Eco-Friendly Digital Marketing Internship

A survey of 400 women was conducted to uncover what women really feel about the content that their Facebook friends post, but after reading the results, I feel that this survey is pretty much gender interchangeable. Most people have those few friends who overuse status updates or are extremely dramatic about life and post every little thing that is going on with friends or their boyfriend/girlfriend. I don’t understand why you would want your Facebook friends to know that your significant other cheated on you or updating Facebook every time you take a step. Just not interesting news and makes for a very awkward post.

The survey, conducted by the daily deals site, Eversave, found that 63% of the women surveyed are annoyed at people who complain all the time. I know for a fact that most guys don’t like that either. I know that sometimes you have a bad day and get angry and feel the need to say that you’re having a bad day on Facebook because obviously if it isn’t announced on Facebook, it’s not really happening. For people that rant about the smallest things that happened to should probably take a breather. Another annoyance was people who share too many mundane updates too often (65%). This has to be true for both males and females because I have heard members of both genders talk about it bothering them. I have one friend on Facebook who posts pretty much every single thing that happens to him every day. Sample status updates include, “Good morning Facebook, time to start the day,” then 10 minutes later posts, “Eating breakfast and watching TV!” I honestly don’t think if the whole world needs to know that you are eating breakfast. I would leave your status update to “Good morning,” and let everyone else wonder what crazy things you are doing that morning. Another thing that the survey revealed is people that brag about their perfect life (32%). No one’s life is perfect and there is no way that anyone is going to believe you if you constantly praise your life. I don’t know who you think you’re fooling.

Women get pretty annoyed at the Facebook antics that happen everyday. I know that these things bother me too, but some people just can’t be stopped.

(Photo by Mashable)

After the recent Twitter fails in the news, I have decided to dig deeper into this topic. The most recent workplace rants on Twitter have taken place on two different spectrums. The first with the tweeter being unaware that he was on a corporate account, and the other with the tweeter being completely aware and spiraling into a ferocious rampage.

The most notorious of the two slip-ups was the employee in Chrysler’s social media department who dropped the F-bomb on the official Chrysler twitter account, @ChryslerAutos. The thing about a Twitter account like Chrysler’s is that it has so many followers that if it has one hiccup (like the F-bomb), over 9,000 people see it and make note of it of course. The tweet, which said “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to f**king drive,” was quickly deleted after the employee realized that he was not on his personal Twitter account. Someone retweeted the mishap and it soon became the tweet heard around the world. The employee was fired and Chrysler was business as usual after a little Twitter damage control with the tweet, “Our apologies – our account was compromised earlier today. We are taking steps to resolve it.” Steps to resolve it = a shamed employee out of a job.

The other employee Twitter rampage was by a fed-up Marc Jacobs intern, who was put in charge of the official Marc Jacobs Twitter account, @MarcJacobsIntl. The power must have gone to his head; he completely broke down on his last day and tweeted multiple condescending comments about the company and company’s CEO, Robert Duffy. As the end of his internship became near, the anonymous intern was asked to find a replacement. The intern supposedly presented Duffy with 50 possible candidates, but Duffy was not happy, and the intern became flustered. “Spelling is hard for me. I hate this job. Hope they find someone soon. Robert is picky! We have presented him with 50 people. He’s not happy,” marked the beginning of the Twitter temper tantrum. The intern went on to say things like “You have no idea how difficult Robert is. I am only an intern. My last day is tomorrow. I wouldn’t be tweeting this if not!” He even had the nerve to call Duffy a tyrant, “Good luck! I pray for you all. If you get the job! I’m out of here. See ya! Don’t want to be ya! Roberts a tyrant! Seriously! He is tough!” the intern continued. “I can call him out! I’m out! Won’t work in this town again! I know that! Learned a lot. But, I don’t have the energy for what is expected!” said another notorious tweet. Before leaving Marc Jacobs, the intern had one last thing to say, “Yea, walk in my MJ shoes! Don’t judge me! I’m alone in this office having to try and entertain you all. This isn’t easy. I have tried. Done!” The company did some Twitter damage control and the intern is gone; he most likely left Marc Jacobs empty-handed in the job recommendation department.

