Happy Halloween from all of us here at MGH Word of Mouth.
If you have an hour and a half to spare, check out the 1968 horror flick, Night of the Living Dead, courtesy of Hulu:
Archive for October, 2008
Can you believe it? It’s been ten years today since Bill Clinton put into law the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (”DMCA”). The act was created in an effort to regulate piracy on the internet and protect copyrighted content.
Although Congress created the act with good intentions, the DMCA has, in some cases, turned into a crutch that copyright owners have relied upon to intentionally or unintentionally stifle natural technological progress in order to benefit financially.
In two cases referenced by The Electronic Frontier Foundation (”EFF”), two forums, AVSforum.com and Macosxhints, censored open conversations because of direct fear of backlash, causing a DMCA lawsuit. In both cases, forum users were discussing methods to circumvent copyright methods put into place by TiVo and Apple iTunes respectively. Although law-suits were not brought in these cases, the DMCA caused a chilling affect on free speech and discussion of ideas and silences a third parties fair use rights to comment.
Continue reading ‘HAPPY DMCA DAY!’
My Super Sweet 16. Real World/Road Rules Challenge #43. Date My [fill in the blank].
If you’ve happened to flip on MTV within the past year, you probably didn’t get a chance to hear any sort of actual music.
The station’s once-acclaimed format (music-oriented programming) has shifted into an odd mish-mash of…well…I don’t even know how to describe the things that I’ve seen broadcast lately.
But, the MTV that I once knew and loved has returned, in the form of MTVMusic.com.
Continue reading ‘I WANT MY MTV’
In a recent Wired Magazine article, the case is made that the days of blogging have long passed their prime. With flying accusations of cluttered blog space being overrun by professional bloggers, Paul Boutin argues that your blogging days should be over. In exchange for your witty takes on everyday life on your blog, he suggests relying on alternate media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr to share your thoughts.
I, for one, am not about to jump ship on the blog-o-sphere. It is true though, that there is endless clutter in the world of blogging today. However, that doesn’t mean you should stop blogging, rather you should venture to offer better quality and more targeted content to your readers. By catering your blog to a specific niche market, instead of a blog about everything you have a better chance of standing out.
This is where tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc… can be a blogger’s best friend. I can not think of a better, more effective means of promoting your blog than reaching out to people who are already in your social circles. Chances are, these people share plenty of interests with you and would be interested in what you have to say.
Think of a blog like an octopus. Your blog is the body, and each social networking tool acts as one of the arms helping the octopus to thrive. It’s still worth taking the time to “craft sharp, witty blog prose” and then express yourself to your potential audiences on your social networking sites.
The days of blogging are not over. So go ahead, be as clever as you want to be. And of course, keep reading this blog!
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=881181b5-a3b2-485d-a4e7-0c8ecdda8f9b "BLOGGING – SOOOO 2004? I’M NOT CONVINCED")
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I am going to break some news right now. Our economy is in poor shape! There I said it. Amongst all of the confusion and fear of a plummeting stock market and bail outs, people are searching for any information that will help them with their finances and give them an idea of the economic outlook. Enter Tip’d - the newest member of the famed social media club on the internet.On the surface, Tip’d appears to be just another Digg clone trying to capitalize on the exploding social media market. But, once you look a little bit deeper… who am I kidding, it still looks like another Digg clone. With that being said, I am not about to simply write Tip’d off. Tip’d is a niche social media site, “a community for financial news, ideas, and tips”.
Launched just 3 days ago, with the backing of Digg super user Muhammad Saleem, Tip’d currently has about 600 users and nearly 400 posts. The premise of the site is the same as any other social voting site. Users submit stories, which are then “tip’d” by other users who would recommend the story. Top rated stories are then “published” on the front page of the site.
The site shows promise, and could not have been launched at a better time considering the state of all things economic. The site is now facing the tough task of convincing people to use a social media site that still has a relatively low number of users in a niche market. Cue early adapters and their influence on their social networks.
This site is definitely something to check out and has already got me reading some more of the economic news that I tend to miss out on every day.
Feel free to add me as a friend on Tip’d - Username: Rwalters
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=1b17853d-5a6e-4f9d-9026-cfcf762e56b6 "TECH REVIEW TIPD")
The MGH WOM team is happy to support the viral campaign, Blog Action Day, that empowers literally thousands of bloggers all over the world to step up and talk about global issues. Last year it was the environment, today it is poverty.
