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.
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.”
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!
The editors have spoken. Phil Corbett, standards editor at The New York Times, distributed a memo among its staff stating that said “Tweet” can no longer be used as a verb. Because “tweet” has not yet been formally introduced into the English language via a printed dictionary or encyclopedia, The New York Times staff must uphold the sanctity of the written word and completely ignore colloquial pop culture speech.
Corbett states, “Except for special effect, we try to avoid colloquialisms, neologisms and jargon. And “tweet” — as a noun or a verb, referring to messages on Twitter — is all three. Yet it has appeared 18 times in articles in the past month, in a range of sections.”
Acceptable alternatives to this now taboo term include “use Twitter, post to or on Twitter, write on Twitter, a Twitter message, or a Twitter update.”
After being fired twice in the last year-and-a-half – including once by The Donald – former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojavich is making press again. This time, it’s for a social media campaign aimed to repair the reputation of the infamous politician-turned-reality-TV-personality.
Shortly after his corruption trial began in Chicago last week, Blagojavich launched a Twitter account as a means of rallying support and sharing his side of the story. While his comments have been sporadic over the past week, his agenda is clear based on some of the most recent messages:
I had hoped this day would never come. Today marks the unveiling of a new advertising platform on Twitter. Ten percent of users will find themselves within the beta testing group that will receive “promoted Tweets” in their message stream. The first companies to take advantage of the opportunity include Starbucks, Best Buy and Virgin America.
While I completely understand the need for Twitter to increase its revenue and it may seem attractive for big time consumer companies to promote their products to targeted individuals using one of the fastest growing social media platforms, it seems the investment could do more harm than good.
Someday. . . someday I’ll be in attendance at the Oscars and will be able to offer a play-by-play via Twitter. For now, we’ll have to settle on the updates from the celebs who graced the red carpet last night.
As the Sunday news cycle erupted with news of Brittany Murphy’s tragic death, I couldn’t help but notice a consistent mention in each story I read: celebrity condolences from Twitter. Not only were People, E! and other tabloid-esque media including this information, but The AP, The New York Times and other more traditional news outlets included Twitter mentions in their coverage of the actress, as they would a formal public statement.
CNN even posted a follow-up article discussing the social media frenzy the ensued following the announcement:
The topic “RIP Brittany Murphy” began trending on Twitter on Sunday evening, as millions included the phrase in their Twitter postings. Most fans simply wanted to share their feelings about Murphy, 32, and talk about their favorite movie roles. . . One Facebook page, “RIP Brittany Murphy,” had 2,000 members as of Monday morning with fans posting their shock about the “Clueless” actress’ death on the page’s wall.
While recent deaths including Patrick Swayze and Michael Jackson resulted in similar trending topics on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, this was the first time that “hard-hitting” news sources substituted interviews for tweets—and I don’t think it’s a bad thing.
Whereas more traditional means of getting public statements from friends and family of the deceased would have travelled through a conduit of publicists, lawyers and agents, the commentary tweeted directly by Kutcher and others appeared to be heart-felt and genuine. In my humble opinion, I find that “from the horse’s mouth” commentary to be a refreshing addition to the news cycle, especially in reports of loss and tragedy.
When going to the movies, I always arrive early to make sure I have a chance to see the previews. Trailers showcase the best elements of a film, like high-energy action sequences with bad guys in toe, heart-warming embraces between the heartthrob and his leading lady, epic soliloquies by the underdog-turned-hero or that one punch line that everyone will remember for years to come. Whether or not the movie is actually good, the preview never seems to disappoint. While I may be an easy critic, every once-in-a-while there is a trailer that creates such buzz and generates such curiosity that it nearly crashes the Fandango site weeks before the film is in theaters.
One of these aforementioned previews is for the James Cameron flick Avatar, out in theaters today. While the futuristic storyline sounds awesome and the special effects look out of this world, you have the chance to really get to know this movie before you even hit the theaters.
If you haven’t already, I highly recommend checking out the Avatar interactive trailer powered by Adobe AIR. Offering much more than your average two minute preview, this desktop application takes over your screen with a variety of video clips, behind the scenes interviews and connection to social media sites like Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. As you scale through the many features, you can track the Avatar Twitter account, which disseminates updates about the cast, links to additional YouTube clips and offers updates on ticketing. If you see something you like, you can update your Facebook status or Twitter page with the click of a mouse.
For decades, movies were very one-way; the audience would sit in front of the screen and absorb the movie in front of them. Today, we have the option of becoming involved with a particular movie even weeks or months before we see it. Through social media outlets like Flickr, YouTube or Twitter and with interactive applications like the Avatar trailer, we are able to watch and absorb information about the film and share our opinions with our peers and directly with the production companies.
How do you feel about the interactive trailer? Does it enhance the movie experience or ruin the element of surprise?
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Thanks to Rob Longert for the idea behind this post.
As you can tell from many of my previous posts and blogroll, I’m not ashamed to admit that I enjoy celebrity gossip. It’s a simple pleasure of mine that I don’t even feel guilty about.
There is something exciting about learning little tidbits about the movie stars, singers and famed thought leaders that makes the talented seem more attainable, more accessible. However, with the advent of social media platforms like Twitter, I’m afraid we sometimes receive more information than we care to know.
For example, Jessica Simpson recently tweeted this little confession:
The always funny Rainn Wilson thought his many followers would be interested to know this fact:
@RainnWilson: I’ve decided to donate my body to science. Well, not my whole body. Just the best bits. 1:29 PM Oct 20th from web
But leave it to John Mayer to tip the scale when it comes to over-sharing:
@JohnCMayer: Sitting in a restroom stall. There is a man in the stall beside me. We’re both waiting for the other to leave. Entering minute 12. 4:30 PM Nov 5th from Twittelator
A word to the wise: Your Twitter account is an extension of your “personal brand.” For the average Joe, you don’t have much to loose if you misspell a tweet or disclose a bit of personal information. For the average celebrity, it’s that bit of unattainable mystery that keeps you up on your fans pedestal—keep it playful but professional.
But leave it to John Mayer to tip the scale when it comes to over-sharing:
