Celebs Throwing Shady Glances: Oscars Edition

Hollywood's biggest night took over social media last night as the 88th Academy Awards took the stage.

The talk of the night was certainly Leonardo DiCaprio and his win for best actor.  This became the most talked-about moment on Facebook and even overtook Ellen DeGeneres' 2014 record-breaking selfie as the most-tweeted Academy Awards moment ever!

And beyond Leo, we had a whole NEW slew of my latest obsession: Celebrities Throwing Shady Glances!

The Oscar for Shadiest Glance Moment goes to: The stuffy aisle of tuxedo-clad men!

Yup, that's right, a whole aisle!  Jenny Bevan won her second Oscar for Best Costume Designer (this time for Mad Max).  As she strode down the row to receive her award, it seemed the entire aisle gave her shade!  Men dressed to the nines in the typical Oscar-worthy tuxedos weren't even clapping as they looked her up and down.  Seems like they were not too fond of her casual attire, as she was wearing a leather jacket, casual top and minimal makeup.  SHADY!!! On a side-note, I say KUDOS to Jenny for being herself and wearing whatever she wanted to!!

The Shadiest Glance Honorable Mention (yeah, that's not really an Oscars thing, but we'll go with it!) goes to Chrissy Teigen!  Chrissy's faces have been memes before, notably after making overly expressive faces at the Golden Globes.  Her cringe-worthy face last night was aired after Sarah Silverman came onto stage, but Chrissy later tweeted that she was making the face about an earlier joke about Black History Month, not about Sarah! 

Did you see any other glances you thought should be nominated for "Shadiest Glance"?  Which do you think was the shadiest?

Facebook Gets Emotional!

The time has FINALLY come.  I know we've all been waiting for this day at LEAST since last September when Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook was looking into new emotion buttons to give users options other than just "liking" a post.  For awhile, that feature was only available in Ireland and Spain.  Finally, this week, they have been released to the US! 

 

Ever since that September hint toward new reaction emotions, many tech blogs have speculated that a "dislike" button might come.  While there is no "dislike" button yet, the new reaction buttons cover a larger range of emotions. You might have noticed that now when you hover over the "thumbs up" to like a picture, several other emotion options pop-up, including:

HEART: Meaning you "love" this

LAUGH FACE: Means "haha!"

SURPRISED FACE: Means "Wow"

SAD FACE: Obviously, means you're sad

ANGRY FACE:  Meaning the content makes you angry

 

Does that cover the gamut of emotions?  Seems to me that these emotions - especially the "wow" and "angry" ones, indicate that Facebook is set on solidifying itself as a popular place for news, as they conjure up a perfect reaction to many editorial articles and headlines. But did they really need to go from ONE emotion to SIX!?  Looking through my Facebook feed, I have mostly seen the use of the "love" button and less of the "wow" button.  Certainly, the sad button will be helpful now so that we don't have to "like" negative news the other friends share such as losing a job or a loved one.

It'll be interesting to see if Facebook keeps all six emotions, or alternates them, similar to how SnapChat alternates its filters.  I predict that they will test which are used the most and we could see a day where the least used emotions are replaced with other options.

 

 OK, so what are your thoughts on the long-awaited emotions? Do you give them a "WOW" or are you "SAD" about the change?

Grammy Edition: Celeb's Throwing Shady Glances?

So, we've been stressing for years now that every word you put on social media could be critiqued and used against you.  Now, we're taking this warning to a whole new level.  In my recent post-awards-show social media monitoring, I've noticed an interesting trend taking shape.  We are no longer just being held accountable for every word, but every FACE we make too!

A perfect example of this happened during last night's Grammy Awards.  Taylor Swift won for Best Album of the Year, and gave a kind-of-empowerment speech about getting credit for your own hard work.  During the speech, the cameras panned the audience, and happened across singer Toni Kelly.  Toni's face appeared slightly less than pleased, and EVERYBODY noticed.  Headlines started going around that Toni was giving "shady side eye" to Taylor and rumors started that they must not like each other.  All from one second of a facial expression. 

This isn't the first time this has happened. Just a month ago at the Golden Globes, one of the most popular post-show stories on social media was a gif of Leonardo DiCaprio's face when Lady Gaga passed and bumped him on her way to get her award.  Again, accusations of Leo "throwing major shade" at Gaga flooded social media.  

