October 2011
27 posts
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D.C. Firefighters Union Takes to Twitter
At one point in the not too distant past, the Washington, D.C. Fire/EMS department would update its Twitter account with information on emergency situations that affected D.C. residents. But, their Twitter feed slowed down to a trickle. D.C. city government made claims that this was associated with demands from a federal agency and security concerns (but, to be honest it’s not too clear -...
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Ochocinco Returns to Twitter
After a what felt like an eternity away from Twitter (or three weeks in real time), Chad Ochocinco, formerly Chad Johnson, has returned.
Mostly known as a wide receiver who plays for the New England Patriots and a former Cincinnati Bengal, Ochocinco has long been one of the most consistent and entertaining celebrities on Twitter. He has never been known to hide his opinions online but in...
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QR Code Big Enough to Land In
As I’ve mentioned before, I have a love/hate relationship with QR codes. I hate QR codes that are not properly implemented (like on the side of a bus), but I LOVE novelty QR code implementation.
Skanz, a QR Media Group LLC company, allows individuals to create a personalized website that is linked to a wearable QR code, recently advertised their product by creating a 10,000 ft² QR code.
...
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Jennifer Lopez is Apparently Still from the Block
Fun fact: You can see the low point of Ben Affleck’s career at the 1:37 mark in the video above.
Those of you who did not listen to music in the early-2000s may not be aware that Jennifer Lopez is “from the block.”
Nearly ten years after the release of her hit single “Jenny from the Block,” Jennifer Lopez is still earning a fair amount of money from her childhood...
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Facebook May Not Be That Bad for Your Grades
During my Junior year of college, Facebook was still in the process of rolling out from school to school. Initially I fought the urge to join but with the help of some liquid courage and the prodding of my roommate, I finally bit the bullet and never looked back.
My initial fear was less about the effect Facebook would have on my grades and more an aversion to having my friends make a permanent...
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Airline Develops App to Entertain Competitors...
Scandinavian Airlines has had the most punctual flights in Europe for two years running and to celebrate this fact they have created an app of time-killing games to entertain the customers of their competition.
The games themselves are rather simplistic and are likely to not entertain people who are waiting for their flight, but you have to do a slow clap for a company that rubs their victory...
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Twinings: Gets You Back to You
I’m a sucker for commercials that combine animation with soft songs. Don’t judge me.
Check out the Twinings commercial above. Perhaps you will want to pour yourself a cup of tea first.
Does this commercial make me want to drink a cup of tea? Yes. Does it make me even more afraid of being on a boat? Most definitely.
via Ads of the World.
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R.I.P. Qwikster
Much like the cake in Portal, the image you see above is a lie.
A short while ago, I received an email from the Netflix team informing me that Solomon has given the company a reprieve and that the streaming and DVD services would not be split into separately branded companies.
Although I initially thought that splitting the company in two would help stem the tide of vitriol, I was very, very...
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Have a great weekend!
This commercial for Creepy Animation Night from Ogilvy possibly represents all of my irrational fears in less than 50 seconds.
I sincerely hope that your weekend is the exact opposite of what happens in the video above.
via Ads of the World
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QR Code Visible on Google Maps
My love/hate relationship with QR codes continues. There are certain times that I think that QR codes are horribly implemented (Why would you put a QR code on a bus ad?! There is no way for me to scan the code as it passes me at 35 mph!) and then there are times where I enjoy QR codes. Like in the picture above.
Phillips & Co. has plans in place to put QR codes on building roofs so they are...
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Twitter Co-founder Works to Make NYC a City for...
Twitter Co-founder Jack Dorsey held a press conference with New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg to announce his intentions to make New York a city with a booming technology industry.
Although New York is the home of many of the world’s biggest companies, it has yet to establish as strong of a startup technology culture as many West Coast cities.
Dorsey’s company, Twitter,...
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Sony 'Long Live Play' Ad
Sony’s recent long form ad ‘Long Live Play’ stars live action versions of many of the company’s well known characters interacting in a tavern and recounting their moments of glory.
For a life-long video game player like myself, this ad creates both a sense of nostalgia and makes me want to buy the product that they are selling at the end.
My only complaint is that they...
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Disney Bringing More Movies to 3D
After the success of the Lion King re-release in 3 dimensions, Disney has plans to bring more of its catalog back to life in 3D.
The company’s upcoming 3D plans include: The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc. It remains to be seen if mixing nostalgia with 3D glasses is a consistent approach for box office success, but Disney is certainly hoping the success of the Lion King 3D...
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Facebook Timeline Debuts
Originally scheduled for a system wide roll out on September 29th, Facebook Timeline will now be available to all users tomorrow despite recent legal wrangling with timelines.com.
I’ve been using Timeline for a few weeks now and think that it should become popular among Facebook users (after the first wave of customer anger). For my first impression, check out this post I wrote after my...
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Orange Uses Bracelets to Bring Facebook Into the...
At Roxy Pro 2011, event organizer Orange used bracelets that connected users to their Facebook accounts using the classic Shaka (surfer) sign against sensors to check in online and even upload photos to their Facebook accounts.
For every 100 shakas, a surf lesson was given to a child.
This was a great combination of technology, social media and generosity. Watch the video above to see the...
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FedEx Will Save Your Friends from Becoming Zombies
FedEx’s latest ad uses the always popular zombie theme to sell the idea that nothing will get in the way of them delivering a package and that you will get exactly what you need.
I enjoy this ad’s use of humor and it should do well in the lead up to Halloween.
via Ad Week
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Klout Adds WordPress to Score Equation
Klout, the online influence scorer, continues to add new websites and social media tools to its roster of services the company uses to determine how much users influence others online.
