3 THINGS WE DIDN’T KNOW LAST WEEK:
Britney Spears Becomes First Google+ User to Reach 1 Million Followers
More than 1 million users are following Britney Spears on Google+, making her account the social network’s first to break through the seven-figure threshold. In reaching the milestone, Spears retains her title as the most followed person on Google+, ahead of Google CEO Larry Page and rapper Snoop Dogg. Google+ is approx 7-months-old, so the pop star’s 1.5m+ followers still pale in comparison to the fan bases she has built on competing social sites: 16.2million fans “Like” her Facebook page and 12.5 million users follow her on Twitter. Spears surpassed 10 million Twitter followers in October, which means she’s gained roughly 2.5 million in approximately 4 months.
Social networking accounts for one in every five minutes spent online globally
Social networking is the most popular activity online globally, representing almost one in every five minute spent online, according to a recent report from ComScore. The report, which gives ten tips about global social networking globally, reveals that social networking now reaches 82% of the world’s population, representing 1.2bn users. According to the report, in October 2011, social networking accounted for 18% of all time spent online, taking share predominantly from web-based email and instant messaging.
Facebook Reveal Over 60 apps using its new Timeline feature
Facebook users can use the new apps to update their Facebook Timeline profiles, which were rolled out last month, based on their interests. Companies involved include AutoTrader, Soundcloud, and Ticketmaster. For instance, News Corporation has launched a Timeline app for its The Daily title, which lets users share what stories they’ve read and breaks down what type of stories they’re interested in with its “Read-Graph”. Facebook users can also edit their Timeline content depending on who they want to see it. A post on the official Facebook blog detailing the launch read: “Soon, there will be apps for all types of interests, as more apps will launch over time. Whether you love snowboarding, gardening, hiking or knitting, or something else, there will be an app for you.”
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CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK: ISRAEL ANTI-DRUG AUTHORITY
This creative Facebook campaign was created by McCann Digital Israel for the Israel Anti-Drug Authority, and was the first to capitilise on the new Facebook Timeline feature. The campaign set up a fake profile for a fictional man named Adam Barak, placing pictures of his life side by side via the timeline to show his life with and without drugs.
On the left column, the photos show a year of his life as a drug addict, whereas on the right they show a year without drugs. The comparative photos of Adam display stark contrasts in his appearance and surroundings, with the drug-free Adam looking happy and successful, while the addicted Adam seems to have lost his girlfriend, job and home.
To view the campaign click here
Although this a very genius way to use the Facebook Timeline, unfortunately the campaign breaks Facebook regulations in the fact that fake profiles are not allowed. This is likely to be the reason the campaign is no longer live, and the profile page inaccessible. Although we are sure McCann were aware of this, despite breaching the rules they fetched an impressive million likes in under a week of launching, certainly creating a strong awareness for the cause. By working alongside Facebook, they could have possibly gained more mileage out of the campaign had Facebook agreed to such use. Or failing that agreement, they could have built a replica app which appeared visually in a similar way as part of a fan page, however wasn’t breaching Facebook regulations.
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APP OF THE WEEK: CRASH CORSAGE
“Crash Corsage helps you crash any wedding, anywhere, anytime. By collecting data from the open directories of personal wedding site providers, Crash Corsage creates filtered lists of nearby weddings. It then cleanly arranges important information such as what you need to wear, how the couple met, location of their party, and everything else you might need to grab a drink or a one night stand. Built-in challenges encourage users to compete against other crashers, while photo galleries and checklists let people show off their chops. It's more than a crash course in wedding crashing, it's Crash Corsage.”
To view the app click here
Some of us at Harvest are slightly disturbed by this intrusive app. Should this app’s popularity pick up, it’s likely the sites that it is scraping data from will build API’s to keep these intruders out. Whether this app is associated with the popular film release ‘Wedding Crashers’ is unconfirmed, but after the success of the film it is certainly likely to cash in and appeal to its millions of fans of the whom have had the idea of crashing weddings triggered into their lives. The clever use of social gaming adds to the success of the app, by letting crashers compete against eachother, encouraging use and competition. Social gaming is a powerful and enticing way of engaging users, allowing them to compete with others around the world.
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INFOGRAPHIC OF THE WEEK:
Twitter 2011 Trends – click here