Eco-Friendly Digital Marketing Internship

Some of my friends can spend hours on YouTube. They may start on one video about parents stealing their children’s Halloween candy and could end on another video of Justin Beiber and Selena Gomez lip-syncing and dancing with their friends. How they travel from one side of the YouTube world to the other always baffles me. I don’t have this innate skill or the patience to peruse YouTube for hours. I find most of my favorites are the trending videos, band updates, and some Jenna Marbles comedy. I am also subscribed to a few nonprofit organizations on YouTube and knew there was a special search section for nonprofits, but completely underestimated YouTube’s dedication to these organizations.

YouTube recently launched YouTube Next Cause, a program  to help nonprofit organizations do the good that they’re already doing –  but even better.  After an application process, 20 organizations were selected for their commitment to change and their previous use of YouTube as a platform. These chosen few will attend a day long summit in San Francisco on April 2. The summit will serve as an opportunity for consulting and training, all in hopes to make their organization stronger and more effective.

This is a part of a larger program, YouTube’s NextUp Program, aimed to promote talent already on YouTube, not necessarily to find the next big thing. YouTube will invest money in some of its selected partners, in addition to providing them with resources in disciplines like videography and production.

And here I was thinking YouTube was just a place for cute cat videos. Man, was I wrong. So many other social media tools can be used for nonprofits too. It’s so cool to think about the support that one organization can provide for another. That sure seems like an effective way to create change – bonding together and satisfying one group’s set of needs with another’s set of resources. The size, growth, and passion of the communities that can be built amaze me. And all the communities, the change, and the action all start with small stories like the ones spotlighted in YouTube’s Next Cause program.

So much for getting any work done – I know what I’ll be watching while I procrastinate for the rest of the week. Check out these 20 awesome organizations’ videos.

If you’re interested in the rapidly growing world of online marketing, this is the perfect class for you! With Michigan State University’s New Media Driver’s License, you will learn all about the different aspects of online marketing from the experts. Derek Mehraban, CEO of Ingenex Digital Marketing, shows his students the many facets of the digital world in a fun, easy to learn way.

One of the greatest things about this class is that you are learning brand new things, but a lot of it is just expanding your knowledge of media you already use. Not everyone blogs, but it’s a pretty simple thing to do and you will learn the little extras that turn your good blog into a great blog. Most of the students who take this class already have accounts on at least one social media platform. Learn how to use platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube to their full advantage.

Some things you may know little or nothing about are search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM) and Google and Yahoo! search rankings. When you successfully complete this class, you will have an understanding of these things and just how great of an impact they have on a business.

Another great thing about this class is that it is (mostly) online. From experience, I can say this is one of the most enjoyable and most useful classes I have ever taken. I loved the convenience of being able to do my work when it worked best for me.

Sign up now for the Fall 2011 New Media Driver’s License (ADV420) course!

THE NEW MEDIA DRIVERS LICENSE IS PROVIDED BY The Michigan State University Advertising, Public Relations & Retailing Deparment in Partnership with Derek Mehraban.

In high school and early years of college my Facebook addiction appeared to distract me from what many others thought I “should” be focusing on. As I got older my Facebook addiction led to a fascination with Twitter and other forms of social media. Suddenly I was studying social media and digital public relations strategies in school. Within three years my degree in public relations went from cool to awesome. I was taking innovative journalism classes tailored to social media strategies and search engine optimization and all things digital. Was this too good to be true? Can I really make a career out of this?

Photo: DirJournal.com

It turns out you can. And there is quite the demand for digital agencies and social media strategist as the digital revolution continues to grow according to The Detroit News article, Aging Nation, Technology Give Rise to Five Hot Jobs. There is real value in social and digital and more and more people are recognizing that. The job market is fierce and there is good news for college students. According to The Detroit News Article. “By 2018 a million new jobs expected to be created.”  I don’t know if fate or luck or destiny brought me to my current internship in the digital marketing field, but the future is looking nice for me and for the digital agency.

The Detroit News: Aging Nation, Technology Give Rise to Five Hot Jobs

iPad’s are awesome and the applications are even better. I read about Deja, a new and highly anticipated iPad application last night that released today. I woke up excited because Deja is said to be similar to one of my favorite and most used apps, Flipboard. Flipboard is an app that beautifully arranges a completely customizable database of a users favorite websites, Twitter, Flickr, magazines and other online publications into a newspaper or magazine like layout. Then allows you to “flip” through different pages and view organized content seamlessly within the app. It is said that Deja does for videos what Fliboard does for photos and text and that is something to be excited about, after all Flipboard was named, “App of the Year,” in 2010.

I downloaded the app this morning and was instantly attracted. Videos are extracted from my Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google and RSS accounts, then compiled into a sleek and user-friendly design. Videos are updated accordingly and the sharing option is easier than ever. Users can share content on Twitter, Facebook or to email. Deja is what an iPad app should look and feel like. The interface displays tiles you can swipe threw zoom in on, and watch. Deja has a feature called ‘fling,’ where you can take whatever video you’re watching via Deja on the iPad, and view it on a TV connected to Apple TV.

