Media

The Droid "Cash For Clunkers" Deal For iPhones

by Ron Callari

With the heightened buying frenzy surrounding the launch of Google's new smartphone, the Droid, it was no surprise that someone would piggyback off of the hype! While Google conducts its first-time TV advertising, Flipswap, a trade-in service aggressively jumped into the foray with a unique offer to swap cash for your old 'clunky' iPhones. ( Where was the Administration on this one?)

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Retweeting In The Wild - Project Retweet Launches

by Ron Callari

November 5: Twitter rolls out Project Retweet to a limited audience. According to their recent blog post, the Twitter echelon wants to see how it will "work in the wild," before offering it up to the Twitterverse.

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Is Leapfish, Search's Missing Link?

by Ron Callari

Many have tried, but it's been over a decade and none have succeeded in out-Googlin' Google. Yet here we go again, with yet another search engine entering stage right trying to capture our "attention-deficit" attention. Repackaging online search as something new infers the Web has evolved. And while real-time and social search have certainly changed the alchemy of search, what does Leapfish know that has eluded Google et al?

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How "Mickey Mouse" Is Re-Branding?

by Ron Callari

While branding oneself takes time and effort to spin out a new product, re-branding can take several washes to redefine that same brand. Take for example the work United Airlines had to accomplish after breaking someone's guitar. Let alone the number of Twitter apologies issued forth by Chris Brown and Kanye West. But when others do it in reverse and run their good-guy image through a darkside wash cycle, the task might be a little easier. Such is the case with the re-engineering of one Mickey Mouse.

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Even The Taliban Are Social Networking

by Ron Callari

Did the "voice of jihad" just get a little louder? Afghan tribalism has origins that date back 1400 years to the early Muslim and Islamic civilizations. With a lifestyle based on jihad and an economy that thrives on opium trade, who would have thought that these warring factions in Afghanistan and Pakistan would ever embrace social media as a means to communicate.

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New Wisk-It App Helps Clean Up Your “Dirty Laundry” On Facebook

by Alexis

The Wisk-It application for Facebook, from the makers of Wisk detergent.

Wisk laundry detergent just launched a new facebook app called WISK-IT that extends their powerful cleaning heritiage into the world of social media. Designed to make it easy to find and remove all those photos on facebook that might be embarrasing, and a general "stain" on your reputation, this is one of those apps that isn't just functional but a great marketing idea. Conceived and developed by TracyLocke, an integrated marketing agency, the WISK-IT app reminds you that "Everyone's got a photo that needs to be washed away."

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"Party Of No" Amplify Their Message With New Social Media Tool

by Ron Callari

The health care reform debate this current legislative season has been more about who could shout the loudest versus who really had something to say. Earning their label as the "Party of No" the GOP's push back on health care has been perceived as protest-for-protest sake.

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Fictionaut Utilizes Social Media For New Self-Publishing Platform

by Ron Callari

For wordsmiths the world over, a rejection notice is the common denominator shared by the entire literary community whether you are the next Hemingway or a weekend poet. However unwelcoming, those "we regret to inform you" letters have become a right of passage for writers. On the flip side, all an author really wants to see is his or her words in print. To that end Fictionaut, an online social network for fiction writers addresses that need.

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ScamVille? A New Online Game? Who's Up For The Challenge?

by Ron Callari

Michael Arrington from Techcrunch wrote a very insightful article titled "Scamville: The Social Gaming Ecosystem of Hell," exposing Zynga and its scam-laden lead gen-type offers devised for their ever-popular Facebook games of Farmville and Mafia Wars. I challenge one of the more ethical game developers to actually use Arrington's expose to develop the real thing - an actual Facebook game called "ScamVille!"

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Top Ten Best Visualization Tools for Social Media, Blogosphere, Internet & News

by Ron Callari

Art, maps,imagery and graphs add context and a visual component to numbers, locations, and information. With as much influx of data we contend with on a daily basis, visualization tools allows our brains to take a rest while perceiving content in a different light. In essence, visualization allows us to stop and smell the pixels, in spite of the fact we might learn a few things along the way.

