Lovin’ & Tweetin’ & Pokin’

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d delve into the topic of love online. Sure, you’ve heard of eHarmony and Match.com, but that is so old school. Nowadays, folks are doin’ it 2.0 style, tweetin’ and friendin’ their way to meeting the love of their life … or to at least stay in touch with that cute girl at the bar even if they can’t get her phone number. And you can do it all for free!

It’s pretty easy now to find someone online. So many people are on Facebook and if you know someone’s name and where they live, you can likely find them. At least you can ask to be their friend, and if they accept, you’re on your way toward getting to know them. On Twitter, you can now use the People Search function to look for someone by name or email and start following them and interacting with them.

And of course there’s all the fun stuff that allows you to “flirt” online like poking someone on Facebook. My only experience with this fun feature (because, yes, I’ve been married 10 years this year) is some old man, whom I did not know, who poked me on Facebook. I tried to make my husband jealous with this tidbit, but mostly we got a good chuckle. You can also send your friends flirtatious gifts, etc.

There’s also a Speed Dating 2.0 application on Facebook that allows you to have five minute conversations with a potential date and continue the conversation however you choose if you’re interested. Ah, the fun never ends on Facebook.

Over on Twitter, there’s a whole site dedicated to single Twitterers called Twitterbirds.com. They describe themselves as speed-dating on the Internet.

There are also quite a lot of free social networks like SocialGrid and PassionsNetwork for dating.

So, while I can’t say I’ve experienced love on the Web, I’m guessing many of you have. And I’d love to hear your stories, funny or inspiring. Is the Web a good place to meet a potential partner? For all you singles: here’s hopin’…

5 More Products from the Makers of Mail Goggles

Google, always looking out for us, has a new feature available for Gmail. Mail Goggles – love the name! – asks you a series of math problems before sending your email, so that those who have maybe had a little too much to drink won’t send anything they’ll regret later.

A great idea, you’ll no doubt agree.

We gave some thought to 5 more features our Internet Overlords should take a look at, in order to save us from ourselves:

Facebook Heartbreak Timecapsule – When your Relationship Status changes from ‘In a Relationship’ to ‘Single’, Facebook stores all your wall posts, messages, pokes, etc for a period of 9 months, and then allows you to decide whether or not you really want to tell her that she’ll regret it and you’ll never stop loving her.

Ebay ELIZA - turned on automatically after you look at two or more kitsch items costing over $5. The software will nag you with AI intelligence , “Do you really need that? Where will you put it? Shouldn’t we fix the ____ first?” until you finally give up and go to bed.

iTunes Rock Snob – Interrupts your playlists with sarcastic comments about your music choices, “More Air Supply?! Great”, and suggests obscure German bands of the 70s from the iTunes store instead.

MySpace for Dads – let’s you design and play with your page as much as you like, but blocks your kid’s friends from seeing it so they don’t have to live a life of shame at school.

Yahoo Happy News – filters out any news items with mentions of the economy, mortgages, Iraq, or Paris Hilton. Currently a blank page.

Can you think of any more you’d like to see?

Social Media & Ghostbusters – The Art of Being Prepared

Part 2 of the occasional series of overly-gimmicky blog posts that takes an iconic movie of the 1980s and tenuously ties it to a business marketing idea.

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Plot Synopsis

In the 28th funniest movie of all time (official!), 3 disgraced parapsychologist professors leave academia and form a private firm providing paranormal investigations – calling themselves Ghostbusters. After some initial set backs the business takes off, they defeat the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man and save the world. Obviously.

Business Analysis

When people think about Ghostbusters they think of the big climactic ending, “He slimed me” or Signorney Weaver writhing around on the bed (incidentally, this is very uncomfortable to watch with your six year old), but they tend to forget the first half of the movie is the gang sitting around with no clients, no income and lots of expenses.

After all, nuclear accelerator proton packs don’t come cheap.