You can search and view video’s, easily make playlists, view related videos, save and share in one place. It is beautiful and innovative but also very new. There are a lot of bugs and Deja crashed on me almost every time I used the app. I usually get very frustrated when something doesn’t work but I think Deja has serious potential and I can put up with it for now. A lot of time, effort and $200K of funding went into the Apps development and I really don’t think it’s going to fail. I’m hoping that the iPad 2’s video recording capabilities will help provoke the development of an option to upload videos directly to Deja. I want more customizable options for account preferences and I am also wondering if there are any privacy concerns. Deja has the potential to be a great social media marketing tool and I am interested to see how the iPad application evolves.

The ad industry is changing faster than ever. New positions are constantly emerging as consumers are increasingly staying connected through advancements in  technology. Old positions are fading out. The big traditional agencies are building their new digital departments in their buildings as I type this right now because it is less cost effective and cohesive to outsource digital experts. Some items on the new menu include: Digital applications, big interactive touch screen display ads that people can walk up to and manipulate with their hands, aggressive search engine marketing campaigns (paid per click/organic), social media presence and integration between digital/traditional campaigns digitally savvy people to produce.

For me this provides a valuable lesson that I will take with me where ever I go in life. Always be innovative no matter what your career is. The second you get comfortable with anything you fall into a routine, and develop a one sided way of thinking. Some people today classify and group others who posses traits into one category:  Dinosaurs. What happened to the dinosaur? While one of the most biggest & powerful creatures on Earth at one time they became extinct. What I am trying to say is that any professional, especially a professional in advertising has to change with the times.

Right now more prospects spend more time on the internet than on their TV. This is a fact and a new trend!!! I have no idea who reads news papers anymore… Maybe 60 year old grandpas? If my generation wants to ”read” (which most of us don’t like doing, some of us have forgot how) we pull out our smart phone or computer and Google or Youtube it. Personally I Youtube it now, it’s not like I am too lazy to read but if I can have someone who made a video showing me the news or showing me how to do something new I am all for it. I like to learn by experience, not through reading black and white text. Google brings up Youtube results anyway!! So all you young people take this lesson with you into adulthood and all you old people start learning new things!

Google Chrome is the newest addition to the Web browser game. According to recent browser stats, Chrome is ranked number 3 as of May. The folks at Google have implemented an interactive marketing strategy that allows designers and programmers to create “Experiments” for visitors using Javascript, HTML5, Canvas, and more. It has been tagged as “Not Your Mother’s Javascript,” and indeed, it is much more. One such designer, Mr. Doob, created Harmony- a procedural drawing tool. By clicking around, I made this:

It’s not much in the way of art, but it is quick, easy, accessible, and an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon researching at Ingenex Digital Marketing. Other experiments are more geared toward gaming such as Stewart Smith’s “Browser Pong” and Paul Brunt’s “Bert’s Breakdown”. Google is taking submissions and posts the best experiments so design away.

Developers at Google have also developed a race across the internet called Chrome Fastball. Google takes you on a scavenger hunt around the internet. Time yourself and see how quickly you can tweet, find a bike route, or translate text. See if you can beat me!

BP has been taking on a multi-faceted marketing campaign in attempt to offset the bad press as a result of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill. Recently, BP began bidding on  keywords such as “Deepwater Horizon,” “Gulf of Mexico oil spill,” and “oil spill,” in which the landing page provides information on BP’s response to the environmental disaster. Visitors can click on video updates, pictures and news releases to get the company’s perspective on their clean up efforts and tactics. Yahoo!, Google, and Bing reveal PPC ads with links to BP’s response.

Social media sites have been targeted by BP in order to control the message being broadcast. To date, BP’s official Facebook page, BP America, counts 30,343 “likes.” Fans can read updates from the company as well as watch YouTube videos and review BP’s commenting policy. However, the majority of Facebook users have chosen to befriend BoycottBP with 694,898 “likes.” Facebook users have the ability to participate with the page instead of BP’s controlled approach that only allows the company’s commentary. The anti-BP page allows users to vent their frustrations and with over 8,400 photos being added by users of the aftermath and more than 51,000 links associated with the boycott, users are, indeed, frustrated.

BP has also taken their voice to Twitter. The company states:

Updates of BP’s ongoing response efforts are provided by our social media team as well as on-the-ground personnel working in the affected Gulf regions… From time to time, CEO Tony Hayward and COO Doug Suttles will be giving first-hand updates via this channel. These tweets will be identified by ^Tony or ^Doug.

Once again, BP’s one-way conversation with its followers are not doing enough to ease the tension. BP Public Relations , another anti-BP account takes a more whimsical approach as it weaves in dark humor and quips about the company’s response efforts. It writes:

My staff told me I shouldn’t wear my monocle in Congress but now I can’t read the lies they’ve written for me. ^Tony

and

We’re not blocking all reporters from the gulf – just the ones who aren’t going to say nice things about us.