Is this fair? Do you think these celebs are really hating on each other, or just caught by a camera at a bad moment?

#TheDollEvolves: Barbie Back In The Spotlight

Barbie dolls have been dominating social media feeds since Mattel unveiled its new line of dolls last week: The Fashionistas line.  The big news is that the line includes three new body types of the dolls, tall, curvy and petite.  

Social media has been calling for this for years, with blog posts and mocking memes about how unrealistic the original Barbie's body type is.  So you would think the general Twitter-sphere would be overjoyed with this change, right?  Well, kinda right.  The response has been generally positive, but not without its naysayers.  Some people are claiming that the new line, which came with its own hashtag, #TheDollEvolves, was pandering to political correctness or even putting overdue emphasis on the "type" of body that Barbie has.  

But let's not focus only on the negative!  Within hours of the release, Barbie was trending on social media and much of the conversation was high praise!  

What do you think of the new dolls?  Have you been waiting for Mattel to make this change, or do you agree with the naysayers?

The Most TITANIC Moment of The Golden Globes

Last night's Golden Globes were quite entertaining, don't you think!?

And while I usually come to you touting new social media records being broken by the number of tweets during these events, we didn't break any last night.

But what we DID break was a few million hearts during what I am calling the most TITANIC moment of the Golden Globes. 

Can you guess?

I'll give you a hint.

Leonardo DiCaprio.

And another hint... Kate Winslet.

I'm out of hints!  It was the Kate and Leo moment that got the internet buzzing up a storm!

It was really just a little hug and maybe kiss on the cheek (or was that my imagination!?).  But Titanic fans around the world were chiming in on the tiny intimate moment between one of our favorite on-screen couples of all time.  

And to make things better yet, they both won last night!  Kate won Best Supporting Actress for her role in Steve Jobs and Leo won for Best Actor for his lead role in The Revenant.  

So did their reunion make your heart flutter?  What was your favorite part of the Golden Globes?

CES Hashtags Have Been Hijacked! You'll Never Guess Who Did It!

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) opened its doors yesterday in Vegas, and the floodgates of new tech releases and product launches opened too! 

But before I cover all my favorites (Don't worry! I will cover them, check out AppChick.com.) there's a little snafu happening on social media concerning CES that is just too ridiculous not to talk about!

The CES hashtags have been hacked!! Okay, not REALLY hacked, but hijacked at least!  See, strip clubs all around the area have been using all the #CES hashtags nonstop since the conference started earlier today.  So much so, that you're likely to find just as many ads for strip clubs when using the hashtags as you are finding actual Consumer Electronics Show content!

To be honest, it is not a bad marketing idea.  Companies and brands are smart to tap into large groups of potential consumers in their areas.  But when it is a strip club, it just seems different!  I don't need pictures of girls in skimpy bikinis when I search for cool CES information!

Do you think strip clubs should be allowed to use this hashtag hacking tactic!?

LAX Gives Holiday Travelers a Doggie Destress!

Christmas and airports are usually thought to be a chaotic mix.  SO many people traveling at once, so much luggage and so many flight delays.  ARGH!  It's enough to stress out even the most zen-focused yogi!  

United Airlines has a solution for us and it's just about the cutest thing you've ever seen.  The program is called "United Paws" and is bringing more than 200 dogs to seven of the airline's hubs through Wednesday.

Yes, dogs!! Research shows that five minutes spent with a dog can decrease stress hormones and lower blood pressure.  So, the #UnitedPaws pups are specially trained "comfort dogs" and are led around the terminals by handlers so that stressed fliers can pet and play with the pooches!  

LAX will host the furry friends, as well as terminals in Chicago, Washington, Denver, Houston, Newark and Cleveland. There are already tons of Twitter and Facebook pics of travelers cuddling up with the sweet doggies.  It is enough to make me want to buy a last minute ticket somewhere!!  But don't worry if you aren't flying this Christmas.  LAX is funding a similar program, called Pets Unstressing Passengers (PUP), throughout the year!

And now, just for cuteness sake, here's some pics of the sweet doggies and their traveling friends. Happy travels!

What you didn't know about your favorite Starbucks drink!

