Now This is Just Weird

Bashkim Isai has come up with a plant whose well being and livelihood depends on the attention given by his Facebook friends. Sounds complicated, I know, but in reality it’s pretty genius. The watering and food system is triggered by social interaction. Not enough contact will cause the plant to die and, yes, too much interaction could cause its demise.

The Meat Eater does post on the Facebook page if he is hungry and needs more attention or if he has too much attention and is being over-fed. The page already has 1,200 fans and has only been active for a little over two months.

What a neat way to showcase the best part of social media: communication while reminding us how connected we are to the environment!

Everyone’s a Movie Star

A few months ago I helped spread the word through social media about a YouTube project called “Life In A Day” by Ridley Scott. The project allowed anyone to submit videos on YouTube of their life unfolding on Saturday, July 24.

As they edit the movie, they’ve released several submissions on their YouTube channel to keep people interested and entertained. The final movie will focus on 25 submissions and those chosen really will get the star treatment: attending Sundance this year!

I personally can’t wait to see how it turns out, and for those interested it will be available on YouTube after its release in several different languages! Did any of you submit your life?

The New Layout Wasn’t Enough

A few weeks ago we were introduced to the new and improved MySpace layout. I admitted then that it did look a million times better, but I have to be honest in saying that I’ve only visited the site once since then and only to read a band’s blog post.

My point is that the new layout did not save MySpace, and that was made even more clear today when they announced their partnership with Facebook. Now Myspace users can synchronize their updates and other activities with their Facebook account.

Is this one last attempt for MySpace to be relevant? Do you think it will work?

I Need These Tickets!

Foursquare and MTV have partnered up to promote the MTV Video Music Awards on September 12. They’ve created a special badge for any Foursquare user who checks into a music venue anywhere in the United States.

A word from the wise (or insane): Make sure the venue was submitted with music as the category or your badge will not be unlocked. I checked into the Music Farm in Charleston today and was unable to receive the badge because it was listed as a bar (by the way, I changed this!).

The best part about getting the moon man badge is it automatically enters you into a drawing for 2 tickets and a trip to the VMA’s!! Now that I think about it, I should have written my blog about something else so no one else wins “my” prize.  Just kidding, good luck everyone!

Fashion, Awards, Social Media?

Who spent hours watching the Emmy’s last night, besides me? I’m a sucker for red carpets and anything involving beautiful people winning shiny awards. This year the Emmy’s kicked it up a notch by adding a social media component. Jimmy Fallon as host was funny and incorporated tweets that were sent to him about presenters and winners. They also had live streaming of backstage interviews with winners and producers.

Twitter’s yfrog was the most influential addition in my opinion. It had a photo booth for celebrities to pose in and the pictures were uploaded directly to Twitter. What a great idea! Fallon, also mentions twitpic twice during the event, and if you didn’t know twitpic was created and is run by a Charlestonian (pretty cool, eh?)! Even celebrities got in on the social media action! Kim Kardashian sang a reality TV duet with Jimmy Fallon and immediately tweeted about it (yes I follow her on Twitter). <@KimKardashian Who just saw me sing live on the Emmy’s??? Haha REALLLLLIIITYYYY! LOL>

Did you watch the Emmy’s this year? If so, do you think social media enhanced or detracted?

A Quick Word About my Obsession

I know that too many of my posts recently have been about my love for Foursquare. So I will not go into how awesome I think they are again, but I do want to relay some pretty interesting information.

Mashable announced over the weekend that their readers enjoy Foursquare more than Facebook’s Places and the geolocation giant has now reached three million users! This is awesome news, and one other thing you have to check out is this picture of Foursquare in Times Square reminding users to check in. Love it!

And the Winner Is…

Hooray for social media! We can now claim an Emmy-winning campaign. The 2010 Emmy for Outstanding Commercial went to “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” for Old Spice. Ad agency Wieden + Kennedy’s Old Spice campaign made big news recently when they turned to YouTube and other social networking sites to send private video messages to their consumers. This campaign was genius (in my opinion) and the Emmy is well deserved! (I’m on a horse, winning an Emmy)

Is Dating Just a Game?

Social gaming has been gaining tons of momentum and MTV is jumping on the bandwagon. Earlier this month they released a Jersey Shore game and now they are releasing a dating game, I Woo You. The dating game is fairly simple.  You basically create an avatar and meet other people in the site. The unique part is that you can meet MTV reality stars in the game, and your communication with the cast members is real! If you can’t find a date Friday night, will you consider this game instead?

Your Daily Dose?

