Grown Up Thinking

A quick note: Was amazed to learn of Imogen Heap’s Twitdress, red carpet Grammy fashion created to allow her fans to accompany her to the A list event by submitting photos through Twitpic. Amazing. I know very little about Imogen Heap, but this has inspired me to dive deeper into her catalogue. Perhaps she’ll even replace Lady Gaga as the soundtrack of choice in the creative cube… A girl can dream, can’t she?

Wearable social media! YES! Next up, I’ll be displaying my FourSquare badges as I earn them in real time on a customizable scarf with Wifi access. Genius!

Last week I stumbled upon a new iPhone app called CauseWorld, which allows users to check in to places and receive Karma points. The points can then be donated to nine potential causes including Support A Classroom, Give Clean Water, and Donate A Book. The model is basically Foursquare with a charity tie-in, allowing users to gain badges while giving back to charity through small micro actions. The app is free and sponsored by Kraft Foods and Citi. There’s also a feed via Facebook Connect which allows you to publish your donations to your Facebook wall.

CauseWorld is a great example of brands connecting with causes and amplifying their message through social media. In December, Foursquare launched a cause campaign with CampInteractive sponsored by Pepsi that donated $0.04 for each check-in. While the program was a great way to bring CampInteractive’s cause into the mainstream and align Pepsi, the CauseWorld app takes it a step further by allowing consumers to choose what cause matters most to them, and amass ‘do-gooder’ badges.

Another solid example of brands aligning with causes to rally consumer participation across social media is the Chase Community Giving program, which just announced their winners (congrats to my peeps at Invisible Children, who won a $1 million donation). The program gained over two million Facebook fans, and aligned cause with 500,000 charities that participated for a chance to receive $25k, $100k, or $1 million grants. In total, Chase Community Giving handed out $5 million to a variety of worthy organizations.

The beauty of the program is it unlocked the potential of these charities’ reach through social voting, with top charities generating over 100k user votes and rallying their fans to support their cause in a central social space. Excellent use of tying together social media, cause, community and a brand under a single campaign.

A few subtle changes have swept across Facebook within the past few days and unless you are actually in the social media world, you may not have even noticed them. Facebook continues to gradually roll out new and improved functionality that keeps the site at the forefront of the industry. Three weeks into twenty-ten, Facebook has not disappointed. Here are a few of the latest and greatest changes that have recently taken place:

-Facebook Retweet: Just like the Facebook @reply rolled out several months ago, users are gaining more functionality to credit other people in their posts. Consumers can now share another user’s content on their own page and simultaneously give credit to the original source using a “via” tag. Unlike the @reply, the source receives no notification on their personal Facebook Page that their link was “via”-ed.

-Replying to status updates, photos and links via email: Even though the typical BlackBerry/iPhone user probably uses the mobile Facebook Application as a rule, new functionality allows users to respond to posts through email, without actually logging into the site (thus effectively reducing productivity in Facebook-blocked companies by a personally-projected 20%).

-Receiving application notifications via email: Beginning last Wednesday, each time you install a new application on Facebook, developers will have the ability to request your email address. What this means is that if you opt in, these applications will now have the ability to contact you via email and the communication will no longer have to solely live on Facebook .

COMING SOON- Analytics & Insights: Page administrators will soon be able to track impressions and engagements on a post-by-post basis. Currently admins are able to see a limited amount of information about their page (mostly relating to the number of fans and a basic amount of engagement information) but this addition will make each and every Facebook post that much more valuable.

What do you think of the added Facebook functionality? Are these features that will enhance your user experience?

We are in a constant state of tension between two opposing poles: our uniqueness as individuals and our need to unite with the collective. Too much on one side and the teeter-totter tilts. In economics, the theories behind Capitalism and Socialism each gravitate to one end of a spectrum. But in practice, each theory learned to include elements of the opposite to help keep society in balance.

The evolution of marketing must also obey the evolution of opposites. Both sides have to grow in order to maintain a center. Broadcast media is a communal form – everyone sits down together and receives the same message. To counter the form, the message is often about individuality.

The same goes for how the development of products. We may all buy the same iPod, but because you think different, the ubiquitous becomes individual thanks to almost infinite ways to accessorize it.

Social marketing is continuing to push the opposites even further. On one hand, it’s about the power of savvy influencers to lend authenticity to a brand by sharing it with their friends. On the other hand, it’s about the brand conversing with a loyal community of brand advocates.

But both examples also embrace the opposite. The influencers are seeking connection with their community and use their insider influence to maintain their uniqueness. And your risk backlash if your don’t listen to the needs of your  community.

As trends in social marketing develop, our two-fold desire to be both an individual and a member of a community will continue to pull us in both directions. The further your campaign touches both ends of the ends of the spectrum, the more dynamic the center point will be.

How do your campaigns harness these opposites to drive greater effectiveness?

I’m a huge fan of what Threadless stands for. They were in on the crowdsourcing game from the very start and ensured that the tees they produced had an audience ready to buy them. Fast forward, and other breakthrough fashion brands are ready to follow their lead.

Inc. Magazine recently published an article showing how Modcloth, an online clothing retailer, has tasked consumers with choosing the fashions they’d love to see on the site. This, quite frankly, makes everyone happy. Customers get the gear they want, and ModCloth benefits from taking the guesswork out of buying and creating an even more loyal fanbase.

