Just a quick one: here are 2 presentations about social media that I found in the last few days:
Neil Perkin about what’s next in Media:
The second one is about the future of social networks, a research report by futurethink.
It’s amazing how much unfounded gossip there is about the fact that Steve Jobs might reveal the iphone 2 on June 9th. One of the first „solid“ rumours I saw was at Gizmodo. Since then, new rumours, hints and other gossip has increased.
I subscribed to an RSS Newsfeed of Google News with the keyword iphone. There is so much happening, it’s amazing. If apple had tried to construct a viral or word of mouth campaign around the iphone, they couldn’t have done a better job than the web just did. Or may be they did help spreading the word?
Some more of these clues and assumptions that are spreading around the web are mentioned in an article of Newsweek:
Jobs‘ secretive computer and gadget company, has been quietly positioning millions of units of a mysterious new product—almost certainly the new iPhone—in key markets since March. And yet, incredibly, not one credible image of Apple’s new product has yet been published.
[…] One clue: Jobs began racking up serious mileage on his corporate jet during the company’s final quarter of 2007, as he likely finalized deals with distribution partners in Europe and Asia, and perhaps scrutinized the first 3G iPhone handsets to come from his partners‘ factories. Morgan Stanley’s Kathryn Huberty was the first to spot the enormous jump in Jobs‘ airplane expenses—to $550,000 from $203,000 during the previous quarter.
[…] By May 6, it became clear that AT&T was getting ready for something big, with a blogger publishing an all-hands memo to employees at AT&T stores telling them they couldn’t take vacation time between June 15 and July 12. That news hit amid widespread reports of iPhone shortages in Europe and across the U.S.
Cult of Mac even listed some of the Specs the new iphone should have (some have been rumoring around for quite some time, admittingly, but the info about the size – 22% thinner – is new). A seemingly rather complete list of the current rumors can be found at mobilecrunch, rated with a „Pre-keynote Legitometer“.
With all the clues, hints and gossip around the web, it appears to be like a giant world wide scavenger hunt. The whole setup and effect should be every marketers dream (and every ad agencys dilemma, since less or no advertising will be needed for the launch). Once the product itself carries viral potential, it automatically triggers word of mouth. The iphone is a classic example of this.
PS: if all goes well, I will be owning an iPhone 2 by next week 😉
Barack Obama seems to utilize quite a few social media tools, having many speeches published on youtube, twittering, and of course blogging and a facebook profile. Now he has launched a crowd sourcing platform „oh boy obama„, on which people can vote for projects during his presidency, once he wins the election.
The concept behind these types of services is that by letting users suggest ideas and vet them via a community voting process, you’ll be left with only the ideas that your most loyal customers really want – and that these are things that are most likely to succeed in the marketplace.
The idea is basically the same as for „my starbucks idea„, „dell ideastorm“ or even „tchibo ideas“ (in Germany). Everybody can submit an idea, users then vote on the ideas, comment&discuss, etc. Apparently, the idea was born out of necessity, but I don’t quite fathom why people might think that Obama has not reached out to the online audience sufficiently enough (as it says in this article).
While I think he does well using all these social media tools, his new platform has one critical flaw as a commenter to one of my previous posts on this type of crowd sourcing noted: the same way users can see the new ideas (and vote&comment), so can his political opponents. And the might see in which direction his campaign topics could be targeted.
Nevertheless, I sometimes wish German politicians would increasingly use these tools…
Adverblog found this musical prang of lastminute.com which promotes their last minute ticket service for theatres (I think).
As nice as the idea appears, it is (as it often happens in advertising) not a very new idea. May it’s the first time, the idea was used in a commercial. But on YouTube, there are videos of the „prangstgrup“ that date back to August of 2006! See this clip here:
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Just when you thought that everybody who wants to use a (corporate) blog in their communication has tried (and sometimes failed miserably), Becks opens the bottle and starts a blogger casting.
Here is what they want:
You live by the blog. You have a way with words that hold people captive. And you don’t shy away from being in the public eye. Then we want you. Give your two cents worth, and we’ll give you a handsome salary and other bright perks. Your name and blogs will be seen by many around the world. Others have 365 days, you have 365 entries in a year. You get to work with Beck’s and a congenial creative team in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You might even relocate to a greener pasture. Sounds too good to be true?
Adverblog found a quote from a press release:
„Our consumers actively seek out links to new trends and genuine material from around the globe. They have a desire to learn about people who share the same values as they do. The Beck’s new columnist will help uncover and highlight relevant and exciting topics for our consumers, enabling us to better connect with them.“
The idea is not new, but it could work well for becks, if the blogger manages to connect will with the becks consumer. But there are several possible negative outcomes:
In either case it is a comparatively small investment (at the cost of probably only a few TV commercials) with a large possible upside to it.
Wo ich sonst so bin...