Judging by the enormous line I waited in to get my Skinny Vanilla Latte this morning, it is safe to say that people LOVE their Starbucks drinks!  But when you take a moment to analyze just how genius Starbucks’ marketing is - you’ll start to appreciate the company too.  At Casey & Sayre, we specialize in generating buzz and publicity.  So, it is easy to spot others who excel in this!

Here are 3 social media tactics that Starbucks cleverly uses to get completely free publicity.

Create “Postable” Moments

Have you ever gone into Starbucks and had them spell your name in a completely crazy way on your cup?  What if I told you that’s on purpose!? Starbucks creates these postable moments by instructing its baristas to spell names like “Aaron” on cups like “Air Inn”.  The intention is to make the customer laugh and take a picture of the cup to post it.  Boom! Free advertising.

Build Context for Hashtags

Remember two weeks ago I talked about #RedCups?  Having a playful secret red cup emoji pop up when you tweet about your drink makes it fun and special to post about Starbucks. And who could forget using #PSL all fall while drinking their pumpkin spice lattes. Starbucks makes you WANT to post about them by creating additional context around your coffee experience!

Stir Up Your Own Buzz

Starbucks knows that people look forward to the reveal of its Holiday cups every year.  And this year, the decision to make the cups plain red has caused quite the stir.  But many blogs are now suggesting that Starbucks initiated and ignited the “story” that there were people UPSET about its plain cups.  And if so, it worked!  This simple move got the plain Starbucks cup talked about by just about everyone.  Big names like Ellen, Conan, Demi Lovato and even Donald Trump weighed in.  They say no press is bad press, so this is the type of free publicity that most brands dream of.   

So, is Starbucks genius or just popular?  Have you experienced one of these tactics?  Wonder how Starbucks would misspell Social Media Diva!? "So Shall Me Diadiva"?  "Soshil Mydya Dyveh"? Haha, no matter, it would surely make a #postable moment!

Your favorite holiday that you never knew existed! #NationalCookieDay

Friends, get excited.

Not only is it Friday (yay!) but it is a very special Friday, indeed.Today is #NationalCookieDay!

I swear, every year, Twitter brings to light more and more national "holidays" that I never knew existed, but that I now love!

National Cookie Day is one of those days!

You'll see lots of people tweeting about this and some cute pictures and recipe ideas, but let's get serious.  I want some actual cookies on National Cookie Day!  Assuming you do too, I found these three places you can get deals or FREE treats to celebrate!

WHOLE FOODSWhole Foods is offering all its delicious cookies for only 25 cents this week!  No joke, I'd get there fast if I was you!

INSOMNIA COOKIESIs offering a free chocolate chunk cookie with any purchase.  I've tried these in NYC and they are so good!  Sadly, we Angelenos don't have any Insomnia Cookie stores here, but the offer is also available for delivery online!

ROCKEFELLER CENTERGosh, what is up with NY being so much more cookie-friendly!?  Healthy LA strikes again.  But if you happen to be in downtown NY, stop by the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree for some free cookies from DoubleTree by Hilton!  Smart branding.  You always get a couple warm cookies when you check in.  A nice touch every day — not just #nationalcookieday.

Now, go eat up!  And share a pic of you and your favorite cookie for #NationalCookieDay!

Give Back for #VeteransDay

A deep heartfelt "Thank You" to all of our service men and women out there. 

 

You'll see a lot of #HappyVeteransDay hashtags and meaningful messages on social media today.  But when words don't seem like enough, I have three great ways for you to give back this Veterans Day.  Each one just takes a few clicks of the mouse.

Wounded Warrior Project 

The Wounded Warrior Project provides rehabilitation, activities and career counseling for our nation's wounded warriors and their families.  There are several ways to support this organization.  Donations are accepted on their website.  You can also send letters to an injured service member, make a donation in honor of a loved one or host a Supporter Event.

Adopt A US Soldier

Active duty soldiers love notes and letters they receive from citizens, and many would love to write back home. Adopt a US Soldier is a nonprofit that connects supportive civilians with deployed troops.  The organization offers a channel to communicate encouragement and express gratitude to those serving our nation by sending weekly letters or postcards.

