Online video has seen an exponential boom among web surfers since the early 2000's. According to comScore reports, more than 34-billion videos populate the internet, with more than 183-million users consuming that video. With all that video floating around, how are we ensuring that quality content is being created?
Axiom's Creative Director, Dave Sniadak, will be speaking at the I_Blog Conference in Perry, Iowa, Saturday, November 6th to deliver a Vasics of Vlogging seminar. He'll attempt to enlighten bloggers with some tips on how they can not only incorporate video into their blogs, but how to raise the production level a few notches.
Some of the topics Dave will be addressing are the three kinds of vlogs that users generally create, and three key components producers should heed before hitting record for their next vlog. Among other things, Dave will attempt to produce a real-time vlog post with some brave session attendees. Check back early next week for a session recap.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Only 4% Online Adults Use Location-Based Services
The unfortunate side effect of following social media news as closely as many of us do is that we sometimes forget that not everybody uses, understands, or even cares about it to extent that we do.
For instance, looking around the social media news headlines you'd think that location-based services like Foursquare or Gowalla are dominating the social sphere. However, a very surprising report from the Pew Research Center shows that these services have a long way to go before they can be considered mainstream staples.
The title of the report, "4% of online Americans use location-based services," pretty much says it all. The rest of the study dives further into the numbers, but all of the statistics point to the same conclusion that these location-based services aren't being utilized across multiple demographics.
The report breaks down the use of these services by several categories, and if you piece together the highest percentages, the ideal geolocation user is an 18-29 year old (8%) Hispanic (10%) male (6%). But even the highest percentages are lackluster, given that the study covered online adults.
But this low usage rate is by no means a sign that location-based services are doomed to fail, it only means that they are not mainstream as of right now. However, these statistics should be taken into account by companies looking to launch any sort of location-based campaign, because the numbers show that it may have some trouble reaching a large majority of the online population.
For instance, looking around the social media news headlines you'd think that location-based services like Foursquare or Gowalla are dominating the social sphere. However, a very surprising report from the Pew Research Center shows that these services have a long way to go before they can be considered mainstream staples.
The title of the report, "4% of online Americans use location-based services," pretty much says it all. The rest of the study dives further into the numbers, but all of the statistics point to the same conclusion that these location-based services aren't being utilized across multiple demographics.
The report breaks down the use of these services by several categories, and if you piece together the highest percentages, the ideal geolocation user is an 18-29 year old (8%) Hispanic (10%) male (6%). But even the highest percentages are lackluster, given that the study covered online adults.
But this low usage rate is by no means a sign that location-based services are doomed to fail, it only means that they are not mainstream as of right now. However, these statistics should be taken into account by companies looking to launch any sort of location-based campaign, because the numbers show that it may have some trouble reaching a large majority of the online population.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Switching Teams: Why Facebook Places Might be Worth a Second Look
Without a doubt, the office favorite here at Axiom is Foursquare. If any of us use Facebook Places, it's rare and infrequent--in opposition to some staffers' obsessions with checking in daily on Foursquare. First Facebook took MySpace, then it took our beloved chatting services MSN & AOL, and now we're about to witness its first real attempt to take down our favorite location-based social network.
So what did Facebook Places do to make us take a closer look? They combined it with our nation's newest obsession: local deals. Simply titled "Deals," the service will provide four different special offers available only through Facebook Places. Individual Deals will offer a single deal just for you, while Friend Deals will allow you and a buddy to be in on the savings. Loyalty Deals will be similar to Foursquare Mayorships for frequent customers, and Charity Deals will allow you to donate to a particular cause.
And of course, in true Facebook fashion, every time you cash in on a deal it pops up on your newsfeed.
What does this all boil down to? Where Foursquare held the monopoly in the location-based marketing arena, they now have a direct deals competitor with a social networking giant. Sure, Facebook doesn't have the bragging rights that can only come from a legit Foursquare Mayorship, but with brands like Chipotle and GAP already signing onto Facebook Deals, there might be reason to switch.
So what did Facebook Places do to make us take a closer look? They combined it with our nation's newest obsession: local deals. Simply titled "Deals," the service will provide four different special offers available only through Facebook Places. Individual Deals will offer a single deal just for you, while Friend Deals will allow you and a buddy to be in on the savings. Loyalty Deals will be similar to Foursquare Mayorships for frequent customers, and Charity Deals will allow you to donate to a particular cause.
