NMS Blog - What we're talking about.
Click here for all categories in our blogosphere
ARCHIVE: 2010
BLOG POSTS FROM THE NMSOPHERE
Groupon Surpasses 10 Million in North American Sales
Last Wednesday marked a major milestone for Groupon, the collective online buying powerhouse, as they celebrated their 10 millionth sale in North America. Groupon gained notoriety as a viral promo wunderkind due in part to its quirky editorial style and its sweet sales offerings in 100 cities across America, Europe and beyond. Launched in November 2008, Groupon prides itself on cluing its crowd into coupons for the best there is to do, see, eat, and buy, regardless of where they might be.
Why Social Media Is Pioneering The Future of Music
Each year, more and more social media services are emerging that help make discovering and listening to music more social. First it was peer-to-peer services like Napster, then it was streaming internet radio, and now it’s about social music. As our appetite for discovery grows, so will our thirst for innovation in social media and music.
Live Stream: NMS Welcomes Governor Bob McDonnell
On Wednesday, August 25th at 1:00 pm, NMS is pleased to welcome Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and Bobblie Kilberg, CEO of the Northern Virginia Technology Council, to the Grand Opening of our newly expanded headquarters. Governor McDonnell will join us in celebrating NMS’ continued innovation and growth. In 2010, NMS created over 40 new communications and technology jobs in Virginia. Click here to watch the live stream of the Governor's remarks at 1 pm EST.
Facebook Places: Where Are People Checking In?
Frequent travelers – especially business travelers – are among the most active early users of Facebook Places. This became apparent when two colleagues checked in to the Chicago O'Hare International Airport yesterday. They were not alone; 1,790 others have checked in there as well in the five days since Facebook Places was released, making this one of the more popular Places to date.
This Week in Social Media: Facebook Places Edition
This week, Facebook launched its much awaited geosocial feature, Facebook Places, and many have been abuzz about the new feature and its implications for consumers and marketers. NMS has been excitedly watching the developments and playing around with the new feature on our phones and checking in all over DC, including at the NMS offices. This week, we've got a roundup of perspectives on the new Facebook Places and what it means for Facebook users, businesses, and marketers.
How I Used Social Media To Find a Job - And You Can, Too
In my most recent job hunt, everything had become different. There wasn’t a single time where I mailed or faxed my resume to a company. But there were multiple tweets, an online CV, LinkedIn, emails and more that added up to a strategy I had employed to find not just any job, but a job I loved. I did my research, found the companies and industries I liked, and developed a rhythm. I used social media to help land my current job -- and here's my advice for how other jobseekers can you use social media to their advantage.
Why Endearment is the New Engagement
JetBlue was able to survive their recent PR crisis because they used social to become a brand people love. Now, as Facebook’s “Like” button becomes ubiqitous, marketers must look beyond just engagement tactics and find ways to truly endear their brands and causes to consumers.
Geo-Social Street Wars: Using Geosocial In Political Campaigns
Now that geosocial tools like Foursquare and Gowalla are gaining more traction and greater acceptance by businesses big and small, it’s time to start thinking about applications for geosocial tools in the 2010 and 2012 election cycles.
Why Isn’t Social Media Taught In Schools?
Few professors are doing anything to integrate social media tools in the classroom. Facebook, Twitter and Flickr are not just ways for students to fill the hour break between Physics and British Literature; they are important tools that are essential in nearly every industry. Politicians and businesses—big and small—are using Twitter to keep their followers informed of their speaking engagement or latest promotional gifts. Writers link to publications and production teams hype up their films. So why is it that social media is everywhere except the classroom?
Pete Snyder & Moira Curran Interviewed on CNN
New Media Strategies CEO Pete Snyder and VP of Entertainment Moira Curran appeared on CNN with Don Lemon to discuss how NMS rewards loyal employees. Video of the clip is embedded below the jump.
This Week in Social Media: July 23, 2010
What we're reading in digital news this week: Facebook is growing like crazy, expanding, adding new features, and trying to optimize social search. In the meantime, Foursquare is exploring search engine partnerships that could change the way we view and use location-based checkin data.
This Week in Social Media: July 16, 2010
Here's our roundup of what we're reading this week: Facebook Mobile growing rapidly, Twitter experiments with new revenue streams, Foursquare extending its reach and features, and an in-depth look at how Old Spice won the internet and captivated the social media community.
