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Mashable Staff Goes Stocking [PICS] via Mashable.com

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 08:08:00 -0700

Haven’t you heard? Planking is so mid-2011. As the calendar turns to September and we look forward to Fall, the new Internet meme du jour is something called “stocking.” Say what? That’s what we said, too.

Stocking is the act of taking a picture that imitates a stock photo, putting the two side-by-side, and posting the results on the web. The phenomenon is so new, it doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page yet.

We’re not exactly sure where the idea for stocking truly originated, but since Aug. 18 the blog Stocking is the New Planking has been entertaining us with imitations of stock photos. Naturally, we decided to get in on the fun.

We hope you enjoy the fruits of our labors.

View As One Page »

Image 1 of 10

Brian Anthony Hernandez

View As Slideshow »

Brian Anthony Hernandez

Radhika Marya and Matt Silverman

Zoe Fox, Adam Ostrow and Todd Olmstead

Lauren Indvik

Puppy Elliott

Stacy Green

Lauren Drell

Franklin Drell

Christina Warren

Zachary Sniderman

via mashable.com

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Anyone for Planking? Lemme know k!

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Google Celebrates Freddie Mercury's Birthday With an Animated Doodle via Mashable.com

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 07:58:00 -0700

Today’s Google doodle celebrates the birthday of Queen’s legendary singer Freddie Mercury, and it’s definitely one of the most interesting doodles to come out of Google‘s workshop yet. Note that the doodle will become visible on Sept. 6 in the U.S. out of respect for Labor Day.

One of the best vocalists ever in rock music, Mercury was born on Sept. 5, 1946, and he died in on Nov. 24, 1991. He was known for his flamboyant presence on stage, amazing four-octave vocal range and an unforgettable series of hits which ranged from hard rock to power ballads to neo-classical pieces.

Today’s doodle is also accompanied by a blog post from Google, which was written by none other than Queen’s guitarist Brian May, who recently performed at the MTV Video Music Awards with Lady Gaga.

SEE ALSO: Top 10 Animated Google Doodles [VIDEOS] | Where Do Google Doodles Come From?

“Some people imagine Freddie as the fiery, difficult diva who required everyone around him to compromise. No. In our world, as four artists attempting to paint on the same canvas, Freddie was always the one who could find the compromise — the way to pull it through. If he found himself at odds with any one of us, he would quickly dispel the cloud with a generous gesture, a wisecrack or an impromptu present,” May wrote.

And the animated doodle itself … well, we won’t spoil it for you. Just go to google.com and hit play.

via mashable.com

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Do you know that on 31 August 2011, Google also featured Merdeka Raya doodle on MY google page? Google now are getting more taste on localized feel and mood!

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Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and the rest welcomes Winehouse to Club27!

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 10:30:00 -0700

via youtube.com

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RIP Amy Winehouse. She was found dead in her London apartment today according to numerous reports. The UK singer was 27-year-old.

Winehouse cancelled her European tour last month, and has long struggled with substance abuse.

Amy Jade Winehouse, born September 14, 1983, exploded onto the UK scene in 2003 with Frank. Her 2006 LP, Back To Black, led by the international smash, "Rehab," garnered six Grammy nominations and five wins.

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How the Digital World Is Changing the Way Agencies Do Business

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:02:00 -0700

Social media has fundamentally changed the way agencies work. In a recent interview with Mashable, Razorfish’s Grant Owens predicted that agencies will become much smaller — hiring more generalists and less specialists.

As the technology and client expectations continue to advance, agencies — PR, marketing, media and advertising — will continue to evolve. Will companies become leaner or will they need to staff up? What does that mean for campaign costs and hiring trends? We asked three people from different types of agencies to offer their viewpoints:

Rachel Kay, president, RKPR
Todd Defren, principal, SHIFT Communications
David Griner, director of digital content, Luckie & Company

Though we’re already working harder, longer and faster, some experts predict agencies will become leaner because companies will hire people who can execute multiple aspects of a campaign. Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?

