Check-in. Get points. Take a photo. Become a Mayor. Complete a challenge. Earn a badge. Move up the leardership board. Win! These are just a few terms that you’ll soon be hearing much more. Recently, several start-ups have been making quite a bit of noice about new mobile applications that combine social media features with location of a mobile phone and add in rewards, points, challenges and prizes to make it fun. … Continue Reading
Whether you read newspapers, watch TV, login to Facebook, listen to podcasts, write a review on Yelp or post a tweet, it is still you, the same person with the same likes and dislikes, values, thoughts and ideas. So, why would companies have different marketers with different messages for each of these channels? Yet, all too often I find companies and PR agencies separating the social media and the traditional media worlds. Recent research by marketing management firm Unica published by eMarketer proves it: “Many marketers keep social campaigns siloed”. … Continue Reading
You might have heard about the Google Sidewiki when it launched in September 2009. Google Sidewiki is a browser sidebar that lets you contribute and read information alongside any web page. The internet was buzzing: “Google’s Sidewiki is a Revolution in Social Media” wrote iMedia Connection, “Google Sidewiki could damage corporate brand reputations” PR Week claimed and “SideWiki will change the lives of beleaguered PR folk” wrote The Guardian. Yet, several months later Sidewiki didn’t take off and PR hasn’t changed. … Continue Reading
By Pete Souza, White House
In a similar way Obama transformed political campaigns, he is now transforming the White House. Today, the administration announced on its blog that the White House is now on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Within minutes, thousands of people joined these new profiles. When I learned about it and joined Facebook fan page of the White House, I was 480th member. Now as I am writing this post (just one hour later), there are more than 32,000 fans. And those are not the only sites the President is using the spread his message. You can also find him on: Vimeo, YouTube, iTunes and Flickr.
Before the arrival of Obama to the White House, the President didn’t even send emails, and now he is on several social media sites. It will be interesting to see how he will be using them. These channels can help Obama spread his message, influence people and pressure legislators through their own constituents. They can also prove invaluable during an emergency, allowing the White House to reach directly and instantly millions of people (for example about the swine flu). … Continue Reading
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom did not announce that he is running for the office of California Governor on Jay Leno like his predecessor. Instead, he chose to make his announcement on twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Why? He is targeting a different audience. As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, Newsom is speaking to the “millennial” voters, those born between 1982 and 2003, which is “the largest and most diverse generation in history.”
Newsom already has a pretty sizeable following on twitter (278,309 followers) and on Facebook (39,286 fans). They are helping him raise his goal of $20,000 ($3k short at the moment) and reach half a million users on the first day of his official campaign. … Continue Reading
