Nov7

Live Tweets on the Voice

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Since the British Pop Idol and its’ American equivalent, American Idol, premiered in the early 2000’s, competitive talent shows have become a staple of TV networks everywhere. But even amongst so much competition, NBC’s the Voice stands out above the rest, and they use Twitter to do so.

Simon Cowell’s brutal criticism enticed millions to watch the early seasons of American Idol. However, his portrayal often saddled him with a reputation as a bully, inviting no shortage of criticism for the show, itself. The Voice cleverly navigated their way around such a situation by pitting the judges against one another.

Contestants on the Voice have 90 seconds to audition, during which any or all of the judges can choose the contestant by pressing a red button which turns the judge’s chair around to see the contestant for the first time. If more than one judge presses their button, the contestant must choose which judge they want to team up with.

The competition between each judge to attract the best vocalists encourages praise and genuinely constructive criticism. Compliments abound in such an environment. Even contestants who are not chosen receive genuine compliments and advice with a plea to come back to audition for another season.

Instead of perpetuating the brutal entertainment of American Idol, the Voice entertains viewers with competitive, but teasing banter between the judges. Their witty banter has proven to be much more pleasant, and yet no less amusing than the “Simon Cowell approach”. What the judges don’t have time to say between contestant performances, they tweet to one another messages that then appear on-screen to entertain viewers.

Longstanding judges Adam Levine of Maroon 5 and Country artist Blake Shelton have been jovial rivals for seven seasons now. Novice judges Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams struck up a camaraderie that has Blake and Adam working together for the first time.

The Voice’s ability to build up stars without tearing anyone down will resonate perfectly with those offended by Simon Cowell’s approach. The lighthearted banter between judges will enthrall viewers. And the judges’ tweets will appear on the Twitter feeds of nearly 20 million people who follow at least one of the superstars who act as judges on the show. These tweets, as shown below, are sure to catch fans attention and entice many of them to tune in to the Voice. It is an incredibly clever and invaluable way to draw attention. Hey, it got me.

In no particular order, Some live tweets from the Voice judges this season:

Oct30

You Notice Me, I Notice You

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Today, I want to talk about The Moderates. Never heard of them? Neither had I, until they followed me on twitter.

The Moderates are an Alternative/Indie Rock band from Long Beach, CA consisting of three members: Josh Taylor, Wes Mathison, and Garret Huff. The band is currently unsigned by any label. Being unsigned, however, does not mean they are not being discovered by more music lovers each day.

Twitter has opened up new possibilities for the little guy (unsigned bands, small businesses, ect.) to spread the word. This unconventional new method involves organizations seeking out potential consumers one by one.

Just hours before I received the “follow” from The Moderates, I signed up to follow a similar, lesser known band that goes by the name, Wild Party. This decision indicated to The Moderates that I would likely enjoy their music, so they “follow” me.  Twitter then sends me a notice, informing me I have a new follower.

It’s non-threatening. They are not demanding anything from me. I have no obligation to follow them back or even to look at their page, but I do. I look at their page because I am curious. “Who is this stranger that is now following me on Twitter?” Pinned to their profile is a tweet containing a link to their newest music video. Curious, I click on it and as I watch, I find I rather enjoy their sound.

https://twitter.com/ModeratesMusic/status/456290433769799680

Filling the YouTube comments, are stories similar to mine:

 “Aaaaaah you followed me in insta and I’m like wut. So I come here and IM IN LOVE OH MY GOD THANK YOU FOR EXISTING”

“Wow I love you’re music and thanks for following me on instagram:)”J

I decided to follow The Moderates. Some people may scoff at such a statement: one person, big whoop. But those people have underestimated the power of the internet and social media. Any Moderates tweets that I repost appear on the screens of 15 other people. Their interest could send the tweet forward to numerous other people. It’s a pay-it-forward scenario, only we’re spreading music, not good deeds. With one click three guys from southern California reached a girl in the middle of Idaho. If you think that’s cool, read this comment found on YouTube:

Abigail Korompis: “I love it! you guys are so talented 😀  Holla from Indonesia dang I live so far away from u guys”

It’s rather thrilling to receive a notification like I did. It seemed to whisper “Hey, we noticed you. Maybe you could notice us, too.” I felt special and valued; of course I wanted to follow them back. They acknowledged me as an individual, much like the Uncle Sam “I Want You” posters. And in return, I wanted them to succeed, to make it big. And let’s be honest, no matter how nonchalant we may act, we all live for the day we can tell our “I knew them when…” stories.