Mass retailers could take a cue from this and build deeper community by inviting consumers to participate in the buying process through voting, commenting, sharing and demanding a specific product. While sites like Polyvore do a great job of allowing consumers to create and share a look, a deeper level of demand and exclusivity could be achieved. Why not let fashionistas reserve an item before it hits shelves (or screens) and receive a group discount for doing so?

By creating a group savings structure similiar to Groupon.com,  retailers could project inventory needs, thus eliminating a surplus and obligatory price slashing at the end of the season. Those who agreed to buy the product upfront win too, thanks to a savings perk.

The force and immediacy of social media could only amplify demand further through the sharing and voting elements. It would allow both brands and retailers to see if an item was trending high before it was produced or ordered. Who knows? Maybe there actually IS an audience for Duct Taped Prom dresses.

You thought that your car could keep you safe from advertising as long as you ignored the billboards, but it’s 2010 now and it’s time for change! As we move into the next decade of technology, consumers can expect to see more integration between marketing, social media, and their daily commute.

Companies like Ford are coming out with new cars that will deliver popular mobile features to their navigation systems like turn-by-turn directions, streaming music, and Twitter. Google Maps will even start featuring paid advertising layered over existing billboards. This is big news for businesses like gas stations, restaurants, fast-food chains and hotels which will now have the opportunity to offer special discounts and promotions to drivers.

I don’t mind this new presence so long as there’s an added benefit for the consumer. Maybe while on vacation my navigation system could show me a promotion for a hotel discount, or let me know where to get cheap gas. Perhaps when I pull in to fill up the tank, a virtual billboard could remind me how much I’d love some McDonalds for the road (just so long as my Twitter doesn’t automatically post that I’m breaking my new year’s resolution.)

As we enter the “tear it up” 10s we should be in for a wild year in all areas of American culture- entertainment, technology, sports, and media. Since Twitter has become such a critical source for news dissemination, I thought it would be appropriate to share some predictions for 2010 in the form of Tweets:

1. @TigerWoods: feels great to be back on the course and winning again

2. @BarackObama: We never said we were out of the woods

3. @MTV: Ask and u shall receive! Excited 2 announce #JerseyShore renewed til 2015

4. @ESPN: SportsCenter in 3D premieres tonight- get ur glasses in today’s @USAToday

5. @Mashable: Facebook Announces Premium Account Service Offering $1/mo Subscriptions with Enhanced Functionality: http://bit.ly/19ksST

6. @The_Real_Shaq: #Italwaysfeelsgoodto hoist that trophy

7. @JamesCameron: Humbled by #Avatar passing Titanic as top-grossing film of all time

8. @AlGore: Don’t believe the hype, I am not running in 2012

9. @PerezHilton OMG! OMG! Tom and Katie are history

10. @NFLNetwork: 2011 lockout looms large for next season

11. @IMDB: Shooting for The Sopranos movie seen around Northern NJ yesterday

12. @VirginAmeria: Now offering @Skype seats for in-flight video conference in select “noisy rows”

13. @EbertChicago: Sex and The City 2: Two thumbs down!

14. @Gizmodo: The #SkiffReader is our 2010 tech device of the year

15. @JimJCramer: It is still not too late to get out of the dollar and into commodities

16. @CNN: 36 countries report internet outages for as long as 9 hrs as a global task force is created to identify what happened http://cnn.com

17. @LadyGaga: Just found out I’ve been selected by Richard Branson for Virgin Galactic’s first ride to space

18. @JimGoldman: Google discontinues #NexusOne citing lackluster sales

19. @APlusK: This tweet is sponsored by @Coca_Cola

20. @SergeyBrinn: We have officially ceased Google.cn. We recommend using @Baidu

What other tweets do you expect to see?

In the wake of Haiti’s massive and devastating earthquake, we’re now bearing witness to the largest text-based fundraising campaign for disaster relief to date.

Countless compassionate individuals combined with the girth of our social media world have led to an outpouring of financial and emotional support for the people of Haiti. As of Thursday morning, the American Red Cross had collected nearly $3 million in donations through text messages.

Both the American Red Cross and the Yéle Haiti Foundation have set up “text to donate” services and have asked Twitter users to text a number to make a donation, which is then added to your cell phone bill. #Text, #Help Haiti and #Yele are currently among today’s top 10 trending topics on Twitter.

Text-based donations get aid swiftly to those in need- Yéle Haiti’s technology partners Mobile Giving and Give on the Go have even waived the typical two-week waiting period to deposit the donations. As a result, Yéle Haiti says they’ll have nutrition bars, candles, blankets and flashlights on the ground in Haiti this Friday. Many text-based donation services even let you sign up for tweets to see how their donations are being spent.

These past few days have truly been a testament to the power that technology and social media hold- and as a wise man once said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

To donate $10 to the American Red Cross’s earthquake relief efforts, text “Haiti” to 90099.

To donate $5 to Yéle Haiti, text “YELE” to 501501.

The XX Installation: Quote from Partizan director and creator Saam Farahmand-“Music videos are a 2D visual interpretation of a song. We are interested in creating spaces that exist as a 3D physical interpretation of a song or an album, and that is what we have created for the album xx.” A beautiful meld of music, technology and art that creates a “physical music video.” (via Creative Review Blog)

Levis’ DIY Closet: Simple. Smart. Surprising.

One Frame of Fame video: C-Mon & Kipski crowdsource their music video.