Friday, July 29, 2011

Twitter pushes 'Promoted Tweets' to top of users' timelines - latimes.com

Twitter pushes 'Promoted Tweets' to top of users' timelines - latimes.com: "Technology
The business and culture of our digital lives,
from the L.A. Times
Twitter pushes 'Promoted Tweets' to top of users' timelines
July 28, 2011 | 12:16 pm


Twitter Promoted Tweets

Twitter wants to make sure that 'Promoted Tweets' don't go unseen by users.

To try to make this happen, and in turn make the Promoted Tweet a bit more valuable to advertisers, Twitter is rolling out a new 'Promoted Tweets to followers' option rolling out today that will essentially pin a promoted tweet to the top of a user's timeline."

Monday, July 25, 2011

Donors’ Pledges to Reconstruct Haiti Come up Empty | UN Dispatch

Donors’ Pledges to Reconstruct Haiti Come up Empty | UN Dispatch: "Back in March 2010, when the devastating earthquake in Haiti was still making headline news, UN member states pledged over $9 billion for Haiti’s reconstruction – including $5.3 billion for 2010-2011."

Are your customers becoming digital junkies? - McKinsey Quarterly - Marketing & Sales - Digital Marketing

Are your customers becoming digital junkies? - McKinsey Quarterly - Marketing & Sales - Digital Marketing: "New McKinsey research highlights a dramatic increase in the intensity with which people use digital devices and platforms. Nearly 50 percent of US online consumers are now advanced users of smartphones, social networks, and other emerging tools—up from 32 percent in 2008."

Crowds: What Are They Good For?

Crowds: What Are They Good For?: "Crowdsourcing, a term coined by Jeff Howe in Wired Magazine in 2006, is defined as the outsourcing of tasks by way of a general call-out to a large, undefined group of people. There's also crowdfunding, which relies on the power of crowds to fund projects. No matter its iteration, the idea of crowds and the power they potentially hold for nonprofits is gaining much attention these days.

But while leveraging technology and the power of the group seems a good idea on its surface, how effective are crowds in helping organizations reach fundraising goals?"

Oregon Coast Aquarium rides technology's wave to build interest in oceans and marine science | OregonLive.com

Oregon Coast Aquarium rides technology's wave to build interest in oceans and marine science | OregonLive.com: "When Oceanscape Network launches two summers from now, Ron Houchens' creative drive will splash across Web pages promoting scientific inquiry, marine conservation and just getting outside to explore nature firsthand. But first, through September, the aquarium is raising money for the network by raffling one of Houchens' crazy, colorful surfboards."

Innovative vending machine may change the way we donate - Life & Style - The Independent

Innovative vending machine may change the way we donate - Life & Style - The Independent: "Coca-Cola has installed more than 100 specially designed vending machines at sites in Chiba, Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures, north of Tokyo, that enable anyone buying a drink to also donate the change to the Red Cross by pressing a button."

How to Avoid the Hard Sell in Your Content | Social Media Today

How to Avoid the Hard Sell in Your Content | Social Media Today: "You have established yourself as a subject matter expert in your niche. People continue to read your content because it offers answers to their problems. What they don’t want from you is to do a hard sell on them.

If you try to overtly sell anything to anyone, you will most likely not succeed and in the process, you may lose some very valuable business relationships. In fact, if your writing is about selling, they won’t bother to read your content at all. They will read other people’s content and become loyal to them instead of to you."