Tag Archive for 'social-networks'

Reading: Digital vs. Print, Kids vs. Parents

15
Aug
08

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The first in a series of articles by the NY Times that will look at how the Internet and other technological and social forces are changing the way people read:

Children like Nadia lie at the heart of a passionate debate about just what it means to read in the digital age. The discussion is playing out among educational policy makers and reading experts around the world, and within groups like the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association.

As teenagers’ scores on standardized reading tests have declined or stagnated, some argue that the hours spent prowling the Internet are the enemy of reading — diminishing literacy, wrecking attention spans and destroying a precious common culture that exists only through the reading of books.

But others say the Internet has created a new kind of reading, one that schools and society should not discount. The Web inspires a teenager like Nadia, who might otherwise spend most of her leisure time watching television, to read and write.

Don’t miss the graphic that details the skills required to read online:
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#: Is your brand ready to stream itself?

29
Jul
08

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UPDATE: On August 15, 2008 The Trendwatch received a cease and desist letter from the lawyers of a company named Fricken, which states that Fricken owns a trademark for the term ‘brandstream’ so that neither The Trendwatch nor Fullsix are allowed to use that term. I’ve edited the post accordingly.

According to a Universal McCann report, content consumed outside of websites has increased by 153% in the last 9 months. Furthermore, 53% of online users are consuming content outside of a publisher’s site (using widgets, RSS readers, social networks and mobile devices). A pretty good example is Ford’s Digital Snippets: YouTube videos, images from Flickr, extensive usage of tags, RSS…

Just by looking at what’s happening in our (new gorgeous) Fullsix office in New York, we’re helping four of our biggest clients to dive into this. And most of the other ones are convinced that they should develop their own content outside of their brand site. So based on this very unscientific poll, I would say that YES, brands are ready!

Virality 101

10
Apr
08

Virality 101

Virality is one of those big words used so much nowadays that it’s almost blaze. Clients demand it, marketers sought it, but it doesn’t have an effective study done to show how to obtain it. Of course there is some randomness to it – but it also involves some background and context.

Virality can be obtained via the following formula: Continue reading ‘Virality 101′

I heart “we heart it”

09
Apr
08

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Remember my desperate cry for help to get an invite for FFFFOUND? Well, I never got one but it doesn’t really matter. Now I can play with We Heart It.

It’s pretty much the same concept, a social bookmarking tool for images and videos, except that it’s open to everyone. Great inspiration igniter for designers.

But can the 2 sites co-exist or will only one survive the design bookmarking war? Will the invite-only kill FFFFOUND or will it do the opposite, re-enforce the quality of the shared items while We Heart It becomes too mass-market to be considered by the design industry people?

If it’s important, it will find me

28
Mar
08

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That’s, in essence, how the “social media generation” deals with with political news and news in a broader sense. For the first time, social networks and blogs are playing a major role in a presidential campaign in the USA. Facebook, myspace, most of the web 2.0 sites that we use today didn’t exist 4 years ago, during the precedent elections, or with a limited audience.

But as of February 2008, they respectively have 8.6, 17.7 millions average daily visitors.

According to interviews and recent surveys, younger voters tend to be not just consumers of news and current events but conduits as well — sending out e-mailed links and videos to friends and their social networks. And in turn, they rely on friends and online connections for news to come to them. In essence, they are replacing the professional filter — reading The Washington Post, clicking on CNN.com — with a social one.

“There are lots of times where I’ll read an interesting story online and send the U.R.L. to 10 friends,” said Lauren Wolfe, 25, the president of College Democrats of America. “I’d rather read an e-mail from a friend with an attached story than search through a newspaper to find the story.”

Go check out the New York Times article for more details.

Sorry for the almost unrelated Easter photo.

