Generation Nerd

The data cloud is the future and where we’ll soon share our data, spread out in all that storage, and use our computers like access terminals. For many, using Google Docs was their first encounter with this virtual storage and everyone seems to be anticipating the “Cloud from Cupertino” with baited breath. But are you ready for your ISP to turn off the tap if you actually use all that the cloud has to offer?

It’s happened to one Seattle man. Andre Vrignaud seems a bit of a “Data Hog,” going over a massive 250GB of data traffic in a month, but service provider Comcast won’t even consider upgrading him to a business account. He’s a gamer who shares video, pictures, data, and music. Sure, he seems like an inordinately heavy user, but is he just ahead of the curve? Will we all be sharing over 250GB a month soon? (more…)

Businesses and social media can work together like chocolate and peanut butter. It may not always seem like a fit at first, but when it clicks, it’s genius. However, the question of measuring ROI always arises. What can be measured in future sales against intangibles like the audience engagement and brand goodwill engendered through social media. But what if the answer lies in integration with social media tools?

American Express just made it work with Foursquare, and it might just illuminate the future of social media marketing. The deal is this: You go to a store, “check-in” on Foursquare, and get offered a surprise store special only redeemable by paying with AmEx and applied straight to your card. No fuss, no coupons, and a great incentive to “check-in” everywhere you go.

Amex and the vendors who sign on to the promotion gain measurable results in the dollar amounts spent by card users, who also tend to be a desirable demographic. Previous successful deals with large brands like Pepsi prove Foursquare may actually be worth their outsize $600 million valuation. If currently only 4% of adults are using location-based services, will such big name partnerships drive their adoption? (more…)

Last week, Apple inked a cloud-music licensing agreement with EMI Music. They’ve signed Warner Brothers, and are working Universal and Sony.

But why isn’t the headline about EMI signing up with Apple?

EMI already tested the waters with an iPad app, so it’s clear they’re embracing the union. It’s a little startling to remember there still are music labels when you’ve gotten accustomed to buying individual tracks. Labels rank lower in public opinion than the guys who delivered the iPod.

File sharing and portability broke the old music models. More importantly, “sharing” was the point. Napster set expectations for free music ten years ago. When you can freely stream Pandora , YouTube, or less legal resources, on demand, few still leave their soundtrack to chance. (more…)

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.”
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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.
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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

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We leave you with the songbird of our generation…
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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.

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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…)