Social Media Week in Review: Kony, iPad, and SXSW
Since almost everyone will miss almost everything shared on social media, here's a weekly guide to things that may have passed you by.
Another week has flown by in social-media land, which means, you--and I--have missed a lot of developments, new products, etc. Most of them, of course, don't matter, but these Week in Review posts (March 5, 2012; February 26, 2012; February 19, 2012) are meant to help you catch-up with the ones that do. Each weekend, you can help by posting links in the comments section or e-mailing me at sreetips@sree.net or tweeting with @sree or #sreetips.
First stop: Mashable's 49 Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed by Matt Petronzio (@MattPetronzio) is where I go to catch up with the best of what that site posted during the week. Several among them are worth saving for later, including: 5 Huge Digital Marketing Trends You Can't Afford to Ignore; 10 Free Must-Have Travel Apps for Android; 5 Social Media Campaigns Rocking International Women's Day.
Kony2012--what does it all mean? When I write this post, I presume most people have missed almost everything I point to here, but in this particular case, I know you've at least heard about this Kony2012 meme, even if you didn't actually sit through the 30-minute video at the heart of it all. In addition to more than 70 million views online, it was the subject of breathless TV coverage around the world, vastly increasing how many people heard the name of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony. To understand the full range of issues raised by the campaign by a group called Invisible Children, you need go no further than Kony2012: New media success story or cautionary tale?, a post by GigaOm's Mathew Ingram (@MathewI). His conclusion: "the Kony campaign may be both an example of how powerful social media can be and at the same time a cautionary tale about the benefits of such tools when it comes to complicated issues."
Incidentally, a good place to keep up with Internet memes is KnowYourMeme, which also compiled all the Kony2012 materials in an effective manner.
Did you hear a new iPad was announced? Apple's announcement Wednesday that a new iPad was on the way caused a lot of social media breathlessness. The machine, which hits stores this Friday, couldn't possibly have lived up to the hype. In the end, while most experts were pleased to see improved display, camera, processor speed, the fact that it will be slightly heavier and bigger than the iPad 2 was a disappointment. Even the name of the new version was underwhelming: not the logical "iPad 3" or creative "iPad HD," by just "new iPad." Here's the longest iPad ad you are likely to ever see, the 5-minute 33-second official trailer.
SXSW, anyone? That should say "SXSW, everyone"--it felt like I was the only one of my tech-friendly friends who was not at the annual technology, film, and music festival in Austin that's still going on as I write this. Jon Dube (@CyberJournalist), writing in Forbes, has a good collection of how to track all the relevant activities: 7 Best Ways to Follow #SXSW at Home.
Infographics Week in Review: I am a big fan of smart infographics and the best of them get a lot of play on social media. Here are three I noticed this week.
- A Case Study in Social Media Demographics: A look at the demographics of different social networks, compiled by the blog of OnlineMBA.com (did you know that 66 percent of all adult online users are on at least one social network? Is that higher or lower than you imagined?)
- The Republican Race on Facebook (PDF): Ahead of the Super Tuesday GOP primaries, SocialBakers created a fascinating infographic that looks at the candidates and their Facebook fans (note: it's a PDF).
- BBB's list of the Top 10 Scams of 2011: This Better Business Bureau list is worth a quick read. You won't believe what the top scam of them all was.
Poynter Week in Review: Here are the top five most popular stories this week on journalism site Poynter.org, shared by Julie Moos (@JulieMMoos), the site's director:
- Jon Flatland, columnist and former newspaper owner, exposed as serial plagiarist
- New study: Newspapers are losing $7 in print revenue for every $1 in digital gained
- Reporter who created 'We Are Journalists' Tumblr takes PR job
- iPad 32s Retina display will make news apps stand out, present new challenges
- Jon Stewart: White House Press Corps practices 'instigative journalism'
LinkedIn Week in Review: Thanks to a roundup of the most-shared stories on LinkedIn by Daniel Roth (@DanRoth), we get a glimpse of what people have been reading there. This week, the top stories were:
- The 5 Qualities of Remarkable Bosses (Inc.)
- Five Leadership Lessons From James T. Kirk (Forbes)
- 5 Reasons You Need to Meet in Person (Inc.)
- Facebook Brand Timelines: 6 Big Changes Every Marketer Needs to Understand (Mashable)
- Guy Kawasaki Explains How Entrepreneurs Are Getting Social Media All Wrong (BusinessInsider)
YouTube Week in Review: I'm going to try to highlight some videos each week, looking through the YouTube Trends Blog. The two most-watched new videos of the last week were both quirky videos about animals from an account called AnimalArea. The No. 1 video was of an orangutan playing with toy blocks (embedded below) and No. 2 was about an itchy bear who appears to be playing air guitar.