation platforms are Foursquare, MyTown, BightKite, and Loopt.
Australian web analytics startup Effective Measure managed to raise $4 million in funding from US and Canada-based investment firm Rho Ventures. Effective Measure specializes in online data-crunching for emerging markets, such as the Middle East and regions of Africa and Asia.
International web analytics has been an active market, with many larger firms like comScore and Nielson picking up smaller firms around the globe.
Sick of your phone dying on you in the middle of the day cause you have forgotten to charge it the night before. Well with the new Puma phone you don't have to worry about it (as long as the sun is out). The new Puma phone has a solar panel on the back so that you can charge it with sunlight.
This phone will be great for people who camp, hike , run and just like to be outside. If you're on a camping trip you don't always have the opportunity to charge your phone, so with this phone all you have to do is expose it to sun and wait. Some other benefits that are good for runners and hikers are the compass, the music player , GPS tracker and pedometer. Since most people carry their phone with them wherever they go this won't add anything new to what they already carry. However with all the different features that the phone has you can eliminate all those other gadgets such as your pedometer, GPS and MP3 player.
Overall i think that this phone is a good sports phone the only thing that I would add is to make it waterproof so that it can with stand the eliminates when you're outside.
PleaseRobMe.com is a website that is trying to show people the costly implications of sharing their lives with the world can have. The site is trying to show users of social networks not to get caught up in all of these personal novelties as there are lurkers out there waiting to capitalize, and that what gets put on these social networks can be visible to many more than those desired. Recently, there has been several connections between robberies and status updates. The article goes on further to talk about this topic and how the website is trying to boost awareness of the problems caused by "sharing everything"
Salesforce.com recently announced a new service known as 'Chatter', which is basically"Facebook for the enterprise". This new service uses a lot of the popular social networking sites layout and configuration, however it isn't really to create a social network. The rational behind Chatter is to take the collaborative way that Twitter and Facebook work and utilize it for businesses. A key difference between Chatter and typical social media is that everything that takes place on Chatter stays on Chatter -- it will never be published anywhere else. This new service utilizes the real time nature of communication that people are becoming more and more accustomed to.
In Barcelona, Spain this week companies such as Apple, Google and Nokia are gathering at the Mobile World Congress Convention to discuss the possibility of Open Communication for the mobile internet. Currently, there are what they call "islands" of applications that cannot communicate with one another. If the mobile internet world and the world of cell phone type devices is to grow, these companies are going to have to find a way to all connect together with the use of their applications.
Facebook decided to do some analyzing because of Valentines day. Facebook's analysis was based off of a person's facebook status compared to their relationship status. They wanted to find out which relationship seemed the most happy. The results were kind of interesting. Compared to being single, those in a relationship, married or engaged were more positive than those who were in an open relationship, it's complicated status, or widowed. Those that were unwilling to disclose their status seemed to be the most negative.
To view Mashable's article click here. To view Facebook's graph's and full article click here.
Already, the Winter Olympics in Vancouver are dubbed as "The Social Games." So many fans are glued to their smartphone screens that will air the games, rather than their TVs. Several brands have been trying to determine the best way to use social media and promote their brand. Here is what a few people came up with:
Coca Cola: There are virtual snowball fights via social media and Coca Cola sponsored athletes tweet about their experiences.
Visa: Visa has a YouTube channel where six sports can be seen before they air on TV.
McDonald's: McDonald's has created a virtual scavenger hunt entitled, "How do you McNugget?" The goal is to determine how specific athletes eat their McNuggets in hopes of winning a trip to the 2012 London games.
There are also tons of apps to be downloaded that offer a variety of options to be used during the Olympic games. This article features the several opportunities that companies and the Olympics can advertise more directly to Internet users. This could be the beginning of a revolution of how we watch the Olympics from now on.
Many Internet users share and want to reveal their data for targeted ads they may want to see, but many others are worried about advertisers having too much personal info. A survey of the Future of Privacy Forum found that consumers are hostile to behavior targeting. To contrast this situation, a research study by the Annenberg School said that the consumers are not well-informed about privacy. There has been suggestion about changing the online audience perceptions by educating them on the value of targeting and the importance (to them) of getting to see efficient advertising campaigns. If they keep the perception of online ad targeting as a threat they won't notice the benefits it has and therefore will keep (or start) rejecting and misunderstanding its purpose. This issue should be very important to online advertisers and marketers because online advertising is expected to keep increasing in large percentages.
A new iPhone app called BarMax has now put BarBri in a scare. Both programs are designed to help law students prepare and study for the bar exam, the only difference is BarBri is a series of classes and BarMax is simply an iPhone application.
Since the development of BarMax, BarBri has posted fliers on college campuses promoting the two new "enhancements" that the application now offers. An enormous hint that BarBri is scared is their change in "return" policy. Before, if students didn't pass the bar exam and needed more help they would be charged a very large fee. Now, if they don't pass they are allowed to retake the course free of charge.
BarBri has held this policy solid for over a decade and now within 3 weeks of BarMax going public they have crumpled to the floor and given in. Fighting for the top spot will now be a challenge for real-life programs when everything is available on a cell phone for less money. For more information click here.