Rachel Kay: A decade ago agencies were much more focused in their service offerings, so wearing multiple hats within an organization was a lot less common. As PR people, we created the communication, the creative agency did the artwork and the media buying agency handled the ad buy. Today, agencies are finding it’s more lucrative to own as much of a campaign as possible, and having talent who can take ideas through fruition is definitely more coveted. In addition, there’s a lot more grey area in terms of where things like social media content development reside. It’s really up for grabs if your agency has the talent to execute. So, I’d argue that brands are becoming leaner in terms of resources, while agencies are actually expanding the breadth of their service offerings.

Todd Defren: I see little evidence of this concept. While it’s true that we’re working longer/harder/faster, the number of people required to execute across varied campaigns has only grown. Quite honestly, the more success a company has in social media, the more ambitious they become and the higher the expectation from consumers. Thus, we see demands for more community managers, more writers, more producers, etc.

David Griner: Personally, I think this is a golden age for mid-sized agencies, which were said to be dying just a few short years ago. Agencies like ours have never had the luxury of abundant staffing, so we’ve had to focus on assembling a team big enough to manage all our client work, but cross-talented enough to leave plenty of room for growth. But larger shops could definitely shed some weight as “specialized” fields like social media marketing become standard marketing practices.

If agencies do become more streamlined, what does this mean for campaign costs? Will brands be able to capitalize on an economy of scale because teams will consist of a few people who can “do it all” instead of having a larger group of people with specialized skill-sets?

Rachel Kay: In this new landscape, brands and companies are able to enjoy reduced campaign costs because agencies are able to offer more in terms of skill. For example, we are a PR agency, but we’ve run significant Facebook advertising campaigns for our clients that we can fold into an affordable retainer that complements our existing communication efforts. That way, our clients aren’t at the mercy of hiring a separate agency to handle something that is very communication-based in nature. In addition, companies are choosing more online-driven campaigns, which tend to be less costly than something like an extensive street team effort.

Todd Defren: Again, I see little evidence of this trend. Those smaller teams you suggest are being created will not be scalable to help more than one or two clients. Thus the perceived economies of scale are lost, as agencies of this type are forced to charge more, along the supply and demand curve.

David Griner: I personally doubt that clients will see a noticeable amount of savings if agencies streamline. A 100-hour project will still take 100 hours, whether it’s being done by five people or 25 people. Where you’ll see noticeable improvement is in the level of interaction you’re able to have with agency staffers assigned to your project. Having fewer people assigned to your project means better day-to-day workflow and institutional memory, but the downside is obviously the loss of potential expertise.

What kinds of people are today’s agencies hiring: generalists or specialists? What other trends are you seeing?

Rachel Kay: I think larger agencies have the ability to hire more specialists as opposed to smaller agencies, which need people who can operate across multiple tactics. I really prefer employees who can think about communication strategically, but have the knowledge to execute multiple elements of a program, ensuring every part of the campaign is cohesive and integrated. However, it’s definitely clear that many agencies are choosing to separate traditional and digital departments. I can see this shift continuing for the next several years, but as more and more marketing moves online, those gaps will have to close once again, as everyone will need to be dialed into the digital and mobile spaces.

Todd Defren: More generalists are being hired in great numbers, but there will always be niche opportunities for specialists. One issue for specialists: Technology is getting easier and easier, and expectations of quality are getting lower. Thus a project that might have required a professional videographer may now be covered off by a generalist with an iPhone or FlipCam and some cheap editing software. “Depth” is expensive, and to your earlier point, clients tend to look for economies versus sophistication.

David Griner: Generalists — or at least the truly multi-talented — will always be in high demand as strategists, content creators and agency leaders. They’re insatiably curious, eager to experiment and ‘media neutral’ enough to avoid getting stuck in a rut.

How is your agency changing? Let us know in the comments below.

Series Supported by IDG

The Modern Media Agency Series is supported by IDG. IDG Global Survey Finds Smartphones and Tablet Use Rising Rapidly. Consumers are ditching their traditional cellphones for smartphones. An IDG Global Solutions (IGS) survey found that smartphones are used by more than two-thirds of the almost 14,000 participants worldwide. Tablet ownership — overwhelmingly the iPad — has reached 20%. Click here to find out the mobile momentum.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, francisblack

via mashable.com

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Are you up to the trend now?

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Remembering Yasmin Ahmad; the storyteller.

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:35:05 -0700

"Energy cannot be destroyed. It just takes on different forms." - Yasmin Ahmad.

