Stayin Alive

Yet another adventure into the great internetopia has led our Social Media class to Viral Videoland, a place where anything is possible. 

Anyone can create a sufficiently edited video and post to the web with a little knowledge and a a lot of creativity (and even the creativity part is flexible). 

With these powers, I too have created a video. The internet is rife with user-creator tools that will help even the most inept internet user create something that any and everybody will want to see. I used Sprout Builder to create my video, but the choices are limitless. Unfortunately, a lot of the sites are still in beta and things are constantly evolving on the site so it might be hard to stay consistent. Sift through the bad to get to the good.

While sitting in my room, listening to my re-mastered Bee Gees vinyl, I realized that people are fighting to stay alive each day. This could be made easier if sexually active individuals would get tested and get tested often. Tests are affordable, easy, and results are possible within 2-3 days.

You can find out more at www.tx.tstd.org

Stay Alive. Get Tested.

Got Guerilla Marketing?

Poor Steve. Frustration gets the better of this businessman, and Cisco Interrated Communications gets a fabulously affordable marketing and PR campaign.

This video has all the aspects of great guerilla marketing. It's not a typical ad, and it looks like it is actually happening. The view from the security cam and the reactions of the people in the hotel make it all seem surreal. Where is Iain you ask? Who knows, but Cisco Integrateted Communications will show you how to prevent something like this from happening. Though you might not know that from just looking at this ad. The very end of the video flashes a website: www.donthaveameltdown.com. You have to go there to see just what this short is about, but eventually it will lead you to Cisco. This trail of virtual breadcrumbs is what's new in marketing. Don't let the name fool you, guerilla marketing isn't something to be feared. Take advantage of it. People have been bombarded with tacky Taco Bell commercials for far too long. It's time to think outside the TV Box and create something that is truly attention getting. I'm all for a little guerilla tactics to get a good point across, and so is Cisco.

Do You Orkut? Probably Not...

Orkut. Can you guess what this word means? If you live in Brazil or India, then you know for sure, but if you make the good ol' US of A your home, then that word most likely has little to know meaning to you.

Orkut is a social networking service run by Google and named after its creator, an employee of Google -- Orkut Büyükkökten.

Don't ask me how to say that.

Originally hosted in sunny ol' California, Google realized Orkut's market was no exactly the US and moved their operations to Brazil, where Orkut is most popular.

Besides Brazil, India is quite found of the social networking site.

The basic idea is rooted in the Facebook model, but the site has other features that make it different from the popular site. Because it is Google operated, the site allows google videos to be uploaded, gchat to be enabled, among other nifty google "labs" that are always in beta.

Oprah and Acai Berries and Facebook...Oh My!

What do Oprah, Acai berry producers, and Facebook all have in common?

They all want me to lose weight, and now!

For the last two months or so, Facebook has been on my case to scarf down this infamous berry while reading how the queen of daytime television keeps her yo-yo diets fresh and new.

I refreshed my browser 9 times in a row and I counted 7 ads that concerned weight loss in some form or fashion.

I'm all for an aggressive marketing campaign, but this is ridiculous...aaaaand mildly offensive.

I'm not FAT facebook, I'm big-boned, but thanks for pointing it out. Geez!

Untangling the Web: Twitter vs. Yammer

Show Notes for Untangling the Web, Podcast # 1

Twitter vs. Yammer

In this episode of Untangling the Web, we (Jessica, Russell, and I) discuss the current trends in microblogging. 

For those of you confused by the term microblogging, we offer a brilliant definition before we launch into our discussion of one of the hottest microblogging sites, Twitter. The two-year old website is constantly attracting new users with it's question "What are you doing". Keeping people updated on your current status is the hottest trend in internetopia. 

Yammer, developed a mere six weeks ago, is giving Twitter a run for its money (or lack thereof...learn more about that in the podcast). This status updating site is targeted towards business networks and requires a business to pay a small fee each month per employee (that is signed up for the service) in order to attain administrative rights. 

We talk about pros and cons of both services and all that jazz. Enjoy our first podcast! 

Lee LeFever says "Zombies Don't Dance!"

Not sure how to handle zombies this Halloween? The Common Craft Show will explain zombies to you: in Plain English. 

Zombies are not the only life lesson host Lee LeFever is willing to share with you. In Dr. Weisgerber's PR and Social Media class, LeFever's YouTube channel is put to good use. 

In three minutes or less, Lee LeFever is able to explain the many intricacies of the web with carefully but simply illustrated paper people. 