Google Buzz is 4 days old but has created a lot of 'buzz' itself. The biggest concern people had was with privacy. Google Buzz automatically set up accounts with followers. It made your most contacted connections follow you, w/o your permission. With the new changes, there will now be an "auto-suggest" rather than "auto-follow" among other things. Read more here.
As it stands Google probably knows more about your current behavior than your mother does. At which point does connecting the dots (politely setting up your contacts that you will most likely contact anyway) cross the line? Some people believe that if this information is posted online, then it can not be considered "private" to begin with. Still others believe it is the principle of choice that matters.
However you feel about the violation of privacy, you have to applaud Google for moving as swiftly as it did to fix the issues that many people complained about.
Over the weekend director Kevin Smith, known for his films such as Clerks and Dogma, was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight because he violated their policy which states that if a customer cannot put both of their arm rests down or whose bodies spill over into other seats are required to bu a second ticket. The policy is aimed at keeping other passengers comfortable but it back-fired on Southwest since Smith has 1.6 million followers on Twitter who read all about his ordeal.
Southwest was quick to apologize on their own Twitter page and also stated that they left him voice-mails apologizing for the situation and that they would attempt to reconcile it. This issue has brought to light the issue for obesity in America and how companies like Southwest deal with it, as well as the fact that it is doubtful this would have been brought to light had Smith not been a celebrity but a normal person.
Kevin Weil, an analytics expert at Twitter, posted an interesting blog article that showed how much chatter was occurring for each brand that was advertising in real time as the game was broadcasting. I though it was interesting how brand mentions were highest in the first two hours after kickoff, dipped during the halftime show, peaked again for the Google commercial in the second half, then trailed off after the third Doritos commercial. It is also interesting to see how the brand mention peaks and valleys line up (and contrast) with overall Super Bowl mentions. When the game finished, Super Bowl mentions had peaked, but brand mentions continued to trail off. People were likely talking about the game, but no longer watching their televisions.
According to the Insight Brief “The Future of Social Media Marketing,” the eMarketer senior analyst Debra Aho Williamson said that the US social network advertising spending will hit $1.39 billion in 2011. Social media will take more into account the location while brand monitoring will increase in quality so that businesses and companies can have a better understanding on why, who and when of the costumer chatter. They think conversations will be used in product innovation and design. Companies will create incentives for people's attention and engagement while repurposing and analyzing content and engagement in new ways that will deliver valuable input. A company will not only be able to advertise, but might have made major changes to its products or services based on a few focus groups, some financial planning and a degree of gut instinct. Social media has already changed all that and according to the forecasts will continue to do so.
BlackBerry has introduced a new, official Twitter application. Invites have begun to be sent out to a limited number of people to test out the new app. This application will immediately notify users about direct messages and allow them to tweet anytime, anywhere. While other apps exist for Twitter, this is the first official one offered by BlackBerry.
Currently the application is in beta format and only available via invite; the public version has an unset release date for later this year. It is emphasized that this application is still in the early stages and the purpose of the invites is to gain feedback on the app and what features users would like to see.
To read the article, click here, and click here to view the official BlackBerry blog.
In "English-crazy China" many children are sent by their parents to one of 50,000 for-profit training schools around the country that focuses on learning the English language. Public television annually airs the Star of Outlook English Talent Competition which is possibly the largest nationwide competition in the country. In 2009 400,000 students between the ages of 6 and 14 participated in it.
This year the competition will be held online through 8D World, which runs a virtual world called Wiz World Online for Chinese-speaking kids who want to learn English. The competition will provide each contestant with their own avatar and each person will rack up points for correct. For more information click here.
The question on some consumers and speculators minds is whether Outlook will allow Google Buzz acess on their Social Connector media service coming out in June 2010 or will they decline. Google Buzz is Google's new social connection they introduced that's attached to Gmail. Outlook Social Connector "promises to transform Outlook 2010 into a live network teeming with contacts who share not just e-mail, but chats and texts through Windows Live and documents through SharePoint. Messages received from a "live" contact will be adorned with that person's availability, location, and a record of recent activities." LinkedIn has already signed up as a partner with Microsoft and their is rumor that Facebook will follow. When questioned about Social Connector, Windows Live product manager claims that it is being created to connect to social networks, not to become one. He claimed that there are already too many social networks out there so there is no reason for Google to create another one. When asked if they would include a connection to Google Buzz with Social Connector, Microsoft stated they will not deny access, they will leave the decision to Google whether to join or not.
Opera is a small player in the overall browser market but is quite prevalent in the mobile realm. The Opera browser for iPhone was revealed by the developers a few days ago without having been approved for the app store yet. It is very unlikely that Apple will approve the browser app since it violates their "duplicate functionality" rule meaning that apps cannot be only useful for performing functions that are already included with the iPhone. The iPhone already includes Apple's own Safari browser.
Opera claims that the browser is up to 6 times faster than Safari and is more efficient in bandwidth usage due to server-side technological improvements. Some people believe that this is an attempt to get PR and create some additional attention against Apple's draconian app policies.
