So good…also love the QR codes in DC Metro where there’s no wireless signals. Proving that there *is* a bigger waste of money than investing in QR code marketing: Investing in QR codes that cannot be accessed by the dozens of users around the world.
Simply climb down onto the tracks, carefully step over the third rail… Now, launch your QR scanner and… TRAIN!!!
The popular social blogging site Tumblr is hiring writers and editors to cover the world of Tumblr.
Chris Mohney, a senior vice president for content at BlackBook Media, will be the site’s editor in chief. Jessica Bennett, a senior writer and editor at Newsweek and The Daily Beast, will be the executive editor and, she said, a kind of Tumblr correspondent.
“Basically, if Tumblr were a city of 42 million,” Ms. Bennett said, referring to the number of Tumblr blogs that exist, “I’m trying to figure out how we cover the ideas, themes and people who live in it.”
Their work — both documenting the Tumblr service and marketing it to users — will appear on the Web site’s staff blog and on a separate part of tumblr.com that has not been set up yet, a Tumblr spokeswoman said Wednesday…
Heavy meta.
(Source: thedeadline)
I am not active on Pinterest. I am not in their core demo. I have yet to cook, purchase or plan anything as a result of using the site. I believe in what they have built, expect its meteoric rise to continue and now use it as a marketing tool. Another point I think is important to make is I’m not a shiny new object guy. I test cool new platforms (I’m loving Path right now) and features, but ultimately, I invest very little time and resources to other middling social networks (ahem, Google+). So why do I believe there’s something to Pinterest?
1. Products and ideas needed a home.
“Liking” and/or sharing products on Facebook has always been a bit of a square peg in a round hole scenario. Most use Facebook to keep in touch with friends, view and create updates of life moments and clever quips. Tossing in the occasional “I like this product” has always felt misplaced. In fact, those who “like” brand x and share product y are seen as annoying feed spammers, turning off their friends. It has worked in the short term because nowhere else allowed us to organize and post products and things we like in a relevant environment. That’s until Pinterest came along. The entire site is predicated on organizing these objects and finding great ideas, products and offers that are all about consumption. The context is there, and people gravitate toward the opportunity to share and identify great things.
2. Organization simplified
I’ve heard it before. Evernote is far superior and does the same thing— beyond just links and pictures. And as an Evernote superfan, that’s exactly the problem. It’s too much for people to handle and manage. Pinterest’s visual ease is what makes the platform social and appealing.
3. Anecdotes
When was the last time you heard someone (who was not a technophile) say “this is so much more addicting than Facebook!?” I’ve heard it from about six people thus far, and I include my wife in that camp. Am I addicted to it? No. Does that matter? Absolutely not. The proof is in the pudding.
4. Our addiction to chronology may be flawed.
Here’s why I’ve loved Pinterest as a marketing tool from the get-go. You post/share something on Twitter. Give it five minutes and it’s gone for good. Now move to Facebook and repeat. Sure, it will live on your profile (or Timeline)— but we all know the gold is in the newsfeed, which is fleeting. Pinterest has a feed of sorts, but the real discovery is based around how users organize and display their own boards. This provides far more evergreen content— complete with links that live beyond their 10 minutes of fame.
Time will tell, but I think there’s some substance to the rise of Pinterest.
The problem I have with most social media “experts” is that their expertise comes from experiences promoting themselves and their ideas via social media. Ask yourself, “Am I selling social media webinars, books, blogs, or consulting services?” If the answer is no— steer clear of these people, as their “experiences” do not apply. They live in the echo chamber of social media ninjas, gurus and strategists who get off spending 90% of their time arguing semantics on each others’ blogs and profiles.
Guess what happens when a bunch of social media experts communicate with each other? They tweet, they blog, they comment, they like, they stumble at a ridiculous clip. Based on these experiences, they turn around a write a “How to use [insert platform of the week] to increase business.” Reality? Hardly. Would you ask a guy in a Hogwarts uniform if it’s worth checking out the latest Harry Potter flick?
If you’re interested in becoming a social media strategist or consultant yourself, then dive in, join the echo chamber and take copious notes. But if you’re operating or working with a real business, ignore these people, dig in and do it yourself. If you need an expert to tell you how to be “authentic” or how to “engage” then you might need someone to help you be a better person. Be a cool person (or business) and you will be rewarded. Smile at the stranger on the street and you’ll probably get a smile back. We all know how it works.
Learn the technologies, find the opportunities and leverage the social media tools that best fit your business. We learned to do it with the phone, the fax, email and the web…and we can do it now. </rant>
Couldn’t not reblog this…
Now this is what Tumblr is good for: artistically recreating the looks from The Cosby Show. I had to scroll through a bit before I found Theo’s Gordon Gartrell knockoff, which the site describes as “the most important piece of clothing ever worn on the Cosby Show.” Couldn’t agree more
If you know me, you know I can be a little nuts about my Dunkin’ Donuts. There are very few big brands that I am passionate about in any way— but DD is a clear exception. Above all, it’s the coffee— which I put above any other coffee, even hipster independent coffee houses. So, when I started working in Bethesda, I was thankful that I had a Dunkin’ Donuts that I could swing by on my to work. When I found out they had a special on Foursquare, I started to check in. With my habit (er…dedication), becoming mayor was just a matter of time. When I did land the mayor slot, it automatically pushed to my Facebook wall, where most of my friends called me a loser. But most importantly, my wife told me she was proud.
A few weeks later (and still the mayor), my mayorship(dom) came up in conversation and my dad seemed intrigued. Later that week, I received a text message from him that read, “I’m at Dunkin’ Donuts, where can I find your picture?” I laughed and posted his question on Twitter— which was seen by the good folks that run many DC-area Dunkies. They reached out (via Twitter of course) and invited my father and I to meet them for some coffee and donuts this morning. Needless to say, they hooked us up big time. And while I was already a huge Dunkin’ Donuts fan, now I had become a die-hard for this local store. I tweeted about it— and look, now I’m blogging about. Great move by the DC Dunkin’ people— I was a fan of the brand, and now I’m a fan of the people and service at one particular location— a much stronger tie.
Thanks again to Mark, Boris and Carlos (the manager above with my dad) for their hospitality. Be sure to visit them on Bethesda Avenue— but don’t check-in too much, I plan to continue my reign as Mayor.
I’ve never felt that lacking of “tweeting” equals failure…which is also why I don’t understand follow limits. If I just want to digest, just let me.
No big deal, just a guy practicing his bagpipes behind my house.