Kristin Davis will love the new Facebook features

19
Mar
08

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Finally, the Privacy Controls in Facebook have been enhanced to give you control over who can see what. Block your ex from seeing any type of content, keep your boss away from your photos and videos tagged of you, and your lame brother from your status updates so that he doesn’t report to Mum. Privacy à-la-carte as it should have been since day 1.

What, you haven’t heard about Sex and the City Charlotte’s privacy issues? It’s here, and not safe for work.

Geek stuff in plain english, for the normal people out there

14
Mar
08

I came across this amazing series of animation at SxSW, developed by the CommonCraft people. A bit like a friendly and condensed version of the “for Dummies” books. But on YouTube.

You’ve been using Twitter for a while now and your friends still think that you’re a psycho. Your client is struggling with RSS feeds and your Mum doesn’t get why you spend so much time on Facebook. Show them these videos:

Also available: Wikis, RSS, Social Networking, Blogs, Online Photo Sharing, Social Bookmarking, and finally Zombies

Totally in line with my new hero’s presentation at SxSW, Kathy Sierra: “What your customers want from you or your product is simple: they want to kick ass, because no one likes to suck!”

The Semi-Long Tail of Social Networks

26
Feb
08

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A good visual reminder that there are other social networks than Facebook and MySpace. Would love to see an update with more recent stats, but it’s a good start! Spotted in a French newspaper by the great BFFB. (We’ll be at SxSW too if you want to meet!)

Facebook Pages for Brands, now with potential usefulness and real awesomeness!

21
Feb
08

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Edgard and I are happy kids today. We’ve been raving for month about the ruined potential of the Facebook Pages as a marketing tool, because of its rigid structure (hard to match a brand’s look and feel), lack of openness (all the elements had to be developed as Facebook apps) and interactivity (no user upload allowed), a paradox for a social platform!

Every time we came up with an idea that would be fun and useful for both the consumers and one of our client, it would either be impossible to develop because of the technical constraints, or way too expensive, since we would have to develop numerous Facebook applications for a single page. So we eventually gave up on the idea.

Until this morning, when I noticed an Update in my Facebook inbox:


Facebook Pages have some new features available for you:

1. User Photo Uploads
Now, your fans will be able to upload photos to your Facebook Page…if you let them. Go to your Facebook Page and Edit on the Photos box to turn on this feature. All New Pages will have this feature pre-enabled upon creation.

2. Dynamic Content in the Profile Box
You can now replace the main picture on your Facebook Page with dynamic content using either the Flash or FBML applications. Just install either of these applicaitons (find them at www.facebook.com/facebookpages and then select the flash/fbml option when you choose to edit your profile picture.) (…)

Wow. All of the issues we had encountered, solved after one message. Your fans can upload pictures on your page, imagine all the possibilities… And no more need to develop Facebook applications using their proprietary language that only few master. And you can have Flash content!!! Dear dear you-know-who-you-are client, Edgard and I are back in the Facebook game, watch your inbox…

For a better World… The Social Tools’ True Purpose

14
Feb
08

Facebooks Causes

Social tools’ usage and potential are far from have been completely explored. This is a fact. Besides their original use – Social Networking for friend aggregation or Social Bookmarking for common bookmarks shared on a webpage – there are subsequent effects and results that have derived from the constant use and reinterpretation of social tools. One specifically comes as a result of peer pressure, generation Y and the Youniverse theory – the rise of a civic and social conscience on the Web.

Surely you’ve come across P. Diddy’s campaign “Vote or Die”. A political service group, Diddy’s group Citizen Change aimed at getting young people to vote. Exercising civic duties is a lost art on younger generations who grew under the influence of disappointed, entertainment driven parents whose disbelief in politicians and economical system influenced the younger people to just not care. Following the words of Bart and Lisa Simpson – “We’re the MTV Generation. We feel neither highs nor lows.” Well, they couldn’t be farther from the truth – this generation simply lacked the necessary tools and influential peer to actually push towards a more civic mind.. Continue reading ‘For a better World… The Social Tools’ True Purpose’




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