Generation Nerd

Intro

I recently attended the Engage Collaborate Commune seminar. In a breakout session, I got into a conversation about followers to following on Twitter. There is a large divide between those who believe in follow-backs, and the picky party. I fall into the latter category. For now, we will address them as Party A, and Party B respectively. Here is the reasoning behind each…

Party A

“My philosophy is to follow everyone who follows me. If someone takes the time to follow me, I’m going to honor that by following them and attempting a relationship and conversation,” argued Cindy Ratzlaff from the Engage Collaborate Commune breakout session.”
(more…)

Did you know EHarmony is responsible for 2% of all US marriages? Did you also know that Plenty of Fish has mustered up 100,000 marriages from its site? It’s okay if you didn’t, it probably means you can find love “the old-fashioned way.” In other words, you can start a conversation without a keyboard.

While I find online dating (especially the commercials) entertaining for all the wrong reasons, I suppose some believe their services offer value – the stats don’t lie, much like hips… But wait, the stats are about to get (more…)

It’s rare to recognize change while it’s happening. With the New Year fast approaching, it’s a great time to reminisce on the past year and see how things have progressed, or in some cases, regressed. So join me for a walk down memory lane, and let me show you what happened in 2010… in social media that is…

Facebook

Here are the top 10 most popular brands on Facebook. While fans clearly aren’t everything in Facebook, the important thing to note is the shift in fan numbers this year as compared to last year. This shift is an opportunity to challenge the notion that a page with one million fans is better than one with 100,000 fans. This clearly isn’t the case. When it comes to social media, especially Facebook, engagement is everything. I would much rather have more close-knit, engaged page than one with high population.
(more…)

Would you are anyone you know be a good fit for the brand project manager position? If so, follow this link and send us your resume…

http://www.weltbranding.com/brandling.html

Welt Branding’s Smackdown is up for “Best Agency Blog of the Month” again… We need your support for taking the title this time. Go to Fuel Lines site, and scroll to the very bottom. There you can cast your vote for the Smackdown. Thanks for all the help!

Post on our Facebook wall at Welt Branding
Tweet us at WeltBrand
Or join our LinkedIn group at Welt Branding: Challenge Everything

We leave you with the songbird of our generation…
(more…)

BP supposedly employed 76 social mediaites pre-crisis. I wanted some verification of this claim, so as any social media user would do, I took to Twitter. If BP actually had 76 employees in social media, a timely response via Twitter seemed reasonable. So I waited and waited some more… and nothing. Even after repeated attempts, my question fell on deaf ears. BP doesn’t understand social media; that is, BP isn’t using it to engage their users and answer their questions. This could be one reason why they’ve had a PR nightmare on their hands. I might appear to be on a tangent or a rant, but I’m actually taking this somewhere.

Let the grand experiment begin

Here we go… After BP’s overall fail, I wondered how many other large corporations tout Twitter friendliness, but aren’t actually “Twitter friendly.” Lo and behold, I found a list on Mashable with the 40 Best Twitter Brands. The article seemed a bit like digital networking and corporate back rubbing, so I stopped at number 15. I took matters into my own hands from there. It was time to find out which of the 15 were worthy of being a “best” Twitter brand.
(more…)

If you saw me open my inbox today, you probably saw some tears. Don’t worry, they were good tears. I knew my social media life was going to change, but I didn’t think it would change this much.

I got my RockMelt invitation today. For those of you who aren’t as nerdy as myself, RockMelt is the combination of an Internet browser and social media. It lets you conduct nearly everything you do on social media without leaving the page.

(more…)

There couldn’t be a topic more fitting for this blog – a story about the generational divide on Facebook, hatched by “The Social Network.” My inner geek is salivating…

Wired’s Ryan Singel eloquently summarizes, “The movie features no redeeming characters — depicting Facebook’s founding as a combination of backstabbing idea-borrowing, a way to get revenge on an ex-girlfriend and an attempt to vault Mark Zuckerberg into the upper echelon of Harvard society.”

The characters/real people come across as cutthroat and know-it-alls, but that seems to be this generation’s common thread. So when the movie was released and everyone and their grandma went to see it, radically different impressions emerged about Facebook.

Data generated by BrandIndex reports that ages 18-35 think higher of Facebook since seeing the (more…)

If you’re in public relations, it’s time to evolve or find another profession. If you’re not in PR, but someone suggests it to you, grab your checkbook and run the other way. PR is a telltale sign that their thoughts are as antiquated as their vocabulary (think “ticker-tape” and fireside chats with FDR). DPIM (Digital Public Image Management) is now the new PR.

While PR has been used for decades, the digital revolution and the rise of social media is the next generation. It’s not enough to rely on the same methods used in the 90’s, when our world changes daily. When the public wants to find out about you now, they go to Google. That’s why managing your digital image in real time is so vital.

The ease of sharing and real-time results, particularly with social media, give DPIM an advantage over PR. Letting users spread your message at little cost is a no-brainer. Here’s how I know PR is on its deathbed…

We helped promote the Ndukwe Foundation’s 2′nd annual event on Oct. 11. With a limited budget, one mainly tied up in sweat equity, we were able to drive sales over the target of 300. Maybe that doesn’t impress you, but considering that only 20 tickets were sold prior to a DPIM strategy, and only 2 weeks before the event, it’s been chalked up as a tremendous success. Need more evidence? Check out some of the photos from the night.

“I haven’t cared about a release of Apple products as little as the most recent one.” –Larry Sumpter

Couldn’t agree with you more Mr. Sumpter. Apple has great products, but their marketing approach is even better. The marketing wing of Steve Jobs’ company has set the standard so high that anything short of revolutionary is a disappointment.

Remember that feeling when you first opened your iPod? Remember the first time you used the touch pad of an iPhone? Those were both pivotal moments in your relationship with Apple. The hype surrounding the products was out of this world. Some people waited days just to be the first of their friends to have one.
(more…)