Google have just released their real-time, socially fed search results which now include breaking news headlines, live updates from popular social networks, and blog posts published just seconds before...
This video explains exactly how it will look and work from now on...
As Google remains the main gateway to the web (with Facebook catching up fast), it's never been so important to be monitoring your social profile, mentions and customer relations online....
One bad review or poor customer experience within the Google search results when someone is looking for brand/product information could lose thousands (if not millions) of potential sales and customers.
Your social profile has never been more important....
Socialnomics
Great video with some interesting statistics on social media ROI from different companies and organisations who have thrown themselves into the social space, worth watching:
Ideas I've seen recently that i really like...
I haven't written for a while because I've fallen into the Twitter trap.
I've been sharing all my thoughts, ideas and links via 140 characters as opposed to taking the time to digest, plan and write.
What can I say, I'm lazy.
I've decided to note down, for future reference, some recent ideas which I've come across in my internet travels that have resonated with me so here goes...
The Blogpaper - 'a user generated newspaper'
This is a UK project dreamt up by some bright sparks in London town.
Essentially it's a content aggregation and sharing platform where bloggers, citizen journalists and photographers can upload their stories and photos for all to see.
The bonus side of this is that the best content can be voted on by the site visitors with the highest rated stories and photos making it into a printed edition of 'The Blogpaper'.
Therefore making the community the editor of the paper.
It's only just launched and had it's first pilot print edition out on 25th September. The plan is to print and circulate a weekly edition with the best of the best. It will be distributed via free handout across London similar to the The London Paper and Metro...
The blogpaper site will also redirect people back to the blogs or profiles of the writers/publishers to help them gain a new following and a new readership.
If you're interested in submitting your content to theblogpaper just register here. Once you have confirmed your account you are all set and ready to post whatever you feel is worth sharing and could be interesting to the community and potentially more!
Hipstery - 'Mystery T-shirt buying'
Just when we thought transparency was the be-all-and-end-all approach to the brand/consumer relationship, along comes an entirely opaque experience....in T-shirt purchasing!
Hipstery's philosophy centres on their belief that there is too much choice in this world and therefore too much responsibility and stress laid on the shoulders of consumers. They are offering to take the choice away from you entirely.
All you have to do is pick your T-shirt size, pay 17 Euros (including shipping) and take a quiz. The quiz asks you some basic questions about yourself and that's it.
The Hipstery 'style scientists' will then analyse your answers and run them through their 'innovative style algorithm' to help them decide what the best T-shirt design is for you.
The T-shirts are sourced mainly from out-of-print stock from small suppliers, and if you don't like your T-shirt choice first time around, they will accept returns and offer a refund if the second choice still doesn't match your expectations...
Go on, be brave and make an order...
Hotprint - 'free real-world photo books for Facebook & Bebo users'
Finally! I was wondering when someone would do this...
Hotprint is giving Facebook and Bebo members the opportunity to take their favourite social snaps and transform them into a real-world photo book for free therefore bringing the photos to life and giving them something tangible.
Hotprint have set up an application in both social networks, users simply choose which photos they want to include in their 16 page, soft cover Hotbook. They can also choose from 9 different themes currently available.
The books can be shipped anywhere in the world and have been made completely free due to support from advertising partners who sponsor 1 free book per customer, per month...(including shipping costs and handling)!
Users of the app just have to put up with ads to use the free service, but the ads are not featured on the same page as the photos and are removal full page inserts - easily done! In addition, for every 10 friends who install the app from your initiation, HotPrints will credit you with another free photobook...
If you'd rather skip the ads, you'll need to pay GBP $1.99 for an ad-free version.
With over 2 billion photos uploaded onto Facebook worldwide each month this seems like a no-brainer.
KIND Snacks - 'you've been KINDed'
KIND snacks was started by Peaceworks Inc., an innovative “not-ONLY-for-profit” business. They sell snack bars made from all natural ingredients describing them as healthy snacks that are “KIND to your body, your taste buds, & the world.”
Now they've taken being KIND to a whole new level...
Capitalising on the recent trend of generosity between brands and consumers and consumers themselves, NY-based KIND snacks have created a social movement via 'kind cards'.
Those interested can apply for their 'kind card' via the KIND website, once received they simply do a kind act for someone (helping an old lady cross the road, carrying someones shopping etc) and then pass their 'kind card' on to the recipient of the deed...
The card states 'you've been KINDed' and description reads 'To be KINDed: to unexpectedly receive an act of kindness from a total stranger'...
The idea is that the recipient then goes on to do another kind act and the 'kind card' gets passed from hand to hand, having a positive effect on everyone involved.
