Beard = Buck

Check out this creative idea for Halloween that helps others:

Build A Beard Workshop

Print off a beard to wear for Halloween and these guys will put $1 into a Kiva account for you. Now that's creative thinking.

The Cost of a Burrito

For the past 5 years it has become an annual tradition of mine and many of my friends to wrap ourselves up in tinfoil and visit a nearby Chipotle (or two). Every Halloween, Chipotle offers all customers a free burrito for wearing their best tinfoil costumes, which is what their famous burritos are wrapped in.

While waiting in line, a common discussion often arises to the total national cost to Chipotle of having a free burrito night. A lot of people wonder if the profits can really outweigh the costs to giving away so much free food, but I have no doubt that this day is gold for Chipotle.

• Chipotle kills at word of mouth advertising. Literally thousands of people will line up today for a free burrito and many will be there because their friends told them. Chipotle buys little traditional advertising because they don't need to - their tinfoil-wrapped customers are walking advertisements. When people drive by a Chipotle and see a line of strangely dressed people streaming out the door, they are intrigued and tell others. Facebook fan pages and event invites, personal blogs, and twitter will all be buzzing simply because Chipotle is doing something different and exciting.

What things have you done with your brand to create excitement that spreads like wildfire through word of mouth?

• Chipotle has created an experience. Standing in line with 200 people dressed in tinfoil not only creates a memorable visual experience for people, but it brings strangers together under a unifying idea (we all like free food and an excuse to do something crazy!). The tinfoil costumes become elaborate providing more fun and excitement to the whole event.

Do your customers leave with an experience they want again and again?

• Not only do people get excited around Halloween, but people associate Chipotle with giving away free food. When a new restaurant opens, they often give away free burritos. A friend of mine told me that he once forgot his wallet, and the manager quickly responded, "Don't worry about it, it's on me." The brand has created fierce customer loyalty that extends throughout the year.

Are you treating your customers differently than your competitors?

Fake Jobs Facebook Confuses Employees

There's a new fake Steve Jobs facebook account out! Or, we think it's fake. Everything's right, except he uses an exclamation point in the "about me" section, which is so not Jobs-y. Plus he's not friends with his wife or daughter, or even part of the apple network. Suspicious.

The obvious fakeness hasn't stopped seventy-five employees from friending him, presumably in the hopes that it's real. Looks like they aren't friends with the the real Steve Jobs on facebook. Sad!

Steve Jobs: The Rumors Continue.

The silicon valley paparazzi took this picture of Steve Jobs' car, parked directly next to, but not in, the handicapped spot. He is allowed to park handicapped if he wants, so why the regular spot?

The rumor is that Mr. Jobs is no longer allowed to park handicapped by his PR staff, because it's a sign of weakness, which could mess up Apples stocks again. (Apple news or Daily Axioms followers will remember that a false internet rumor about Jobs in the hospital caused apple stocks to plummet.)

Our theories? 1. Someone else was driving his car 2. It's not his car 3. He didn't care since it's probably a 2-foot difference between handicapped and regular.

Follow the link for a caption contest! (Valleywag)

Less Is More

Hulu figured something out: it's better to have a few ads than to have a ton. Having a small number of ads makes people more likely to notice them, and less likely to find them annoying. Advertisers, in turn, will pay more for this lack of competition.

Maybe TV will learn a lesson from Hulu? With a crashing market economy, the economic gap will only widen. The successful corporations will have less competition and more money to do with as they choose, such as sponsoring a TV show. You know how sometimes a network will show a movie commercial-free "brought to you by"? It almost inspires a sense of gratitude that the company is saving you from an onslaught of advertising. If this is the future, I look forward to it.

Online vs. Real Friends - Is There A Difference?

I enjoy following people's blogs and Twitter accounts. After reading what they have to say for a while, I get a sense of their language, attitudes, personality, and interests. As social media becomes more and more transparent, people have stopped hiding behind screen names and have begun branding themselves and their real names with what they talk about. Even the accounts on Twitter that are under a brand name are often run by a real person who is open about who they are.

The relationships that get built online can feel very real and genuine. We regularly talk to that person and share ideas, but how well does the relationship translate to real life? What would it be like to meet one of your Twitter friends on the street? Would you have things to talk about or would things feel odd? How different are online relationships compared to those you can make physical contact with? My suspicion is that in some cases, some who are real-life introverts feel more free to be social butterflies online. While not a bad thing, there has to be some difference between online and real world presence and relationships.

Seth Godin talked recently about how he has built relationships online with people who he has never met, yet could ask to crash at their house for a few days if he was in the area. Would you go out of your way for your online relationships? Have you done anything tangible to show that you are making an effort to connect not just in the online world, but the real one? Quality, and not always quantity makes more of a difference in online relationships, no matter how transparent and real you are.

Whassup in 2008?

One catchphrase that I never thought would come back, besides use by Michael Scott in the Office, is Budweiser's "Whassup" slogan. It has indeed resurfaced again, this time with political relevance as a promotional ad for Obama.

The video visits the Whassup guys 8 years after their debut on TV and shows what they are up to now. One just lost his house, one is in Iraq, one needs health care, and one is watching his stocks drop. This is obviously trying to reach out to all of the different issues in the election.

The Effect
So far the video has over 2.5 million views on YouTube. It has circled around on numerous blogs and was featured in the Wall Street Journal today.

Will this have any impact on how people vote? Probably not. It is more so a clever way to bring back a catchphrase that died out 7 years ago. There have been thousands of political videos on YouTube parodying other videos, songs, and movies. This is just one of the more well done and creative spots.


