Our $10 Bills Soon Get A Touch Of Feminine Flair

The year 2020 will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Constitution's 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
As a sort of "anniversary gift" to the world, we will finally get a lady on a U.S. banknote.
All I can say is, it's about time!!  The last time a woman appeared on any sort of U.S. paper money was in the 1800s when Martha Washington's portrait was on $1 bills.  So, it was quite a momentous occasion when Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced that a woman would be chosen as the face of the new $10 bill.
I mean, these portraits don't change often!  The last time a change was made was between 1914 and 1928, when four portrait changes occurred.   At that time, the changes were Andrew Jackson to Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill, Grover Cleveland changed to Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill, John Marshall changed to William McKinley on the $500 bill and Alexander Hamilton changed to Grover Cleveland on the $1000 bill.  So, four changes in early 1900s and none....ever.... since.
What makes me even MORE pumped on top of getting a woman's portrait on a bill is the way it is happening.... totally woven into the world of social media!  Historically, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has assisted the Secretary with advice on symbols and themes for currency.  But this time, the theme of the redesigned series of currency is DEMOCRACY.   Because of this, the public has the opportunity to influence Secretary Lew's decision.  The Treasury Department has launched a website (check out www.thenew10.treasury.gov) where you can leave comments and are encouraged to tweet with the hashtag #TheNew10.  Further building on this democracy theme, there will be round-tables and town hall meetings where Treasury officials will collect input.
But, some bad news for those Twitter folk who are nominating the likes of Taylor Swift and Beyonce to be featured on the bill.  As much as we love these divas, by law, only deceased persons may be included on banknotes.  Additionally, the campaign claims the woman should "be iconic and have made a significant contribution to - or impact on - protecting the freedoms on which our nation was founded".
So far, the major contenders seem to be Eleanor Roosevelt, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Susan B. Anthony.
Who would you vote to place on #TheNew10?

Is Snapchat the New Political Platform?

Every year during election season, we see new trends creeping in that link political campaigns with social media.  We are already getting a sense of what those trends are going to be for the 2016 Presidential election.  So far, all signs point to Snapchat.

Snapchat!?  If you are like me, this is kinda shocking news. Snapchat was originally labeled as a teen and tween sexting app.  Definitely not something that political hopefuls would use to promote themselves.  

But times are a-changin'.  And so is Snapchat.  Earlier this year, Snapchat unveiled "Discover", its news functionality.  Ever since, it has been establishing increased credibility.  So much so that Republican Presidential hopeful Jeb Bush used Snapchat to announce his intentions to run for President!

That's right!  He ANNOUNCED this on Snapchat!  And others are jumping on this bandwagon, most likely to connect with the younger demographic, age 18-34, who make up the majority of Snapchat users.  Governor Rick Perry has made announcements through Snapchat and many others including Senator Rand Paul, Senator Marco Rubio, and Governor Perry have active Snapchat accounts.  In case you are curious, their account names are SenatorRandPaul, MarcoRubio2016 and GovernorPerry, respectively.  

Do you think the Snapchat strategy is wise for political hopefuls?  

Twitter Test

Quick test.

What do you think of when you think of Twitter?

Now, try to describe Twitter in a single sentence.

No matter how much of a Twitter-expert you are (or are not!), your sentence probably had something to do with the concept of 140 characters.  The short messages are what Twitter is KNOWN for.  And at Casey & Sayre, we know the importance of building a brand to be recognizable and known for something!

But Twitter has announced a first step outside that brand identity.  Next month, you'll be able to send messages longer than 140 characters in Twitter!  Now, before you freak out, this change is limited only to direct messages.  Regular tweets will still have the 140 character cap.  But the announced change took many in social media by surprise.  Some have even speculated that it could be signalling a change in the entire strategy of Twitter.  Could all tweets soon have no limitations on length?  And how would that change all that Twitter has become?

What do you think?  Would your Twitter usage change if there was no 140-character limit?

What Better Friday Happy Hour Than Celebrating #NationalDonutDay!

It's National DONUT Day!  Yes, friends, that is a thing!  And there are few things in life that make as many people happy as the humble donut.  That's probably why it has its own "national day"!  In fact, that's probably why #NationalDonutDay has been a trending Twitter topic ALL WEEK!  Well, the day is finally here, and there's still time to check out these top 5 places to get FREE donuts in LA!

5) Supdnuts Donuts

Spudnuts are made with potato flour, making them super light and fluffy.  At any participating Spudnuts, you can get a FREE donut with any purchase!

4) Dunkin' Donuts

Dunkin' Donuts seems to be just as popular for its coffee nowadays!  Today, you get a free donut with a purchase of a beverage.

