Is the Tonight Show's Karaoke Couple faking it!?

The intersection of late-night television and social media has been quickly expanding. What a perfect fit, too! I, for one, love cuddling up for some late-night shows with my computer on my lap and a nice glass of sweet tea - or a glass of pinot - in my hand!

 

From Jimmy Fallon's mobile app, LNJF, featuring clips and joke-apps, to Jimmy Kimmel's YouTube Challenges, I'm typically not disappointed. And, while a little late to the game, Jay Leno finally had a huge social media hit in the Karaoke Gas Station video that went viral last week, garnering almost 8 million views in 4 days. (Granted, probably 10 of those are from me... I laughed so hard!)

 

But earlier this week,  TheSmokingGun.com released information claiming the clip is a fake! Apparently, the couple featured are both Chicago-based actors and have been featured in similar videos by The Tonight Show. I feel a little cheated. Here's the thing... the clip is FUNNY. The scenario is FUNNY. I like them! I actually might not have CARED if Leno was upfront about it and told us it was a skit. But don't lie to me. Social media is supposed to be all about authenticity and, when viewers feel cheated or lied to, trust and engagement go down the tubes.

Weigh in, here. Are

pre-fabricated skits all part of show business, or should we feel misled?

Happy Mother's Day!

Moms take over social media!  Check out my favorite displays of motherhood all over digital media!
And this Sunday, use that mobile device to make a call--- to your MOM!!!

1) Quirky Moms on Twitter
Motherhood is full of joys, and these Twitter Moms capture the hilarity in all of them!  Follow their silly snack times, crazy carpools and touching teachings as they navigate family life with a sense of humor!  Lots of moms tweet, of course, but check out these three for some giggles: 

@Carbosly: My husband brought the kids to a baseball game so I woke them up at 2am to feed them candy. No way I'm losing the "favorite parent" battle.

@KelleysBreakRm: Neat birthday party trick: dump Swedish Fish in a small fish bowl, tell all the kids the fish died, stick your face in the water & eat them.

@KellyOxford: If you haven't listed every single thing your kid is afraid of and hates to eat and told them "THAT'S WHAT JAIL IS" You're doing it wrong.

2) Memorable Mother's Day Merchandise on Etsy

Etsy is well known for its custom stores selling homemade, unique items.  A perfect place for a Mother's Day gift.  If you are still looking for the perfect gift, check out these three awesome shops.   Be sure to check rush delivery, though, you are running out of time!

Cardtorial: I love these personalized wooden cards!

Lilly Reed: Custom iPhone cases for a tech-savvy momma.

Soap For Your Soul: Eco-friendly moms will love these vegan soaps!





















3) Funny Texts from Moms on DamnYouAutoCorrect
If you haven't seen this site yet, you are missing out.  I wonder if it is a coincidence that some of the best entries to the site are from Moms.  A few of my faves below, but visit the site to browse if you want to keep laughing.

Spring Cleaning Time!

 

When I hear "Spring Cleaning", I usually want to run to the couch, turn on reality television, and pretend I didn't hear those words!

But mix that idea with online media - my favorite thing ever - and then it gets my attention!

So here are 3 ways to do the kind of "Spring Cleaning" that I appreciate!

1) Clean Off Your Desktop

We start with an easy one, folks! Not only will cleaning off your desktop make each log-in a little easier on the eyes, but it has technical benefits as well. Your computer will start and run faster when it doesn't have to load all your desktop files. Additionally, many auto-backup services don't back up files displayed on the desktop! So move those docs to nicely organized folders and enjoy actually being able to SEE your background image!

2) Clean Out your Passwords

Password breeches are on a rampage! Just last weekend, LivingSocial had its password list hacked, and many other sites have too. And while I know that I am supposed to change my passwords regularly, who am I kidding! I rarely do! So take the time to spring clean your passwords. And while you are at it, make the new ones difficult to guess! Do not use words like "password" "passw0rd" "12345678" or easily guessed words. Hackers have programs that can just test any word in the English dictionary! So try a 12-character password with a random mix of letters and numbers. It may be annoying to remember, but your online safety is worth it.

3) Clean Up Your Twitter

Check out Tweepi.com, an easy to use tool to Spring Clean your Twitter! Tweepi can flush out users that that you’re following but who aren’t following you back, reciprocate a follow for users following you, and clean up any users who you are following but aren’t active on Twitter. It's a simple process with Tweepi, just press a button to generate a list of Twitter accounts with details such as bios, when their last tweet was, how many followers they have, and everything else you could want to know. A few minutes on Tweepi and your Twitter feed will have more relevant tweets and less tweets that you probably just ignore anyway!