The latest is the blogging service WordPress. WordPress joins Tumblr and Blogger as blog hosts that are used by Klout to determine users’ online presence.
Although Klout did not announce the addition of...
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September 2011
71 posts
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Kyocera Creates Interactive Instrument for Virgin...
Have a great weekend!
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Social Media Jobs: All Grown Up
Social Media ‘Ninjas’ might soon be a thing of the past.
The job market is starting to catch up to social media culture and there has been a sharp increase in jobs for social media specialists. Organizations of varying size and scope have begun to see the importance of engaging potential customers through the use of social media tools and are hiring accordingly.
Social media...
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Subway Offers Early Access to Uncharted 3
Starting this weekend, fans of Playstation 3’s Uncharted game series will be able to gain early access to the multiplayer mode of Uncharted 3 by simply ordering (and likely consuming) a 30 ounce beverage from Subway.
The promotional Taste for Adventure cups contain a code that fans of Uncharted (and beverages that are only smaller than the capacity of the human stomach) can submit...
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Facebook Timeline as Sold by Don Draper
Spoiler alert: If you have recently started or plan to start watching Mad Men, don’t pay attention to the contents of Mr. Draper’s timeline.
It’s a bit sad, but this makes me more excited about my Facebook Timeline. That Don Draper can sell me something I already got for free.
For my initial impression of Timeline, check out this post: Five Thoughts On Facebook Timeline...
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Google+ Open Beta Increases Traffic 13x
In the short time that has transpired since Google made Google+ an Open Beta, traffic on the growing social network has increased thirteen fold. G+ has been steadily climbing in use and is now only one step behind MySpace (I honestly forgot about MySpace until now).
Google has made good early moves with their social network and it seems that G+ is being positioned for sustained success. They...
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Carlsberg Rewards Those Who are Unafraid of Bikers
Carlsberg beer recently filled all but two seats of a movie theater with stereotypical scary bikers. Unsuspecting couples then entered the theatre to see that to get to their seats they would have to make their way through a sea of unfriendly looking bikers.
Those few who were brave enough to find their seats were rewarded with a Carlsberg beer and were shown the slogan “That Calls for a...
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Ashton Kutcher Uses Two and a Half Men as Platform...
On his first episode of CBS’ Two and a Half Men, Ashton Kutcher used stickers on the back of his laptop to promote many of the companies in which he has invested (in real life). These companies include hipmunk and foursquare among others.
CBS will not allow Kutcher to do this again as they are unwilling to allow unpaid advertisements on their programming. That being said, Kutcher was able...
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Facebook Creating PAC
As a signal of their intent to help influence future elections, Facebook has registered “FBPAC.org” and “FBPAC.us”. With the financial backing of Facebook, this political action committee has potential to play a big role in the upcoming elections.
Being a social media nerd living in D.C. this is of obvious personal interest. But, this story should be interesting to watch...
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Delicious QR Code Made from Oreos
QReo from redpepper on Vimeo.
The video above shows the creation of a functional QR code made entirely of Oreo cookies.
Although there are times when QR codes are used improperly in my opinion (like on the side of a bus), I really enjoy this unique way to use the tool.
Original story via Creative Guerilla Marketing
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Lion King Rules the Box Office Jungle
For the second week in a row, The Lion King 3D has won the box office wars, pulling in $22.1 million.
Although the numbers are inflated by the high cost of seeing a film in three dimensions ($13.50 for a matinee?!), it is still an impressive haul for a film that was originally released in 1994.
Lion King’s showing in 3D has brought the worldwide earnings for the film dating back to its...
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Five Thoughts On Facebook Timeline
Facebook Timeline, the new look Facebook profile page, will be launching on October 1, 2011 for all users. For those who cannot wait until the 1st to have Timeline, it is possible to game the system and get the new profile right now.
I’ve had Timeline for a little over a day now and here are my initial thoughts:
Having a cover image is both convenient and attractive visually. I enjoy the...
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Creative Ad for Public Relations Firm
Kaffeine Communications is currently running the print campaign you see above to highlight their personal approach to public relations.
I particularly enjoy the use of the coffee stain coloring for the Rorschach test image. This is a clever, subtle way to allude to their name while aligning it with the pitch regarding personalization.
Via Ads of the World
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Fiat Drinking and Driving Ad
Have a great (and safe) weekend!
via Ads of the World
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Is Changing Your Logo Always a Good Thing?
FastCompany recently did a review of the logo changes you see above.
My least favorite of the three logo changes above is the new Yellow Pages logo. To me it looks like they made the effort to make a new iPhone app logo and then decided to run with it for the rest of their branding.
FastCompany’s assessment of MTV’s new logo is spot on. It was necessary for the company to remove...
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Al Gore Leaks iPhone Release
Former Vice President Al Gore has confirmed one of the worst kept secrets in technology news when he let it slip that the iPhone 5 will be coming out in October.
Gore, an Apple board member, stated at the recent Discovery Invest Leadership Summit:
“Not to mention the new iPhones coming out next month. That was a plug.”
At a certain point, you have to feel bad for Al Gore always stumbling...
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Angry Birds May Be Coming to a Starbucks Near You
In the near future, it may be possible for you to have your Angry Birds score shown on a board at Starbucks while you wait for the person in front of you to order a beverage that is more complicated than the Treaty of Versailles.
Rovio, maker of Angry Birds, and Starbucks are rumored to be in talks regarding adding in-store promotions for Angry Birds to new retail expansion. Customers playing...
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