In his own words, LeFever discusses the work he and his wife Sachi do. 

 "Our videos are short, simple and focused on making complex ideas easy to understand. We use a whiteboard-and-paper format we call Paperworks that is designed to cut out the noise and stick to what matters," LeFever says on his website. 

From RSS Feeds to Podcasting, and Wikis to Twittering...Lee and Sachi LeFever make sure no one gets left behind in this digital age. 

So thank you ,LeFevers, for making the internet 'plain english'. (My mother also wants me to thank you. She is an avid watcher since I introduced her at the beginning of the year.)

You can check out the Common Craft show on YouTube or on their website.

I leave you with a guide to zombies per the LeFevers: 

Deus Ex Machinima

Machinima (pronounced /məˈʃiːnəmə/ or /məˈʃɪnəmə/), a Portmanteau of machine cinema,[1] is a collection of associated production techniques whereby computer-generated imagery (CGI) is rendered using real-time, interactive 3-D engines instead of professional 3D animation software. (Wikipedia)

Sometimes when I'm bored, I like to do an ol' YouTube search for something exciting to watch -- maybe a little Shakira video here, or a Beyonce montage there. Everyonce in a while, I will think I'm clicking on an authentic music video, but I will come across 3d animations moving inhumanly in time with some pop song. I have always wondered what the heck these were.

Well Dr. Weisgerber has yet again enlightened me. Apparently these animations are Machinima's and they are no small feat. In fact, the phenomena is more than a hobby for some people. 

Machinima.com is an online resource for any and everything machinima-related. People can upload their creations, blog about what they have done, get the latest news, and talk with other content-creators. 

Seeing a need to categorize the art form and foster its growth, the Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences (AMAS) was formed. It is a non-profit organization whose main mission is the development and advocacy of the machinima industry. The AMAS also holds film festivals for machinima and exemplary productions are recognized through awards nicknamed the Mackies.

And now ladies and gentlemen, I leave you with a beautifully constructed machinima video featuring Katy Perry's hit single "Hot n Cold", sung in 'Simlish' (the language used by characters in the EA game The Sims 2). Enjoy. 

If you are interested in dabbling with this art form, I recommend a good ol' fashioned google search on the topic. There are hundreds of resources that will tell you what is the latest with Machinima!

BlastBeat, where were you when I was in high school?

You know how when you are in high school, adults always want to ask you three basic and boring questions just so you feel included and relevant?

1) When do you graduate?

2)What's your favorite/best subject?

3)What do you want to do in college?

You know how you always give the same generic answers in hopes this will satisfy them and they will leave you alone?

Well I only wish I had something as cool as BlastBeat to brag about to these silly adults.

What is BlastBeat, you ask.

BlastBeat is the coolest resource for wanna-be musicians and those interested in the industry since MySpace, and it's designed specifically for high schoolers.

According to the website, BlastBeat is designed for teens interested in Music & Multimedia business projects. It is offered to high schools around the world to teach entrepreneurial business skills, promote young musicians, and support youth communities on a local and global level.

In other words, the program allows everyday teenagers to form their own independent labels and market music to their peers.

How much fun is that?!

It is actually two competitions in one. What teenager doesn't like a little friendly competition.

Interested students go to the website and apply to become an MMC [Music and MultiMedia Company] "with each member of the company taking on a different job description such as CEO, Sales & Marketing Manager, Talent scout, Web Manager, Video Crew, Photographer, Journalist etc ultimately producing a Battle of the Bands concert in order to identify the best musical talent in their areas. There are 2 competitions in 1, an enterprise competition for the MMCs and a Battle of the Bands for the musicians." (BlastBeat)

The competition is worldwide, and students have opportunites to network with eachother via the website. BlastBeat's website in the hub for most of the activities the students parttake in. Each MMC has a personal page to update and videos are occaisionally uploaded offering advice or sharing the latest news with other BlastBeat members.

BlastBeat is one of the more innovative programs I have come across. Giving teens the responsibility of fostering their own dreams with a little professional guidance is more than a great idea, it is a method that should be put into practice all over.

Oops, I did it again!

Drunk Dialing is so 20th century.

Our generation has far more advanced ways to embarrass ourselves and we are all for taking advantage of them.

After that first bottle of Shiraz or third glass of Texas Tea, it sometimes seems like a good idea to pour out every feeling you ever experienced about a certain person. If you are over drunk dialing, an text message is great, but an email is even better!

However, as you arise the next morning, wearing the same clothes and wondering why your face was glued to the keyboard, you begin to possibly regret emailing your mother pictures of your 21st birthday at that questionable establishment featuring scantily clad females. You decide that need NOT happen again.

