gowalla « Five Feet of Dynamite

Social Media News 1/19/10

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

What will Google and Apple go head-to-head on next? I think it’s going to be geographically sensitive ads. Apple submitted a patent which details how the iPhone could potentially pick up location-aware ads and apps for immediate and automatic download. Google was awarded a patent which teases real-time digital ads overlain on billboards and signs seen from Google Maps street view. It’s really interesting that news of these patents got picked up by the media in the same week.

Another thought to ponder is what does local, on-the-go mobile advertising mean for the likes of Yelp, Foursquare and Gowalla? Will one of these location-based social networking portals discover a new revenue model in location-based advertising? Maybe, maybe not. Leave a comment and tell me what you think. Each day, we’re moving closer to having our digital content on any screen, at any time, at any place. Marketers need to keep that in mind.

Many bloggers and industry analysts have pointed to how our society uses social media in a time of crisis. Haiti, of course, has seen a huge reaction in social media- the devastating loss and suffering has touched people from around the world. Like most people, I’m sure, I first heard of the news through my social media channels. And through social media, the Red Cross has raised an astounding $5 Million towards their rescue effort in Haiti. Below is a special section about the reaction to Haiti in social media.

Social Media News 12/21/09

Monday, December 21, 2009

I wish I came up with this term. Guest blogger Judy Shapiro wrote about social media and building awareness at Ad Age, and describes creating “Content Campaigns” to help focus social efforts across multiple channels. What a ingenious concept. She writes, “This approach puts the value on content as an audience builder but in a very strategic way.” Be sure to check out the rest of the article.

Also from Ad Age, an awesome article about geo-targeted mobile marketing. If you need a quick primer on the key players in this field, Garrick Schmitt (a VP at Razorfish) has developed an informative who’s-who list, including Foursquare, Yelp, and Gowalla.

How would you like to rent movies from YouTube? The world’s largest video sharing site is in talks with major movie studios and is exploring a new paid subscription model. The service would be a new way of generating revenue, as YouTube currently makes its money through advertising. Get the details from this article at Reuters.

To many, online forums and bulletin websites are so 1990′s. However, three ex-MySpace executives are currently working on a project called Gravity, which TechCrunch describes as an evolved form of forums and groups. Check out the article which includes a video of the founders as well as some screen shots. Gravity will be an important startup to watch. It’s not a direct rival to Google Wave, but it might have more utility than Wave to more users; and it’s not the answer to real-time search, but it may prove to be the closest solution yet, as Gravity is interest-centric and will provide detailed analytics on interests and conversations. Plus, the group has raised $10 million in funding. Read more here.

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone. My Social Media News gift to you, 5 Ways to Connect With Santa on the Web. Happy New Year!