The false BP Twitter account boasts 175,820 followers while the official BP America claims 15,735.

It seems as though what the world wants now is to be heard and have a discussion instead of being spoon fed information from a very intentional marketing strategy. Essentially, BP’s social media involvement and PPC ads are not geared toward a direct response, which is quantifiable. Instead, one must ask his or herself: When someone is searching the keyword “oil spill,” what is he or she looking for? The answer may be news, pictures, videos or what BP is saying in general. So, BP’s strategy is a successful one, albeit, a bit of a perversion of the point of social media and PPC ads.

Software development is a hapless job that requires patience and is often the butt of plenty Dilbert jokes. The primary source of most developers frustrations is explaing all of the ‘techie’ jargon to all of the non-technical minded ‘suits’. TechSmith is a company based in Michigan that offers various screen-capture programs that offer several different utilities, such as image capturing, video editing, and web hosting. All with the goal of making developers and anyone who relies on presenting technical work lives easier.

One of their products, Jing, offers the same screen-capture options as other Techsmith products but where it shines is its shara-bility. Users can click-and-drag over images, sections or regions of their screen, then record audio instructions of what they are doing while also using text boxes and arrows. Collaboration of projects is much easier with Jing because the program includes buttons to instantly save and share to Screencast.com, TechSmith’s web hosting service, a separate FTP site, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr. After sharing, Jing automatically creates a URL that is copied to the Jing clipboard and can be share in e-mails, and instant messages.

Jing even offers a spoof portable applications Jing-2-Go

The program would be best suited for software developers who need to explain detailed instructions quickly and painlessly. Jing is FREE to download for both Windows and Mac.

On an eco-friendly note, Jing could potentially reduce fuel consumption, saving co-workers and collaborators the commute driving from office to office to sit through meetings. Al Gore allegedly uses Jing.

I spent the past week producing a promotional video for Social Harbor, the new website developed by Ingenex Digital Marketing. Derek and I went to the Diag on UM’s campus last Wednesday to get some primary video footage. I took the tape home and used iMovie to import and edit the video clips. I found a song that was available without royalty fees on Incompetech.com. Kevin MacLeod writes and records all the music on there — and he only asks for optional donations.

Once I had the film cut to about 1 min. 45 sec., I exported the final product as a Quicktime Movie file in order to upload it to the web. We had chosen YouTube as the service to host and share the video. Of course we could put the video right on the Social Harbor home page using a flash player. But we want to be able to send a link in emails and embed the video on blogs and other websites. We also want people to be able to share the video on social bookmarking sites like Digg.com. YouTube offers all of these. In fact, it’s commendable that YouTube has maintained the “king of the hill” status for so long in the realm of web video streaming. Most Web 2.0 sites that got that big have sold out and gotten ruined (like MySpace, for example).

I did run into some problems with video resolution while uploading to YouTube. They broadcast at 425 pixel width, but iMovie exports at about 320 width by default. It was no easy task to get the ratio correct AND have the video streaming the way it’s supposed to. I had to find a tutorial to help with expert settings and export the video the correct way. Of course, I figured it out right when my brother — who just moved to LA to get into the film industry — told me that Vimeo is better for high resolution videos. They don’t compress your video so much, and you can even host a video in HD quality.

There are some negatives to Vimeo. First, you have a limit of 500 MB per week that you can upload. On YouTube, a single clip can be as large as 1 GB (1000 MB), and there is no limit to your total uploads. Second, you’re not supposed to upload any commercial content. Vimeo is intended for personal creations only — as in home movies and short films. That means I’m not supposed to load the Social Harbor video to Vimeo even if I want to.

The end result: The video is on YouTube, available for viewing by the general public: Social Harbor video.

These days there’s never any telling what web site will become the next big thing. I certainly wouldn’t have guessed that Twitter would become such a big sensation. Personally, I’d rather post on a blog where I can write more, or put a status update on Facebook with the rest of my info. Twitter didn’t make sense until I realized how easy it makes it to share links with a ton of people. And that’s fun, but you’re still limited to text – 140 characters of text, which ends up between 10-15 words.

Luckily the Internet is all about progress, and one way to move beyond the Twitter model is Utterli. This site features the same concept, except you can also post photos, video, and audio. One obvious downside is the appearance. Twitter is simply beautiful, whereas Utterli feels boxey, cold, and unfriendly. Another downside: you can’t embed someone else’s video, photo, or audio on Utterli. You can only upload or record your own. However, if you have a video camera or microphone, it’s a pretty cool option to be able to record right on their site.

Other than the obvious snags, it seems to be a very useful web tool. You can also update from your phone like on Twitter. I have no idea how much that costs, since I’m currently a “web only” social media user. Utterli seems to promote cross-posting between other services like YouTube, Twitter, and WordPress (which is strange, since I can’t find any way to bring content in from a site like YouTube). Utterli may become the next big thing, or someone might come up with something better. For now all we can do is give it a whirl, and try not to get too addicted.