Homes for Our Troops

Homes for Our Troops uses volunteers to build homes or adapt existing homes to meet the needs of injured veterans.  Rebuilding these homes into specially adapted locations for severely injured veterans helps these heroes rebuild their lives.  

Do you have a favorite nonprofit or way to give back to Veterans for their service?  

#RedCups and Secret Emojis

Move over, Halloween.  If Starbucks has a say, we are officially in Holiday Season!

This weekend launched the Starbucks Holiday Cups, lovingly now called "Red Cups", and the internet's going crazy.

Starbucks'  #RedCups hashtag has been trending on Twitter since the cups launched on Sunday, and the company created a Twitter-specific emoji just for the launch! Here's how it works, because you can't just go searching for the secret emoji.  Twitter users simply type the hashtag #RedCups within their tweet, and the special emoji will pop up next to it!  I love this idea and think it is a fun and interesting way to promote a hashtaginto trending zone!

Even though we have at least another month before winter starts, I am always in favor of a little festivity, and some great marketing techniques!

What is your vote?  Too early for the #RedCups, or just in time?

Death By Twitter: Twitter Edition

Quick, what's the worst way you can think of to have someone break up with you?

If you are an ex-Sex-And-The-City fanatic, my guess is you immediately thought of the episode where Big broke up with Carrie on a post-it note. 

It'd be tough to get less personal or emotive than that. 

Yet, today, we have news about the professional equivalent of bring broken up with on a post-it note.  Being fired, over Twitter.

The downsizing company just happens to be Twitter itself, making this digital version of a pink slip a bit more understandable.

Twitter recently announced that its interim CEO, Jack Dorsey would be elevated to permanent CEO.  Now, one of Dorsey's first orders of business is laying off 336 employees, almost 10% of Twitter's workforce.  This morning, he confirmed the move with a tweet. 

I guess there is no GREAT way to find out you are being fired, but I certainly wouldn't want to find out when I log into my Twitter feed.  I imagine the office went crazy when everyone read that!  It couldn't have been good for morale.  Still, here at Casey & Sayre, we are huge proponents of promoting your company's core expertise.  And in that sense, at least the announcement stayed "on brand".  

What do you think of Dorsey's Twitter announcement? Was it branding brilliance or just incredibly insensitive?  

Finally a "DISLIKE" button!?

Thumbs up... or thumbs down?

After years of social media speculation, Facebook is finally working on a DISLIKE button! Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's CEO announced the news at a town hall meeting yesterday, confirming the feature has been requested so much that the company is finally moving forward with the project.

But, the button might not be exactly what we're thinking. Facebook doesn't want the new "dislike" button to serve as a way to "downvote" posts.  So, moving away from that Reddit-style voting, the new button is meant to express other emotions besides the inferred positivity of the "Like" button.

Maybe you've had this happen to you before.  Your friend's pet just passed, or their grandma is sick.  You want to show you see the post and are thinking of them.  Do you "like" it?  Or, say, you are reading a news article about a devastating shooting and you want to show you care.  Do you "like" the article? These are the situations that call for a different type of button.  Zuckerberg said, "What (people) really want is the ability to express empathy.  Not every moment is a good moment."

So, the button might not be called "dislike".  What do you think the new Facebook button should be called?

VMA Craziness Heats Up Twitter

The VMAs have been a hotbed for controversy the past few years.  Typically, this controversy plays out louder and longer on social media.  Even today, a few days after the VMAs, Miley, Kanye and a host of other VMA topics are still trending worldwide.  And it is no wonder, the awards show has gotten crazier and crazier every year.  Plus, MTV has been focused heavily on increasing social media engagement.  For example, this year MTV created its own unique emoji for the show.  The neon-colored Moonman emoji is inspired by the Moonman-shaped award that is given to VMA winners.  All tweets that used the hashtags #VMA or #VMAs were tagged with this exclusive emoji. 

And, this tactic worked, blowing up engagement on social media.  In the US, 2.2 million people send 21.4 million tweets around the VMAs, up almost 70% from last year.  The hashtag prompted 4.19 million uses, almost threefold the 1.44 million hashtagged tweets from last year.  And, notably, the VMAs were the most-tweeted non-sports program since October 2011.  

What were the most tweeted about moments?  Get ready for a countdown!  And, you might want to hold on to your seats, these crazy moments make for one bumpy ride!