Facebook is refuting it illegally breached the privacy of its users in a proposed $9.5 million dollar settlement.According to this class action filed against facebook, the program that monitors and publishes what users do on the social networking site is accused of sharing what users were buying and renting from Blockbuster, Overstock and other vendors.Facebook's 'Beacon' program is accused of breaching the federal wiretap and video rental laws. Facebook is trying to tone down bad publicity by establishing a "Digital Trust Fund" that would issue more than 6 million dollars in grants to organizations that are studying privacy issues. This act by facebook is raising many concerns since they will be on the 3 member board and would decide on allocation of funds. To read more of this article click here.
After our brief class discussion that took place yesterday, I wanted to check out exactly how many forums had been started as a result of RIT President Destler's desicion to change from quarters to a semester system. I was able to locate 5 groups that have been created since the announcement through Facebook. The largest group, which I joined because the name is intriguing, is "In Loving Memory of the RIT Quarter System," which has 2,109 current members. The other groups include; "RIT doesn't care what I think," "Bad Decision Destler," "RIT Semester System Protest," and "I'm not giving back to an RIT with Semesters," all of which have between 750 and 50 members respectively.
Besides all of these groups being against semesters, the majority of them are also promoting the idea of not giving back to RIT once we're graduated as a result of their switching to semesters. I feel that this idea is ruthless and ludacris as RIT is not infringing upon current students ability to succeed after graduation.
In addition, through these sites I was able to locate 2 different petitions, both of which have under 200 signatures. But, the most surprising post on these sites was RIT's past president, President Simone's decision back in 2000 to retain the quarter system and his reasons for doing so. The data collected from students, faculty, and staff back in 2000 appears to be no different than the data collected this past year in 2009. So why exactly is RIT making the switch? I believe it's simply because we have a different President who is interpreting the results in a different way.
I don't agree nor do I disagree with the decision President Destler has made. I just know that in the past 4+ years I've spent here, I wouldn't have minded semesters. But alas, I only have a week left at RIT before I'll be done for good, so you won't hear me complaining.
Macworld is having their annual gathering in California and even though Apple no longer officially participates, here are some things that looked pretty nifty: 1. The skyvoyager app for iPhone. It allows you to see real time sky images of where you are and when you move the phone, the image moves too. Kind of like a fake telescope, if you will. 2. Papershow is a software much like powerpoint that is used for presentations. It allows the user to draw lines and type words in real time, adding that much more interactivity into the presentation. 3. Inklet is a piece of software that allows users to use a stylus to draw in their track pad instead of having to use an externally purchased tablet. It's a small area, but an interesting idea. 4. Next up, the Microvision SHOWW Laser Vision Pico Projector. It's a mouthful but it's a palm size projector that's always in focus and plugs into any kind of device. 5. Quickoffice Connect Suite offers an app that allows users to access files from their email or any other service to which it is connected. The way I understand it, it's a Google Docs kind of app. 6. Yapper is an app that syncs RSS feeds but costs 50$ for any push notification along with a 99$ fee for use. Ouch.
This article discusses how it may be better to advance your employee's in-house as opposed to just going out and employing the best. They compare it to how sport teams sometimes pay their greatest players more in an attempt to keep them playing for their team. They go on to talk about how a company has to put in work in order to develop a great team and just buying the individual units may not be the best idea. To read the complete story click here.
Google launches their new service Google Buzz. This service offers a new way to start conversations of all of the things you find interesting. Users are able to share photos, videos and links. The service directly integrates your gmail contacts and integrates updates directly to your gmail inbox so, you can see what happens at real time.
Buzz will be available for all gmail users. Similarly, this service is available for mobile.
Google just acquired Aardvark for $50 million. This company was founded in 2007 by two Googlers and it provides customized answers to your questions from your friends in real time. For example, you ask a question and the service sends this question to your friends and your friends' friends that are online and are likely to provide you with an answer. It's basically having an entire network to answer all your uncertainties.
It is clear that the acquisition of the Aardvark service is Google's way of competing with Facebook and Twitter and the way in which they use real-time user-generated content. However, more than becoming a social network, it will provide users with information as well as facilitating interaction between them.
Follow your food on Twitter! In Los Angeles California there is a Korean BBQ taco truck known as Kogi, that travels all over the city and you find out where they are by following them on Twitter. Kogi's Twitter gives you updates on where they are going and how long they will be in each place. Currently Kogi has about 55,000 followers.
Before twitter and social media a company like this would have to rely on people just happening to be where they plan on going and their followers would have to try and track their schedule by themselves. Now they can let their followers know where they will be and if their customers have a craving for some Korean BBQ Tacos all they have to do is look it up on Twitter where they need to go. Not only do they tell you where they will be on Twitter but if they sell out and have to leave early then they will post that so you don't waste a trip.
Microsoft's software suite for Macintosh is due on fall. Mac has adapted its own applications suite, iWork, with programs called Pages, Numbers and Keynote that fulfill the same needs.
The article states that at least three quarters of the used Macs today run some version of Microsoft Office. Office for Mac 2011 emphasizes on co-authoring, with new features that allow two or more users to work simultaneously on the same document. It also emphasizes on compatibility and cloud computing designed to work smoothly with the Google-like Web Apps.
