Life Before And After Cell Phones

Once upon a time, there was a world where people used payphones when they were away from home and needed to reach someone. In this world when people were waiting in line, they often spoke to each other, when they were lost, they stopped at the nearest gas station or store and asked for directions.

If you're over the age of 25 there's a good chance you remember this world. You remember when Caller ID changed how you answered your phone at home and when you finally bought your first cell phone, what a massive impact it had on your life. Comic illustrator Angela Liao also remembers this world, and created a great comic that caught my attention today, you can see it below. What do you think, do you ever reminisce about the old world we used to live in? Do you enjoy less social interaction with strangers or do you think it's hurting the youngest generation?

Devising Social Strategy For A Business With Multiple Locations

Devising a social media strategy for a business with multiple locations can be a difficult process. What if you are a store, salon, or  restaurant with several locations?  Often it's hard to determine how many accounts to create, which networks to create them on, or how to reach their target audience in each separate location. Lucky for us, Tender Greens has done a great job tackling this problem and provides some great examples for us to look at in a quick case study. Take a look after the jump to read 3 easy steps to building a social strategy for your multi-location business.

Honest Social Media Holiday Cards

With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season in full swing, it's time to take a short break from the chaos and put a smile on your face. Simply Zesty, a social media agency in Ireland with a great blog, recently put together their version of "Honest Christmas Cards" from some of the most popular social media and tech companies. What do you think all these social networks would be thanking us for this holiday season? I've put some of my favorites from Facebook, Foursquare, LinkedIn and Pinterest after the jump.

The Best Way to Annoy a Millennial

Recently found this comic on Mashable and had to share...

Just curious...how many of you are guilty of the same thing?

Do You Believe in Magic?

Before I write anything, watch this video:

Shocked? Don't be. The amount of (personal) information that we nonchalantly post online, especially via social media, is there for everyone to see. Just a reminder that the internet is not your friend. So take a moment to recheck your privacy settings and rethink whether people really need to know exactly what your doing right this instant.

Essentially No One Trusts The Internet

News Flash: A new study shows that 98% of Americans don't trust the information they get online. I know you probably think I'm lying, but it's true.

Market research firm, Harris Interactive, conducted the study that illustrated just how skeptical the American public is of what they read on the internet. According to 1,900 Americans surveyed, not only do 98% of them distrust the information they find on the internet, but 94% believed that "bad things can happen as a result of acting on inaccurate information online."

(To see the top reasons that people distrusted the internet, continue reading after the jump.)

What do your favorite websites say about your political preferences?

Things likely Romney voters have in common: they want less taxes, they are republican, they want to repeal Obamacare, and they play a lot of Farmville?

You read it right. Recently, EngageDC did a comprehensive study of what people "liked" on Facebook and compared it with their political standings, creating a map of the politics of the social web. They found that people who like sites like Buzzfeed, Reddit, and Yelp were all more likely to vote for Obama, while those who liked Farmville, ebay and Amazon were more likely to vote for Romney.

I've posted the entire map they created below. What do you think, is it an accurate prediction?

Viral Video: A conversation with my 12 year old self

Ok, this video has blown up on YouTube in the last 24 hours. With over 1 million views already, it's clear people get a kick out of it.

Filmmaker Jeremiah McDonald brilliantly has a conversation with 1992 version  of himself who taped a video to speak to his "future self." I particularly enjoyed the part where he mentions, "Life before the internet is kind of a blur to me..."  Who can't relate to that?

Take a look and have a laugh, the clever editing and humorous dialogue will surely bring a smile to your face.

Could you live off of Craigslist?

Ok, so here's a list of things I've used Craigslist list for: 1- used furniture, 2- random roommates, 3- concert tickets. Other than that, I've always been a little scared to venture any further (probably because of the Craigslist killer). And even when I pick up furniture or meet with someone from there, I am never alone, for safety reasons. But as it turns out, some people are braver than I. A new film from Zach Galifianakis called "Craigslist Joe" follows one man's journey to live entirely off of Craigslist. For 31 days he embarks on a "social experiment" to see if he can find food, lodging, odd jobs for money, and travel all through Craigslist. Granted, he is bringing his laptop along for help (wonder if he bought it off of Craigslist before he started his journey?).

Well it seems like an interesting film, do you think you'll see it when it comes out? Watch the trailer by clicking "read more" after the jump.

11 Copywriters Who Need Prozac

Being as obsessed with Pinterest as I am, lately I started seeing a pattern of people repinning print ads that have been edited by a "Depressed Copywriter" after being published. The only way I can describe these ads are hilarious, but also kind of sad when you find it strikes a chord with you.

After a little research (aka google), I discovered there was actually a blog called "Depressed Copywriter," which served as the source for these re-written ads. The copywriter responsible for these edits claim "every time they see an example of corporate happiness, they can only see reality. They can't help but rearrange their copy."

I, for one, think it's genius. See my favorite 11 Copywriters who need anti-depressants after the jump (I've opted to label the copywriters as I imagine their symptoms to be).

Case Study: 4 Ways Skinny Cow Uses Facebook to Sell Product & Expand Their Fanbase

If you're not familiar with Skinny Cow, you should be. They make delicious low-fat ice cream treats and other “healthy” snacks (in comparison to what is on the market). They are also currently running a genius Facebook campaign promoting the 25th anniversary of Dirty Dancing. In order to promote the anniversary they attacked the campaign from several different angles, including: an event, an instant win game, and a back up plan for those who don’t win and cannot attend the event.

 See how Skinny Cow encompassed all of these elements on Facebook to 1) Sell more of their product and 2) Expand their Fanbase, after the jump.

The Book of the Future

Came across this hilarious comic in the NY Times from Grant Snider and just had to share.

What do you think, is it accurate?