Each card has a unique code so that the initial owner of the 'kind card' is also able to track their 'kind trail' online to see how many people they have impacted.
Those with the longest 'kind trail' by January 29th 2010 will be invited to particpate in 'The Great Kind' by submitting an idea of 'Great Kindess' that they cannot do alone themselves. From there, the KINDED community will vote to determine which Great KINDING the KIND team will make happen.
Just a really clever, socially aware idea...
That's it for now.....
Crowdsourcing: Social / Tangible
Recently i've been seeing alot more social marketing initiatives which have crossed over the border of online and into the real world.
In essence it's crowdsourcing but with a tangible, real world momento attached to it at the end...
Below i have compiled a few case studies:
Project: Food52 (www.food52.com)
Overview: 52 weeks, 52 recipe contests and 1 crowdsourced cookbook....
Conceived in part by former New York Times food reporter Amanda Hesser, the Food52 project celebrates home cooks and their recipes.
Here's how it works:
There are 52 weeks in a year, and each week the Food52 team (comprised of Hesser and her co-founder Merrill Stubbs) select categories that go into a cookbook. Visitors to the site have seven days to submit their favourite recipes for each week's category. Hesser and Stubbs then pick two finalists for each category, testing them and photographing them first; then, for 10 days the contest is opened up to voting.
Winning recipes and author bios will go into the Food52 cookbook, which will be published by Harper Studio; authors will also receive a selection of supplies from Oxo, the project's sponsor.
Runners-up and other entries, meanwhile, will be highlighted on the Food52 site, where users will also have a chance to offer their opinions on the Food52 cookbook's photos, cover design and title.
The site is now on its 13th weekly contest, this time soliciting recipes for "your best beef salad" and "your best fruit tart. It's also currently in invitation-only beta—using, interestingly, but will reportedly open up to the public next week.
I love the fact that it starts as a social project online but delivers a tangible by-product which all participants can enjoy and remember...NB. They've done their social well with a website presence, vimeo, flickr, twitter and across notable blogs...
Project: Ideas Culture (www.ideasculture.com/ideas.php)
Overview: Got a problem or want an idea? Ask the Twittersphere...
Ideas Culture are an Australian company that puts creative thinkers around the globe to work via Twitter to solve a client's problem by morning.
Their "Ideas While You Sleep Service" guarantees an idea along with an evaluation matrix and implementation plan by 10 a.m. the next morning - brilliant!
After registering, they need only submit their challenge online by 4 p.m.
By 6 p.m., Ideas Culture gets the challenge out to its Twitter-based Ideas Agents, who spend 15 to 30 minutes each on the problem. There are more than 200 agents from eight countries on the books, and each earns AUD 100 for four sessions. Problems tackled so far have included recruiting more male customers for a singles matching service and increasing attendance for professional development events.
Again this is a social started project with a tangible deliverable....what could be better!
Project: Threadless Clothing (http://www.threadless.com/)
Overview: People submit designs, others commit to buy them, when enough people commit, they make them and anyone can buy them!
Threadless is a community-centered online clothing store run by skinnyCorp
Members of the Threadless community submit t-shirt designs online; the designs are then put to a public vote where visitors and members of the community score them on a scale of 0 to 5. On average, around 1,500 designs compete in any given week. Each week, the staff selects about ten designs. Each designer selected receives $2,000 in cash, a $500 gift certificate (which they may trade in for $200 in cash), as well as an additional $500 for every reprint.
Although Threadless have expanded in a more traditional direction, adding shirts designed by selected artists, these are known as 'Threadless Select' and are not subject to the voting system.
Once again, a process that starts out in an online social environment delivers a real-world momento...
Crowdsourcing is not an original idea and has so far been done by many a brand such as Nespressos Coffee Machine design contest, Smiths 'Do me a flavour' and who could forget 'My Starbucks Idea'...
However, the idea of giving something tangible and real at the end of a campaign or crowdsourcing project to cement the experience, giving your audience some to keep hold of, really appeals to me...
Facebook, Twitter Revolutionising How Parents Stalk Their College-Aged Kids
This is utterly hilarious...
Greenroad Media: 'Living Pixels'....
This is just such a wonderful idea...
Greenroad Media are offering outdoor media made of flowers...they call them 'living pixels'.
Essentially an image is taken, pixelated and then re-built with flowers to create a living outdoor poster for a brand - check out how it works in this video:
Toyota Prius is the first big brand to do this creating their 'Harmony Floralscape' and you can watch how here:
These designs are eye-catching to consumers and most importantly 'green' being both environmentally friendly as well beautifying the area they are in.....what could be better!
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