Posted on

Tweeting from a bubble

Celeb Boutique use "Aurora" to promote themselves

We have all heard about the terrible shooting in Aurora, and know what a difficult time those affected are having. Naturally Aurora, shooting, and Batman became top trending topics on Twitter, and most of the online community was talking about what had happened.

Then online retailer Celeb Boutique made a terrible call – to use #Aurora to talk about their dress of the same name.

Celeb Boutique use "Aurora" to promote themselves

After a barrage of replies, the tweet was deleted, and Celeb Boutique published a four-tweet apology, claiming their social media team were not aware of what was really going on.

“We are incredibly sorry for our tweet about Aurora – Our PR is NOT US based and had not checked the reason for the trend, at that time our social media was totally UNAWARE of the situation and simply thought it was another trending topic,” they said. “We have removed the very insensitive tweet and will of course take more care in future to look into what we say in our tweets. Again we do apologise for any offense caused this was not intentional & will not occur again. Our most sincere apologies for both the tweet and situation.”

The response to Celeb Boutique’s apology was frosty at best. Many tweeters didn’t buy the non-US excuse, and called for the PR company to be fired. Others wished the company would go bankrupt, and still others called the company all manner of bad names.

Tweeting from a bubble has happened in New Zealand before. During the night of the Pike River disaster, one very famous designer auto-tweeted links to a huge sale she was kicking off, while the rest of Twitter was talking about Pike. The updates stood out like a sore thumb.

The feedback the team behind the account received was not pleasant, to say the least.

This is not a good thing to do, people. In fact, I tell people I work with that if they set up auto-tweeting – which I don’t recommend but know sometimes you’ve got to – the second they hear anything of national significance kicking off, they must turn off all non-human comms.

The lessons here are: Don’t live in a bubble, and don’t hijack a hashtag. Read the environment before you tweet, and if for some reason you’ve given the community the middle finger, apologise fast and be honest about why it happened.

Posted on

Stop trying to be fancy on Social Media

I have a message for marketers, social media managers, advertising whiz-kids and anyone else who thinks social media needs to be flashy: Quiet in the cheap seats. There’s a rant coming, and it’s got your name on it.

I see a trend hitting New Zealand Facebook pages (although it’s not limited to that medium alone): Big, fancypants apps and huge ad spends that your target audience doesn’t actually care about. Multiple posts pushing to said app or competition or marketing ploy. LIKE or SHARE this post to spam all your friends in the hope that maybe, just maybe you’ll win something.

You know what research shows your audience does care about? Special offers and rewards. Insider intel. Having fun with your brand. Staying on-topic. Not being spammed. So why are you trying to convert people with songs-and-dances that are so off-brand that you know you’re not getting genuine fans?

(via ExactTarget)

But the long term goals are being ignored, and probably because someone’s KPIs are measured by how many ‘likes’ a page gets during the campaign.

WON’T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN*???

*by children, I mean customers. You know, those people who actually fork over their money to use the brands services?

Please, for the love of all that is holy, stop the gimmicks. People will unlike/hide your page as soon as they see they aren’t getting any real value, or because they only liked to win something, and then it’s so much harder to get them back again.

If you want a strong, long-term social strategy, don’t wage it all in a hook. But if you only want good-looking but virtually meaningless stats to sit on a spreadsheet that no one truly understands, go for gold.

Posted on

Video through time

Awesome video alert time! Here’s 32-year-old film-maker Jeremiah McDonald talking to his 12-year-old self via video.

“Look at you!” cries McDonald jr, burping.

“Charming,” the elder says. “No wonder I’m single.”

Enjoy!

Posted on

Best Tweets: June 2012

June’s tweets of the month include rollypolys, fracking, angry busdrivers and even a sealed section!

Our lovers and their judgements
@richardboock ‘you’ve got good legs’, says @boock_unedited, running an appraising eye over me. ‘just a pity about you stomach and face’… #shopping
@vegrandis I have horrendous taste in men. My type is: People who like me. I should know not to get with them, look at their taste in girls. Terrible.

The Breeders
@Nightwyrm At Chipmunks with what appears to be the entire child population of Tawa. I’ve truly entered a circle of hell.
@rosiecd Mr 6 challenged me to do a rolly poly. He would not wait till wine o’clock. I did one. I now understand why old peoples bones break.
@Polychromantics Oh God i just realised that when kids look at me they think I’m an adult

Stay Classy, New Zealand
@c_scotty Guy sitting next to me at the rugby has his iPhone sealed in a glad zip lock back… Also has a dirty mullet #betterlivingeverybody
@TroyRF Apparently I left the housekeys in the front door. Car still there, which means either a) Very lucky, or b) Undesirable car. Either’s good.
@VinLew I wish I had a photo of myself halfway through sneezing hot chocolate out my nose.
@melhomer Am contemplating buying sushi, undoing it and then redoing it so it looks home made for kids dance shared dinner. a new low.
@pinkdeedle Honestly if I had a pet turtle I’d just hold it and sob.
@RussellClarkNZ It is officially onesy season
@hdpaONENEWS The bus driver’s pausing at stops, opening the doors then shutting them before anyone walking towards the bus can reach it. I’m on his side.
@angusbhodgson William and Kate told Key that they’ll visit NZ at some point. Of course they did. As if they’d say no. John Key is our embarrassing uncle.
@el_stepho I just discovered my mum’s secret family recipe for Macaroni Cheese. She conveniently published it in the Edmonds Cookbook.
@DanRockNZ Seriously Twitter. I will NEVER follow Taylor Swift. Unless she gets naked. Then I will. For a bit.
@pinkdeedle Accidentally pashed a dog. Long story. Bull mastiff.