(Photo taken from the official Marc Jacobs International Twitter account.)

“Starbucks now offers the nation’s largest mobile payment network,” said vice president of Starbucks, Brady Brewer. In January, Starbucks launched a new iPhone and Blackberry app called Starbucks Card Mobile that revolutionizes the way we buy coffee. Customers are now able to pay for their order via mobile phone by holding up the app’s barcode to the register’s scanner. This application was tested in September and was discovered to be the fastest and most efficient way for customers to pay, understandably. The past financial quarter was the best performing in the 40-year history of the company, according to Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO. The Starbucks Card app accounts for 22% of all transactions, says Schultz. Schultz also noted that Schultz the Starbucks brand is number one on Facebook, over 20 million fans, and is also a top brand on Twitter and Foursquare.

Many other businesses will most likely follow in Starbucks’ footsteps and create mobile applications for their stores. The app allows for more efficient work on the employees part and allows for a better time efficiency for customers. By allowing customers to use the app, they place their order, scan their phone and receive their coffee. No more rummaging for credit cards or bill and coins, which is a godsend for many. This application will take the business world by storm and be implemented in many businesses

If you would have asked me when I was 10 years old, I would never have dreamed that we would be where we are today regarding technology. It is amazing everything that we have experienced. the iPad, iPhone, wireless computers and applications that do pretty much everything. I remember getting a Gameboy and thinking it was the smallest/coolest thing I had ever seen. Now, we can play games on phones, keep in mind, the phones are half the size of a Gameboy. I am eager to see what kind of technology we will have as I grow up.

Weber’s Inn, the boutique hotel in Ann Arbor, MI, unveiled their new, and much improved website today. Speaking as someone who very much enjoys Weber’s Restuarant, and checks the website often, this is a great relief. The site before was adequate, but now it is enjoyable. The design is beautiful, and it so easy to navigate. Everything is clearly marked and organized and easy to find.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Weber’s, it consists of three major entities: Weber’s Inn, Weber’s Restaurant, and The Habitat Ultralounge. One of the great things about this new site is that it clearly distinguishes between the three places and makes it easy to tell them apart. On the old site everything looked the same, which is so unlike the three very distinct parts.

Weber’s Inn: The deluxe, full service Hotel, Restaurant, Banquet & Conference property, founded in 1937 by Herman Weber,  is still owned and operated by the Weber family. It has been a staple in the Ann Arbor area for over 80 years and offers stylish surroundings, comfortable beds, and deluxe amenities in a classic setting. In a work of true design genius the website reflects the style of the hotel to a tee, presenting a modern layout and features with a classic design. In addition to the aesthetics, the Weber’s Inn page offers clear communication of features and amenities, and provides a very easy interface for making reservations.

Weber’s Restaurant: Perhaps my favorite part of the hotel, Weber’s Restaurant offers fine dining in Ann Arbor at a reasonable price, something that isn’t easy to find. Their juicy steaks and vast selection of wine are perfect on a dreary winter night. The restaurant is warm and inviting and, again, their page of the site reflects that perfectly. Like the hotel, the restaurant’s page is clearly organized and even has a section that allows you to make reservations without any hassle. Their menus are posted on the site and there are even several mouthwatering pictures of some of their popular dishes.

The Habitat Ultralounge: The Habitat Ultralounge is a fun, modern place with live music, great food, and a fully stocked bar. It is a great place to be on a Friday or Saturday night and have some fun with friends. The design of the page reflects the vibrancy of the lounge perfectly. The pages is informative and clearly lists all of the upcoming events and specials.

In addition to the three main areas of the website there is also a very clear and organized events and catering section. It truly is a well rounded and beautifully designed site. It is definitely a great improvement from before.

