Posts filed under ‘Case Studies and New Orgs/Campaigns’
Technorati releases New Studyrati on the State of the Blogsphere
Geoff Livingston today created a post sharing how the blogosphere is not just for millenials and people aged 30 and under, citing that 50% of bloggers are 35 and over. Today, Technorati introduced it’s 2008 State of the Blogosphere report which support this assessment.
The report is divided into 5-days of coverage.
- Introduction
- Day 1: Who Are the Bloggers?
- Day 2: The What And Why of Blogging
- Day 3: The How of Blogging
- Day 4: Blogging For Profit
- Day 5: Brands Enter The Blogosphere
Technorati has been releasing its annual study that analyzes the current trends and themes of the blogosphere since 2004. The 2008 study is unique in that it marks the first time Technorati surveyed bloggers (1,079 according to TechCrunch) directly about the role blogging plays in their lives, the tools used, time and resources used, and more!
This study is one of various studies that have recently been revealed. Though there are fluctuations in the results, all lean towards the result that blogs are here to stay. Other studies include (as listed on Technorati)
- comScore MediaMetrix (August 2008)
- Blogs: 77.7 million unique visitors in the US
- Facebook: 41.0 million | MySpace 75.1 million
- Total internet audience 188.9 million
- eMarketer (May 2008)
- 94.1 million US blog readers in 2007 (50% of Internet users)
- 22.6 million US bloggers in 2007 (12%)
- Universal McCann (March 2008)
- 184 million WW have started a blog | 26.4 US
- 346 million WW read blogs | 60.3 US
- 77% of active Internet users read blogs
The numbers continue to change every day as more blogs are created. This is why I find Day 2’s of Technorati’s results most interesting so far. Day 2 shows statistics about the type of topics bloggesr are blogging about (i.e. 18% are blogging about health topics), their personality and writing styles, the motivations behind blogging, and the impact of blogging.
The Government’s A-Twitter: Comprehensive List of Government Twitter Feeds
This post is written in the spirit of social media guru Robert Scoble’s visit to DC and his interviews with political reps to discuss tech policy. Specifically, let’s talk about the fact that the U.S. government is a-twittering. True words, government and Twitter in the same sentence. Scoble reflects in his post here.
Even U.S. President George Bush sent out his 1st Twitter with the help of Sen. John Culberson when Sen. Culberson was showing the President both Twitter and Qik. You can see it here!
Government Agencies
For government agencies, most often, the Twitter account is in conjunction with the government’s related blog. So, now, we’re getting government agencies who are not only blogging, but using TwitterFeed to promote the posts through Twitter. I am still rounding up info. to find government accounts on Jaiku and/FriendFeed.
@dipnote – The U.S. Department of State
@govgab – USA.gov, component of their blog, GovGab
@greenversations – The Environmental Protection Agency
@TSABlogTeam – Transportation Security Administration, Based on TSA’s Evolution of Security Blog
@USAgov – USA.gov
@GobiernoUSA – USA.gov’s Spanish Portal
@womenshealth – Womenshealth.gov
@NASA – Well, it’s NASA =) Check out NASA’s Twitter box and find various other NASA Twitter feeds about certain missions including @MarsPhoenix, @nasacolab, and 13 other NASA related feeds!
Government Officials
@BarackObama – Barack OBama
@joebiden – Sen. Joe Biden
@JimDeMint – Sen. Jim DeMint
@SenatorDodd – Sen. Chris Dodd
@ChuckGrassley – Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa)
@frankwatson – Sen. Frank Watson
@jiminhofe – Sen. Jim Inhofe (Oklahoma)
@johnculberson – Congressman John Culberson
@MarkUdall – Congressman Mark Udall (Colorado) On his website, he is even implementing his own mini-social network for citizens to join, blog and join county groups!
@TomLatham – Congressman Tom Latham (Iowa)
@neilabercrombie – Congressman Neil Abercrombie (Hawaii)
@ThadMcCotter – Congressman Thad McCotter (Michigan)
@CongJoeWilson – Congressman Joe Wilson
@schwarzenegger – California Gov. Arnold Schwarsenegger
@GovernorGibbons – Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons
@govgranholm – Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm
@johncherry – Michigan Lieutenant Gov. John Cherry
@PeterKinder – Missouri Lieutenant Gov. Peter Kinder
U.S. States
@coloradogov – Colorado Government
@kygov – Kentucky Government
@vermontgov – Vermont Government
@UtahGov – Utah Government
@SCGOV – South Carolina Government
@www_maine_gov – Maine Government
@rigov – Rhode Island Government
Other
@TheWhiteHouse – The White House
@HouseFloor – U.S. House of Representatives
@SenateFloor – The U.S. Senate
@NRSC – National Republican Senatorial Committee
@secgen – The U.N. Secretary General
If I missed any, please let me know and I’ll add them to the list!
Ok, what are your thoughts? Is this a good thing? What does this mean, and how will it affect or impact constituent and government relations? LOVE to hear, =)
photo cred: Flickr, vagabondrhythm
Are You a Change-Agent? User-Experience Inspires Environmental Change
Timberland + Changents provide an innovative platform, strategy and user experience for change
What do a bus, a canary, an artist, a rocker and a college grad have in common? Getting green. and inspiring others to follow suit.
Today, Timberland, the outdoor company, and Changents unveiled a new online experience where individuals can be catalysts for change by teaming up with environmental “Change Agents” from around the world to advance the green revolution.
Engage ::
Watch broadcasts of firsthand experiences from the field through blogs, videos, photo albums, Flickr streams, phoned-in podcasts, Twitter dispatches and more.
Back a Change Agent by assuming the roles of:
- “Fan” (a shout-out of support),
- “First Responder” (being on-call if their Change Agent gets in a pinch),
- “Buzz Builder” (promoting a Change Agent’s stories and Action Requests through viral sharing),
- “Angel” (helping fill their Change Agent’s piggy bank) and
- “Advocate” (influence policy makers with respect to a Change Agent’s cause)
Plug in to ‘Earthkeepers,’ where you can follow and interact with 5 extraordinary Change Agents, dubbed, “Earthkeeper Heroes.
- Big Green Bus (12 Dartmouth students travel the country this summer in a tricked-out school bus converted to run on waste vegetable oil);
- The Canary Project (an artist couple convey the story of human-induced climate change and potential solutions through media, events and artwork);
- Agent 350 (a recent college grad and his scrappy team sprint to build a global, online/offline climate action movement from scratch);
- Reverb (a group of rock and roll road warriors green summer concert tours for Dave Matthews, John Mayer and Maroon 5/Counting Crows while engaging fans around environmental sustainability);
- POWERleaper (A 23-year old designtrepeneur created a blueprint for urban flooring systems that generates electricity from human foot traffic).
Become an Earthkeeper Hero yourself! Nominate yourself or others to compete for a chance to join the ranks of this amazing group.
About ::
Changents.com is an entertainment-driven Internet destination that connects innovators of social and environmental change – Change Agents – with a global network of people who want to help them. In 2007, Changents was founded by two social entrepreneurs, Alex Hofmann and Deron Triff, who set out to engage a digitally-connected, socially-conscious generation on its own terms.
“We started Changents to give a new generation of social and environmental problem-solvers the tools they need to build teams of active followers and help them become ‘rock stars’ of change through the Internet,” said Changents Co-Founder and CEO Deron Triff.”
Food Marketing and Kids – Always A Popular Topic
The mix of food marketing and ethics when it comes to advertising to children tends to always be a popular topic on the social marketing list serv. And, the topic pops up every once and a while in the news too.
If you have been following this issue, and honestly, I have been following it some, but I don’t claim to be an expert on it. So, I’m curious to get others’ thoughts.
Food. Children. Marketing. Advertising. Social Marketing. Ethics. –> Please share your thoughts in the comments. I am providing some questions as prompts, and will post again a summary of the responses and what I discover.
Cases
Last spring and summer, there was much ado about Shrek and his character endorsing various unhealthy food products.
Again, there was a response when McDonald’s advertised by sponsoring report cards and giving achieving students special McDonald offers.
Articles
Fundamental Shift in Making and Marketing Snacks to Kids, MarketingProfs June 11, 200
Sweet Surrender, Washington Post, May 22, 2008
Junk Food Marketing Linked to Child Obesity, Lancaster Farming, May 23, 2008
Shrek: He’s Big, Green and Promoting Junk Food, MSNBC, April 25, 2007
Feel free to leave links to more articles/cases in the comments =) I know there’s a ton of news and literature out there.
Questions
- Where has this issue been and where is it headed?
- Has progress been made? What does ‘progress’ mean?
- Is this an issue or is it over-reaction?
- Are there boundaries when marketing food to children and what are those boundaries?