We all need a little inspiration sometimes, but what if you could get it every day? My dad enjoys his daily dose of food inspiration while I prefer a great laugh in the morning to get me going. Mashable [offers up] a list of 20 fun and inspirational accounts to check out on Twitter.

The Unblockable

You would think that Mark Zuckerberg is unable to be blocked on Facebook because he is the creator,  but that’s not the case. This past weekend it was released that you cannot block Zuckerberg, because it is an automated feature that kicks in when someone is blocked in high volumes. Sorry Mark!

The Beach Bum Android App

Google Earth, which allows you to experience a more in depth look at the globe, will now let you go under water on its Android app. It will be able to pinpoint sweet surf spots and what creatures are looming underneath your feet. If you’re interested in this application this article provides a QR code to download it. Enjoy!

That’s right, the long awaited geo-location tool from Facebook is now live throughout the United States. Facebook will roll out Places to the rest of the world soon.

So, what is Places? It’s a geo-location tool that’s similar to Foursquare and Gowalla. Places allows Facebook users to update their status and tag friends via their smart phone while updating their location as well.

Facebook released an updated version of the Facebook iPhone app with the Places feature prominently placed in the center of the screen on Wednesday, as well. But if you don’t have an iPhone, don’t worry, you can just use the Facebook touch mobile site (http://touch.facebook.com/). Once you have the Places interface open, you can add places, check into places that already exist, and tag people who are with you.

Now the big question is privacy. Facebook doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to privacy, so during the live announcement, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said this feature isn’t about sharing your location with the world; it’s about finding places and sharing them with your friends.

Be aware that your check-ins will appear by default on your profile, in the news feed and in the activity stream for that place, and that your friends can check you in without your permission, unless you’ve updated your privacy settings.

Places offers a huge new geo-location audience to businesses. Businesses can claim their Places page, which will allow the owner to post updates to people who like the page and update business information. Claiming a Places page requires some work by business owner, including submitting the business name, URL, address of the business, Federal EIN (Employee Identification Number), and an upload of an official document (articles of certificate of incorporation, certificate of formation, local business license or Better Business Bureau accreditation).

So now that Facebook has introduced geo-location to its 500+ million users, is this the end of Foursquare, which is nearing just three million users? In our minds, no, but that’s a whole other blog post.

Make It Snappy!

Now a days we’re always looking for the fastest way to do, well ,everything. There are a few things though that should be fast and just aren’t. My favorite example is that I am notorious for texting while doing a million other actions. I always look down after typing a whole sentence and realize I have messed words up and have to press the delete key for what seems like forever to make the corrections. Mashable released a handy list today of keyboard shortcuts and they really do save time. I don’t have an iPhone but got to check out the shortcuts on a friend’s phone and now I am jealous!

Nationwide Groupon

If you’re anything like me, you wake up in the morning, brush your teeth and then check your inbox for your morning Groupon. The social buying company has only been in Charleston a few weeks, and it’s already part of my morning routine. Last Thursday I was surprised and stoked to see that the coupon was for the Gap! This is the first time that a nationwide retailer has done a Groupon and by 2 p.m. they had already sold 250,000 Groupons! Sounds like a success to me, what do you think?

Foursquare/Places Update

Everyone in the social media world and beyond has been talking about the new Facebook Places. I have said a few times that my main concern is what does this mean for Foursquare?  Looking at the many articles on Mashable, MediaPost and Marketing Daily, that’s on the top of lots of people’s minds, but what does Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley think?

In an interview last week, he explains what Foursquare will do to compete in the location market and what their plans are for the future.  Do you think Facebook will take over the location game or could this be another David and Goliath story?

Oh the “Places” We’ll Go!

The big and arguably only social media news today is Facebook’s arrival into the location-sphere with the release of Places. My inbox was flooded with articles about last nights’ announcement and the iPhone app that goes along with it (Blackberry and Android apps to come). By the end of the week, we will be checking in not only on Foursquare but on Facebook, checking out what friends are close by and becoming walking advertisements for all the companies we visit.

Facebook is undoubtedly the mecca of social media but one problem that the giant could face with Places is (drum roll please) PRIVACY! This has been an on-going issue for CEO Mark Zuckerberg and one that will no doubt reappear when people start posting their direct locations on the site.

This new feature is very similar to Foursquare in the sense that you check-in to locations, you can add a venue, share your location via Facebook and discover where your friends are checking-in.  Some differences are that in order for a venue to be seen by all users it has to be requested several times. Also, you can tag friends who are with you at your check-in location.

