- 14,000 users in 'bring Wispa back' groups in
- 93 groups
- fans posted 1980s spots
- fans joined online petitions
Ok, who wants to start a Bring Back Zubaz!! Facebook group? Shall I start it?
Showing posts with label social networks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social networks. Show all posts
10.11.2007
Wispa Back Thanks to Facebook
Another example of the power of social networking sites/communities banding together to get what they want.
Ok, who wants to start a Bring Back Zubaz!! Facebook group? Shall I start it?
Ok, who wants to start a Bring Back Zubaz!! Facebook group? Shall I start it?
10.04.2007
Planning For Good: IdeaBlob
Here's another example of the idea of planning for good:
Ideablob, recently launched by Advanta Bank Corp., is a social networking platform that gives entrepreneurs and small business owners the space to share ideas and potentially win $10,000 to help their business grow.
As we're seeing over and over, there is power in community, and truth in authenticity. Ideablob has been added to my list of 'great new ideas' and goodness that aims to provide real things for people who need it.
See StyleStation for more information.
Ideablob, recently launched by Advanta Bank Corp., is a social networking platform that gives entrepreneurs and small business owners the space to share ideas and potentially win $10,000 to help their business grow.
" IdeaBlob is where entrepreneurs and small business owners can share and grow their business ideas – and have a chance to win $10,000 towards fulfilling them.
Great ideas are generated every day by people all across the country, and now these ideas have a place to live and grow. Eligible individuals with a good business idea can post it to IdeaBlob.com, and based on votes from the IdeaBlob online community – which includes other innovators as well as friends, family, colleagues, associates, teachers and mentors – one idea every month will win $10,000.
As individuals take part in IdeaBlob’s growth, their business has the potential to grow right along with it."
Advanta issues Mastercard credit cards for small business owners and has been in business for the last 50 years. After doing some brief digging, I found they were started by a schoolteacher who helped fellow teachers get loans. I'm curious as to what the rest of the story is behind the founder and how Advanta evolved to become what it is today.As we're seeing over and over, there is power in community, and truth in authenticity. Ideablob has been added to my list of 'great new ideas' and goodness that aims to provide real things for people who need it.
See StyleStation for more information.
9.29.2007
Write a Sentence to Help Save Lives
One mysterious Ann (no email, no profile) has set up the beginnings of a story in the hopes of publishing it and donating the profits to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Write a Sentence to Help Save Lives was thought up by Ann, who starts the story off with one sentence and invites anyone to add their own sentence in the comment page. I immediately jumped to the most recent comment and thought about adding something from there, but decided to read from the beginning. For the most part, contributors seem very intelligent and creative. Also very passionate. (a few don't take the task too seriously).
I was surprised to find myself so engaged in the story, as we learned the characters' names, location, backstory of their dreamed up connection, and so on. The creator of the blog/story leaves no information on herself, so we don't know where she is. Many contributors are in the Middle East. I'm in MN and found the link to Ann's blog off of Facebook. Hussein Dajani, brand planner at J.Walter Thompson, posted it in the IPA Strategy Group group, of which I belong. How did he hear of this community-created story?
To date, there are about 100 posts, some of them containing contributor information (name, city, etc). Some seem to be repeat contributors. I wonder what percentage got involved because they believe in the cause, and what percentage wanted to join to simply be a part of this global storytelling project? I admire Ann's idea and the cause, but I was drawn to contributing because I wanted to help create the story. I'll have to come back closer to December to see how it's evolved.
I was surprised to find myself so engaged in the story, as we learned the characters' names, location, backstory of their dreamed up connection, and so on. The creator of the blog/story leaves no information on herself, so we don't know where she is. Many contributors are in the Middle East. I'm in MN and found the link to Ann's blog off of Facebook. Hussein Dajani, brand planner at J.Walter Thompson, posted it in the IPA Strategy Group group, of which I belong. How did he hear of this community-created story?
To date, there are about 100 posts, some of them containing contributor information (name, city, etc). Some seem to be repeat contributors. I wonder what percentage got involved because they believe in the cause, and what percentage wanted to join to simply be a part of this global storytelling project? I admire Ann's idea and the cause, but I was drawn to contributing because I wanted to help create the story. I'll have to come back closer to December to see how it's evolved.
