facebook founder: i need more.
Because we all know that being co-founder of Facebook isn't enough, Chris Hughes has launched another fantabulous company. Jumo.com looks to help people help the world.
Users get matched to causes and organizations based on their skillsets and resources. The tool helps discover people with resources and then match them with the cause that makes the most sense. It sounds like Linked In meets Facebook meets a dream come true for the non-profits and people in need across the globe.
The site doesn't officially launch until this Fall, but in the meantime you can sign up and let Jumo know a little about you. Learn more in the FastCompany profile on Chris.
Labels: facebook, nonprofit, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:42 AM
2 comments
Monday, March 01, 2010
lady gaga: get rid of your login
Here's proof that if your site requires a login and you're not integrating the current leading social media systems, you're losing customers:
89% of users coming to LadyGaga.com chose a third-party logon rather than create a new account. This is the future. People are comfy with their Facebook, Twitter and OpenID logins. They don't need a new one for your site, too. From @jcioban.
Labels: facebook, marketing, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:30 AM
0 comments
Thursday, February 25, 2010
tell your boss you need more facebook time
Here's some nice proof from efficiency experts that say spending time on Twitter and Facebook during the day make you more productive.
Yep. You should tweet this, and then send it to your boss.
Labels: facebook, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:39 AM
0 comments
Thursday, February 18, 2010
google and facebook, toe to toe
Some people believe that there's only room for one social network. And that Google wants to beat Facebook wants to beat Twitter wants to beat something we don't know about yet.
If you're worried about which tool is the best, who is going to win, or believe there's only room for one, then you'll want to check out Google vs. Facebook. Sign in to both and see which of your friends respond on which network.
And then celebrate victory with a beer. Just because you can. That's what social media fight champions do.
Labels: facebook, google, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:45 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
don't have a valentine? how about the meter maid?
Skittles has launched a promotion that's asking you to join their "mob the rainbow." A rainbow mob is like a flash mob, only it doesn't necessarily involve showing up to a particular place, and its goal is to spread happy rainbow goodness. (Like a flash mob for lazy people.)
This particular rainbow mob is all about sending some random meter maid a valentine. If we all do it, she'll get a kabillion valentines and be the most loved meter maid in meter maid history. Or, she'll be really freaked out and give us all tickets.
Nice idea, and great tie to the rainbow of deliciousness.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:03 AM
0 comments
Thursday, February 04, 2010
everyone loves tasty bagels
Here's another fantastic case study about how a brand has leveraged Facebook to bring customers to their door. It turns out that coupons delivered through Facebook have a much stronger response rate than those old school FSI things.
Tell your boss to allocate 34 kabillion dollars to social media this year.
Labels: facebook, retail, social media, yummyfood
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:43 AM
2 comments
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
broadcasting live...on facebook
Bubblicious reviews Bambuser, a Swedish live video streaming service that lets you broadcast directly to your Facebook fan page. Live.
uStream and Justin.tv already feature Facebook integration in their products, but according to Bubblicious, Bambuser has made it simpler than ever. And simple wins.
Labels: facebook, social media, video
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:37 AM
1 comments
Friday, January 15, 2010
facebook: the power of change for small business
Here's a cute story about how Facebook (and more importantly, a retailer's fans) made a difference for a small business. Coffee Labs, a dog friendly emporium in Tarrytown, NY got into trouble with their local health department for being dog friendly.
The business created a fan page for local dog owners to declare their love for the shop. Facebook + cute dogs + coffee = local tv magic. Naturally, this gets picked up by the local news, and before you know it, a local attorney gets involved and writes a waiver for the coffee shop.
Small business, small change, that made a difference in one community. Would your customers come to your rescue?
Labels: facebook, retail, social media, yummyfood
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:41 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
behind the scenes at facebook
Paranoid? Conspiracy theorist? Just want to know more about Facebook?
Here's a fascinating read: an interview with an anonymous Facebook employee. Some fantastic (and maybe a little bit creepy) information here.
