Announcements

Something has to be up when Google, salt of the Internet decides to use an antiquated form of 'push marketing' (namely billboards) to spread the word? It appears Google is desperate to be taken seriously in the corporate world, where customers remain reluctant to switch from Microsoft’s desktop Office Suite in favour of a cloudier option such as Google Apps. So Google is taking it to the street with outdoor advertising.

Remember the days of 'push marketing', when the Mad Men of Madison Avenue monopolized what messages were beamed out to the public. Feeding us manageable morsels of propaganda about the brands they represented, they controlled a lot of what we ate, drank, and yes... even what we thought.

As legacy newspapers continue to seek out new ways to survive beyond their antiquated twentieth century business model, the Wall Street Journal has strapped on some big guns in an attempt to build a name in the Wild West terrain of Web 2.0. Leaked rumors indicate its jonesing for a mano-a-mano duel with LinkedIn in an attempt to attract some of that business network's 15 million monthly netizens.

Social Media has been used for a lot of things, but fueling the the fire of an ongoing feud is a new twist. A singer and a rapper are using the tools of social media to expose their basest instincts.

While the success stories of brands and social media surface daily throughout the blogosphere, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, there are just as many nightmares that are damaging the reputations of brands regularly.

Location-based mobile social networking is growing by leaps and bounds. As smartphones proliferate around the world, more and more people are connecting to their mobiles versus their stationary computers to share experiences with others.

Trybe \trahyb\ n. a network of like-minded people Can another social network find the critical mass to grab any one's attention in the already over-saturated social media terrain? Between your followers on Twitter, your friends on Facebook, your professional contacts on LinkedIn, isn't your social dance card already booked up? How does a new entry gain the gravitas it needs to grow a sizable fan base for yet another social network? One with a catchy name like 'MyTrybe' thinks there is enough room to throw its hat in the ring!

Think about living your life the way you normally do. Except now, you re going to be rewarded for even the simplest of tasks, like dumping the garbage. Booyah Society, available free on iTunes is both a social network and a game, and each logged activity of your life will earn you points, which are similar to tasks performed on your favorite video game.

As popular as Twitter is there are still a lot of folks that haven't joined ranks or have registered but dropped off due to lack of interest or understanding. While the benefits of the microblogging platform are varied, it takes users and brands time to feel adept at getting the most out of the system. Now Twitter is addressing that need by launching "Twitter 101" which will get newbies started, while allowing brands a leg-up on as to how to be successful on this social network

Once an innovation on the Web catches hold in the market, there's often a "lock-in mechanism" that freezes out radical changes to that innovation. In the 1970s, Irving L. Janis's book "Victims of Groupthink" described it as  "a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing and moral judgment that results from in-group pressures." In the Age of Social Media, where social networks like Twitter and Facebook have consumed our lives, has Digital Man evolved into the the current version of "Groupthink" or the herd mentality?

Now the sensor in your Nike+ can connect to an iPod and record your workouts. Its as easy as finding an iPod-compatible cardio machine at the gym and tracking your progress from one workout to the next. Minute by minute, mile by mile, you will be motivated by more than just from your iPod's tunes.

In 2006, crowdsourcing, a term first coined by Jeff P. Howe, a contributing editor at Wired Magazine was used to describe the act of taking a task traditionally performed by employees and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people or community in the form of an open call. In 2004's The Wisdom of Crowds, James Surowiecki argued that masses of people can be remarkably accurate in their predictions. When crowdsourcing combines with viral marketing, the result is now called viralsourcing, a new and innovative marketing strategy that is gaining traction with brands of all sizes.

With the introduction of Twitcam by Livestream, anyone can reach ones' Twitter following by live streaming video. All you have to do is log in with your Twitter credentials, hit the broadcast button and, assuming you have your webcam set up, you're good to go. It couldn't be any easier way for folks to conduct a video broadcast with live chat while one's followers respond by tweeting in real-time.

If you wanted to be one of the first to see the teaser for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, you  had to jump down the Facebook rabbit hole and choose sides quickly. Tim Burton's marketing minions published 'fan army' pages for the White Queen, the Red Queen and Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter, and the ploy was to get you become the loyal or disloyal subject of one of them. Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter turned out to be the hands-down winner!

'Inside the Beltway' was originally a term coined for those who worked within the confines of the Administration and Congress. Other time, the negative connotation of "insular" and "out of touch with mainstream America" emerged to describe the close-knit clique of Washington insiders. An "inside joke" refers to humor that is apparent only to those who are "inside" a social group or occupation. Now combine the two...and you might come up with a social network the likes of 3121.

If you are a fan of Showtime's award-winning comedy "Weeds" you know how dangerous locating, procuring and purchasing marijuana can be. However if you have a prescription from your physician, iPhone is going to make that whole process a whole lot easier.

Working its way to 1 Billion users, Facebook just reached the one quarter billion mark (250 Million), only three months after reaching its last milestone of 200 million in April. So with such exponential growth, why is there so much talk about people leaving this social network?

Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama were all previous prize winners. Barack Obama may be in the running this year. So is it possible that his competition could possibly be a social network, the likes of Twitter?  Does a platform, an inanimate entity warrant the same consideration as a person?

When you are in the eye of the storm, there is a calmness to determine one's next move before the maelstrom hits. When one enters Twittereye.com, you will have quick access to every Twitter app known to man on one handy-dandy-all-purpose web site. And while you may be overwhelmed by the data overload, this tool is a real time saver for those who gravitate to all things that Twitter.

One of the rules of Fight Club is "If this is your first night at Fight Club, you HAVE to fight." Analogous to a schoolyard brawl, where stolen lunch money is cause for retaliation, these two industry chums have come to blows over hacked documents.