Will Facebook's new Timeline upset users like last week's Newsfeed changes?

We hate change. Although I love the new Timeline, privacy advocates will hate it. Users who are less-than-techie will be scared of their Social Life's history laid out and naked for all to see. People will complain; they usually do. Eventually people will accept it.

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Will Facebook’s new Timeline upset users like this week’s Newsfeed changes? Home » Brainworm™, Facebook, Social Media, Trends » Will Facebook’s new Timeline upset users like this week’s Newsfeed changes?

by John Weeden

Earlier this week, Facebook unveiled a revised Newsfeed infuriating hordes of faithful users. In typical Facebook fashion, the world’s largest social network made significant updates to the user experience without much warning.

We hate change.

With exception of the 2008 election, which successfully touted “Hope and Change,” there are few times in our society when change is actually embraced. We avoid it. We scream about it. We even rant our frustration in our status updates, so much that these digital bitch sessions actually received “Top Story” rankings—ironically one of the numerous featured “enhancements.”

However, even bigger changes are about to ensue. If you think people are upset now about Facebook’s new layout, wait until Timeline is released on September 30th.

Heralded as Facebook’s greatest enhancement since the Platform was introduced in 2007, Timeline makes significant strides—nay leaps—into realms where social has never before seen. But it seems a little creepy at first. Privacy advocates will certainly hate it.

During Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote speech at F8 yesterday, he described today’s profile showing only a glimpse of who we are. To get more information about a person, one must continually scroll down and expand information to back further in time. At most, Zuckerberg described it as a 15-minute snapshot of who we are.

The new Timeline profile is a jazzy approach to social profiles. Complete with beautiful photo and video capabilities, Timeline is easy on the eyes. Information is stored in two columns surrounding a “timeline.” Plus marks (+) in the timeline can expand information of interest going back historically to the time the user is born—in my case, 1967. All I need to do is upload a baby photo, and presto—Facebook shows my entire profile history, a social media archive of my digital self. Relevant information is grouped together. Older information can be easily accessed through shortcut links representing years past (i.e. 2010, 2009, 2008, etc.).

This type of complete history is a little creepy at first. Timeline creates a transparency like never before. Gone are the days of obscure AOL user name handles. The new Facebook lays us out, complete and naked—metaphorically speaking.

As a social media consultant with developer privileges, Facebook allowed me to change my profile in advance of the September 30th rollout. I must say that I truly like it. Not only will it be easier for people to learn about me, I can learn about them in jut a few moments.

But will people accept it? They will complain at first, but I think everyone will eventually love it. Read more at brainwormproductions.com

 

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Bored at work? Here are 15 ideas to break the monotony. Warning: Spontaneous laughter may occur.

Too many times people just phone it in. We’re work zombies, but we’ve learned how to fake it. Here’s a few things you can to do see if anybody’s actually paying attention at work. Besides, we all need something to break the monotony. Be be warned -- spontaneous laughter may occur.

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Redvines and Twizzlers: Off-topic and loving it! Home » advertising, Blog, Brainworm™, Brands, Business, Facebook, Google, Social Media, Trends » Redvines and Twizzlers: Off-topic and loving it!

by Christophe Johnson

Too many times people just phone it in. We’re work zombies, but we’ve learned how to fake it. Here’s a few things you can to do see if anybody’s actually paying attention at work. Besides, we all need something to break the monotony.

1. Crawl across the floor like you’re climbing a mountain. Say you have to make the assent this morning; weather’s coming in.

