Foursquare to Select Chicago's Next Mayor

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As Chicago's Mayoral craziness continues, Proximity has come to the rescue with Foursquarian Candidate, which aims to "even the playing field between concerned citizens and well-funded candidates by providing social media savvy Chicagoans the chance to win a campaign marketing team to support a Mayoral bid." Yes, people. Foursquare might serve up Chicago's next Mayor.

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by Steve Hall    Oct- 1-10    
Topic: Political, Social



Agility Key to Brands' Success in Social Media

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In an examination of how social media is dramatically changing the way people consume media and how marketers use (or should) use it, iCrossing Social Media Director Alisa Leonard writes, "the rise of social media is more than simply the rise of a new 'channel' opportunity. It has signaled the rise of a new, complex consumer modality, generating altogether new behaviors and communicative norms in general.

Continuing, she writes, "We, as consumers, seem to be on the brink of a kind of techno-cognitive nomadism, a world in which communication output is evermore ubiquitous, ambient and continuous --where conversation and activity, from tweets to Likes and Shares, are not only visible pieces of meta-data, but forms of content in their own right. The link between content, identity and activity is tightening, fast. We continue to witness the evolution of content and its consumption as a direct corollary to the evolution of the social web itself."

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by Steve Hall    Oct- 1-10    
Topic: Opinion, Social



Five Social Media Tenets Every Agency Should Embrace

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This contributed article comes to us from Philippe Guegan, VP Strategy & Engagement at Big Fuel Communications, a full-service marketing and communications company based in New York. Philippe discusses how social media is moving from a cool, new idea to a practice that requires mainstream integration and implementation.

This season, social is the new black. Fashion victim, fashionista: these are words not easily applied to me. However, I have learned one valuable lesson over the years by observing an industry that's always on the lookout for the next big thing: if you wait long enough, past trends and patterns will make a comeback.

This is exactly to the case with social media right now. As all things social start to mature, the same evolution that took place in the digital marketing industry only a few years ago is emerging: social is fast becoming less about experimentation, and more about regular production. In fact, production is the key word in many ways, which I'll come back to a bit later.

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by Steve Hall    Sep-30-10    
Topic: Agencies, Opinion, Social



Samsung Strong, Windows 7 Phone Weak

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- Samsung memory cards are strong. Very very strong. Shock proof. Water proof. Magnet proof. And idiot proof.

- Texting and Driving Don't MiRobin Landa, Professor at Robert Busch School of Design and her publisher John Wiley & Sons are asking students throughout the country to create a 30 second video or ad to dissuade people from texting while driving.

- Here's a commercial for Anna Sui cosmetics. There's nothing all that special about it but there's nothing all that wrong with it either.

- A silent auction and cash bar will be held this Wednesday evening, September 29, at Highbar in New York City to benefit Samantha Tuttlebee, an independent sales rep and former staff rep at 89 Editorial and BlueRock who is in dire need of a heart transplant.

- Two new commercials (one, two) for Windows 7 Phone. Yawn.

by Steve Hall    Sep-28-10    
Topic: Cause, Consumer Created, Social, Video



Twitter to Unveil Promoted Accounts

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Brands seeking to gain Twitter followers can now buy their way towards a higher follow count. A new product, Promoted Accounts, will be announced tomorrow by Twitter COO Dick Costello at the IAB MIXX Conference according to All Things Digital.

The offering will allow brands to buy placement in the Who to Follow section of Twitter.com. With brands beginning the recognize the benefits of a Twitter presence, the offering should be attractive to marketers and bring some much needed revenue to Twitter.

Promoted Accounts will be targeted to specific Twitter users based on the same algorithm that determines the placement of Promoted Tweets. Reports are circulation Promoted Accounts will sell for upwards of $100,000. More details will surely follow after tomorrow's announcement. The session is scheduled for 10:10 AM.

by Steve Hall    Sep-27-10    
Topic: Social



Lingerie Football League Players Are Very, Very Social

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One might assume a woman who decides to play full on football while dressed only in football pads and lingerie would, by default, be a very social creature. After all, running around in front of thousands of people with one's boobs spilling out of a top and one's ass getting a wedgie might, by some, be considered very social.

But just is case you feel that behavior isn't very social, Adage Technologies, creator of the Lingerie Football League Fanzone, would like you to know the ladies are very social. Well, at least LFL fans are social with over 15,000 lingerie loving football fans having signed up since the site launched this summer.

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by Steve Hall    Sep-27-10    
Topic: Racy, Social



Drunk Driving Arrest Plays Out Over Social Media

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We've all seen those gut-wrenching PSAs that urge us not to drink and drive. The ones that show the emotionally intense ramifications of that poor decision. From the simple to full-on death and dismemberment. We're late to this but this new PSA from Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing for the Texas Department of Transportation takes a decidedly different approach.

We see a tweet about meeting for a drink at a local bar. The entire scenario then unfolds online on social media platforms such as Twitter, SMS, Facebook, Gowalla(?), online banking, Google, Gmail and LinkedIn. From start to finish, the story is told using today's methods of communication.

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by Steve Hall    Sep-23-10    
Topic: Best, Cause, Social



Twitter or Beer? Which is the Best Social Medium?

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A billboard for Summit Brewing ponders which is the better social medium; Twitter of beer. The billboard is part of an ongoing campaign which sought creative submissions from people. Winners would receive a $50 gift certificate and have their creative featured on a billboard.

This particular board was created by Fast Horse designer Hilary Heinz.

So which is it? Real world socialization lubricated by alcohol? Or online socialization lubricated by the ability to portray yourself anyway you choose?

by Steve Hall    Sep-23-10    
Topic: Outdoor, Social



VideoEgg Acquires Six Apart to Form Say Media

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Video ad network VideoEgg, tomorrow, will announce it has acquired blogging platform Six Apart. The new entity will be known as Say Media and will combine "VideoEgg's engagement technologies with Six Apart's social publishing platform to power advertising campaigns that are more conversational and interactive."

Say Media claims it will have reach to a global audience of 345 million. A platitude filled video on the site (currently password-protected) explains the offering which, in a nutshell, delivers the scale advertisers need from the individual voices of independent publishers.

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by Steve Hall    Sep-21-10    
Topic: Brands, Social, Video, Weblogs



Hottest NFL Cheerleaders Kick Justin Bieber Off ChaCha Chart

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It's Friday. It's almost the weekend. And we're getting a late start today. So we think this little news item from one of our favorite PR professionals is perfect to share. It's light. It's fun. And it's involves hot cheerleaders. Without further ado, here's what we were sent:

'In case you think ChaCha is only about text messages: On ChaCha.com, the Justin Bieber Topic page usually gets 1,200 page views a day and has remained in the #1 spot for a very long time. Nikki Minaj has recently taken the leading spot, applying pressure to the Bieb's in a very close battle for #1.

But, yesterday, Justin got spanked by 20 of the hottest NFL cheerleaders who collected 16,000+ page views.

I send this as a fun fact, not so you can ask me how to get in touch with that Redskins cheerleader (although if in your other reporting you find out, DO let me know.)"

Thanks, George. We'll do out best investigative journalism on that for you.

by Steve Hall    Sep-17-10    
Topic: Celebrity, Mobile/Wireless, Racy, Social