The best way to figure it out is go straight to the source.  According to the website:

“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows you to tag, save, manage and share Web pages all in one place. With emphasis on the power of the community, Delicious greatly improves how people discover, remember and share on the Internet.”

Ummm, that really didn’t help me much.  Let’s keep going though.  As we learned earlier, the key ingredient to make a site social is shared content.  Delicious does this by not only allowing you to share your bookmarks with friends but also keep track of other people who bookmark sites that you find interesting.  It sounds a lot like “following” but they don’t use the word follow, I’m guessing because it reminds us of that other social network, you know the one. 

To be honest, I was still confused, how was this going to help me organize my bookmarks?  Then I found this:

“What is social bookmarking?

Delicious is a social bookmarking website, which means it is designed to allow you to store and share bookmarks on the web, instead of inside your browser. This has several advantages.

First, you can get to your bookmarks from anywhere, no matter whether you’re at home, at work, in a library, or on a friend’s computer.

Second, you can share your bookmarks publicly, so your friends, coworkers, and other people can view them for reference, amusement, collaboration, or anything else. (Note that you can also mark bookmarks on Delicious as private – only viewable by you – if you like.)

Third, you can find other people on Delicious who have interesting bookmarks and add their links to your own collection. Everyone on Delicious chooses to save their bookmarks for a reason. You have access to the links that everyone wants to remember. You can see whether two people have chosen to remember a link, or whether it was useful enough for a thousand people to remember – which may help you find things that are useful for you, too.”

It’s interesting because in their efforts to organize the best of the web, they have, by the nature of the beast, become a social network.  The content is sucked up from other sites, shared by members who come together over common interests and… you guessed it create a community.  Voila!  A social network is born.

They claim, “Flickr is almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world.” But the more I explore, the more I think they might just be right!  Some of the photos are amazing, and like Digg, which I wrote about in another post, Flickr is all user generated content. 

Unfortunately, I’m still kind of slow so I took the “Magical features tour” and learned you can upload photos and videos from your phone or computer.  You can edit, organize and then share with friends, family or the world!  I never understood how a photo site could be considered a social network.  I had to make sure I really understood how to define a “social network” site. 

According to a summary of social network sites, available here, a social network is defined ”as web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site.”

Flickr definitely fits the bill.  I joined the group “Lake Geneva, WI”, and uploaded photos we took down at the lake and around town.  It was fun to look through the other submissions and try and figure out where they were taken.  As I perused the gallery, I realized it’s just like blogging…only with photos. 

Companies are using Flickr to showcase photos and videos of their products and drive traffic to their websites.  Ford is a great example, as I mention in another post, Ford has two Tweeting cars and they used Flickr to post pictures of the Fiesta’s as well as a map of the route the cars are taking across the country.

A team of two Ford Fiesta’s driven by Ford engineers and U of M students will be crossing America’s heartland to reach Silicon Valley’s Maker Faire.  The teams will be blogging and tweeting, California or Bust.  The part to write home about, or well write about here anyway, is the blogging and tweeting is being done by the cars. 

These Fiesta’s have been fully synched with social media to connect via Facebook and Twitter (@ajthefiesta) as well as blog on the American Journey 2.0 website.  The cars use sensors to measure conditions like, are the windshield wipers on, is the car stopped, to determine the way the car is “feeling”  Here are some examples from the first full day on the road:

    ” Not too hot and not too cold!”

     “Getting into some traffic. Sigh. “

Apparently, a car has even beat me to the punch and has figured out how to sign up for Twitter, use it, and already has 396 followers.  Ford is ahead of the curve here and it will be interesting to see how this experiment fits into their new models. 

I mean, we were amazed when my Mom’s car sent her an email saying the oil needed to be changed (a little scared it was talking to us, but still amazed). I can’t imagine what I’d do if my car started talking to the world.  I wonder what it would say? 

Probably something like, “0-60 in 3 seconds?  Come on, I’m a mini-van, give me a break already”, better yet, “3 boys, a black lab, apple cores, beach sand, last nights dinner leftovers…  Clean me”

 Well, I just discovered Digg where something similar happens with the news. The content is all submitted by users and how long it stays around depends on whether or not people like reading it. According to its website, “Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web.” After picking my preferences under the following categories, The super secret algorithm picks out news and gossip stories that I will like:

Technology

World & Business

Science

 Gaming

Lifestyle

Entertainment

 Sports

Offbeat

With the use of the simple “Digg it” button, I can quickly pick the stories I like to read. I can even sign up for daily emails to get my favorite stories delivered directly to my inbox. Just in case I didn’t have enough email to read on a daily basis.

