Tag Archives: Blue Interactive

Happy Birthday Twitter!

Happy 6th Birthday TwitterMarch 21, 2012 marks social media network Twitter’s sixth birthday. It’s hard to believe that it was six years ago that co-founder Jack Dorsey tweeted the first ever tweet. Today, Twitter boasts over 500 million registered users and is undeniably the leading micro-blogging system on the web. The site is ranked 9th overall worldwide and 8th in the U.S. by Alexia.com.

The social media network came from humble beginnings in what started as an offhand project by board members of the podcasting company Odeo. In the first years of Twitter, the open communication service experienced a rocky start with stability problems and frequent down times. Those issues are a thing of the past, as Twitter’s growth has since generated massive spikes in usage during unforgettable moments like the FIFA World Cup, the Hudson River plane crash, Michael Jackson’s death, and the Japan earthquake.

Continue reading “Happy Birthday Twitter!” »


Questions to Ask Before Your Website Redesign

Website RedesignWhen redesigning a website, people often seek to imitate another company’s site they admire or go straight to a design expert for help. However, those are steps that should be taken much further down the road. The first issue to address – before paying any attention to aesthetics – is what the actual goal of the new website is. Planning accordingly will set the stage and make the process much smoother with desired results.

Continue reading “Questions to Ask Before Your Website Redesign” »


Five Up and Coming Social Media Networks

5 New Social Media NetworksIn 2010, social check-in service Foursquare achieved a record number of account signups and currently boasts over 15 million users worldwide. Virtual bulletin board Pinterest has become the hottest social network of 2012, with over 10 million unique visitors and a new iPad app coming soon. It’s astonishing how quickly social networks attract users once they begin to gain some traction. So what’s the next big thing in social? Here are five start-ups to watch out for in the coming months.

Continue reading “Five Up and Coming Social Media Networks” »


SXSW Garners Much Social Media Buzz

SXSW Garners Much Social Media BuzzSXSW Interactive wrapped up this week to make way for the music portion of the festival in Austin, and the conference continues to garner much online chatter over the social media sphere. Twitter was the overwhelming leader in social at SXSW, driving 93% of the conversation, while Facebook and blogs contributed 3% each. A majority of social media comments came from people from California, New York, and Texas (19%, 18%, and 17%, respectively). There were nearly 860,000 tweets about events, speakers, and announcements that occurred during SXSWi. Major happenings include Pinterest co-founder Ben Silbermann announcing the rollout of the website’s new profile pages this week, as well as an iPad app and a public API on the way. The controversial Homeless Hotspots program is still trending over social media networks.

Continue reading “SXSW Garners Much Social Media Buzz” »


New Apps Debut at SXSW Interactive

New Apps Debut at SXSW Interactive - HighlightEach year thousands of digital creatives attend the SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, eagerly anticipating new technologies and mobile apps to be introduced. In 2007, Twitter was the breakout social media app that presented real time micro-blogging to the world. Location-based social media platforms like Foursquare and Gowalla were all the rage in 2009 and 2010. Last year, SXSW Interactive introduced group messaging apps Fast Society, Beluga, and GroupMe which allow for group texting, photo sharing, and location sharing. So the million dollar question is; what are the biggest trends for 2012?

Continue reading “New Apps Debut at SXSW Interactive” »


Homeless Hotspots Stirs Up Controversy at SXSW

Homeless Hotspots Stirs Up Controversy at SXSWThe annual South By Southwest Interactive festival is underway, featuring presentations on interactive marketing, cutting edge technology, and social media marketing from industry leaders. One of the biggest news stories to come out of the conference this year is the “Homeless Hotspots” initiative. As part of a charitable marketing program, advertising agency BBH New York paid 13 people from a homeless shelter to wear mobile Wi-Fi devices and T-shirts that read “I am a 4G Hotspot.” The homeless people were strategically placed around the city of Austin during SXSW Interactive to offer 4G internet access to festival attendees. Attendees were encouraged to donate $2 for every 15 minutes they spent online. Donations were collected via PayPal and all proceeds went directly to the person at that “Homeless Hotspot.” Users who visited the website could track the location of each homeless hotspot and learn some information about the person wearing it. The program was intended to be a modernized version of the Street Newspaper model, a newspaper created and sold by homeless people for their benefit.

Continue reading “Homeless Hotspots Stirs Up Controversy at SXSW” »


Social Media’s Influence on Super Tuesday

Social Media’s Influence on Super TuesdayThere was much hype this year for the Super Tuesday Republican primaries, particularly because of the influence of social media, which has been more prevalent in the 2012 election than ever before. As GOP candidates Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul battled over 10 states and 419 delegates up for grabs on Tuesday, social media networks were abuzz over the debates. Now the results are in – Mashable reports there were over 530,000 social media comments across the web inspired by Super Tuesday.

Continue reading “Social Media’s Influence on Super Tuesday” »