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Brand Matters by Mike Scheiner: Integrated Campaigns and why “one size no longer fits all.”

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:13:00 -0700

Previously, people’s interpretation of an integrated campaign was one that looked and spoke to its audiences the same way throughout all of its media channels.

In the current digital and social media landscape, the preconception of having a “one size fits all” approach can no longer be the applied. There are simply too many opportunities to apply a communications strategy and have the content skewed to a specific media and community to encourage conversation and value.

Brand marketing today needs to be comprised of “permission, proximity, perception, and participation”. As explained here, this form of Adaptive Brand Marketing, is an idea that brands and their marketing partners are having difficulty implementing and understanding. To expand upon this, Edward Boches, the Chief Creative Officer and Chief Social Media Officer of Mullen, recently asked the question “How do you keep a brand consistent in a world of abundance?” He broke it down into several components: Brands not only saying, but doing. Your product is really your content. Stop speaking to a target group, but a community. Speak to each media individually, and get others to tell and share your message for you.

This was part of my response to his discussion: “…I’m wondering, when you break down the various areas that define and influence expectations (present, visible, searchable and useful), doesn’t it all come down to “value”? Value comes by action, not just saying but by doing and demonstrating. Seeing the value in a community as opposed to the masses? Inspiring your audience by helping, sharing and partnering. This inspires others to share in the value of that brands beliefs or actions.” Simply put:
Visual look content action share community = brand consistency, which = value.

Ben Malbon, who’s one of the Founder’s of BBH Labs, tweeted about an integrated campaign by Glue London. In addition to its unique visual appeal, this campaign educates and explains to voters the position of the Green Party in the UK and why it should be supported. As you’ll see here, it’s one of the freshest and smartest examples of an integrated platform that incorporates all media and stems from two strong “cultural insights” that led to the various executions. The larger and primary target group was comprised of “Disillusioned Labour” who viewed “the parties as indecipherable from one another.” The other and smaller of the two was the “Green Party Heartland, who shared in the beliefs and were advocates of the party.

These insights became the foundation for a strong communications strategy that was complemented by a unique visual treatment not often found in political campaigns. This foundation allowed each of the various media platforms to resonate within that specific channels audience or user. This further clarified the message and brought value to the party’s position and perspective.

One of the keys to the success of this effort has to do with Glues insights to understanding the political voting culture. In Grant McCracken’s book Chief Culture Officer, and in this interview It’s the end of mass marketing he stresses the importance of having someone within a company or organization who’s responsible for following that specific culture and its relevance to that company or organization. This consists of habits, trends, and challenges facing a brand in past, present and future aspirations. Without understanding this aspect of culture, the Green Party campaign wouldn’t be as clever as it is.

Trying to adhere to this approach myself, I recently developed an integrated launch for a new food cable show “Beyond the Dish.” When creating the overall branding, I wanted to capture the shows personality through its unscripted format and travels throughout the city. It was essential to use each media component as its own channel for driving both viewer and press to the site where the episodes could be viewed, shared, and followed. The results can be seen here
Where do you see things going? Do you agree with the principles of Adaptive Marketing and how do you see marketing firms and agencies evolving from a one size fit’s all solution to one that’s unique to each specific channel?

via scheinerinc.typepad.com

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Now, that's what we called content to commerce era!

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There will always be light at the end of tunnel!

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 06:41:10 -0700

It's been a while now.. Living in gloomy and dark.. I believe there will always be light at the end of tunnel.

I believe in rezeki. Insha-Allah..

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The 5 Qualities of Highly Effective Community Managers