First World Problems
@Jacob_Mills If I was on the voice and only Jessie J turned around I’d be like sorry I’ll try again next time.
@amiewee Chased a hedgehog up someone’s driveway in the rain trying to get an instagram of it. Failed.
@thelittlepakeha someone has listed a giant centipede in the Pets > Other section of trademe. not even joking.
@paudecanela_nz to the person who got to my blog by searching for “sell my used panties – kerikeri”: don’t. just don’t.
@beekaynz Sorry? What was that? I can’t hear you over the rain hitting the windows like millions of demented moths round a lightbulb.
@Margie186 Doing lots of typing, deleting, not tweeting tonight.
@MsAngelaBeswick Same pose. Every photo.
@Chris_Brain Damn it. I left my Rihanna cd near my Chris Brown cd and now it’s all scratched.

In the workplace
@Hilary_Barry I don’t know why I feel uncomfortable saying “fracking” on the news, I just do.
@Nightwyrm Apparently skipping out the office door, cackling hysterically is not considered professional.
@Tarquin_Death Boyfriend Boss sends email w subject ‘can you load these gorgeous?’ I cc in client on reply & neglect to change subject. SO EMBARRASSED NOW
@JuliusMaskell In work toilets are you supposed to use the same cubicle each time or change it up?
@roxyleopold Listening to my work colleague talk about how much they hate butter. So confused.

AO content!
@amiewee OMFG loading a porno mag into Adobe Reader & telling it to ‘Read Out Loud’ is making me cry with laughter.
@chowda_head Lol. Someone on FB complaining about their kids. Females are sympathetic, male posts “should’ve swallowed”. Sorry. I did laugh at that.
@melhomer “hey mum what’s a blowjob?” well that just shut the conversation down in this car…..
@Stitchpunk Paper cut from a sanitary pad wrapper. That’s a bit bloody harsh.
@BexieLady @meaglee, would you still go to hanmer with me if I got bikini bottoms that look like my vagina area has teeth?

 

Old Mout Cider

 

The lovely @AliCopeman drew @melhomer out of the hat, so both of you collect a cidery reward! Be sure to follow @OldMoutCider so they can sort you out.

Posted on

Why does YouTube stop at 301 views?

Why does a YouTube video sometimes show only 301 views, but have thousands of likes?

I often wondered this, until my friend Hayden, who is an SEO guy, explained to me that YouTube holds the count until they can verify that it’s legit.

Now vlogger numberphile has been able to find out directly from Ted Hamilton, who is a product manager for Google Analytics. His video is below.

If you don’t want to watch the full 10 minute clip, here’s the nuts and bolts:

  • Views are a currency, so YouTube need to make sure they’re legit.
  • 300 was designated as a tipping point for requiring verification.
  • A developer made a wee boo-boo in the code and made it <=300, rather than <300, causing the count to halt at 301.
  • Sometimes extra counts come in at the same time from different servers, halting the count at 302 etc
  • Once bots have been weeded out and the clip isn’t misleading, the counts are allowed to continue as normal.

And there is that little mystery solved!

 

 

Posted on

Where the hell is Matt?

There’s nothing like a video of people doing crazy dancing across the globe to remind you that we’re actually all just human beings.

According to his website, Matt is a 35-year-old “deadbeat from Connecticut” who’s friend started taking video while Matt danced. Badly. In Hanoi. The video viralled, Matt got a sponsor, and all of a sudden, he’s making videos of his dancing all across the world.

The original now has almost 3 million views

And then he repeated the experience in 2006.

Now, 2012, and there’s a brand new Where The Hell Is Matt? for us to enjoy.

Posted on

The best of the ‘Call Me Maybe’ meme

If you haven’t heard Carly Rae Jepsen’s catchy song Call Me Maybe, where have you been? This song has been played and parodied all over the place. Please stop listening to sad.fm and hanging out on boring websites, and check out the original track here.

For the rest of you, here’s a compilation of the best videos, rage comics and meme pieces floating across the interwebs. Please add your favourites in the comments!

How much fun are Jimmy Fallon and The Roots having with Carly on this cover?

You know it’s blown up when ObamaDubs gets amongst.

The powercut version: With all your favourite internet stars like Keenan Cahill and Sam Tsui, pop stars Katy Perry, Jesse J and Justin Bieber, and actor James Franco:

And some statics to enjoy:

Call me Daddy

Not gonna happen

One Does Not Simply

Bath Salts

Back to the future maybe

Business time, maybe

This is dog

Thanks to Dave, Emma, and Bridget for their suggestions!

Posted on

Bored? Here.

Just in case you’re bored, have nothing better to do, or are looking to fill in 10 minutes of your day… Here’s an addictive game that’s a twist on the spacies you use to play as a kid. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Posted on

Ouka’s Amazing Ring Art

Ouka is a Japanese artist who performs amazing acts with rings. He will make you suspend your belief in gravity, and the fact he only has two hands.

While performing across Japan and France, his first YouTube clip reached a million views quickly – a feat my google translator tells me he’s very proud of. You can check out Ouka’s site here, but be warned – it’s all in Japanese!

Meanwhile, check out his performances – they are rad.

The rings:

Doing some David Bowie styles: