ForeSee Results

However, TechCrunch ends the article on an interesting thought.  Despite obvious dissatisfaction, Facebook users have yet to leave Facebook.  The article cites a lack of viable alternatives as the reason, but how long will that be true for? Let’s not forget that Facebook got its start in a college dorm room; no one ever thought its population would exceed that of the United States. Is there another Mark Zuckerberg in college today? Perhaps some young entrepreneur has already launched Facebook’s replacement, and it has just yet to catch on.

What do you think? Is there a Social Media King 2.0 in the near future? If there were, what would you like to see different than the original?

According to recently released Q3 results, Alexis was one of many who now carry their iPads around with pride – one of 3.27 million, to be exact. In TechCrunch’s words – Apple Obliterated Q3 Earnings Estimates – and we’re happy to admit that we were a part of that! Apple’s third quarter broke the record both in total revenue and in total Mac units sold.  That sounds pretty spectacular as is, but compared to last year, an even more impressive leap can be seen. Apple’s Q3 2010 revenue exceeded Q3 2009′s by 61%. Mac growth was up 33%, and Apple’s total income was up 78% from a year before.

Holy sales, Apple! Here in Tempe, we will do our best to keep supporting you!

Like I said though, this is all old news (no pun intended). The real, less talked about fear is that future generations won’t have an interest in news at all. That not only would destroy the news industry, but would threaten the state of the nation.  An article from the American Journalism Review, Beneath the Tattoos examines this problem, but luckily there seems to be hope for the future.

The article is based on a Pew Research Center study that basically details the average Millennial from head to toe.  The study defines a Millennial as one who is currently aged 18-29, or born between the years of 1980 and 1992. Over the next year, the oldest of this generation will be celebrating their 30th birthdays.  The article seeks to answer if this also means the onset of their maturity, as it did with previous generations.  Possibly, but there’s a catch. Even if these Millennials start to “grow up”, researchers still expect no change in technological habits.  Millennials state that the biggest thing that separates them from other generations is their use of technology. With their laptops, iPhones, BlackBerries, Droids, and iPads, these tech-savvy consumers have little intent to sit at a table with a newspaper and nothing else.  In fact, only 24% of them cite newspapers as their primary source of news.

However, there is an upside.  Compared to other generations when they were the same age, Millennials are more likely to vote, more likely to be civically engaged, and better educated.  Sounds like a group of people who would like to keep up with news to me.  In fact, it sounds quite far from the self-obsessed, video-game playing bums they’re stereotyped as.  So maybe the future is not in such bad hands, after all.  Now it is just a matter of seeing if the news companies can keep up!

One in four conventional apartment residents believe that a community’s social media efforts have no impact. In fact, only 7% of  conventional apartment residents state that they have ever visited an apartment community’s social media page. Also, the majority of that minority group visited social media pages only as prospective tenants, to read comments about the property.

What does this mean for apartment marketing? We do not believe it is any indication that social media should not be used, or even that it should be used less.  It simply means that these social media efforts require a much higher amount of effort spend trying to engage residents.  If residents have a reason to read and reply to social media efforts, they will.  Other items residents are likely to respond to are event ideas, photos of new amenities, and blog posts.  We’ve actually noticed that one of our clients, Trillium Residential, has seen a continued increase in residents “liking” their fan pages, and the high number of fans brings more and more engagement! So it’s not a lost cause – keep posting, communities, and engage those residents!

How do you think apartment communities can be more engaging? What would you like to see on their pages? Let us know!

The full impact of LeBron’s decision is best seen through internet traffic.  Type in “LeBron James” in Google.com, and:

5,391 related articles on ESPN, and 1,987 on Washington Post all related to this decision? I have a feeling this sort of frenzy has not shown up with other sports icons. LeBron has timed the publicity perfectly.  He’s kept everyone in the dark for as long as possible, making sure that everyone is talking about him.  And, in case ESPN, Google, Sports Illustrated, NBA.com, and just about every news outlet known to man weren’t enough, LeBron decided to (again, timed appropriately) enter the world of micro-blogging on Twitter.com. His entry was announced by friend Chris Paul Tuesday morning, who tweeted:

Oneandonlycp3: **Couldn’t convince him to tell me which team he’s goin to but convinced him to join twitter lol…my brother from another mother @KINGJAMES

Unfortunately for Paul, within a few hours LeBron had beat him in number of followers.  In fact, only two days later, James is now nearing 315,000 followers. His most recent tweet encouraged the excitement:

KINGJAMES: Good Morning! It’s your chance to ask me a question about my decision, use #lebrondecision to submit and I’ll answer them tonight.