Did you know that Facebook is the largest photo distributor in the world? From @cord
Labels: facebook, social media, webdev
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:21 AM
0 comments
Monday, January 04, 2010
if star wars had facebook
Have you ever wondered what Star Wars might have been like, if Facebook was around? Yeah. Me too. From @paulmcenany
Labels: facebook, film, pop culture, viral
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:54 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
stuff you'll need on the competing airline
If you haven't seen the JetBlue Flyer's Collection campaign, you'll want to check out their Facebook promotion. The site features a fictional catalog of items that you might need if you fly with other airlines. Cute, great execution and copy.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:25 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
facebook a boon for small town tourism
What do you do when you're marketing a smaller tourism location? Disney, Paris, NYC and other international draws have million dollar campaigns and just as many resources at their disposal. But what about Lynchburg, Virginia?
Plenty of smaller markets have businesses, museums, fairs and events all worthy of attention. Small Biz Survival points out that Lynchburg, Virginia has been able to use Facebook advertising to bring real results to their campaigns.
Display advertising used to cost thousands of dollars, and now they're connecting with larger audiences for just hundreds of dollars. Think your market is too small? We'll bet there's a few hundred Facebook users that disagree. From @brickandclick.
Labels: facebook, marketing, social media, travel
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:57 AM
0 comments
Monday, December 14, 2009
giving the gift of facebook
Facebook should pay Chris Kieff for this great holiday thinking, and turn this into a full fledged campaign.
Chris points out that you have the skills to give a most awesome gift to a loved one this year. The gift of Facebook.
Think about how grandma's life would be changed if you hooked her up with her very own Facebook page. Not so that she could meet single men, but so that she can see what's going on in the family. Even when she becomes what we call a "lurker", she'll be plugged into the family happenings, see loads of pictures, and as Chris says, will enrich her life immensely.
Chris outlines everything you need to do, so that you can sit back, enjoy eggnog and have everyone else saying "wish I thought of that."
Labels: facebook, holiday, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:57 AM
2 comments
Monday, November 30, 2009
foursquare: golden opportunity for retail
@charliecurve and @ericurbane were having some interesting chat over the weekend in Twitterville. They both see FourSquare as one of the first location aware social services that allow retailers to connect with their customers in a new way.
FourSquare lets users tag where they're at, and where they've been. Doing so on multiple times lets you earn badges and credit, and if you check into any one place more than anyone else, you become "mayor" of the joint.
Charlie and Eric correctly point out that if you're in retail, this is a golden opportunity. Why not reward your Mayor? Have a contest? Give discounts to other FourSquare visitors? They're already shouting about your establishment...why not join the conversation?
And Facebook is coming to the party too...are you ready?
Labels: facebook, foursquare, retail, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:48 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
facebook invites: stop doing it wrong
Facebook has taken the time to build a fantastic system for reaching out to friends in extremely targeted ways. So why am I getting invited to a party halfway across the world, in Tel Aviv tomorrow night?
Peter Shankman writes about the five types of Facebook invites that shouldn't really need to happen. Funny and true.
Think about this before you invite all of your friends to your next event. From CC Chapman.
Labels: facebook, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:41 AM
1 comments
Friday, November 06, 2009
twitter = second youngest of all social networks
ReadWriteWeb has some super interesting perspective on the population of the socialverse. When you look at the median age of each social network's audience, here's how they line up:
Twitter: 31
MySpace: 26
LinkedIn: 39
Facebook: 33
The report also shows that Facebook is getting older, as the retirement class continue to flock to the network. They also report that Gen Y is warming to Twitter - 37% of those 18-24 now use Twitter when only 19% did back in December 2008. Celebrities? Because their workmates are doing it? Who knows. What we do know: LinkedIn is for the super old. ;)
Labels: facebook, social media, trends, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:24 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
clean those stupid photos from your friend's facebook
Wisk just launched a Facebook application that allows you to "clean" the stupid, nasty, ridiculous or embarrassing photos that your friends have uploaded to Facebook.
Actually, it lets you tag photos that you don't like, points them out to your friends, and if they agree, Wisk will "clean" them from their profile. So much for the internet being permanent.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:33 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
peace commented on your status.
We've seen countless examples of how social media can break down barriers, and get people chatting about things that they haven't had the opportunity (or channel) to discuss before.
Facebook has always proudly claimed that they bring the world together in this manner. To that end, they've launched Peace on Facebook, a hub of...peace. They're posting interesting content and metrics regarding Facebook's connectivity during strenuous times - like the chart above showing friend connections across conflict zones. From CNET News
Labels: facebook, politics, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:59 AM
0 comments
Friday, October 23, 2009
windows does something right
Amazing. Miraculous. Windows actually launched an interactive campaign that makes sense. Brian Morrissey writes about the Windows Facebook page that launched the other day.
