The most clicked stories from this week's #Sports includes tips on how to activate a sponsorship through Twitter, the future of sport on Twitter, 5 ways teams can leverage social media influencers, Pepsi's most successful but fake viral video, and finally a look into how Nike uses and manages their social media platforms. (more...)

This week's #SoMash is here with the top stories from last week, including Pepsi's crowdsourced halftime opening, Kobe Bryant joins Twitter, and GetGlue's top TV shows and movies of 2012. (more...)

This past year, we saw the beginning of the content revolution for brands. For years, many have claimed that content is king. Now more than ever, it has a rightful claim to the throne. As proven by Oreo's Daily Twist and Red Bull's Stratos project, thought by some to be the most successful marketing campaign of all time, social media has turned brands into full-fledged publishers. (more...)

This week's #SoMash is here with the top stories from last week including the Uncle Drew viral sensation, five ways to be Pinterest worthy, new Apple maps on the iPhone 5, NFL players' usage of social media, and whether or not Facebook is worth the effort.   How 'Uncle Drew' Went from Viral YouTube Hit to NBA Finals Ad [VIDEO] By day he is Kyrie Irving, NBA Rookie of the Year and Cleveland Cavaliers point guard. By night? Uncle Drew. Irving partnered with Pepsi MAX and the ad campaign has taken off. What started off as an experiment has developed into commercials to be aired during the NBA Finals. Pepsi MAX marketer Sam Duboff said of the campaign:  

We had no plans at all to advertise on the NBA Finals, and no media plans for this spot at all. But people here got so excited when they saw how it performed, and we were able to produce enough metrics that finding the media budget for it just made a lot of sense.

And by pinning new photos you are stimulating activity on the site. According to RJMetrics more than 80% of pins are repins, and the number continues to increase. So the question remains: how do you make your images pinworthy? How do users pin pictures that make up the 80% of Pinterest activity? There are five simple ways, so find out how you can be pinworthy!   Apple Maps: Google-Free, Siri and Turn-by-Turn Nav Ready One of the biggest weaknesses of the iPhone is when you need to use the Maps app and follow directions on it. Seems simple enough, but when you're driving and you can't look at the map it poses a major problem. Until now. With more detail, the integration of Siri, and 3D views, the Maps app is about to become a thing of beauty.   The Apple maps are also moving away from Google maps and, instead, have installed the use of OpenStreetMap data. It might look familiar because it's the same map used by Foursquare. A big difference is the amount of information users are given when they look at the map. Google Maps bombards users with information of small street names, which can be really distracting when you don't need all that information. Here's a quick side-by-side view of one of the many views of the new Apple maps.

The left side is the Google Maps view, which can be overwhelming when you're on the run. The beauty of Apple maps is you can zoom in to get the same detailed view, but it doesn't initially overwhelm you.   Why the NFL Isn't Prepared for the Mobile Age Compared to the NBA, NFL players are relatively silent, but there are always exceptions. Miami Dolphins wide receiver, Chad Ochocino, is the exception. With over 3 million Twitter followers its safe to say Ochocino isn't entertaining his followers with his day-to-day activities. They are waiting for him to cause drama. He may have started the fad for NFL players, but he certainly isn't alone. Last year, Pittsburgh Steelers running back, Rashard Mendenhall, lost sponsors over Twitter comments about 9/11.   New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said:

I honestly think social media has made people cowards. Where I’m from, if you had a problem with somebody, you said it to their face and that was it. I think now people are hiding behind computers and smartphones to get out something.

  Maybe NFL players aren't mature enough to share their thoughts on the internet. Or maybe followers are only waiting for these athletes to stir up trouble, while ignoring everything else they have to say. Either way when social media headlines mix with NFL players it usually means trouble.  

Is Facebook Worth the Effort Anymore?

Yes, you read that title correctly. The leader in social media is being questioned. Three years ago this would have been unheard of, but times are changing and other social media domains are increasing in popularity. So what's wrong the Facebook? Nothing major, but problems always start small. For one it has slowed down considerably because of the number of users.

 

Facebook also has a tendency to constantly change its pages to adapt to a more modern feel. But some users are tired of the constant modifications and often struggle to keep up. The challenge Facebook has is balancing their older clients with their newer users because some of us really hate change.

 

Other social media articles from last week that you may enjoy:

• How Employers Really Feel About Social Media [INFOGRAPHIC]
• I've seen the future of social influence measurement, and it isn't Klout
• Doctors using social media; tweeting and texting with patients
• Online Advertising Revenue Sets Record High in First Quarter
• What Does a $5 Promoted Facebook Page Status Update Get You?
• BMW Courts Bloggers for $110 Million Online Boost: Cars
• Facebook Launches New Plugin for WordPress & Simplifies Social Publishing
• Attract Twitter Followers and Achieve More Sales

On Super Bowl XLVI Sunday, the New York Giants will challenge the New England Patriots at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, but the real action will actually take place on Twitter feeds, Facebook statuses, Pinterest boards, the blogosphere, and smartphones.