The product is scheduled to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2010.
It's that season again where everybody is out thinking of what to get and what to do for their significant others. Here is something that's sweet; The eldest living longest married couple, Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher who are 104 and 102 years old are taking the time to answer questions on get this, their Twitter on Valentines Day. That's right the eldest living couple has a twitter!
Users can submit questions on the couple's Twitter page until the 12th and they will choose 14 questions on Valentines Day which they choose to answer concerning anything that you would like to know about maintaining a healthy marriage or relationship. More info can be foundhere.
On February 15, Tim Shaw will lock himself up in a steel box that’s 3 feet high, 4.5 feet wide and 8 feet long. He will have no idea where his whereabouts are, and he will only have a camera that will provide live feed to Internet users. His only physical interaction will be a hatch that will provide food, water, and a daily clue that he will share with users through the camera. The first person that correctly guesses Tim's whereabouts will receive 30,000 pounds. All proceeds will go towards a charity that helps wounded UK soldiers, Help for Heroes.
The site, if you want to bookmark it for future reference, is Justin.tv site.
This is a pretty innovative way to raise money and generate buzz on this charity event, but I'm a bit worried about the psychological effects this will have on Tim Shaw. Handling isolation for a long period of time in a small area is bound to make a person go crazy. It'll be interesting to tune in and see what happens! Read the article here.
YouTube has an array of content and users, with some of its users being younger. A lot of the content uploaded on YouTube may not be suitable for all ages. Also, some users may just be offended by certain videos appearing in their results. In order to minimize this from happening YouTube has created a new feature called Safety Mode to add more controls. This new option is located at the bottom of any YouTube page beneath Countries and Languages. This option can be turned on and off at will. The types of videos that would be filtered out through this option would be videos with nudity or violence. Also, another benefit to Safety Mode is that by default it hides all comments, which you can have drop down, however profanity is blocked out by asterisks. I think this is a helpful feature, especially for people with children who are surfing the Internet at a young age. It adds a little more sense of security in regards to the content they will be viewing.
Peter Horrocks assumed the position of director of BBC Global News last week, and he’s not wasting time with niceties. The self-proclaimed technology enthusiast is telling journalists to get with the social media program or get out.
The new director told the Guardian, “This isn’t just a kind of fad… I’m afraid you’re not doing your job if you can’t do those things. It’s not discretionary.”
On the social media front, Horrocks appears to take the stance that Twitter (), RSS readers and other social media tools are extremely valuable news-gathering resources essential to the output of journalists working in these digital times.
It is true that there is a lot of information to be found via social media. It will keep most people up to date on what's going on around the world. But, is that to say that a journalist, someone who is paid to disseminate accurate information, should rely on it? Should their job status be based on it if they can dig up the same information in a timely fashion in other ways? Technology has come far enough to suggest that one does not absolutely have to use Twitter to be on top of things. It may come quicker but at what expense? Oftentime when something is heavily tweeted, some of the information is wrong and at some point, there is a wave of people who have to come in and refute it.
Social media is definitely a great resource and should be used. It gives you information quickly, however I think in a professional arena, more precaution should be taken before abandoning trusted resources.
"Iran’s telecommunications agency announced what it described as a permanent suspension of Google Inc.’s email services today, saying instead that a national email service for Iranian citizens would soon be rolled out. It wasn’t clear late Wednesday what effect the order had on Google’s email services in Iran.”
This might have to do with the Anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, which is tomorrow. Earlier in the week, there were posts about limited and disrupted internet connections. Also, there were reports of disruptions in cell phone service. What makes this more interesting is that there is suspicion about the election last June. Before the June election, the Iranian government suspended access to facebook. Social media is important for these citizens it is how we communicate. It is something everyone is relying on to send information. What would you do if all of a sudden the US blocked access to Google email and facebook? I wonder what the true intentions of the Iranian government are by implementing this new policy.
The Detroit Red Wings marketing group have begun using smart phone scan-able QR codes in their programs. The QR codes can be scanned by any smart phone and lead fans to a video featuring player Niklas Kronwall. In order to help people with using this feature they have also created a video that they play throughout the game on the big screen which shows people how to scan the QR code. This is a pretty interesting way to easily drive people to the internet from printed material without people having to type in a URL or wait until they have access to a computer. It is also a great way to supplement the stories and other printed material in their programs. Check out the video that the QR code brings users to and click here to read the article.
Artificially flavored and unnaturally colored tortilla chips being touted by a rude kid slapping his mother's date in the face. Versus an intelligently executed message about the endless possibilities available through the most viable and memorable invention of our generation, and probably the next. This warrants a discussion?
Because Dunkin' Donuts "create Dunkin's next donut" contest was so successful last year, they decided to do it again this year. With a 130,000 submission last year, it took a lot of effort and commitment to manage everything. Dunkin' Donuts thought its investment was well worth it considering their social media strategies resulted in an increase in sales.
Custom virtual donut submissions will be through March 8, 2010. To read mashable's article click here.