On a side note, I hate when companies or individuals representing their company shout out their personal opinion on politics via their blog or twitter. Below is a humorous video promoting Obama. Here is a humorous article favoring McCain from The Onion.

Ditch the One Size Fits all Pitch

You must be completely naive to continue in the graces that is bad media relations, not PR, but bad media relations. Online spells transparency and as the frequency of bad flacks outweighs the good, you’re even more likely nowadays to end up on the Bad Pitch blog—or something a lot worse… the subjective of a forum flame war where you have to play defense.

Our Pitch-Perfect session last week featured the mastermind behind Axiom Marketing, an integrated communications business developed during prep days at Kellogg School of Management. Mr. Mike Reiber discussed the new frontier of new media and the passing of traditional tactics still in use by the many today.

Among the many topics discussed with Mike, one really hit home for me: Journalists have more to do now and less time to do it. I was informed of this earlier on as our team ventured off to meet with a Star Tribune reporter, herself reiterating the importance of learning Web so she and many others wouldn’t lose their job.

What this also means is you better have the pitch right the first time sent out. With all the e-mail clutter, all those microbloggers updating their Tweets to appeal to the news masses following, it’s time for a Cadillac to park in their garage.

If you’re a Ford lover, shame on you.

Google Earth on the iPhone and iPod Touch

I visited Beijing and Seattle over lunch. How? Through the new Google Earth app.

An updated version of Google Earth recently came out for the iPhone and iPod touch. It is insane. I'm not sure what else to say about it. The video below gives a pretty good overview of it.



There is a reason why Google is dominating the internet. They do remarkable things. They have remarkable applications. They are a remarkable company. The lesson isn't for your company to try to be like Google. The lesson is do something remarkable like Google has done with the internet.

This "Guy" Will Not Be A Guest Blogger For Daily Axioms

The Japanese are far ahead of most of the world in technology, but they often cross over the thin line between genius and insane with some of their useless and silly products. A university engineer recently set up a potted plant in a cafe that writes blogs. Using a sensor that measures bio electric signals, the plant translates its "feelings" into a blog post each day.

Not sure how interesting that could really be, but I would read a blog by this plant:

Your Online Democracy

Democracy is happening online, because every time a comment is made—change is imminent or entirely avoided. Today’s marketing is customer service and though this isn’t new to the digital PR attendees of the world, it still sends the majority.

A person’s comment is now so much more powerful than what a marketing research team gathers from a paid-for focus group. Yes, those TV ads do say these people weren’t paid for the ad, but who wouldn’t love having their mug on TV? I raise my hand in embarrassment.

The new integrated strategy that should be part of every campaign (starting with research) is comment moderation. The tactic-- subscribing to the RSS feed comments pertaining to your client, your client’s product or service, and topic of interest for your targeted media contacts. Boy would that save you time and energy in place of your exhaustive search on Google’s front page.

Consider scrolling below those USA Today or New York Times articles, those blogs tied to top 50 publications and reading the 21 or so complaints from customers who have really experienced the journalist’s cutting jest about a service or this-just-in bad news. It may come as a shock to hear that your customers don’t want flare; they want simple. In immediate response, you change those key messages and give your product, service or simple PSA announcement (are those still happening?) a makeover.

It’s time to listen to your customers online. Remember they are your audience and can turn to or away from you—if you don’t hear them.

The Reason Weezer Gets It

Here is an excerpt from a recent Pitchfork Interview with Rivers Cuomo (lead singer of Weezer):

We've been doing this since 94, and when we started out, we just did things the same ways that all the other bands did 'em. And that was okay for a while, but at this point, when it's time to promote another album, I have to ask myself, "Do I really want to do this the same old way again?" Or, "What would make this fun for me? What would make it exciting? What would be a new challenge?"

Why has Weezer been so successful with their latest endeavors and promotions? They try new things and get their fans more involved. Instead of sitting down and saying, "how can we make a viral video for our latest song and get lots of attention?," they asked, "how can we make this fun" and "what can we make that is original and good?" Notice that things that set out to be viral aren't often the ones that do - attention often comes with quality.

Terrorists on Twitter?

That is what the US Army is worried about based on a new intelligence report.

From the report:

"Twitter has also become a social activism tool for socialists, human rights groups, communists, vegetarians, anarchists, religious communities, atheists, political enthusiasts, hacktivists and others to communicate with each other and to send messages to broader audiences,"

"Twitter is already used by some members to post and/or support extremist ideologies and perspectives,"

"Terrorists could theoretically use Twitter social networking in the US as an operation tool," it said. "However, it is unclear whether that same theoretical tool would be available to terrorists in other countries and to what extent."

Pretty interesting stuff. Twitter allows for instant mass communication so it is understandable why they would be concerned. One thing that most marketers know on Twitter, is that conversation can be easily tracked. While it could definitely pose a threat, it is also an opportunity to monitor chatter.

Viral Video of the Week

I couldn't pick just one. Both of these have circled online recently and both are hilarious.

Analysis of a Facebook Event

The NY Times has an interesting article on throwing a Facebook party and who you can expect to show up. The reporters analysis lines up with what I have noticed about Facebook events.

When invited to a Facebook event, you have three options:

1. Definitely attending
2. Maybe attending
3. Not attending

Translation of these responses:

Definitely attending: You can probably expect them to show up. They are interested, but something else could come up. Definitely translates into likely.

Maybe attending: They probably aren't coming, but don't have the heart to click 'Not Attending.' Your party might be one of many choices for them. Maybe they are seeing who else is attending to convince them one way or another.