 As if my friends didn’t have enough information on me, this application is also integrated with Facebook via “Facebook Connect” and allows your friends to see the stories you Dugg and easily post them to your wall. The Digg FAQ section describes it like this, “In addition to making it easier to log into Digg, Facebook Connect also allows you to use your name and profile photo from your Facebook account on Digg and to easily share with your friends by posting your Diggs, comments, and submissions to your Facebook feed.”

The way things are going, it seems like Facebook is quietly taking over the world!

 Oh yeah, this is a video I Dugg today. I’m not sure what the deal is with the Lady Gaga theme I’ve got going, but this kid is amazing!

See, the problem is, I didn’t follow my own advice.  As I mentioned in Part I “The Key though is to find or create something that folks want to share with one another!”  Apparently, I didn’t produce something anyone wanted to share.

There is an example out of Buffalo, NY this week though that seems to have what it takes though.  What started as a simple  billboard to speak to President Obama has turned into a Facebook movement with over 12,000 “Likes” and growing.  When  I started this post a couple of hours ago, there were only 10,800. (you can find it under inafj on Facebook).  You may have seen the billboards on CNN or received the email that has been going around.  That’s how I learned about it.  The number of fans has exploded since Thursday morning when there were only 1,000!  This is exactly how something goes viral.  Person A creates or copies something then sends it to their closesst friends; all 100 of them who then send it to their list and the chain is started. 

So, my experiment didn’t work so well, but luckily there are plenty examples of people who are doing it right.  I guess there’s always next time.

courtesy or reusableart.com

Is everything on the internet free to use?  Can you copy and paste until your heart is content, creating something without an original bit, byte or pixel?  Some argue that the internet should be a volcano of creativity, spewing information from all corners of the globe, without worrying about pesky details like copyrights.

While tempted, I have to side with common sense here and say that is a recipe for disaster, and not just for Iceland.   No property rights in cyberspace…  I think my Mom, who happens to be a school librarian charged with overseeing copyright compliance, just shuddered.  When I asked her why this was so important, she explained “schools around the country see this every day.  Students think just because something is on the internet, they can use it.  The frustrating thing is when they think they can then call it their own.” 

She teaches at an elementary school and stresses the importance of copyright with even the youngest of students.  This seems to be a generation that, having grown up with the lawlessness of the internet, doesn’t understand the importance of property and copyright laws.  Students see something on the internet and think it is free game.  She cited examples of schools where they have had students copy almost entire papers found online, turn them in and when caught, had absolutely no idea what they had done wrong.   Not once or twice, but MANY times.  The idea of no property rights in cyberspace is a slippery slope that once embarked on can easily get out of hand, one I think we should guard against.

Pirates are no longer peg-legged, saber carrying ruffians in need of a bath, but high school kids in the house next door copying movies and music and “sharing” with the world.  It is easier to say these are wrong because the artist is losing money.  I agree the line is more blurred in other cases.  While bloggers may not be losing money with uncited or linked information or artwork, they are still losing credit.  Credit may be their only “payment” for the work and is just as important.

When I asked my mom her opinion on using information, photos or videos even when there is no money or grade at stake, she couldn’t have put it in plainer words when she said, “copying is stealing, using something without citing is copying.” 

Many internet copyright myths exist, but once separated from the truth the basics are the same to me.  I understand it can be hard to enforce but I don’t think that means it should be abandoned.

Short films are a fun way for companies to advertise without assaulting us in the same old method of commercials. The freedom of the internet (both space and time) allows for opportunities in new forms of media. A great example is a film HomeAway.com launched during the 2010 Superbowl featuring Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo. (Part 2 is available here)

As proclaimed by the HomeAway marketing collateral, Chase and D’Angelo are playing their “reprised legendary roles as Clark and Ellen Griswold” as in this aptly named short film “Hotel Hell Vacation”, the Griswold’s latest vacation debacle is used to highlight the benefits of renting a vacation home versus a hotel room. Using a 30 second TV trailer commercial during the Superbowl, HomeAway relied on star power and nostalgia to drive traffic to the Griswold microsite. As a child of the 80’s who remembers both National Lampoon Vacation movies, I thought this was a great approach.

HomeAway chose the perfect complement to increase awareness of their brand. As just one part of a national integrated campaign, the short film was a fun and entertaining way to show viewers the benefits of staying in a rental home rather than a hotel. Personally, I found it entertaining because of the spoof factor. I think those who have not seen the movies would still be able to identify with the ridiculous hotel charges and appreciate the exaggeration factor.