They've even included a content aggregator within the page that pulls feeds from all of the other social media properties like Twitter, blogs and YouTube, and shares what people are saying about the product. Windows. Working. Wow.
Labels: ads, facebook, microsoft, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:43 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
what's happening right now
News from the Herd points to a super cool tool that monitors statistics of the social mediaverse and streams them live. Because you're all about the here and now. Amazing.
Labels: facebook, social media, trends, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:04 AM
1 comments
Thursday, September 10, 2009
putting the money behind a cause
Aflac is up to something pretty spectacular. (disclosure: Aflac is a client of Plaid.) You're certainly familiar with the fact that the Aflac duck is one of the most recognized brands on earth. But did you also know that they're associated with a giant cause?
The Aflac Cancer Center is an extremely worthwhile cause - and they're doing some pretty cool things on Facebook and the internets that other non-profits and causes could learn from.
Aflac has committed to donating a dollar for every person that joins their cause on Facebook. They're essentially paying you to join their cause. (An easy way for people to get involved and make a difference.)
They've also committed to matching a dollar for every dollar donated. (Incentive for users to give now.)
And they're organizing and spreading the word using the Causes application on Facebook (an application with an impressive history and founders.)
Well done. (and not even our work!)
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:22 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
run my errand: like having interns on call
Run my Errand is a new service that gets someone else to do your chores for you.
From Mashable: You import your Facebook data via Facebook Connect. Once done, you just add the details of your errand, when you need it done, where it should be done, and who should run the errand. Once posted, a RunMyErrand runner will pick up the task and execute it.
Most errands are completed by a background-checked errand runner for less than $10. Sounds like a win. The startup company is funded by the Facebook Fund and currently only available in Boston - but plans on spreading to 14 other cities soon.
Labels: facebook, productivity, web2.0
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:49 AM
3 comments
Friday, August 28, 2009
please stop having sex in front of the window
The Standard Hotel in NYC sits on top of the new High Line Park. The Standard also features rooms that are pretty much all window. And they actively promoted the possibilities that the windows present on their website.
The Gothamist reports that their Facebook page tells fans "We encourage you to exercise your inner exhibitionist," and their website asks, "Whatever you do, just make sure the shots are HOT and that you get them to us in whichever way you can. It's all about sex all the time, and you're our star."
And then families from Ohio became surprised at the live peep shows. Or maybe the highline was becoming too crowded with viewers. Or maybe it was just the NY Post article.
Now the Standard is changing their marketing message. They've cleaned up their website marketing copy, and now warn visitors that their rooms are essentially on display while the curtains are open. (Although the Facebook group still seems pretty sexy.)
Whatever the case, you can bet that the the hotel sex as marketing message has them booked through the end of the year.
Labels: facebook, hospitality, newyork
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:47 AM
3 comments
Friday, August 07, 2009
the future of retail is here
Just like retailers have outposts across the world, and place products in places that you're likely going to find yourself in a need for in just the right place (like vending machines in airports,) Facebook has added e commerce. The 800 Flowers store is now open. So Facebook can remind you that it's your girlfriends birthday, and now you can buy her some flowers in the same place. Awesomeness. We can't wait to see this spread, and the possibilities that it might bring to retailers.
Thanks to Facebook's mediocre search functionality, I noticed the 800 Flowers Sucks group first - but eventually, you can find the actual Facebook page and shop.
Let's hope that the store is placed contextually within your Facebook experience, so you get the opportunity to buy at just the right time. The future on the internet is going to be awesome.
Labels: facebook, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:54 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
using facebook connect to create a personal brand experience
This is one of the best uses of Facebook connect that we've seen yet. (Click on the buoy on the far right.)
This wins because it uses your personal information to create a more personal experience. That's the way to capture attention without leaving users feeling icky or taken advantage of. Shark week wins.
Thanks, Rob!
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:17 AM
0 comments
Monday, July 27, 2009
Bill Gates quits Facebook over 'too many friends'
Bill Gates quits facebook over "too many friends". I knew I was cool, this is exactly the same reason I quit facebook. Now, why don't I have a bazillion dollars? I'm doing this wrong.
Gates, who remains Microsoft chairman, said he had trouble figuring out whether he "knew this person, did I not know this person".
"It was just way too much trouble so I gave it up," Gates told the business forum.