Not attending: This is pretty straightforward. They proactively let you know they aren't coming. They are either too far away to attend or they really want you to know they have no interest in an event that you worked so hard to plan.

Web 2.0 Comes Out Into The Real World

A trend is starting in web 2.0: people are coming out into the daylight!

Online-only performance troupe Second Front is doing a performance in front of an audience! (It's streaming online too, of course.)

LOLCats is having a real-live auction! Funds go to help reading efforts, which will of course be undercut by LOLCats own cat-language blog.

What next, an impromptu Axiom bloggers forum in Bloomington? Who knows?

Russia to Internet: No Free Speech For You!

Why hasn't Google taken over Russia yet? Apparently before Google can acquire "Begun", the Russian advertising internet start-up, they have to release a list of their employees to Russia's anti-trust authority. Basically, they have to make sure that there are no liberals or Jews on the board.

This can be a reminder to all of us Americans that we're really fortunate to live in a place where free speech and free market economics are happening. Even in a downturn, I'd rather be on this side of things! (Valleywag)

Not Another Web 2.0 Forum: BroBible

Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace are being copy-catted by smaller forums for specific groups. We wrote earlier about the Christian twitter, there's also twitter moms and now BroBible. BroBible is a webspace for bros to post videos, share thoughts, stories and advice.

I signed up with a fake name and checked it out; while it's definitely not my scene (don't go in if you're a girl, seriously!) I can see how it would be a good place if you want to hear crazy stories about getting trashed or whatever these guys do. There's also a lot of info on politics and economics, if that's of interest.

Tucker Max has some competition on his hands!

Maple Story Murder

Hold on tight for the blockbuster movie thriller of the year based on a true story- Maple Story Murder! A Japanese women has a perfect life - she's has the house of her dreams, she works the ideal job, and just married the man of her dreams. But, her husband arrives home one evening, with some bad news - he wants a divorce. A small flicker of anger is ignited, sending wife and husband into a web of lies, spying, and murder. You will never be prepared for the twist that lies ahead as the wife discovers that she's been living her life inside a computer-generated alternate reality and now must face her virtual choices in the real world!

Yes, I said based on a true story and no, the movie is not real. Real life is sometimes more bizarre than a movie.

Be Nice Or I'll Sue You

UK citizen, Chris Read, is facing legal action after leaving negative feedback on eBay. Chris purchased a phone from the auction site, but when receiving the phone it was the wrong model and wasn't in the "good" condition described by the seller (scratched and chipped). After leaving an honest and non-threatening feedback response, Chris was contacted by the seller with a legal notice threatening a court case for libel. While the buyer's comments were honest, the seller claimed that he was hurting the store's reputation and its ability to trade and make money.

Obviously, the seller handled this wrong. Instead of blowing up at the honest buyer when they were the ones at fault, maybe the seller could have used the mistake to go out of their way to fix the problem. A few years ago, I bought a CD online (Amazon I think) and received the wrong edition compared to the one advertised. I sent a message to the seller, who immediately apologized for the problem, and refunded me for the purchase, but let me keep the album for free. Sure, it wasn't the exact product I wanted, but I was satisfied by how the seller handled and made right the mistake.

There may be two lessons to learn here. 1.) We have a choice how we handle feedback. How we react can isolate our customer further, help us improve our product, or even surprise them in a good way that would make them want to tell their friends. Everyone knows that bad service is passed along seven times more than good, but never underestimate the power of surprisingly good service. 2.) The market is free to comment on your performance. It is important to let ridiculous and unfounded claims blow over. Truthful comments - especially when negative - will provide the greatest and most valuable insight to your brand, but only when handled properly.

Why is Seth Godin not on Twitter?

I've always wondered this. Twitter is a great site to be on for marketers to gather and share information, so I've wondered why one of the most notable marketers was missing from the site.. Well, Seth Godin answered this question in his blog today:

If you have a presence on twitter, squidoo, blogs, facebook, myspace, linkedin and 20 other sites, the chances of finding critical mass at any of them is close to zero. But if you dominate, if you're the goto person, the king of your hill, magical things happen. One follower in each of twenty places is worthless. Twenty connected followers in one place is a tribe. It's the foundation for building something that matters.

This is why I don't have a podcast, a video channel, any activity to speak of on Facebook. It's why I don't use Twitter or travel the country visiting bookstores. There are many places to be, and it's tempting to act like those non-profits and race after the next one. But it doesn't work.

Basically, since he can't devote enough time to be a heavy user on Twitter, he is staying off the site. His recommendation is: if you can't dominate a site, stay off it. Don't spread yourself thin with 20 different posts among 20 different sites. Only join networks where you can invest time into. What do you think?

The medium is the message… to a reporter’s heart

It completely stuns me how self-proclaimed public relations gurus can think the medium doesn’t matter; rather, it’s only the pitch. Consider this, though. If you have a 400+ word document pasted in an e-mail line going to a Time Magazine reporter who covers short stints or mentions, do you think he/she will delete a long-winded message without reviewing the content? You bet they will. And you missed out.

Content is important, but format should also be considered in tailoring pitches. TV producers aren’t going to want attachments that lead to visual ads for a product or service. They’re going to want the opportunity for B-roll video, and perhaps then you might get lucky and end up on “the View”.

Another thing—thanks to NPR’s Carol Klinger – the ultimate decision-maker for booking sound bytes on “All Things Considered is (drum roll, please).... great sound content. If this is a surprise to you, then read up on your contacts. Maybe that will explain why you haven’t garnered black-and-white online or off, or even why you’re on someone’s naughty list this Christmas season. Thanks to Chris Anderson at WIRED for being Santa Claus

Opinion Tracking on Twitter

twitrratr is another tool for twitter that grades the perception of a term that on Twitter. Take the example below. I searched for the iPhone:



This could be a very useful tool for companies are marketers, but....it's not entirely accurate. Take a look at the tweets below:



Is that really negative? No. But it is pretty much impossible for the site to be 100% accurate. While I love the idea of it, the site shouldn't be used for any serious analysis.