And of course, in true Facebook fashion, every time you cash in on a deal it pops up on your newsfeed.
What does this all boil down to? Where Foursquare held the monopoly in the location-based marketing arena, they now have a direct deals competitor with a social networking giant. Sure, Facebook doesn't have the bragging rights that can only come from a legit Foursquare Mayorship, but with brands like Chipotle and GAP already signing onto Facebook Deals, there might be reason to switch.
Labels:
facebook,
foursquare
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Virtually Fired
Some of you may remember this summer’s run-in with Axiom’s own Foursquare Cheater. Some unknown user had checked into the Axiom offices often enough to steal the mayorship from an employee.
It just so happens this employee is very competitive and did not appreciate the virtual lies.
After a few emails to Foursquare urging them to reconsider their security system, we finally learn that they’ve granted businesses the authority to fire fake mayors. According to Foursquare representatives:
Yesterday we gave verified business owners the ability to oust a Mayor if they have reason to believe the Mayorship was not gained through legitimate check-ins. If a Mayor is flagged by a business owner, they’ll be removed from office immediately and the next user in line will take over as Mayor.
That’s right. Businesses can now go all Donald Trump over cheaters, given they’re paying enough attention to know who’s legitimate and who isn’t. Even though this hardly matters for an office such as Axiom, I imagine it will cause quite a stir amongst bars and restaurants that are offering mayoral perks. But what happens if a newly-fired mayor was let go by mistake? What if the next in line causes a fuss over the legitimacy of a mayorship? Will businesses need to listen to this back-and-fourth rivalry to ensure their mayors are authentic?
Even though I was able to earn the Axiom mayorship back by old school check-ins, I don’t know if firing mayors is helping or hurting the issue. Nothing says 'don’t patronize my business' more than virtually getting fired.
It just so happens this employee is very competitive and did not appreciate the virtual lies.
After a few emails to Foursquare urging them to reconsider their security system, we finally learn that they’ve granted businesses the authority to fire fake mayors. According to Foursquare representatives:
Yesterday we gave verified business owners the ability to oust a Mayor if they have reason to believe the Mayorship was not gained through legitimate check-ins. If a Mayor is flagged by a business owner, they’ll be removed from office immediately and the next user in line will take over as Mayor.
That’s right. Businesses can now go all Donald Trump over cheaters, given they’re paying enough attention to know who’s legitimate and who isn’t. Even though this hardly matters for an office such as Axiom, I imagine it will cause quite a stir amongst bars and restaurants that are offering mayoral perks. But what happens if a newly-fired mayor was let go by mistake? What if the next in line causes a fuss over the legitimacy of a mayorship? Will businesses need to listen to this back-and-fourth rivalry to ensure their mayors are authentic?
Even though I was able to earn the Axiom mayorship back by old school check-ins, I don’t know if firing mayors is helping or hurting the issue. Nothing says 'don’t patronize my business' more than virtually getting fired.
Labels:
foursquare
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Axiom Brings Home the Daveys
Not long after Axiom was awarded with a Gold MarCom for our 1K Country Adventure campaign with Country Inns & Suites, we learn we are also being recognized with two Davey Awards!
We're proud to share that our 1K Country Adventure campaign was awarded with a Gold Davey in the Online Marketing Effectiveness category. In case you missed what the campaign was about, here's a recap from our esteemed videographer.
We also won a Silver Davey for our Toro Facebook video titled, "How Old is Your Toro?" The video was created to showcase the durability and longevity of Toro mowers, and we were blown away with the number of responses.
We're all honored to have received awards for our work, especially from the International Academy of the Visual Arts and the Davey Awards.
To see more of our award-winning work, visit us online at www.axiomcom.com.
We're proud to share that our 1K Country Adventure campaign was awarded with a Gold Davey in the Online Marketing Effectiveness category. In case you missed what the campaign was about, here's a recap from our esteemed videographer.
We also won a Silver Davey for our Toro Facebook video titled, "How Old is Your Toro?" The video was created to showcase the durability and longevity of Toro mowers, and we were blown away with the number of responses.
We're all honored to have received awards for our work, especially from the International Academy of the Visual Arts and the Davey Awards.
To see more of our award-winning work, visit us online at www.axiomcom.com.
Labels:
award
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)