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:15:00 -0700

Erin Bury is the community manager at Sprouter.com, an expert Q&A site for startup founders around the world. You can follow her on Twitter @ErinBury and read her blog at ErinBury.com.
Less than three years ago, community managers were a rare group of employees most often found at technology startups. Today, the role of community manager is common at companies of all sizes — from startups to multinational corporations. Despite their ubiquity, there is still a lot of confusion around what a community manager actually does and what employers should look for when hiring one.
Performable founder David Cancel recently wrote about the traits he looks for in potential startup hires. He placed the most importance on cultural fit and the least importance on previous startup experience. He also discussed why he hires people based on their personality, not their resume. Employers should take the same approach to hiring a community manager. It’s not necessarily about how many tweets the person has sent out, it’s about whether they’re passionate about your company and can become a brand advocate.
Here are the five qualities you should look for in a community manager to ensure he or she will be the right fit for your company.
1. Passion for Your Industry
A community manager is the face and voice of your brand, providing communications in both directions. If you’re a florist, it’s imperative that the person you hire is passionate about gardening. If you own a bakery, make sure the person either loves making or eating cake (shouldn’t be too difficult). This person will be living and breathing your brand, so you need an employee to take an interest in publications, key players and events within your industry. You can’t force passion, so find out in the interview if the candidate actually cares about what you do.
2. Varied Experience
A community manager is a jack-of-all-trades, especially at a startup. This person won’t have one specific role — like public relations or customer service — within the company. Rather, your community manager will have hands in different departments. The more varied the candidate’s background experience, the better they’ll adapt to the role. Look for someone who has a diversity of experiences on his or her resume — journalism will help him or her create amazing content, while PR and online marketing backgrounds will help him or her get the word out about your company and lead social media efforts. Look for experience with event planning, online analytics, SEO and customer service. You won’t find someone with experience in all of these areas, so rank your top three priorities and find a candidate with experience to match.
3. Resourcefulness
While past experience is great, it’s not a deal breaker for a potential community manager. It’s not whether this person already knows how to do something, it’s whether he or she can go out and find the answer without guidance. If you’re an entrepreneur, you won’t have the time to hold your new community manager’s hand while he or she learns the ins and outs of your business and your industry. And if you’re a big company, you need someone who can take the initiative to find answers and work independently with different departments.
4. Flexibility
Every day for a community manager is different. Whether attending events, working on a PR push for a product launch or creating content for your online properties, this new employee needs to be able to roll with the punches and adjust his or her schedule based on the news of the day — and that doesn’t always fall within the 9-to-5 workday. If a company crisis occurs on a Saturday or there’s an important event on a Thursday night, you need your community manager to be on top of it without complaining. Find someone who thrives on that variety.
5. Personality
It’s important for your new hires to have a great personality and to fit in well with your other employees. But when hiring a community manager it’s also important to find someone who has a vibrant personality that will resonate with your community. Your community manager is the first point of contact for customers and community members, and his or her interaction dictates whether your audience will have a positive or negative opinion of your brand. Find someone who knows how to communicate in a fun, interesting way; who knows how to be diplomatic when people complain or criticize the company; and who can meet strangers at events. Finding someone who’s a cultural fit internally is important, but finding someone who is a cultural fit with your community is imperative.
Every company has a list of projects and responsibilities they want their community manager to manage. But don’t just think about the tasks you want them to complete. Think about finding someone — with a personality and passion that reflects your brand — who can complete them in an independent manner.

Interested in more Social Media resources? Check out Mashable Explore, a new way to discover information on your favorite Mashable topics.

via mashable.com

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Tweeting About Election Results Could Get You in Trouble in Canada

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:07:00 -0700

Canadians planning to tweet election results during next month’s elections had better think twice, because it could result in a $25,000 fine or up to five years in prison, thanks to a 73-year-old law.
Elections Canada, the non-partisan agency responsible for administering Canada’s federal elections, has come under fire for saying that it will enforce the Canada Elections Act, specifically a section that mandates that nobody prematurely announce or send messages about the election results until all the polls are closed.
The following is from section 329 of the Canada Elections Act:
“No person shall transmit the result or purported result of the vote in an electoral district to the public in another electoral district before the close of all of the polling stations in that other electoral district.”
The law was originally enacted in 1938 to prevent radio stations from prematurely transmitting elections results, thereby influencing voter behavior on the west coast by the east coast. The polls close up to four and a half hours later on the west coast because of time zones.
This wasn’t a law designed for Facebook, Twitter and social media, though. There are simply too many potential sources of information for this law to be enforced in a feasible way. Despite that fact, Elections Canada says that public messages on social networks could be construed as breaking the Canada Elections Act.
“As administrators we have to inform people and make sure they are aware of that provision,” an Elections Canada spokesperson told the Vancouver Sun. “It’s not like Elections Canada will be monitoring your Twitter stream. However, if there are complaints, the Elections Canada Commissioner will investigate.”
Elections Canada has no choice — it has to enforce the laws that are on the books, and it’s up to the politicians to change the law. Citizens, especially Twitter users, have vowed to protest Elections Canada and the Canada Elections Act by tweeting, blogging and using social media to discuss election results as a way to defy the archaic law. Expect a lot of tweets with the hashtags #Tweettheresults and #elxn41 to be bending or breaking the rules.
It doesn’t seem like Elections Canada is going to go proactively go after citizens who tweet about election results, but we still hope this is the last time Canada has to deal with this law for its elections. Information cannot be suppressed in the digital era.