Are You Choosing Where To Leave Fingerprints?

Classic rock band Yes was planning a 40th anniversary reunion tour this past summer, but when their lead singer was suffering from respiratory problems, they had to cancel. The band decided to recruit a new singer for the tour, turning to YouTube for possible candidates. After Yes saw Benoit David performing in his Yes cover band online, they hired him for the gig. After Boston's lead singer passed away last year, the band also searched YouTube and MySpace, finding Tommy DeCarlo to tour with them for their 2008 shows.

A lot of people have their name out on the internet with no intentional purpose of marketing themselves. Whether its a home video on YouTube, a blog post, or even a cover song on MySpace, these components make up someone's online identity - whether they take control of it or not.

You may be leaving your fingerprints everywhere online, but are you taking control of your personal brand through intentional and crafted actions? Whether you want it to or not, your actions online will not only be around forever, but they will represent you. This isn't a blog about not posting stupid pictures or crass comments on Facebook giving potential employeers reasons not to hire you (these behaviors should be an obvious no-no by now), but its about being proactive and not reactive. Instead of letting your brand or image form outside of your control, we all have a choice to be involved with what is portrayed by being active and purposeful. Sure, you might unintentionally do good things that get you noticed like Yes' new lead singer, but what if we all became more conscience of our fingerprints? Are you planning enough for your future?

The Ultimate "Spin"

Last Thursday in "Pitch Perfect" we talked about spin. Here's a great example of "spinning" by using selective information.

Death of the Viral Video

Videogum has a point...viral video is getting kind of old. It peaked in 2006, what the article calls the "Golden Age" of YouTube. Now we're ready for some quality videos, that people actually spent time and effort on. With real networks like NBC, ABC, and Comedy Central uploading shows, there's competition in the works. Of course there's always room for a new star or a hilarious mash-up, but it has to actually be good (so long, Chocolate Rain!). Follow the link for an ode to the classics.

Internet Ad Sales Slowing

Looks like the internet media is finally taking a hit from the recession. Granted, it's not that knock-out blow that print media is facing, but still...

In today's economic climate, people are less likely to support risky internet start-ups with advertising. Of course the most popular sites will continue to be funded, but those borderline successful blogs and sites may have to look to other ways to stay afloat. Don't worry though, we're still sticking around! (Gawker)

A Bright Idea

Terrible pun, I know. With students spending more and more time online, Brightstorm goes to where they are. Brightstorm launched to the public today and offers up short, entertaining educational videos to students. It is backed by young entertaining teachers in a format that won't bore students.

While this site is great for students to check out on their own, I can't help but think that teachers might integrate some of these videos into the classroom. Most of them are short and can deliver content in an amusing way. Browse the site and check out a few of their videos.


My favorite video that I've seen from the site has to be Hamlet in 60 seconds.

Ballotpedia: What is on your Ballot?

Ballotpedia.org is arguably one of the more helpful wikis out there for being informed on what will be on the ballot this election.

You can search out your individual state and figure out what issues are going to be voted on. Therefor, you can educate yourself on the issues before you enter the ballot box and wonder what proposition 123 is.

This is a great example of the power of wikis to inform and educate.

Negative Ads

I'm not talking about negative political ads, which I'm sure most people are sick of. I'm referring to Apple's latest ad that comes off a bit negative against Vista.

Here is the ad:



Maybe I'm being overly critical, but I get a negative vibe from watching this. Apple is basically saying "Microsoft invests all of their money into ads and nothing into making their product better." With Microsoft investing $350 million in advertising, they should have plenty cash on hand to come back with a rebuttal ad.

Dr. Pepper Tells The Truth

A big promise will be kept. Dr. Pepper told America that if Chinese Democracy actually came out this year, they would give everyone in America a free soda. Almost everyone was skeptical of a 2008 release of the long-awaited Guns N' Roses album, but even more were doubting that Dr. Pepper would make good on their claim if the album somehow managed to be released. When the band announced that on November 25th Best Buy would exclusively release the new disc, Dr Pepper was faced with a choice. Looks like the made the right one. Soon everyone in America will be able to visit the Dr. Pepper website and receive a free can of soda.

Qwitter: Another Great Tool for the Obsessed Twitterer

Do you pay close attention to your followers on Twitter? Do you know the exact number? Ever wonder why it goes down and who could ever unfollow you?

Welcome to Qwitter: a free service that alerts you to who unfollows you.



Qwitter is a tool for the curious. It is basically subscribing to an email with bad news. Are you curious enough to want to know who unfollows you and when? Probably.

This will probably cause some hostility with whoever unfollows you. Although, it will likely make Twitter a better place. Why is that? Maybe people will think twice before posting a tweet updating their followers that they had a ham sandwich for lunch...or else be faced with a few bad-news emails full of Qwitters.

Check out Qwitter here.

How to Creatively Sell Season Tickets

This is the most creative campaign I've seen to sell season tickets for any sports team...and it is coming from the Gonzaga Womens basketball team.

There isn't that much I can say about it without ruining it.

Check it out here.

Did Marketing for Saw 5 go too far?

I don't think so.

A new viral campaign for Saw 5 has prompted at least a few phone calls to police. The campaign lets you send a personalized voice message to anyone you want.

