The Power of the Gropon

I just came across an awesone application for my smartphone, have you all ever hurd of the groupon ? Well let me tell you a bit about it. Groupon "group coupon" is a deal-of-the-day website that is localized to major geographic markets worldwide. Launched in November 2008, the first market for Groupon was Chicago, followed soon thereafter by Boston, New York City, and Toronto. As of October 2010 the Groupon serves more than 150 markets in North America and 100 markets in Europe, Asia and South America and has amassed 35 million registered users.

The idea for Groupon was created by now-CEO and Pittsburgh native Andrew Mason. The idea subsequently gained the attention of his former employer, Eric Lefkofsky, who provided $1 million in "seed money" to develop the idea. In April 2010, the company was valued at $1.35 billion. According to a report conducted by Groupon's marketing association and reported in Forbes Magazine, which was reported by the Wall Street Journal, Groupon is "projecting that the company is on pace to make $1 billion in sales faster than any other business, ever". I just think it’s crazy to see what the new invocation with technology and a the power of social media.

Put a Little Color in Your Life

Have you heard of the new app for the I phone?  The app is called color. Let me explain what its all about. The Color iPhone app that has just been launched on the Apple iTunes App Store and has been deigned to create a complete new and innovative way to use your mobile for social networking using your camera and photographs. The new Color application allows you to see other users photographs that have been taken using Color from people within 100ft your location. Providing you with a complete stream of photos to record everything going on at an event. The Color application chooses which pictures you see from the continuous stream based on your location and how often you have been sharing photos with someone else. Every photo and video taken with the Color app is public, not only to the people you consider your friends, but also to any one within your proximity, even strangers. Color is already available to download for free from iTunes and will soon also be available to download on Android as well. I just thinks this app takes stalking to a new level. LEt me know what you think.

"Almost" Famous- The Rebecca Black Story

It amazes me how quickly people can become instant celebrities via social media networks. Rebecca Black is the most recent to join the ranks for the moment of other more successful celebrities. In fact, there has been recent controversy over whether or not Miley Cyrus was a Rebecca Black fan. She said she was misquoted and was a Black fan. Wait a minute! Did you just read what I said? Miley Cyrus had to explain she was misquoted over a nobody who gained fame in this moment.

There are conflicting stories of how Black exploded onto the social media scene. One venue is that just recently Comedy Central's Tosh.O's blog posted her video under the headline "Songwriting Isn't For Everyone." It seems that just one mention and that was all it took. By the weekend's end, "Friday" had been Tumblr'd, Facebooked, Blogged, and Tweeted by countless baffled viewers--and dozens of covers and parodies had popped up on YouTube as well, including an amusingly Dylanesque one.

Money opens doors for anyone. Rebecca's family was wealthy enough to buy her recording time in a studio to record a song for her birthday. On the other hand, money does not buy talent no matter how much time you take to "fix" a voice. After watching the offical YouTube video I believed that she had a terrible voice and her lyrics were redundant. I know she went onto the Today Show or some morning show to prove to America that she could actually sing. I think the important lesson to take from Black is how usefully social media really is. It allows anyone to reach the masses whether it is for fame or for marketing. Social media marketing has an extreme relevance to everyday life. I thought I would post a link to the video just in case you haven't seen it. Feel free to say what you think.

https://sn2prd0302.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=31f782b6a8ef4987b3a59ed277c7fdb7&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.youtube.com%2fwatch%3fv%3dCD2LRROpph0