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18 Feb 2011 19:21

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Culture: The Red Cross is cool, drinks Dogfish Head, into #gettngslizzerd

  • We’ve deleted the rogue tweet but rest assured the Red Cross is sober and we’ve confiscated the keys.
  • A tweet from @redcross • Using a Twitter gaffe as a way to get people’s attention for their cause. The offending tweet went a little like this: “Ryan found two more 4 bottle packs of Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch beer…when we drink we do it right #gettngslizzerd.” Impeccable taste in beer for a humanitarian organization, kids. Anyway, Dogfish Head noticed the tweet and retweeted it, ensuring many others saw it. From there, the Red Cross used the opportunity to correct the problem and in response, got numerous donations and tons of attention. This is how you deal with social media, kids. (thanks 2105) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

15 Feb 2011 11:08

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Tech: Facebook’s protest game plan: Don’t favor anyone, ban fake accounts

  • Don’t ask Facebook to take sides in the Middle East. The massive social network may have played a key role in the recent protests in Egypt and in other countries, but they’re downright ambivalent about the trend – a major difference from Twitter, which has associated itself with being a communication tool for political movements, and Tumblr, which has a news tag devoted to Egypt. Facebook, meanwhile, has been banning pseudonym-based accounts created specifically to hide people’s names from the government, based on fraud concerns – including Wael Ghonim’s account. This has led to criticism, including a letter to Mark Zuckerberg from Sen. Richard J. Durbin. Look, Facebook, making it easier to facilitate protest isn’t the same thing as supporting protests. What, is the free spread of communication outside of your game plan? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Jan 2011 21:41

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Biz: Independent booksellers collectively freaking out over future

  • We have to figure out how we stay in the game. You have to rethink your whole business model, because the old ways really aren’t going to cut it anymore.
  • Manhattan’s Bank Street Bookstore director, Beth Puffer • Discussing the fate of the independent bookseller at the Winter Institute, the equivalent of Bonnaroo for independent bookstores. While the number of independent bookstores has stabilized in recent years after Barnes & Noble and Borders ate their lunch, many changes are on the horizon – some bad enough to take out the big kids in the industry like Borders. Now, what was once an endeavor of stacking books on a shelf and organizing sections is a matter that requires much more – social media, cool Web sites, the whole thang. But, as important as this stuff is becoming, it can’t be everything. “At a certain point, I begin to feel like we don’t need more PR,” said Connecticut-based bookseller RJ Julia’s founder and president, Roxanne Coady. “We need sales.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Dec 2010 10:54

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Politics: Cory Booker’s Twitter success: Surprisingly, there’s no imitator yet

  • Booker’s Twitter tactics have raised the bar for other local officials, and beg the question: In the aftermath of the snowpocalypse, are other northeastern officials grabbing a shovel and smart phone, and following Booker’s lead? It certainly doesn’t look like it.
  • Time’s Sean Gregory • Noting the success Newark Mayor Cory Booker has had in using social media to govern his city during a major disaster. While things haven’t been perfect – Gregory notes that it’s fair to criticize Booker’s administration for being ill-equipped to handle the snow ahead of time – Booker’s work has made all the more impressive due to the fact that other big-city mayors have been unable or unwilling to use social media in anywhere near the same way. Protip to mayoral administrations: Sanitized feeds suck. (Now’s a good time to mention that Portland, Oregon mayor Sam Adams has a pretty decent Tumblr account.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Dec 2010 22:59

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Tech: Do Facebook’s new wider ads invade your space too much?

  • Does Facebook disrespect our space by constantly changing its design? And should we complain about it? One thing you may not have noticed about Facebook’s latest design change is that the ads got a lot bigger and more horizontal, at the cost of social media real estate. While we’d argue that it’s not nearly as big a deal as it seems, digital media strategist David Dalka (writing for TechCrunch) would argue that it’s something you should be angry about. “An offline analogy,” Dalka suggests, “might be when a television channel turns down the volume of their shows, while keeping the volume of commercials higher.” We’re not sure if wider column width is the new Billy Mays, but it’s an interesting argument, to say the least.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Oct 2010 11:52

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Offbeat: Dallas local news station takes piss out of social media

  • This seems like a not-so-subtle attempt to remind people that for all those Web-centric services out there, the local news was first. Our favorite part is when they pull out the Skype. (Thanks Charles Apple for bringing this clip to our attention.)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2010 00:16

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Tech: Two thoughts on whether Apple’s Ping is actually a big deal

  • maybe Apple is a big company and iTunes is their most popular piece of software. And, while it’s starting with music, it’s pretty obvious that this is a play for a much larger, Facebook-sized market.
  • maybe not However, it has the same problem as Google Buzz – it’s  another social network piggybacking where it’s not needed. Also, why focus on just music? Trying to top MySpace, are we? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink
 

28 Jul 2010 10:57

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Culture: Ivy Bean: The world’s oldest Twitter user dies, Twitter remembers

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 May 2010 19:51

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Tech: “Quit Facebook Day” update: Still a drop in the social bucket

  • 25,260 users plan to actually quit tomorrow source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Apr 2010 11:27

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Tech: If you’re our Facebook fan, you’re worth this much to us

  • $3.60 pay up quick, suckers; we need money source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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