As long as it is used appropriately, I think this is a pretty smart marketing idea. The only problem they will run into is if people abuse it and end up harassing people.

Send out a message to a friend or coworker here.

Oasis Does It Again

As we have posted before, Oasis likes to utilize online tactics and new marketing ideas for promotion. The band's newest promotion? Listen to all 6 of their songs on their widget and get a free T-Shirt (if you are in the US). So here it is:



UPDATE: I listened to each song and got a screen saying "Congrats! You listened to all 6 songs and now can get a free T-Shirt." After clicking the link, I got a blank screen saying, "Sorry, no prizes are waiting to be claimed by you." Did they run out of shirts? Doesn't look like the promotion was really what it was cracked up to be. More people will remember how they didn't get a shirt, than those that did, which could end up hurting Oasis more than helping.

Facebook Music Coming?....

It looks like it (no, not because of the picture). Facebook has reportedly been in talks with several music services who are looking at a partnership with Facebook.

From the New York Post:

The surging social-networking giant is talking to a number of song-streaming services and music community sites, including Rhapsody.com, iMeem.com, iLike.com, and Lala.com, about an outsourcing deal that would more deeply integrate their music experience into Facebook, sources familiar with the situation said.

Zuckerberg and other Facebook executives also have been busy taking meetings with the major record companies about the strategy.

If Facebook can pull this off successfully, it will be a huge dig to MySpace. A major draw to MySpace is music. A major drawback is spam...and tons of it. Facebook doesn't have the problem of spam (it has some spam, but nowhere near MySpace volume).

Viral Video of the Week

The Viral Video of the Week comes from my favorite news source, The Onion.

Checking Facebook at Work? You're Not Alone!

This is too good. Legal analyst of CNN Jeffrey Toobin was caught checking his facebook during last nights presidential debate. Come on Jeffrey, they weren't that boring, were they?

If even CNN analysts can't pay attention to a debate, what chance do the rest of us have?

Seth Godin is Tribal

"Tribes" is the title of Seth Godin's new book on marketing and leadership. He has a great blog post about it here. Below is an excerpt:

Social media's growth in the last three years, though, gives marketers an inkling that there may be something else going on. Sure, they can run spam ads on Facebook, but they don't work. Social media, it turns out, isn't about aggregating audiences so you can yell at them about the junk you want to sell. Social media, in fact, is a basic human need, revealed digitally online. We want to be connected, to make a difference, to matter, to be missed. We want to belong, and yes, we want to be led.

This is another Seth Godin book that I will probably end up reading eventually. In the mean time, want the free Tribes ebook? Get it here.

The Newest Microceleb: Joe the Plumber

Last nights debate was kind of weird, right? In addition to usual problems of quibbling over statistics, there was a bizarre section where McCain and Obama started courting "Joe the Plumber". I thought this was a symbolic gesture, but today's headlines show that there is a real guy named Joe they were actually addressing.

Joe is apparently a plumber who hopes to buy his own plumbing company, and makes just over $250,000 a year. This number is important because Obama wants to raise taxes from 36% to 39% for anyone who makes over a quarter of a million annually. Joe's in this demographic, and he's not happy about it. He confronted Obama on a clip that showed up on youtube (above).

There's speculation about who Joe really is; he doesn't have a plumbing or contracting license, and he owes tax money. Daily Kos suspects that he's a relative of Charles Keating, and a GOP plant. He's also getting negative attention for making some latently racist comments about Obama tap-dancing "almost as good as Sammy Davis Jr."

On the other hand, many Americans are relating to Joe, who preaches that people should learn about the issues for themselves and ask tough questions. He's even inspired a line of "Joe for President" t-shirts.

Regardless, Joe has come to represent the fundamental difference between the tax policies of Mccain and Obama, and furthermore two interpretations of the American dream.

Facebook Ads Get Personal

We've written earlier on targeted facebook ads; but this is really taking it to a new level. People are apparently targeting individuals for advertising. For example, a hopeful media intern has set up facebook ads to target his potential employers. Even better, a dad has set up a facebook ad asking some girls to date his son. So embarrassing!

With advertising everyone can afford, it's turned into a fun new way to communicate. Revenue generation is now secondary. (Valleywag)

Almost Famous Online

This heifer is almost famous...

But we all want to be famous, because if we didn’t, we wouldn’t be online invading blogs, discussion forums and creating original platforms of our own. To those of you who have a fan base, a faithful following of Twitterers or you accrue relentless postings on your own blog spanning passed two people hammering back at one another, congratulations—you’re a celebrity. But for those of you still not up on social media, limited to maintaining a handle on Twitter, having to search out people to follow, you're not quite there yet.

I’m not quite there yet. I NEED to be everywhere online and it takes a lot of reading, commenting, offering advice—invading spaces, kind of like Hitchcock’s “The Birds” only a let less bloody.

One thing for certain is online spaces can be entirely exhausting and your client begs the question, “Where should we be on the Web?” and “What’s in it for us?” A lot is at stake but social media fanatics can tell you strong ROI is just around the corner. What’s more—If you’re not online, how can your client be?

Does this mean you have to spend 4 hours on Twitter “@-ing” people? Probably. Does it mean you must look for opportunities on LinkedIn to comment on people’s ongoing questions of sound PR tactics or writing a news release for the first time? Probably. Does it mean you must be among the many commenters on a credible blogger’s latest post? Absolutely. Should you start a YouTube series based on blenders? No, that’s already been done.

How up are you on social media? The paparazzi is waiting at your company's front door.

