It’s 2011, and so we expect big things. It’s definitely fair to say that last year saw some incredible new developments in the social media world, ranging from new sites, improved platforms & brands willing to take risks. 2011 will hopefully be another great year but its important we learn from what happened in 2010 & look to what is possible in the future. Read more on It’s 2011… so start acting like it!!…
Consumer sports brands have traditionally been at the forefront of media innovation, especially in across online channels. But their marketing counterparts have been remarkably hesitant.
Sometimes its hard to get noticed as a customer. If you go into a shop & complain, you are usually directed to some pathetic excuse for a “senior manager” or even worse… a completely pointless complaint form to fill in, which you know gets thrown away the minute you walk out. You might even be lucky enough to get on the phone to a call centre in another country where the person at the end of the line can’t even help. How do brands expect to build trusting & meaningful relationships with their customers in this way? Read more on Tweet up… it’s time to take action!…
Two weeks after its launch, it seems that Google Instant has the Marmite factor – you either love it or hate it. The Guardian’s Charlie Brooker described his experience as like being an unwitting test subject in a global experiment conducted by Google. But whether you’re a fan or not it’s still early days. And there are many – as yet unanswered – questions about the impact this will have for publishers and agencies alike.
By Sophie Bastow-Dormon and Sara Williams
As London Fashion Week fast approaches, the world prepares for a week of glamour, beautiful models, pouting celebrities and magnificent clothing. But big-name fashion designers aren’t the only ones hard at work – the fashion web has been prepping a few new looks of its own.
The past couple of weeks have seen the redesigns of several fashion sites and the announcements of some really exciting digital projects led by luxury brands. Fashion and digital are no longer separate entities. Brands like Burberry and Hermés and publications like Vogue.com and Telegraph Fashion are challenging the boundaries between the two with a series of gorgeous experiments in design and user experience.
September has always been the month for elegant and inspiring designs, but this year those designs are sartorial and digital.
The two young men in the seats in front of us said that this was their third evening this week, “What better way to spend a summer evening?” There were six thousand people jammed in all around us, like bees in a giant hive. Hundreds stood in the centre in a myriad of colourful shirts and dresses. Mobiles were off: the only thing in people’s hands was the programme. The only branding in the hall was in discreet gold lettering: “BBC Proms”. Read more on Out and about – is participatory culture stronger than ever?…
By Sophie Bastow-Dormon and Sara Williams
Crowdsourcing a book doesn’t seem radically different to any other group-funded project. However, Bud Caddell is not only crowdsourcing the funding of his book but also inviting his funders/supporters to contribute to the content and production. Considering that writing is a very intimate and normally solitary pursuit, this seems like it could be a risky venture. But Bud isn’t producing this book with just any crowd. He is tapping into his network… Read more on From funding to sourcing to co-creation: what will the crowd do next?…
The other day, I visited my favorite social news site www.mixx.com , and saw something that sparked a lot of questions in my head. It was an article, quite popular on Mixx in the few hours it had existed, that had an interesting title. The truly interesting part of the title was that it was only one word off from the exact title of an entry on the blog I read less than one month ago. Read more on The issue of plagiarism in social media…
Google Wave dies a slow death, and yet there are some people who really haven’t seen the benefit. For me, it was one of the most sophisticated & user-friendly platforms available for e-mail services. It had a level of maturity that elevated it to the realm of a communication platform, allowing more to have real-time conversations through a secure messaging interface. So, what went wrong? Read more on Time to Wave Goodbye…
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