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?