Friday, March 9, 2012

ProjectM: A DIY Social Media Phenomenon

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Some Michigan teens got a little too inspired by the new box office hit Project X, a comedy by the people who brought us the Hangover about three friends that plan a party that goes out of control. These local Michigan highschoolers were out to throw a party that rivaled that of the Hollywood-staged film--they call it Project M.



High school senior Mikey, tweeted on March 6th:


Changed his life, it did.

In roughly three days time, hundreds (maybe thousands) of kids made plans to attend the Farmington Hills, Michigan party-of-the-year tonight. That was until police shut down the operation this morning and gave a the party-thrower, Mikey, a warning that hinted at a $500 fine for each person in attendance.

Thousands of of people?! How did they do it? Social media, of course!

The initial message went out via Mikey's twitter, @its_rnikey's. The message stated he was going to throw a Project X style party and gave the address to a local foreclosed home. Retweet after retweet it started picking up steam. Soon #projectm was a trending topic and it really began to take off.

It soon hit Craigslist too:

From there, the it spread like wildfire. His Twitter follower count toppled the 8k mark. He went on the radio to promote Project M and he worked his social media game to keep the message alive.

This was a total DIY campaign that sprung from true inspiration, ambition and relentlessness. He was better able to spread his message then some of the biggest brands in the country in an extremely short period of time. Mikey, if you haven't considered it, go into social media marketing.

But what good did all of this do him in the end?


This morning I listened to Mikey on Mojo in the Morning's Channel 95.5 show where he officially announced that the party was no more. It was a sad story but he didn't convince the radio hosts that the party wasn't going to go on as planned. They suggested a change in venue or date.

Do you think this is the last we've heard about Project M? In this case, is social media the devil? Did the communication medium they relied on to promote the party to epic proportions actually kill the dream?

If the time, date and location for Project M were changed, how would they get word out? Using social media would be party suicide since the police are already on to event. What can they do?

As of 20 minutes ago, Project M is still a no-go for tonight.

But I have this feeling this isn't the last we've heard from Mikey and his master schemes.

In case Mikey and the Project M supporters read this, let's give them some ideas they can work with!

Social Media Meltdown #2: Social Media Fatigue

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Do you find yourself drained after hours of Facebooking? Pinning? Tweeting? Tumbling? This week on Social Media Meltdown we discussed the slippery slope that is Social Media Fatigue, what effects it has on you, and how to overcome the madness.

Tune in for our live show on Tuesdays at 7pm EST. In case you missed last week's, we have you covered with this recorded version! (You're welcome...)

This show is brought to you by JustCoolEnough.com!

More information on topics we covered...

Although we are no strangers to podcasts (Girly Nerdy Goodness and Just Cool Enough), this is only our second live show so we're really relying on your feedback so we can make this show the best everrrr! If you have any questions, comments, or suggested topics email us at socialmediameltdown@justcoolenough.com.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Citing Social Media Academically

As social media becomes more and more popular, the education institutions are going to have to recognize social media and legitimate sources. We're starting to see it more and more that traditional forms of published research are not as up-to-date as what can be found online. Who hasn't been frustrated by the outdated material they stumble across in an ancient book in your school library?


Right now it is on a instructor-by-instructor basis as to what they will except as credible sources but if you are given the go-ahead to cite social media mediums then here are some guidelines to follow:

Citing a Blog

MLA
  • Lastname, Firstname, “Title of individual blog entry.” Weblog entry. Title of Weblog. Date posted. Date accessed (URL).
APA
  • Lastname, FirstInitial. Title of individual blog entry. Retrieved January 1, 2007, from http://www.blog.com
Citing a Tweet

MLA
  • Last Name, First Name. (@username). "Tweet in its entirety." Date, Time. Tweet.
  • @username. (year, month 00). Tweet in its entirety [Twitter post]. Retrieved from Tweet URL.
Citing a Facebook Status

  • Author name. "Status title." Facebook.com. Date Posted. Web. Date Accessed. Status URL.

  • First Name Last Name. (year, month 00). Facebook status in its entirety [Facebook update]. Retrieved from Facebook Status URL.
Citing YouTube

  • Title of video. Date of Publication of Video. YouTube. Web. Date Accessed. Video URL.