Currently, Gowalla, Foursquare, Yelp and a few others are partnering with Facebook on this endeavor. No one was too clear on what the partnerships entailed but what we do know is Foursquare VP of Mobile Partnerships, Holger Luedorf, has not even seen the application yet. What do you think about Facebook entering the geolocation world? Do you think this will cause all the other location-based companies to run for the hills?

Tweeting Can be Deadly

There are several campaigns and PSAs going around warning young drivers about the dangers of texting while driving. Oprah (the Queen of all) even started a “No Phone Zone” campaign in January and already has 386,190 pledges. Although this appears to be common sense, we live in a time of immediate gratification and instant communication. In my measly 12-minute commute home every day, I still check email, TweetDeck and texts in the car.

This is a bad habit and one that sadly took the life of celebrity plastic surgeon, Dr. Frank Ryan (the man behind Heidi Montag’s new, well, everything!).  Dr. Ryan was tweeting a picture of his puppy when he lost control and drove off a cliff near his Malibu home. After reading this sad news, I decided to sign Oprah’s pledge. Will you?

Groupon Follow-up From Yesterday

Yesterday I wrote about group buying power, in particular Groupon. The daily deal giant has had its hands full with tons of copy-cat startups. Today Mashable announced that Groupon has taken over two start-ups in Germany and Japan with similar business models. This not only knocked out some competition for Groupon but also meant international expansion. A few months ago Groupon bought out a European company and has been working on an expansion throughout all of Europe.  Groupon is bigger than ever and I have a feeling we will be hearing many more stories similar to this one!

Ryan Johnson, the public information assistant to the mayor of North Charleston, Keith Summey, is using social media to not only provide information to residents, but to also quickly and easily receive and respond to questions or input from the citizens of North Charleston. Johnson credits social media with helping him to provide a more open and accessible government.

The City of North Charleston is a rare municipality that is truly up to date with social media, currently offering residents information through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, BlogSpot, Flickr and of course, their own website.

Here’s what Ryan had to say about social media:

What was the first social media technology you used?

My first experience with social media was with Facebook when it was exclusive to college students. I was completely unaware of the professional scope in which I would later be using social media. As many still believe, I thought it was an incredibly convenient path to information overloading on your pals’ lives.

What is your favorite social media tool?

If you take a peek at my internet browser (Chrome), you’ll always find Hootsuite in one of the tabs. The Hootsuite social media dashboard aggregates your various social media accounts into a single destination, no clicking or browsing necessary. The features I most utilize include the keyword filter (keywords of choice: North Charleston, N. Charleston, #nchs), allowing for brand monitoring, scheduled posts, integrated Twitter lists and, of course, the link shortener.

How have you used social media for your job and how has it benefited?

Social media has opened up a new realm of public information for the City of North Charleston, allowing instant access with no boundaries to anyone with an internet connection. The once standard forms of communication were pushing information out. Through social media, we are able to turn a former one-way street into a two-way street, providing information, yet receiving input from the citizens of North Charleston. Social media has provided a more open and accessible government.

The City’s Social Media efforts culminated with the launch of our redesigned website (http://www.northcharleston.org).  Most of our information placed on the web is pulled back to a central location, turning the City’s website into a destination instead of an occasional reference source.

How much time would you say you spend a day engaging social media?

Time spent varies from day to day, but typically I am engaged 30 minutes to an hour. However, I’ll monitor various feeds throughout the day for news, events and other information pertaining to North Charleston. If you call me on my office phone, I will probably be hitting CTRL+R with my other hand.

How do you incorporate it into your day so it’s not a time waster?

Multitasking, keyword searches, lists and aggregators cannot be underestimated as time savers. Centralizing incoming and outgoing information is a necessity for me. I also schedule posts throughout the day so as not to inundate users or followers, inputting most information at once. While on the go, utilizing your smart phone is a great way to maximize your time.

Social media can bring your productivity to quick halt. You must learn to manage your time and filter your information.

Is there a social media tool/technique that you think is underutilized that you would like people to know about?

I feel that companies, entities and individuals place their website and their social media accounts in two separate realms. Websites remain static while updating social media accounts frequently. North Charleston has woven its social media into the City’s website and homepage. Our goal is to make NorthCharleston.org a launching pad and destination for all North Charleston information. Integrating all of your online efforts has powerful potentials.

Where can people find you online and via social media?

http://www.northcharleston.org

http://twitter.com/northcharleston

http://cityofnorthcharleston.blogspot.com

http://www.youtube.com/northcharlestonsc

http://www.facebook.com/northcharleston

http://www.flickr.com/northcharleston

http://www.ustream.tv/northcharleston