How I Brought Back The Strasburger: Three Consumer Interaction Tales On Twitter
When I walked up to the counter of BGR: The Burger Joint and asked if I could get a Stasburger the cashier answered with a resounding, “Absolutely not!” He explained that the burger was a promotional item and was no longer on the menu. I was crushed, and took my sadness to Twitter. Meanwhile at NMS, our resident Nats fan Laura was wondering if she could still try the Strasburger and I had to report to her the unfortunate news that our dreams of a cheeseburger topped hot dogs and 14 pickles would never come true. Or so we thought until BGR found our twitter conversation and came to the rescue.
Got Advocacy? Lessons from an Integrated Campaign for Hormone-Free School Milk
Cross-published from Epolitics.com
Integrate or die: words seen on Epolitics.com before and for good reason, since standalone online campaigns rarely work as well as ones combined with concrete action in the physical world. For a good example of how the virtual can combine with the real to yield results, see Food and Water Watch's campaign last year to get federal approval for schools to buy hormone-free milk through the National School Lunch Program. As described by Sarah Alexander at a June 17th Digital Capital Week presentation, Food and Water Watch followed a strategy that wound online and offline action tightly together to get the best out of both, in part through leveraging the results of a van trip through the states and districts of crucial legislators. Note: the cow costumes didn't hurt.
New Media Strategies Hosts “Upgrade Your Social Media Presence” as part of DC Week - A Recap
Nearly 6,000 people participated in Washington, D.C.’s first Digital Capital Week - a 10-day festival showcasing technological innovation and social media best practices. During the conference, New Media Strategies employees led an intensive workshop called “Upgrade Your Social Media Presence With NMS,” sharing insight into how job seekers and professionals can be seen as thought-leaders online by enhancing their search result rankings, specifically on Google. Here's a re-cap.
Social Media Spotlight: World Wrestling Entertainment Understands Their Audience, Embraces YouTube
Love it or hate it, whether the wrestling is fake or real, the WWE has taken a steel chair to the status quo and demonstrated that it truly understands how their audience engages online -- by taking the lead in putting complete content on the world’s largest video-sharing site. The WWE knows that in social media, the best way to keep their fans hooked on their product is to give them as much of it as possible even if it means giving complete episodes away on YouTube. For free.
Social Media Scores at World Cup
A mere 12 days ago, we took a look at social media’s potential impact on the World Cup – and it didn’t take very long to see its effects. A week or so into the tournament, it’s already apparent that the world wide web has gone soccer crazy, as the opening round of games has already been dubbed the biggest web event in history, surpassing that of Obama’s election win in 2008, and far exceeding any viewing/web usage during 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Videogames and Social Media at E3 2010
The largest annual videogame conference in the Western Hemisphere, E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) was held this past week at the Los Angeles Convention Center. While E3 has grown and morphed since the first one in 1995, it continues to be a hugely exciting event, where game publishers show their upcoming product both on the floor and behind closed doors. Our own Mark Netter has attended this event for years and reviews here how social media has effected E3.
This Week in Social Media: June 18
This week in social media: Starbucks tries and fails with Foursquare, YouTube and Facebook launch new features, marketers try to figure out how much a Facebook fan is worth, and a new site launches covering social media and the automotive industry.
Social Media & The World Cup
Four years ago, when the World Cup was just kicking off in Germany, Facebook was just two years old. YouTube was still in its infancy. And Twitter? Well, the word barely existed back then. So this year’s World Cup will be a landmark not only in a soccer sense, but in a social media sense as well. Today, the number of ways to follow the world’s biggest sporting event and connect with fellow fans is unparalleled.
Saving the Gulf of Mexico with Helium, String and a Digital Camera
On top of the online reporting system for damage from the BP spill that popped up earlier, here's more crowdsourcing from the Gulf of Mexico: a group called Grassroots Mapping is helping folks on the coast map the extent and at least some of the effects of the oil slick. The tools? A digital camera, a big kite or a helium balloon, and a really, really long piece of string.
This Week in Social Media: May 28
Starting today, NMS is introducing a new regular feature to the NMSosphere blog: a roundup of social media stories that NMS staffers are reading and finding interesting every week. Check back every Friday for a roundup of important news and fun links in the week in digital and social media. This week we're reading about Facebook privacy, BP's Twitter and PR disasters, LinkedIn and Twitter, and the difference between blogs and traditional media.
Tearin’ on Down, Movin’ On Up!
2010 has already been a big year for NMS, and it’s only getting bigger…literally!
