BrandsAmongMany

When you can’t explain it in words, try pictures.

via Information Architects

Seen the latest in this series yet? They just keep getting better!

See the rest via @meat99 on Made With Computers.

Have you heard of Fitbit? It’s one of the up-and-comers in the fitness-meets-physical-computing world. If you want to learn more, give a quick look at my ThingsAmongMany post on Fitbit and their competitor, GoWear Fit. This post isn’t about the devices themselves, but rather the social media experience/mistake that they’re demonstrative of.

Fitbit has been “in production” and available for pre-order for months now - they originally stated a target launch date of Dec. ‘08 (I ordered mine in mid-January). They’re now predicting a launch in “late spring or early summer”, much to the chagrin of those who have pre-ordered. They’ve done a decent job of keeping buyers looped into the production process on their blog which has featured in-depth progress posts at a rate of around one per month.

So what’s my complaint? Simple: we want more. A monthly update with the information offered in their blog posts is fantastic. But how about a quick sentence more often about the state of the state? Twitter is the perfect outlet for this kind of communication, and it seems that this fact hasn’t gone entirely unnoticed by Fitbit. They’ve already created an account @Fitbit_Inc that has 350+ followers - not bad for a company that hasn’t even launched its product. BUT they’ve only updated the account twice, the first of which appeared in November and stated

We’ll be making more frequent updates on the Fitbit here

Well…where are said updates? The only follow-up came six weeks later and then silence. The silence speaks volumes, and it’s begun to create some backlash (something a new brand can hardly afford). And, worse-yet, it’s given me (and other Fitbit_Inc followers) the opportunity to stumble onto two viable competitors who’s products are already available for purchase: GoWear Fit originally came to my attention because they followed me on Twitter (though it appears they’ve either given up or there’s something wrong with their account since it’s now empty). Bodybugg is another version that uses the same hardware, but runs a proprietary software.

In my research for this post, I also came across James Park’s Twitter account. James is apparently the CEO of Fitbit and has recently offered some responses to Fitbit-related tweets. BUT he hasn’t told anyone about those updates! There are 350 people follwing @Fitbit_Inc who are anxiously waiting for news (myself included), and here James is offering it only to people who he happens to find talking about the product. Get out there and connect the two accounts James! Give the people what they very clearly want, and in return they’ll be that much more interested in spreading the word about your product.

The point? This is pretty basic as far as social media involvement goes. Smaller brands have much to benefit by getting involved directly with their fans/consumers - conversely, frustration mounts quickly when those brands ignore their customers. A six month delay after I’ve already payed for a product is almost inexcusable…almost. With something truly unique like the Fitbit (there are some distinct differences that separate it from the GoWear Fit and Bodybugg), people are willing to go out on a limb and put up with more. But there is a limit to that willingness. It seems like Fitbit is on the brink of stepping over that limit.

Summertime’s fast approaching, and we all know what that means…time for all the agencies to hunt down free labor (*cough – I mean interns - *cough). If you’re a student or a fresh-outa-schooler and you’re lookin’ to get your hands dirty with some work that will catapault your brain (and your book) forward, then look no further! We’ve got some kick-ass ideas that we’re looking for help creating, as well as some awesome clients who we’ve convinced to do fun stuff!

What we’re not: your usual, microsite/banner shop that crunches everything through the conveyor belts and pops it out the other side with no thought. What we are: a small, smart, nimble, digitally savvy crew who love to make the world of the interwebs a better place to live and breathe. Sound like something that’s up your alley? Check out the detailz at PokeNewYork.com!

With all of the talk about Skittles over the last couple of days, sometimes it’s tough to remember that there are other candies out there. But just to keep things on an even keel, there’s now a fun little tool that lets you create your own Snickers logo styled with any word you want. Think of it as a roll-your-own version of their print campaign from a couple years ago.

There’s no limit to what you can enter, so have at it! Check it out at snckrz.com!

Join in the onslaught about the new Skittles site:

Blogs
Twitter
#Skittles on Twitter

And…just to fuel the controversy, check out this.

Some brilliant soul out there is having a good laugh at the expense of all of us digital shops right now. If you haven’t stumbled across it yet, have a look at CanHazAgency? By mashing all of those social media/2.0 terms together into one uber-digital agency website, these guys have successfully poked fun at all of us in digital. And, if our office is any decent indicator, made us laugh at them and ourselves in the process!

Perhaps the most poignant points are made on their “about us” page:

Hai there! We’re an agency for a new kind of digital. What does that mean? We don’t pin ourselves down by definitions. Defintions are always changing, and we change our stripes with them. At the moment our vision is to be the prime curator of Web 2.0, nudging it as it matures to Web 2.5 or even Web 2.8. But we’re equally all about wikifying your lifestream or geotagging your instant messages. We’re that kind of agency. Your kind of agency.