2. Learn to say, “I don’t speak English,” in 14 different languages.

3. Wave finger quotes around random words.

4. When the phone rigs, pick it up but don’t say anything. They called, they’re the ones who want to talk, right?

5. Eat a box of cookies like Cookie Monster, complete with sound effects.

6. Tell people the angry birds won’t let you sleep.

7. Follow the grammatical rules Yoda uses.

8. Tell HR you’ve legally changed your name to Napoleon Dynamite.

9. But say Dynamite like J.J. from Good Times.

10. Put the peanut-butter and jelly on the outside of the sandwich.

11. Tell people the pills make the voices go away. Then pop 2 M&Ms in your mouth.

12. Circulate a memo that says all teamwork must be done individually.

13. Call a meeting, then spend 15 minutes on a presentation on the differences between Twizzler and Redvine.

14. Drink your water out of an old vodka bottle.

15. Hold a photocopy upside down and ask your secretary why the copies came out wrong.

It’s good to mix things up sometimes. Every once in a while, do something that’s just fun. Read more at brainwormproductions.com

 

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'Missoni Mayhem' crashes Target's Website with Black Friday like buzz.

First there's Black Friday, then Cyber Monday. Now, there's Target Tuesday as millions of hits repeatedly crash Target's website as shoppers dash for these exclusive designer items made by Italian fashion designer Missoni.

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Designer's line creates Black Friday-like buzz, crashes Target website

In a scene that was reminiscent of the shopping frenzy that typically comes on the day after Thanksgiving, Target's website crashed several times throughout the day and more than hundred shoppers lined up at many of its stores early in the morning on Tuesday for a sale of limited offerings of its Missoni for Target collection of bikes, luggage, clothes and housewares.

The 400-piece line made by the Italian luxury knitwear designer Missoni exclusively for the cheap chic retailer features its trademark zig-zag patterns for between $2.99 for stationary and $599.99 for patio furniture -- a fraction of the price of the designer's real duds that can cost $595 to $1,500.

YORK

"This was Missoni mayhem," said Joshua Thomas, a Target spokesman. "This is unprecedented."

So-called limited partnerships, in which high-end designers create cheaper versions of their fashions for at lower-end stores, have become popular in recent years because they appeal to cost-conscious customers who want to be stylist but aren't willing to pay designer prices. At a time when Americans are watching every dollar they spend, the limited-time offerings are also part of a growing strategy by retailers to spur impulse buys by creating a sense of urgency for shoppers to buy.

Swedish retailer H&M, which caters to 20- and 30-somethings with trendy clothes, often attracts long lines at its stores that reach around the block when it offers limited-run affordable collaborations from upscale designers like Jimmy Choo. It also will be launching a less expensive version of the Italian designer Versace's fashion collection in November.

Target, in particular, has become known for creating a lot of buzz for its limited partnerships with designers and fashion brands, including its latest success with Liberty of London last year. Target offered 300 items with the designer, which is known for its floral prints, and sold out of most of the merchandise in a couple of days.

Likewise, Target Corp., based in Minneapolis, worked hard to create buzz around the Missoni by Target collection. Target declined to comment on how much the company spent on marketing, but it targeted social media sites like Twitter and had ads on TV and in Vogue magazine.

Online, shoppers rushed to the site for the 6 a.m. launch. But soon after, online consumes came face-to- face with its mascot bulldog along with the disappointing news: "Woof! We are suddenly extremely popular. You may not be able to access our site momentarily due to unusually high traffic. Please stay here and we'll try to get you in as soon as we can!"

Even celebrities were tweeting about the launch. Actress Busy Phillips, who plays Laura in ABC's "Cougar Town," tweeted: "Got the bike. Not the colorful one but still SO EXCITED."

Target had planned to continue selling the line into October at all 1,700 stores around the country. But shoppers will be lucky if they can find something they want. In fact, based on a spot check by Target of stores in Minneapolis area, everything had sold out by Tuesday morning. Target is replenishing some merchandise over the next few days, but it will trickle in.

Some shoppers already are trying to capitalize on the fleeting nature of the Target's Missoni collection. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 1,591 listings for Missoni for Target on eBay.com that were selling for more than double the price found at the discounter. Travel totes were going for $169, while shoes were selling for $129.99.

a temporary

Ahead of the launch, Target also opened a temporary store in Manhattan at the start of New York Fashion Week last Thursday. But the colorful shop, which spanned six city blocks, had planned to stay open for three days, but winded up closing after six hours because items sold out.