3 Easy Ways To Fight Hunger

Today is Blog Action Day 2008 and bloggers all around the world are discussing Poverty today. More than ever, the internet has allowed people to come together and take action quickly and effectively. While "end world hunger" has become a cliche in many ways, the possibility of reaching such a goal is more in reach than ever. Here are 3 easy ways to fight hunger on Blog Action Day (or really any day):

1. The Hunger Site - Using click-on ads that generate revenue, The Hunger Site gives all its click-on ad money to international food organizations. Every click provides the equivalent of 1.1 cups of food.

2. AidToChildren.com - Similar to FreeRice.com, AidToChildren.com uses an addicting vocab quiz to donate money towards hunger relief organizations. Every 4 correct answers equals 1 cent, and 25 cents provides one meal.

3. FeedThemWithMusic.com - Go to the site and buy the song of the week or full album. Each song provides one meal and each album provides 10 meals. If you are a musician, donate a song to be used for the project and featured for download on the site.

The most important part about today is that everyone does something. It's only all together that a difference can be made.

The Anatomy of an Apple Product Launch.

Can Apple do anything without creating buzz? Hardly. Today they featured an event for two new MacBooks. The event and the build up to it was very similar to previous events they have hosted for new product launches. Below is the anatomy of an Apple product launch.

How a typical launch goes:

1. Apple announces event date and featured item.
2. The blogosphere goes crazy predicting what will happen.
3. Details of the event get leaked a few days early generating buzz online.
4. The event takes place. The top tech sites live blog from it. Bloggers wait for details to come out so they can chime in with their 2 cents.
5. After the event is over, it gets covered by thousands of outlets and bloggers.

See the review of the MacBook event here.

Hello, My name is...

In today's world of social media, I think there may be better ways to raise awareness about a cause you are passionate about. A 19-year old PETA intern formally known as Jennifer Thornburg recently changed her legal name to CutOutDissection.com (yes, it's a real website) in order to bring awareness to her protest against using animals for dissection in schools.

Somehow I really wonder if CutOutDissection.com will still like her name a few years from now. I think the idea of associating yourself very closely with a cause can be effective (ie Bono and ONE or AIDS), but not to the point where the best option is to change your name to a bizarre website address. Social media and viral marketing seem to be the best way to get a message across effectively, especially if it has the legs to support itself through relevance, importance, urgency, or strong truth.

Twitter Amber Alert

I was alerted to a new function of twitter today. Making use of the ability for information to spread quickly, an Amber Alert via twitter was sent out. It was retweeted hundreds of times, as you can see by the picture below.




If you live in South Carolina, check out the link here to see if you can help.

YouTube: Full Shows Coming

YouTube has finally announced that they will be streaming full episodes of select shows. This announcement is coming late in the game as sites like Hulu.com have been picking up traction for the last year. YouTube will carry an advantage though, because of the incredibly high amount of traffic they see on a daily basis.

So worry no more, TV shows like MacGyver will soon be on a YouTube channel near you...


Photo courtesy of www.TGdaily.com

Saturday Open Thread

This may become a weekly feature, but I wanted to pose a question and get your feedback in the comments. The question is....

What will Twitter look like in 5 years?

Leave your thoughts in the comments and invite others to chime in!

Viral Video of the Week

The top YouTube video of the week comes from....Fred. He is probably the most successful YouTube user out there. While a lot of people can get videos to reach over 1 million views, very few can consistently put out videos with that many hits.

The video below continues with Fred promoting the movie City of Embers.

ROI: Why Social Media Will Grow In Weak Economy

Gary Vaynerchuk, host of Winelibrary TV, gives his insights into why it is so important to engage in social media especially when times are tough.

Will these companies take his advice? Probably not, but they should.

Free Dr. Pepper?

In May of this year, Dr. Pepper offered a challenge to Gun's N' Roses: a free can of Dr. Pepper to everyone in America (except former GNR members) if Gun's N' Roses released their album "Chinese Democracy" before the end of 2008. Sounds like a great PR idea, right? The album has been in the works since 1991 with little sign that it would be coming out this year.

“It took a little patience to perfect Dr Pepper’s special mix of 23 ingredients, which our fans have come to know and love,” Dr Pepper director of marketing Jaxie Alt says. “So we completely understand and empathize with Axl’s quest for perfection — for something more than the average album. We know once it’s released, people will refer to it as ‘Dr Pepper for the ears’ because it will be such a refreshing blend of rich, bold sounds - an instant classic.”

This PR stunt garnered a lot of attention and seemed like a brilliant move for Dr. Pepper...until today. Guns N' Roses announced that "Chinese Democracy" will be coming out Nov. 23rd exclusively through Best Buy.

So where is the free Dr. Pepper? 300 million Americans are waiting...

Put Your Company on Twitter

Not every company should be on Twitter, but the vast majority of them should be even if they aren't promoting their brand.

Top 5 reasons your company should be on Twitter:

5. Follow trends (Especially trending topics)
4. Get feedback (Listen to your customers complaints and praises. Act on them.)
3. It makes a great customer service tool (Check out ComcastCares)
2. Set up an RSS feed from twitter to track conversations (Very easy to do)
1. Be proactive in the conversation (Find out what your customers want!)

Twittertise

Twittertise is a neat application that lets you send out scheduled "tweets." Check out the video below. Anyone plan on using this?


Twittertise Overview from whalewisdom on Vimeo.

YouTube Adding Links

YouTube is adding another source of revenue to its site: links to iTunes and Amazon. Recently, YouTube added banner ads to popular videos as a way to monetize the site. This form of advertisement should be much less intrusive than a banner ad. It will also make more sense.