Apparently, someone taught him how to use Twitter quite well. The questions are rolling in, with questions about what influenced his decision, and what it would take him to go to a certain team.  One humorous post was:

anesduvall: #lebrondecision would you go on national tv to break up with your girlfriend

Unfortunately, that is how many people are viewing his one hour national TV special tonight on ESPN, appropriately named The Decision.  Though the proceeds go to charity, many Cavaliers fans feel betrayed that he is announcing his decision on air.  If he chooses to go to Miami, New York, or New Jersey, Cavs fans will be left in the dust – “broken up” with on national TV.

All in all, LeBron James, we at Serendipit Consulting compliment your ability to rouse all this conversation.  Whatever your decision, congratulations on some great PR.

Mashable’s recent article HOW TO: Build a Twitter Strategy for Your Business does not claim to have a one-size-fits-all answer, but it does have the appropriate questions to ask yourself in pursuit of a strategy. Megan Berry, the article’s author, describes five easy steps:

1. Choose Your Audience

The author describes a simple strategy for completing this step.  She says to look up ten of your customers who are currently following you on Twitter.  Take a few minutes to explore their profile.  Who are they following? Who are they talking to? Who seems to inspire their tweets? All of these people should also be part of your audience, as these are the people who influence your current followers.

2. Understand How They Speak

Since you’re already examining your followers… take a closer look.  We know who they are following and who they listen to, how do they talk back?  Are they formal or informal? Do they appreciate links of information, hard facts, or contests and discounts? What are people tweeting about your company? Is it positive, or negative? These questions will all help you to speak in a way that your followers understand.

3. How Much is a Twitter Lead Worth?

Though this one may not have a direct influence on your tweets, it is still worth consideration.  Stop and think about what each follower means to your business.  If each customer represents a million dollar sale, clearly one follower is worth much more than if your business can only survive with the influence of millions of users.

4. Set a Goal and Track It

Once you’ve determined the worth of each lead, you can figure out how you ultimately want your twitter account to look.  Do you want to eventually have thousands of followers viewing each of your tweets, or would it be more beneficial to have a more targeted audience? With a large amount of followers, your goal might be an overall increase in sales or brand awareness.  However, with a smaller amount of followers, your goal may be more appropriate if it was based on the amount of user interaction with your twitter account.

5. Define Your Approach

This is where all of your hard work comes into play. Think about what you’ve looked at so far, compare it to your company’s culture, and decide on the best way to communicate messages.  Should you host contests? Should it be all about the information you can share? Once you figure out how you can best serve your followers, you’ll have a much better idea of what strategy to use.

Like we said, there is clearly no “right” answer to this oh-so-popular question.  Every company has a slightly different approach, and the trick is finding the one that works best for you.  So, we’re dealing with the fact that Shakespeare may not have been able to help us out in the phrasing department.  We’re confident, however, that if he had been around for this crazy age of micro-blogging, he would have agreed with the complexity of our favorite question: what is the best twitter strategy for your business? I bet you’ve got an upper hand on him though, so why don’t you tell us what YOU think?

In the hot Arizona summer, everyone is looking for an escape.  While that pool in the backyard may not resemble Hawaii, it sure does seem to beat a mid-morning hike, or many of the other outdoor luxuries we enjoy the rest of the year.  In fact, many consumers spend thousands of dollars on relatively minor upgrades for their pools, and when doing complete redesign, the price escalates quickly.  However, there is a very serious downside.  Think about how tempting your perfectly manicured pool looks after a long, hot day of work. Now, imagine that same temptation magnified in the mind of a 5-year-old.  Without the knowledge of caution and safety, it may be too much for your children to resist.

