Super Bowl Sunday: Pick A Side!

Football fans across the nation are getting their TVs ready, their refrigerators stocked and their favorite team's jersey out in preparation for Super Bowl Sunday!  Let's add to that list this year and get the computers and mobile phones out because social media "Super Bowl style" is already in action.

An interesting trend is developing in social media this week as we lead up to the big game.   

Usually all the Twitter-sphere is focused on is how excited we are about the commercials!  Sure, maybe you get an occasional "GO TEAM" or "BEAT THE OTHER TEAM", but that's about it.  This year, even the potential postponement of the Super Bowl (yeah, yeah, this is being talked about but I'll believe it when I see it!) is being dwarfed by something even BIGGER.  Ever since Richard Sherman gave a heated rant about his game-winning play and deep-seated rivalry with Michael Crabtree last week, social media has been abuzz with harsh criticisms, witty memes and heartfelt defenses of Sherman.  This is feeding the pre-game social media chatter to be more and more about the actual game and its players!!

So this Super Bowl Sunday, you need to pick a side!  No, I don't mean about who wins.  I mean about social media's biggest debate: Richard Sherman, love him or leave him!  Your time to pick a side is dwindling, so to help you out, I've found you quick links to the most popular arguments on both sides.  Check them out below, and let us know your vote in the comments!

LOVE HIM  OR   LEAVE HIM

Couldn't Dr. King Have Gotten 140 Characters All To Himself??

It's kinda becoming cliche.  Every national holiday or big media event, brands tweet and try to supply relevant content about the day, mixed with a message about their brand.  Well MLK day was no different.  While there were less HUGE disasters, it seems like people are still struggling to get this right.  So, let's dig deeper into these struggles and cross our fingers that we can get it right next time!!

Struggle #1:  Squeezing yourself in, i.e. "The ME TOO!"

Example: PETA

Reason: Look, I am an animal LOVER.  Play me one of those Sara McLaughlins and I am bawling like a newborn baby.  But, newsflash, MLK day isn't about animals.  So why try to sneak your agenda in?  Can we not give Dr. King 140 characters to himself!?

Struggle #2: Making it about you, i.e. "The LOOK AT ME!"

Example: Canoe and Kayak Magazine

Reason: WHAT?! What does this even mean?  At least PETA was trying to tie themselves into the theme of hardship and struggle.  This is just lazy.  How does kayaking "honor" MLK? I don't understand.  If your content is not relevant to the day, try making it relevant to an experience.  This tweet would have made a lot more sense with "Celebrate the long weekend by checking out these dream sea kayaking trips."  Then, have a separate tweet to wish people Happy Martin Luther King Day.  Geez. 

Struggle #3: Trying too hard, i.e. "The NICE TRY"

Example: Chicken Of The Sea

Reason: This comes down to knowing your brand and having a consistent brand voice. Honestly, it's not a terrible effort by Chicken Of The Sea.  But, common.  I can't take this seriously!  The tweet seems like it is being spoken by your mascot, this blonde Barbie-like mermaid girl holding a magic wand.  So while a lovely quote, the tweet as a whole doesn't seem consistent with the lighthearted and quirky brand. 

Did you see any tweets you thought were worse than these?  Any that you particularly liked?

Commemorate 2013 Instagram Style!!!

A quick perusal through my Instagram feed this morning led me to one very awesome post.  A year in review!  A quick video of your most popular Instagram posts throughout 2013.  As soon as I saw my friend's video I was struck with social media envy and had to make one of my own.  

Well, it was easy and fun and now, (lucky you!) you can make one too!  Ready?

First, head to site Statigram.  Statigram is a great Instagram-tracking service, actually it is so great that it deserves it own general post.  But today, I am in a reminiscing mood (after all, its almost the end of the year!) so we are going to focus on one specific tool within Staigram, the 2013 Year In Review creator!

Statigram's site is very user friendly and by simply linking your Instagram account to the site, and clicking to make the video, you are done!  The videos can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to create, but you'll get an email with the video attached when it is ready.  

The montage starts with the first image you posted in 2013 and follows with the five most liked images from your account.  I loved looking at my 2013 Instagram highlights.   

If you want to a slideshow or video with more than five images, check out a few other apps that can create that: namely Everlapse or Flipagram.  These montages feature up to an entire year of images.  I prefer the highlight reel, but I've seen great examples of both!

Have fun looking at your year's highlights, and Happy New Year!!

Death By Twitter: #HasJustineLandedYet

Nothing kills the holiday cheer like another Death By Twitter.

You know, we’ve talked about the “Death By Twitter” rampage lately.  And a lot of the tweets have left us confused, wondering if reactions are overly emotional or if the tweet is, in fact, completely inappropriate.

Well, friends, every once in awhile someone tweets something that throws all confusion out the window- other than the thought of “What in the WORLD were they thinking!”.  That is the case with Justine Sacco and her tweet about Africa.  Warning before reading on, this is offensive.

Why?  Why would you EVER think that was okay to say?  Here’s the real kicker.  Not only is this totally inappropriate, but this woman KNOWS better.  Sacco was (yeah, I say WAS because she has since been fired) the PR executive for the Internet conglomerate InterActive Corporation.  You may not have heard of the company, but you’ve certainly heard of all the businesses they own including Match.com and Dictionary.com and Vimeo.  A PUBLIC RELATIONS EXECUTIVE! Wow.