Take a look at the top videos of all time. What do you notice? An overwhelming amount of them are music videos. Adding a link in the video to purchase the song will help drive sales. The Pandora Application has this feature built-in to it, which has cause me to spend at least $50 on various songs.

Making Social Networking Productive

USA Today featured an article today on how companies are engaging in social networking.

Main points from the article:
- There has been a big shift with companies in the last two months toward social networking.
- 85% of employees work on projects with people in other offices
- Companies are getting involved in "company only" social networks (check out Yammer for an example).


So what?

As companies are realizing the benefits of internal social networking, I imagine they must also realize the advantages of getting involved through social networking with their customers. Many companies have leveraged social networking for their products, but I expect many more to jump on the bandwagon in the future.

One of the best social networking sites set up by a company comes from Saturn. Check out ImSaturn.

Making The News...Literally

CNN is coming into the world of 2.0. They are now showing Tweets sent to Rick Sanchez on national television. Getting your voice heard gets easier and easier. News seems to be shifting towards a new trend, wherein everyone can be heard...briefly. There's less patience for sprawling articles, and more for instant gratification. Follow the link to see video! (Gawker)

OUI: Online Under the Influence

With the rise of the iPhone and blackberries, web 2.0 sometimes gets a little out of control. People often go online when they aren't in any state to do so. Gmail now offers a free insurance policy against drunk emailing. The application asks you a series of simple math questions before you can send anything on weekend nights (the time is adjustable).

What about drunk wall posts and tweeting? For now, you're still on your own.

Twitter Virus Coming?

This is a question I have been wondering since I joined the Twitter community. Almost all links are shortened using a site like tinyURL.com. What is to stop someone from getting a few followers and linking to a virus, not too unlike viruses that have floated around Facebook. I posed this question on Twitter with the responses below. What are your thoughts?

PennyCave.com - Don't Be Fooled

I came across the new site PennyCave.com last night and was immediately impressed by whoever came up with the idea. The site is simple: An eBay-style auction site for brand new electronics, gadgets, and video games where every auction starts at 1 penny. Users place bids increasing the price by one penny at a time, until the time runs out and the winner pays a fraction of the cost of the actual product.

Here is the catch (there are actually two):
1. Each time you place a bid (increasing price 1 penny), you pay $1.
2. Each time you place a bid, the countdown timer starts over (most auctions are 1-3 minutes long)

Example: The bidding for an iPod touch starts at $0.00 at 10am. When the auction starts, the countdown timer starts at 2:00 minutes and counts down. Each time a user places a bid (adding a cent), the timer starts over. When the timer runs down to zero, the winner only pays the final bid price, plus 1 dollar for every time they bid.

The designers are making tons of money and creating an addicting atmosphere. If PennyCave.com lists an item they are selling (iPod Touch with retail of $230) and sell it for $10.00 ($1000 of bid money goes to them for each 1 penny bid made), they will make a heap of money. The countdown timer creates a sense of urgency for the bidder, and since it restarts with every bid, it actually doesn't matter if you bid at the last minute.

The risk to users is that you can sit there for hours increasing the bidding (the auction of the iPod touch I watched started at 10am today and is still going on right now), and end up investing a lot of money into the auction ($1 each time you bid), and then not actually winning. The auctions that are currently running never have their original start time listed, and there is no way to tell how far a bidder is in already or how far they will go. A bidder could have bid 50 times (spending $50 already to try and win) and a new bidder could enter the auction and drive the original bidder away because they had spent too much money. Caution to those thinking they can beat the system: You can't win.

Citizen Journalism Takes a Credibility Hit

Citizen journalism is a great idea. People can post breaking news as it happens before the media can get to it. One problem though: fake news. This became an issue today with someone posting on CNN's iReport that Steve Jobs had been rushed to the hospital because of a heart attack.

The story was posted to iReports homepage and sent Apple's stock price for a dive. This definitely confirms the power of internet rumors as well as the power of the individual on the internet.

Citizen journalism is a tricky issue. You want people to upload news instantly, but you also want it to be legitimate. By the time you check sources for the breaking news, it will have likely already been covered by other outlets. Strict moderation of sites is a good option. Also, with major news stories such as a heart attack of a major figure, it would be wise to get a credible source before posting it to the homepage.

To see an in-depth summary of this issue, check out this article.

Twitter Terminology (Twerminology)

While being an active Twitter user (follow me here) I have been exposed to a whole new set of terms on Twitter. Below is a list of the most common phrases that I have run into. Feel free to leave other terms I missed in the comments.

Tweeps - People on Twitter
Tweeples - Plural form of Tweeps
Tweets - Posts on Twitter
Twitosphere - Everything on Twitter
Tworld - The world of Twitter
Twittertude - To have a bad attitude on Twitter

And my favorite....

Twis - To dis someone over Twitter

From TV to the Computer

It was announced last week that ratings for all of the TV premiers were down from last year. Can't say I'm surprised. Did anyone really expect them to go up?

One reason they dropped: the rise of TV on the internet. Hulu has shown a big increase in popularity over the last year, with NBC being a major backer behind it. More people are shifting towards watching TV shows at their convenience, instead of only at a specific time slot. I believe there is a correlation between the rise in popularity of the DVR and internet TV. Both let you watch almost any show whenever you want. While DVR lets you skip commercials, internet TV cuts down on commercial time significantly.

Another reason: It is free. Why buy the cow (cable subscription) when you get the milk (tv shows) for free? When people started sharing CDs online illegally, the labels went after them. The TV networks are doing the opposite by offering up their content online also.

This is a step in the right direction for TV networks. They are embracing their customers and adopting to what they want. They learned from the mistakes of the music industry and embracing change.

