Random Things, Rants and Relationships: February 2, 2009 Week in Review

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This week’s WIR curator is Monica Hamburg. Monica struts her social media stuff at her blog, Me Like the Interweb.

Seen Around the Blogosphere

Rupert Neate’s perspective is that “Facebook is a Business Not a Charity” and he describes the logistics of just what the company is doing with users’ data. And Nick O’Neil of AllFacebook tells us just how to make use of the privacy settings on Facebook.

No more of 25 Random Things meme. Please no more… I love you, but if any of these 25 things are important enough for me to know, you can tell me in person, ‘kay. (I spend enough time online already, as we’ll discuss momentarily.) Claire Suddath amusingly lists 25 facts she wishes people hadn’t told her about themselves.

Lemon Zest introduced me to Evernote by professing: “Evernote is my new boyfriend“. Since my guy feels (understandably) that I spend too much time online, I am cautious of falling for web utilities, however useful they might prove to be. Of course, I have installed it and will be trying it out asap.

What’s up with the celebrities on Twitter? Moreover, how much of it is honest and how much is staged and/or exists to create buzz? And does the “hoax” element denigrate the purported honesty and transparency of social media? Or is it just fun? How much of it is (or will become) propaganda – so asks Mashable with “Has Hollywood Learned How to Game Social Media?” Discuss. Additionally, many fictional characters (especially from TV shows) are appearing on Twitter and other social networks… Fun? Lame? Time-sucking? Only you can decide.*

Seen on the Marketing Blogs

• Guy Kawasaki informs of “Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job“.
• TED interviews Seth Godin about “How People, Not Ads, Build Social Networks“.
• And Eric Guerin suggests “5 Tips To Creating An Effective Viral Video Marketing Campaign“.

Heard on Twitter

The Twitter meme #nerdpickuplines is sooo wonderfully funny – and nerdy.

Interesting Bookmarks from the Backchannel

• Scott Dummond looks at “How is your relationship balance sheet? (and why it pays to be in the black)” where he illustrates why David Armano had such success raising money for his friend, Daniela.
• Mashable tells you “HOW TO 2008: How To Do Almost Anything With Social Media” (Almost? OK, riiight.)
• The Multitasker ponders “Will search ad gains get lost in bad economic numbers?

Other Tidbits

I think this “Babby” cartoon completely sums up Yahoo Answers – and is sheer brilliance. (Warning: it’s deranged – and addictive.) (Hat tip: @mindofchester’s post)

I’m running the “Decor Hell Photo Contest” and I would love you to enter your hideous household horror (nightmare chair, fugly furniture, lame lamp or cat-chewed couch) to win prizes. Of course, you don’t have any such horrors in your home, right? Oh, say, what’s that over your mantle… Bom, Bom: Decor Hell! (Disclaimer: the cool mortgage broker/contest sponsor is my boyfriend).

I’m also researching how Artists Use Social Media. I’ve had a great response and am very excited – and would love even more answers. So, if you’re an artist who makes connections, promotes etc. through social media, please fill out the survey (or pass the word on to a cool, empowered artist you know).

(Note: posting the request re: above questionnaire on HARO was great – I think I got over 60 responses to my request! Now, while I certainly received some amazingly off-topic emails and answers (some hilariously so) – most have really amazing and very informative. I’d definitely recommend posting a request to HARO if you need sources.)

Speaking of Social Media and Art, some great artistic projects are making use of Crowdsourcing including: Wikipedia Loves Art, a scavenger hunt and free content photography contest coordinated by several museums and the awesome Disposable Memory Project
where cameras have been left in several places around the world,
inviting finders to take a picture and pass the camera on. (Sort of
like an artsy Akoha!)

*Lastly, feel free to let me know your thoughts about Characters in Social Media (Do you use a character online to build buzz for a creative project (e.g. indie film, art installation piece, whatever) or to engage your audience with a project ? Also interested if you’ve noticed characters like that on Twitter (e.g. Television characters tweeting etc.) Facebook, Blogs and more.

This Week’s Video Meme

Mashable tracks the Christian Bale sh*tstorm that hit social media outlets this week: Perhaps the biggest “social media going mainstream” event since a plane landed in the Hudson River, the Bale incident has sparked an endless number of Tweets (it’s been the #1 or #2 trending topic since the story hit), blog posts, and
parodies.

Make sure you check out the article for incredible trending graphs on this incident.  Lesson for all of us involved in PR and social media!

Related: Best. Song. Ever: BaleOut – (Warning: NSFW – unless you work at a very progressive company or at home) Laced with profanities, DJ RevoLucian entertaining (and very danceable!) remix of Christian Bale’s rant is getting some good mileage on YouTube with over 1 million views so far.