Tag: raquel-krouse

Inauguration 2.0

Posted on by Lab Team

(Facebook/CNN)The presidential inauguration is upon us, and even if you are not one of the over four million people planning to travel to the nation’s capital, you can still actively participate in the festivities. During the election season, candidates and especially the Obama campaign confirmed the power of emerging media (notably social media) to engage citizens (see our report, Emerging Media, Barack Obama, and the Future of Political Campaigns).  Voters enthusiastically shared their experiences on election day and we can expect much more of the same on Tuesday.  In true Obama style, new media platforms are being used to promote the inauguration events in unprecedented ways. We can all look forward to an interesting documentation of the events that you won’t get with official news coverage.

So if you didn’t receive a highly coveted invite, skip the crowds and join the festivities from your home town.  Here’s how: Continue reading “Inauguration 2.0”

What’s hot with kids and social networking

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CES (MyYearbook)I attended a great panel at CES that was part of the Kids at Play program called Social Networking: It’s in their DNA. The moderator Parry Aftab was careful to point out that the people on this panel were doing things right – and I have to agree with her. Over two and a half million children aged between 8 and 17 have created profiles on social networking sites. But poor security means that a lot of the time, profile pages pages are wide open for anyone to look at.  Todays kids are growing up in a digital world. But how do you keep these kids safe? Here’s a quick look at what’s new, next and cool in the in the kids and teen social networking space. Continue reading “What’s hot with kids and social networking”

CES 2009: Best in health and wellness products

Posted on by Lab Team

(IPG Media Lab at CES)The Innovations Design and Engineering Awards program acknowledges the most innovative consumer technologies in 34 product categories from audio accessories to eco-design. Sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), products are judged by a panel of designers, engineers and trade. Honorees are announced in the fall and are featured at the show in a special “Best of” display. Continue reading “CES 2009: Best in health and wellness products”

Top 10 reasons CES matters

Posted on by Lab Team

The Lab team is heading to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week to roam the showrooms and take part in the massive gadget brain-exchange. We’ll be blogging live through the weekend–and here are 10 reasons you should stay tuned:

1. It’s like Paris’ Ready-to-Wear event of the year–but instead showcasing gadgets in Vegas. While there will be far more geeky men than hot models in pretty get-ups (I’ve already heard that a fellow digerati femme was one of only 10 women on her plane to Vegas), this is the place to look for what technologies and consumer electronics are coming down the line in ’09. THIS is the place where dreams are made, battles are won, hearts are broken. Okay, perhaps I’m pushing it. But, if you have any desire to keep abreast with technology, stay tuned (preferably here) for all the latest and greatest advances in consumer tech.

2. We might finally learn if this is the year the Internet will kill the TV star. (Check out the WSJ’s round up of reasons how it might). It likely won’t–but this year even a scaled back CES promises some amazing new solutions for watching video and TV via the Internet including two of my favorite new devices: New player ZeeVee is presenting their ZvBox which turns computers into an HDTV channel on your TV set; WhereverTV allows consumers to watch hundreds of international television shows on your television via the Internet (sign me up!)

Stay with me, I’ve got 8 more reasons CES is THE consumer event of the year: Continue reading “Top 10 reasons CES matters”

What is the future of social media in ‘09?

Posted on by Lab Team

social2009As we start the new year, I wanted to provide some thoughts on social media trends for 2009 (also check out this review of the Lab’s 2009 Digital Trends). Although some of these concepts are not new, in 2009, we’ll see increased usage and adoption by brands and consumers. Here is a look at where things are now and where we may be heading: 

Trend #1: Internal business functions get social
Social media strategies continue to get injected into business functions.  Uses include support forums, wikis and Twitter (ComcastCares) for customer service and support; gated communities and monitoring tools for market research; customer collaboration sites and community suggestion boxes for product improvement and development; internal communities for employee communications; and social strategies for employee recruitment. This is beginning to reduce transactional costs, contribute to democratized efficiency and ultimately change infrastructure. Continue reading “What is the future of social media in ‘09?”

How brands can avoid a reputation crisis

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iStockThis is part of our best-of 2008 series, previously featured on our newsletter, Advance. Social media offers brands the prospect of engaging in open and honest conversations with customers, and brands are embracing this opportunity by creating communities of their own. Unfortunately, negative buzz is a potential downside to these efforts. Jupiter Research found that although only 12 % of consumers post negative comments on these sites, negative UGC creators can be highly influential.

Choosing to ignore the conversation will come at a cost: Negative reviews or complaints can mean lost business. According to a London School of Economics study, just a 2% reduction in negative word of mouth boosts sales growth by 1%. Negative commentary is inevitable, so marketers may well benefit from developing a strategy to best respond to negative buzz. While there is no way to stop negative comments entirely, and it is impossible to think that a conversation in social media can be controlled, there are a few best practices that can help to protect your brand. Brands can improve their reputation by first listening, and then responding. Social media monitoring is critical to containing negative buzz. Conversation monitoring tools such as radian6 allow you to identify who is talking, listen to what they are saying, and track the spread of negative buzz. Continue reading “How brands can avoid a reputation crisis”

Social media for a social cause

Posted on by Lab Team

socialcauseSocial networking tools are facilitating social change in ways that weren’t possible before. These tools are uniting like-minded individuals and gathering support from around the world. A connected culture is demonstrating the ability to improve lives.

Facebook, YouTube and Twitter offer many opportunities to put the power of good – charity, support, awareness, etc. – in the hands of so many. Teach For America, an organization that recruits, trains and places teachers in inner-city schools, is now recruiting both teacher candidates and donors with popular YouTube videos. Facebook Causes lets members start and join causes such as cancer researcher Eric Ding’s  Facebook Cause for cancer prevention and research. The cause has over three million members and has raised over $75,000. Beyond the promotion of charitable causes and direct appeals, social media expands some truly creative opportunities to become philanthropically involved. Ebay, with its partner MissionFish, now offers the opportunity to donate a portion of auction (or “Buy It Now”) proceeds to the charity of the seller’s choice. It’s become such an effective tool that Ebay now promotes the service as a recommended selling tool. Continue reading “Social media for a social cause”

LinkedIn becomes a community, finally

Posted on by Lab Team

linkedinLinkedIn, boasting 28 million registered users in close to 150 industries, is at last doing things to incorporate community and the exchange of information within its network.

Since its launch in 2003, the professional networking site has served more as an online destination to store business contacts than a community offering value to our working lives. With the highly anticipated introduction of new social features, such as branded groups and custom applications, LinkedIn is trying to change this. At the same time, the company is offering brands a chance to engage with desirable business professionals in unique ways. Continue reading “LinkedIn becomes a community, finally”