- How is this sector of the industry changing?
Thanks ya’ll! Look forward to reading your insights!
Plastic. If anything inspires to reduce your use, it’s this.
Fellow Twitter follower Jeremiah Owyang (@jowyang) who works at Forrester Research shared this motivating video series with me titled: The Toxic Garbage Island.
Long time considered ‘urban myth,’ this series seeks out the truth about the supposed ‘Garbage Island’ the size of Texas floating in the middle of the Pacific north of Hawaii between California and Japan.
Videographers, along with University of Missouri researcher (go Tigers!) Dr. Frederick Vom Saal, took a 3-week trip to the Garbage Island and produced a 12-video series to create awareness and provide a visual for everyone back at home. (warning: some video coverage uses minor extreme language….course, the issue is pretty extreme in itself.) Share any reactions you might have in the comments. I was personally stunned, and motivated to cut down. For the more official website with the video series, blog and pictures, click here. (having troubles embedding video…lo siento!) Trust me tho, it’s worth it!
I once talked with a teacher who said every year she took her class on a field trip to a landfill…she said it was more for the life lesson than curriculum planning. I hope my future kids, whenever I do hopefully have them, has a teacher like that someday. =)
photo credit: tuff-titmouse
Social Media & Innovation Combine to Launch 1st Non-Profit Christian Movie Studio Where You Decide
Who’s more influential – Washington D.C. or Hollywood?
Stay with me. Obviously, not all may agree on the content. But, this is worth taking a few minutes to review even if only:
- You enjoy social media
- You like learning about new business models
- You have a heart for nonprofits
- Want to learn more about the power a community can have
- You want to know how all the above can combine to create CHANGE
IJNP, In Jesus’ Name Productions, launched last week during the Cannes Film Festival. It’s promotional video is below. It’s a bit long, but fast forward to the last minute, and you can get the *details.*
In sum:
IJNP desires to leverage social networks with the purpose of uniting Christians around the world to have a ‘say’ in the making of film. IJNP offers Christians to have an influential role in determining which movies the studio makes and/or partners with.
- For $10/month (the price of a movie ticket), members can be a part of ‘participatory film making’ from beginning to end through IJNP’s soon to be launched member social network.
- At 50k-100k members, movies on par with Hollywood can be made.
- At a million members, summer blockbusters can be made.
- IJNP will work with the best Christian filmmakers in the industry and has integrated a Christian Film making Apprentice Program.
- IJNP’s Advisory Board currently has representatives from Campus Crusade for Christ, Hollywood Connect, Luis Palau Association and Youth For Christ.
- More details on how a financial gift breaks down, IJNP’s elected advisory board, ‘participatory filmmaking,‘ and learning how to get involved, visit the newly launched website.
First thoughts? And, this is posted in terms of looking at the non-profit business model and the use of social media through social networks.
This should be interesting… =)
Social Media & Innovation Combine to Launch 1st Non-Profit Christian Movie Studio Where You Decide
Who’s more influential – Washington D.C. or Hollywood?
Stay with me. Obviously, not all may agree on the content. But, this is worth taking a few minutes to review even if only:
- You enjoy social media
- You like learning about new business models
- You have a heart for nonprofits
- Want to learn more about the power a community can have
- You want to know how all the above can combine to create CHANGE
IJNP, In Jesus’ Name Productions, launched last week during the Cannes Film Festival. It’s promotional video is below. It’s a bit long, but fast forward to the last minute, and you can get the *details.*
In sum:
IJNP desires to leverage social networks with the purpose of uniting Christians around the world to have a ‘say’ in the making of film. IJNP offers Christians to have an influential role in determining which movies the studio makes and/or partners with.
- For $10/month (the price of a movie ticket), members can be a part of ‘participatory film making’ from beginning to end through IJNP’s soon to be launched member social network.
- At 50k-100k members, movies on par with Hollywood can be made.
- At a million members, summer blockbusters can be made.
- IJNP will work with the best Christian filmmakers in the industry and has integrated a Christian Film making Apprentice Program.
- IJNP’s Advisory Board currently has representatives from Campus Crusade for Christ, Hollywood Connect, Luis Palau Association and Youth For Christ.
- More details on how a financial gift breaks down, IJNP’s elected advisory board, ‘participatory filmmaking,‘ and learning how to get involved, visit the newly launched website.
First thoughts? And, this is posted in terms of looking at the non-profit business model and the use of social media through social networks.
This should be interesting… =)