When the primary reason for using a service becomes a hassle, what can the service do?
Labels: facebook, social media
posted by Åsk Dabitch @ 6:22 AM
0 comments
Thursday, July 09, 2009
facebook fan pages now embeddable everywhere
Plaid on Facebook
Facebook just announced a cool new feature for marketers - embeddable fan boxes. Now you can embed your Facebook fan page into other sites. This gives brands more freedom to utilize (and share) their Facebook presence. This brings your Facebook presence outside of the walls of Facebook, and shows your non-Facebook fans what they're missing on the inside.
Smart. This will be interesting to experiment with, and explore the possibilities.
Labels: facebook, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:41 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
dad's on facebook. let's bolt.
iStrategy Labs just released some analysis of audience demographics from Facebook's Social Ads platform.
There's an amazing increase of 513.7% of the 55+ users. The bad news? 16.5% less high school students and 21.7% less college users.
If you review census data, there's a drop in population of high school students this year and next year - could this be the net effect? Or, if Facebook has become all about celebrating your past - perhaps kids don't have enough past to make it worthwhile?
Whatever - in the meantime, realize that most marketers of 55+ products and services AREN'T doing anything valuable in Facebook. Opportunity is knocking.
Thanks Ben Kunz!
Labels: facebook, social media, trends, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:23 AM
1 comments
Monday, June 22, 2009
facebook and twitter: the facts
Here's everything that you wanted to know about Facebook and Twitter, presented in an easy to love wonderous info graphic.
If you're too lazy to click through, here's some juicy facts for your breakfast pleasure:
+ There's 50% more tweet activity during the week vs the weekend.
+ 850 million photos are uploaded to Facebook every month. Some are embarrassing.
+ Facebook now has more users than Brazil has citizens.
(Check out the graphic for even more delicious social media factoids.)
Labels: facebook, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:26 AM
1 comments
Thursday, June 11, 2009
a glimpse into the future
You probably already know that Facebook plans on allowing vanity urls starting at midnight on Friday.
If you don't already know someone who can travel time and deliver messages from the future, then you might want to check out this post from Anil Dash.
Mr. Dash cleverly predicts how this whole Facebook username thing will go down, and you'll find it humorous if you're the internet geek type of person. (Otherwise, move along - nothing to see here.)
SIDE NOTE: You'll need to have at least 1000 fans on your fan page (as of 5/31/09) in order to get a vanity url for your page. But if you already own the trademark to your company name, you can still prevent enemies from snagging it.
See you Friday night!
Labels: facebook
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:00 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
now you have plans friday night
In case you haven't heard, Facebook will be allowing vanity urls. Which means that if you want to feature your brand's name in the url of your Facebook page, (Facebook.com/YourBrandHere), you'll need to be at the big Facebook dance on Friday.
At midnight eastern time, Facebook opens up the doors. Imagine a free-for-all, with plenty of system crashes, frustration and headache for everyone. But maybe that's the type of thing you really dig on a Friday night.
Techcrunch has more details on why you'll need to choose your name carefully. See you Friday.
Labels: facebook, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:22 AM
0 comments
Thursday, June 04, 2009
what's inside the facebook space?
Facebook just moved into new digs, and if you're interested, Sir Robert Scoble has a preview photo tour. The full tour will be posted at the mysterious Building 43 in a few days.
Things that I wish were in our office:
+ A soda machine
+ A "culinary overlord"
+ Mark Zuckerberg's wallet
Normally, it's contrived and silly when people name their conference rooms "creatively," but I have to admit that "Mega Mustard Man" is pretty sweet.
Labels: architecture, facebook, workplace
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:02 AM
0 comments
Monday, June 01, 2009
facebook with your name on it
At some point this week, Facebook will begin to allow vanity urls. So you could finally put Facebook.com/YourBrandHere in your ads. This was something that was previously only available to brands with enough dough to pay megabucks, or to the personal friends of people inside Facebook.
Watch for the announcement some time this week, and then rush to get the url of your choice.
Labels: branding, facebook, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:46 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
what works on facebook
Appdata charts the most successful applications on Facebook.
News from the Herd has some interesting observations. First and foremost - the lack of any branded applications at the top of the leaderboard. Likely because most of the branded apps are intrusive, brand-in-your-face type applications that aren't providing real value to their users.
