Posts Tagged ‘Twitter’

Writing On Virtual Walls

9 Mar 12

What happens when you take the interaction of Facebook, combine it with the word count limit of Twitter and then top it off with augmented reality? Wallit. A new, free app released Tuesday that creates virtual walls in physical spaces.

Say you’re in a stadium or out somewhere site seeing, you would launch Wallit and see a radar function indicating that a wall had been created where you are (or point you to where other walls exist). You could then view the wall through your smartphone camera screen to see posts, photos, videos and other “marks” made by people who are there at the same time or got there before you.

The app only allows you to post if you’re actually at the place, but posts can be viewed from anywhere. The cool thing about Wallit is that you physically have to be at the place of interest to actively participate in the conversation. Apparently, Apple thinks it’s pretty cool too. The creator of the Wallit, Veysel Berk, says that Apple is already planning 326 Wallit walls to go up in their stores for the launch of iPad 3, all of which will link to a “Super Wall.” The idea is to get the people waiting in line to talk to one another about the product and their experience.

It’ll be interesting to see if, and how, this technology is implemented in other commercial spaces and if it catches on among users.

The Simplest Way To Sell & Shop

19 Oct 11

Although I understand the wonderful world of Twitter, I would probably have to claim novice over expert. Which is why I find things like this website by Sell Simply even more intriguing. They’ve taken something many people are already comfortable with in the social media scene and twisted it to be something new and useful. Simply put, they “turn Tweets into transactions.” 

Not only do they have a new and innovative idea, they’ve created it in a very organized and user friendly environment. They’ve looked at the target, studied how the medium can help them, and implemented it. Plus they are versatile. You can shop via Twitter or their website, and listing can be done with them or imported from other online places. Sellers tweet the item, price and picture for anyone to see, and if you want to make the purchase simply reply all with the word “buy.” And since it’s Twitter you can easily follow sellers you like and search for new listed items.

Coffee Lovers, Rejoice!

11 Aug 11

One super generous, totally random dude named Jonathan Stark wants to make sure our coffee cups are always full. So he created a site called Jonathan’s Card where we can snap a pic of his Starbucks gift card with our smart phones, scan it at any Starbucks location and get a free cup of Joe.

Jonathan Stark, and Starbucks reps alike, claim Stark’s “pay it forward” project is not some kind of underground advertising to pump Starbucks coffee. Stark has told reporters his motivation to create this caffeinated campaign was simply because he thought it would be fun and he feels in the future this same idea could be translated into setting up donations for “someone in a more desperate situation than the average person in line at Starbucks.”

Jonathan’s Card has certainly caught on. In mid July he set up the card with $300 out of pocket. To date the card has reached a total of $8,700. It’s balance has been upped more than 500 times and it’s been withdrawn close to 900 times. Since the start of this project Stark has gained about 10,000 followers on Twitter and 3,000 Facebook fans. These numbers just go to show how powerful social media marketing done right can be. Talk about a win, win for coffee junkies and Jonathan Stark.

Turn Your Frown Upside-Down, Get Free Pudding

21 Jul 11

If you’ve been entertained by Jell-o’s ‘Pudding Face’ TV spots, just wait until you see how Pudding Face translates to Twitter.

Yesterday’s AdWeek featured the Jell-o Pudding Face mood-o-meter, which gauges America’s mood via Twitter. The campaign, by Crispin Porter + Bogusky, identifies “smiley” or “frowny” tweets based on their use of : ) or : (. If at any point the average “smiley” tweets fall below 51 percent, Jell-o sends out free pudding coupons to random frowners.

Jell-o is hoping that a : D on Twitter will soon become the universal symbol for Pudding Face. What a fun idea to get people smiling and eating more pudding.

The Search For Pop Chips VP

16 Mar 11

I love me a good crowdsourcing effort. A chance when a brand runs a contest to make a person’s dreams come true. Something that’s inspiring. Something that has a prize. Something involving Ashton Kutcher.

Months ago, we gave a shoutout to Ashton Kutcher on Twitter when he was declared the President of Pop Culture by a favorite Sawtooth brand – Pop Chips (and he tweeted back to us!!!!). Well the search has been on to find his Vice President. And it could be any of us! It’s now down to 5 finalists, who submitted videos online declaring their candidacy. Here’s the video that kicked it all off.

I, Alyson Goode – Senior Account Executive at The Sawtooth Group, was tempted to submit a video to become AK’s VP to this Facebook-run campaign. But then I realized, perhaps I am not cool enough to keep up with Ashton’s PUNK’d awesomeness. I salute those who have made it to the final 5, and can’t wait to see who is voted to this prestigious position. I am voting for Diane Mizota!

Your Favorite Celebrity Is Dead For A Cause

2 Dec 10

Kim Kardashian, Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Ryan Seacrest… they’re all dead. Digitally dead that is.

In honor of World AIDS Day, your favorite celebrities have sacrificed their Twitter and Facebook accounts until their fans raise enough money, to the tune of a million dollars each, to bring them back to life. What a great way to leverage social media to rally awareness and support for families affected by HIV and AIDS.