Yeah, you read that right. It was announced today that Netflix is in talks to exclusively distribute a new show from David Fincher and Kevin Spacey. The show, a remake of the classic U.K. drama “House of Cards”, would be owned by Netflix and would be shown exclusively through them. It hasn’t been confirmed as to how much Netflix would have to pay to get this show, but they have offered to guarantee 26 episodes, or two full seasons, whereas most networks must see a pilot before even one season is greenlighted. This flexibility might be what gets the show for them. This would make Netflix it’s own network, and a potential competitor to some of the pricier cable networks like HBO and Showtime.

This has very exciting implications for the average consumer such as myself. I predicate this all with the assumption that they don’t raise their prices too much, but if Netflix expanded to having their own shows, as well as their already enormous library of past stuff, I might never need to pay for cable again. Also, for those of us who use Xboxes or Playstations to watch Netflix, when Hulu is added to the Xbox online marketplace there will be no need to pay the obscene prices for cable. Wouldn’t that be great?

This news will definitely affect the ever changing consumer entertainment industry. With the announcement of Facebook offering movies, and now this bombshell, it will be interesting to see what else will come up: maybe individual networks separate and become Netflix-esque online networks, or maybe Hulu modifies their site to show episodes the night they air. I don’t know, but it should be good for us.

Recently a new music video was released on Youtube by Dr. Dre featuring Eminem, check it out below.

I immediately notice the Ferrari logo, the HP logo on a tabloid computer, and a bottle of G2 Gatorade. These products/logos were not placed in this video accidentally. In marketing this is called product placement and product placement as we see now exists in music videos on Youtube. This is just another fact that reinforces using Youtube as a channel of communication to your consumers. The Video already has over 12 million views, and this is 100 % effective exposure because people watch this video to see it, its not like they were watching TV and it just popped on. They actually typed it in, or clicked through a link to see it.  HP, Gatorade, and Ferrari made an intelligent move by probably funding most of this video but having their Brand logos clearly placed in the video. After Dre gets done with an impressive fit work out we see him drink a bottle of G2 Gatorade. I’m sure this sold a lot of the people that watched it.

The best thing yet, if you are still not convinced that Youtube is a powerful advertising channel, which may be in fact more powerful than TV is that this Video will stay around forever, people will share it, and engage in conversation in it with each other. It’s not going anywhere I’m sure 5 years from now that video will still be getting hits, and guess what? The HP Tabloid W/ LOGO, Bottle of Gatorade, and Ferrari will still be there for millions of more people to see. If this was TV we would be talking about some music channel that most likely does not have 12 million people watching it, if it was a commercial then it would be very costly and would cost more each time it ran. This is obvious though, it may seem like common sense to us younger people in marketing but older people (the really old ones) might not be so sure yet. I know though that if I had my own business I would be reaching out to consumers with Youtube videos and drive traffic through Twitter!

The website Formspring is notorious for its anonymous question format, easily allowing the occurrence of online bullying. The website allows its users to harass and intimidate members in question format and, in the past, really had no way of controlling the bullying. Although most members of the older demographic are able to handle such acts of harassment, a large portion of Formspring’s users are teens and young adults; the ages in which individuals are most emotionally influenced.

The recent tragedies due to bullying were heard around the world. No one should feel afraid or intimidated for living their life and Formspring has decided to take a stand for the kids who feel that way. The website announced that they are in the  process of creating detection tools of problematic content on its site, partnering with MIT’s Media Lab to do so. The MIT team aims to implement software with intelligence that goes beyond standard word filters. The team has been using natural language recognition to uncover content that could be deemed as harassing or aggressive content.

It’s sad that a social media site, which was made as a harmless way to have fun with friends, has turned into a breeding ground for online bullying. This new software is innovative and necessary; online bullying is has reached its peak this year, with countless children taking their lives due to online harassment by peers. Although I can understand the idea that Formspring is anonymous and some users who don’t engage in online bullying could be aggravated by the detection software, I definitely feel that it is a great idea. Children joke around with their friends sometimes, but other times it can go too far without them realizing the effect that they are having on their friends. Some can shrug it off, but others can be severely damaged by degrading and aggressive comments.