Herd suggests three routes to the creation of a successful application:
1. Produce addictive but simple to use games that don’t force ad messaging down users throats
2. Give them a way to organise their lives, and/ or:
3. Provide them with mildly competitive ‘social comparison’ tools vs their friends.
Here's what's cool: the rules haven't entirely changed. Things that provide value will always succeed over things that don't. What can your brand do to provide value to its fans, users and Facebook friends?
Labels: branding, facebook, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:39 AM
0 comments
Monday, May 04, 2009
smart people listen to...counting crows?
The Wall Street Journal reports about a 25-year-old Caltech graduate student that has mashed together data from those silly Facebook "Favorite Artists/Books" lists with data from College Board's SAT scores database, to create Books and Music that Make you Dumb.
It seems that the smart people are enjoying Beethoven and Counting Crows. (Sigh.) From HeeHaw Marketing
Labels: facebook, mashup, music, pop culture
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:46 AM
1 comments
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
old people: i'm confused.
You've heard before that fastest growing demographic on Facebook is the 35+ age bracket. That audience could be at risk, if you believe what MarketingVOX and Techcrunch have to say.
I've seen myself in the presentations that I've given on social media - how few people are using anything beyond the basics of Facebook.
Apparently, old people prefer Twitter for its simplicity. We think it's much more complex than that, but are enjoying all the chatter about Twitter versus Facebook. Can't we just use them all?
(Sidebar: please check out this post on Mashable, for an AWESOME rundown on how to manage your Facebook friends in a way that won't get you fired.)
Labels: facebook, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:09 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
facebook to open status updates to developers
Soon you'll be able to incorporate Facebook status updates into all sorts of fun promotional and engaging tools.
Mashable has an excellent synopsis of what's expected to roll out, outlining the key difference between this potential Facebook access versus the access that developers already have to Twitter. (In short, Twitter is wide open, Facebook allows users to approve every individual use.)
We're excited - this means more opportunities, more tools and more fun for Facebook users, for brands and for all citizens of the internet nation.
Labels: facebook, mashup, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:27 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
this twitter thing is probably going to be really huge
I'm trying really hard not to continually add to the hype about Twitter. But there's new stuff being developed every day, and you need to know.
The latest twitterawesome development is Sign In with Twitter. Clearly an effort to compete with Facebook Connect.
Here's the deal: In the future, you'll be able to log in anywhere you want using just your Facebook OR Twitter ID. No more unwieldy usernames and passwords filling up your pockets. You'll travel lighter. And you'll have a jetpack.
Labels: facebook, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:07 AM
0 comments
Friday, April 17, 2009
the spectrum of online friends
Have you struggled at attempting to describe your online friendships to your Amish friends who just don't understand the power of Twitter?
Thankfully, Mike Arauz has made this difficult topic even easier to understand with his spectrum of online friends graphic. Print a bunch of these, and just hand them out to your meat-space friends who don't understand. From News from the Herd.
Labels: facebook, social media, trends, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:01 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
annoy your friends and promote a movie at the same time
To promote the movie Crank: High Voltage, the Visionaire Group created a Facebook application that lets you crank your friends. The piece puts fun things in your newsfeed that your buddies will appreciate:
+ Comments about your grandma having sex
+ You and a goat in love
+ You and a random friend hooking up
+ You protesting bestiality laws
Complete all 14 challenges and you're entered into a drawing to win $1000. Your friends are worth less than that. And your newsfeed has been a little boring. What are you waiting for?
Labels: facebook, film, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:27 AM
1 comments
Thursday, April 02, 2009
how to give better facebook
Mashable is celebrating Facebook Week with a series of Facebookish posts. (How did we not hear about Facebook week?? Are there parties? Will there be cake??)
Yesterday's 5 Tips for Optimizing Your Brand’s Facebook Presence is a gem. If you're too lazy to click through, here's the top level tips:
1. Create the perfect profile picture
2. Optimize your website’s Share Preview
3. Display different content for Fans and non-Fans
4. Create your own vanity URL
5. Define a publishing schedule for your content
All awesome advice.
Labels: facebook, marketing, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:09 AM
0 comments
your social media strategy in a single quote
Advertising Lab finds a sensational quote from Mike Arauz that could sum up a brand's social media strategy:
"If I tell my Facebook friends about your brand, it's not because I like your brand, but rather because I like my friends."
Well said.
