Posts Tagged: Whimsy
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, May 20th, 2009
Coldplay is arguably the biggest band in the world right now. They have embraced social media and are being highly effective in using it. Here’s how:
Their website is very highly visually appealing, strong and effective – at the core of every successful social media campaign is a great site or blog to send people to.
They are using the right forums – Coldplay are active in Twitter, MySpace , Facebook and YouTube but I couldn’t find them on LinkedIn (for obvious reasons). There’s no point trying to be active in every single forum, pick those your audience is using on focus on using them effectively.
They add value – this weekend’s free download of “LeftRightLeftRightLeft”was really smart. Not only did they add value and make people feel like they care but they also collected millions of email addresses (over 3.5 million at last Tweet) in the process giving them even more direct contact with fans. Always look to give the gift of information (or in this case music) and add value for your audience – make them feel good.
Transparency – after a poor start on Twitter (they got lots of flack in the UK for having a PR person Twittering for them) their posts now seem to be somewhat personalized – mainly by Guy. But its hard to tell whether he’s really the real Guy…. One criticism – they could try to be more social and interact with their community rather than simply posting. On Twitter as with an social media forum its important to be who you say you are.
Inclusive rather than exclusive – unlike many celebrities on Twitter who only follow celebrities back, Coldplay are actually following a few thousand fans.
So if you are thinking about using social media, take a look at Coldplay and learn a thing or two from them. And you might want to download the music when you are at it, its well worth a listen.
Adding Value
In the right forums
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, April 23rd, 2009
Its been a year since our last podcast with Todd Sieling of Corvus Consulting. Back then I was new to this podcasting lark and collected almost 2 hours of material complete with lots of groovy background noise thanks to a certain coffee shop ( it took me almost a week to edit down!).
This time our podcast is much more easy on your ears and it even has some humor (its geeky but its humor nonetheless). Todd talks about what he’s been up to since last spring, the demise of Magnolia, SXSW and why he hates the term “social media”. Enjoy.
[audio:http://www.out-smarts.com/podcast24.mp3]
Podcast: Download
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, March 20th, 2009
Here are some creative advertising can-paigns from Oddee:
This paper towel holder was used for the Save the Trees awareness campaign (Shanghai). They changed the covers on these holders every other day to show the damage begin done to trees by using paper towels.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, March 13th, 2009
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, March 06th, 2009
I first heard about knit bombing from Tzaddi in our Northern Voice podcast. Today I witnessed this urban beautification phenomenon in action thanks to the beady eyes of my daughter Catriona who spotted knit bombs on the drive home from the aquarium this morning. Yes indeed, knit bombers have hit Vancouver’s trendy Kitsilano neighbourhood. The knitted wonders adorn a fire hydrant and sign post on Arbutus St between 2nd and 3rd Ave to be exact.
Knit bombing (or craft bombing) is the latest form of urban graffiti. Knitters (or “craftivists”) express themselves and spiff up their community by adorning inanimate objects with their knitted or crafted creation (labeled with the artists name). It looks quite pretty and the phenomenon is intriguing but I have to ask: wouldn’t it be better to knit scarfs for some of the many homeless people we have here who feel the cold rather more than, lets say, a lampost. Perhaps I am missing the point.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, December 06th, 2008
Its official, social media has gone mainstream. How do I know this? Well because Santa is on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Given the connectivity issues from the North Pole, Santa’s social Media presence says it all.
Check out Wired Santa – hard at work at his house in the North Pole, watch videos, sing along with Mrs Claus or connect with him on your favorite social network. How does he get the time?
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, November 30th, 2008
With the bleak weather and economic outlook we’re all in need of some reasons to be cheerful this month. Thankfully there are many social media reasons to be cheerful. Here are our discoveries of the month (and we have more than usual so enjoy!):
Intranet Connections – a great tool for any company looking to put the benefits of social media to use internally.
Pipl – wondering about your on line profile? Use Pipl yourself and see.
In my constant search for tools that help me Twitter more effectively I found Twhirl, Tweetscan and Brightkit this month although none of them effectively manage Twitters from different times zones or auto replies (if you know of another share it please!).
Want to create a vector – try Vector Magic.
Blippr, Second Brain – new social media sharing sites, one for organizing media (books, music and movies etc) the other for online content.
Gliffy – create flow charts and diagrams.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, September 30th, 2008
Where did the month go? Despite the hot and balmy weather, fall is definitely on its way and the leaves are a tumbling. There were many new media reasons to be cheerful this month including:
I’ve been looking for an online equivalent to Illustrator for a while now and I think I’ve found it. Inkscape is an open source graphics editor.
Another gem I discovered thanks to Mary Boles of Virtual Business Solutions is GIMP an image manipulation system similar to Adobe.
A local company is helping people achieve their dreams – non materialistic ones that is. Dreambank allows people to post their dreams and have others in the community contribute towards fulfilling them. What a great way to make a difference in the world.
Our hunt for a great online invoicing system is over. Blinksale is the one. Its easy to brand and use and allows you to send invoices via email or to print them out. I like the neat thank you generator too.
Finally check out MusicLinkUp a great on-line music resource aimed at connecting music teachers with students. Way to go Voya!
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, September 19th, 2008
Another Friday Funny from Rob at Social Signal.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, August 28th, 2008
Judging by the sheets of rain outside, summer is almost over here in Vancouver but never mind, there are lots of reasons to keep us cheerful on the new media front. Here are links to our discoveries this month.
Jotform – the simplest, easiest way to create forms online.
Mixwit – make your own music mixes.
wiki How – wondering how to do something? Ask wiki How. Know how to do something, contribute to wiki How.
spoink – social blogging by phone.
veoh – an alternative to YouTube.
