Hasta La Creative!

  I will be the first to admit that Twitter is not my fave social site…I understand how it works and what it’s for, and I realize that it is in “real time,” but for me, it is a tad bit…well…boring.  I have followed some Tweets (after some difficulty) and basically have gotten it, well, sort-of figured out. However, I must be in the minority, because Twitter is adding scads of users weekly. So, if you like following tweets like; “just got back from the store” and, “what did you buy”  then,  “nothing”  followed by, “oh” then you will be ecstatic about Twitters latest triumph.

Today marks a historic day…write it down. Today, March 25, 2009, was the first day that Twitter made a profit from advertising revenues! (CNNMoney.com) 

Twitter, one of the most buzzed-about Internet start-ups, made its first online advertising venture by selling a sponsorship of ExecTweets to Microsoft. This move is in response to criticism in the industry that although popular, Twitter did not have any formula planned for actually making money.  The ExecTweets will basically be a page dedicated to a collection of tweets written by corporate executives and will feature branding from Microsoft. Which, depending on what you are looking for on Twitter, could either be great…or a total bust. I signed up to follow ExecTweets, and let me tell you, this is some exciting stuff! Here are some of the Tweets that you may have been missing:

• RT @dfletcher could better information architecture and analysis have helped us avert the financial crisis? http://bit.ly/WGg8qabout 1 hour ago from ExecTweets
• RT @executivemoms @Twitter_Tips OVER 6000 FIRMS Join Twitter each DAY http://cli.gs/XnnZ97about 6 hours ago from ExecTweets RT @dwrasmus1 Let’s fight our way back to prosperity one  tweet at a time Share strategy and vision for these turbulent timesabout 20 hours ago from web 
• RT @PeterRoche: my coaching to execs, leave people in better shape than you found them.6:33 PM Mar 23rd from web
• RT @BestBuyCMO Really like our plan to enhace our Reward Zone Silver tier. Good combo of short term quick hits and long term foundation…11:59 AM Mar 20th from webT @johnmaeda is thinking how subjectivity and passion are traditional hallmarks of the arts, but these times require objectivity…11:57 AM Mar 20th from web 
• RT @Padmasree Just listened to Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Some people inspire us with few words, don’t they? And he has a sense of humor:)11:56 AM Mar 20th from web

For now, I think that I am going to stick to LinkedIn and Facebook until Twitter piques my curiosity more. However, if you are interested in following me, please feel free:  My_Twitter. Right now, to be honest, there is nothing there. But I am working on it.

(Oh, and if anyone knows the answer, why does Twitter take soooo friggin long to navigate? It’s not like there are a ton of images on the site…)

 There has been a lot of chatter regarding emerging media, new media, and how Web 2.0/Web 3.0 will change the world, let alone the practice of advertising as we know it. I am certain that the world, and conventional advertising, will definitely be affected…once effective methods to monetize these new media platforms are determined. If you keep up at all with the trades, you are certainly aware that Google’s purchase of YouTube has been terribly unprofitable, to say the least. And it remains to be seen if YouTube will ever provide profits for Google. There is also the constant buzz regarding Twitter: Is Twitter for sale? Are they working on a new business model? Or, is Twitter but a passing fancy? 

One thing abundantly clear is that Social Media networks have become the new, untapped vein of gold for advertisers in the digital age. Social Media users freely provide relevant information about themselves which is then used by advertisers to segment them into convenient, targetable groups. Paired with Social Media’s meteoric rise in usage, advertisers are often left scrambling to hastily build strategies to reach this audience unobtrusively.

While all of this action (or perceived action) is exciting, the current trend seems to be more about making a buzz than making a buck, with a few exceptions:

In December 2008, Internet News reported that Dell produced over a million dollars in sales by offering discounts to consumers that followed Dell on Twitter. And while these sales accounted for but a drop in the bucket compared to their overall revenue ($61 Billion in 2008), it is evident that while Twitter’s not able to monetize their service, Dell had no problem doing so.

So, while most are playing catch-up, there are shining examples of advertisers and agencies that are ahead of the curve, positioning themselves to lead by example rather than yammering on about what they plan to do. Take, for instance, Lisa P. Maxwell (LPM) in Chicago. Visible, LPM’s web development arm, created LPM’s new Flash site, and fitted it with webcams at each employee’s desk. Anytime during the day, a client, prospective client, or curious web-surfer can click on one of the employee “cam profiles” and chat in real time with the employee. The site lets you know which person is available to chat via the use of two buttons that highlight the web cam images (green=available). Depending on the time of day, you might find yourself talking to the Creative Director, New Business Manager, or even a copywriting intern. It is actually quite fun to talk to this captive audience…they seem to be an intelligent bunch willing to answer most questions. I spoke to one of the Account Managers this morning about working at LPM and being on camera, and she said that they’ve had fantastic reviews. She also said that the best thing about LPM was “the people.”The point of this viral “experiment” is to increase traffic to LPM’s site via non-traditional methods, and in this sense, it has been a qualified success, adding 1500+ visits during the first month of operation. It’s not clear if any new business leads have been generated virally, but as with many viral endeavors, it may take some time. However, if I was marketing director looking for an agency to lead my business into the intricacies of social/emerging media marketing, I would certainly add Lisa P. Maxwell to the top of the list.

Some agencies lead. Others talk. And the rest just don’t get it.

Ask anyone today what topic or area of concern could possibly be a hot commodity and you will surely get job vacancies as one of them. While we all know of the governing recession and layoffs happening in the world today, it remains that it is also an opportunity to trick people out of their leftover money. Pathetic as it may seem, it just remains that people are desperate to have some form of livelihood for their end, caring less of other’s welfare.