But, with the success of their first ‘busting, all of a sudden there are more and more calls for their services, as the Sumerian deity Gozer tries to open an inter-dimensional doorway which will destroy the world.

And this is why businesses should be embracing social media today.

Lessons Learned

We meet a lot of clients who are definitely interested in podcasting/a blog/Facebook page/etc. Just not right now. Not with the economy the way it is. Once things pick up. And so on, and so on.

Did Venkman, Spengler and Co think like that?

No way!

They were prepared. So when Zuul threatened, Ghostbusters were already primed and ready to go. In fact more people were hired to help with the workload. They had their infrastructure in place, TV ads were already promoting their slogan – “We’re Ready to Believe You” – and, most importantly, they had a huge head start over any potential competition.

So, in this increasingly tortuous analogy, their Ghost Containment Grid is your social media involvement and the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man is a booming economy. If you’re prepared, and your competition isn’t, you can be a Ghostbuster.

We all know the financial situation is, um, less than perfect right now, and advertising/marketing dollars are tight – but things will pick up sooner or later. The beauty of social media marketing is that it is free-to-cheap. You can find someone to do some of the work for you (ahem), or spend a little time and do it yourself.

Start building your Facebook Group now and by the time Happy Days Are Here Again, you’ll probably find you have a good following of people ready to work with you. Jump into monitoring Twitter before your competition even knows what it is and pinch some business from right underneath them. Just remember that there is no time like the present.

In the truly timeless words or Dr Peter Venkman, “I love this plan! I’m excited to be a part of it! Let’s do it!”

Happy 8-8-08

I really liked this idea from Charleston blogger Allisson Skipper, of eight things she’s into right now, so I thought I’d play along. In no particular order:

1. The Wire on DVD. My all time favorite show. I watched them all originally on HBO, but now I have my neighbors hooked on it, I’m re-watching with them. It’s just incredible the things you spot on a second look – plot lines that are subtly begun whole seasons in advance. And it’s still just as funny/moving/scary/etc each time.

2. Fantasy Football. Pre-season games have begun, so it’s time to start the research. I was terrible in one league last year, but won in my other one. Determined to do better this season, so I’m starting my reading now. And, of course, there’s the all important matter of picking the perfect team name. Any suggestions?!

3. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson. I first read it about 8 years ago, but I seem to go back to it every couple of years. It’s by far the geekiest book I own (from Wikipedia “(it contains) some highly technical and detailed descriptions of modern cryptography and information security, and subjects ranging from prime numbers and modular arithmetic to Van Eck phreaking.”) – but sometimes it’s fun to be a geek!

4. Twitter. If you’re already using it, then you know. If you’re not, you don’t see the point. I understand. *But*, give it a try! It’s so easy, and fun, you can actually forget that it’s a great tool for interacting with pretty much anyone. People who wouldn’t normally open your email will be replying to your tweets, if you have anything interesting to say.

5. Jott. You know when you’re driving and you suddenly remember that email you forgot to send? That’s when you need Jott. One quick call from your cell phone, and you can have Jott send it for you. Or you can set it to text you a reminder. Or you can create a shopping list as you run out of things. Or update your Facebook. Or search Amazon. Or, well, you get the idea. It’s so useful, that’s why it’s my favorite Web 2.0 tool.

6. English soccer. Or football as we call it. The season starts this weekend, so I’m full of optimism about Liverpool’s chances to claim a first title in almost 20 years. I’ll be depressed and disappointed by October probably, but right now the dream is still alive!

7. Big Brother. I’m so embarrassed. Each season I promise myself I won’t watch, as it’s the worst kind of trash television, but somehow I find myself in the room when it’s on, and that’s it.  I’m hooked again.  Oh well, at least now that I’ve ‘come out’ I can cheer for Catholic School Teacher Dan with a clear conscience.

8. Spaced. Finally got a US release on DVD after many years of waiting.  And with tons of extras (a whole DVD’s worth in fact) I’m so happy! If you liked Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz, you should definitely check out the show where it all began.