jeremy carson mouths off

THIS ISSUE: INTEREST NETWORKS / RETRO RETURNS / OBAMA HANGOUT / TIMELINE FOR BRANDS

A SOCIAL NETWORK BASED ON INTERESTS…UM…

running with the concept of “following interests, not people” (cue the intro for chime.in), news aggregator wavii decided to skip the painful step of making people create content. instead, it simply aggregates news from google, presenting it in a facebook-newsfeed-esque style, and connects users using the social network. pay attention, people, because this is the new spirit of the internet: don’t create a microcosm, integrate with the world around you to serve up content. the web has gone from a read/write experience with the do-it-yourself websites, to a more read-only form where you share content made by others. good or bad, it’s a reality we face. one silver lining is that the content out there is becoming more trustworthy and “legitimate”, since the people creating it have to make it worth sharing. however i wonder if personal expression through creativity is being replaced by identifying with with others’ forms of expression. what’s more, an interesting point is made: just because just anyone CAN make content doesn’t mean just anyone SHOULD make content. it’s the point that keeps us creatives employed, at least. 

“IT’S NOT THE WHEEL, IT’S THE CAROUSEL.”

that epic, two-minute mad men pitch blew us all away. today, it’s interesting to see that the further forward technology advances, the further back we move stylistically. services like instagram are playing up on retro photography and now, soundcloud (essentially the youtube of sound) has developed something called storywheel, which connects to your instagram account. from there, you can create a slideshow (complete with “ka-chunk” sound effects) that you get to talk over, telling your own story. soundcloud was innovative in itself, and allowing users to tell their story through these multiple mediums is yet another “i wish i thought of that” idea. notice how it lets you integrate multiple services into one? sound familiar? may this be a lesson to us, that one way of looking at innovation is the same way donald draper looked at the kodak wheel: “new” might create an itch in customers, which our product can claim to satisfy; but tapping into the delicate nostalgia of humanity has the potential to build desire for a simpler time we thought we lost

HANG OUT WITH POTUS.

it’s impossible to deny that obama’s more socially connected than any other politician ever (though lincoln’s twitter-bomb attack did a number on the confederacy). his newest technique, hosting a google+ hangout, could be a google marketing ploy or maybe a move towards transparency (either way, google is giddy). however, it seems that politicians can only get so far away from talking points and screened questions. creatively, this is an interesting step towards popularizing the google+ hangout and who knows, it may spark other politicians’ use of hangouts. imagine the GOP hosting their next debate through a hangout, giving their audience a place for unfiltered responses, breaking away from mainstream media’s output. we all know this could change our industry, but this is the first time google+ could actually change our nation. now we must ask ourselves (as the self-imposed gatekeepers of creativity) can we make that change happen? yes we can. (good one, jeremy.)

TIMELINE FOR BRANDS IS MAYBE, PROBABLY COMING SOON, I THINK, & WE’RE NOT SURE WHEN.

here’s the skinny: some high falutin know-it-all (no, not me) has predicted that good ol’ facebook’s invite-only marketing conference on 2/29 is when they will announce timeline for brands. the truth is, they don’t know for sure…nobody does. but it WILL come, we all know that (it will even become mandatory for users in the next couple weeks). so, let’s stop guessing WHEN and start preparing for the HOW. the big issue is with facebook apps and their two current flavors: “canvas apps” (window-taking-over applications that seem to be the new standard) and “tab apps” (the skinny versions that live within the brand’s “page” interface, which are going the way of the dodo). as for what will happen to them once the timeline becomes the norm, this know-it-all trusts in the great-and-powerful zuckerberg to give us a smooth transition. though, from this point on, we’ll have to to rethink our app strategies and plan for “tab apps” to die quietly. but keep in mind what i noted last week: facebook (through opengraph) has become integrated into the web, so we don’t even need to rely upon in-facebook apps to engage with our audience through the social network. just let your creative juices flow, people. we’re not restrained to 520 pixels wide anymore! 

WHAT IS THIS AND WHY SHOULD I CARE?

simply put, this is a creative’s take on the world of social media through a few choice weekly articles. you don’t have to care, but it doesn’t hurt to keep abreast about the more under-the-radar thoughts about social media.

FAIR WARNING: this is all incredibly biased. i’ll be offering my opinion, so if you feel the need to fight it…well, that’s the point!

MY KLOUT SCORE IS 57. WHOOP DEE DOO.

klout has set the standard in evaluating your social media influence, but there’s more to liking, sharing, and tweeting your way to a high score than bragging rights. using it as the end-all, be-all scoring system is a double-edged sword.

klout has focused on the user, giving tangible value to their scores through perks. however, in our rush to be on the cutting edge of all things digital, we may jump on the boat too early for brands, improperly embracing this new phenomenon. from my point of view (and jesse eisenberg’s as mark zuckerberg), some things should just be allowed to be cool, and we can let it evolve before it becomes the next QR code of advertising.

TWINTERVIEWS: BREVITY IS THE SOUL OF WI

so, facebook is closing in on 1 billion members. congratulations, now you’ll have even more links and posts you never read. but when it comes to twitter, there is still a lot of creative area to play with. if you really think about it, the service hasn’t changed much since it’s inception, and neither has the regulation of it. the linked article talks about ways people have conducted interviews through twitter and how it forces us to reconsider the execution of a familiar process.

we should see the opportunity to approach our own creative campaigns by twisting an old favorite into a new medium. that way, we can allow people to be comfortable with what they know, but show them it in a new way.

PINTEREST IS UNCORRUPTED. LET’S CORRUPT IT.

pinterest allows people to share what they’re interested in. sounds simple enough. of course, when a bunch of people like something, brands need to step in and put their own stink on it. ok, ok. i might be a little cynical here. there is definitely a trend towards the proper use of various social media platforms, but for many corporate entities, it’s like shoving a square through a dollar-sign-shaped hole.

as we can see from how brands are embracing instagram, the right way to do it is to not expect anything back. no sales, no downloads, no nothing. just try to be normal. don’t make ads or contests or anything. put content up that’s interesting, unproduced, and gives your fans a look behind the scenes of the glitz and polish they’re deluged with every day. these untapped mediums are a place for honesty, and being genuine is becoming the most valuable characteristic of a brand.

SOON, FACEBOOK WILL BE A PART OF US ALL.

it will still be some time until facebook unveils timeline for brands. but, for the time being, brands are making the move towards embracing the “open graph” system set in place. the easy way to understand it is that you can do more than “like” things now, and they will appear in your timeline nicely organized (reference how spotify works in your timeline).

this means we need to explore this new medium in our own campaigns. no longer are we forced to do all things facebook on facebook itself. kristin could “be hydrating with a zico chocolate” when she buys online or “creating with a sony vaio” from a campaign microsite.

the point is, we can expand our horizons using this new system. “like” buttons are mobile, actions are customizable, and now they’re going to have their own pretty little spot on individuals’ timelines, for all to see. so, let’s make them worth it.