“There’s always people out there willing to take advantage of people’s misery,” said Chris Thetford, director of communications for the Better Business Bureau of Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois. “I’ve never met anyone who had to pay to get a legitimate job.”

Nationally, authorities are finding examples of job scammers and taking action. For example, the Federal Trade Commission filed a federal court complaint in November against a Georgia firm that was charging $120 to $140 for materials it claimed would help applicants pass a U.S. Postal Service qualifying exam.

(Source) The Sun News

For people who love to go online, a lot of things are the reason behind it. And among the, the ability to edit photos online is a growing fad and thanks to the efforts of Mixbook, they just upgraded that option for people who are simply crazy about producing the best photos online today.

Mixbook today announced the release of a powerful new online scrapbook editor. Mixbook’s new editor allows users to fully personalize their photo book with a wide array of stickers, backgrounds, and professionally-designed themes.

Mixbook’s Online Photo Book Software Offers:

• One-Click Professional Templates – Create a book quickly with pre-built professional templates for baby photo books, wedding photo books, travel books and more.
• Powerful Scrapbook Editor – Move, crop, rotate, pan and zoom on photos; add stickers and backgrounds; and create custom layouts.
• Integration with Leading Photo Sites – Add photos from Facebook, Picasa Web Albums, Flickr, Photobucket or Smugmug.
• Simple Online Collaboration – Invite friends and family to create pages, add photos and even create their own fully-personalized copies to order when the book is done.

(Source) Press

It looks like musician Nelly will be hosting his own primetime party on television as 24/7 productions reportedly forged a deal with the music sensation. Executive produced by 25/7’s Dave Broome (”The Biggest Loser”), Emmy Award winner Madeleine Smithberg (”The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”) and Nelly, each week NELLY’S NIGHT IN VEGAS will bring Hollywood’s biggest stars to the mecca of pop culture for a show unlike any other on television.

NELLY’S NIGHT IN VEGAS will be an ongoing wild, high stakes party where you can bet on anything and probably everything happening. The show promises to reflect the full spectrum of the Vegas life with an endless supply of inspiration and content for Nelly and his spectrum of sidekicks, beautiful women and entourage. His private jet and red carpet lifestyle will add to the weekly excitement as will his interviews with film, television and music’s biggest stars.

(Source) Press

For the many fans who have followed the National Lampoon comedy flicks, here is your chance to get the National Lampoon Live series. National Lampoon Records, a division of National Lampoon, Inc. (Pink Sheets:NLMP), the most widely recognized brand in comedy, today announced the release of four new Comedy CDs to be distributed digitally and at retailers worldwide. All part of the “National Lampoon Live” series, the four new titles: Un-Leashed, Un-Censored, Un-Scripted, and Un-Filtered, are hosted by Frank Caliendo (Mad TV), Rich Vos (Last Comic Standing) and Dat Phan (Family Guy).

National Lampoon previously announced the launch of its audio label, National Lampoon Records. This expands the company’s owned content library, and follows the company’s recent success in developing, producing, and distributing its own feature film library into all areas including theatrical, home entertainment, television, and digital markets.

(Source) Press

Shazam to this day is an unfamiliar brand name but by carving 15 million users under its wing, wait for this leading mobile music discovery provider to really make some noise soon. Can you imagine getting that much users in just six months? That alone is an achievement!

Following its introduction seven years ago, Shazam’s success has been driven through its partnerships with many of the world’s leading carriers and handset manufacturers. In demonstration of this: Shazam, already deployed by 75 carriers across 60 countries, was recently voted as the Best App Ever for 20081 on the iPhone (downloadable from the Apple App Store), and was also one of the most popular applications on the day that the Android Market launched.

(Source) Press

There is something about Taylor Swift that makes fans buy the tickets and it is not only her singing voice. With her gorgeous looks, it is not really surprising to note why she was able to pack in the Staples Center in Los Angeles on May 22 for an upcoming concert. It took only 2 minutes for the tickets to be sold out!

Taylor will be at the Staples Center this Sunday night, performing live on the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. This will mark the debut television performance of Taylor’s song “Fifteen” from her Fearless CD. Miley Cyrus is joining Taylor for a special duet version.

(Source) Press

The best way to educate yourself on Internet marketing has found a new means of trying to figure out the secrets towards success on the web just got easier with the announcement that Internet marketing video tutorials for business home professionals will be made available soon.

This is the brainchild of iMarketing Masterminds, bringing together the business marketing experts joined together to create a new membership-only website.

The broad range of topics include: Personal Branding, Copywriting, List Building, Banner Advertising, Article Marketing, Video Marketing, Pay Per Click [PPC] Advertising, Press Release Marketing, Search Engine Optimization [SEO], Blogging, Social Networking, Joint Venture Marketing, Viral Marketing, and so much more.

(Source) Internet Marketing Training

One of the best alternatives today is to go into business. If you want to survive, looking for a revenue-generating alternative seems to be the way to go and Sams Club is all but willing to help out. Sam’s Club today reiterated its continued commitment to women entrepreneurs and small business by underwriting the first 625 women entrepreneurs in the Make Mine a Million $ Business RACE, in part through a donation from the Wal-Mart Foundation for $580,000.

The Make Mine a Million $ Business RACE is a year-long business growth marathon to inspire thousands of women entrepreneurs across the country to hit their revenue goals and provide them with business coaching and expert advice, innovative online business growth resources, access to new markets, and a supportive community of peers.

(Source) WalMart