What we do

When was the last time your consumers gave your brand a blow job? Can’t remember? Then you need us. We don’t just get your brands talking to your consumers, or even with them, but engaged in a full-on sixty-nine with them. Full-on mutual oral pleasure with us as the Viagra - you and the crowd in digital ecstacy that crosses boundaries effortlessly and wirelessly, hooking you and your consumers in sticky social media love.

Of course, they’re digitally aware, so they also have a Twitter account @canhazagency. Anyone know who’s behind this gem??

Take a look around. The sky is falling – at least in the advertising and creative services industries. According to AdAge, almost 19,000 jobs slashed in the U.S. in December alone. By their count, that brings the total number of abolished jobs to 65,000+ over the last year. No one is immune. Even the almighty Crispin cut about 7% (60 people), though they were apparently careful to maintain their creative staff. The same can’t be said for some of the bigger names here in NYC (a couple of close friends of mine were laid off from creative positions after 4.5 years at the same agency). If you’re looking to keep up with the agency layoff reports, @adagencylayoffs is a good place to start.

Overall, there’s no denying it. Things are BAD. But then…how surprised are we? We’ve been crying like Chicken Little for years now that things need to change in the industry - that there are the “get its” and “get nots”. As I stop and look around, it’s hit me that the moment of change just might be upon us. This recession/downturn/whatever might just prove to be the moment that marks the tipping point for the “traditional” model, the moment when big business begins to understand that this whole “internet thing” is not going away. Yeah, we’ve been saying it for years now, but in the face of true survival, perhaps things will begin to sink in…

Of course, many of you agencies will simply flounder until you embrace the change - you all say that you’re willing to change, but you actually have to, you know, change. It’ll be a race to the finish. Brands are already starting to see the value in these changes; they’re starting to understand that digital agencies can lead the way in idea generation and that “advertising” doesn’t have to actually be advertising. If agencies can keep up, they’ll survive. Otherwise…

It’ll be an interesting progression to watch. I’ll be keeping a close eye on things, and I’d love any further thoughts on where things are headed!

And, just for fun:

Burger King and the folks at Crispin Porter Bogusky allegedly severed 233,906 Facebook friendships.

That’s right, 233,906 people were defriended in return for a single free Burger King whopper.  That was the idea behind the Burger King Facebook application: The Whopper Sacrifice.

The rules are simple

1. Add the application
2. Delete 10 of your friends
3. Get a coupon for a free Burger King Whopper

But there is a catch.  Those ten friends are sent a message that you traded their friendship for a delicious Whopper.

I hope it was worth it.  And this is truly a brilliant way to use Facebook to advertise.

I have to admit, this is really the first year that the term Cyber Monday has entered my lexicon. The idea makes perfect sense: an upswing in internet purchases the first workday back from Black Friday because people are buying things they couldn’t find over the weekend. I don’t have an issue with the concept of Cyber Monday…

What I find rather disgusting, however, is that companies are making a blatant attempt to extend the already overtly (and overly) consumeristic tendencies of Black Friday. By taking a term that was coined to encapsulate the economic trend of seasonal shopping and making it a forward-facing marketing term, retailers are attempting to sucker just that much more money out of us. And this year, they’re not taking it lightly:

There’s even been websites dedicated to it. Shop.org has created CyberMonday.com to keep track of all the deals, including a bunch of exclusive ones. And the list above barely scratches the surface. Of course, if you look at Shop.org’s About statement, things become a little more clear:

Since its inception in 1996, the Digital Retail Industry has joined with Shop.org to create a community of like-minded executives with the common purpose of advancing their industry through the sharing of knowledge, experience and expertise.

With over 700 member companies and thousands of actively participating executives, today’s Shop.org network is more vital than ever. The association is focused on the challenges and opportunities most pressing to Digital Retail:

All of which sounds great from a consumer perspective. A coalition dedicated to making digital retailers more aware of best practices and easy-to-use websites. Until you get to the final couple of sentences in that mission statement:

Shop.org’s exclusive focus is to provide a forum for retail executives to share information, lessons-learned, new perspectives, insights and intelligence about online and multichannel retailing

“Retail executives”? Wait, I’m not a retail executive! And now I’m not so convinced that they’re interested in me as a consumer at all. In fact, I’m feeling more like their mission is take as much from me as they possibly can, and to collaborate on how to best milk me for more. Yup, feels like Cyber Monday is another step toward scraping all meaning other than credit card debt from the holiday season.