>It seems Google wants to reinvent the way we handle our social networks. It seems to be the concept that Google has with Google Wave but to the mass consumer and not B2B. Will this make it so Gmail is my only webpage up now?
While I am sure that most of you have seen the new layout for Facebook, I am curious to see if it is something that the class likes. I feel like even though it claims to be easier to understand, I think it is kind of overwhelming and relies too heavily on visual icons. I know that a lot of the classes I have been in stress the importance of images in understanding, but isn't there a point where it hinders instead of helps?
According to this article on Business Week, Google is approaching $1 billion in sales (4% of total sales) this year on display ads, one of the few areas they are still behind Yahoo on. However, they are catching up and realize that with the demand for display ads (banner ads and ads embedded in video) will be growing faster than search related ads, which still provides the bulk of their sales.
Still, they have made several acquisitions to increase their presence in this area, as they see more television and print ad dollars shifting to Web display. Sales for both display and search are expected to continue to grow 8.2% to $7.9 billion and 5.6% to $11.4 billion respectively.
Interesting how the article implies that the recession has helped Google as companies look for less expensive methods of advertising.
This morning, on the morning of their 20th birthday, twin sisters logged on to Facebook in Australia, only to see the horrifying status updates of "RIP Chris Naylor" and "RIP Bobby." The two sisters Angela and Maryanne Vourlis, couldn't believe what they were reading. Upon calling their various family members phones, they discovered they knew no more then the girls. The family then called the police and they discovered that the Facebook updates had been correct: their brother Booby and two friends were killed in a fatal car accident. Friends of their brother had found out before the family, and then posted on Facebook. The worst news that a family can ever receive had been delivered via a social networking site. It would be my hope that the world can learn from this, and that when tragedies happen, before we post them on the web we should consider whether technology is the best way to share bad news. My condolences go out to the family. Read about this here and here
Mashable today posted about a report released comparing Super Bowl 44's ads and the online reactions that ensued. While numerous angles regarding amounts of interaction were present, one graph reported on the ads' SEI - Social Engagement Index - which looked at the interactive behavior between viewers of the game. According to the chart, Google grabbed the top slot, followed by Doritos and "Focus on the Family" battling for second. The Weighted SEI, which only looks at positive and negative comments, announced that Anheuser Busch was the winner, meaning it was the brand liked the most.
Not many people who have access to the internet HAVEN'T heard of Google. In fact, I think it would be safe to say that most everyone online has heard of it or used it. So why on earth would the most popular search engine in the world need to run a Super Bowl ad?
The fact is it doesn't NEED to, but it WANTS to. Running an ad that millions of people will see will only deepen our feelings for Google. Especially since most ads consisted of fast cars or sexist jokes or animals torturing their owners, Google had a cute little spot it could weasel into with their ad named "Parisian Love".
Google continues to add new features to Google Maps. The latest -- recommendations. How does it work? When you type a place into google maps it will give you a list of other nearby places that you might like.
With applications like Yelp and Foursquare, you could probably get a similar sort of result. With Yelp, there is a "people who viewed this also viewed" box, and with Foursquare you could probably get suggestions based on your check-in history (in theory anyway). However Google is the first to offer this specific recommendations service, showing that once again Google is ahead of the curve.
Click here to read the article and here to read Google's blog post on the subject.
Apparently Facebook is not yet satisfied with what they have achieved so far. They want to do more.
TechCrunch reported that Facebook is preparing and plans to release a webmail called Project Titan. With this fully featured webmail, users will be able to access their mail account without being on Facebook (with full POP/IMAP support).
Now, you can have a personal assistant on your phone, all you need is a cell phone that runs a collection of API´s and you are done. In contrast, to google this new service allows you to get personalized and concise information. The service works by voice command. The application takes the request, and breaks it down into parts.
The user can tell that he wants to go on a date consisting on an Italian dinner for two and a movie, a comedy. This application will give the user a list of comedy selections and a list of Italian restaurants nearby. So, the user will only have to choose the restaurant and the movie.
This news stoke me because little by little we are getting to the point of delegating every single action to technology. Now, you just need a smartphone with the right functions and you can have a personalized information search.
After telling her 35,000 Twitter followers that she would not be able to post any blogs till the winter Olympics are over on the 3rd of March, American skier Lindsey Vonn sparked some controversy about the actual rules regarding athletes and social media during the Olympic games. Director of Media Services for the United States Olympic Committee, Bob Condron, states there is no Olympic rule about a black out period for athletes.
After further analysis of the rules, there is a restriction that states athletes must limit their posts to their personal experiences. Meaning, athletes can not act as journalist reporting the events around them, the must post their blogs in a first person format. To cite a specific rule, rule 49 of the Olympic Charter says that "Only those persons accredited as media may act as journalists, reporters or in any other media capacity." Condron states that it is going to be quite the opposite at the Olympics, "These are going to be the Twitter Olympics," says Condron. "There's no telling where the updates will come from. It could be the bench during a hockey game, or even on the medal stand."
