Location Based Services (LBS) such as Foursquare, Gowalla, and MyTown have been hotly contested and talked about the last few months. However – a startup in Boston is positioning itself to change the game. SCVNGR (Scavenger – without the vowels) has built a platform that has functionality and playability above and beyond many of the other tools. Continue Reading
Many of you may remember that during my run as managing editor of Media Bullseye, I compiled a regular roundup of the best of the PR and social media blogosphere (and podosphere). I’m happy to announce that the Jots have returned! On a weekly basis, I’ll cover the major topics causing a stir, and add a little commentary of my own.
Doug Haslam joins Jen Zingsheim on this week’s Radio Roundtable, to discuss the convergence of advertising and public relations, tasking interns to run social media accounts, and the defense of Ad Value Equivalency (AVE). Continue Reading
With mobile advertising projected to rise 80 percent in 2010 and climbing to 4.2 billion by 20151 – it’s no wonder companies are taking notice of the mobile space. Even large technology companies are taking notice by launching Apps and mobile marketing programs to outreach in new ways. Even just walking down the street, if you’re in a relatively populated area, you will likely see hundreds of people with their heads down staring at a small brightly light cell phone screen and tapping away furiously as they text to a friend or colleague. Marketing is being transformed and changed as I type this – we can no longer follow a standardized five-step process, but must learn to connect in new ways and new mediums. Continue Reading
Pepsi dropped Super Bowl advertising in favor of social media, and this week Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream was rumored to replace more traditional marketing with social media. According to published reports in the U.K., the Vermont-based company known for unique flavors like Cherry Garcia as well as their philanthropic work was opting to drop their e-mail marketing campaign and instead use Twitter and Facebook to reach out to their customers. In fact, they were only dropping e-mail in the United Kingdom, according to the @CherryGarcia account on Twitter: Continue Reading
This week, Jen Zingsheim is joined by co-host Sarah Wurrey and guest Ike Pigott to discuss Internet fame and the rise of the Chesters, the double-edged sword of social media prominence and demands on time, and the amazing comedic style of Mustafa, the Old Spice Guy. Continue Reading
Ah, social media. Where one person’s thought process and post can degenerate into name calling, accusations of arrogance, and my favorite scenario: dozens of people calling one another douchebags.
Fun. Continue Reading
Host Jen Zingsheim and co-host Bryan Person were thrilled to welcome Mitch Joel of Six Pixels of Separation to the Roundtable this week to discuss his role in Chris Brogan’s new project, Man On The Go; Fast Company’s influence project; and The Guardian’s new WordPress plugin.
Click here to listen to the 45-minute program.
- First, Jen asks Mitch about his role in Chris Brogan’s new Man On The Go project, aimed at those who travel extensively for business–it has tips and tricks for traveling, hotel reviews, and reviews of travel-critical gear, like backpacks and laptop bags. As someone who travels quite a bit for business himself, Mitch is contributing videos for the blog. The blog is another interesting move in the online space for Chris Brogan, as the site is predominantly video. Bryan Person has also launched a new blog, which the group discussed, called Exploring the iPad.
- Next up for discussion was Fast Company’s Influence project (at 11:42)–and more specifically, Amber Naslund’s pointed blog post about the project. Mitch points out that influence can be defined as compelling someone to click a link–or, fill in the “other” blank in a contest, as Howard Stern did with Hank The Angry Drunken Dwarf in 1998. The question of “who versus how many” was raised, as was the issue of “slacktivism”–the very low barrier presented by clicking a “like” button still indicates that there is engagement.
- The group concluded the show by discussing Neville Hobson’s post about The Guardian’s new WordPress plugin (at 29:20), which is yet another way print media is trying to grapple with sharing content. While some publications are moving their content behind paid firewalls, The Guardian is trying something different–but Mitch asks: “what’s stopping a blogger from copying the relevant paragraph and reposting?” Jen asks if this initiative has to do with advertising revenue–is this a method to generate money? Mitch points out that a blog that simply reposts articles from elsewhere would turn him off, as there’s little point–that’s not why you read a blog. If the objective is advertising, Mitch asserts, it’s already a failure–and he asks if we can move beyond the advertising model to a marketing model–what adds value to the experience?
Thank you to Mitch Joel for a lively and interesting discussion on all three topics. He is the President of Twist Image, a digital marketing and communications agency. You can find him at Six Pixels Of Separation: the blog, his book of the same title, and the Media Hacks podcast.
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