5. Taylor Swift and Kanye (27,162 tweets)

Taylor and Kanye have had an awkward relationship since he famously interrupted her acceptance speech in 2009.  This year, she introduced him at the VMAs!

4. Nicki vs. Miley (27,441 tweets)

Miley Cyrus and Nicki Minaj went head to head with snarky criticism that was sparked earlier this year when Cyrus bashed Minaj in the New York Times.  

3. Justin Bieber's breakdown (80,136 tweets)

Justin Bieber knows how to blow up social media.  His tearful breakdown after his performance of "What Do You Mean" prompted an outcry of its own.

2. Miley's malfunction (147,285 tweets)

Common, did you really think you'd make it through an awards show without a wardrobe malfunction?

1. Kanye's speech (551,466 tweets)

He can't really be running for president, can he?  I wouldn't put anything past Kanye West, and the rapper's 10 minute long acceptance speech ranked as the top-tweeted moment of the VMAs!

What was your favorite moment of the VMAs?  

Dangerous Trending Beauty Tip #SunArt

A new beauty trend has doctors saying "Stop!"

There are a lot of questionable trends these days - overalls, mega wide leg pants and clown contouring, just to name a few. But a questionable fashion choice usually doesn't hurt anyone.
But beware of the latest beauty trend that has doctors and dermatologists worried:  Sun Art.  The trend, which has generated social media buzz and hashtags like #SunArt, #SunburnArt and #SunTattoo, is exactly what it sounds like.  In lieu of normal sunscreen application, people are putting on sunscreen in strategic designs so that they get burned to create an illusion of a design, or "tattoo".

YIKES.


Not only would this hurt like the dickens (I don't want ANY sunburn, thank you very much), but doctors are saying it can be very dangerous.  Some doctors are going on the news claiming that, if this craze continues, people run the risk of much higher instances of skin cancers.


Look, some might call me a slave for fashion and trends, but it is definitely not worth losing your health — or your life — over!  People, if you really want a tattoo that badly, you can get a temporary tattoo at the store for a dollar!!

This is one trend I just can't support.  What do you think of "Sun Art"?  Is it cool and edgy or downright dumb?

Death By Facebook: Bic Pen Edition

Bic Pens really needs to pay attention. The company has a history of FAILS when it comes to women's issues and gender stereotypes.  If you need a history refresher, watch this Ellen segment that happened after Bic's release of the Bic Pen for Her.   I'll let the video do the talking on that one.

But this weekend, in honor of South Africa's National Women's Day, the company committed another huge faux pas.  The pen manufacturer posted a photo on its Facebook page that is cringe-worthy, especially in the light that it is supposed to be honoring women!  The post read, "Look like a girl.  Act like a lady.  Think like a man.  Work like a boss."  Yikes.   Is this really telling us that women, young ones especially, excel at looking good, while men excel at thinking?? Why would a brand ever want to send this message?

As you can imagine, the social media world did not take nicely to this, with millions of comments and rebuttals on Facebook, Twitter and even mock reviews on the company's Amazon products.  Per usual, the offending post was removed and apologies were issued. Bringing us to another nugget that I find interesting about this occurrence.  Originally, Bic's apology mentioned that it found this quote on a popular Women In Business blog site.  There, you will see that it was in fact used, way back in 2012, but received thumbs ups and likes on that platform. 

This got me thinking.  Why is the same quote received as positive and empowering when posted in a women's blog but received as obvious buffoonery when posted by a brand?

Do you think there is a difference?  Is this an offensive comment either way, or is it better when it is posted by a woman in a blog?

Nicki vs. Taylor in the Twitter-storm of the Year

Last night, a music industry Twitter-storm erupted and things have only slightly settled down.

It all started yesterday when the MTV Video Music Award Nominations were released.  Of course, Twitter had a lot to say about these, with #VMA leading as a trending topic.  But soon joining in the trending topics were more specific artists.... namely  #TaylorSwift and #NickiMinaj.