Labels: facebook, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:51 AM
0 comments
Friday, March 20, 2009
everything's coming together now
One of the more exciting things that we learned about while attending SXSW this year was Facebook's announcement about their Facebook Connect product.
With the latest version of Facebook Connect, developers can produce iPhone applications that utilize Facebook logins and allow users to share experiences, information and actions with their Facebook friends. Additionally, Facebook Connect has now made it easier than ever to integrate their login into nearly any internet application.
One cool example: Twitter users who are tweeting with Tweetdeck can now send a tweet and decide to publish to their Twitter stream, their Facebook newsfeed, or both. You can also receive your friends status updates in Tweetdeck - so you can magically keep up with everything in one snazzy dashboard.
This has agencies like us pretty pumped. Think about the 175 million Facebook users. And know that more than half of all mobile web traffic is now coming from iPhones.
We see practical uses for nearly all of our clients. iPhone applications that let users play games together. Blog comments that are shared across a user's Facebook news feed. There are countless opportunities, possibilities and solutions. Let's chat. Let's get started.
Labels: facebook, social media, sxsw, technology
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:47 AM
1 comments
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
facebook driving more traffic than google
Advertising Age has an interesting piece on how Facebook is starting to drive more traffic than Google, for some sites.
Facebook already gets a little more than a third of Google's unique visitors in the U.S. (50 million vs. 149 million in January, per ComScore says AdAge)
How is this happening? Why do two gossip sites show up on the list of places that Facebook is driving better than Google? Because people aren't searching. They're finding.
This isn't about advertising or SEO. It's about relationships. Facebook is indeed the place people go to hang out and catch up with their friends. And their friends are sharing items of mutual interest. Like funny posts on gossip blogs.
So - how do you get some of this Facebook juice to your site? Create content (not a bunch of banner ads) that people want to share.
Labels: facebook, google, social media, trends
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:59 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
it's good for you that big brands are getting social
There's a great post on Mashable about why it's cool for all of us that big brands are using social media. Read the list and you'll realize just how much business has changed - and will continue to change in the foreseeable future.
Transparency = quality product = stories = relationships = community. Nice.
Labels: branding, facebook, social media, trends, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:17 AM
0 comments
Thursday, March 05, 2009
millenials like facebook pages. but don't click on ads.
Check out these these sweet stats, facts and bullet points about millenials and their use of social media. One cool thing: 62% of Millennials admitted they've visited a brand or fan page on a social network; 48% actually joined.
It's not included in the report, but we're also guessing that 74% of millenials actually think the name "millenials" is stupid.
Labels: facebook, social media, trends
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:40 AM
2 comments
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
are some relationships better off forgotten?
A funny little presentation about Facebook. You know that you tell your teens to be careful about what they put on the internet, but what about your band geek friends from high school?? From David Armano.
Labels: creativeinspiration, facebook, parody, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:07 AM
4 comments
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
the first status update on a business card
This is a super hot idea for a business card. Kim Bost has created a card that instantly connects, makes a statement, and is flexible for the way she's feeling or the person she's meeting.
Awesome idea that you wish you thought of.
Labels: creativeinspiration, design, facebook, identity, social media, trends, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:16 AM
3 comments
giving up facebook for god
Lots of Christians have a big holiday coming up. And many of them will be giving up something as a sacrifice, for Lent. Many are predicted to give up Facebook. (Gah!!)
If you fall into this category - be responsible. This isn't like giving up Girl Scout cookies. You can't leave all of your Facebook friends wondering what happened to you. Cnet has the ultimate guide to giving up Facebook, for lent. It would be a good idea to listen to their suggestions.
Alternately, maybe you could just give up something really easy to live without. Like alligator wrestling, or motor oil baths. But I suppose that defeats the purpose.
Labels: facebook, religion, social media, trends
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:52 AM
0 comments
Monday, February 16, 2009
facebook: we own you. forever.
Facebook just changed their Terms of Service Agreement. Their new agreement gives them some pretty wide reaching control over what used to be known as your content.
The Consumerist has an excellent breakdown of the TOS, and what it all means, so that you don't actually have to read the small print.
Labels: facebook, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:09 AM
0 comments
Friday, January 16, 2009
friday flakes episode two
Here's episode two of Friday Flakes! Today's Friday Flakes is hosted by RJ and Darryl.
In this week's episode, we talk about:
+ A crazified, cold and gummi-less week at Plaid.
