Posts Tagged ‘Facebook’

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Facebook Changed Your Email – Switch It Back.

Monday, June 25th, 2012

 

“Not me!  I didn’t sign up for one, so I shouldn’t have another email address listed.”

 

Actually, you do. In April 2010, Facebook announced that with the introduction of Timeline, users will be assigned an @facebook.com email address. This email address was created for you but has been dormant in your settings – until today.

Today, Facebook automatically switched the @facebook.com email address as your primary email address. This may be helpful if you do not want your email address listed on your profile. If you are like me and would rather NOT manage another email address, you can easily switch it back:

1. Go to your profile. Click the About section

 

2. Go to the Contact Info section (notice the email switch to @facebook.com)

 

3. Choose the Edit button in the Contact Info section.  Right hand column: Notice the “hide from Timeline” icon and the “show on Timeline” icon. Choose which email(s) you would like to show on your Timeline. Hit Save.

 

 

4. Success! The email(s) selected should show on your Contact Info in your About section.

 

What do you think of the @facebook.com email address? How do you feel about Facebook changing it without notification? Will you use the new email address or change it back?

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@KingJames Rules #NBAFinals

Monday, June 25th, 2012

Lebron James’ social media hiatus ended with the Miami Heat’s victorious game last Thursday. Enthusiasm spread rapidly through tweets as the Miami Heat took the NBA Championship win and Lebron James was given the MVP title for the game.

“He’s finally got one.”

That’s what all the headlines are saying or, if not explicitly, at least hinting at. LeBron James, this season’s NBA MVP (for the third time), finally realized his enormous potential last week with his first of what could be (not) one, (not) two, (not) three, (not) four, but more NBA championships. Leading the Miami Heat and what has to now be all of basketball’s “Big Three” to the world championship last night with a triple-double, James called his victory, “the hardest thing I’ve done as a basketball player” and joined an elite number of player—five to be exact—who clinched the championship trophy with a triple-double.

He tampered the lightning-sharp shots of a most talented opponent and certainly a future superstar, Kevin Durant, and the other members of the Oklahoma City Thunder with a physical brand of basketball the simply overpowered them. The players of the Heat scorched the final series, winning it 4-1 and singeing their own mark into the basketball history books with a decisive 121-106 5th-game score.

As Bluefin Labs’ excellent analysis of the game’s effect on social media shows, the final game of the series garnered 6.16 million tweets and 152 thousand comments on Facebook. Of course, @KingJames fans were happy to share in the excitement. His now-famous tweet had hit 72,128 retweets by 7:19 p.m. GMT. As one might expect, the final game in the Heat-Thunder five-game series had the most of all the games—by far. With 6.31 million social media interactions, the NBA Finals had almost double the previous game’s count and over double the second and third games’ individual tallies.

The heat to win more championships is on, however, James can at least relax happily knowing that he has earned finally his first world championship ring. He must be feeling the social media love too. On his website is a video devoted to his fans and his twitter page is a collection of Miami Heat fans.

 

 

The NBA is an avid enthusiast of social media marketing. The NBA Playoffs have been the clear evidence of successful engagement with fans. Do you think other sports leagues will follow suit? Should they?

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Apple’s iOS 6 – What To Expect

Tuesday, June 12th, 2012

Apple launched its 23rd Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) yesterday with a revealing keynote that started with a witty Siri.

“How many developers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

“None – That’s a hardware problem……  ba dum ching”

A sophisticated Siri was just one of the new features presented for iOS 6. Apple’s new operating system has a recurring theme – tighter app integration and enhanced iCloud synchronization.

Sophisticated Siri

The former Siri was ideal for entertaining and retrieving quick data. Siri has been promoted to your executive assistant. She launches apps for you, updates your Facebook Status and sends a Tweet on request. She can look for a restaurant via Yelp and make reservations through OpenTable. Dinner and a movie? No problem, she has you covered with Fandango. She’ll let you in on the recent reviews from Rotten Tomatoes. If you miss the game, she can present you with sports stats and scores without picking up the phone.  Siri can increase your efficiency even in the car. The “Eyes Free” feature will be built into the steering wheel in certain BMW, Toyota, Mercedes Benz, General Motors, Honda and Audi models.

Maps. 

Apple’s navigation application flew right over Google Maps and didn’t look back. Maps is exquisite, offering convenience and productivity. It highlights turn by turn navigation; local searches, real-time traffic updates, 3D perspectives and the “flyover” feature which views a location as if you were in an aircraft.

