Happy Holidays!

The Ultra-Inclusive Social Network

Facebook went live on February 4, 2004 (my birthday, BTW!). In The Accidental Billionaires, author Ben Mezrich described the day when Mark Zuckerberg explained the site’s interface to his business partner and fellow Harvard sophomore:

Mark hit more keys, changing the page to the opening screen that you’d see when you went to thefacebook.com. . . It was extremely simple- and clean-looking.

“So to log on,” Eduardo [Saverin] said, his hovering shadow covering most of the screen. “You need a Harvard.edu e-mail, then you choose a password.”

“Correct,” [said Mark].

The Harvard.edu e-mail was key, in Eduardo’s mind; you had to be a Harvard student to join the site. Mark and Eduardo know that exclusivity would make the site more popular.

They were right. Within hours, the majority of the Harvard student body was a registered member. Within a few short months, students from colleges across the country were petitioning for Facebook to grant access to their school. And today, well, we all know where the site stands internationally.

Top Social Media-Inspired Halloween Costumes for 2010

It’s beginning to look at lot like. . . Halloween! In 2009, we looked at the top costumes inspired by YouTube videos. This year, we are expanding our scope and recommending the top five social media-inspired costumes. Let us know if you dare to dress up like any of these digital characters – or if you have others to add to the list.

Old Spice Guy: One of the most talked about social media campaigns this year was certainly the Old Spice Guy who created unique videos in response to Twitter @-replies. To achieve this look, fellas, grab a towel and, well, that’s it. Now you are the best smelling man in the world for Halloween.

Thanks for Coming to Celebrate My Birthday! You Can Leave a Check at the Door.

As a child, my favorite birthday party ever was when I turned eight. My mom willingly packed 10 screaming kids into her Ford Windstar and took us to Magic Castle, a renaissance-themed recreational facility in Ohio with trampolines, batting cages, a climbing wall, video games and unlimited pizza; it was an eight-year-old’s paradise.

As an adult, I prefer low-key birthday celebrations, usually with a small group of friends going out for dinner. I tend to follow the philosophy that says it’s the people you are with, not where you are the counts (yes, I think that is a Dave Matthews Band lyric).  So when I read this article about Nick Cannon’s birthday plans, I found it hard to relate.

The New York Post reports, “Nick Cannon is looking to make a killing on his 30th birthday — reps for Mariah Carey‘s husband have sent out a mass e-mail looking for corporate sponsors to pay $25,000 for three tweets from next month’s bicoastal bash.”

Happy Birthday Google!

Today is Google’s 12th birthday!

Kanye West’s Top Tips for Digital Communicators

Make no mistake, Kanye West is a one-of-a-kind musician, performer and pop culture icon – just ask him yourself. He has created a personal brand that is all his own and, while his attitude may rub some the wrong way, there are a few lessons we digital marketers can learn from his experience.

Define Your Brand’s Personal Style

Whether or not you dig his shutter-shades and graphic Ts, Kanye’s unique personal style sets him apart from other artists. Just as there are always new musicians trying to make it big, hundreds of consumer brands are hopping on the social media bandwagon trying to get noticed every year. To cut through the clutter, find the online medium where your target audience is already engaged. There, showcase the personality of your brand and highlight the product/service offering that differentiates your company from others.

Is 911 on Twitter?

As my good friend Nicole of Get NYC’d has recently pointed out, New Yorkers are full of irrational fears. One of mine, which likely stems from watching an unhealthy amount of Law and Order: SVU, is a home invasion. However, I can say that if – god forbid – I am ever in the situation, my first instinct will not be reaching for my phone to tell the Twitterverse.

Paris Hilton disagrees.

The celebrity gossip train was in full force this morning as reports of a burglar with “two big knives” found his way into Paris’s California home. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait for TMZ to break the details, as the celebutante has been sharing her experience via Twitter.

Maybe the accused will live tweet his sentencing. I’ll keep you all posted. . .

News Flash: Gaga Dethrowns Britney

Lady Gaga topped Britney Spears for the top spot on Twitter after earning 5,743,505 followers while Spears dropped to 5,704,360.

A New Breed of Celebrity

It’s no secret that I am a TMZ watching, Us Weekly reading, pop culture fanatic. There is good reason why I’m not alone in this thinking. Whether it’s the chic and brilliant Johnny Depps and Meryl Streeps of the world, or the not-quite-sure-why-they-are-famous Kim Kardasians and Heidi Montags, the fascination is due to the fact that these people are beautiful, wealthy, and – at least in some cases – talented. The constant swarm of salacious gossip doesn’t hurt either.

But lately, we’ve seen a new breed of celebrity: digital business leaders.

New MTV Twitter Jockey Selected

Last night, MTV announced the winner of the search for the first ever Twitter Jockey. Gabi Gregg is a 23-year-old fashion blogger from Detroit who took the reigns of the Twitter handle @mtvtj this morning. She has over 12,000 followers and has been in a state of near-constant tweeting ever since she was crowned.

Let’s see if she takes the time to tell us how she plans on spending her $100,000 salary!