social media

'Liking' this art project makes it disappear

Usually, "Liking" something gives it broader exposure -- and thus a better chance of propagating in the digital realm. A new online art project called "Like to Death" is the opposite. It disappears bit by bit as people "Like" it.

"Social media is the fifth dimension that fabricates our online existence," reads a screen that appears when visitors enter the flickering black and white site for Like to Death. "Imagine a life without it, if you can't you have been possessed. Break the curse, like it to death."

A collaboration for Adidas Originals by digital artist Geoffrey Lillemon and Stooki, an independent U.K. jewelry and apparel label that's also an art collective, Like to Death presents an ominous-looking seated robed figure of death wearing four heads like rings on its fingers. The artists describe these symbols as "demons," toying, they say, with the idea "that everyone possesses a social-media demon" -- be it an unhealthy addiction to social networks or the traces of ourselves we leave online that we might later wish we could make disappear. … Read more

#MashTag beer crafted from social-media input

Go ahead, pour yourself a cold frosty glass full of Twitter. Mmm, that's good stuff. Scottish craft brewery BrewDog turned over the reins of its latest creation to fans on Twitter and Facebook. The resulting brew, #MashTag, came about after several rounds of voting on the various elements that make it up, from the type of brew to the label design.

Over the course of several days, BrewDog offered up three options at a time to a vote. For example, the "#MashTag" name won out over its competition of "CrewDog" and "Crowd Control." Fans also chose to make it an American Brown Ale, rather than an Imperial or Session Brown Ale.… Read more

Potluck takes the stigma out of talking to strangers online

Josh Miller is hosting a house party for the Internet and everyone is invited. The party, called Potluck, starts now and its purpose is to introduce today's generation of social networkers to people beyond their immediate friend circles.

"Most people ... have always known the Internet as a place where you only connect with people you know," Miller told CNET. "So how do we encourage them to connect with new people?"

The answer is Potluck, a social application for meeting strangers in a non-threatening environment. Actually, though, it's just a fun place to hang out … Read more

Why Instagram video and Vine are apples and oranges

For someone who has made as much of an impact on Vine as actor and filmmaker Adam Goldberg, it was only natural to see if the new Instagram video tool presented a comparable creative outlet.

After all, in the hours immediately following Thursday's Instagram announcement at Facebook headquarters, it seemed that every tech pundit wanted to put Vine, Twitter's video service, and Instagram video head to head. And why not? Both are short-form video tools, both allow users to create small stop-motion films, and both are owned by social media giants.

But Goldberg, whose surreal, haunting, six-second masterpieces … Read more

Twitter and Viacom announce social video marketing pact

Twitter has signed a deal to begin delivering social video ads built around Viacom's most popular TV shows.

In the announcement, put out by Viacom, the two companies said that the campaigns would center around shows aired on networks like MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, VH1, CMT, TV Land, Spike and more. The first ads will appear during the MTV Video Music Awards on August 25. During that show, MTV will tweet a series of the most notable moments, as well as backstage access, interviews, and more, all with integrated advertising.

Bloomberg first reported in April that a deal between … Read more

U.S. embassy Facebook video sparks anger from Pakistanis

A seemingly benign promo video for the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, which was posted to Facebook on Wednesday, has sparked some angry commenter back-and-forth on the social network.

It appears that it's not necessarily what's in the video that bothers Pakistanis, but rather the reminder of the U.S. presence in Pakistan at a time when relations between the two countries are clearly strained.

The video, "Sunday in Islamabad with Ambassador Olson," shows the ambassador donned in a pink button-up and khaki slacks cruising around Pakistan's capital city chatting with people, sampling the local … Read more

Twitter releases analytics for all

Twitter has started letting its entire user base get a glimpse of a subset of their account analytics.

First noted a week ago, and reported on this morning by The Next Web, the analytics provide a partial view into some of the activity related to users' accounts. In the past, Twitter has provided analytics just to its advertising clients.

Average users seem to be able to see information about their total number of followers, as well as a graph showing the growth of that number since signup, and other tidbits such as the top 10 Twitter users that an account'… Read more

Justin Timberlake's Myspace releases iPhone app -- with GIFs

Five months after launching the new Myspace to the public, Justin Timberlake and friends are making their social service for creatives, artists, and their fans available on the iPhone, perhaps where it was meant to be all along.

In 2011, Specific Media co-founders Chris and Tim Vanderhook and their music-mogul pal Justin Timberlake acquired what was left of the forgotten social network for $35 million. Since then, a Los Angeles team has set about rebuilding Myspace into a destination people actually want to visit -- not for traditional social networking per se, but for streaming music and connecting to everything … Read more

Twitter's flattery of ad creatives has bottom-line agenda

The Vine is pretty clever. It shows, in six rapid seconds, how to quickly and easily put up a simple bookshelf.

Done in the stop-motion technique that has been the hallmark of most of the best Vines to surface so far, the video is an ad for Lowe's home improvement stores, and is part of a series called, appropriately, #lowesfixinsix.

Published more than three weeks ago, the video got a fresh life today when Twitter featured it as the inaugural poster child for its new #CreativeFavorites program, an initiative that aims to celebrate the best work being done on … Read more

Hillary Clinton shows she's down with tech and joins Twitter

Demonstrating that she's savvy with the world of social media, Hillary Clinton has finally joined Twitter with a dose of tongue-in-cheek humor. And, with only one tweet, she already has 220,000 followers and counting.

In her profile, Clinton describes herself as a "Wife, mom, lawyer, women & kids advocate, FLOAR, FLOTUS, US Senator, SecState, author, dog owner, hair icon, pantsuit aficionado, glass ceiling cracker, TBD..."

She also references and uses a photo from the popular Tumblr meme "Texts from Hillary," which pairs humorous fictitious captions with images of Clinton texting.

Here is her first … Read more