 Not the Perfect Time for a Phone Call?  The iOS 6 update gives you options.

  • Ignore the call, but reply to the incoming call with a quick text message.
  • Ignore the call, but set a reminder about the call later.
  • In class, a meeting or movie? Set the “Do Not Disturb” option. It will block incoming calls but receive texts and alerts.

 

Passbook.

Keep electronic versions of admission tickets, boarding passes, reward cards and coupons in one location. Live data updates alert you when there is a flight delay or rain date. Radar lets you know your favorite store is nearby. Pretty handy, right?

Email.

Finally, you can instantly add photos to your email. You can also have multiple email signatures and use the VIP option to receive alerts when emails arrive from select contacts (ie: Your Boss!).

 

Other Noteworthy Changes:

  • Facebook has a closer harmonization in iOS 6. Facebook pictures, calendars, events and birthdays will be synced seamlessly. You’ll even be able to “Like” an app or song in the App Store.
  • WiFi is no longer a mandatory element for FaceTime – it is now 3G capable.
  • Safari: iCloud synchronization enables you to save tabs, cache pages and access an offline reading list without web connection.  You’ll also be able to use Safari in landscape mode.
  • Updated language support for 15 countries, now including Canadian French, Italian, Korean, Mandrin and Cantonese.
  • Restructured App Store lets you save your browsing where you left off and access your history.
  • There is much, much more to come. Approximately 200 features all together.

 

Arriving this fall, the iOS 6 updates pertain to specific Apple devices:

  • iPod Touch 4th generation
  • iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4s
  • iPad 2 and iPad 3

 

The annual Worldwide Developer’s Conference is June 11th – 15th. Stay tuned for more updates!

Do you own an Apple device?  What do you think of the new iOS 6 software update?

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Was The Prometheus Viral Campaign Successful?

Monday, June 11th, 2012

Prometheus launches into theatres after flying high on a landmark viral campaign

He’s gone from big-screen movie star to a fictitious android in a campaign commercial? Show me that again?

Indie star Michael Fassbender goes viral for Fox’s intense new Prometheus marketing campaign. Fassbender, who plays

the android David in Ridley Scott’s newest sci-fi epic, stares directly into the camera of this “advertisement” because David is ultimately a product of the fictitious Wayland Corporation, the chairman of which is played by Guy Pearce. Of course the trailer intends to generate reboot buzz and not robot buys. This ad was the first of many new advertising techniques employed by Fox to generate interest for the much-hyped film, especially in a viral way.

Guy Pearce, the chairman of the Wayland Corporation appeared in a “talk from the future” dated 2023, to be exact, in another character driven advertisement during TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) this past February.
As recently as May, a viral video of footage, as Magnet Stories suggests, not appearing in the film premiered. The video, entitled “Quiet Eye” and starring another Prometheus mainstay in Noomi Repace, featured a live chat with the film’s screenwriter Damon Lindelof via the hashtag #prometheuslive.At March’s Wondercon, a heavily frequented, annually held comic book and science fiction convention, the first full-length trailer of Prometheus was screened.  Attendees were not the only viewers, however, because the trailer was streamed through online juggernauts such as Facebook and Twitter, which helped it to generate three million views in the first day alone.

And for those U.S. diehards who could not wait for the U.S. premiere of the film, June 1st provided another virtual preview of the film. The red carpet UK premiere was streamed on Verizon’s FiOS Facebook page.

A slew of videos featuring various stars of the epic invaded conventions and conferences alike—all in an attempt to tease hopeful filmgoers with one-on-one glimpses of Prometheus’ many characters. Viewers got multiple shots, literally, of what was to come through viral mediums that suggest a different breed of film marketing. Fox, as Magnet Stories noted, took a page of its hugely successful Hunger Games campaign and produced original content that highlight, one at a time, certain characters of Scott’s film.
According to Yahoo! Movies, Prometheus, which opened in 3,396 theaters, garnered $50 million and earned second place behind Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. Boxofficeguru.com claims that this weekend, Prometheus’ opening weekend, was the biggest opening weekend for a R-rated movie in 2012.

What do you think? Did the intense marketing campaign and $130-million production tag pay off?
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Facebook Introducing an App Center and Paid Apps

Thursday, May 10th, 2012

On Wednesday, Facebook announced that it will be launching its own app center, as well as paid Facebook apps. The center will be built into its website as well as the iOS and Android Facebook apps. While the app center may look very similar to Apple’s App Store or Google Play, it will not try to compete with them and will operate quite differently.