The social network which has about 400 million people--presented some new surface changes to its home page Thursday night.Facebook began only 6 years ago, founded by Zuckerberg and his roommates. The initial purpose behind Facebook, was to create a service that made sharing and connecting with people easier and more accessible. Facebook has grown significantly adding around 200 million new users last year alone. It is said that if facebook were a country it would be the 3rd largest country behind India and China. For that reason it is no surprise that the networking site has tried to re-vamp its applications and services.Some of the changes that facebook made were minor. The changes included splitting up news feeds into two categories "Top News" and "Most Recent" . The site also tried to make finding friends and new messages accessible through all-in-one hub for online communication. "For example, when you receive a Facebook notification about someone writing on your Wall or tagging you in a photo, you'll see a red bubble appear in the left-hand corner near the search bar," Facebook engineer Jing Chen wrote in a blog post on the site. In conclusion, it will be interesting to see what the 7th year brings in terms of changes to the very popular social networking site.
It seems that blogging is slowly but steadily being replaced by Facebook status updates. According to a recent study done by Pew Internet and American Life Project on social media and mobile Internet use, as of 2006 there has been a substantial decrease in teen blogging. As social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are becoming more popular, teens now prefer to share short and concise messages. 28% of teen Internet users were blogging in 2006, this number has now dropped to 14%. However, it is interesting to see that the percentage of older adults that are now blogging is increasing.
Is blogging going to become a thing of the past for teens?
In celebration of Facebook's sixth birthday, they are making dramatic changes to the design of their homepage. The biggest change to the design is that they are placing a new emphasis on search and it let's you sort through much more information without ever leaving the homepage. You can also send messages to people without having to navigate through the website. Overall, it has made messaging easier and the messaging through the inbox can be checked from a dropdown menu at the top and you can message from there too, all without having to leave the page. Also, the IM contact list is not hidden at the bottom, but is now located on the left sidebar. All in all it makes messaging much more accessible and easier to use. Although, redesign in the past has had negative reactions, I think this one will be much more accepted.
Good news for Facebook and for advertisers. Consumers of the social media have nothing more negative to say about ads in social media than in any other location on the web... Not half bad, right?
As of August 2009, 22% of 2000 people surveyed actually had a positive attitude toward the ads.
Rumor has it that Google maps is now taking you into stores. Intel was released from Oh Nuts, a New York city nut and candy store that google came into their store and took pictures of their store. Pictures were taken every 6 feet in all direction. When Google was asked about it they said “We are always experimenting with new features for Google Maps. We have nothing further to announce at this time.”
There area few issues that I find with this idea. First off if it is supposed to be used to browse the store before you go then they would have to go in at least monthly and take new pictures because store products are always changing. The next issue is stores are constantly opening and closing, so again you need to keep going and taking new pictures. If it's not updated then there is really no point in having it because if you see a product you want who is to say it will be there when you go.
I guess I'll just have to hear more before I am sold on this Google store view.
America is all about the Super Bowl, whether you like it or not, and commercials that run during this once a year event have historically been very successful. Although this trend hasn't changed, a new trend has surfaced that is heavily influencing the Super Bowl, it's fans, and it's members. So what is this new trend? Surprise, surprise- it's social media.
Through sneak peaks and pre-suber bowl voting campaigns, companies are stepping up their game to get consumers more involved in what ads will ultimately be aired during the big game. Mashable wrote a blog on some predictable factors they foresee advertisers going for this year; to manufacture controversy, to generate buzz around spots, and skipping the super bowl altogether to instead promote business via social media.
The super bowl itself has been promoting the big game through Facebook and Twitter by creating a fan page as well encouraging fans to tag comments with #sb44 that pertain to the event. Fans and NFL players alike have also been using social media to voice their opinions and questions.
Tim Inthirakoth works at Inkhouse Media+Marketing based out of Boston, Massachusetts. The agency specializes in Public Relations and Social Media and provides their clients with the capabilities to operate in today’s digital environment.
His client list includes venture capital companies Spark Capital, with a portfolio including Twitter and Boxee, and Charles River Ventures, whose portfolio includes Blippy, Twitter, and Vlingo. Much of his client based is involved with digital media and the technology sector so it should be no surprise that he has some very interesting observations and suggestions for using social media.
In the interview, he described the importance of social media and the internet. Traditional media companies have faced increase problems staying relevant in the digital age. He has known high profile writers in Newsweek who were forced out because their articles and columns were not getting enough web traffic. Getting news and PR on influential blogs like Techcrunch has become much more important to companies than having an article in the New York Times. The front page has become irrelevant as the internet allows users to connect directly to the content they are interested in.
Content has become instantaneous and the impact of bloggers, Twitter, and Facebook has been tremendous. Unfortunately, it has been a double edged sword. The ability to get information out faster is tempered by the lack of controls for journalistic integrity. Tim Inthirakoth cited an example in which an inaccurate blog posted by Techcrunch dropped a company’s share price instantaneously. A correction posted minutes later was not enough to return the original price.
As far as using social media goes, he recommends that companies actively engage their users and remain honest. Companies should provide a personal connection between their consumers and employees, so that people understand that there are faces behind the company. You can use that engagement to determine how the company is doing and what may need to be done to rectify it.
Companies often make a mistake of entering social media without a clear plan or even some direction. As a result, their brands become diluted or unfocused which can result in damage to their business as a result of using social media.