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The Return of 10 Ads to Disgust & Disturb You

by J. Barker

They're baaaaaack.... It seems that there truly is a never-ending stream of bizarre ad campaigns out there that are designed to shock and/or repulse the consumer for product attention. If you've enjoyed my previous forays into this topic, you'll not be disappointed...

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Twitter Lists Inspired By Tweetdeck, Google Wave & Enterprise Microblogs

by Ron Callari

With the Holiday Season fast approaching, you might want to consider "making your list and checking it twice."Lists are the new order of business in Twitterville. Some say it will take the place of "Follow Fridays." Others think its jumping on the the Google Wave and Enterprise Microblogs' bandwagon.

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Halloween Inspired By Our Scary Financial Woes!

by Ron Callari

This year in addition to influences from the movie industry's horror flicks, the financial decline in the US appears to be just as scary, if not more horrifying than "Paranormal Activity" and "Saw 2,3,4,5,etc." Let's take a look at how our current financial crisis might be affecting "All Hallows Eve" this year!

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My(Separate)Space.com - Social Network For Lousy Spouses!

by Ron Callari

For those familiar with the TV Show "Survivor," one knows you have to "outwit, outplay and outlast." And while that same philosophy is sometimes jokingly applied to failing marriages, LousySpouse.com's slogan of "endure, survive and prevail" plays it a little closer to the vest. Yes, there is a social network for those in the thralls of divorce, whether it be pre-, post or during.

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Google's GPS Speeds Past Stand-Alones

by Ron Callari

Ubiquitous Google is out there once again speeding past anything it finds in its way on what we use to call the Superhighway! This time its taken to the gadget world by transforming their Android phones into mobile GPS navigation systems - and its free!

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Liquid Bookmark Lets It Bleed While You Read

by Steve Levenstein

Bloody good book? Show others your grasp of goth chic with the Kyouei Liquid Bookmark. Handmade individually from silicone, this eye-catching bookmark gives you all the fun of real blood - without the mess.

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9 Unique Halloween Costumes Inspired By The News And Media This Decade

by Fashion Finds

Halloween is right around the corner, and if you still don't have a great idea for a unique costume, you'd better start working fast. Here are Inventor Spot, we've covered Halloween costumes from a number of perspectives, from the hilarious to the terrifying, to those that make you gag. To put a little twist on things, I've created a list of costumes that come from the inspiration of the top media and pop culture events that have taken place in the new millennium. These costumes weren't necessarily the most popular ones used for dress up each year outlined, but they sure would have gotten people talking and given attention hogs their own piece of the media frenzy!

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Twilight's New Moon & Social Media, America's New Stimulus Plan?

by Ron Callari

Twilight New Moon & Volvo Social Media Campaign

What is so hot about the Volvo's XC60 coupe? Described on their Web site as a cross-over "with a big attitude," one would expect a car of this type to be owned by soccer moms driving their kids to practice. With a couple of well-placed product placements in a hit teens' & 20-somethings' movie, that same car is going to be on a lot of Christmas wish-lists this holiday season.

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Social Media That Happens In Vegas Doesn't Have To Stay in Vegas!

by Ron Callari

The catch-phrase that transformed Las Vegas' failed attempt at becoming a 'family destination' back into its original 'Sin City' image is now taking another turn. "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas," was not only a brilliant ad campaign slogan, it also became a pop culture mantra used every time someone wanted to alert someone else about keeping things on the DL.

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Google & WOWD Putting Humans Back Into The Search Equation

by Ron Callari

Like Mahalo, ChaCha, Eurekster and a few other social search engines before them, adding humans to the search function seems to be having a resurgence in popularity. After all when Google jumps into the fray, people do stop and listen.

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