Monthly Archives: November 2010
Last month, I visited Los Angeles for Digital Hollywood, a fascinating collision of the entertainment, technology, and marketing worlds. Each of the 16 sessions I attended featured a panel of smart thinkers from amongst digital and traditional agencies, behemoth entertainment studios, teensy web startups, content providers – and even entertainers themselves.
The conference offered four days and thirteen tracks’ worth of topics. The discussions I saw ran the gamut from devices, platforms, consumer innovations, and new media to advertising, social media, content, analytics, distribution and others. In the multimedia wrap-up at right you’ll find several intriguing, dare I say provocative, insights:
- Apple vs. Android: The Mudwrestle
- Disruption is Dying
- Utility is the New Advertising
- The Name of the Game is Game Mechanics
- Tomorrow’s tech: Touchless
- Content is King, but Distribution is King-er
- Screw the Masses. Let’s Bring Exclusivity Back.
- Social Media: The Modern Marketer’s Swiss Army Knife
- iTV. Really? Yes. Finally?? YES.
All in all, we Critical Mass-ers will be regular visitors of upcoming Digital Hollywood conferences. What about you? Which events interest you these days?
COMMUNITIES
Cold Stone Transforms the Ice Cream Social With Facebook
Cold Stone ice cream has always been a favorite amongst dessert lovers, but now they are also becoming a favorite amongst social media enthusiasts. This week, Cold Stone launched one of the very first eGifts on Facebook. Rather than receiving a virtual gift, Cold Stone is allowing users to send other Facebook users an actual coupon for their ice cream. This information is then directly pushed to the user’s newsfeed so that all of their friends can see the news about their purchase. While this is an extremely effective way to reach consumers through social media, it has also had an immediate effect on Cold Stone sales. Even in the short time that the campaign has been running, Cold Stone reports that their sales have already been positively affected.
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Facebook Alternative Diaspora Releasing Private Alpha Invites
A few months ago, flurrying talks about a new social network were all over the Internet. After another one of Facebook privacy issues, a group of New York University students got together and decided they would start their own network, one that will “put individuals in control of their data.” And so was born Diaspora. The site is currently sending out invitations for alpha users, so hopefully much more information will soon be out about this new site. But as of right now, we do know that they have received a substantial amount of donations, all the way up to $200,641, with some pretty hefty backers, including Mark Zuckerberg.
Move over Foursquare, Facebook Places is making a move. Socialized mobile has made SM headlines for months now and is here to stay. A couple of weeks ago, Facebook announced they are launching a new application called “Deals,” a functionality that allows the user to find deals at nearby businesses. Essentially, this gives local businesses the opportunity to offer you a deal when you check in to their location.
These deals will fall in to four categories: Individual Deals offers discounts, free stuff and other rewards; Friend Deals allows you and a friend to claim something together; Loyalty Deals target regular customers and Charity Deals gives you the chance to donate to a charity.
Here are some examples of what brands are doing now.
Individual Deals: Gap gave away a pair of jeans to the first 10,000 people to check in to one of their locations.
Friend Deals: Starbucks has a custom application tab that allows you to share a “red cup” with a friend. It’s a little misleading in that you think you are sending a free drink to a friend, but really your friend still needs to check in to a Starbucks in order to receive the free offer. Either way, you still get a deal.
Considering the economic downturn, there’s no doubt that many people have cut their holiday budgets, shortened their gift recipient lists, and are spending less on each gift. However, according to Mintel’s Holiday Shopping Report (June 2010), spending during the holiday was the least impacted of all spending occasions. Forty-three percent of consumers said they planned to spend the same or more than they did last holiday season.
Regardless of their budget though, consumers told us that holiday shopping is stressful. Of course there are obvious reasons like crowded malls, outrageously chaotic traffic conditions and increased family obligations, but consumers face other speed bumps that companies can help with.
Last holiday season and throughout the year, Curious has been conducting a series of discussions with members of our ShopTalk online community to dig deeper into consumer holiday shopping habits and the reasons why they shop the way they do.
COMMUNITIES
7 Twitter Strategies for Growing a Great Following
Size really does matter… at least when it comes to your Twitter following. But quality is equally, if not more, important. You want to be following the right people, and making the right connections. It can be hard to decipher who will be a good addition to your network, but this article lays out 7 surefire ways to meet the right people on Twitter. The article gives ideas such as joining conversations, starting with people you already know, integrating your social networks, and even offering incentives. While some may work for you and others may not, these are great strategies to know about and to keep in mind.
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Google unveils Hotpot, a recommendation engine for Places
In the midst of all the excitement surrounding Facebook messages this week, Google has also managed to unveil an exciting new feature. Hotpot will be a location based recommendation engine. Google will encourage users to create reviews and ratings of a location, in order for them to recommend them to other users. This is an extremely user based experience, not just for tech junkies or businesses. It is aimed at the average user and encourages them to participate. There will also be a social aspect, allowing users to connect with their friends through their Gmail account.
MEASUREMENT
Twitter’s Official Analytics Product Has Arrived
After many rumors and discussions, Twitter is finally rolling out their Twitter Analytics feature to certain users. Read More
Thanksgiving is exactly one week away and I’m sure you are beginning to frantically wonder, “What do I need from the grocery store?” or “Is my flight going to be on time?” Well, you’re in luck because I have scoped out the top five FREE mobile applications that will help make your holiday stress-free and fun too.
Travel – WorldMate
Planning to travel for Thanksgiving? The WorldMate app lets you book travel, check status of flights, links to maps and Yelp Reviews and much more. (Available on BlackBerry, iPhone, Android)
Entertainment - Word Spree: Thanksgiving Lite
You can entertain yourself or others around you with this simple Thanksgiving themed word game for iPhone. Create some fun holiday stories to share with friends. (Available on iPhone)
Football - ScoreMobile
Stay in sync with the Thanksgiving Day football games with this app. It continues to monitor in the background the league or game that was last viewed. There are many customizable features and you’ll never be left wondering what the neighbors are yelling about. (Available on Blackberry, iPhone, Android)
Food Prep - Epicurious
Personally, this is one of my favorite apps. With this handy application you’ll be able to search for great recipes, create interactive shopping lists, and follow easy step-by-step, stove-side instructions. (Available on iPhone, Android)
Lose the Holiday Pounds - Calorie Counter
This app helps keep crack of calories and also figures the recommended daily intake for a user to achieve your fitness and weight goals, and has a built-in barcode scanner to make finding foods a snap. (Available on BlackBerry, iPhone, Android)
I hope you can use these app suggestions to create a memorable holiday! Please share any additional apps that you plan to use for Thanksgiving below.
Written by Jessi Odenbach
