This might replace the Audio Podcast...What do you think?

New social network players say don't call "game over" simply because MySpace and Facebook are pulling in about 70% of the Web traffic that's headed toward the top 57 social networking sites. Scrappy new players are devising engagement strategies, narrow customer focuses, and product twists to lure audiences and catch the eyes of business developers. The market is still young and up for grabs.

When I get a new design or music program, inspiration is at it's highest.People use to(use to...) pay me for the designs I was making! When I first bought my analog four track, W00T! I made over 30 songs from scratch. You know how Kanye West rapped about making beat after beat one summer? I practically wrote books of Songs and Poetry one summer... 15 years later though, my well is dry and I feel fortunate just writing about tech...

The Dark Knight Gets Serious about Social Media Marketing : StraightUpSearch

Like a viral plague of fear spread over Gotham City, Batman has taken over the internet with the use of effective social media marketing tactics. And the tactics have worked. According to CNN.com, "The Dark Knight" took in $155.34 million in it's first weekend, beating out "Spider Man 3" for best opening weekend ever at the box office. That's a lot of cash, created by a lot of buzz.

Thankfully the movie was good enough to talk about, I know one person who saw it twice in one night. I don't think the advertisements directly did it, I believe giving us a platform to discuss, is what put it over the edge. Good use of social tools finally. This isn't the first time, it's just seems to be the most successful attempt so far.

My mom used to tell me a story of how when she was a little girl, she was sent to get water. Now she's from North Carolina and at that time sinks inside the house was a luxury. So she sat her bucket down and pulled the lever on the water pump. After a couple of pulls, it goes up and down by itself and fills up the bucket. So she's watching the lever and decides to jump on it for a horsey ride. Well, she does this for a little bit until she slips and the lever in an upswing pops her in the chin. I can't remember if it knocks her out or not but she learned something valuable that day: Don't play with the lever!

I'm not sure people are getting the point in Social Media. I asked Alejandro Reyes( www.successfool.com ) about Robert Scoble and on live video he said he didn't want to talk about him, curious... You would think Scoble is the perfect model to follow for Internet marketing: Be yourself 100% percent of the time. Gain a following and direct them to cool stuff you find interesting...Ohhh no profit making, hmph. Well I'm not too sure about that. After gaining the loyalty of so many tech hungry people, pulling the lever to get something out of it shouldn't be devious in my opinion. This was touched on before once he put ads on his blog. The question not answered though is how can we use these social media tools properly?

I'm certainly not an expert in this space but (wait for it..) I do have some ideas.

1) Use your Followers to work for a company promoting new tech things:
Ok that's not new since that's what Scoble is currently doing...

2) Start your own company working (for profit) with potential developers and test their products with your audience:
I guess this is the rub, since I feel your hard work to get a following, should allow you to be compensated for it in some way.

News Center | University of Colorado at Boulder

"Social media and technologies that support peer-to-peer communication are being used in increasingly creative ways in the aftermath of disasters by people who are either seeking or sharing information that is unavailable from more traditional sources, research by a University of Colorado at Boulder faculty member has found."

The correct question is should it continue being used in disaster situations. It'd be great to hear from the firefighters who who used twitter on their phones during the Santa Anna fires. Possibly today the technology is in use in other countries. The article mentioned something interesting though, it mentioned "peer-to-peer" social networks. How can Facebook and Myspace wedge into that space?

Official announcement regarding my retirement from blogging.

The Jason Calacanis Weblog
Official announcement regarding my retirement from blogging.

"It's with a heavy heart, and much consideration, that today I would like to announce my retirement from blogging."
Jason McCabe Calacanis, July 11th 2008.

He might've made fun of himself here but honestly, I'm Upset! When I entered the social media side of tech, I didn't see anyone I could connect to. The west coast feel was overwhelming and I really felt out place displaying my "Philly" wit. One day though I popped "This Week In Tech" into Miro and I was amazed! Who is this guy giving away FREE info about business, the internet and Social Media? I quickly did some digging and discovered this dude is from NYC! Close enough, his brash personality and business sense was eastcoast but his disarming transparency was 100% west coast. He learned how to adapt to his new situation. So if he could do it, so could I and any cynical, talk fast, city guy. I want to be sucessful online and use my intelligence to benefit my family. I don't want to work for a Tech Company my whole life. I want to successfully own a tech Company. Well Thanx for the years of advice JC. Still visit us on TWIT and Friendfeed though. We still need your help cuz....

http://valleywag.com/5024403/jason-nation-leads-to-resignation
http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2008/07/11/jasons-long-goodbye-give-me-...
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2947888/31122568

New Social Media Measurement Webcast Tutorial Reveals How to Measure the ROI of Blogs and All Things Web 2.0

"Attendees will learn how to monitor and measure the effects of campaigns utilizing such media as YouTube, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and more, as well as how to justify significant investments in social media communications programs."

I'm sorry, but after Seeing Hancock, I'm even more obsessed with PR than I was before. I don't fully understand the job position but I guess it's like being an Attorney. Some clients will be truly innocent and defending them is an honor while some clients really are slimeballs but they hired you to help them. I suppose Companies in general use PR to keep their name in the public's ear. It's like preemptive advertising maybe?

Then there's the companies that profit from edangering the envirment. I suppose they need the most spinning. Well, the article above gives PR folks tips on how to leverage the web in their favor.BTW what's all this Black Hat PR stuff Igor the Troll talks about? Curious...

;P

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"With the just-launched "RadioShack MyMosaic" Facebook application, members now have an easy way to create dazzling, multi-layered photo mosaics from online photos."

Good ole' Radio Shack. At one time it was the number one electronics store (still might be). I personally only go there for wires and tools. It's good to see them make an app for Facebook. Seems like they came from left field though. Who's next?

"Throw a stapler at a Facebook friend, courtesy of Microsoft Office. Become a fan of Victoria's Secret Pink to discuss favorite bra colors. Show off your love for Slim Jim snacks with a virtual poke."

It's about time. Finally our "parents" in charge of the Big companies are taking notice of their kids activities and buying habits. The article below brings out how brand names like Slim Jim and Victoria's Secrets are harnessing social media and it's eyeballs. That's great since most consumers today are also spending most of their time on Facebook and Myspace. It's good seeing these business recreate themselves to adjust to today's media. The sad part is how much of TV's ad revenue is being affected right now? Would you pay to advertise online and TV?
Here's the full story:

Big-name brands booking ads on Facebook

http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/07/its-the-beginni.html

I've seen a lot of SMO talk lately on the web. It seems joining Facebook and
other social sites can be fun and profitable. I even came across a guide that details how to do this and maybe land a job as someone who helps companies harness this wave. That last part was my idea. Can you imagine? "Hi, yes as you can see on my resume I have over 5,000 friends on facebook, Myspace, Hi5 and Orkut..." Hey, whatever legally pays the bills right?

http://www.prweb.com/pingpr.php/U3F1YS1Db3VwLVNxdWEtUGlnZy1FbXB0LVNpbmctWmVybw==

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http://www.winextra.com/2008/06/30/social-media-just-another-term-for-mu...