Fashion Week Goes Social

With the increase of technology, the iconic Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is becoming increasingly integrated in social media systems. From live streaming to Twitter updates to constant blog posts, you can now be chic and savvy while sitting in your pajamas on the couch. Social Media has completely revolutionized Fashion Week; the shows and events that were once impossible to get into are now easily accessible via the Internet. A large majority of the shows are streamed live, so you get to see the collection the minute it hits the runway. Twitter updates allow fans to hear about the latest buzz and events going on. Blog posts are taking readers behind-the-scenes where only the fashion elite used to have access to. So if you’re discouraged about getting that front row seat, stress no more! Mashable gives you the low-down of the best ways to experience Fashion Week on the web.

Written by: Melissa Miller

Super Bowl Predictions

With social media buzz playing a larger role in determining marketing trends, it is no surprise that it is being used to determine chance events such as this weekend’s Super Bowl winner. Infegy, a social media analysis company, has collected data since 2008 on Internet chatter pertaining to Super Bowl teams. During the month of January, Internet buzz on teams most discussed was collected and analyzed for trends. What were the findings? In the last four years, the Super Bowl team that was most mentioned or discussed ended up being the Vince Lombardi trophy winner.

Is this a coincidence or does more buzz translate to more wins? According to CEO Justin Graves, the buzz doesn’t necessarily determine the win. Rather, people are more likely to be talking about teams that they believe are going to be victorious. As a result, this creates more buzz for that particular team.

Well, what does that mean for this year’s Super Bowl predictions? Unfortunately, the social media buzz for both teams is marginal—12.28% and 12.02% for both Green Bay and Pittsburgh, respectively. The buzz, alone, isn’t enough for Infegy to make a prediction. This, however, did not stop Graves from making a prediction. Analyzing the data even further, Infegy delved into the sentiment behind the online buzz and found that 78% of the chatter revolving around the Packers was positive. Comparatively speaking, Pittsburgh only received 69% positive feedback. If this theory about buzz is true, Green Bay is going to be very happy Sunday evening.

Hopefully this growing importance of social media can find a way to reverse the reason for dwindling Internet discussion around the big game, which is down a full 26% from last year.

(via Mashable)

Written by: Sam Moe

The Art of the Checkin: From Location to Content to Brand →

Great article from Mashable about checking in and your online identity!

How Foursquare Reaches Consumers and What it Means for Businesses

            The web landscape, particularly in the sector of social media platforms, is extremely dynamic and ever evolving. Social Media templates are changing, and quickly at that. As one blogger mentions, the question prompts on the home pages of these websites have become increasingly personal. Facebook asks elusively, “What’s on your mind?”, while Twitter asks, more transparently, “What are you doing?”, while Foursquare asks, in a tone one might presumptuously interpret as invasive, “Where are you?”  

Foursquare, a mobile GPS-style interactive map that synchs your location to mainstream social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook, facilitates a new and more personalized medium through which one can communicate to his/her social cloud.  Because the mobile phone is as strong as the computer in this technological era, there is no chance Foursquare will fade in popularity or usage. Businesses have hopped on board the Foursquare bandwagon, further strengthening and maintaining their prevalence on the web landscape. Through Foursquare, managers can see who is checking in: taking into account attributes such as what age group or demographic to which their consumer belongs, and during what time of day they enter their store.  Essentially, they are able to see the metrics of their consumer in the most accessible way possible. 

Why Youtube is One of the Most Powerful and Influential Sites on the Web

Google bought YouTube for a staggering $1.26 billion for its immense influence, as indicated by its heavy traffic and its impressive metrics of growth. Since this merge, YouTube has grown even more and shows no signs of slowing. With 100 million videos being watched per day and traffic increasing up to 75% in just the past month (Uncovering The Power Of Youtube ), the world of video upload is undeniably centered on YouTube. What is it, then, about this user-generated video-upload portal that makes it so special? How do marketing and advertising sectors of a corporation harness this power and influence to increase exposure and reach a mass market?

            First, let’s analyze its general presence and location relevant to the entire web landscape to understand how and where marketing and “business” fit in. YouTube has repetitively illustrated its uncanny ability to make the average Joe into a viral superstar. Take Greyson Chance, a used-to-be-unknown thirteen year old, now a nationally recognized, record-label signed superstar in a matter of weeks after posting a YouTube video of a middle school talent show in which he participated. As amazing as this is, the transformation of an average person into a virtual superstar is not an isolated situation.  An exorbitantly wide array of people with as high of a variety of talents, have been made famous with the only common denominator being YouTube.