Buzz

10/20/10

Getting Organized with Evernote

Social Media is a very important component of today’s business world. Large and Small corporations alike are scrambling to harness the Internet’s power via all the different sites and tools available to them to perform SEO and gain fans online. The use of smart phones and tablets is ever increasing as well, as they provide a way for employees to receive all this media from wherever they are.

One element that may be overlooked among all the bandwidth is how one can stay organized. With the world moving so fast, a healthy idea can take off quite quickly and should not be overlooked. Note taking and staying on top of your schedule has never been more important, nor has it ever been more expected.

Evernote is a simple program you download to your desktop or your smart phone. [Keep Reading]

10/15/10

#BEATCANCER (with Social Media)

There is currently a Social Media campaign being run to raise money for Cancer Research. It’s called BEAT CANCER, and is being run by LiveStrong.com. They did it last year, setting a record for most mentions of the same topic in one day with 209, 771 mentions across the Globe. They are hoping to beat that this year, and also beat the $70,000 they managed to raise.

The campaign only lasts for 24 hours, and started today at Noon EST. It ends tomorrow, October 16th, at Noon EST. Get on Twitter and/or Facebook immediately, and mention #BeatCancer. Everytime you mention it, PayPal and SWAGG will donate $0.05 to the cause (last year it was only $0.01). Hurry up! And spread the word!

10/14/10

Sitting on Klout 9

Today, we would like to feature a very useful and somewhat unknown Social Media tool. We say unknown, because unless you have absolutely needed to use it or are heavily involved in Social Media, you likely have not heard of it. But with an increasing amount of people owning accounts on multiple platforms of Social Media, we thought we would share it with you. [Read More]

10/12/10

Mind the Gap

Just last week, The Gap revealed a brand new logo (top, left), one that was supposed to give the massive store chain a much more Post Modern and sleek look. The logo contained the signature three letter name of the store, but in a new font, and with a random blue half faded box slightly behind the letter P.

The image went viral, understandably so, seeing as how there are several million Gap customers out there who are online. But it didn’t spread the way the retail had intended. Within days, a website popped up where users were invited to protest the new logo by typing in whatever word they wished instead of G-A-P (check it out here). A fake Twitter account showed up too (it has almost 5,000 followers already), protesting the new logo. And in classic new age Social Media fashion, the tactics worked! [Keep Reading]

10/07/10

The Social Network: A New Era in Filmaking?

Last Friday, The Social Network opened to an International audience. It made $23 million in North America alone, and has received very good reviews from pro and amateur critics (97% on Rotten Tomatoes). Many people were likely expecting a flop, but the film is written by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, Charlie Wilson’s War) and directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en, Panic Room) and turned out surprisingly good.

One of the reasons every one expected so little out of the movie is that its based on something that is currently taking place (Facebook is still on the rise and the story is nowhere near complete). Another reason, is that people roll their eyes most of the time when Facebook is mentioned. [Keep Reading]

09/30/10

Facebook and You: Using the Like Button to Drive Traffic

How much would you pay for a 500% increase in website referral if you were a major online publisher? 20% of your budget? 50%?

How about 0%?
read more

09/30/10

I’m lovin’ it: Mcdonalds wins big with Foursquare

In late summer 2009, a girl who lived above me was telling me about her Twitter account and how much fun she was having with it. She told Twitter was here to stay, and that once everyone settled into the mass updating service, they would increase their social media with a nifty geo-based website called Foursquare. She said it would be the hottest thing of 2010. I balked, saying people could never be convinced to reveal their location. And now, thanks to Mcdonald’s latest successful campaign, I’m finally admitting that I may have been wrong. [Read More]

09/29/10

Orwellian Internet Bill Looms Over Congress

Pop quiz (hot shot): which of the following totalitarian regimes does the following system come from?

There are two blacklists, one determined by courts and another determined by the attorney general. A court order placing a site on the first list would force that site to be blocked by internet service providers. But there is a catch! By blocking the second list, which is out of the control of any democratic process of law and determined by whoever can persuade the attorney general, websites can gain immunity and government favor in regards to being placed on the second list. [Read More]

09/28/10

Social Media 101: USA Network banks big on

Gaming Spin

The USA Network has recently announced results from a recent campaign to enhance site viewership through a point based, game like system called “Character Rewards”. The points can be redeemed for both virtual and real life branded goods. Ultimately, the system rewards viewers for loyalty and taps into their nature as fans. The result? An over 30% increase in viewership since launch. [Read More]

Yaarrr, let thar be downloadz

“The world’s most resilient bit torrent site” is trying to avoid walking the plank, as the four founders of The Pirate Bay make the first of 8 court appearances today in an effort to appeal the charges laid against them in April 2009. Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm and Carl Lundström are all appealing a sentence of one year in prison and almost a million dollars each in fines ($950,000). [Read More]

09/27/10

You are more likely to be reading this than sleeping

(statistically)

That’s right. Also more time than you employed folks happen to be working. [Read More]