Via Wikipedia"Uncle Sam"

Via Wikipedia”Uncle Sam”

Oct23

#Unshakable

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“We will not be intimidated. Canada will never be intimidated.” These are the words of Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, concerning the Ottawa Shooting that occurred on the 22 October, 2014.

When tragedy strikes, people talk. With the advancement of technology, the way the public seeks information has changed. Today, it is not uncommon to measure the prominence of a topic based on its ability to “trend” on Twitter.

If one were to check the trends from 22 October, 2014 they would find #OttawaShooting included in the top trending hash tags almost all day. Being a citizen of Canada, I immediately clicked on the tag that had appeared on the left of my Twitter page. I watched new Tweets roll in for several minutes and noticed an unusual trend unfold: factual tweets.

Even these tweets under the misspelling of “Ottowa” Shooting remain factual in nature:

https://twitter.com/Brentus88/status/525098959111340033

“Commissioner Stewart says extra security measures put in place as precaution – no specific threat to Qld. #OttowaShooting @QPSmedia”

“Canadian PM Harper condemns ‘brutal and violent attack’ and vows ‘Canada will not be intimidated [Link] #OttowaShooting”

“@CBCNews reporter @cfedio tells #triplejhack it’s still not clear how many people were involved in #OttowaShooting.”

These and other similar tweets appeared before my eyes and I was astounded. Acts of violence, such as a public shooting, have a tendency of stirring up emotions, speculation, and panic. Such was not the case for a large number of those following the Ottawa Shooting.

Leading this trend of fact based reporting was Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) and Ottawa Police. CBC news was careful in their reporting to avoid spreading unconfirmed statements and false speculation. Praise for their non-sensationalized articles was spread through tweets like the one below, comparing a CNN report that reads, “TERRIFIED CAPITAL,” to the CBC report which reads, “Soldier dies after Parliament Hill attack, gunman also shot dead.”

https://twitter.com/redneckmommy/status/525015250970476548

Ottawa Police were quick to clarify the unclear in their tweet that states, “UPDATE: This morning’s shooting incidents occurred at the National War Memorial and on Parliament Hill.  Not Rideau Centre. #ottnews.” Ottawa Police also sent out a diplomatic tweet explaining in no uncertain terms why the shooting victim’s identity had not been revealed: ”The victim’s identification will not be released until next of kin notification is completed. #ottnews.”

Credibility is invaluable in both journalism and law enforcement. Both CBC and Ottawa Police demonstrated their credibility after the Ottawa shooting, refusing to be shaken. Both organizations have shown their capability to report the facts to their public when it matters most and I have no doubt the public will remember that when seeking information in the future.

Spread facts, not fear: words to live by.

Oct16

Taylor Swift Is a Stalker!?

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Using twitter for PR isn’t uncommon, but the way Taylor swift has been using it just might be a first.

A Taylor Swift fan recently tweeted “Taylor says she’s secretly stalking us…! She has a fake account of a swiftie fan! AWESOME so we don’t know who she is… @taylorswift13”. A screen shot of this tweet made its way over to tumblr where Taylor, herself, comments: “Omg no I don’t have a fake account but I totally do stalk you.”

https://twitter.com/CuteSwiftLover/status/518305291746963456

Taylor Swift’s new album, 1989, will be released on October 27th. The months leading up to this release have shown Taylor really knows how to relate to her public. From responding to their social media posts, to posting new lyrics each day, Taylor has been in constant contact with her fans.

Her most shocking and notable move, however, has been inviting fans to her house! In an age where private homes seem to be the only refuge for public figures, this was a bold move. “I found them online,” she says about her invitees in the Graham Norton Show clip below.

Taylor wanted to do something special to celebrate her newest and favorite album so she created the 1989 Secret Sessions. She followed fans online and hand-picked people that had been very dedicated over the years whom she had never had the opportunity to meet and thank in person.

John Mark says in his friend’s video, “I got this call from a blocked number… [Taylor Swift’s people] just said, ‘Hey, can you be at this secret event in Nashville on Sunday?’ and ‘Meet us in this parking lot, give us this password, and you’re going to have the greatest night of your life.’”

