Why FAIL is viral

FAIL!

A little while ago I wrote about the ingredients of a successful viral. The FAIL blog is a perfect example.

Tom wrote this on 28.04.08 – 4 comments
It's filed in the Interesting, Social media box

Social Innovation Camp - exploring the social potential of the web

Following on from Lou’s earlier post about Social Innovation Camp, I was intrigued by their proposition of ‘an experiment in using social technology for social change. I submitted an idea, which didn’t quite cut the mustard but did lead to my being invited along to help out. So on the weekend of 5th & 6th April I trotted off to join in on an event bringing together great ideas, a multitude of skill sets and an all pervading enthusiasm to prove that the web can be used as a force for good in the world.

Jenni wrote this on 16.04.08 – 2 comments
It's filed in the Business, Interesting, Internet, NixonMcInnes, Social media, Web technology box

BBC response to a video upload for “Your news, your pictures”

I live in Brighton and NixonMcInnes is based close to the Brighton Pier.

Each and everyday I take a wander along the seafront and today was by no means an exception.

Even though a storm appeared to be in full swing, the rain and the wind didn’t put me off in the slightest. Gusts of wind pushed me back but I kept on walking toward the seafront and when I got there, an amazing spectacle of nature was taking place: massive waves were breaking below the Brighton Pier. Read more…

Telmo wrote this on 10.03.08 – 4 comments
It's filed in the Interesting, Social media, Social networks box

A social media web browser - Flock

flock

Here at NixonMcInnes we love all things social media so I couldn’t help but blog when I came across a new release of an uber cool web browser. It’s called ‘Flock’, is based on Firefox and has lots of wonderfully cool social media plugins that integrate seamlessly into the browser. After all, it does call itself ‘the social web browser’.

Why is it a social web browser? Does this mean it talks to you more than your friends do? No, of course not. That would be silly (cool, but silly). So what does it do thats different from Firefox. Well, the key bit for me is its integration with the various social web tools we all use. For example, it hooks right into Twitter, Facebook and and Youtube and has customised sidebars that allow you to see all your updates, actions, friends, status changes etc without having to go to the website.

It also allows you to upload photos into your social media accounts directly through the browser. Want to add photos to your facebook or Flickr app? Just click the upload photos icon, select the service you want to drop into and drag and drop. Lovely.

And a further note to cement its coolness, its allows you to blog directly from within the Flock browser - working with most blogging services like Blogger, Drupal, LiveJournal, MovableType, Typepad and WordPress. Nice.

Have a look for yourself, and let me know if you discover any other neat tricks it can do!

Matt wrote this on 19.02.08 – 4 comments
It's filed in the Blogging, Interesting, Social media, Social networks, User experience box

What makes a viral campaign successful?

kidney_theft

I was at an IAB event last week and watched an interesting presentation by Iain Tait from the talented gang at Poke. He talked about a book I hadn’t seen before called Made to Stick, which borrows from the study of urban myths to understand how as marketers we can create ideas that will stick. The take-home point was a rather satisfyingly cheesy acronym that sums up what makes an idea viral - S.U.C.C.E.S:

Simple

Unexpected (like the urban myth about waking up in a bath of ice without your kidneys)

Concrete

Credible

Emotional

Stories

Thanks for the tip, Iain.

Tom wrote this on 13.02.08 – what do you think?
It's filed in the Interesting, Marketing box

Facebook, myspace and gig promotion

I keep hearing everyone say, ‘Facebook is a social tool, it’s not really for club promotion – myspace is what that was designed for’. Interesting. Sure, myspace seems to have all the record labels you could want, plenty of artists showcasing their music and great features for artists in general, but is it good for the local artist who wants to let people in his local area know gigs are occurring? Myspace feels very international, whilst Facebook feels local.

I have a myspace page, have done for a few years – and I have used this to publicise every gig I’ve played at, or have been scheduled to play at, showcase my music and act as a profile page. Whilst friends I know have responded to gig requests, it’s never really made any huge difference (that I can see) to those numbers attending the gig that are outside my friend circle.

I created a Facebook account a while back now, and decided to use the ‘events’ feature to publicise my gigs on Facebook. Much to my surprise, I had people I don’t know confirming themselves as coming, photographers asking for passes to take photos for the night, and generally much more of an online ‘buzz’ about the event than I have seen on Myspace for one my events.

I’d like to hear if anyone else has any similar experiences? Whilst Myspace may be the first place to look for gig details and information for the major players in the music industry, perhaps Facebook could work better for us local talents? It’s an interesting notion, that I’ve yet to see fruit properly, but the indicators for me, at least, are there.

Matt wrote this on 28.01.08 – 4 comments
It's filed in the Blogging, Brighton, Interesting, Internet, Social media, Social networks box

Is Social Media Social?

The word ’social’ has several meanings in the Oxford English Dictionary. The social in ’social media’ most likely refers to meaning number three: “relating to or designed for activities in which people meet each other for pleasure.” The keyword there is ‘meet’. Like chimpanzees and ants, humans are social creatures (see meaning number four: “breeding or living in colonies or organised communities”), and our social bonds are cemented by face-to-face meetings. Read more…

Paul wrote this on 10.01.08 – 69 comments
It's filed in the Blogging, Interesting, Off topic, Social media box

Widgety Goodness digested

We attended, networked, listened and learnt… Brighton hosted the first ever European Widget Conference yesterday and what a show it was. We walked, talked and generally digested these new fangled things called Widgets and afterwards no one could be in any doubt about what they are, what they do and what they mean to us in this brave new online world. Read more…

Ruth wrote this on 07.12.07 – 3 comments
It's filed in the Events & conferences, Interesting, Widgets box

The Future of Programming?

I really enjoy computer programming - trying to solve some intricate problem with as few lines of code as possible, making code libraries more efficient, or playing detective to find the causes of obscure bugs.

Picture of a backache My only gripe is that computer programming has to be done on computers. I think I would have preferred the days when programming was done with punch cards - not the hours upon hours sitting scrunched and staring at a screen. Even with good posture, a comfy chair, wrist pads, arm rests, a raised screen and frequent breaks, it still stinks.

Paul wrote this on 23.11.07 – 5 comments
It's filed in the Development, Interesting, User experience box

WTF is Social Media?

A few of us here from Team NM were at an industry-geek-bootcamp type event this weekend, where all the attendees had to participate by giving a talk or facilitating a discussion or a workshop on any subject they wanted. The sessions ranged from techie CSS & coding talks to one guy showing us how to do a magic trick that he had found youtube fame with, another discussing e-voting and Cliff Richard & someone giving great tips on how to work a 4 day week.

So naturally, having our heads in the world of Social Media and it being at the heart of our bizness and what really makes us tick, we wanted to pick our fellow geeks brains about it: What they understand it to be, what online social media ‘tools’ they use, what’s the social media tool of tomorrow, what is yesterdays news in the arena and so on.

Anna wrote this on 12.09.07 – 10 comments
It's filed in the Interesting, Social media box