Facebook App Center

In the past, there was no place to browse listings of Facebook apps or mobile apps that use Facebook Login. People mostly find out about apps through advertisements, word of mouth, reading about apps on websites and blogs, and by seeing stories in their news feeds about what friends are playing. Users could also find out about mobile apps that used Facebook Login by browsing the app store on their mobile device. Soon, we will be able to see all of the apps that meet Facebook’s guidelines listed in one place.

All apps will have a details page that gives users information about the app and what makes it unique, in addition to ratings. Quality and ratings will play a huge role in the success of an app, as VentureBeat says in addition to gathered user ratings, Facebook will also collect data on user behaviors such as how long they stay on the app and how often they come back to it. Facebook will give developers access to this data through a new Insights report. High-quality apps will be prominently featured in the app center, while that don’t meet quality guidelines or receive poor user ratings will not be featured.

While it may seem like this app center would compete with those by Apple and Google, it will actually work with them. A lot of the apps featured in the app center, such as Words With Friends or Draw Something, are also mobile apps that need to be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play. The post on the Facebook Developer Blog states:

“The App Center is designed to grow mobile apps that use Facebook – whether they’re on iOS, Android or the mobile web. From the mobile App Center, users can browse apps that are compatible with their device, and if a mobile app requires installation, they will be sent to download the app from the App Store or Google Play.”

Paid Facebook Apps

In addition to announcing the Facebook App Center, the blog post also had information about the introduction of paid apps. While apps have long been able to have in-app purchases to make money, all apps have previously been free to use. In the coming weeks, we will begin to see apps that charge a flat fee to use, in which Facebook will receive 30% of the transactions.

Are you looking forward to being able to discover new apps more easily? Can you see yourself paying to use a Facebook app?

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Content Curation as a Social Media Filter

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

As soon as a wake up in the morning I unlock my iPhone to find 4 Facebook notifications, 7 emails from LivingSocial, 2 LinkedIn updates, 10 Foursquare notifications and 3 Twitter mentions. This doesn’t even include regular text messages.

The amount of information delivered to us from social media is growing rapidly and it’s becoming difficult to distinguish what’s a Facebook comment from an old friend and what’s a meaningless advertisement on LinkedIn.

With the ever-expanding presence of social media, smart consumers are finding ways to filter out information that’s worthless to them, and creating tools to organize the information that matters. These filters make it more important for businesses to assert their brands in a way that consumers won’t tune them out.

Content curation is one way thought leaders are emerging as a critical filter. Curation is the act of individuals with a passion for a content area to find, contextualize, and organize information. Curators provide a consistent update regarding what’s interesting, happening, and cool in their focus.

When brands find a way to act as content curators for their consumers, adding meaning or value to their daily lives, they are truly engaging brand loyalty. For example, “Eat This Not That”  shares exercise and eating habit tips on its Facebook page daily, engaging thousands of consumers.

It is important for brands to recognize the “to-do” list for their audience. For example, clothing brand Free People found that the music festival Coachella was an important event for their customers, so they made a how-to video on DIY body paint for the trendy festival decoration. This shows how closely Free People was listening to its customers. A key aspect of content curation is listening to the web and pulling out breaking news, trends, wisdom and inspiration related to your audience.

Pinterest, the fastest growing web service, creates tools to organize information, which can work well for brands also. Whole Foods Market’s Pinterest profile has over 11 thousand followers. It frequently re-pins other users’ pins, reflecting the interests of its followers and embracing the social-sharing aspect of Pinterest. A less obvious brand on Pinterest is General Electric, which features inspirational pins, “badass machines” and other boards that bring GE to life.

Some important questions to ask yourself when utilizing social media are:

  • Is this content worthy of a share?
  • Will this content add value to my consumer’s life?
  • Is this content unique from the other million posts out there?
By Stephanie Wight

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Facebook Hopes to Gain Mobile Strength with Instagram

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

instagram

Instragram, an increasingly popular photo-sharing app, has surrendered it’s ownership to Facebook- allowing this social media giant to increase its mobile presence. The popularity of Instagram, a free service that sold for 1 billion dollars, involves the use of “filters” which are editing tools that transform photos into professional-looking snap shots. While Facebook has always been the largest photo sharing network, there are platforms like Instagram, Flickr and Pinterest which focus more on the storytelling and presentation aspects of photographs, sparking users’ artistic instincts. However, Facebook has always engaged more users because of its social component, allowing the most communication between friends and family. Integrating a popular mobile app that will combine artistic storytelling through photography with Facebook’s ever-present social network is smart move on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg’s part.