  • Author or Producer Last Name, First Name. (Year, Month Date). Title of the video [Video File]. Retrieved from Video URL.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

25 by 25

Inspired by Annie's 25 by 25, I've decided to write my own!

Although I hadn't put them into words, I already had in mind a few goals for this year. These are sure to be a lot more attainable than my 100 Things To Do Before I Die list.


25 Goals by Age 25
  1. Purchase my first home
  2. Start a social media video podcast
  3. Get a dog, preferably a Siberian Husky
  4. Attend a local tweetup
  5. Start saving for a luxurious vacation overseas with my boyfriend
  6. Launch a lifestyle blog with my friends
  7. Take a pottery class
  8. Hit 20,000 tweets
  9. Attend a weekly yoga class
  10. Visit the gym twice a week
  11. Start seriously working on the documentary I dream to create
  12. Hit 1,000 followers on Twitter
  13. Go on a vacation with my girl friends
  14. Attend a Murder Mystery dinner
  15. Purge my life of un-needed and un-wanted belongings; De-clutter my life
  16. Go hiking in a rural forest area of Michigan's Upper Peninsula known for its many waterfalls
  17. Create more content on the internet (i.e., blogs, video, podcasts, etc.)
  18. Bring in more freelance business
  19. Learn to schedule my time more efficiently
  20. Host an ice cream social with my friends where we make ice cream from scratch
  21. Be on TV (even if it's just for a second)
  22. Start a trending topic on Twitter
  23. Pick up more guest blogging gigs
  24. Be tweeted at by someone famous
  25. Fine tune my video editing skills
Even though my birthday was just over a month ago (January 27th), I've already been able to accomplish some of these goals or at least have some concrete plans behind them!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Social Savvy: Girls Scouts and Social Media

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Tis the season for Girl Scout Cookies! This wonderfully, delightful time of year brings back memories from when I was an awkward Girl Scout myself.

We all know how delicious the cookies are but did you realize how the Scouts are social media mavens?


Now I'm not that old (a mere 24) but I feel like the above image is a perfect representation of what Girl Scouts was like when I was a member. I know this image if a lot older than my generation of Scouts but I feel it portrays the same message. When I was a GS, it was very conservative and was based on its traditional founding values. And now we see images like this that represent the new-aged Scouts:


Obviously the organization is really on top of its branding and making sure they are marketing to the appropriate values of their targeted audience. Loud. Bold. And straight to the point.

So they keep their branding and marketing up-to-date but how about their new-aged communication tactics? Where do they stand on social media? How do they use it?

In February 2011, the Girl Scout Research Institute presented a webinar in collaboration with Pew Research Center on Teenage Communication and Social Media Use. After conducting their research GS came out with a surprisingly upbeat outlook on social media, despite the not so great results. During the research GS discovered the pitfalls of social media in consideration of girls and self-esteem. However they insist social media is not the devil and that girls should educate themselves on best practices.

The Girl Scouts takes the suggestions of best practices and puts them into action by having a presence in social media in safe and interactive manner.

The Girl Scout Twitter (@girlscouts) account keeps with the organization's mission to "build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place." They create audience engagement and use Twitter to network with other organizations in which they have partnerships.




Then there is the Girl Scout official Facebook page, which is an experience all its own! With a non-fan landing page, it entices the user to "like" the organization to unlock information. Here they are replicating the members-only atmosphere of the Scouts, while technically still keeping it open to everyone--even those that are not Girl Scouts.

Although the Girl Scouts embrace social media in every way, they don't, however, use it for the sales of their cookies.


The Girl Scouts have a genius sales technique around their beloved cookies. By selling them once a year, the cookies become more desirable as the people look forward to them. Suddenly buying cookies becomes an event, a time of year people can rely on. Genius!

The Girl Scout Council encourages the online hype of cookies sales but they condone online sales. Instead they believe GS cookies should be sold in the traditional fashion that they've relied on since 1917. The Council believes that by allowing the girls to handle cookie sales themselves, rather than letting it be handled through an ecommerce system, they will learn about money management, book keeping, inventory, and how to run a business.