+ Darryl's zombie thumbnail
We highlight two posts from BrandFlakes:
+ A pirate store helps a non-profit
+ Yet another social media network that Caff and Dirk turned us onto
In the world of social media, we chat about:
+ The Facebook vs Burger King faceoff
+ How Twitter broke the plane crash story
We're still troubled with audio issues, but refuse to use any of our pro equipment. We're attempting to produce these episodes with Flip cameras - virtually eliminating all setup, digitizing and editing. Our goal is to produce an entire show from start to finish within 30 minutes, and zero editing. This is something we'll consider to discuss and experiment with - and your ideas are welcome!
Labels: facebook, fridayflakes, pirates, plaid, podcasting, self promotion, smallagency, social media, twitter, yummyfood, zombies
posted by darryl ohrt @ 6:22 PM
0 comments
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
pass this to your friend who's in danger of losing her job
Church of the Customer has some outstanding advice on how to deal with a layoff: Start your prep well before the layoff ever happens.
They suggest taking three steps that will help position you better in the marketplace, should your job disappear:
1. Blog
2. Tweet
3. Join niche communities.
The coolest thing? Even if you're NOT losing your job, these actions can help you in your current position. Now's the time for making resolutions, right?
Labels: blogging, facebook, social media, twitter, workplace
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:34 AM
0 comments
Monday, December 29, 2008
use a slow week to experiment
If you've promised yourself that you'll spend at least some of your holiday time digging into social media, here's a great place to get started: Mashable points to a kabillion and a half how-to's on everything from Facebook to Twitter to Google to everything else.
This is the perfect week to get your feet wet. Try something that you haven't had the time to do all year long, but have been meaning to. Or try something you've been hearing some buzz about.
Regardless of your social media expertise, there's definitely something that you haven't given as much attention (or experimentation) to, as you could have. Why work, when you can explore?
Labels: facebook, social media, twitter, web2.0
posted by darryl ohrt @ 6:58 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
facebook page, or facebook group?
Advergirl has a cool rundown on the pros and cons to Facebook pages and Facebook groups. Confused? Not sure what's right for your brand? Advergirl to the rescue. This is a good primer that anyone new to Facebooking should read.
Oh yeah - all of the cooler people have already become a fan of the Plaid page. You should too. We haven't updated it recently, because we're lame like that. See? Isn't this fun?
Labels: facebook, marketing, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:41 AM
3 comments
Thursday, October 09, 2008
meet mari: your facebook coach.
There are football coaches. Life coaches. And now, there's a Facebook coach. Mari Smith is a Facebook freak, and she'll teach you everything you need to know about incorporating Facebook into your marketing plan.
This is a cool idea. Lots of business people remain confused about the value of Facebook, Twitter and other social tools. Why not have coaches guide them through the process?
Check out her blog (loaded with tips and tricks), and you can follow her on Twitter, too. If you still read paper based media, she's even got a book. Do you think she carries a whistle?
Labels: facebook, social media, trends
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:12 AM
1 comments
Thursday, October 02, 2008
facebook. old people are coming.
Smart dude Matt Dickman has some pretty sweet analysis to share about Facebook's audience, pulled from Facebook's advertising management system. He's even put it all together for you in a free eBook.
If you're too lazy to click through, here's two juicy nuggets for your next PowerPoint presentation:
+ The 30+ audience is the fastest growing segment
+ The 18-21 group is the current largest population
Let's hope that everyone gets along.
Labels: facebook, social media, trends, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:19 AM
1 comments
Thursday, September 18, 2008
five friend types of social media
Mashable has categorized all of the friends that you keep in your social networks into five handy groups. This is a good primer for someone that's new to social media, and might not understand the types of relationships that are possible.
I believe it goes deeper than five categories, although the cocktail party analogy is a good one. I could meet someone at a party tonight that could very well become my best friend for life. Or a new business partner. Or who will introduce me to a new client. However real friendship is more complex than that.
I have clients, vendors and associates who I would trust with the keys to my house, or one of my children. And I have personal friends that I wouldn't allow to drive my car, or lend $20 to. Unfortunately, not everyone fits into a bucket so easily. So it's not that you need to organize or tag your friends into folders, but perhaps it's good to understand what's possible.
If nothing else, they'll serve as five sweet bullets in your PowerPoint presentation about social media. Enjoy.
Labels: facebook, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:56 AM
1 comments