via mashable.com

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Bayangkan kalau Malaysia pun buat macam ni... ramailah yang kena saman n jail nanti... ish..ish..ish...

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Facebook's Like Button Celebrates Its First Birthday

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:04:00 -0700

Exactly one year after its launch, the Facebook Like Button has become ubiquitous across the web and is still installed on thousands of new websites every day.
Facebook first introduced the Like Button at its F8 developer’s conference, along with Facebook Open Graph and instant personalization. Through the “Like”, Facebook spread its social footprint across the web. 50,000 websites installed the Like Button in its first week, and that number rose to 100,000 in less than a month.
That number hasn’t stopped rising since. Facebook said on Thursday that 10,000+ websites add the Like Button every day — identical to what COO Sheryl Sandberg said in October last year. In other words, the growth of the Like button hasn’t slowed down in the last six months. The social network says more than 2.5 million websites have integrated with Facebook so far, including over 80% of the U.S. top 100 websites.
Facebook’s success hasn’t gone without notice. Google recently launched +1, its answer to Facebook’s Like Button, and a study last month by Eventbrite concluded that a “Like” is more profitable than a tweet.
What do you think of the Like Button? How has it changed your habits on the web? Let us know in the comments.

via mashable.com

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Saya SUKA!

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Sync Media Across Devices With Nero's Free Software

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:07:00 -0700

Nero, a software company known for its media suites, is launching a free app-based system on Tuesday that organizes and syncs media between multiple devices. Its Kwik Media Manager joins a host of other products that are aiming to free digital media from a particular device.
The manager provides a library for your music, video, photos and data that looks a lot like iTunes or Windows Media Manager at first glance. But unlike iTunes, which makes transferring files to multiple devices a pain, it makes transferring an iTunes library onto an Android device a matter of drag and drop between folders. The same goes for transferring video from a camera to an iPad or photos from multiple cameras to one photo library.
Kwik Media Manager also comes with basic editing tools like automatic red eye reduction, an easy slideshow editor, a video clipper and a disc burner that is free for a limited time.
Nero’s new system rivals products like Libox, Unifi and MediaRover that similarly transfer media between devices. But Nero is trying to do so on top of a basic editing and organizational structure. For the casual user, it could replace very basic photo and video editing programs, a slideshow creator and a library in one swift and free download.
One major way that Nero’s strategy is different from others is its app approach. While the basic software download is free, an app store that will eventually open to third-party developers sells additional features to more advanced users. For now, it’s filled with Nero’s best tricks. For $0.99, users can add a face-recognition app that searches photos based on who is in them. A Blu-ray player app costs $29.99. And the “move it” app, at $4.99, will automatically optimize files for the devices to which they are being transferred. This avoids a flash video being loaded onto an apple product or a tiny video being loaded to a larger device.
While Nero has previously powered a similar media manager solution for Dell and sells a MediaHome product for $40, Kwik Media Manager is a huge departure from the way that it usually does its business. And a smart one. Not only do users have an option to buy Nero’s full-priced multimedia suites within the app store, but they have options to spend what they want on the features that they’ll use.

via mashable.com

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Hurm... Soon Samsung Tab, real soon!

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Foursquare Day Sets Record With 3M+ Checkins

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 03:54:00 -0700

This year’s Foursquare Day festivities drew an impressive crowd of users on Saturday (4/16); together, their checkins exceeded 3 million in number during that 24-hour period.
The number of checkins on Saturday set a new record for Foursquare, which only reached the milestone 100 million total checkins in July 2010.
The service’s first-ever Foursquare Day was held April 16, 2010. This year, a total of 19 mayors — including Mayor Bloomberg of New York City — declared April 16 Foursquare Day in their cities and towns. Additionally, more than 1,200 events were organized around the world. And one superfan even got a checkin-themed tattoo. Ouch.
Did you attend an event or celebrate Foursquare Day on the 16th? Tell us all about it in the comments.
Images courtesy of Flickr, Foursquare.

via mashable.com

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Managed to get Foursquare badge on that day too! How bout you guys?

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8 Ways to Improve Your Live Event With Social Media

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 03:50:00 -0700

Clay McDaniel is the principal and co-founder of social media marketing agency Spring Creek Group. Find him via @springcreekgrp on Twitter.
Do you remember life before Evite, Facebook Events, and Eventbrite? Handwritten paper invitations and RSVP phone calls seem like relics of a forgotten age. The web has dramatically changed the way people plan special occasions. Social media is making it easier than ever before to plan, promote, and execute a wide range of events from industry conferences, client events and partner symposiums, to large social gatherings and charity events. What’s more, social media allows you to solicit feedback and extend the life of your event by inviting attendees to connect via online communities before and afterward.
Whether you just want to generate a bit of buzz or instead have specific goals to increase ticket sales and attract top speakers and attendees, social media can make the planning process smoother by leveraging digital word-of-mouth. Here are eight tips for best results.
1. Establish Your Event-Related Channels
The months and weeks before your event is a critical promotional period. Use every social media channel at your disposal to get the word out about your event, and encourage people to share information on the event in return for small rewards. For example: “Share this event with 20 friends for 10% off your admission.” Start by creating an event page on Facebook and an event hashtag on Twitter, then create an event blog where you’ll post updates about it (new speakers, registration discounts, etc.). Make sure your Twitter hashtag is specific to your event or organization, without being too long.
Once you’ve created these pre-event social links, populate them with lots of content. If it’s a social event, post video or music clips, create a pre-event contest, or connect event-goers through socializing and games. For a social or community event, content should be engaging, fun, and shareable in order to drive word-of-mouth interest. If the event is more corporate in nature, offer fans and followers sneak peeks at topics to be discussed, or special pre-conference articles and presentations.
2. Provide Incentivized Word-Of-Mouth Promotions
Make sure that everyone who follows or likes your event on Twitter and Facebook is rewarded for their interest. Offer fans and followers special discounts or content. To incentivize people to register for the event, offer them early-bird discounts, invites to pre-event parties, or other rewards. If you really want to boost the power of word-of-mouth, you can use tools like Meteor Solutions to identify your key influencers, then actively motivate and reward them for sharing information about your contest.
3. Make Registration Social
Don’t forget to use a social registration service like EventBrite, which not only makes registration easier and more streamlined, but allows attendees to share their event activity with friends. Other popular social event invitation platforms include Plancast and Twtvite. Most of these services are highly integrated with social networking platforms and can be configured with user caps and privacy options.
4. Use Location-Based Services and Checkin Rewards
Geo-location sites let you set up a page with rewards including badges, coupons, specials, or gifts. These location based services are easily integrated with other social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, so checkins will be shared with larger networks. When attendees come to your event, you can reward them for checking in at different stations, panels, or activities. Rewards such as free ice cream, a gift card, or other small incentives can be redeemed after the show.
5. Bring your Event to Life With Twitter
Using social media during an event can mean the difference between a flat, boring affair and one where attendees are engaged and excited. But too much real-time social interaction can also derail the main presentations or talks.
First and foremost, encourage attendees to tweet during the event using the established hashtag. An active Twitter stream during your event not only engages participants in real time but also allows people who could not attend to get a feel for the sessions and topics being discussed. Some event organizers set up a huge screen behind speakers to display hashtagged tweets in real time. But again, this “backchannel” can backfire if the tweets become negative or go off-topic. All that interaction can derail speakers as they try to respond in real-time to all the “interference.”
6. Include Non-Attendees
Don’t forget to set up a livestream during the event using Facebook or UStream so fans can follow along online. Facebook enables you to store this stream so that people can watch it after the event proper. You can also create a YouTube channel for the event to post videos before, during, and after. Encourage non-attendees to ask questions through Twitter or Facebook during the event and answer them live.
7. Post-Mortem: Extend the Shelf Life of Your Event
Your event doesn’t have to end the day it’s over. Social media can keep the momentum going for many weeks and months afterwards. On your blog, post a “wrap up” of all the key highlights. You can add links to presentations, key learnings, and other downloadable documents. Of course, you’ll want to post photos on the blog and on Facebook, and continue tweeting about the event even after it’s over. You can post thoughts, ideas, or links to longer articles that might be of interest to those who attended.
Another great way to keep your event from fading fast from people’s memories is to create ways for attendees and other interested parties to continue socializing, discussing, or debating topics covered there. Do whatever you can to keep the conversation alive.
8. Use Social Media Metrics to Measure Success
Consider using online surveys to ask attendees for feedback on panels, venue, speakers, topics, and other facets of the event. Facebook polls are fun, easy ways to get quick responses and feedback from attendees. Be prepared for honesty. If someone has a negative comment to share, make sure to address their comment or concern and store the information to improve next year’s event. Lastly, pull total social media stats from sites like Search.Twitter.com and Social Mention, or set up Google Alerts ahead of time. If the results are positive, don’t be shy about publicizing some of these metrics to highlight the reach and impact your event had.
Interested in more Social Media resources? Check out Mashable Explore, a new way to discover information on your favorite Mashable topics.