So you're not going to be able to purchase your cookies online this season, so how are you going to get your Girl Scout Cookie fix?! There's an app for that, of course!



You can download a Cookie Finder app from the Apple Store that will help you track them down!

It is impressive to see such a old and traditional organization adapting to the latest and upcoming technologies. The Girl Scouts are truly Social Media Mavens! Shouldn't there be a patch for that?

Friday, March 2, 2012

Social Media Meltdown #1: Privacy Online

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Social Media Meltdown is our new weekly live streaming video show where Joe and I will discuss a hot button topic in the realm of social media. Viewers will be able to log on, watch the show live and interact with us as we go along. At the end of each show, we'll answer the questions you've submitted!

We go live every Tuesday at 7:00 pm EST. Check back here on Tuesdays for details on how to watch us live online! Invite your friends to join us! Without an audience it won't be nearly as fun... or SOCIAL!

This was the very first live stream of Social Media Meltdown with Katelyn and Joe and this week we discussed privacy (or lack there of) in the digital age. Although privacy is priority for websites, the issue has been making headlines lately with the onslaught of security breeches. We also talked about people voluntarily exposing too much personal information online and how their voluntary lack of privacy can alter their impressions on others.

Don't worry if you missed the live stream, we've got you covered!


More information on the topics covered...

Since this was our first show, I would love to know what you think! How was the format of the show? The topics? The hosts? Any feedback would be wonderful!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Pinterest for Event Planning

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The DIY event planning is a booming trend right now with the increasing popularity in various event planning websites. Some of these websites charge a minimal amount for their ideas, kits and services. If you're looking to get away from those fees or just want to let your own creativity run wild there are other resources, that are not specifically suited for event planning, at your disposal.

One resource you might not think of for event planning would be Pinterest--one of the newest and rapidly growing social network.


If you're not familiar with Pinterest... Pinterest is an online community where users share pictures of things they like, which are categorized by theme on their own "pinboards." A person's pinboard follows the basic idea of literally thumbtacking something you like to a bulletin board as a way to share your interests with others. Users can re-pin, comment and share--thus being social! Subjects covered range anywhere from fashion to sports to travel to inspirational quotes to technology to interior design.

Pinterest is well known by its users as a tool for wedding planning. Even people who do not have plans to be engaged or get married any time soon, have "wedding" themed pinboards. To meet this popular demand, Pinterest offers a built-in "Wedding & Events" category but you can't rely entirely on this category.

Here are some ways you can use Pinterest to aid in your event planning:

Theme
There are some awesome party themes on Pinterest like this robot themed birthday party! But you can also find bachelor(ette) party ideas, anniversary party ideas, seminars, etc. Once you have a decided theme, you do a more specific search on just that theme to find everything you need that is a part of that theme (i.e. food, decorations, places, etc.)

Food
Pinterest is crawling with food and drink ideas--most of which are complete with recipes! You can find desserts, dips, and alcoholic beverages. To check and see if a recipe is available, use the picture click-through link and check the source of the photo (example: loaded baked potato soup). There's no doubt that you'll be inspired (and made hungry) by browsing through these pictures! You'll find something perfect for any event and audience that will fit any budget.

Decor
Pinterest is busting at the seams with decorations! You can either pick your theme first or just get inspired by the decorating ideas. A lot of the ideas are DIY so hopefully you're crafty or know someone who is!

Marketing & Promotion
You can find a lot of design ideas for graphics on Pinterest. Get inspired for your invitations and graphics to support your theme and decorations.

Location, Venue & Lodging
By searching through pins that fall into the Travel & Places category on Pinterest you can get an idea for locations for your event. You can search by specific cities to narrow it down or by searching "hotels" you can find photos of places you may want to put your guests up for the night. Most of the places you're going to find here are going to be either exotic or luxurious, so using Pinterest to choose a location might not be the best Idea. However, you might get inspired for a dream getaway event! For instance after seeing the above photo, my boyfriend and I are now trying to plan a vacation to this hotel (Inntel Hotel) in Amsterdam!

So what do you think? Will Pinterest help you plan your next event? Are you using it to plan a vacation? A wedding? I'd love to hear your planning with Pinterest success stories!

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