Facebook has struggled with mobile weakness and Instagram has proven how valuable the mobile experience can be. In less than two years Instagram signed up 30 million users (now reaching even more since its addition of the Android app). Instead of trying to compete with Instagram’s success, Facebook had the power to buy them and add to their social media monopoly. One change users should expect to see will involve mobile ads. Currently, Instagram doesn’t sell ads, but Facebook will be eager to utilize this audience and technology to facilitate their mobile ad campaigns. In Intagram’s platform of beautifully shared experiences and emotional visuals, advertisers can stray away from the crowded content platforms of Facebook and Twitter. As one blogger stated, “Would you rather run your ad next to an artfully sepia-toned photo of a cityscape or in the comparatively messy worlds of Facebook, Twitter or YouTube?”

Other anticipated changes involve better Instagram integration with Facebook Timeline and creating a stronger web presence for Instagram, because there is no official website for users to visit and manage photos. User’s may be worried about their cherished app being changed for the worse, but Zuckerberg stated on his Facebook page that the Instagram brand would be kept intact. This has been compared to when Google bought You Tube. It’s a strategic and defensive business move that will continue to increase the success of Instagram, Facebook’s mobile platform and photo sharing among social networks.

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Weekly Wrap – Twitter Tuesday

Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

Twitter opens office in Detroit

Detroit, Michigan is going through a “tech renaissance” and Twitter is the latest to join the scene, opening their office there last Wednesday. The office will be based in the M@dison Building, a historic building shared by several tech startups and will be led by Greg Myrick.

The “Motor City” office will serve marketers and ad agencies in the region, including the automotive companies that are the reason behind the city’s nickname. Automotive companies such as General Motors have already worked with Twitter on Promoted Products campaigns.

Twitter sues five spammers

We all hate spam, especially on social media. As social networks get more popular they become targets for spammers. Twitter is now taking action by suing five of the most aggressive tool providers and spammers. In a blog post, Twitter explains:

“By shutting down tool providers, we will prevent other spammers from having these services at their disposal. Further, we hope the suit acts as a deterrent to other spammers, demonstrating the strength of our commitment to keep them off Twitter.”

In addition to the lawsuit, the engineering team also launched new anti-spam measures, such as using Twitter’s link shortening service (t.co) to analyze whether tweeted links could contain malicious content. But we need to do our part too. There are people that avoid tweeting about certain topics that tend to attract lots of spam, such as hot new tech products. Instead of (or in addition to) this, when you see a spammy tweet make sure to report it.

Big week for Instagram leaves app dominating Trending Topics

Last Tuesday, Instagram for Android was released. As a result, Instagram was a trending topic for days. Also trending was #TeamAndroid as Android users celebrated iPhone users having one less “exclusive” app. This resulted in one of the frequent Android vs. iPhone debates on Twitter.

Then yesterday, Instagram was acquired by Facebook, prompting hilarious tweets about the acquisition (more here). Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram both became Trending Topics, with Instagram still being the 7th most popular Trending Topic in the U.S.

Beyonce finally tweets

Although the verified @beyonce Twitter account has existed since 2009, no tweets had ever been sent from the account…until last Thursday. As part of a complete redesign of her digital presence, Beyonce sent her first tweet to announce her redesigned website. She also launched a blog on Tumblr, titled ‘I Am.’

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Madonna’s Social Launch of MDNA

Thursday, April 5th, 2012

Madonna has never had much of a presence on social media, but she is a woman known for reinventing herself time and time again. For her 12th studio album, MDNA which came out on March 26, she has sworn off traditional methods of promotion such as posing for magazine covers and performing on morning shows. This has allowed her to spend less time traveling all over the country and more time rehearsing for her upcoming tour. Instead of interacting with middle men to promote her album, she is going directly to the fans.

Facebook engagement

Madonna only conducted one in-person interview, sitting down with Jimmy Fallon on March 24. But even that had a social aspect. The interview was broadcasted via livestream on her Facebook page, and you needed to “Like” the page in order to watch the live interview. The interview took place in a makeshift studio at Facebook’s New York office. The audio was a little hard to hear at times, but you could still hear Fallon’s hilarious comments while they listened to parts of the album. Fallon and Madonna exchanged banter about her classic ‘Borderline’ and Madonna went on to sing a few lines. Madonna even taught Fallon some dance moves, which the Facebook employees in the audience thoroughly enjoyed! Fallon also asked Madonna questions that fans were submitting in real time.