Image courtesy of Flickr, dhammza / off

via mashable.com

-Been there done that!

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Introducing RockMelt for iPhone

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 03:34:00 -0700

via youtube.com

RockMelt is a cloud-based social media browser that’s been available for Mac and PC desktops since last November, but now it’s available for iPhone.
Take a look at the video above, and you’ll see that the iPhone version of RockMelt looks a lot different from the RockMelt desktop browser. Its mission is carried over nicely to the iPhone, though, where social media takes center stage, even requiring you to log into Facebook when you first launch the app.

After that, you can add your Twitter account and a variety of website feeds that make this browser work like an RSS reader. If you’re reading an article and for example, have to board a plane without Wi-Fi, you can save that article for later.

And if you’re a user of the RockMelt browser on Mac or PC, everything you do is in the cloud, so whatever happens on the iPhone version is also visible on any devices running RockMelt.

Here’s the best news yet: It’s free.

Source - Mashable.com

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Active Twitter Users Have Shorter Relationships [STATS]

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 20:36:00 -0700

The romantic relationships of active Twitter users apparently don’t last as long as the rest of the population, according to stats published by dating website OkCupid.
The dating website, which regularly publishes information about dating trends and statistics, has compiled a number of charts about the sexual habits of its millions of users. The website determines dating compatibility based on how users answer thousands of questions.
Among OkCupid‘s findings are two conclusions about Twitter users. The first one: according to its analysis of 833,987 OkCupid users, people who use Twitter every day tend to have shorter relationships, and the problem gets worse as a person gets older. The average relationship for an 18-year-old that uses Twitter is about nine months, while “everybody else” usually has a relationship average of nine-and-a-half months. At age 50, the frequent Tweeter has a 15 month-long relationship, while the non-frequent Twitter user stays in a relationship for an average of almost 17 months.
The dating website has another conclusion that is sure to catch some eyeballs — if someone is a frequent tweeter, he or she is more likely to masturbate (or at least report that he/she is masturbating). Based off data from 21,315 users, OkCupid concludes that there is a 2-to-1 chance that someone who tweets daily is masturbating on any given day, a higher chance than everybody else.
OkCupid also published several sex-related correlations and conclusions based on its data, including that GDP has a greater influence on a region’s sexual habits than culture or religion. You can check out the dating site’s blog post for the juiciest bits of data.

via mashable.com

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Facebook Accidentally Turns On Email Notifications, Sparks Wave of Complaints

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 20:35:00 -0700

Facebook has accidentally turned on email notifications for some users, and the social network’s users are complaining loudly.
Most users receive email notifications for events such as when someone sends a friend request or when a friend posts on their wall. This feature can be turned off in user settings, but apparently something has happened at Facebook that has caused the feature to be activated again.
“Some people are suddenly receiving email notifications for settings they had turned off, and the checkboxes are now checked,” Facebook said on its Known Issues Facebook Page. “We are currently working on a solution to this problem.”
As one might expect, affected Facebook users are not happy and are posting to Twitter and Facebook to complain.
We’ve reached out to Facebook and will update this story when we learn more.

via mashable.com

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I'm 26!

