MacBook Pro
The Apple MacBook Pro. Everyone has heard of it, but how do you create buzz and advertising for a computer online?
First of all it might be hard trying to sell a computer online when obviously the consumer already has one. This needs to be big in order to catch the attention of the potential consumer.
I would first use permission marketing. A consumer can “like” Apple’s Facebook page and this would allow permission for the company to send the consumer advertisements that only that particular consumer would be interested in. Studies have shown that if the consumer gives you permission to advertise to them they are more likely to buy the product.
Secondly I would try something a little different. I myself have a MacBook pro, but I am a first time buyer. So what possessed me to “convert” from a PC to a MAC? Well I could go on and on. For my advertising campaign I would use this scenario online to show millions of people why others have “converted” to Mac and how it has changed their lives. I would post videos on Facebook showing real stories of why people converted to Mac using humor in the process to gain peoples attention. I don’t want to mock religion, but I might compare the conversion of religion with the conversion of technology. I would also post these videos on YouTube and Apple’s Website.
Third I would create a YouTube channel for my company. By doing this I can post as many videos as I want in one place. I can promote the videos with YouTube E-mail and Bulletins. I will be able connect with other YouTube users and explain to them why they should look at my content and why it would interest them. After the potential consumers look at my videos they can comment on them and have an open discussion about the product.
James Surowiecki: When social media became news
Thoughts on the Pulitzers: validation for Bill Adair’s big idea
Bill Adair was one of those many people who didn’t like to hear politicians lying. “It was at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York, and it was the speech by Sen. Zell Miller making claims about John Kerry,” recalled Bill Adair, “I was thinking, that’s not true. [But] I didn’t do anthing about it.” Well it wasn’t long after before he did do something about it.
Adair, Washington, D.C., bureau chief of the Times soon came up with the idea for PolitiFact. “I think it shows journalism is turning the corner from where we’re just thinking about ink on paper,” Adair said. “The web is not a death sentence but this great opportunity. What we’ve done with Politfact is take advantage of those opportunities. A lot of what we have done in the past is pasting newspaper stories onto the web and creating blogs. Now we’re realizing the web can be so much more in presenting journalism.”
What Adair was done is an inspiration. It demonstrated not only sticking up for what you believe, but also what journalism united with technology can do.
PolitiFact Pulitzer Validates Journalism-Technology Collaborations
This article sparked my interest because at the beginning it explains that journalists are having to learn technology, but technologists are having to learn journalism.
They did an experiment by sending technology developers to study journalism at Medill School at Northwestern University. It’s a collaboration with journalism and technology. “At Medill, the first two scholarship winners helped develop News Mixer, a widely praised web application demonstrating new ideas for enhancing conversations around news”
I think this experiment is proof that technology and journalism can unite together.
How a small Arkansas TV station uses Facebook, Twitter to drive audience to newscasts, website
Using social media in the newsroom.
This small station is anything but small when it comes to Facebook and Twitter. They use these social media Websites to keep their viewers engaged. The public can get the news by visiting the station’s Facebook page.
“The morning show, which airs from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., is the most regular user of Facebook. Monday through Friday, a “Hot Topic” related to the news of the day is posted by one of the anchors at 4:30 a.m. for people to comment on. Weeks says it’s rare to have less than 50 comments by 7. During the show, the anchors talk on the air about the question and user responses.”
This small station is taking full advantage of social media and it has done them well. It is a wonderful example of how you can get people involved and make a difference. This small station did it so why can’t you?
What Web Analytics Can – And Can’t – Tell You about Your Site’s Traffic and Audience
This article answered a lot of good questions I have had. I always wondered how they measured the traffic on a Website.
A lot of sites look at the stats on “page visits” and other ways of figuring out traffic. The article explained that this is not a true method of measuring. A cookie doesn’t really measure a person. Even though a Website can identify you when you visit it multiple times it does not know your the same person if you use a different browser, making it look like your a different person visiting the Website, which results in inaccurate measuring. The article also said look at your community. A school is more likely to have different people using the same computer.
Data visualization tools for online storytelling
Free visualization tools that you can use with a variety of data sets:
Wordle.com
This site is awesome. It makes colorful maps from the text you enter. It removes certain would like, “the,” “and,” “of,” to show the words that really make up what your trying to say.
I think this Website is a cute idea. What a cool way to tell a story and it’s FREE!
Dipity.com
This site has an interactive timeline. You can plug in events, photos, and videos. It’s a fun way to get yourself organized. You can use it by signing up for a free account and select “create a time line.” Give the time line a name and description and set permissions.
The website makes public timelines searchable so you can look for anyone you know. It’s a pretty cool tool to use for free!
Batchgeo.com
With this Website you can take data and turn it into a colorful interactive map. After you mape your map you can embed it onto your Website and edit or update it anytime.
Twitter Widgets
Twitter now has a variety of free widgets to chose from to make your page a little more interesting
TBD’s Fail and Success
Erick Wemple, editor of TBD, “If you run a website that doesn’t have something that’s terrible on it, you are not trying hard enough. … You have to fail, fail, fail. You have to fail and fail miserably many times.” I think it’s good that Wemple has such optimism about failing, but at the same time a lot of people don’t like failing. His statement just sort of confused me, because at the end of the day they lost a lot of money. Maybe they didn’t have the right people working there. I just don’t know how a Website would fail so miserably.
“I didn’t have to run it by two or three editors to try that,” said Victor, whose job was eliminated. “There was always a freedom to do what we felt was right.”
^ Obviously too much freedom I would say. I just don’t entirely agree with this article. Failing isn’t something you should be proud of when your company goes under.
Were Like A Cult With Better Kool-Aid!
SAY WHAT? That’s not what Jeff Leslie, vice president of sales and marketing at mexican restaurant Hacienda in South Bend, Indiana thought at the time. Their advertising campaign consisted of a billboard mocking the 1978 Jim Jones cult massacre in which over 900 people died. He admitted the billboard was a mistake. He explained how the ad campaign was suppose to bring people together sort of like a team or a club and thought a cult would be a good direction to head in, well obviously it wasn’t. Tons of people in the community were offended by the billboard.
The members of the cult died from drinking cyanide-laced, grape-flavored punch. Right next to the cocktail it says “TO DIE FOR.” Really? You have to be kidding me. What sort of company would think that wouldn’t get negative feedback? Get real.
In my opinion this was poor advertising. Maybe it was shock value they were wanting along. Who knows, but you have to admit it’s pretty creepy.
AdFarrar 