Nicki Minaj vented on Twitter after her biggest hit "Anaconda" wasn't nominated for Video Of The Year.  The video, which received 19.6 million clicks in its first 24 hours, set a music video record at the time.  So, Minaj had a point when she thought she was snubbed.  She tweeted:

Well, apparently Taylor Swift thought that Nicki was dogging on her specifically, because she replied, 

Nicki replied with a confused "Huh?" and a back and forth ensued between the two.  Well, I guess rather than "between the two", I should say "with all of Twitter" as it seemed like every reader had an opinion on this conversation which erupted into a sprawling conversation about race and gender. 

What do you think of the debate?  Are you #TeamNicki or #TeamTaylor?

 

Social Media's WORST Case of The Mondays

Some say I am obsessed with social media.  Guilty as charged.

Still, every so often a story comes a long that really puts things in perspective. 

Like this one, that makes me realize there are people in WAY deeper than I am!

Jemma Rogers, a holistic therapist from London, England, went to "extreme devotion" levels after she was locked out of her Facebook account.  She legally and officially changed her name: new passport, new driver's license, new bank cards, the whole shebang.  And, brace yourself, she changed her name to "Jemmaroid Von Laalaa".  You just can't make this stuff up.  Jemmaroid Von Laalaa is the pseudonym Rogers made up when creating her profile in 2008, as an attempt to avoid unsolicited friend requests.  

Now, 7 years later, Facebook has locked the account and asked for proof of identification in order to unlock it.  With seven years of photographs, friend messages, chats and memories on the account, Rogers pleaded and begged Facebook to understand her situation, but to no avail.  So, we welcome to the world "Jemmaroid Von Laalaa".  

The story broke on social media today, featured on Mashable and Time news.  Yet, as of now, no official word that poor Ms. Von Laalaa has had any success getting into the account!

Talk about having a case of the MONDAYS!

International Kissing Day: Pucker up!

Pucker Up!

It is International Kissing Day.

This day originated out of the UK but has been accepted worldwide to celebrate all the loveliness in a good, old-fashioned lip-lock!

So grab your honey and give them a smooch.  While you are at it, check out this week's top news on celeb love, who is lip-locked in love and who is kissing love goodbye!

Lip-Locked in Love

The gorgeous Vanessa Williams tied the knot this weekend, marrying her fiancé Jim Skrip.  Jim, a former accountant, and Vanessa, who is on her third marriage, had a lavish wedding over the holiday weekend in Buffalo, New York.  And of course, Vanessa looked fierce as ever in her wedding gown, designed by Carmen Marc Valvo!

Kissing Love Goodbye

The biggest news on Twitter today was Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick are kissing love goodbye after almost a DECADE together.  The news broke earlier today and I was shocked.  According to Twitter fans of the show, there have been signs of this on Keeping Up With The Kardashians for months.  But, still, I am hopeful that they will patch things up.   

What do you think was the most smooch-worthy news of the weekend?

The MOST liked photo in Instagram history!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  Well, some are worth a million likes.  Or TWO million likes!

This week, the record for the "Most Liked Image on Instagram" has been crushed.  And the media-mogul family that everyone loves to hate (or hates to love!) is keeping this title all in the family.  Yep, Kendall Jenner has stolen this "prestigious" title from her sister, Kim Kardashian.  

Kendall's newly-awarded photo was actually taken almost a month ago, but has progressively creeped up on the "most liked" title.  At the time of this writing, the image has over 2.7 million likes!  That is more LIKES on one picture than Caitlyn Jenner, Kendall's father, has FOLLOWERS in total!

Kendall's pic is a whimsical selfie showing her in a overly fancy but kinda serene corpse-like position on the floor.  Her eyes are closed, she's wearing a beautiful white gown and her strands of hair are meticulously formed into small hearts encircling her head.  Sounds a bit intense, right? Leave it to that family to take a typical Instagram selfie to another level entirely!

I wonder if this battle for the most liked image will continue.  Kendall stole the title from her sister, who's wedding photo had over 2.4 million likes.  Interestingly, Kim's husband, Kanye West, spoke last year about how important it was to them to have the most liked photo!  He said the couple spent four days on their honeymoon making sure the photo was JUST right before they posted it.

Well, Kanye better get moving again.  He might need a week to perfect a new photo this time, if he is going to steal the title back from Kendall!

Who would you rather see hold the title for most-liked Instagram photo, Kendall or Kim?  Or someone else entirely?