Archive for July, 2009

THE NEW FACE OF TWITTER

Yesterday, Twitter unveiled its brand new home screen, and it seems as if they are well on their way to changing the page’s focus from a social networking tool to the prime source for keeping your finger on the pulse of what’s going on around the world.

If you can remember, the old home screen focused on you creating personal connections and sharing “what you are doing” with your social circles. The new home page has totally flipped that view upside down. Instead of asking what are you doing, Twitter tells you to “Share and discover what’s happening right now, anywhere in the world”.

twitter2 THE NEW FACE OF TWITTER

Naturally, the new look feature’s Twitter search tool prominently with that call to “see what people are saying about…”.  The new page also integrates current trending topics as well as most popular topics over the last week and month.

newtwitter THE NEW FACE OF TWITTER

A couple of months ago, Gary Vaynerchuk said that Twitter search is the single most important site on the internet. With the new facelift, Twitter is driving that point home even more. The site has removed the emphasis of creating personal connections, and has instead positioned itself as the place to be to find out what is going on in the world.

Now to convince all of the late adopters that Twitter is more than telling the world you are eating breakfast.

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Published by mghwom
July 29th, 2009 in Online Tools
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MEET THE INTERNS

MGH’s Word of Mouth group is happy to have two new great interns for the summer.

Allow me to introduce Bethany and Amy:

bethany MEET THE INTERNS

Hi! My name is Bethany and I have lived in Baltimore my whole life. I am an 18 year-old rising sophomore at Duke University (and yes, I am obsessed with Duke Basketball). I have not yet declared a major but am interested in marketing, journalism and media policy and anthropology. I love meeting new people and hope to travel to Europe and South America in the upcoming year. I enjoy writing, spending time with friends and reading CNN.com. I work at a restaurant and am currently the clumsiest person in the world to ever get hired as a waitress. I’m very energetic and outgoing and am excited to be interning at MGH this summer!

Amy MEET THE INTERNS

Hi, I’m Amy! I’m currently in the MBA program at University of Baltimore/Towson University. I am really interested in marketing and advertising and learning more about social media marketing. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, reading, movies, music, BBQs, and traveling. I’ve also been known to swim, ski, run, and bike. My favorite TV shows are Lost and The Office. I love the beach, exploring new places, and having fun. I live in Federal Hill with my best friend and her cat. I am excited to be here at MGH!

They’re both “excited” to be here, and we’re equally as excited to have them on our team.

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Published by mghwom
July 15th, 2009 in MGH Random
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GETTING NERDY FOR A GOOD CAUSE

mario GETTING NERDY FOR A GOOD CAUSE

Last year around this time, three friends plopped down in front of a TV, hooked up an live video stream and played all of through ALL of the Super Mario Brothers without taking a single break.

While it may sound like the geekiest thing you could possibly think of, the three gamers were attempting to raise money for the charitable group, Child’s Play - an organization that raises money to buy toys and games for children in hospitals.

During last year’s event, the three played for 55 hours straight, streamed it all live through UStream.tv and earned thousands upon thousands of dollars for the great cause…not to mention the ridiculous amount of new and traditional media coverage they received for the event and its cause.

Well, the charitable gamers are back it again. This morning, at 9:00AM, the three friends started all over again with the original Super Mario Brothers game for the Nintendo system.

It’s currently 4:20PM and they’ve completed four Super Mario games, raised more than $3,500, have nearly 1,000 viewers in their chat room, and just hit the front page of Digg.

The idea behind the event - while it may seem silly to some outsiders - certainly has hit a soft spot with many of the web’s users, many of whom have grown up with these iconic games. And the charity is certainly reaping the rewards because of their brilliant concept.

So, if you’re feeling nostalgic and have some extra free time this weekend, tune in to http://mariomarathon.com and watch/donate to join in on the fun.

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Published by mghwom
July 10th, 2009 in MGH Random
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BREAKING NEWS: PEOPLE TRUST PERSONAL RECOMMENDATIONS

In a recent Nielsen Global Online Consumer survey, it was revealed that 90% of online consumers are highly trusting of personal recommendations made by those close to them and 70% of the consumer group consider online reviews as reputable information sources.

While these numbers are certainly impressive, I don’t think that they should really come as a surprise to anyone. It’s no secret that sites like Twitter, Facebook and every site that allows user interaction has contributed to the excess of opinions on any topic, and the openness and transparent nature of these sites leaves little room for brands to hide their dirty laundry.

The study also goes on to point out that the plethora of consumer-generated media has also forced brands to be much more honest with their traditional advertising. This fact has created a situation where consumers are now even looking at brand-sponsored advertisements as a much more reputable source of information than they did before.

Does this mean brands are starting to “get it”? It’s something that we have been talking about for a long time now, but it’s great to see the power of social media and how it has influenced not only purchase decisions, but the way advertisers market their products as well.

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Published by mghwom
July 9th, 2009 in MGH Random
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