The Procrastinator’s Pitstop

An innovative play to engage fans on Facebook - Check out Red Bull’s real-time scavenger hunt - http://apps.facebook.com/redbullstash/  

Just when you think its all been done, Sprint surprises us with a new campaign that has already received a ton of coverage and it hasn’t even started yet!  Sometime this week, Sprint will host an advertisement on YouTube that will act as a human clock.  The time will be represented by user generated content that will allow users to upload images of themselves holding up numbers that will be posted on the advertisement to represent the time.  

The numbers will be strung together to form a series of video vignettes placed in a digital clock to represent the time. For example, at 12:09 the ad would display four people, each holding up one number to represent “1,” “2,” “0″ and “9.” As seconds, minutes and hours click by, the user-generated videos change based on the time zone.

Are you a big fan of KFC?  Here’s a coupon for a free meal (2 pieces of grilled chicken, 2 individual sides, and a biscuit).  

Not a fan of KFC?  You should still be interested in this free coupon offer.  Why?  Because Oprah mentioned the deal on her show, and it is currently the #1 trending topic on Twitter.  The coupon has limited download times (from 9am CDT on May 5^th to 9:59pm CDT on May 6^th), and everyone is talking about it and linking to Oprah’s site referencing the offer. 

How’s that for viral??

Holy smokes!  The American Idol judges saved a contestant who should have gone home, and it wasn’t Adam Lambert!

I’m not going to lie, I was actually watching the NHL playoff games tonight (let’s go Devils!!!) and I missed this week’s elimination episode.  You can only guess how surprised I was to Google “American Idol” to find this article saying that all four judges decided to spare Matt Giruad after it was announced that he had the fewest votes after this week’s performance. 

I’m a fan of Matt Giruad and enjoy his Michael Buble esque style, and hope he does well and continues to get more votes in the upcoming weeks.  Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see what happens next week as two of the American Idol contestants will face elimination without the ability to be saved.  Good luck to all

I’ve found a new musical obsession to add to my ever growing list of my favorite bands.  With songs that I can’t get out of my head, The Script is a band from Ireland that is just breaking out into the USA.  The trio already has a self titled album that was released in August 2008 along with videos, a Web site, a MySpace page, as well as a Facebook fan page.

Check out the video for my favorite song called The Man Who Can’t Be Moved on YouTube.

It seems like not too long ago, when I was a MySpace fanatic, I encountered worms, viruses, and phishing scams on a daily basis.  Lately, I’ve actually noticed how much I take Facebook for granted, with the lack of phony friends and messages with “click here” links and annoying garbage.  Unfortunately, that’s all about to change.

As many of you may have heard, Facebook is planning to change the layout of the homepage and branded fan pages (yes, it’s happening again).  Along with these new updates come threats of potential hazards to our precious community through the form of stolen identities of friends, fans, and brands on Facebook.  According to Trend Micro, Facebook has had to fend off four hoaxes over the last week that would trick users into giving out their login information. Worse yet is the aptly named Koobface worm which installs malware on computers after users click on links for phony YouTube videos.

What does this mean for you?  Don’t click on links in Facebook messages, even if they come from friends.   Always be cautious of messages from people you don’t know.  And finally, report any suspicious messages or users to Facebook support ASAP.

The Internet as News Central

Need more proof that people are dropping print for digital?  The Internet has now surpassed all media (except television) as a news source, according to consumers surveyed in December 2008 by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

In December 2008, 40% of respondents said they got most of their news about national and international issues from the Internet, up from just 24% in September 2007.

Burger King sacrifices Facebook application

When Facebook blocked the application’s feature that would notify users when a ‘friend’ had sacrificed them for a free whopper, Burger King decided to do away with the application all together.

What would you do if your state were having a financial crisis?

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has turned to social media to urge constituents of the nation’s most populous state to pressure their lawmakers in the state legislature. He has even created a twitter account that now has 8,850 followers.

Question: You want to watch the Obama Inauguration but won’t have access to a TV or a computer - what would you do?
Answer: Watch it live from your iPhone with Ustream.

Part of Ustream’s newest “stuff”, the soon to be released iPhone application will let users watch any Ustream channel, live, directly from their iPhone. And not only that, users will also see and be able to participate in the live chat around the video as too!

Finally, it might not be online, but Men’s Vogue Doubles Up - Condé Nast has found a way to keep Men’s Vogue alive after shrinking the title to a twice-a-year publication in October. The spring issue will appear as a reverse-bound issue attached to the April issue of Vogue. It will be the first time Vogue has published a reverse cover.

Here are a few quick highlights from the world online… enjoy!

Forbes Eliminates 19 Editorial Positions and integrates online and print operations.  The company cited the poor economic conditions for media in general as the cause of the layoffs, and just two months ago laid off 43 sales, marketing and administrative employees for the same reasons. The job eliminations in each case coincided with the integration, at long last, of print and digital operations.

Whopper Sacrifice

Do you get friend requests from random strangers on Facebook?  What do you think when you see someone who has thousands of Facebook friends – could they really know that many people?  Burger King wants to help with the addition of the Whopper Sacrifice application on Facebook.  For every 10 friends you exile, Burger King will reward you with a coupon for a Whopper.

To date, 69,221 friends have been sacrificed.  I wonder what Facebook thinks of this?!?!

China Blogger Population Exceeds 50 Million Bloggers

China now has more than 50 million bloggers as increasing numbers of people seek an outlet for their views, state press reported.

The number, reached by the end of November, compared to a blogging population of about 47 million a year earlier, according to Xinhua news agency, quoting figures from the Internet Society of China.

The group said there were 100 million blogs, or personal online journals, in China, meaning many people are keeping more than one

Kobe Bryant has teamed up with Nike to design a new low-cut basketball sneaker.  The sneaker, which is unusual in today’s world of basketball thanks to high-tops which provide more ankle support, weigh a meer 11.6 ounces.

Players who wear the low-cut sneaker will need to tape their ankles to prevent injury.  Release for public purchase is scheduled for February.

For more details, check out this Yahoo! Sports feature by AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds.

I wanted to share an example of how a company can utilize widgets and social media to cater to the season and play to the poor economy…

Chevys Fresh Mex has created “The Compadre” - a widget that was designed to engage online users with and includes a festive flash game and a special holiday offer. The widget can be embedded on any blog, Web site, or social networking site, and the top three online users who drive the most engagement win a party valued at $500.

Compadre Facts:

– The Compadre Widget offers an interactive “Mexican jumping bean” video game, Chevys Fresh Mex recipes, store locator with local taxi information, and holiday gift cards

– When buying holiday gift cards through The Compadre widget, holiday shoppers receive $10 back towards their next meal for every $50 card purchased

– The three users who drive the most engagement with the widget receive a party valued up to $500

– The Chevys holiday party destination offers all the information you need to plan your holiday party – whether it happens at Chevys or not!

Good luck to all of those who participate!