NEW YORK (AP) -- There's Black Friday, then there's Target Tuesday. Read more at shine.yahoo.com

 

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Social Media and Internet Advertising is Both Old and New School

Everybody knows social media is the wave of the future, the new way of doing things. Getting again into deconstruction and questioning things we know are true, we can view social media advertising a little differently...

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It’s All the Same: Internet advertising needs to be both new and old school. Home » advertising, Blog, Brainworm™, Brands, Business, entertainment, Facebook, Social Media, Trends » It’s All the Same: Internet advertising needs to be both new and old school.

by Christophe Johnson

Everybody knows social media is the wave of the future, the new way of doing things. Getting again into deconstruction and questioning things we know are true, we can view social media advertising a little differently.

Firstly, social media advertising isn’t the wave of the future. It’s the wave of the present. Everybody advertises on social media, whether they know it or not. If one of your customers tweets about how great your Sno-Kones are, you’re advertising via social media.

Secondly, the notion of old-school, or traditional advertising is misleading. Advertising is constantly changing. It did before the advent of the internet. The victorian newspaper ads were different than cigarette spots on the radio in the 30’s, which were different than… it goes on and on. There’s really no old-school, no new-school. There’s just advertising.

That’s because it’s made up of different elements. We use elements we need, keep the rest for later. As trends come and go, we use different elements but the fundamentals stay the same. Fundamentally, that newspaper ad from 1890 is the same as a banner ad on the internet.

I use the terms to communicate, but the idea of old-school and new-school advertising is a false dichotomy. Really, it’s the same elements. Maybe it’s expressed differently, certainly it’s more cost effective and easily disseminated because of the net, but it’s the same thing.

Advertising is communication. We use the internet to facilitate that communication but it’s not the internet that’s important. It’s the communication. That’s both old-school and new-school.

Tags: advertising, brainworm, business, commercials, communications, creativity, entertainment, Facebook, management, marketing, outside the box, social media Read more at brainwormproductions.com

 

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Advotainment & Engaging Your Consumer Community

People don't want to be sold... they want to be engaged and entertained.

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Advotainment: Engaging your Consumer Community. Home » advertising, Blog, Brainworm™, Brands, Business, entertainment, Facebook, Movies, music, Poetry, Social Media, TV, Video, YouTube » Advotainment: Engaging your Consumer Community.

by Christophe Johnson

At over three and a half minutes, you can’t really call it a jingle. I suppose technically it is, but I have a hard time thinking of it in those terms, especially since it made Billboards Top 100 list.

In 2007 in conjunction with the US National Guard, melodic metal band 3 Doors Down released the song Citizen Soldiers. The video featured members of the Guard and was shot on a National Guard base. It released for viewing in theaters before the movie as a recruiting tool. The song is well written, well produced and stirring.

This was great for both the band and the Guard. The band got even more exposure from the video playing in theaters. The Guard got a shot in the arm as radio stations around the country played their ad. Umm… song.

The song doesn’t have the feel of a jingle. It’s written differently. You can’t call it advertising, even though that’s what it is. It’s not entertainment, either, though. It was written to sell a product.

At Brainworm, for years we’ve called the line between entertainment and advertisement Advotainment.

Advotainment is tricky. It has to be written well or the product advertised will have no credibility. In addition, it can’t be written by a traditional copywriter, or it will be traditional ad copy. At the same time, entertainment writers can’t advertise; that’s not what they do.

The solution is finding a creative copywriter. Creative copywriting is different than entertainment writing, different than ad copywriting.

Advotainment is a totally different animal, and Brainworm is built around it. It’s a great way to engage your Consumer Community and build and maintain relationships. Read more at brainwormproductions.com

 

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