Are we seeing a pattern emerge here?

Common wisdom over the past few years has been that people are interested in interacting with social network friends, not marketers. Not so, according to Anderson Analytics’ May 2009 survey...read more

Resistance is futile.

We already know the social media revolution is upon us, here are some thoughts on why brands/agencies haven't already jumped on the bandwagon.

Take a look./

Practicing What You Preach - Trek Document Series Continues

Trek Bicycles continues it's Document series with episode 22, a profile of Trek industrial designer Michael Leighton.

Take a look.

Is Social Media a Good Idea for Internal Communications? 5 Reasons Why Companies Should Consider It. « Good Company

More interesting statistics and advice for those ready to join the social media revolution.

Here

Video Search Engine Optimization.

Yes, typical of social media, my title is littered with buzz words.  However, this is exactly what this post is about, how to get people to watch my video.  As I am developing a great list of how to's for Video SEO, here are some sites I have come across.  Marketing Jive has 14 Best Practices for Video SEO as well as growth chart of some common video sharing sites.  My other great find is put out by a company called Stone Temple Consulting.  In which they have provided some explanations as to how search engines look at your video.

• The video file itself. This will usually accomodate a title, a description/summary, and some keywords / tags. Note that this is only useful for those video search sites, such as Truveo, that look at this data, which is currently a small percentage of the video universe. On the other hand, entering this data does not take very long.
• The web page on your site where the user can access, or read about, the video. This is normal HTML we are talking about, so you can customize the content to your heart's content. Title, keywords, meta description, and on page text, etc. Pay particular attention to the on page text as you can write a nice, keyword-rich and compelling description of the video.
• Keep your video files in one directory. This makes it easier for the crawler to find them all.
• Stay away from flash video players. Flash is still not search engine friendly.
• Make use of a Video Sitemap. This will make it easier for the crawlers to find your videos.   

These are some great reads among, I'm sure, thousands.  

K2 Skis jumps on the web video bandwagon...

Awesome new video campaign from K2 Skis highlighting their pro team in the unlikeliest of scenarios.  Created by AboutFace Media, now expanding beyond the world of documentaries.

K2 Charlie-Adventure From Tip to Tail | News | K2 Skis.

Social media agencies to watch - iMediaConnection.com

Overall, a great collection of pointers for brands discussing the inevitable jump into social media marketing.  I would just add that Facebook isn't the only effective tool to utilize when planning your social media program.

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/24100.asp

Price blunder, missed opportunity?

Read the article to find out what happened, but the big disappointment by Best Buy is it's reluctance to interact with it's consumers.  Interesting example of another brand trying to bury the negative conversation instead of coming to grips with the fact that the it's social media presence will happen with, or without it.  In short, give the people their TVs, or they'll go on the internet and destroy you!

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/08/13/bestbuy.mistake/

Social Media happens with, or without you.

Here's a great commentary about the urgency of developing a social media strategy before it's too late.  If you are a marketing director or brand manager, ask yourself how you would react if you were in the shoes of the Skylight Opera Theater.

http://www.webmarketingwatch.com/video/2009/08/10/skylight-opera-theater-gets-schooled/

The Life of Reilly meets The Twilight Zone

Weird Al's latest video, this makes us very happy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrGmD2wk8m4