What’s the new face of viral?

newfaceofviralIt used to be the word “viral” conjured images of a certain precocious prairie dog. Then, Facebook and Burger King caught our attention this year with the fast food chain’s controversial campaign that allowed Facebook users to “defriend” 10 friends in exchange for a Whopper. These kinds of campaigns are bringing new meaning to the word “viral,” but are there safer ways for brands to tap into viral engagement?

Kraft’s Facebook app took a more positive approach than Burger King’s by offering meals to hungry families for every friend a user gets to post their application. Over a two week period in December, over 25,000 users added the app to their profile. However, enaging customers in non-traditional ways doesn’t have to be limited to a Facebook app either. Viral content can take the form of slideshows, images, blogs, and mock websites. Continue reading “What’s the new face of viral?”

25 things – banal drivel or human revolution?

25 reasons we like to talk about ourselves (iStock)Facebook has gone viral. I cannot go anywhere without hearing about the 25 Things About Me list that has been circulating on the site for no one knows exactly how long.

I’ve gotten ping after ping this week, as my contacts respond to various points on their 25 Things list. Last night I overheard while at RiteAid (a sure indicator a phenomenon has hit critical mass), a girl telling her almost boyfriend, “I tagged you in my 25 things list on Facebook, did you see?”

Not surprisingly, blogs are buzzing over the phenomenon. Who created it, who first sent it, and why has it caught on with users to become a mass movement, inspiring equal amounts of hatred and vitriol. Full disclosure, I was tagged three times before I finally gave in and wrote the 25 things, but I could not abide and tag 25 people while releasing my intimate details publicly, so I tagged five people and sent it via email–I thought it a good compromise. Continue reading “25 things – banal drivel or human revolution?”

Content sharing in the workplace

officeshareIt wasn’t long ago that employers were trying to figure out how to forbid staff from accessing their social networking profiles while at work. Just three years ago, when I worked as a producer for a reality TV production company, the HR Director released a note to all staff: Use of IM during the workday is grounds for termination. Period. Wow, I thought then.

The missive was even more striking when I left TV to join Internet behemoth Yahoo–where we were essentially required to use IM for all points of communication (I won’t go into how that temporarily stunted my communication style, but suffice to say, I started saying OMG aloud in the course of normal conversations and I’ve never been the same since). Continue reading “Content sharing in the workplace”

ComScore: Biggest online money makers

This Money (jjjohn via Flickr)What are the top ten fastest growing sites online? And which of those are pulling in the most dough? comScore’s new “2008 Digital Year in Review” reveals which sites are succeeding, even in a difficult economic environment.

Breakmedia, whose sites cater to men between the ages of 18-24, saw 279% growth in 2008, by far the largest growth of the sites comScore lists. Glam Media which calls itself the “#1 women’s web property” (with sites such as Daily Olive and Chubby Hubby) witnessed 144% growth. The numbers are impressive, however, comScore notes both these sites achieved growth through acquisitions and partnerships.

A few other topline takeaways (we read the report so you don’t have to):

Continue reading “ComScore: Biggest online money makers”

Glimmer of hope for newspapers

High Contrast Newspaper Just as things are looking grim for employers, workers, and the retail sector, new data reveals that newspaper websites are experiencing a 16% growth from a year ago in unique visitors.

Nielsen Online also shows that repeat visits are on the rise: Overall traffic to news websites is up 27% growing 199.6 million in December 2007 to 252.7 million in December 2008. What do the numbers reveal?

Aside from an obvious, if slight, comfort to the online news media, it illustrates that increasing numbers of people are turning to the Web for their news sources, and they’re not just visiting once or twice a day, but several times a day, and dozens of times a week. Continue reading “Glimmer of hope for newspapers”

Inaugural Web traffic breaks Internet

Wordle Tag Cloud by Frank MeeuwsenInternet networks across the country were given a run for their money Tuesday during the inauguration. CNN says it provided as many as 21.3 million streams throughout the morning and afternoon; Facebook announced it had 1.5 million Obama-related status updates. However, the enthusiasm generated by President Barack Obama’s historic inauguration also challenged Internet providers and the nation’s bandwidth. Online video, (see my angry post for more on that below) in particular was problematic. Many people, the NY Times is reporting resorted to old televisions and radios. I was among this crowd: After suffering through a shaky video experience on CNN Live, I didn’t get my first full appreciation for Obama’s speech until I heard it on the NPR as I headed home from work. Sigh. So much for the tech revolution. Continue reading “Inaugural Web traffic breaks Internet”

New president, new media

CNN Live with Facebook
CNN Live with Facebook

President Barack Obama was sworn into office today, with the backdrop of his historic election and the current economic and international crises. Meanwhile, we at the Lab negotiated new and traditional media channels to take it all in. Here’s what we had to say about inauguration 2.0:

Continue reading “New president, new media”

Tuesday sexy tech trifecta

Sexy tech trifecta (iStock)Tuesday has brought a perfect trio of tech stories to feature. A mix of good news on the economic horizon, Australia’s exotic travel for blogging trade, and a new appointee to the FCC from the incoming President elect. Check out these top three glorious stories:

1. Hang on till 2010. Despite analysts’ predictions that tech spending will decline in 2009 (and that the earth will implode and we’ll all be living in Hoovervilles–do check out Scott Brown’s “Guided Tour of the Most Awesome Depression Ever” in this month’s Wired), things are looking brighter for those of us who can hold on for a year. By 2010 Forrester Research says spending could increase again…by as much as nine percent. So hang on to your hats, hunker down and let the fowl winds pass ya by, matey. There’s fair weather round the corner. Continue reading “Tuesday sexy tech trifecta”

CES 2009: Yoostar, Guitar Hero for movies?

(Yoostar)
(Yoostar/Universal Pictures' Spartacus)

What if you could star in famous movies, without ever leaving your home? That is what Yoostar Entertainment Group hopes to deliver to consumers with their recently unveiled Yoostar product. Using green screen technology, the system allows users to star in their favorite movie scenes along with famous actors (and their friends)–then share their performances with friends.

I got an exclusive demo  and was impressed with the concept:  Continue reading “CES 2009: Yoostar, Guitar Hero for movies?”

CES 2009: Famed blogger on ’09 trends

I caught up with All Things D and bigwig industry reporter Kara Swisher at CES today. Swisher moderated a panel called “What will they think of next, Consumer Technology in 2025” that featured panelists including VPs from Lenovo, Intel, and Qualcomm. After the panel and a little “Where-in-the-world-is-Yahoo” guilty-pleasure chatter* between us, Swisher shared a few thoughts on trends in online and emerging media for the coming year–and if she thinks there is a fail-safe place for advertisers to hedge their sacred bets this year:

Other than this insight from Swisher, the main takeaways from the panelists was four-fold:

Continue reading “CES 2009: Famed blogger on ’09 trends”