WSJ has more on this here.

An Answer For Struggling News Publications?

Most would agree that print media is starting to become a thing of the past; we can read articles online, subscribe to RSS feeds, and publish our own blogs that rival major news sources for readership. Print media is declining in an increasingly digital world.

While many newspapers and magazines are struggling to figure out how to keep up with the changing times, there is a growing number of publications that have turned to video. Major publications like the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, USA Today, and Forbes have all started online video networks to enhance their news and bring content to a new kind of reader. Many are reporting great success using online video. In August, The Washington Post recorded 1.5 million video streams to their site - their highest number ever and up 162% from last year.

Here is a report from Beet.tv of Washington Post's Online Content Editor, Jim Brady, talking about how news publications must adapt to a changing world.

Most Creative Band. Ever.

When it comes to marketing and creating buzz, Nine Inch Nails know what they are doing. It was confirmed today that they will be releasing their own iPhone application. They will be releasing a custom version of "Tap Tap Revenge" which is basically an iPhone version of Guitar Hero.

This adds another creative marketing tactic to their list. Taking a look back in time, they have had some remarkable marketing campaigns. My favorite has to be the release of Year Zero, which involved leaving USB drives with new tracks in restrooms of clubs.

Why do their campaigns work?

1. Dedicated fan base
2. Creative tactics
3. Most important: They get fans involved. They are not just pushing a CD on their fans. They get them involved in the process and to contribute their input. This is something more companies need to do. You will be a lot more effective if you engage in a conversation, rather than just yelling your slogan.

The Power of the Internet Meme

The MTV Europe Awards has been RickRolled. That's right. Rick Astley, the singer whose song "Never Gonna Give You Up" has made a major resurgence in the last year because of the RickRoll phenomenon had made a comeback.

Rick Astley, who hasn't had a hit song in 21 years, has been nominated for "Best Artist Ever." Others nominated include: Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Green Day and Tokio Hotel.

You can see the now famous "Never Gonna Give You Up" video here.

Internet memes fascinate me. Wikipedia has a good list of them here.

I'm almost surprised that Tay Zonday wasn't nominated...

Put The Phone Down

As more issues are being raised these days about appropriate uses of technology and social media, there are some that should be obvious at this point. Less than two weeks after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger outlawed texting for California drivers, a new report has come out revealing that the engineer driving the commuter train that crashed September 12th, sent a text message 22-seconds before the crash. The accident killed 25 people and injured 130 others.

I salute Gov. Schwarzenegger for his steps towards protecting people, but no amount of laws will cover every circumstance. Common sense should be our first line of defense when thinking about appropriate uses for how we use all the tools that the social media world is bringing us.

iTunes Music Store To Shut Down

No, not really. I don't think anyone believes this one, but Apple is threatening to close the iTunes music store if music royalty rates increase. Tomorrow, the Copyright Royalty Board will be voting on a substantial increase in the royalty rate paid to record labels. Apple already pays $0.70 per song to the labels and since record labels don't want to cover the costs, an increase would most likely force them to raise the consumer's price, making the current $0.99 model an unprofitable one.

In a related story, Warner Music's CEO said that Guitar Hero and Rock Band should pay more money to labels to use their songs in the games. Activision's CEO quickly responded that it should be the other way around. Due to the immense popularity of the video games, labels are receiving free promotion, a new avenue to market the music, and as a result have seen huge jumps in album sales of their back catalog (many albums have jumped 200%, 300%, and even 1000% in sales after being featured in the games).

What I see in these two situations is the record labels scrambling around and loosing sight of the bigger picture. Instead of panicking about how to make money and trying to squeeze cash out of everyone, the labels need to understand that they have to start looking at their business model differently. How about instead of labels trying to get more money for their songs in Rock Band, they set up a system that would allow gamers to click on a song they are playing, enter a music store, download an album to their XBox, search similar artists, and alert their friends list what music they bought. Maybe gamers could be alerted when the artist they are rocking out to is coming to their town in concert? I came up with these ideas in 30 seconds, and I would really hope there are more creative minds than mine out there at the labels. The new world of marketing is all about social media and tapping into its potential. The point is this: Labels will die if they don't start innovating new ways to stay alive.

The Top 50 Tweeples

Sarah Evans is compiling a list of the Top 50 People to Follow on Twitter. You can give your input here.

The contest has generated a lot of chatter on Twitter so far with over 600 participants and over 1,000 people nominated. Peter Shankman of HARO and Mashable have promoted it.

Looking for someone to nominate? Look here.

YouTube: Making Cheating Viral

I knew this would happen. Not to boast, but I did. Drudge linked to a story from The Chicago Sun-Times on how kids are spreading cheating tactics through YouTube.

From the article:
‘‘I know it’s not a good thing to cheat,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s academic dishonesty, blah, blah, blah. But I think everyone has at least done it once.’’

Kiki’s video is one of several dozen on the popular Internet site YouTube that show detailed ways to cheat on tests. Students no longer conceal answers in the sole of a shoe or the underside of a baseball cap’s bill. In the age of continual access to the Internet and laser-precision printers, cheating has gone high-tech.

And some techniques, like Kiki’s, come with a guarantee.

‘‘This is 98 percent effective,’’ she said. ‘‘Hopefully, any of my teachers don’t see this video. It would be very awkward.’

While this is a resource for students to discover new ways of cheating, it should also be a valuable resource for teachers. This is the information age, where you can learn about anything you want with a simple Google search.

The video below has over 2 Million views. With all the time that this kid spent making the video, he probably could have just studied and would have ended up knowing the material just as well without cheating....