Do you have any other annual digital spring cleaning tips? Share them below!

Should Kobe Be Tweeting From The Sidelines? You Tell Me...

Celebrity tweets and live tweeting from big events seem to be cornerstones of the twittersphere.

But this weekend's Lakers game showed us that the two don't always mesh well.

Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, who was benched in this weekend's first playoff game due to an injured achilles, live tweeted his thoughts and reactions about the game for his fans and followers. I was pretty surprised by the reaction, and it looks like Kobe was too.  He received a lot of criticism for "attention-whoring" and for critiquing his teammates during their game.  Retweets, trending topics and most of the game's attention seemed to be focused on Kobe's Twitter remarks.  Enough so that Kobe sent out a pretty cryptic tweet on Monday that seems like he won't be live-tweeting anymore.

Like I said, I was pretty shocked by this.  I think it’s an awesome way to connect with fans.  You KNOW Kobe is dying sitting on the bench and just wishing he could play.  Why not use Twitter as a platform to get those thoughts out!? Plus, you would guess that most of his followers are his FANS.  Wouldn't you think fans would love an inside view into the mind of their future Hall of Famer!? 

Help me out here.  Am I missing something?  Do you think Kobe should stop the sideline Tweets?

Boston Manhunt Unfolds on Twitter

Everything happening in Boston is unfathomable. My heart and thoughts go out to everyone there. As I have been watching the story unfold, I can't help but be astonished by the role social media is playing in this. Even amidst the terrible events, social media's role in combining efforts, reporting up-to-date information and hopefully, now, the manhunt for the second bomber, is undeniable.

This is an obvious example of the changing face of news media. First-hand images showing up in tweets of the current manhunt or the Watertown shootings are just everywhere!  There seems to be no way that a news crew can get these kind of images. This one is from someone's home window!! The image has millions of views and retweets. Yes, I am constantly harping on the real-time news features of social media, but this brings that concept to a new and highly meaningful level.

I'm sure there will be more analysis of social media in these Boston happenings. But for now, prayers with the entire city.

 

Restaurant with a cool 'tude or just being rude??

Restaurant with a cool 'tude or just being rude??

We talk a lot about businesses using Twitter to attract new clients, interact with existing customers and offer special deals to build loyal fans.  But here's a new one, ever thought of using Twitter to SHAME your customers?

WHAT?  Of course not, that would be ridiculous!  But, it is happening.  A popular Vietnamese restaurant in LA, Red Medicine, has been using Twitter to call out guests who make reservations and never show up.  How strange, right?  But it is true, check it out: 

This is unheard of, right?  I mean, sure, it is poor form to just no-show for a reservation.  But in the day of using social media to ENGAGE customers, this seems so backwards!! And, as you'd expect, customers are fighting back with low Yelp scores and scorching comments about the restaurant: 

For what it is worth, though, Red Medicine has been getting a ton of PR over this.  And if you believe the saying that all PR is good PR, then they are doing something right! Also, many other restaurants charge hefty fees for no-shows.   Some might prefer this tweet over a fee! 

What do you think?  Is this just a restaurant with an edgy attitude are these customer-shaming tweets a path to disaster?

Facebook/Twitter War Continues!

Or, shall I say, #TheWarContinues

The Twitter vs. Facebook war- that heated up at the end of last year with the Instagram debacle - is still raging.

The latest line of defense to be violated may be Twitter's infamous icon, the hashtag.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Facebook is working on fully incorporating the hashtag into the site. 

First reading this, I was unimpressed.  So what!? People already post tweets to Facebook and replicate the hashtag in their status updates, right?  Why does this matter?

But think about it, Facebook doesn't really DO anything with the hashtags that end up on the site. They are just there as a leftover from a tweet or a byproduct of an automated service that lets users update statuses and tweets simultaneously. Now, it looks like Facebook is realizing the goldmine that these leftover hashtags could create.  According to the article, the hashtags will soon be used as a way to group conversations within Facebook.  So, similar to Twitter's current hashtag capabilities, you will soon be able to click on a Facebook hashtag and pull up all posts about similar topics or events.  The hashtag also will serve as an index to conversations around trending topics.  Note that this could ALSO allow Facebook to better develop user conversations about those topics, increasing the chances for advertising on the topic's main pages.  And of course Facebook is under enormous pressure from Wall Street to increase its revenue streams.  

I'm still not sure if this seems like a breakthrough plan.  Facebook already groups conversations and has pages devoted to just about everything.  But it definitely shows the turf wars going on between the two social media giants.

What do you think, are #hashtags really valuable to Facebook?