Executive Video Interview: Why Dell Continues To Use Social Media

http://vizedu.com/2008/11/jeremiahs-interview-why-dell-uses-social-media/

"It’s great to learn first hand from Dell how they’ve used these tools to increase revenues and reduce costs –it’s time we focus on the business aspect of things rather than the feel good branding only."

The disturbing inaccuracy behind Google Analytics - iMediaConnection.com

The disturbing inaccuracy behind Google Analytics - iMediaConnection.com.

Google Analytics is probably the most popular web analytics tool in use today. It is certainly the best tool you can get for the price -- it's free and worth every penny. Unfortunately, like every web analytics tool, it is not 100 percent accurate. There are reasons why it is impossible to build perfectly accurate web analytics software, which I have covered previously in "Things that throw your stats," so we should not blame Google for this. However, Google Analytics is different from other products in that it has been intentionally designed by Google to be inaccurate over and above the normal inaccuracies that are inevitable. These inaccuracies are so glaring that most people are getting a very false picture of what is happening in their sites. This article will explain where these inaccuracies lie and provide methods to correct for them.

3 ways to justify spending on social networks - iMediaConnection.com

3 ways to justify spending on social networks - iMediaConnection.com.

To justify spending and ensure budget for future projects, it is crucial that marketers can demonstrably prove the success of a given campaign. As the economy worsens, and the struggle for budget becomes increasingly more challenging, it becomes even more important. While the majority of digital marketing can provide highly quantifiable results, social media can prove challenging. These networks are nebulous webs of people friending one another and sharing select information, and they frequently can't be measured in clickthroughs or conversions. This article will explore how to create a metrics program to track the success of a campaign, using examples from major brands to illustrate different approaches.

Doritos S.W.A.T.

If you are a customer or potential customer of About Face Media - you should rest assured that we love doing what we do.  We spend all day making compelling work for our clients...and then go home and make more work for fun during our off time.  We're artists, filmmakers, comedians, and performers 24/7.

A collaboration of personnel from a number of Milwaukee and Chicago Production Companies, (Milwaukee is where our administrative office's reside) Doritos S.W.A.T. is an entry into Doritos semi-annual viral video contest and we think it came out pretty well (click the photo to go to Dorito's website):

Write Hook

Our good friends, and clients, over at Write Hook, have just been featured in OnMilwaukee - check out the article here:

OnMilwaukee.com Marketplace: Write Hook hits the Web with greener giving.

OnMilwaukee's video link is pretty small (and hard to find) - but you can check out the work we did for Write Hook here:

 

Razorfish issues last rites for Web 2.0

Are you ready for Web 3.0?

Here is a quote from the article about the economy and what Razorfish is finding in the market right now:

"In a sour economy though, brands aren't always willing to take similar risks. "In the past, if you brought a client a strong idea, there was a good chance you'd get funded, and funded quickly. That's not the case now," he says. "People are more cautious with their budgets." 

Still, clients want to work with digital agencies because they offer the ability to look immediately at the metrics to determine if a campaign is working. "There is much more of an appetite on the part of clients for programs that deliver strong short-term ROI," he says. "Right now, marketers are moving more toward programs that can cut the cost and marginalize costs in the short term."

Little Joy | "Unattainable" on Vimeo

More from Manny!

Little Joy | "Unattainable" on Vimeo

Little Joy | "Unattainable" from gorillavsbear.net on Vimeo..

Newsflash! People might see things you write on the internet!

Anonymity on the internet was initially, I feel, one of it's biggest draws.  In fact, I'd go so far to say it still is - look at MMORPGs like World of Warcraft or mainstream games like Halo.  Players can be whomever they'd like to be - not who their forced to be everyday.  They're anonymous for the most part and no one that they interact with has to know who they actually are.  I'm not Ryan the Production Supervisor with a messy desk - I'm Valdahar the elven ranger and I just shot at you, awesomely I might add, with a bow.

Of course this dramatically lowers self censorship.  Visit any blog with a popular comments section or play a game of Halo 3 online and you'll learn new and exciting ways to insult your friends and enemies.  I personally can attribute my learning of 3 new racial slurs to Halo 3 online play (which  the ESRB very cautiously point out,"Online Interactions Not Rated...")

Exciting.

The problem is that we aren't anonymous anymore when it comes to the internet.  Social Networking sites (which we, of course, need to choose to participate in) such as MySpace and Facebook give you a voice.  A very strong and very public voice. 

Visit my Facebook page - or my, more frighteningly, some of my friends' Facebook pages and you'll find all sorts of information about me.  You'll find out I'm newly engaged.  You'll find out I work for AboutFace.  You'll see embarassing photos of me.  You'll see photos of my kissing my aforementioned fiance.  You'll see my recent status update that, "I'm a pathetic pirate clowny clown" (It's a long story).

That's the point of Facebook.  People see things.  People can and will find out things about you.  On Facebook I am a node of constantly updated information for almost anyone to see. 

I am far from anonymous.   Which brings me, long windedly, to this bigoted idiot:

Longhorn's expulsion shows need for caution on Facebook | Sports | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle.

or the same story but with some strong language:

The Rundown

Yup.  It's amazing.  If you write stupid stuff on your more or less publicly available social networking page people will read it (which incidently is why Social Networking rocks as a component of advertising campaigns) and think you are stupid or, if you're lucky, funny.  If you write racist things on your more or less publicly available social networking page you will probably lose your job (unless you work for racists) and become the laughing stock of probably at least half of the internet....maybe more.

"Next Time Around" [Video Premiere] | Pitchfork

This is the world premiere of our own Manny Marquez' latest music video on Pitchfork.  Manny directed several of our SEARS Heroes at Home videos.  This video went online this afternoon and has already been syndicated on over 20 blogs. 

"Next Time Around" [Video Premiere] | Pitchfork.

And here it is for 21!

YouTube Contest Challenges Users To Make A 'Good' Video

YouTube Contest Challenges Users To Make A 'Good' Video