It was announced yesterday that Foursquare has finally released it’s 3.0 update. If your a Foursquare junkie like me than this is great news. The service, for those of you who don’t know, allows you to “check-in” at the places you visit throughout the day and show’s you where local deals might be. It’s also a great way to keep tabs on your friends (but not in a stalker way). It’s not only a deal finder, you can also check in to get badges, which are little rewards for visit certain places, or visiting a certain number of places, and duke it out for “mayor ships” of your favorite hot spots. It’s fun.

Anyway, the new update offers many revamps that make it a much more complete and useful app to have.

The first new feature, and perhaps the coolest is the “explore” tab that they’re adding. This will become the bulk of the mobile application as it offers the most content to use. Essentially was it is is a “Yelp” type app that takes where you’ve been and suggests places that you might like in your area. It also allows you to explore the area you’re in for recommended places that are similar with your interests, or just places recommended in general. This is cool because it would make traveling much easier, as well as open you up to places in your area that you might have never heard of. In addition to food it also shows you where there is nightlife, shopping and touristy stuff, so that you can truly explore wherever you are.

Another cool feature, which get’s back to what makes Foursquare an app to have, is that they have greatly expanded their “deals” options for companies. They have added things like Flash Deals (first 10 people after 5 get a free drink), Newbie Deals, Loyalty Deals and many more. This, hopefully, will encourage more companies to offer specials and therefore make Foursquare a great way to save some money as well.

I am psyched about these new features. It takes Foursquare from an almost strictly “fun” app to one that is very functional. So, if you don’t already have it on your phone, get it. It is available for pretty much every platform that exists.

Social media has transformed the way companies market their products and, in my eyes, Kraft Mac & Cheese is the newest front runner. I logged in to Twitter yesterday and was surprised to see that “Mac & Cheese” was trending. I know, as well as the rest of the Tweetos, that whenever something is trending, there is a story behind it, but I couldn’t figure out why people’s tweets were including the phrase “Mac & Cheese.” Shortly after, I was perusing Mashable and discovered that an article was written about why the lunchtime delight was trending on Twitter.

To my surprise, Kraft has a type of game going, known as the Mac & Jinx promotion, in which the winner receives five free boxes of mac and cheese and a T-shirt. The game goes something like this: any time two different people tweet using the phrase “mac & cheese,” they’ll each get a link pointing out the “Mac & Jinx.” The first one to click the link and give Kraft his or her address wins. This contest is so different than the traditional “enter and win” contests and I think it’s a great idea. Twitter is revolutionizing the way we get our news, keep in touch with friends and now they are changing the way we participate in contests.

It’s great to see that companies are getting creative now, and I love the fact that Kraft is making it relatively easy to win the prizes; you don’t have to jump through hoops or have some special talent to be a winner. Anyone can participate in the contest as long as he or she has a Twitter account. I also like that there are numerous winners; everyone has the chance to win without dropping their name in a hat and finding out months later that they won. I love that Kraft is embracing what new age technology has to offer with its Twitter contest.

Like Movies? Hate going to Blockbuster, or waiting for your Netflix movies to arrive? Disappointed in the limited selection of movies available to watch online? Well things are looking up.  Mashable announced today that Warner Bros. is making their movies available to rent online… through Facebook. Yeah, you read that right. Starting today, when you visit the fan page of some of your favorite Warner Bros. movies, you can not only “like” the movie, but you can also rent it and watch it right there. The rentals are available for the low price of $3, or 30 Facebook Credits, which are an online currency that buys you things on Facebook. At the moment the feature is only available for “The Dark Night“, but they are going to be expanding soon.

This is an interesting development for all of us 600 million Facebook users. It takes the already expansive user experience provided by the social media giant, and opens up a door that leads to a world of new possibilities. I would love to see Facebook to become a place that incorporates a Netflix + Hulu type video catalog that, with a low monthly price, can be available for use online and on other internet enabled devices (TV’s, video game consoles, etc.). Then they can add music and some proper games and I’ll never have to leave the site. Sounds good to me.