The interview provided an excellent perspective on social media and business. To see the full transcript or hear the audio, check out one of the following mirrors (or check out our web sites):
In this article they spoke of four tips for advertising a small business on social networks.
Ellie Sawits, CEO of Frutels, a New York City- based maker of chocolate candies used to treat acne, says ads on Facebook was a more affordable alternative to the high pay-per-click rates for acne-related keywords on Google's AdWords. There are other companies that Google economics just don't work for and Facebook ads may be a better alternative. She says that is is not easy however to make your ads stand out among the Facebook status updates, party photos, and comments so she give us these four tips to help you to get started.
It's doppelganger week on Facebook, and it's spreading like wildfire. Some are even saying that it is more successful than the bra color statuses that occured a few weeks ago. Status updates are as follows:
"It's Doppelgänger week on Facebook; change your profile picture to someone famous (actor, musician, athlete, etc.) you have been told you look like. After you update your profile with your twin or switched at birth photo then cut/paste this to your status."
If you are lucky enough to look like Angelina, or you have been mistaken for a celebrity, change your profile picture! There is an application, FaceDouble, that will match a celebrity to a picture you upload to the system. This is just another example of how social media can spread like wildfire, even if it isn't for a social cause. Read the article here, and make sure you update your profile picture!
Google is in the process of creating their own version of an ipad. Rather than having a larger looking android phone, like Apples ipad that looks like an iphone, Google is using Chrome OS. The applications that will be included in the Chrome OS will be accessible through their browser instead of their hardware or operating system used for computers. Some of the features may include: virtual keyboard options, "slideshow mode, an application launcher, sidebar-mounted browser tabs, and a pop-up contextual menu." As well as many more user friendly features and multi-touch options. It will be easy for Google to jump into this market because, like Apple, they already have applications to go along with their tablet . By using web applications rather than their android operating system applications, Google is attempting to use their browser on a number of different devices. You can read the full article by clicking on this link.
This article outlines the basic four traits that successful careers based on social media all have in common. The first is developing authentic relationships. This makes sense, as who really wants to find out that no one actually cares about them? Not many people, I'd guess. the second is being a trendsetter. Easier said than done, no? Actually its pretty easy, find something that you're really interested in and tell everyone on your network. It's that easy. The third is take risks. Try something new and work up to a big risk if jumping into something new isn't quite right for you. By taking risks, there's a chance for greater satisfaction, not to mention great reward at all and if you fail, you can always say you tried. Last but certainly not least is what the author calls giving back. We all know what this means, take time out of your day (and maybe money out of your pocket) and help someone else out. By doing this you cement a good image in the minds of those you help and perhaps later on they will be able to help you out.
Budweiser has created a poll on their Facebook Fanpage so that fans of their product can vote on which advertisements they will play in the Superbowl. Budweiser is the largest advertiser in the Super Bowl as they normally are, yet they are amongst a large group of companies who are using social media to influence the ads that will be aired during the game. Coca-Cola and Doritos also have a presence on Facebook while other companies, like GoDaddy, whose ads were banned from the game have gone viral with their campaigns. To read more about this check out the article on mashable.
Our group for our Internet Marketing class interviewed Matthew Ray who is a local Social Media Marketing Specialist and expert for Global Crossing in the Rochester, NY area. He is also a graduate of RIT and exist on social media sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and others. The following links will take you to his LinkedIn public profile, and his Twitter blog. Matt started his experience with social media as a hobby, since during his time in class it was never really a intricate part of marketing like it is today. After analyzing some blogs and experimenting a little, as a business analyst at the time, he decided to push some ideas regarding social media to some people in the marketing organization who decided to give him a chance after seeing his knowledge of the technology.
Matt states that most of his work consist of working with marketing and communications organizations across the company and mainly to monitor, organize, and execute through the multiple communications that the company has to the multiple social channels that exist on the Internet today. Since almost everybody with the exception of some "mom and pop" stores has a presence on the Internet, social media is definitely a tool to invest in to reach target markets. Advice Matt gives for a smaller business with a tight budget is to invest in a Web site that can be updated, search engine optimization (SEO), and your keywords which can also be tied in to your Google ads for better results. As for what the future holds, Matt says we will listen to our influence-rs, and that social media will become even more integrated into business. He states being a key influencer, being a thought leader, knowing your technology will help you be successful in the field of Internet Marketing.
There are new ways to measure social media. This is a big step in figuring out what people are doing on websites. If you know what they are doing, you know what is working and what is NOT working. Tracking pageviews is not the most efficient way to measure many social media sites. The three methods discussed in this article are: The Funnel Analysis: Measuring conversiion rates because not every person who views a website will register for it Engagement Tracking: Measuring what people do, because the actions people use on Twitter will vary from the actions people take on Facebook. Visitor Retention: How many people come back: Basically how sticky your site is. Read more here.
As we discuss the power of social media almost every class here is a link that one of my friends (former star student) sent me today. The movie “Paranormal Activity” was filmed for only $11,000 yet grossed $100 million-plus for Paramount Pictures. It is one of the top grossing movies of the year 2009 and its success is attributed to friend-to-friend reviews on Facebook and Twitter, which lured moviegoers into theaters. Social media in action, 100 million plus reasons why to start using it today.