Google agrees.

The innovative (particularly in recent months) Google employees have engineered an application that will (hopefully) prevent inebriated people from permanently scarring their reputations.

Mail Goggles is designed to halt any drunk emailing entirely. The application is simple: it makes you solve a few simple math problems after you click send to verify you're in the right state of mind.

Unless you become a very fast, very talented math whiz while under the influence, Mail Goggles may be quite a force in drunk communication prevention.

Mail Goggles may be targeted at drunkies right now, but this could also help you not send that angry email to your mother-in-law or your boss...no matter what state of mind you are in. Emails are forever, after all.

Kudos Google, for identifying a problem of the everyday man and attempting to solve them.

Just for Kicks

Ha. It has now happened to YOU.

Never Gonna Give, Never Gonna Give.....

"You never think it will happen to you. Then it does, and you can't believe you fell for it," says Amy Shypailo. 

Amy Shypailo, 21, recently became yet another victim of a sometimes cruel -- but always entertaining -- internet meme. 

Amy Shypailo was Rick Roll'd.

The Rick Roll is no new phenomenon. However, it's effects are considerably long term. It can take a Rick Roll victim years to recover. Once that vaguely familiar synth beat enters the brain, and that velvety baritone voice fills your earbuds, it may never leave. 

I have shared this story with you because Rick Rolling is touted as a simple Internet Meme [a neologism used to describe a catch-phrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the internet] when in reality it is much more than that. 

Rick Rolling is the result of someone's creative abuse of the video sharing network You Tube. However it does not end there. Rick Rolling quickly spilled over into real life. Red-headed men in trench-coats and black dress shoes popped up in public places, regaling the crowd with stirring renditions of the 80's tune. The internet meme literally came to life.

Rick Astley must be more than happy that someone did for free what a PR professional would be paid thousands of dollars to do. Someone made Rick Astley relevant again. 

Still not clear on what Rick Rolling is? Don't worry, one day it WILL happen to you. If you need a more explicit definition of the term, wikipedia does a pretty good job of laying it all out there.

Blogger Blues

I think I might be bad at this whole blogging thing.

According Technorati, there are over 112.8 million blogs. 112.8 million!!!! I am just one blog in a sea of blogtastic blogging blogospheres. That is incredibly intimidating.

Not only is it intimidating, but also time consuming. Blog readers are a demanding bunch. They want what you have to write, and they want it now and they want it often. Blog readers thrive off instant gratification. This forces the blogger to become an ever-vigilant partaker of the webworld. That can be exhausting.

The responbibilites of a blogger are so much more than expected. I don't know how some people do it, but I need them to teach me.

Paul Bradshaw's "Five Stages of a Blogger's Life" accurately depict what can happen to the ill-prepared blogger.

Blogs can be an amazing resource -- both personally and professionally. I would like to say that it has become an asset to me. I'm sure it will at one point, but I know I was not cut out to be a blog writer. A blog writer cannot spend 2 days writing one entry. A blog writer cannot write 2 entries every 2 weeks. I'm working hard on these and many other things blog writers cannot do, but its a slow process.

I have to thank Dr. Weisgerber for her link to Bradshaw's page. It's nice to know I'm not the only one realizing blogging is not as easy as it looks.

So fellow blog writers and readers, this post is a disclaimer: bare with me. I'm taking baby steps, but hopefully one day I can take off running with this whole blog thing.

FedEx Fouls Up

You are now viewing pictures that belong to a man affectionately (only by some and you will discover why soon enough) referred to as the "FedEx Furniture Guy". His real name is Jose Avila. His story is old news according to today's internet standards, but his story is a prime example of corporate stupidity. Let's review FedEx's foul up. Here's a quick summary of how Jose Avila's penchant for FedEx turned into an internet fiasco: Jose Avila vs. FedEx

Avila. You can read the details for yourself, but the three main points are the following:

1. FedEx is stupid
2. Jose Avila is smart (and a cutie. Who doesn't love a man with pink hair?!)
   
3. FedEx is stupid
   

In other words, FedEx screamed a big ol' "You Got Served!" to dear Jose Avila, and pulled some legalese out of there bums to make sure the resourceful young lad could no longer share is architectural prowess with the world. The lawyers quickly wrote letters and threw around acronyms like DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) citing copyright infringement (totally bogus claims, in some people's honest opinions). 