A question for this particular movie though, is the message the same for those not familiar with the National Lampoon Vacation movies or are the movies considered so iconic that everyone knows them and this is a non-issue? Regardless of whether or not you know who the characters are or can pick up on the Lampoon references, the point of the film is still easily understood and universally identifiable.

Are short films and their soft sell tactics ethical? Well, I think subtle is different from subliminal. We can still see and determine for ourselves the entertainment value of the film versus advertising. I don’t think it crosses any ethical lines. In fact, cynical though it is, I think most people expect advertising in everything these days.

In case you are new here, let me fill you in. 

Viral marketing allows consumers to do the talking and translates in to bigger sales and strong brand loyalty.  There  has been a lot of talk lately about how to reach the millions of people that are on Facebook to promote products and companies.  The evidence indicates its a cost effective way to handle it.  The Key though is to find or create something that folks want to share with one another!

I published the following blurb along with a link to this post in my Facebook “what are you thinking?” bar.  I have 100 friends.  The goal is to see how many friends participate and if they do, how fast the message can spread.  See, if I publish the message and just half of my friends re-publish, then half of their friends… you get the idea.  Now we just have to see if it works!

“Do you want to be a part of my Facebook experiment?  There are just 3 simple steps to follow:

1. Copy and paste this whole quote and attached link into your “what are you thinking bar” for at least 1 hour.

2. Click on the attached blog link.  You are welcome to leave a comment.

3. Check back on Saturday May 15th to see how many people participated.”

While it is not an exact science, I thought it might be kind of fun to try.  Stay tuned for results later this week.

I love, love, love this video. 

On You Tube alone there have been over 2 million views of this version.  While you may have to be familiar with Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance video to get all the spoofs, you can definitely enjoy this version on its own.  I don’t know exactly what it was  I found so funny, but  I must have played it four times yesterday.

So here’s our lesson for this week on the impact of video and advertising.  Before You Tube, I never would have known what some college a capella choir in Oregon did to promote their upcoming concert.  However, with You Tube I not only know about it,  I can share it with everyone I know, and it didn’t cost them anything

Viral marketing works because the information, email or video is passed from person to person, or in this case one person to many people, with just a few key strokes.  The only expense is creating the video.  No distribution costs or traditional expenses apply here.  It’s true, I won’t  be traveling to Oregon for the concert, but I’m sure some folks did. 

What I’m wondering is can it be artificially created?  Can a company include a viral video as part of its marketing plan?  Does the consumer feel cheated if it’s discovered it was all manufactured rather than a spontaneous spread like the video in this blog?  Maybe we don’t even care how it got started, just that we got to enjoy something funny or get a sneak peek. 

The sudden “discovery” of the lost Apple iPhone prototype last month is a great example.  Gizmodo.com reportedly purchased the phone for $10,000 and reported on the find, along with pictures of the confidential device.  While Apple was pretty mum on the whole thing, their admission that an item was lost and wanted it returned was just about all that was needed to fuel the fire.  Will we feel differently if we find out it was a pre-planned publicity stunt?  Maybe, but it probably won’t matter.  Apple has gotten so much buzz about the new phone and “leaked” information without spending a penny that anticipation is already high and they haven’t released an official detail.

There have been weeks where I have spent more time on say, Farmville, than I care to admit in public.  While I haven’t actually spent any money to expand my farm…I’ve come pretty close to considering it as a pretty good idea.  Through a self-imposed intervention, I let my crops wither, stopped chatting, and started calling…well actually texting.  Did I just replace Facebook with texting?  That’s another post.  I even resisted the urge to visit my friends’ farms.

With all of these hours on Facebook, how much time did  I spend paying attention to the ads? Well, I think I just saw my favorite.  It was an ad for a school program and the heading that got my attention was “need a break from farming?” 

There is a debate whether folks pay attention to these ads, especially because we are so involved in being social.  I would love to know what you think?  Do you just glance at the right column?  Do you click on the Like button?

There was a recent survey done by Lucid Marketing, to determine how mom’s in particular feel about advertising on Facebook.  Some of the results were interesting and showed, as a group, we are pretty receptive… as long as the efforts follows our rules.  Some of those rules were posted on Holly Buchanan’s marketing blog.  Do you agree with the list below?

“To win with moms on Facebook, marketers should: “

• Develop interactive promotions and ask for mom’s opinions
• Offer coupons, exclusive offers or discounts for fans, and “share with a friend” promotions
• Be careful not to bombard moms with updates or ads, or to make unrealistic-sounding offers

Personally, I love the inside information being a fan often gives us.  Even though I know all 1 million other fans are also getting the special coupon code, it makes me feel like I got something extra!