We hope you have been enjoying the weekly installments of “Social Six” so far! We will be taking a few weeks off to celebrate the holidays in style, but will be back in full force for 2011. See you all there!
COMMUNITIES
Social Media Is Greater Marketing Priority for Small Businesses
While big businesses are still in the lead when it comes to social media usage, but small businesses are now catching up. According to a new survey, small businesses consider word of mouth to be the most important marketing tactic in their arsenal. Facebook was ranked as the third most influential tool for small businesses, only behind websites and email. While big businesses still ranked Facebook as far more important, this is still a big step for small companies in the right direction.
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Ed Norton: activism not just for actors
If you love Ed Norton (who doesn’t?) and good causes (again, who doesn’t?), check out this video. Norton has co-founded a site, crowdrise.com, in order to help bring social media and activism to one place. The site offers incentives on donating to good causes. For example, for the holidays they have provided e-cards that can be sent to friends and families, in which the money goes straight to a good cause. With so many sites appearing dedicated to social good, it is a nice opportunity to donate during the holiday season.
MEASUREMENT
2010: ‘Twas The Year Of Mobile Apps, LBS And A Huge Surge In Data Traffic
2010 was the year of mobile. No one would dispute this statement. But plenty of the actual statistics are unknown amongst everyday users. A new video by MobileFuture lays out all of the specifics. There were five billion apps downloaded this year, a 347% growth in Twitter mobile usage and 200 million mobile Facebook users. It has been a historic year for all things mobile, location based and social media, so check out this video for some cool stats to impress your friends with at holiday parties.
INFLUENCERS
Facebook Founder Zuckerberg Named Time Person of Year
In this year’s Time Magazine list of nominees for Person of the Year, there were some pretty heavy hitters. Lebron James, Sarah Palin, Julian Assange and Obama were some of the big names gracing the list. But lo and behold, Mark Zuckerberg, 26 year old creator of Facebook came out on top and was named Person of the Year this week for “changing how we all live our lives”. Zuckerberg is joining a long list of honorees, including President Obama, Bill Clinton, Deng Xiaoping and even the Computer. He was also named on Forbes list of 400 wealthiest Americans, coming in at number 35. It’s been a big year for Zuckerberg, and this might just be the perfect way to round it out.
PARTNERSHIPS
“The Onion” Launches Its Fake Sports Site With Comedy Central
If you’re looking for a great new entertainment website, the newest project from The Onion will be right up your alley. Onionsportnetwork.com has just been launched by SportDome, in order to bring some humor to the world of sports. Comedy Central is also getting in on this project, and will be creating a TV show in January. The website and TV show will be extensions of one another, in that the website will be featuring stories, clips and quotes from the TV series.
FUN STUFF
Who Coined ‘Social Media’? Web Pioneers Compete for Credit
The term ‘social media’ has swept the nation (including this blog) and it’s safe to say that it has become a household term. So to be the person who can claim that ‘social media’ was a term they first used is a big honor. Up until now, Tina Sharkey (previously from AOL) has had that privilege. But now, others are stepping up and taking credit for the now widely used term. Ted Leonsis, who also worked at AOL, was quoted using the phrase earlier than Sharkey was. Check out this interesting article about the origins of the term ‘social media’ for more details.