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 09:22:00 -0700

via renaldmicallef.com

Alhamdulillah.... Today, April 20th, I'm officially a year wiser. Happy 26th Birthday to me... I hope this year, I'm blessed with good rezeki so i can do good deeds to my parents. Insha-Allah.

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YouTube To Stream Royal Wedding Live

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 08:13:00 -0700

YouTube plans to live stream the wedding of Britain’s Prince William and Catherine Middleton on April 29, the online video service announced Tuesday.
The live stream, hosted on the official Royal Channel, will run for four hours beginning at 10 a.m. BST (9:00 a.m. GMT, 2:00 a.m. PT, 5:00 a.m. ET). It will follow the pair’s journey to and from Westminister Abbey (which Google has already outlined with 3D Street View), the Wedding Service, balcony appearance and aircraft ceremony.
A multimedia live blog will accompany the stream — a YouTube first — with commentary, historical information, additional footage and an integrated Twitter feed from the staff at Clarence House and St. James’s Palace.
The event will likely be the biggest YouTube has broadcast live to date, with more than 2 billion expected to watch video footage of the wedding via their TVs, the web, mobile devices and other channels.
The Royal Channel is also inviting users to submit their congratulations to William and Catherine via a video guest book.
Image courtesy of Flickr, The British Monarchy

via mashable.com

- Oh..oh.. another history in the making!

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Apple Sues Samsung Over Galaxy; Are Other Tablet Makers Next?

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 08:11:00 -0700

In a patent suit filed Friday, Apple claims that Samsung’s line of Galaxy tablets and phones willfully infringe on its own patents. Apple is seeking injunctions as well as actual and punitive damages.
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, which runs on Android, was released late last year. Apple claims the tab infringes on iPad patents and that the Galaxy S looks and feels a little too similar to the iPhone.
The lawsuit doesn’t detail the damages it is seeking, but it also doesn’t pull any punches. A sample: “Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and a unique Samsung style for its smartphone products and computer tablets, Samsung chose to copy Apple’s technology, user interface and innovative style in these infringing products.”
That kind of language suggests Apple may ask the courts to pull the Samsung Galaxy products from the shelves. And given that the Galaxy Tab is not dissimilar to other Android devices, such as the Motorola Xoom, this may be the beginning of a concerted effort to hobble the iPad’s competitors for what Apple sees as infringement.
“This kind of blatant copying is wrong,” Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet added in a statement. “We need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”
We will update with more details from the lawsuit as they come in. What do you think? Does the Galaxy Tab copy Apple’s technology? Are there features that make it more similar to the iPad than other Android tablets? Let us know in the comments.

via mashable.com

- Come on Apple, the pie is still big and enough for you guys. Rezeki tu kongsi lah bersama...

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Most Marketers Plan to Increase Social Media Spend This Year [STUDY]

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 08:07:00 -0700

An overwhelming number of marketers consider social media to be integral to their strategies this year, and 70% plan to increase their social media budget by more than 10% this year, according to a poll from Effie Worldwide and Mashable.
The poll, given to a group of ad agency executives and marketers from firms such as Bank of America, Colgate-Palmolive and Mini USA, among others in February, also found that the primary social media goal is to increase Facebook “Likes.”
Speaking on behalf of themselves and their clients, group members reported that social networking would take 11.9% of their overall budget this year compared with 13% for TV. That figure should be taken with a grain of salt, however, since $68.7 billion was spent on all TV advertising last year, compared with just $26 billion for Internet advertising, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau.
Much of that spending will go toward trying to find new Facebook fans, which 35% of respondents said is their main goal in 2011. “Increase our presence on mobile” was number two on that list, coming in at 22%.
Other findings:
Brands that were cited for “effectively getting their message across via social media” include Old Spice (chosen by 15%), Pepsi (8%), Starbucks (7%) and Ford (6%).
50% of respondents said they use a mix of in-house and agency to handle social media outreach.
80% said they were planning iPad-based advertising and/or an iPad-based app this year, while 20% said they were “not planning much” of either.
87% said social media was “important” or “very important” to achieving their biggest marketing goal this year.

via mashable.com

Skeptical about the power of Social Media? Think it again.

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