In preparation for the livestream, her manager, Guy Oseary worked with Facebook to fill out her timeline with old music videos, live performances, and photo shoots. Sneak previews of tracks from MDNA were released and shared on Facebook leading up to the album’s release, and fans can even answer polls asking which songs from her previous albums she should perform on her upcoming tour.

Madonna’s big Twitter debut

Up until a few weeks ago, Madonna had no presence on Twitter. But she began tweeting from @MadonnaMDNAday the day before MDNA’s release on March 26. Then on the day of the release she hosted a live Twitter chat using the #askmadonna hashtag. She tweeted with Ryan Seacrest, Ellen Degeneres, and thousands of fans who had been submitting questions for a few days leading up to the chat, as well as in real-time.

Fans asked questions about her vocal warm-ups, her favorite foods, and her opinions of other celebrities such as Justin Bieber. Madonna really liked the suggestion of one participant to film her next tour in 3D, giving fans yet another thing to look forward to in the pop diva’s career.

While it was originally said that Madonna was only joining Twitter for one day, she appears to still be tweeting. She is still answering fan questions as well as engaging with celebrities such as Lionel Richie and Jessie J. She has even had a Twitter conversation with Britney Spears about reenacting their on-stage liplock on her upcoming tour, and personally inviting Katy Perry and President Obama to her concerts.

Listening to MDNA

The new promotion methods aren’t just limited to live chats on social media sites. Up until April 1, members of the design-focus daily deals site Fab.com had the opportunity to buy a deluxe version of MDNA for just $7.99, almost half of what it costs from other outlets. Fab.com even dedicated its homepage to MDNA.

Spotify users can enter for a chance to win premium tickets to her sold-out U.S. tour. Users that listen to MDNA three time’s during the first three weeks that it’s out will be entered into the contest, and they can boost their chances of winning by also signing up for a “Madonna Superfans” newsletter.

 

Do you think Madonna’s latest reinvention of her image will be effective?

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Revolution of Social Media: Kony 2012

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

Two days ago, Invisible Children released a video highlighting the abuse committed by Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lords’ Resistance Army (LRA) in central Africa, becoming one of the most viral video campaigns the world has ever seen.

Invisible Children, a movement dedicated to ending conflict in Uganda,  created a call to action,  aiming to raise awareness by making Joseph Kony famous. Because of Invisible Children’s work to raise awareness of his injustice over the past 10 years,  Barack Obama signed the Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009. These acts committed the United States to help bring down Kony and his rebel army. However, in order to continue the search and fight against Kony, Invisible Children must raise support for his arrest amongst people throughout the world.

The documentary,  produced by filmmaker Jason Russel, has over 7 million views, is trending on Twitter, and is inviting thousands to join the movement on Facebook. When I watched the video, in a span of 30 minutes, 4,000 comments were made. The Invisible Children organization has strategically garnered the strength of social media to carry their campaign to the top of the news. Russel emphasizes the strength of social media by noting that 200 years ago, the population of the world was equal to the amount of people on Facebook today. This online platform connects the entire world in one community, and in Kony’s case, unites people for the common good of humankind.

Another tactic Invisible Children is using to gain support against Kony is by involving key celebrities that hold social influence. George Clooney appears in the documentary saying Kony deserves the same amount of spotlight in the media that celebrities have.  A twitter campaign targeting celebrities and influential figures launched last night using the hashtag #STOPKONY.

The video does an amazing job of eliciting an emotional response from it’s viewers. It tells the story of Jacob, a Ugandan boy who describes the death of his brother and fears of being abducted by Kony’s  Army. Russel also uses his toddler son to evoke emotion, by telling him about Kony and the harm he’s done to Jacob’s people. Scary visuals are shown of horrible mutilation done to victims, children hiding out in fear and the children captured by Kony who are forced to kill their families. The documentary leaves viewers feeling empowered and uplifted, because with their support, the fight against Kony can finally end.

The movement encourages supports to to buy action kit/bracelets, make a donation, and sign the pledge against Kony. Also, they are promoting “Cover the Night” in cities around the world on April 20 in a campaign to plaster cities with posters, stickers and banners supporting the arrest of Kony.

The viral phenomenon that Kony 2012 has sparked reveals the true power of social media. Without these platforms, there is no way the world could efficiently raise awareness to support this necessary cause. YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are helping shape human history, in greater ways than we could ever imagine.

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