Google has recently been trying to take market share away from Internet Explorer with their new web browser Chrome. Check out their creative TV commercials that have gone viral on Google’s YouTube video sharing website.
Read the Full Article at PC World
Police from all around the country (Seattle, New York) have been using Craigslist, a free classified ad website, to catch criminals. In fact, Boston prosecutors recently put an ad on Craigslist in an attempt to find other women who may have been vicitimized by Philip Markoff. Their goal was to persuade other victims of this type of crime in the “erotic services” category to come forward with their stories.
Glad to see police using their resources. Hopefully some good with come from a bad situation.
The Pope
The Vatican is using Facebook; why aren’t you?
According to the Tampa Tribune:
Web surfers can now send virtual postcards of Pope Benedict XVI to their Facebook friends or follow the pontiff’s travel on their iPhones.
Under a papacy that has suffered communication woes, the Vatican is taking new, technologically savvy steps to bring its message to social networking sites and smartphones.
In its first day of operation Thursday, the Pope2You portal gathered some 45,000 contacts and 500,000 page views, while a Facebook application that sends postcards with photos of Benedict and excerpts from his messages was used around 10,000 times, the head of the project said.
Also available on the portal is an application for iPhone and iPod Touch that gives surfers video and audio news on the pope’s trips and speeches, as well as on Catholic events worldwide.
The new Web site is the latest update in the Vatican’s efforts to broaden the pope’s audience and reach out to young people. In January, Benedict got his own YouTube channel, which is now linked to the portal.
Read the entire article at Tampa Tribune
With the surge of people using social networks over the past year in a down economy, MySpace is experimenting with new ways to make money. For instance, Courtney Holt, President of MySpace Music, recently announced a plan to bring new revenue to MySpace by selling concert tickets and merchandise for bands on each bands’ pages.
MySpace, has long been a hot spot for bands, both underground and mainstream, to interact with fans, gain support, and advertise album releases. In fact, most bands already do sell their albums and other merchandise on the social network but through thrid party websites anyway. This would just give musicians the opportunity to use MySpace’s integrated tools to do the same thing for a cut of the profits.
This shift in technology is obviously due to the number of people purchasing music online and the music industry trying to figure out new ways to monotize their business.
With websites like YouTube, Joost, NetFlix, and Hulu getting more posts and visits every month, 2009 will probably be the year Internet TV reaches the mainstream. For instance, there are several new products that bridge the PC to TV gap including Digital Video Recorders and the Wii.
Infact, according to the April 24th issue of the Tampa Tribune, even colleges are offering courses on basic video camera use and editing so people can upload their own YouTube videos.
Some may think that only large brands, such as Ikea, Coco-Cola, and Snickers with cult-like followings have a use for social networking. However, the stories below prove otherwise. Small business does have a use for social networking - and if done correctly, can increase revenue.
Despite a poor economy Free Spirit Yacht Cruises’ revenue is up 30% from last year. The co-owner, Angela Motola-Donofrio, feels that the increase in sales is due to the company reaching out to customers on the social networks Facebook and Twitter.
BradsDeals.com didn’t see a need to get involved in Social Networking until the company founder read on Nielsen Online that the greatest growth in age on Social Networks are ages 35 - 49. Since March 1, 2009 “the company has attracted 2,500 followers through Twitter … and nabbed 1,200 Facebook users …”
This real estate agency that targets college students recently used Facebook to announce a student designs fashion show. Because of the Facebook announcement, the show drew a more people than the venue could handle.
These stories are just a few of the success stories of small businesses involved with social networking. Read the entire Chicago Tribune story.
Source: tedmurphy
One really interesting way Burger King used Facebook was to develop a Facebook Application that displayed a free whopper coupon when a user deleted 10 friends. Altough Facebook didn’t find this kosher and soon after, removed the application, I feel the stunt was a success since it gave Burger King a ton of free publicity and media coverage. I never thought I’d say it because I’m not a fan, however, companies need to think like Burger King.
See below for the proof…
Source: LuChOeDu
Microsoft recently showed off the cool things that could be done with the new Facebook API’s “Open Stream” technology. Although there is no way for us to try the new technology yet, according to the article, “…Microsoft will be releasing an SDK and the source code for both of the apps in the near future.”
From the article:
Earlier this week Facebook made the landmark (and long-awaited) announcement that it was going to enable the “Open Stream“, granting developers far more access and flexibility to Facebook data than they had before. To commemorate the event, Facebook held a special Technology Tasting at its Palo Alto office, where it gave everyone an idea of exactly what developers could do with the new data.
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Read the full article in The Washington Post
Whoever was responsible for this video did a great job. Enjoy.
Source: nicmcphee
Social Networks are getting more users and traffic than ever before. What’s more is that people trust the influence of their friends and family over being “sold” on a product through a traditional advertisement. This shift creates enormous opportunity for businesses as they learn better ways to promote their brands through social interaction.
From the article:
Marketers know the biggest influence on what people buy is recommendations from family and friends — and that circle has got larger thanks to Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn, which connect individuals with similar interests worldwide.
The “buzz” they generate is about personalities, activities, events, careers and commodities, and that definitely includes what people like to experience, see, use, wear, and taste. No small wonder, businesses are tapping into this medium to promote their products and services.
Read the entire article at FinancialPost.com