That’s where Safeguard Security comes in.  Safeguard’s newest system offers “Total Connect” – a program that allows you to be totally connected with your home at all times.  We know you can’t be everywhere at once, but Total Connect takes you one step closer.  Safeguard will put sensors on dangerous parts of your house (ie the pool gate, the liquor cabinet, or the safe) and will alert you (via email or text) when they are opened.  So, if you left the kids at home with the babysitter with strict instructions to stay inside, and you get a text message saying that the pool gate is ajar… it might be a good time to call and check on the kids.

We’re thrilled that Safeguard is putting this extra effort into protecting the little tykes who fill our days with joy, and we’re equally thrilled that ABC15 recognized the positive accomplishment.  Safeguard was featured in a TV segment on the 6 o’clock news, and an online article.  Check the article out here: Text Messages Help Prevent Drownings.

Congrats Safeguard!

Which brings us to the daunting oh-so-haunting question: IS LADY GAGA AN ILLUMINATI PUPPET?

Dun, dun, dunnnn (cue eerie music here…)

Taking over Facebook one status message at a time, Lady GaGa lyrics are slowly infiltrating the minds of men, women, babies and children.

In an article on the Vigilant Citizen, a case is made that everything from GaGa’s name to her famous one-eyed costumes to her videos prove that there is a deeper meaning.

Here are a few short arguments that prove we have a case on our hands:

Lady GaGa, the name: Gaga, a word meaning absent mindedness, is so easy even a baby can say it.

All-Seeing Eye: Similar to the pyramid on the back of one-dollar bills, Lady GaGa frequently shows only one of her eyes – symbolizing her ability to see and know ALL.

Music Videos: All of GaGa’s music videos feature some type of mind control or bizarre story line that signifies deeper meaning.

Songs like Poker Face, Love Game and Beautiful Dirty Rich have also been accused of having subliminal messaging. With largely sexual connotations, Lady GaGa has even been described as a genius.  It has also been argued that uses these subliminal messages as more than just hidden sexuality, but also as a marketing strategy.  Is Lady GaGa hiding more than just sexiness? Is she also using subliminal marketing to help attract a broader audience?

So what really is next for Lady GaGa? Total WORLD DOMINATION is what we think. Whether negative or positive, Lady GaGa quickly became a household name throughout Europe and North America.  A huge feat at such a young age, what else is she capable? Will she keep expanding her reach, or will the bubble eventually burst?

Will we all be brainwashed by the GaGa Monster?!

With all the recent fuss over privacy controls, and the social media networks’ attempts to appease users, it is interesting to take a step back and see what really worries people.  For instance, the “Millennial” generation, typically defined as ages 18-29, is actually the most cautious about what information they share with the world.  The chart below, provided by Pew Research Center, describes the actions social network users are likely to take to limit shared information.

It is important to keep note of the fact that young people may be more cautious about what they share because they share so much more than other generations, however, the statistics are still rather impressive. Mary Madden, senior research specialist at Pew, describes the differences: “Contrary to the popular perception that younger users embrace a laissez-faire attitude about their online reputations, young adults are often more vigilant than older adults when it comes to managing their online identities.” Apparently, all those complaint letters to Mark Zuckerberg were not for nothing.  The younger users, who populate a huge portion of most social media sites, really are concerned about privacy, and keeping information from those they do not wish to see it. An interesting fact, and really, probably for the best for all.

While the article cites that some changes had previously been released, many are brand new, and very exciting to the world of journalism. These 42 changes are specific to Social Media, and help journalists understand how to best use online tools like Facebook and Twitter.

A few highlights of the changes:

• “Web site” is officially “website”
• “Smart phone” is officially two words
• “BRB”, “G2G”, and “ROFL” officially made the cut

The one tidbit of information that I found the most interesting: while “unfriend” and “defriend” are both now official AP accepted words, the Guidelines cite “unfriend” as the recommended, more common choice.

Here at Serendipit, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our newest copy.  To get your very own, or learn more about the newest guidelines, visit the self-proclaimed “Journalist’s Bible” at AP Stylebook Online.