DIGITAL • DIRECT • SOCIAL • TRADITIONAL • PERFORMANCE

Accept it. Social Media is bringing us together. The space between us has never been smaller. Distance and proximity, which have historically been major factors in the spread of ideas, now matter very little thanks to the proliferation of social media.

We are now living in a global community. Ideas are passing over borders and across the globe at light speed (or hopefully at least at high-speed). We are no longer bound to just the ideas within our immediate geographic regions, allowing us to open ourselves up to other competing ideas.

Unless something major and horrific happens with free speech and internet usage, social media is a wonderful tool that can help all of us ride into the future together.

The recent Israeli-Iranian solidarity exchanges to pass through Facebook and Twitter have warmed my heart, as well as increased my confidence in humankind. Last weekend an Israeli couple, worried about the growing talks of an impending Iranian-Israeli war, decided to reach across these borders in literally the only way possible: social media. After all, telephones from Israel will not complete calls to Iran. Other than tools like Facebook and Twitter, there is no way for everyday Iranian citizens to talk to everyday Israeli citizens.

The Israeli couple developed this simple meme (below) that anyone can share or superimpose over their profile picture. Is has since then spread like wildfire.

Obviously some critics have made humor of this:

But for the most part, this has become a very positive exchange. Iranian people even replied with their various counter versions of the meme:

As s social media dork, it absolutely tickles me pink to see social media being used in this way. Imagine the impact on society when the people at the bottom of one pyramid are able to talk directly to people at the bottom of another pyramid. And guess what, boss? It sounds like neither of them are really into the whole idea of fighting.

Tags: memes

The 2012 Super Bowl offered an historic technological first. In addition to broadcast, for the first time in history the big game was streaming live (legally), courtesy of television network NBC.

When I heard that the game would be streaming live, I became giddy with excitement, as this is a major move in the right direction towards accepting and utilizing new media. By legally streaming the game, I felt like NBC was finally making an effort to reach out to and include my growing demographic of young and techy consumers. After all, many of us use alternative methods to view media and don’t subscribe to cable anymore, and 2.1 million of us tuned in to watch the live stream.

In my opinion, NBC fell massively short on its move to stream the game. Here’s a list of massive fails experienced by Super Bowl Streamers:

Streaming Fail #1: Viewers did not get to see the half-time show.

Streaming Fail #2: Viewers did not get to see the Super Bowl commercials.

Streaming Fail #3: Viewers experienced a significant loss of video quality.

Streaming Fail #4: Viewers watched the same 3 commercials on repeat for the entire game (somebody shoot me please). Note: these 3 commercials were the only content that was exclusive online to the Super Bowl streamers.

Streaming Fail #5: Viewers experienced awkward transitions between the game and commercial breaks, often missing game play.

Streaming Fail #6: Viewers had to repeatedly switch to full-screen mode, as advertisements forced an exit from full screen view (see image below).

Streaming Fail #7: Viewers experienced a delay of 10-15 minutes, making Twitter and Facebook a total spoiler alert.

….Whatever… We just streamed all the good commercials, the best plays, and the halftime show later. So, take that!

I knew of at least 3 Superbowl parties that were exclusively streaming the game, and I witnessed all of the smack talk go down by disappointed viewers. And I don’t mean the smack talk about the players and teams. I mean the smack talk about NBC and their horrendously embarrassing display of streaming media. I recall frequently hearing statements at the party such as “(expletive deleted) get it together NBC!” and “please make it stop!” … Let’s just say it got ugly.

I understand there are probably many motives for NBC to intentionally have the experience be “less than optimal” for streaming viewers. First and foremost, NBC’s television advertisers would likely start seeing red if their multimillion dollar time slots became digitally undermined by streaming. All other reasons after that are just icing on the cake.

Don’t get me wrong. I am very pleased that NBC made an effort to stream. Hopefully they’ll regroup and get it together for their next major television event. Here are a few tweets from angry viewers:

Over the past 2-3 years I have noticed a decline in the amount of fresh (and awesome) content offered by major mainstream television networks. Seasons are shorter, off-seasons seem to last longer, and re-runs dominate air time. Why aren’t major networks racing to provide more fresh stuff for us to watch? After all, it seems like everyone I know is ravenously waiting for more quality content to stream torrent legally watch.

 Take MTV.com for example. While looking at today’s TV schedule, I can see that out of 24 hours available for programming, only an hour and a half is comprised of new content. Now, unfortunately I don’t have historical data for MTV’s lineup from 2 years ago, but it sure feels like there’s a lot less new stuff to watch. How is it that we’re living in the information age and yet left yearning for more content?

As viewing methods such as online streaming or torrent viewing are on the rise, the audience that actually “watches television” seems to be decreasing. I know plenty of people who don’t currently subscribe to any television or cable providers. These people rely heavily on other -ahem- methods to find viewing entertainment. Certainly I would never participate in online piracy, but… you know… I “have a friend”.

A growing number of entrepreneurs are taking matters into their own hands and sharing their original content on their own individual websites. Famous comedian Louis CK had had enough from major networks and decided to offer his new stand up special on his very own website, downloadable for $5 a pop. No Newscorp. No Fox. No FX. Just Louis… And yes, I paid the $5.

Currently, the public at large has made it clear to copyright advocates that we want our torrents, and that we generally feel entitled to free content. We’ve adopted the attitude that we just don’t care about our flagrant pirating cutting into advertising revenues for major networks and communication conglomerates.

Long story short, this might be the time for independent content to rise. Our technology has made major content less profitable (or at least more of a headache). Our technology has also made is easy for the average person to create and distribute his or her own content. Maybe we no longer need media conglomerates to provide us with fresh content, while trying to cling on to past paradigms of copyright censorship. So hurry up and get working on that script you’ve been talking about. I’m running out of stuff to watch.

A frequently overlooked part of the link building process is tracking. All too often we get links, we celebrate their value, and then we move on, as if it as if our job is done. Don’t forget that websites move, URLs change, and links break. Staying on top of this can save you time and [...]

Google recently unveiled Search+, their new-and-improved socially enhanced search engine results. Now web browsers have the option to choose between seeing either global search results or personal search results when making a Google search inquiry. Simply toggle back and forth between “showing personal results” and “hiding personal results” (as seen in the image below). The [...]

We continually hear debates about the impact that social media has on search engine optimization (I feel needlessly pressured to add “if any”). To me it seems like a no-brainer. Why wouldn’t a search engine take into consideration the signals that are coming from social outlets? After all, the search engine is trying to determine [...]

“Google+” is Google’s new and improved version of a social media network…. Like Facebook, only Google. Currently, when I bring up Google+ into conversation, people either give one of two possible reactions: “huh?” or “what does it have that Facebook doesn’t?”. Now, I must admit I’ve been putting off doing my due diligence to research [...]

Tags: Google, google hangout, Social Media, social network

Twitter recently announced the instant “Follow” button. Paste it onto any website to enable Tweeters to instantly follow you without having to go find your profile on Twitter. If you’re just looking to evaluate your button strategy, then examine the following for a greater understanding of the top social media buttons.

Tags: Search Engine Optimization, SEO, Social Media, social media buttons, Social Media Marketing

Pepsi recently unveiled a “social” vending machine that allows you to send soda to your friends as a gift. Read about what this means for social media in the Ionic Blog

Tags: Facebook, ionic blog, marketing, marketing campaigns, social, Social Media, Social Media Marketing