This is another example of companies not understanding how to adapt to the ever changing consumer culture. Avila's penchant for cardboard led him essentially create a brilliant marketing campaign for FedEx. This is a commercial I would watch. Those come few and far between for marketers. I do not understand FedEx's sheer aversion to Avila's ingenuity. For what I can make out, the company thinks it is protecting itself, but Avila comes out on top. 

Avila 1, FedEx 0

Mind Your Manners, Blogger.

Miss Manners covered elbows on the table, proper fork choices, open-mouth chewing vs. closed-mouth chewing, belching, soup slurping, and a continued litany of table manners few people thought would ever matter. However, the etiquette guru is a missing a key niche in the 'manners market'. 

Blogging Etiquette has become a hot topic with the internet crowd (the polite ones, anyway). 

Although Miss Manners has yet to guide us through the blogging by-laws, Dr. Corinne Weisgerber has enlightened her classrooms as to what is or is not internet appropriate. The general internet population expects a few key things from a blogger, and these things include updating regularly, using grammar correctly, sharing thoughts respectfully, etc. All successful bloggers adhere to the regular updates mandate, as well as trying their best to use grammar correctly. The tips about sharing thoughts respectfully may be another story. In fact, some bloggers believe ignoring blogging etiquette completely will get them more hits to their site. I give you every celebrity gossip site in existence as an example. These blogs pride themselves on offending, bullying, and even harassing celebrities and people like you and me eat it up daily. 

So this leads me to ask you the following: What's so great about Blogging Etiquette?

Perez Hilton is infamous for his atrocious, albeit hilarious, blogging sensibilities. The Superficial writers pride themselves in their ability to clearly discredit anyone that has ever achieved any fame. Ever.  

Blogging is cathartic for many, therapeutic for some, and downright entertaining for most. Blogging etiquette works for some, but it may get in the way for some. I agree that some basic rules should be adhered to without question. Do not blog if you have no basic grasp of language, any language. Do not blog if you only update once a year. Do not blog if you can't deal with people criticizing and disagreeing with you. However, sometimes a blog that offends or stretches the truth can be wholly entertaining. Now, these characteristics do not work for a professional blog by any means. Social media used for means to promote a company, product, or client should remain as professionally composed as possible. Sometimes though, a downright mannerless blog is great reading!

You know what, it feels better to eat with your elbows on the table. Sometimes chewing with your mouth open just feels better and sometimes ignoring blogging etiquette is just what feels right. Miss Manners might not like it, but I sure do.

How Bob Lost His Job

This is Bob.

Bob has lost his job, before he even got it. Let's review how Bob lost his job.

First of all, Bob is a college graduate with great work experience. His previous employers have nothing but good things to say about his work ethic. Bob has the charisma and know-how to get a good job done. He is an employer's dream.

Once Bob leaves work, however, this all changes. Bob likes to party. Bob likes to party and blog about his partying, and Bob like to take pictures of his partying so he can put them on his MySpace and Facebook pages.

Bob's potential boss has discovered Google. This is where Bob's life as he knows it take a turn for the worst.

The boss has discovered Bob's penchant for beer bongs and loose ladies. Bob's boss also discovered that Bob likes to blog about a variety of topics (including his jobs), and he doesn't say very nice things.

This is how Bob has lost a job before he even got it.

I have shared this wonderfully tragic story with you because Bob isn't the first person to suffer the consequences of living a private life very publicly, and he certainly won't be the last. According to monster.com, 77 percent of employers are googling their employees. The popularity of social networking sites makes our lives outside of work that much more accessible. Some people are outraged that Myspace and Facebook have become factors in their value as an employee, but others argue that if you are willing to share your life on the internet, you should be willing to come to terms with employers using this to their advantage.

With internet prowess, comes great responsibility. You may not like your boss googling you, but it is an undeniable truth that it will happen to you in the future if it hasn't already. So what do we do? Do we sacrifice our ability to network online? Do we stop writing our blogs and trade them in for the trusty ol' diary? Do we throw caution to the wind, post our questionable

( but oh so fun and exciting) photos from last weekend's toga party, and hope our boss doesn't know how to access Facebook? The decision is a personal one, but if you are looking to stay fed, clothed, and housed it's probably best to make sure your privacy controls on these sites are airtight.

This is the age of the internet and it's time we realize that privacy is not what it used to be. Remember that it's not just you and your friends looking at those pictures or reading those blog posts... it's potentially the entire world.

Disclaimer: The picture used above is not actually Bob. Well, he could be Bob, but I don't know for sure if he is or not. Picture Credit: Getty Images