category: connect
articles and observations about trends in social media and online community
Nope, that’s not the start of a bad joke. Imagine if it were reality. What if the creative brains on your business were actually concepting with your target audience…?! For some companies, it is.
Concepting With Customers: The Wrong Way
MORE…
Historically, I’ve been a fan of Nike. Since taking up running, I’ve practically lived in their mesh shorts (at least for warm runs). I sport a neon Nike gym bag when I go to spin class or to zumba. Their sneakers make for great cross-trainers, and the new Nike+ SportWatch is on my wish list for my birthday.
But when I came across this recent ad to the left, I had to question my relationship with the brand. Run away from it all? Nike, I thought you knew me.MORE…
Many might say that if you’re not on Facebook, you’re out of the loop. With over 700 million users, it certainly takes the cake for social networking popularity—and ubiquity. But, Google wants a piece of the pie. They recently launched their new social network, Google+ and from what I’ve read about it, it’s everything you love about Facebook, minus everything you hate.MORE…
Maybe it’s all this Boston summertime Vitamin D going to my head, but I’ve been thinking a lot recently about happiness. And as a shopper and a marketer, I can’t help but notice some brands that are doing things right and making me smile.MORE…
At Communispace, it’s no secret that we think a lot about developing communities: how best to facilitate them, keep members engaged, and create a safe comfortable environment for members to share thoughts and feelings that they might not share elsewhere. It’s something we pride ourselves on and honestly, we’re really good at it.
MORE…
News leaked today that Facebook will soon release a photo sharing app for iOS. The app is being described as a mix of just about every photo sharing app out there. But why will the app be successful? Not because it will be better than any of the apps currently available (Instagram, Hipstamatic, etc.), but simply because it’s a Facebook creation … a Facebook photo creation.MORE…
Creating brand affinity using social media is cheap and easy. All you need to do is throw your logo into a Facebook profile page, create a Twitter handle, get an intern to write some content and you’re good to go, right?
Actually, that’s not the case. While at the outset of the social marketing boom our lack of discipline and understanding may have made this seem true, customers are far more savvy and nuanced than that.MORE…
In light of a recent move, I’ve been trying to offload elements of my post-college bachelor pad to the throngs of Internet buyers awaiting my posts on to one of the Web’s biggest communities, Craigslist. The task, I thought, was simple: sell some of my old, but well treated furniture on Craigslist to ease the burden of my new furniture bill. Over three months, I discovered that this was a bad idea. Let’s backtrack as I share with you the four types of experiences (and my typical responses) I participated in countless times over the period:MORE…