Obviously, working in a word of mouth department, we understand the power of people talking. We are aware of people’s reliance on the internet for their information. Many of these people turn to multiple blogs daily for this information. If someone reads 5 different blogs a day, and 4 of them have a post about Blog Action Day, they will take notice. This year, with a goal of 20,000 bloggers, there will be a voice that can not be ignored.
Unfortunately, this is not a topic that lends to light reading. Each year, almost 50% of the world’s population lives on the equivalent of less than $2.50 per day, and the divide between the rich and poor is exponentially growing in the wrong direction. In 1960, the 20% of the world’s people in the richest countries had 30 times the income of the poorest 20% — in 1997, 74 times as much (Global Issues).
The issue of poverty is a world issue. It is not something that is just occurring in third world countries. It is prevalent in every city of every country in the world. What better time than now to reach out and make a difference. We believe that it all begins with education. Learn about the issues, and share that knowledge with others. Do a simple Google search for “poverty” and a wealth of information is at your fingertips.
From there, you can begin making a difference. It is true, all of us can make a difference on an individual level, but think of the difference we can make when we unite around an important social cause.
For more information on Blog Action Day and 88 ways you can help, visit: http://site.blogactionday.org/
I understand that most networks now have arenas on their own websites where users can go and stream programming, in some cases entire episodes the day after they are on TV.
But, I think it is about time that they stop worrying so much about their content being streamed through other popular websites such as YouTube. For example, Last week’s episode of Saturday Night Live, which featured Tina Fey as Gov. Sarah Palin was a huge hit online, but within hours of upload, NBC’s attorneys were issuing take-down notices to YouTube.
In some cases, the exposure that these clips are getting on third party sites is even greater than what the actual broadcast received. Take for instance the recent episode of The Late Show with David Letterman which was supposed to feature Senator John McCain, but due to the budget crisis, and a McCain no-show, featured a 9 minute McCain slam-fest from Letterman. The video went viral on YouTube and now is pushing nearly 4 million views, over a million more viewers than the average audience for the broadcast of the show.
In addition to increased brand and show exposure online, it has been proven that videos posted on online video outlets contribute to increases in actual viewership of the show. In one example, after video clips were posted to YouTube, the The Late Show with David Letterman saw a 5% increase in viewers the very next day (see story). These numbers can obviously lead to more tangible successes.
I think CBS CEO, David Poltrack hit the nail on the head when he said, “When you have something the public really wants, the economic value in that is to come up with a way to satisfy the rights holders and serve the consumers.”
In my opinion, broadcast companies need to start playing the game a little bit more. For the most part, people are not re-posting these videos for monetary gains, but instead to share content that they think the rest of the world should be seeing, and maybe getting a gold star for posting the number one viewed video on YouTube for the day! Perhaps they should even look into enticing people to share this content. After all, how much is a video like this worth to the popularity of The Office? Just a thought.
Crystalyn Stuart, the founder and head of MGH’s Word of Mouth division, gave birth to a beautiful 9 lb. 4 oz. baby girl this morning. Look at those meatball cheeks.
We’re all thrilled for her and her husband, and look forward to having (insert baby name here) as our newest WOM’er. Best wishes, Crystalyn!!!
Over one-third of Americans interact with companies through social media, says a new study conducted by Cone. The Business in Social Media report found that 60% percent of Americans use some form of social media, and 59% of those participants communicate with brands in some way.
Additionally, 93% of social media users said that brands should have some presence on social media outlets, and 85% believed that brands should use these tools to communicate with consumers.
Overwhelmingly, the social media advocates said companies should be using social networks to address problems brought about by the consumers. They also said that these tools should be used to solicit feedback on a brand’s products and services.
This strong consumer push for a customer service presence online represents a growing trend in overall customer/company relations. The days of one-way communication are out, and consumers are demanding that brands invest more time in their customer relationship building.
The lesson you should learn from all of this: Get as involved in social media as you can….before your competitors do! Most customers don’t expect you to participate and communicate every day (they know you’re busy). But they do demand this alternative sounding board.
You can read the full report here.
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