9.28.2007
Photosynth
9.06.2007
MySpace Launches Fashion Channel
A week ago, social networking site MySpace launched the MySpace Fashion Channel. Somewhat similar to MySpace's devoted mini-communities for music, this new initiative aims to create a new community for fashion lovers. Features include:
1. The Fit - video diaries which give viewers a taste of a celebrity's closet or "fashion lives". The first piece features a French girl-rockers The Plasticines. Next up, actress/singer Hilary Duff and Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy.
2. Featured designer - information on (what appears to be at the moment) up-and-coming designers which link to their MySpace.
3. Featured profile - more information on the celebrities in The Fit. This also links to their MySpace.
4. InStyle fashion feed - The print and online style magazine has partnered with MySpace to offer users a fashion frenzy feed via InStyle's site. This is called InStyle News.
5. MySpace Muse - Culled from "Who What Wear Daily", certain trendsetters will be chosen and featured here.
The value for MySpace Fashion Channel?
1. The opportunity for designers to receive direct feedback and potentially attract new fans. This is especially important for the up-and-coming designers. However, when I clicked on this week's designer, I was disappointed to see a dull MySpace. His MySpace does show his designs, but there's no bio and nowhere that I can see that tells me where I can find his product. So there was a big disconnect for me.
2. The director of strategic partnerships for MySpace says it gives designers a direct line of communication to the consumer...[and that] direct line of communication is vitally important to fashion brands at a time where consumers crave a personal connection with designers and labels." Great, but again, if a designer doesn't take the time to tell his audience who he is, what inspires him, what his vision is, etc. and fails to communicate buying options, how is this connecting with the consumer?
3. If MySpace Fashion proves popular (how will this be determined? site visits, growth in group members for designers/celebrities featured?), they could be seen as cool again, giving a core set of fashion fans something to rally around and want to experience over and over. Building MySpace beyond a general social networking site where people can keep in touch with one another (and stalk) is smart and strategic if they want to stay relevant with consumers.
However, I see a few potential trouble spots with what MySpace is trying to do:
1. Minimal true fashion content
MySpace will feature streaming video and recaps on New York's Fashion Week later this month. Kinda cool, because if you really love fashion, you want the behind-the-scenes experience. All kinds of designers will be at NYFW - unknowns, perennial faves, those who are more Barneys and those who are more Fred Segal.
1. The Fit - video diaries which give viewers a taste of a celebrity's closet or "fashion lives". The first piece features a French girl-rockers The Plasticines. Next up, actress/singer Hilary Duff and Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy.
2. Featured designer - information on (what appears to be at the moment) up-and-coming designers which link to their MySpace.
3. Featured profile - more information on the celebrities in The Fit. This also links to their MySpace.
4. InStyle fashion feed - The print and online style magazine has partnered with MySpace to offer users a fashion frenzy feed via InStyle's site. This is called InStyle News.
5. MySpace Muse - Culled from "Who What Wear Daily", certain trendsetters will be chosen and featured here.
The value for MySpace Fashion Channel?
1. The opportunity for designers to receive direct feedback and potentially attract new fans. This is especially important for the up-and-coming designers. However, when I clicked on this week's designer, I was disappointed to see a dull MySpace. His MySpace does show his designs, but there's no bio and nowhere that I can see that tells me where I can find his product. So there was a big disconnect for me.
2. The director of strategic partnerships for MySpace says it gives designers a direct line of communication to the consumer...[and that] direct line of communication is vitally important to fashion brands at a time where consumers crave a personal connection with designers and labels." Great, but again, if a designer doesn't take the time to tell his audience who he is, what inspires him, what his vision is, etc. and fails to communicate buying options, how is this connecting with the consumer?
3. If MySpace Fashion proves popular (how will this be determined? site visits, growth in group members for designers/celebrities featured?), they could be seen as cool again, giving a core set of fashion fans something to rally around and want to experience over and over. Building MySpace beyond a general social networking site where people can keep in touch with one another (and stalk) is smart and strategic if they want to stay relevant with consumers.