(more...)

Hey blog readers! How was your first week of 2012? Here's what we've got for you this week: tattoo your name on an Olympian, crowdsourced Super Bowl Commercials and social media guidelines for the Olympics volunteers. (more...)

We hope that you had an excellent weekend and managed to get off your couch for at least a little while in light of the excellent NBA and NHL playoff games taking place.  This week's edition of the Social Mashup features two intriguing Twitter stories, a new advertising plan from Pepsi and MLB, and finally Google Offers going into Beta testing.  Hopefully if you were fortunate enough to win any trophies this weekend, you didn't run them over in your celebration.   UberMedia Developing a Twitter Competitor? Twitter has been recently encouraging developers to move away from creating third party clients so that Twitter can have more traffic on their actual site which would lead to more monetizing options.  But that may backfire on Twitter.  Some of those developers may be looking to build their own competitor to Twitter.   According to CNN, UberMedia, which is the company responsible for UberSocial, Echofon and Twidroyd, has been looking into creating it's own micro blogging site as a direct competitor to Twitter.  The site would allegedly attempt to solve the most common complaints about Twitter like restrictions on message length.  UberMedia has been raising money, $17.5 million alone in February, and acquiring several third party Twitter clients.  Like Twitter (as we discuss below), it is also looking to acquire TweetDeck.   UberMedia got in trouble with Twitter in February over some policy violations when some of their third party apps got suspended like Twidroyd.  The question is whether or not UberMedia's plan is being put into place as we write or whether it is simply backup plan should they get in trouble again by pushing the envelope on Twitter's policies.  Many have tried - and failed - to compete with Twitter but UberMedia definitely has more going for them than any of the previous options that have come along.   The issue is whether or not anybody could actually compete with Twitter.  The micro blogging site has so much power, so many users, and is so integrated into everything with things like the Twitter button that it seems unrealistic that somebody could step in and compete with them.  It would be interesting if UberMedia could create not an alternative to Twitter, but something different that runs parallel to it and syncs up with it.  They already have a significant number of users on sites like Twidroyd but it seems unreasonable to think people would switch simply due to a third party app they used.  If you are a Twidroyd or Ubersocial user for Twitter, would you consider switching to an UberMedia competitor?   Twitter Looking to Buy TweetDeck Twitter is looking to buy TweetDeck for a reported price of $50 million, at least according to the Wall Street Journal.  TweetDeck is probably the most popular third-party Twitter client and is available via desktop, iPad, iPhone and Android.  It basically amalgamates all of your Twitter information including news feed, @mentions and direct messages, and updates them in real time.  TweetDeck can also give you pdates from MySpace, LinkedIn and Foursquare.  Tweetdeck refuses to give out information regarding their number of users but the power they have is generally attributed to the fact that the most obsessive Twitter users tend to use this particular third party app.   So what is the point of this for Twitter?  The way we see it, there are two primary reasons.  One is the fact that they are potentially in competition with UberMedia, which as you just read is looking to potentially create a Twitter competitor.  This could potentially cut down on the number of powerful Tweeters UberMedia is looking to bring in.  Not only that but whether they acquire TweetDeck or not, it would definitely show that Twitter is not going to lay down and die but is pushing back against UberMedia.   The other reason involves Twitter's constant search to monetize the micro blogging site.  One of the issues with monetization of the site is that so many people don't use Twitter on the actual online site but rather use third party clients on their phones or even on their computers.  If Twitter owned the rights to TweetDeck, they could begin to monetize beyond the actual site and get through to more Tweeters.   PepsiCo Partners with IntoNow to Engage Consumers with TV Commercials In the age of DVR, brands are looking for new ways to make sure consumers are seeing their commercials.  PepsiCo has partnered with IntoNow, an app for iOS devices that allows TV viewers to identify the show they are watching down to the episode and share it on their social networks.  Through the partnership, viewers who "check in" to PepsiCo's new commercial, which will be airing during MLB games this season, will receive a coupon for a free 20oz Pepsi MAX.  The groundbreaking campaign is an innovative way to connect a brand's TV commercial with the actual product.   CEO and Founder of IntoNow, Adam Cahan, is excited about what the partnership will bring,

At IntoNow we're focused on using the companion devices we have in our lives as a way to connect with your friends, content and now brands.  This is the first time where consumers can close the funnel between a brand experience on a TV commercial right down to a real world drink you can consume. That’s a really exciting first that opens the doors for advertising partners. We’re thrilled to be creating a new consumer experience with a brand like Pepsi MAX.