Grown Up Thinking

From outlandish one-on-one encounters to themed bar nights, ChatRoulette has swept the nation with its unapologetically uncensored take on the classic internet chat. Marketing types around the world held their breath wondering who would be the first brand to tap in to the 500,000+ unique users per day.

And the winner is…. French Connection. The international clothing brand has launched a ChatRoulette competition challenging participants to use the service to seduce a woman in exchange for a $250 voucher. Risky move for an international brand, considering the proliferation of shady stuff going down on the site. But foolish or not, they’ve been getting a lot of coverage for being the first.

Only time will tell if ChatRoulette can become a useful tool in the marketer’s arsenal. Thoughts?

At some point over the last year many of us have realized that some of what we post on Twitter may not be what we’d like to share with all of our followers. Unfortunately for those in that situation, Twitter does not have privacy settings like Facebook that allow you to choose who can see what information that you share, so what do you do when you realize that your personal life is crossing over into your public life? The answer is simple – make a second account!

The first question you should ask yourself when doing this is, “Why am I using Twitter and what am I trying to accomplish?”. There are many reasons why having multiple accounts makes sense. You can segment your Twitter traffic based on your interests, focus content on different topics and develop larger followings across different fields. I will admit that I ran in to the same problem on Twitter which actually became more of a positive than a negative. Now that I have two Twitter accounts I can share personal content with my close group of friends and network with other professionals. In fact, I recently discovered that 53% of Twitter users have multiple accounts which is why Twitter management software like HootSuite and TweetDeck have become so popular.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Twitter was already developing a new platform to improve some of the organization and privacy issues that are plaguing many users- but until that day comes, I’ll have to keep up with my (not so) secret double life on Twitter. You can call me Bond… James Bond.

Facebook is celebrating its 6th birthday this week, which seems a good a time as any to reflect on its path to world domination.

Let us not forget Facebook’s humble beginnings as “Thefacebook”. As if they were concerned there could be another one, this was THE facebook for all your networking needs. That is- assuming you’re an ivy leaguer buried in books in the Bay State. May I remind you that at its inception “Thefacebook” was only available to students at Harvard, where creator Mark Zuckerberg held his dorm room brainstorm sessions.

What you may not know is that even before “Thefacebook” there was “Facemash”- a Hot or Not game Zuckerberg created after hacking into Harvard’s computer network and stealing his peers’ student ID photos. “Facemash” generated 450 visitors and 22,000 photo views in its first four hours online.

I still remember the Facebook buzz growing my sophomore year of college- eagerly anticipating my D2 school’s addition to “the list”. This came around the beginning of junior year, my three roommates and I wasting hours of valuable study (and party) time polishing our profiles until they became a sharp snapshot of who we each were (on our best day, of course.)

I clearly remember my attempt to demystify the “poke” and debating with actual, legit friends what the rules were for deciding “Facebook friends”. Today, Facebook has 400 million members and anyone, anywhere over the age of 13 is allowed to join.

This tremendous growth doesn’t look to be slowing either. Membership this year is double what it was on Facebook’s fifth birthday. The social networking powerhouse also blew out the candles with some celebratory changes this week, including a shuffling of menus and an apps and games dashboard.

The new Vampire Weekend album, Contra, came out a few weeks ago. As a fan, I did what I always do… I downloaded it illegally. I didn’t even think twice.

Then a curious thing happened. One of my coworkers rushed to the record store to buy the very same album.  Huh? He enthusiastically explained the beauty of having something tangible, described pouring over the inset, the liner notes, the bonus poster that came in the sleeve. Having the album ensures that you listen to the tracks in the order the artist intended, he said, the time and energy involved in tracking down the record made it that much better. It all sounded very transcendental – something Penny Lane would wax poetic about in Almost Famous.

I can’t relate. At 22, I don’t think I’ve ever purchased an album. I got onboard the Napster train early on and haven’t looked back since.

All legal issues aside, is it possible that I’m missing something fundamental by skipping the pomp and fanfare of the record store? By downloading an artist’s tracks individually online, am I reducing the integrity of the music to a 99 cent commodity?

PS. Vampire Weekend, it you’re reading this – I’m very sorry. I owe you 12 dollars.

The holiday season is about spending time with family and friends, eating delicious high-calorie food, and reflecting on the previous year. Although Grammy and Grampa may be used to opening presents around the fire, it looks like Facebook may be changing that tradition. With over 60% of Facebook users over age 26 (including 12% over 45 years old) and 350 million users in total, it’s no surprise that Facebook was the most visited website this past Christmas.

According to web analytics company Hitwise, Facebook was the number one visited site on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This is the first time in Facebook’s history that it has reached that number one spot.

Since the site started in 2004, Facebook has transitioned from a digital ‘hang out’ for college students to its own robust business, changing the way people and businesses communicate. The site has become a snapshot of personal digital archeology, logging every feeling, event and picture through status updates, events and media. Facebook is at the forefront of a larger societal shift in how we communicate and learn, and will continue to push for a more social and connected world.

Don’t be surprised this year when you log on to Facebook to wish your friends Happy Holidays and receive a Poke from dear, sweet Grammy herself.

As a recent transplant to New York, I haven’t fully embraced New England winters. Luckily, there’s an app that can keep you nice and toasty (and help you avoid a dreaded hat hair situation).