NMSosphere Blog Now Using the New Facebook “Like” Button!
This week, we’re excited to announce that NMS.com is now actively using some of the new Social Plugins launched by Facebook last month at the F8 Developers Conference. From now on, at the bottom of every NMS blog post (and soon, every page on the NMS website) you’ll see a little “Like” button from Facebook, allowing you to Like the post and share it back on your profile with your friends.
Upgrade YOUR Social Media Presence with NMS at Digital Capital Week, June 18!
New Media Strategies is proud to be a sponsor of Digital Capital Week, and we are also excited to be hosting a workshop as part of DC Week’s “Digital Garage” on Friday, June 18th, where some of our top talent will be facilitating a hands-on workshop helping attendees upgrade their social media presences. Here’s a sneak peek at what to expect:
“Crowdsourcing” Re-Imagined For The NBA Playoffs
How the tweets Of Sports Guy And Celtics fan Bill Simmons may have opened new social media doors for sports fan organization.
I Don’t Know Where Social Media Will Be In Ten Years (But It Doesn’t Matter)
I recently wrote about my first networking event last week. At that event a gentleman asked me about what I did and told him about my work and my life as a blogger. He nodded attentively and then asked what’s going to happen after the big social media craze goes away. In my mind I couldn’t help but think, “SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT A FAD!”
An Analysis of New Jersey @GovChristie on Twitter
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is taking his message to the Twitterverse and has been engaging critics of his budget cuts from his Twitter account, @GovChristie. That is a good strategy, but, doing some effective supporter outreach through Twitter could beneficial as well. Matt DeLuca rates @GovChristie's current efforts and offers up some tips for the Governor.
The Problem With Facebook Community Pages
Among the changes announced at F8 last week, the one most users are likely aware of already is the introduction of Community Pagesand the linking of user profiles to them. In my view, Facebook now faces a number of issues to resolve that could have been avoided if the rollout had been planned more carefully: at present, Community Pages are hurt by a lack of transparency, a plethora of redundancy and too little explanation of their quirks.
Architecture of a Successful Political Message — In A Digital Age?
For those at the Politics Online Conference this afternoon, there's one session you shouldn’t miss — Pete Snyder, my boss at New Media Strategies and a veteran of more than ten years in the social media space, will hold the closing keynote conversation with Republican advertising guru Mark McKinnon, moderated by GW prof Dennis Johnson.
An Analytic Look: The Impact of User-Generated Content
When you look at brands in the same category or in the same industry; you frequently see the same thing – the strongest correlation is between the number of videos or photos posted and the higher rates of engagement. In other words; regardless of the size of a brand’s page fan growth will be more aggressive when consumers feel free enough to share their own content.
#Transparency #Trust
I was psyched to see @jrick (social media consultant Jonathan Rick) @message the NMSosphere earlier this week and praise our practice of publishing and making both transparent and public all of our employees tweets (both personal and professional) on our NMS Twitter Directory.
Originally inspired by the Zappos Twitter site, we are proud to be the first social media agency — in the spirit of transparency – to not only have "team tweets" aggregated under one roof and spotlighting our thoughts, client projects and industry links, but also have great sorting features based on name, username, followers and listed (we even have a special page for our pics, too).
If You’re HAPPO and You Know It
There’s something indelibly beautiful to me about the relationship-building nature of people in the communications industry. Rarely have I encountered a passionate member of our community that hasn’t been willing to lend a hand and help a colleague out. And while our industry itself is based on a foundation of fostering mutually beneficial relationships, there are few places other than Twitter where you can witness this interaction firsthand.
At SXSW, Last Year’s Next Big Thing Was This Year’s Actual Big Thing
For better or worse, the just-concluded SXSW Interactive festival in Austin, Texas carries the weight of massive geek expectations. The big reason has to do with Twitter: it was at SXSWi in 2007 that the now-ubiquitous messaging service first gained wide exposure. The buzz from Austin traveled far and wide throughout the blogosphere and, up in Washington, I was inspired to join Twitter three years ago yesterday. The rest is history. Each subsequent year, the question buzzing around the Austin Convention Center has been the same: "What's the new Twitter? What's the new big thing?"
SXSW Panel: Why Gen Y Wants to Work With You, Not For You
This week I was lucky enough to participate in a panel at South by Southwest Interactive, the world's largest annual interactive media conference, discussing Generation Y (also known as millennials), our approaches to work, and our usage of technology and social media. Panelists included Ryan Paugh, Sydney Owen, Elysa Rice, and moderator Ben Smithee.