Twitter’s upcoming move on analytics

Ross Hoffman of Twitter’s Business Development team has recently announced plans to release a free analytics dashboard in the last quarter of 2010. The dashboard will have full functionality for those looking to see how their network functions in terms of retweets and the overall effectiveness of their communications. Tools for analyzing individual users, networks and influence will be included. [Read More]

09/24/10

Never say no to the Panda: A Case Study

This week saw the re-release of a series commercials reach 1.5 million views on youtube (and counting) since an upload five days ago. The incredible reach of this video reveals an important insight about the nature of internet users: we like bizarre. [Read More]

09/21/10

Double Rainbow Man Cashes In

The saga of Paul “Double Rainbow Guy” Vasquez continues with the release of a new double rainbow application for the iPhone today. When we last covered Double Rainbow Guy, he was slinging photo editors for Microsoft, but this newest of developments may have further entrenched his position as viral sensation gone sellout.

[Read More]

09/20/10

Viral Video Watch – September 20th, 2010

OK Go, cup stacking, and dogs… Can the guys who brought us “Here it Goes Again” reclaim the viral magic? [Read More]

09/20/10

Google Docs App: Bad News for Blackberry

This morning, Google announced that there will soon be releasing a Google Docs app for the iPhone and Android. The fact that an app is being released is not the news story here, but rather the story is that the app is not coming out for Blackberry. [Read More]

09/17/10

Friday Morning News

It’s Friday, and most web traffic will be virtually gone by about 1:30pm. So here’s the latest Social Media news to keep you entertained. Foursquare – Foursquare has unveiled it’s College/University program, which basically allows students to share notes and information about classes… [Read More]

09/16/10

Viral Video Watch – September 16th, 2010

Today’s hot viral video has been accelerating at a rate of over 1 million views per day, since it’s launch on the 14th… [Read More]

Is Digg Getting Buried?

09/15/10

The New Twitter: Yay or Yawn

Yesterday at its headquarters in San Francisco, Twitter unveiled the new design that will soon be available to all of its users. The design will allow users to easily share photos and videos, in an effort to circumvent Facebook as the main source of social interaction in the online community. [Read More]

Viral Video Watch – September 15th, 2010

Today’s hot viral video is not very new. In fact, it’s been on YouTube since December 22nd, 2005… [Read More]

09/14/10

Choose your own ADventure: You Tube Edition

Once in a while, a new ad campaign comes along that opens new doors and pushes the boundaries of what can and cannot be done. Two weeks ago, Tippex, a whiteout manufacturer, launched a mind blowing You Tube campaign that takes us back to the days of Choose Your Own Adventure novels and is the greatest thing since the Old Spice campaign.

The campaign, titled NSWF. A hunter shoots a bear! starts with a simple enough video (Not Safe For Work Language) of some hikers talking about their sexual escapades. [Read More]

09/13/10

Viral Video Watch – September 13th, 2010

Today’s Hot Viral Video is GOP Candidate Phil Davison delivering an *enthusiastic* speech [Read More]

SEO Tip #2: Site Structure

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a relatively new component of any business trying to make it big online. Follow our online tips to help your business thrive in the ever expanding online market.

Content is King in SEO. No matter what. But after Content, the layout of the very same site who’s search results you are trying to optimize is a pretty important second. If your site is not properly structured, its chances of coming up in a search diminish rapidly. [Read More]

09/10/10

Google Instant Search: Old News?

Last week, Google released its new instant search function, which basically shows you search results as you type your query into the search bar. Considering that billions of search results are attainable through a simple Google search, this kind of idea is quite groundbreaking. Or is it? [Read More]

09/09/10

The Little Social Medialite that could

The power of Social Media is an untapped resource with unlimited potential. For the past few years, people have begun to wonder just how much strength one individual can draw from a few simple posts. With Twitter rising exponentially in the ranks, new precedent setting cases are surfacing of every day people voicing their unhappiness via their tweets, and actually getting a response. [Read More]

Viral Video Watch – September 9th, 2010

The Amazing Race has a new season starting in a few weeks… [Read More]

09/08/10

Advertising in the 2010s: Part 1

Part 1 of our Advertising in the 2010s series will focus on viral video campaigns, in particular, the ones that dress up like a user made amateur video in order to promote their product. Although there have been various online campaigns over the past few years, including the recent Old Spice questions and answers that even garnered a wedding proposal, few have been as cool and brand defining as the ones made by Levi’s. [Read More]

Viral Video Watch – September 8th, 2010

Today’s Hot Video is The Ticklish Camel. [Read More]

09/03/10

SEO Tip #1: Keywords

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a relatively new component of any business trying to make it big online. Follow our online tips to help your business thrive in the ever expanding online market.

Without Keywords, the likelyhood of people finding your blog or website is very low. However, going overboard on Keywords is a big mistake a lot of  start ups or first time bloggers will make at first. [Read More]

The Day the Double Rainbow Died

If you have to work in an office during those beautiful summer months and you stare out the window at the sunshine you are not enjoying, viral videos have likely become one of the only sources of joy in your day. [Read More]