However, I see a few potential trouble spots with what MySpace is trying to do:
1. Minimal true fashion content
- As mentioned earlier, this week's designer says zilch about himself or his apparel.
- The Plasticines don't say anything about fashion, except in the video clip for NYLON studios. Even then, all we see is a lame stylist asking each band member what she likes and he stands there going "uh huh, that'd look cute, ok try it on." Stylist? My mom could have done better.
- Why not shoot each girl in her favorite outfit and show us that? Better yet, tell us where we can buy it, or get pieces like it.
- The first Fashion Video features Paris Hilton (prompted eye-rolling here) and the clip was crappy. I don't think it's my laptop (I have a Mac) or my connection (wi-fi). The clip was dark, splotchy and the audio wasn't consistent.
- The InStyle News requires users to scroll up/down and left/right in order to view the content within the box. Users can click to InStyle's site, but even so, something as small as this design inconvenience can quickly deter from a completely user-friendly experience, not to mention a crisp-looking site.
- When I click on Taida, the current MySpace Muse, I'm linked to WhoWhatWearDaily.com's MySpace. If I'm told to "click here" for more info. on Taida, why am I not getting it? Again, disconnect.
MySpace will feature streaming video and recaps on New York's Fashion Week later this month. Kinda cool, because if you really love fashion, you want the behind-the-scenes experience. All kinds of designers will be at NYFW - unknowns, perennial faves, those who are more Barneys and those who are more Fred Segal.
- Does MySpace Fashion plan on featuring complete fashion newcomers, hot-at-the-moments (Juicy Couture), young & hip (Stella McCartney), or classic & expensive (Narciso Rodriguez)?
- Who does MySpace envision they'll attract? Do they want to be like People, Marie Claire, or are they aiming more for TeenVogue, but slightly more accessible? Or, none of the above?
9.02.2007
Plannersphere on Ning
We all know about MySpace by now. (If you find yourself in the minority, well, you are an insect living under a very large and heavy rock.)
Recently, I came across yet another social networking site called Ning. I've only just joined, but what seems to set Ning apart from MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, Hi5, etc. is that the focus is on social networks as a specific (online) entity. MySpace and the like are in general, social networks, but how well do they unite people on specific platforms?
MySpace and Facebook are individual-specific. MySpace encourages users to personalize their pages, which is probably one reason (among others) teens are addicted to it. Now Facebook is in the personalization game, offering various applications for users to add (i.e. Moods, which allows users to display their current mood).
Of-course, creating or joining groups on both of these sites is possible. However, it can become an inconvenience when you belong to several groups and are finding it difficult to keep up with each group's comments, discussions, etc.
Ning makes it simple. In a clear, navigable design, you can easily view the main page, your profile, members, discussion forum, photos, and more. The focus is not on you, the individual, but the shared interest/idea behind the group. True discussion -- interaction and communication is the emphasis here.
The group I just joined is on, what else? Planning. See Plannersphere.
By the way, Faris Yakob, strategist and "digital ninja" at Naked Communications, created this social network.
Recently, I came across yet another social networking site called Ning. I've only just joined, but what seems to set Ning apart from MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, Hi5, etc. is that the focus is on social networks as a specific (online) entity. MySpace and the like are in general, social networks, but how well do they unite people on specific platforms?
MySpace and Facebook are individual-specific. MySpace encourages users to personalize their pages, which is probably one reason (among others) teens are addicted to it. Now Facebook is in the personalization game, offering various applications for users to add (i.e. Moods, which allows users to display their current mood).
Of-course, creating or joining groups on both of these sites is possible. However, it can become an inconvenience when you belong to several groups and are finding it difficult to keep up with each group's comments, discussions, etc.
Ning makes it simple. In a clear, navigable design, you can easily view the main page, your profile, members, discussion forum, photos, and more. The focus is not on you, the individual, but the shared interest/idea behind the group. True discussion -- interaction and communication is the emphasis here.
The group I just joined is on, what else? Planning. See Plannersphere.
By the way, Faris Yakob, strategist and "digital ninja" at Naked Communications, created this social network.
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