In John Mark’s BuzzFeed post, “89 Thoughts Upon Being Invited To Taylor Swift’s House,” John Mark lists his 84th thought as, “She has like five houses and dates celebrities and wins awards but I feel like she just gets me.”

Likewise, in the official behind the scenes footage of 1989 Secret Sessions featured below a fan is quoted saying, “When we took our polaroids with her, she just took her time with every single person, and that meant a lot to me.”

This is an amazing PR move. Not only is Taylor Swift showing extreme trust and appreciation to her fans, but her loyal fans are spreading the word, telling the world how much they love 1989 and how much they love Taylor. Social media is chattering all about the 1989 Secret Sessions, as can be seen by the numerous links in this post.

Most importantly, Taylor Swift has given her fans a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will inspire fan loyalty for years to come. Can I just say I’m dying of jealousy? Rest in peace me. R.I.P. me. I died. Dead.

Oct10

Hey, Mama, Welcome to the…Fifties?

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Stars such as Emma Watson and Taylor Swift have recently turned the spotlight on feminism, creating an abundance of talk about gender equality. In the height of this controversy, Men’s Health Magazine has demonstrated their ability to stick their foot in their mouth, and that’s not to say they’re flexible.

Men’s Health Magazine recently posted an article on their Twitter feed entitled “How to Talk about Sports with Women.” The article reads as follows:

Not all women share your passion for sports, in case you hadn’t noticed. The reason? They need story lines.

“Most women don’t care about stats,” says Andrei Markovits, Ph.D., coauthor of Sportista: Female Fandom in the United States. So while you’re enthusing about Dominic Moore’s scoring record, she’d rather hear about how he supported his wife’s battle with cancer—and even took a season off from the NHL at the height of his career. Treat your heroes as people and not just players on a field, and you’ll suck her in.

Just don’t expect her to wear the foam finger.

While the short article used language such as “not all women” and “most women,” the tone of the article was still largely reminiscent of the patronizing advertisements from the fifties advocating the perfect housewife, like this one, pulled from Buzzfeed’s “17 Ridiculously Sexist Vintage Ads.”

Via unfinishedman.com accessed through Buzzfeed

Via unfinishedman.com accessed through Buzzfeed

The Men’s Health tweet received immediate backlash. Men threatened to cancel their subscriptions and women sarcastically asked Men’s Health to “please explain numbers to them, because they just don’t get it.”

The Magazine was quick to recall the alienating article and posted this two part apology:

Apologies for our “talk sports with her” story. It missed the mark and the negative feedback is justified. We’ve deleted it. [part 1]

It wasn’t meant to suggest that women are in any way inferior to men, in sports, or anything else. But … we’re sorry that it did. [part 2]

Gender equality being the hot issue it is, the apology was too little, too late. Research is an invaluable step when publishing anything. Unfortunately, this step seems to have been overlooked by the magazine, which is understandable when one considers that they publish a tweet almost every hour, but not excusable. An article on Ragan’s PR Daily reports, “women make up nearly half of sports fans from the NFL, NBA, NASCAR, and MLB, and more than 60 percent of females watch sports regularly.”

“No wonder the online community got angry,” they said, and I have to agree. Hopefully Men’s Health Magazine will learn their lesson and begin to value quality over quantity when it comes to their tweets. Let this be a lesson to us all that research, however daunting, is essential.

Oct3

The Real Sophia Bush Stands Up

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“You do not have permission to hide,” she says. “Not anymore.” That is what Sophia Bush, actress known for her role on Chicago P.D., has to say to the “vitriolic perverse monster” who is her online stalker. The threats of gang rape and throat slitting by the twitter user, @SophhiaBush, appear to be from admired actress, Sophia Bush. The hateful tweets, however, have been sent from a fake account impersonating the real @SophiaBush by adding an extra “h” to “Sophhia” that most would not notice.