On the news this morning, YNN had a special reporting about how Ford is doing all it can to gain market share while Toyota is getting their act together after recent news about sticky acceleration pedals in their vehicles. Evidently, in Ford's latest models, they are installing new technologies in hopes of attracting more consumers.
Among these technologies include a capability to access Twitter updates while in your car. The car will instantly read your twitter updates to you as you are driving. Although you cannot verbally give the car your new updates, it is suspected that within the next 12 to 18 months, that such technology will be announced from Ford.
While this was the only internet related capability, others included applications that the owner could buy to install in their car. On was an app that will block the ability to text while driving. It does this by being able to locate the location of the car as well as the speed it is going. For more information about instant Twitter updates click here
Apple released the Ipad this week to mixed reviews. One thing that was noticed was a continued lack of Flash support its portable devices. When questioned about the snubbing of flash, Jobs stated that it does not support Flash because it is buggy and it is a common cause of crashes on Macs.
The new HTML5 standard brings standardization to the internet, making it less reliant on proprietary technologies such as flash. YouTube has just released support for the technology on its site but support among browsers is still lacking.
Jobs panned Adobe for its “laziness” in developing Flash. He believed that they had the potential to do many interesting things with it but their lack of motivation let Flash sit on its laurels.
Ironically, HTML5 is something Google is also pushing for. Google Voice, which Apple rejected earlier this year from its App Store, has made its way onto the iPhone through an HTML5 web app using the Safari browser. Jobs is not happy with Google at this moment since he regards Google as an invading force into its smartphone territory.
In the beginning weeks of class, we discussed the different browsers and how often they were used. An article I recently read discusses that google chrome is emerging into the new popular browser. In January, Chrome grew by 0.57% to 5.20% of the browser market. Meanwhile, Firefox shrunk by 0.20% to 24.41% and IE shrunk 0.51% to 62.18%. Google Chrome has a lot to offer; details are finally starting to surface. It is much faster than competitors browsers and there are features such as bookmark syncs into live windows. To gain popularity, google has been running ad campaigns on sites like hulu. Additionally, this article explains how Internet Explorer is still the most popular browser and needs to die out. There are too many security threats and its a hassle to use. Google Chrome is quickly catching popularity, and one has to wonder is it because Google is using their own statistical and analysis software to get the word out about their browser?
Last year Facebook pushed AOL out of its position as 4th largest Web property in the world. In the single month of December 2009 Facebook gained 31 million unique vistors, which is more than Yahoo gained the entire year. The number 1 and 2 spots for largest Web properties are currently held by Google and Microsoft with Yahoo coming in third and Facebook right on it's tail.
If Facebook attracts half as many unique visitors next year as it did this year and Yahoo remains at a constant pace then Facebook will be taking third place within a year from now. Facebook continues to grow while other sites are maintaining a relatively mellow growth rate. It is intersting to see one of the largest web properties in the world as a social networking site rather than news or information gathering sites. For more information, click here.
I have noticed a lot more spam and phishing attempts through Facebook recently, and this article on Mashable talks about the increasing security problems social networks and their users face. The article states that spam though social media has increased 70% in the past year. This made me think of the article I posted last week that showed the dramatic increase of baby-boomers and elderly users on Facebook. My own mom joined Facebook awhile ago, and I know how she can be duped by some of these phishing emails. Not to stereotype, but I think older users aren't as savvy at recognizing fake attempts to visit fraudulent sites, etc. I also noticed a few of my FB friends were signing up for the group that was supposed to help add a "dislike" button for posts, but the instructions included running code and made it obvious (to me) it was a scam. Hopefully Facebook and other social network sites will help educate users how to avoid these problems - it would certainly be in their best interest to do so.
It is no surprise to many that there are certain risks of presenting information of yourself online. However, this article has information on a survey that they did that is quite alarming. In fact, maybe alarming enough that companies will consider backing out of online marketing.
58% of users last year on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have reported been spammed through the sites. This is an increase of 70% from last year.
Companies are concerned that their employees use online is a security risk for the company itself. After surveying over 500 companies, it was discovered that 72%, almost 3/4ths of them feel that social networking sites are dangerous for companies. Facebook is the largest threat, not only because it is the biggest social media site, but also because of their new privacy laws.
This could result in a change in social security on the internet, but I doubt it will remove a company's presence online. Read the article here, where you can search for more results of the survey that was conducted.
I work for the YMCA in downtown Rochester. This paycheck I noticed something that I had never seen before on my previous paychecks. On the right side of pay stubs there is a box that is usually empty, and is labeled "Important Notes". Well, this pay stub under the Important Notes section, there was a note that read, "FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @YMCAROCHESTER AND BECOME OURFAN ON FACEBOOK!!" They clearly wanted this to be seen because it was typed in all caps just like it is seen here. I found this interesting and yet annoying. Is this what is most important these days? Me following my job on Twitter and Facebook? Geeez social media is everywhere! And its starting to annoy me like pop-ups do.