Jay-Z’s Vision, Your Voice

11 Nov 10

Thank you Mashable for making me seem much cooler than I really am. If it weren’t for you and your daily dose of late-breaking social media news, I’d be in the dark about the brand new, blindingly brilliant Jay-Z’s Hits Collection site.

You’ll feel like you’ve been transported to New York City through Jay-Z’s eyes. In fact, just being on this site made me feel like a rap star.

The site is divided into four eras, each representing one chapter in the rise of his career. Music from each era leads you through a video journey that leads to more Jay-Z treasures. Check out photos, discography and more. And you can even participate with other fans by sharing memories, reviews and commentary via the Twitter option to “Add Your Voice.”

The site was created by Agency Net along with Island Def Jam based on the insight that “fans love to use social media, particularly Twitter, to post Jay-Z lyrics and illustrate their dexterity.”

Fans also love to feel like they’re in the know. My Jay-Z fan-dom has increased just by being on this site. I’ll be right back, I gotta go Tweet about this.

Share Some “Crazy” With The World

1 Oct 10

Do you know someone a little off their rocker? Someone kind of out there who feels compelled to blurt out every bizare thing that pops into their head? If so, you may have hit the jackpot. Or, you may just be associated with a strange individual.

A while back, CBS made a TV deal with the Twitter account creator of @shitmydadsays – one old man’s R-rated advice passed on to his twenty-something year old son, who passes it on to the world via Twitter. Apparently the show is doing so, so. Which poses the question, can 140 characters actually translate into 22 minutes of engaging weekly content?

Well, CBS is still betting on it. They currently have another deal brewing with @shhdontellsteve – a college kid who “secretly” tweets about the insane things his roommate “Steve” does and says. I follow @shhdontellsteve and think it’s pretty funny. I also think Don’t Tell Steve has a better shot at being successful. “Steve’s” stupid everyday antics could prove to be good material for a college based comedy that appeals to a younger crowd. And, c’mon, if anyone could spin this type of humor it’s Ashton Kutcher, one of the three executive producers on the project.

Whether or not 140 characters proves to be sustainable TV, I think the lesson learned is this; if you know a clown like “Steve,” jot down his/her ramblings, start a Twitter account and hopefully one day score a TV deal that’ll pay for plenty of celebratory cocktails for you and your coo coo friend.


(Referring to Lost season finale. Love it!)

Social Media Makeover

22 Jul 10

Are you a magazine lover? Prefer flipping through glossy pages rather than scrolling down an endless computer screen? Well, now you don’t have to wait for your monthly subscription. In fact, you can get your magazine fix as fast as your friends are posting stuff on Facebook and Twitter.

Yesterday, Flipboard launched as the “world’s first social magazine.” The new app, created only for iPad, is changing the way we view our constantly updating, sometimes cluttered social media spaces.

Flipboard syncs to your Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as other popular news sources you choose. It then searches those feeds for highly engaged items, ones with the most likes, comments and retweets. Once it finds everything of interest, it displays the content in a cleanly designed magazine-like layout on your iPad. You can read everything your friends are reading with the flip of a page.

Flipboard is backed by some pretty heavy hitters, including Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and Ashton Kutcher. Its creators Mike McCue, former CEO of Tellme, and Evan Doll, a former iPhone engineer at Apple, are hoping the app will revolutionize the way we browse multimedia.

I’m all for giving clunky social media sites like Facebook a facelift, but for right now that would require me owning an iPad. Someday…

Take That Facebook!

12 Jul 10

At a time when it’s increasingly simple to tell thousands of your closest friends about your spoken word/castanet/tango mash-up project through Twitter and Facebook, it’s completely understandable that some might believe that the photocopied event poster tacked to the lamppost might be on its last legs. While putting up 500 posters in the right neighborhood might get a lot of eyes, without any referral from someone you trust, these posters have to do a lot of work to convince a passerby that whatever they’re pushing is worth the time/financial investment. That’s where Facebook and Twitter really succeed in this area – you get trusted referral as a recipient and you get incredible targeting as the disseminator. So, sorry poster.

But wait . . . Bradford Cox may be coming to the rescue. In an effort to hype up the September 28th release of Deerhunter’s album Halcyon Digest, 4AD has launched a microsite for the record where fans can download a jpeg of a flyer announcing the release. The fan is encouraged to print this flyer, hang it up in their town, take a photo of the poster in context once it’s hung and submit that photo back to the site. As a reward, said fan gets a free digital download of the first single off the record immediately and the promise of another preview track in a few weeks. What a great inclusion of the tangible object into what really is primarily a digital initiative – a way to make what could feel really impersonal, completely personal – something faceless online sharing can sometimes lack. A campaign that’s actually social in a real way – a real exchange of information with huge potential upside for the label
and artist.

What’s the label/artist get: PR buzz about the tactic, a free street team hanging posters and spreading WOM love, a more dedicated and engaged audience who feels like they’ve been part of the process, loads of information about their audience (email addresses at least) via photo submissions not to mention all of the photos submitted by fans.

What’s the fan get: free mp3s to which they’ll have exclusive access for the 5 minutes before they leak to the rest of the web and the satisfaction of knowing they’ve helped promote one of their favorite bands.

Well done 4AD.