Never click online ads while you’re perusing your friends list? You’re not alone says research by LinkShare released today. Apparently only 5% of users pay attention to ads, in what’s referred to as banner blindness. More evidence that engagement is crucial and bombardment is bust.
Taking a departure from being ‘a place for friends’, MySpace will now attempt to play to its strengths by becoming a place where people with common entertainment interests connect. Acting as an entertainment portal may resuscitate the website after a tough year thats lowlights included being overtaken by Facebook as the largest social media networking site and staffing reductions that saw 30% of American workers and 66% of workers overseas losing their jobs.
A Twitter call to arms over the portrail of the NHS by American detractors of health care reform has shown the true meaning of going viral. The growth of #welovethenhs grew so fast it gained the attention of the mainstream press, crashed Twitter, got Prime Minister Gordon Brown to join, and saw thousands of avatars changed to include a “I <3 NHS” tag. The surge of support and awareness raised shows how powerful social media can be politically.
Twitter’s allure seems to have entranced social media marketers, noted in a new study by Burson-Marsteller. Even with the terrific growth of Facebook, Twitter has a a stronger presence by top companies, who find it useful to distribute company news, customer service, marketing promotions and employee recruitment through the microblogging site. It seems where Twitter is perfect due to its ease of use, timeliness, reach and accessibility; Facebook by comparison is cluttered and cumbersome.
Apparently misprints can create serious PR attention as Best Buy found out today after (apparently) accidentally pricing a 52′ Samsung television at $9.99. Amazingly, this pricing error caused hundreds of customers to come online early in the morning to not only buy the televisions online, but tell all their friends through emails, blogs and tweets. The ordeal was covered by almost every news station in America and didn’t cost Best Buy a penny. Best Buy rescinded the offer and no one got their pre-purchased televions.
A great read to understand how our electronic obsessions play with our physiology, but that’s it for this week, see you Monday!