So how does it work? The Pocket Heater app warms your hands through “Patented Technology”—basically, it puts your iPhone’s battery and processor on turbo charge, causing it to overheat and become warm to the touch.

The app is a pretty nifty idea. And while I’m skeptical it may eventually cause my iPhone to self-destruct, it gets extra points for novelty (and for making me use the word ‘nifty’). Perhaps I’ll go rogue and leave my mittens at home tomorrow…

The masses have spoken, yet Facebook won’t deliver what we want. Thankfully, some awesome developer somewhere has given into our demands. The “Dislike” button is finally available!! Slow clap!

Now, you can install a Firefox plugin that gives your Facebook account access to the big ol’ thumbs DOWN, allowing you to boldly express your disdain for your ex-boyfriend’s new relationship status, or your roommate’s announcement that she just accidentally knocked your toothbrush into the toilet. So LOL, right? “Dislike”!!!

The only catch? Your friends need to have installed the plug-in themselves to see your “thumbs down”, which could perhaps turn into an incentive for Facebook to finally add their own. Why are they holding out on us, anyway?

A standard “Dislike” button would have come in serious handy this morning while oodles of my Facebook friends were touting the Yankees’ World Series win.  While I now consider myself a New Yorker, I was born on the North Shore of Boston and grew up in Connecticut where you’re raised either Yanks or Sox. I would have LOVED to put my big “Dislike” stamp across all of Facebook today. (Me, bitter? Noooo. I just have a tough time sympathizing with a 9-year wait for a World Series win, when my team once waited 86.)

Armed with this new tool, there’s a scary chance my online persona could go from witty to wicked (and not in the “Big Papi is a wicked good hittuh!” sense.)

Use wisely, friends! Or, um, whichever friends I still have next week.

While I won’t knock my officemates for their newfound Foursquare obsession (ahem…), I will say that the hourly location updates from your pub crawl do give my occasional Saturday night couch pizza a slightly bitter aftertaste. Womp womp.

This week I came across a new form of Internet over-share that may prove a bit more useful. Lufthansa just launched a new tool that allows users to have their location updates posted to Facebook or Twitter… from the air. Yup, even planes are tweeting these days.

Go to the MySkyStatus application and enter your flight info and they’ll send altitude, location, departure and arrival updates to your Facebook and/or Twitter page automatically. It’s a valuable tool for friends and family members picking passengers up at the airport. And for those of us craving a little more overshare, you’ll love that your friends can know exactly where you are on the map (literally):

CourtneyMarieC is now flying over Karmana, Uzbekistan on SWISS http://myskystatus.com/map/view/LX/4300/5 Powered by http://myskystatus.com/

The service isn’t limited to Lufthansa passengers- because the airline puts their brand stamp on each update, they’ve opened MySkyStatus up to travelers on all airlines and are able to offer the service for free. Unfortunately, while Lufthansa can tweet on behalf of other carriers, they still can’t help them fly.

You can almost hear the sound of rubber balls bouncing around the walls of Mr Youth these days, as the epic battle to reign supreme in all things #Foursquare has swept the agency. Our resident mayor recently explained the craze in an earlier post, but developments over the weekend have added a new dimension to the biggest game on the social media scene today.

I was gleefully surprised to receive an email from Foursquare notifying me that I had been upgraded to “Superuser” status based on my, well, super (over)use of the service. While the lack of a VIP card, limited edition sunglasses and other self-identifying accoutrement is slightly disheartening, I was informed that I have the ability to make  edits to the game’s venue database, like de-duplicating venues and matching venues with twitter accounts. The more I exercise my Superuser status the more abilities I’ll unlock.

Foursquare is really hitting the mark when it comes to tapping into its enthusiastic fanbase to drive and improve the game. By inviting users into the fold and allowing them to affect elements of the service, they’re fostering deeper loyalties and creating layers of exclusivity that encourage would-be-Superusers to increase their usage of the game to reach the great heights of Superuser status. Lucky me. Question is…how do I translate this into a Halloween costume?

Where my other Superuser peeps at? Holler below in the comment section.

Glance at this year’s box office Top 5 and there is hardly a well known name, let alone a true movie star. Gone are the days where you shelled out $20MM dollars for a top star and they led you to box office glory. In fact, take a peek at this year’s Top 30 movies and see how many true stars you can name outside of Tom Hanks and perhaps Hugh Jackman. It’s not surprising that star salaries are dropping fast.

So what’s changed? Well, Twitter’s assent to mainstream for one. A movie can be chock filled with superstars but if Twitter is ablaze Friday with negative tweets about the film, a blockbuster can go up in flames in just days. Will Ferrell and Sasha Baron Cohen have seen this first hand this summer.  Likewise, films like The Hangover and District 9, which delight audiences, can quickly swell at the box office despite no notable stars. What does this mean for Hollywood? Make good films and audiences will come. Find ways to engage core fans and spread their enthusiasm through social media and that effect can be multiplied quickly.

Hollywood of course is not the only industry effected by a world that now demands instant feedback and so easily enables people to bypass mass media to disseminate and consume information. Brands face the same challenges. No longer can a big budget commercial and widespread brand awareness convert at the register. The product or service must deliver and conversing with communities most vocal and passionate must be a large piece if not the focal point of any marketing campaign.

As we’ve seen throughout history, mass adoption of new technology changes the rules. The rules are  now changing fast and no star or brand is immune.