3) Jiffy Lube

This one is hilarious!  Yes, Jiffy Lube is offering free donuts all day, along with free tire checks to make sure you don't end up with a "donut tire" if one goes flat! Way to be creative in the marketing, Jiffy Lube!

2) Entenmann's 

It might not have as many of its own locations, but that's not stopping Entenmann's from giving away donuts!  Check out their Facebook Sweepstakes to win free donuts for a YEAR!

1) Krispy Kreme

I saved Krispy Kreme for last.  Not because I have dreams about them (but maybe I do!) but because you don't even have to buy ANYTHING here for your free donut!  Now that's reason to celebrate!

Where did you get your #NationalDonutDay treat?  Let us know your fave spot int he comments!

Google To Introduce "Smart Jeans"!?

We've got smart phones, smart homes, smart cars.  Everything is getting "smart" these days.  In tech terms, this means the items are being linked digitally to combine their functionality with outside software, typically to make things easier, faster or just all around cooler.

Well, the latest smart object is here, as officially announced by Google earlier today.  Smart Clothing.

Surely, wearables have been a trend all year: booming during CES (Vegas's Consumer Electronics Show) and in blogs and startups.  But Google's announcement today of PROJECT JACQUARD is one of the first unveilings that just might be able to bring this trend mainstream.

Project Jacquard intermixes software development and fashion design to create conductive textile material that can be woven into any fabric to create "smart fabric". 

The video released on Project Jacquard (check it out on TechCrunch here) is pretty convincing.  As is the fact that Google announced it is partnering with Levi's to bring Jacquard-enabled clothing to the market.  

Look, Google isn't a fashion company, so the partnership makes sense.  Plus, how better to make this new technology open to the masses than in a trusty pair of blue jeans from Levi's!

The exact capabilities that will be woven into these jeans are still undefined.  In fact, the video touts, "Jacquard is a blank canvas for designers, we are excited to see what people are going to do with it".  

So, this begs the question..... if you were to buy "Smart Jeans" from Levi's, what would you want them to be able to do!?

Why Obama stole from Robert Downey Jr.

It's not often that you would see Barack Obama and Robert Downey Jr. competing for the same award.  

But this week, President Obama ousted Downey Jr. for a world record!

According to Guinness World Records, Obama - who signed up for his own Twitter handle (@POTUS) on Monday - is officially the fastest account to reach 1 million followers.  The presidential account managed to rack up these numbers in under 5 hours, blowing away Robert Downey Jr.'s time of 24 hours set in April 2014.  

If you are anything like me, you might be thinking, "Wait a minute, I thought Obama was already ON Twitter!?"  Well, according to the White House, all other Twitter handles that he has used in the past (@WhiteHouse and @BarackObama) are managed by staffers.  This new account will have tweets exclusively from Mr. President himself.  

From a branding perspective, it seems to make more sense for his PERSONAL account (@BarackObama) to make the exclusively authentic tweets.  But, who am I to argue with the Leader of the Free World!?  That is, of course, unless he is in the market for a new Social Media Adviser! (Call me, Barack!)

Since @POTUS has joined Twitter, he's posted almost every day.  My favorite entry is below, with reply to a tongue-in-cheek question from Bill Clinton.  I personally find the exchange hilarious and hope for more of these conversations!

Are you following any of these presidential handles?  Do you think the new account is necessary or just more government redundancy!?

Death By Twitter: Under Armour Edition

What's said ONLINE determines whats sold ON SHELVES.

There is no getting around this.  Earlier this month, I shared about the Budweiser fiasco when a social media storm forced the company to remove some of its offensive bottles from shelves everywhere.  This weekend, a new story with a similar framework broke; shelves are once again being rearranged due to a social media uprising.

Under Armour released this "Band of Ballers" t-shirt, depicting a silhouetted scene strikingly similar to iconic image of servicemen raising the US flag on Iwo Jima during WWII.  You might also recognize that scene as the basis for the US Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.  

Once word got out about this, Under Armour's Facebook and Twitter pages received an onslaught of negative reactions, shaming the company for comparing a true heroic moment such as Iwo Jima to a basketball moment.  

Pretty much immediately, Under Armour went into defense mode, pulling the t-shirt from shelves and marking it as "sold out" online.  Additionally, it posted this very well-worded apology on all social media accounts. 

When companies have such well-constructed responses to mini-crisis, you have to wonder why they didn't also have the foresight to see the crisis coming.

What do you think of the "Band of Ballers" shirt?  Do you find it offensive or are we simply in another PC-police situation?