South by Southwest - Spring Break for Geeks
New Media Strategies' own Aminatou Sow, a University of Texas-Austin grad and soon-to-be six-time SXSW veteran, gives her take on the world famous convergence of original music, independent films, and emerging technologies.
Oscar Night Buzz Report: Twitter Emerges As The Destination For Everyone’s Academy Awards Take
This year, films that NMS worked on racked up 36 nominations and captured 10 Oscars, including The Hurt Locker’s Best Picture win. In the social media universe, Twitter interaction during the Academy Awards exploded, as film and pop culture fans communicated and participated in the live discussion like never before.
Question of the day: Who is Sarah Killen?
Want instant fame on Twitter? Well Sarah Killen (@lovelybutton) didn’t set out with that goal but that’s what she’s getting now that Conan O’Brien has decided to follow her on Twitter. This makes her the first and only follower for the now out of work TV show host.
Will You Accept This Rose?
An open letter to Jake Pavelka, the newest Bachelor, about his final rose decision and the online activity surrounding it.
Should companies let their employees blog? We think so.
Should companies let their employees blog? Employee blogging has been a hot topic in the blogosphere, most recently when market research firm Forrester announced its controversial decision to not allow their employees to blog outside of the Forrester site. So, we thought it would be a good time to hear from NMS Founder & CEO Pete Snyder about NMS’s thoughts on employee blogging.
Going BIG By Going Small: Our New Home
Our second decade of operations has started off with a pretty big bang. At NMS, we've had a slew of new business wins including being named the Social Media Agency of Record for Chrysler and all of their brands while also onboarding a ton of new talent and continuing to grow Our Team of rockstars. While we value the past ten years and have built a culture rich with traditions, we thought it would be fitting to begin a new year and our second decade with a bit of a fresh take and something equally as new. So, we're moving...urls that is.
NMS Names Guillermo Corporan NMS’ 2009 Q4 Ass Kicker
We are pleased to announce that Guillermo Corporan, Helpdesk Specialist, has received NMS’ 2009 Q4 Ass Kicker Award. Congratulations Guillermo!
NMS Names Brittany Cooper NMS’ 2009 Q3 Ass Kicker
We are pleased to announce that Brittany Cooper, Human Resources and Recruiting Specialist, has received NMS’ 2009 Q3 Ass Kicker Award. Congratulations Brittany!
Checking In With Hyper-Local Marketing on Foursquare
Don’t look now but your favorite restaurant may be stalking you. Or at least that’s certainly the feeling I got when I checked into a local DC movie theater on foursquare and saw an unusual asset on the top-right corner of the screen.
A Social Media Cinderella Story
Who says ya need the luck o the Irish? Social Media made me a star, yo! I love me some social media, it showed me where da gold is really at.
Tweeting from the Tents: Fashionistas take to Twitter During New York Fashion Week
Anyone that knows me well knows that I have a (not-so) healthy obsession with designer Marc Jacobs. Bags, watches, shoes, match books, you name it, if there is an “MJ” on it, I probably want it, or already own it. So, you can imagine my surprise last Saturday when I got an email notification alerting me that “Robert Duffy is now following you on Twitter.” The President of Marc Jacobs is following me on Twitter?
What’s All the Buzz About? Why, Google Buzz!
I would like to thank whoever decided to launch Buzz in the middle of the snowpocalypse of 2010. Great decision or greatest decison ever? You be the judge! By Aminatou Sow
The Online Strategy Behind Scott Brown’s Victory, Plus Details on His Massachusetts Moneybomb
Scott Brown’s victory in last week’s Massachusetts Senate election has gotten plenty of Republicans fired up about their online prospects in the 2010.
New Media Strategies Speaker Series - Nick O’Neill
Today we have live UStream video of our ongoing New Media Strategies Speaker Series. Our speaker at 3:30 p.m. ET is Nick O'Neill, Founder of AllFacebook.com.
What the Sunday Morning Shows Need Is A New Media Makeover
A debate has been raging online about the Sunday morning political talk shows, one of the venerated old institutions in American political discourse.
CPG’s Love/Hate Relationship With Social Media
In terms of progress in social media, 2009 was a rough one for Consumer Packaged Goods Brands - otherwise known as CPGs. From Motrin Moms to the Skittles Interweb, it's no wonder some CPG marketers are apt to describe their relationship with their product's social media strategy as "complicated."