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.

Foursquare Adds a Dose of Duper with New Swarm Badges

When I first signed up for Foursquare, my sole mission was to unlock the once-elusive Super Swarm Badge. I still remember hitting refresh over and over as I watched the number of other people checking in slowly grow until at last it peaked at 253 people.

But the pride I felt for that 250-person accomplishment dwindled with each subsequent check in at a baseball game (with 300 other people), concert (400 other people) or music festival (with over 600 people checking in).

Every one of those massive check ins made my just-barely-qualifying 253 person check in seem downright puny, and I longed for Foursquare to add some new Swarm badges.

Finally, my location-based prayers have been answered with the introduction of Super Duper and Epic Swarm Badges. The Super Duper Swarm Badge is for groups of 500 users checking in at the same place and the Epic Swarm Badge is for when 1,000 or more users get together.

With a user base just hitting 4 million and growing fast, it seemed it would only be a matter of time before we saw larger Swarm Badges.

Now I just need a ticket to SXSW and I'll be all set, because you can be sure Foursquare is anxious to make a big return to the event that launched it to the forefront of location-based social networking.

Questionable Moves by Google Worth a Second Look

Usually when I talk about recent developments from Google, it's in reference to some big announcement or new feature and why it is/isn't a good idea. But today, I'd like to switch things up a bit and talk about a couple non-product issues that have come up over the past 24 hours that I found interesting.

The first was a story from TechCrunch about MySpace getting ripped on the discussion forum Quora when a user asked whether or not MySpace will be able to recover. Not so bad, right? But what was surprising was that one of the answers came from Google's VP of Corporate Development, who responded with a very sarcastic "Is this a real question?"

The reason this caught my attention is that Google is a major advertising partner with MySpace, so I'm surprised that Google would publicly criticize them. But is this a sign of an upcoming split, or Google simply being realistic?

The second move by Google yesterday was the announcement that new Flickr users will now be able to use their Google account to sign in, rather than using/creating a Yahoo account. My main criticism of this move is the fact that existing Flickr users still have to use their Yahoo account (which I only use to get into Flickr, usually after 3 or 4 failed attempts because I can never remember my Yahoo login info!)

My personal criticisms aside, there is one other huge reason people are questioning this move; Google owns Picasa, a direct competitor with Flickr. At first I agreed with these critics, but let's face it: Flickr is the gold standard of photo-sharing and Picasa is a distant second. So in many ways this a win-win, because Google will keep people from creating new Yahoo accounts to use Flickr while Yahoo will get more people to use Flickr instead of Picasa.

Both of these moves by Google show that even the little moves a company makes can have a major ripple effect.

Video Post: Companies Like to Show QR IQ

We've seen more and more QR codes popping up all over the place, with most of them allowing users to view websites or more information about a product or brand. And now, a website called Likify generates QR codes that automatically "like" your brand on Facebook. I dive into these codes and more in today's video post.

The Much-Anticipated MySpace Facelift

The Joan Rivers of the Internet, MySpace is continually fighting the online aging process and trying to stay in the social media conversation. Its latest facelift is actually its biggest overhaul to date, with a change both to its look and to the way the site is used.

Visually, MySpace is going with a modern, block look that you'd expect to see with iPad-optimized online magazines. But ascetics aside, there are several new features that are worth getting into:

• Everything but the kitchen sync - No longer wanting to compete directly with Facebook, MySpace has made it very easy for users to sync other accounts to their MySpace profile.
• Entertainment emphasis - MySpace has been trying to establish itself as a music, movies and media hub, and really pushes for that emphasis with the new user interface.
• The power of suggestion - MySpace now boasts a recommendation engine algorithm that provides suggestions based on your other activities.
• MySpace has unlocked the Badge-making Badge! - Keeping current with today's social media trends, MySpace users can unlock various badges and earn different levels of distinction.

With account syncing, profiles and social gaming, it seems MySpace is defining itself as a social network that's not sure it wants to be a social network. It's a confusing brand direction, but one that has raised a few eyebrows and garnered some much needed publicity.