On September 29, 2014 the actress announced that she’d had enough through a passionate post linked to both her Instagram and Twitter pages:

This has gotten beyond out of hand. Obsessive. Violent. And legally punishable. To any of you who’ve been targeted by @SophhiaBush, I’m so sorry. I’m sure he/she will be blocked again soon, only to create another account. We’re close to 20 now. And law enforcement says “we’re on it,” and “don’t acknowledge this person,” but when this person, this vitriolic perverse monster is targeting all of you? Threatening rape, gang rape, & throat slitting to name a few? Impersonating me and breaking some of your hearts? Telling people they should kill themselves, and illustrating how? Nope. No silence. As the evidence of staking and harassment mounts, so does my anger. Because this is grotesque. And on the other side, my sadness mounts as well. What happened to you, you poor lost soul, that this is how you find pleasure? That you need to attempt to destroy little bits of other people to build yourself up, bit by bit? Who in your life hurt you? Who made you need to act out like this? Because my god I feel so sorry for you. But my sorrow in the face of your pain is no match for my anger at the pain you are causing others. You do not have the right to spread poison because you have felt poisoned. It’s a small minded and ugly path to take. Choosing to inflict pain doesn’t make you strong or powerful. It only proves your weakness and self-loathing. All the time you’re taking to verbally harass us, threaten physical assault, and terrorize strangers? Please start spending it in therapy and learn to love yourself. You deserve it. And because none of us deserve one more moment of your bullying bulls***. #gethelp #bullyingisugly #violenceisntfunny #thereisabetterway

Not only does this statement send a message to @SophhiaBush (the imposter), but it clears up any confusion fans may have experienced, advocates anti-bullying campaigns, and makes for excellent publicity.

With matching profile pictures and almost identical usernames, it is easy to confuse the imposter for the real thing. Confused and hurt fans can rest assured, by reading this message, that the accounts are separate and their favorite actress is not behind the obscene Tweets.

The hashtags included at the end of the message link the post to several anti-bullying and anti-violence campaign tags, spreading the message to those who need it.

Anti-bullying campaigners are not the only ones to have noticed Bush’s message, though, as news organizations including Business Insider, Huffington Post, The Blaze, and Entertainment News publicize the event. Praise for Bush’s response can be found wherever this story is told, as it should be.

The composition of this message is a PR dream and an interesting take on the “complement sandwich.” A traditional complement sandwich places criticism between two complements to soften the blow. Sophia Bush uses a similar setup to create a direct yet fair address. Between the sandwich ends, which express Bush’s disgust of @SophhiaBush’s words, one can find a gentle, sorrowful message of sympathy. “Who in your life hurt you,” she asks. Bush’s Beautiful post identifies bullying as the unforgivable act that it is while reminding each of us that every bully has, at one time, been a victim themselves: a message we will all remember her for.

Sep26

Misfortunes

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Apple’s new release of the iPhone6 didn’t go as smoothly as planned, but hey, they’re flexible. Literally. The new “bigger than bigger” iPhone6 has an unexpected tendency to bend under pressure. While Apple may have some explaining to do, companies such as Kit Kat and Dockers have taken to Twitter, posting witty prose of PR while poking fun at the new iPhone’s unfortunate quirk.

Kit Kat’s simple “We don’t bend, we break” is sure to gain attention while reminding us of the “give me a break” commercials we subconsciously hummed to ourselves a few years back. Clever.

Dockers tweeted an encouraging “Avoid #bendgate with our hidden security side pocket. Smart phone, meet the #SmartestKhakis ever made.”

Not all tweets were quite so harmless though, with companies such as LG, HTC, and even LeapFrog posting these competitive tweets:

LG: “Our phone doesn’t bend, it flexes… on purpose.”

HTC: “It’s not the material. It’s what you do with it.”

LeapFrog: “Built to withstand the roughest play. Yes, even sitting.” And, “Unlike grown-up bendy phones, LeapPad3 (with a shatter safe screen) is built kid-tough! #Bendgate”

It is genius, really, the way companies are using hot topics and trending hash tags to advertise. Not only is tweeting a free and instantly published medium, these simple tweets, just five to fifteen words, are guaranteed to garner attention as iPhone users and “haters” alike take to twitter to see what the world has to say about Apple’s latest flaw.

One might be influenced to eat their buyer’s regret in the form of a Kit Kat. Another might have an opportunity, still, to avoid the bend, if only they buy a pair of Dockers pants. And any of those who were considering purchasing the iPhone6 may just be swayed another direction by the crafty tweets from competing cell phone manufacturers.

Though unfortunate for Apple, the “bendgate” hash tag is turning out to be the perfect platform for companies to be heard, proving that one man’s trash (or misfortune) really is another man’s treasure.

Found through Iwastesomuchtime.com from lolnein.com

Found through iwastesomuchtime.com
from lolnein.com