Apple Getting Social?
If the rumors are to be believed then the answer to the question everybody is asking appears to be yes. Tomorrows Apple music event hints that there may be new hardware coming which we all expect with an update likely to the iPod lineup. However when the talk turns to iTunes things get interesting. One of the rumors that has to do with the integration of social media into the music giant iTunes.
This time last year we were seeing the same rumors flying, especially after the appearance of leaked screenshots on the Boygeniusreport website. The photos are included below for those looking for a recap of the last round of rumors. It is time once again to speculate on when Apple will fully embrace social media.
The reality is that iTunes has not had a real significant change in its functionality in years, it is a music store at heart and it is a very popular. A change to introduce social media integration could be a minor one or it could amount to a complete overhaul of the interface we all know and have accepted. As it sits the rumors are pointing to the integration of social elements as a way for users to share not only information on what they are listening to but also for them to share recommendations with others. That sadly doesn’t mean that we will be able to share our favorite songs with our friends, but it is still a step towards making music and iTunes a friendly place.
The positive side of the rumored updates, assuming they are true, will be a new way to share music with friends. What worries me is the possibility we may see millions of “ (name) is listening to (blank) on iTunes” posts on Twitter… Then again there are easy and simple ways around that issue. Other music providers such as Last.fm already offer social media updating without the annoyance of thousands of posts about your listening habits to your friends and family. The model is in use already and works without issues.
Rumors of increased social media integration have been flying for a long time, iTunes is the logical first step if they are really intent on following through. The technology is there and services such as Facebook and Twitter are already in use by hundreds of millions of people. My personal bet is that Apple will bring some form of integration, tomorrow, I don’t know, but certainly it is on their radar.
Come tomorrow we will see if its going to be true and if Apple is really going to make a move into social media with iTunes.
Has Facebook made photos better?
Yesterday’s announcement and post by Facebook product manager Sam Odio entitled “Making Facebook Photos Better” has inspired me to ask the question. ”Do you think that’s true?”
The default reaction might be to think this is “facial recognition” software. According to Annika Heinle of Facebook Corporate Communications, “this is not facial recognition software in the sense that it recognizes specific people. Instead it is a facial detection feature that finds faces in photos.” There in lies the difference, a big one. The intent of the software is to make it easier to tag photos – which I think is a good thing.
This all stems from the recent corporate acquisition of Divvyshot, the creators of this software. A smart investment since there are over 100 million photos uploaded a day according to Odio.
Still, one might ask since Facebook continues to struggle with a large segment of users who are revolting against their privacy policies, will this go any further? Some might see this as yet another step in the wrong direction, albeit a small one in this case. Certainly Facebook’s track record with respect to privacy is abysmal, bad move after bad move so there it is reasonable to question the social networking giants’ intentions.
What do you think? Conspiracy, smart acquisition, don’t care either way? Leave your thoughts here and we’ll use them on the radio show…
UPDATE: Canadian lawyer launches class-action suit against Facebook as covered by CTV, and Canadian Press.
Do you think this lawsuit has a chance? Would you participate?
SuperBowl Ad Agency Failures
Gary Vee brings up a great point during half-time of this year’s SuperBowl. While The WHO were sounding like their age but with a highly cool light show, Gary made the point via a quick and dirty video about the lack of online engagement strategies supporting the SuperBowl ads.
Personally, I believe that in this age of social, many organizations lost an opportunity to engage. Doritos seems to be the clear winner of this year in terms of laughs and online conversational footprint among consumers. With one clear exception, there’s no one talking to me or anyone else for that matter about Doritos online from Frito-Lay.
Bridgestone Tires has a SuperBowl specific section on their site but that’s not enough. Here’s E-trade’s Youtube Channel as listed in their continuing baby commercials and NO online interaction that I can find.
Gary Vee quickly pointed out this issue and I find it clear evidence that many a large enterprise and their ad agencies for all their tweeting and Facebook groups and fan pages are still living in the…
“build it and they will come, bolt it on rather than bake it in mentality.”
They still don’t get it. This is the difference between having accounts and using them effectively to build brand presence and social capital. I’ve enjoyed many of the commercials this year, and I wonder if the lame ones like Boost Mobile could have improved their status through online engagement? I’m watching the game as I type this so if someone finds something interesting regarding some online engagement let me know…
Check these Twitter accounts out: @vizio & @dockers – disgraceful…thanks for pointing this out – @josephaldrich
Here’s the Youtube AdBlitz 2010 channel with all the ads from the SuperBowl so you can check them out.
Shaping the identity of a community
- Image via Wikipedia
Interview with the Mayor of Hinton, Alberta – Glenn Taylor
I first met Glenn on Twitter, when he put a link out asking for feedback on a housing report for the Town of Hinton. I replied asking if he and his administration had considered using a wiki for policy feedback from citizens? He replied, “No, but I’ll pass it along.” Then becoming Facebook friends and continuing our discussion, we found out that he was presenting at the ALI Social Media for Government conference. This gave me an opportunity to meet Glenn in person for the first time. Glenn was presenting a fire-side chat (no PPT slides) with Ken Chapman of Cambridge Strategies about the Grande Alberta Economic Region (GAER). The story is interesting in terms of how this particular region has been impacted by many different issues. The Mountain Pine Beetle for example has had a devastating effect. After the conference we agreed to follow-up and today’s interview was our next step.
WS: Why become an elected official?
GT: “That started in the sandbox, I was learning about the political process in grade 5 which was when I became class president. After school I was involved in unions and activism. For me, it has always been a sense of representing other’s concerns that’s interested me. Union politics turned out to be too limiting, contractual negotiations etc – a narrow lens of looking at the world.
The opportunity to represent citizens’ concerns to administration is what I found fascinating and why I really love governing at the municipal level. You can discuss something at Council and the next day be having a cup of coffee over the fence with a neighbour fielding questions about the decision. That has translated into what is currently my 3rd term on council and 2nd term as Mayor. We’ve focused on shaping the community identity. We’re an industrial town, and yet, as a community realize that we have a responsibility to give back to the land.”
During the ALI conference, Glenn described his initial response to Ken Chapman’s suggestion that he start using social media as resistive. ”I don’t have time for this,” he stated while speaking at the ALI conference this week. However, what I don’t think Glenn bargained for is how persistent Ken Chapman can be and so @mayorhinton is now active on Twitter. Also during that presentation he revealed that others on his Town Council are on Facebook now, although they’re not as active as they could be and more Twitter accounts have been set-up recently too.
WS: What resistance if any has there been from your colleagues on Council, administration or the region?
GT: “Well I would start with the traditionalists being afraid to engage, the silent majority if you will. They’re asking, how can we control the message? What’s motivating that fear are examples like what’s happening with elements associated with Rockyview County Council generating a facebook group. Basically fixating on the negative.
We (government) can’t be superficial, can’t just listen and continue to do the same thing. We need to take action. However, within administration there can be fear that change will bring about more work. Fear about change of the status quo. At the provincial level there’s a tendency to consult with citizens through town halls so that it can be stated folks were consulted and then do what was planned anyway. As the community changes, we need to bring that message back from the citizens to the government. In a municipal government it’s truly the citizens issues being presented to the government and that’s my favourite part. The challenge becomes then, how do we get those issues to the administrative team…for change in process?”
Glenn didn’t name the group but I found this one called Stop the Madness in Springbank! which seems to be against development.
WS: How do you see social media impacting your region economically?
GT: “Well number one – you need to make decisions with good information which means you have to gather good information first. Being open to listening is key and understanding the challenges. How do we tap into that knowledge? Traditional invitations to discuss the issue and also connecting people online through various channels. Flexibility has to be present in our approach so that we can reach as many citizens as possible. In fact, we’re hosting a workshop on social media to help folks understand the tools better.”
WS: What challenges lie ahead for you and your community?
GT: “We’re really at the beginning stages of engaging the citizens. I believe that we’re ahead of the curve and that’s a source of pride for us. However, there can be a disconnect between administration and council that sometimes exists and that will be something we have to work on.”
WS: What advice would you give to other elected officials?
GT: “Build the business case, not I have a dream, rather it’s what I have learned. It’s way easier to to operate in reactionism rather than finding the path. I’d say it’s important to be proactive rather than reactive. For example at our GAER Board meetings we now start with blue sky sessions and ask what’s on the horizon? What are you hearing in your communities? Is it a priority, do we need to spend time working on it…that means that key issues have a chance to help us set our course at the beginning.”
“Leaders get the behaviours that they themselves exhibit and tolerate.” - Larry Bossidy, Author of Execution: The discipline of getting things done.
And with that in mind, I’ll leave you with the same question that Glenn has posted on Facebook and like other elected officials I’ve come across (but unfortunately not all), he cares about the answers you give…
GT: What does community mean to you?
Social Media and the 2009 Christmas Rush
This year is one of recovery for the retail industry as we enter “Black Friday” in the US, named as such because this is typically the day retailers generate enough revenue to get into the black or so I’ve heard. Anyway, I thought I would supply a quick list of examples on how some major brands are investing heavily into social media this Christmas season as opposed to 2008. There is a distinct increase in social media activity ahead and here are three examples.
First up is Starbucks:
Here’s a post from Econsultancy.com that outlines what Starbucks is up to. Below is an excerpt. According to Starbucks VP Chris Bruzzo, Holiday 2009 is all about scaling up Starbucks’ Holiday 2008:
It’s like we’ve taken the version 1.0 of last year and now we’re really doing it at scale and going to a lot more places where our customers already are. People are saying this is going to be a big year for social media and we’re a microcosm of that. Whereas last year it was a curiosity, this year it’s a core part of the program.
Some of Starbucks’ specific online efforts worth noting include:
- Facebook holiday photo uploads and branded virtual goods.
- A Flickr page encouraging consumers to upload holiday pictures of themselves.
- A branded playlist on Pandora, additional integration in Pandora’s iPhone app and traditional ad placements on the Pandora website.
Coca Cola:
In an article by Mediabiznet, an explanation is given as to what the beverage company is describing as their “largest social media campaign ever.” 206 countries, 365 days, 1 mission
Expedition 206, as it will be called, will send three 20-somethings to 206 countries and territories where Coca-Cola is sold. The trio set off on their 275,000 mile tour from Madrid on 1st January 2010, stocked with laptops, video cameras, smartphones and other gadgetry, in order to document their search for happiness to the masses.
Their journey will be tracked online via www.expedition206.com as well as Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Twitter. Fans following the trio will be able to weigh in on what the trio should do and who they should see at each destination.
BestBuy:
It’s no secret that BestBuy has been pushing further into the social web than probably any other electronics retailer to date with their Blue Shirt Nation experiment at the core.
They’ve decked out their Facebook page with a Christmas theme as a start, offering gift advice, a “hint helper” to let friends and family know what you want for Christmas, a Secret Santa area, and a smattering of “Christmas carol videos.”
The New York Times reports that BestBuy is building a large TV commercial campaign around their “Twelpforce” Twitter account, said to be manned by 2500 BestBuy blue shirts with the claim that “no knows more about electronics than BestBuy employees.”