So, Sacco has written an official apology.  She is “ashamed” and was “insensitive to the crisis”.  All the right things to say when apologizing.  But, I just need to share this one part of the statement that still irks me.  It reads: “Unfortunately, it is terribly easy to be cavalier about an epidemic that one has never witnessed firsthand.”

WHAT?  No it’s not.  Sorry, Sacco but I don’t buy it.  There are epidemics that I have never witnessed firsthand that I would never, NEVER, be cavalier about.  Think about it.  I’ve never witnessed a massive flood or earthquake.  I’ve never witnessed mass starvation or poverty.  School shootings, hurricanes, the list goes on and on.  But my heart still goes out to those affected, though I am sure their pain is far greater than I may know.  So I don’t buy the whole “ignorance” claim here.  It just gets under my skin. 

Yet, in the redemption we find through the holiday spirit, some good can come out of this too!  Leave it to the Twittersphere to find a way!  A fake Facebook account under her name has been created where a post links to www.JustineSacco.com, which brings up a donation page for Aid for Africa.

I like that.  And I also very much respect the official statement of InterActive Corporation, who fired Sacco but spoke of forgiveness when speaking of her.  The company stated: “There is no excuse for the hateful statements that have been made and we condemn them unequivocally.  We hope, however, that time and action, and the forgiving human spirit, will not result in the wholesale condemnation of an individual who we have otherwise known to be a decent person at core.”

It is good to see love and forgiveness reign in the end, huh?  After all, that is what the holiday spirit is all about.

Will Facebook’s AutoPlay Videos Alienate Users?

Doesn’t it seem like every time Facebook makes a big change or announcement, people are up in arms about it? 

Well this week's news is no different!

Facebook confirmed Tuesday that it is rolling out video advertisements within users' News Feeds that will auto play on desktop and mobile.  

Yeah, kinda weird right?  So all of a sudden you are getting your daily updates from friend statuses and pics and then a random ad starts playing in your News Feed.  

It sounds annoying to me, and not what I want in my News Feed.  And I’m not alone.  Mashable has put out a flash poll and found 90% of people dissatisfied with this announcement.  Even more suprising is that almost 60% of people claim to hate it so much they would be willing to leave Facebook!

Now I highly doubt Facebook is going to lose that many of its users, but this certainly will change up your typical Facebook experience.  The company has been trying all different kinds of things to generate revenue through the otherwise free site.  Anything from paying for “stickers”, gifting to friends and the ever popular Facebook Ad.  These auto-play videos, though, are certainly the most aggressive of all the attempts.  

Do you think the ads will alienate Facebook users?  What do you think of them?

Online Engagement + Offline Action = Branding Win

Everyday, brands strive to create authentic, meaningful interactions with their customers.  Social Media has helped brands to do this on a larger scale.  But sometimes there is no comparison for good old fashioned, hitting-the-streets!  Creatively weaving off-line engagement into a campaign can create amazing results. 

Drum roll, please, for the best example I have seen of this- probably all year.

WestJet's Christmas Miracle Video.  I hadn't even HEARD of WestJet before today.  They fly mostly in Canada but also throughout the US and Mexico.  But this creative campaign of theirs found a direct route to my heart.  And not just mine!  The video has been viewed almost 2 million times in less than 48 hours.

If you haven't seen the video yet, the airline has an engaging online "live" Santa Claus that asks customers for their Christmas wishes as they approach the gate.  Within the time of the flight, WestJet pulls a Christmas Miracle and delivers the desired gifts to the passengers once they reach their destination!  The online/offline hybrid campaign has been a huge success for WestJet and the company's followup through Twitter has been equally impressive.  The company Twitter handle (@WestJet) is personally replying to tweets referencing the great ad and also coming up with the wittiest sayings to promote the video.

What a clever, fun and smart use of an advertising budget and Holiday campaign!  It's my favorite of the year!

Do you have any other favorite holiday campaigns?  Tell us below!

Death By Twitter: Rules & Lessons

My continuing editions of "Death By Twitter" have seen all types of fatalities due to stupid, offensive or otherwise not-so-Tweetable Tweets.  Whether it be a sports mascot, an Olympic athlete or a kitchen appliance, the Twittersphere  finds victims in all areas.

It seems the holidays is not turning out any differently.  Last week was particularly harsh on the world of social media. There have been severalfaux pas on Twitter the past week, from Nikki Finke's (Entertainment journalist and founder of Deadline.com) tweet following the death of Nelson Mandela that read...

to SpaghettiO's Pearl Harbor commemoration...

  

While I feel these are on two opposite ends of the spectrum, I want to take a different approach this "Death By Twitter" entry.  Instead of detailing the stories of Nikki Finke and SpaghettiO's and the backlash they received, let's try to take away a lesson.  While the tweets seem different in sentiment, they do have something in common.  Each took a tragic event and made it about something else.  Promotion.  While inserting your brand into a current event has proved viable for some (Oreo!!)  when war, famine or death are involved, it's safe to say that making the event about your brand is not wise. 

Use that rule of thumb when thinking about posting to commemorate events or pay respects.  After all, showing selflessness, even in something as small as a tweet, can go a long way.

What other "Rule Of Thumb" do you see playing out in Twittersphere?