A Dragonborn enters the realm

Nine months ago, game developer Bethesda Softworks launched a light hearted challenge/contest through their blog. To coincide with the launch of their highly anticipated game Skyrim, if you name your newborn on 11/11/11 "Dovahkiin", they will entitle you to their games for life.

 

 

The name is the same as the protagonist Skyrim meaning "dragonborn".  This single post launched a huge discussion on the name, the game and of course the love for the studio.  Many in the community thought over how it could be possible.

 

 

When you think about it, this is a ridiculous challenge to achieve.  Even though they gave you the ideal time to conceive the child (February 18, the day they posted the contest) there are just too many factors involved.  You need a willing partner of course, he/she/you must be fertile at that time and must make it to the destined day.

 

 

Now that it is all past, who rose to the occasion?  Megan and Eric Kellermeyer completed the quest and gained Bethesda games for life.  Megan gave birth to Dovahkiin Tom Kellermeyer November 11, 2011 at 6:08 pm PST.

 

 

This is what I love about social media, we are able to have these types of discussions and truly connect with the community.  Congratulations to Megan and Eric Kellermeyer, I am jealous.

What do you think about the name "Dovahkiin"?

How to get people to "like" you

Tips on getting more traffic to your Facebook page.

Facebook is the number one social media tool with over 800 million users.  I often see Facebook pages that are rarely used, seeming inactive and boring. Having a good page is essential to make connections and get your brand out there; the brand of “you”.

From the minute a Facebook page is made dozens of people immediately have access. The better your page the more traffic and people you are going to attract. Facebook lets you connect to friends, family, colleagues and even people you don’t know in person. So leave a good impression. Whether you are using Facebook for personal use or making work connections having a successful Facebook page can make a difference in how people see you.

Four tips for a great Facebook page:

1)   Share only quality material. If you want more people to come to your page you need to give them something to come for. People look for new information and want to engage and interact with the page and its author.

2)   Piggy-back your social media. If you have an awesome Twitter account than have it post on your Facebook page. There is no harm in mixing your medias and will increase your chance of being noticed.

3)   Participate outside your page. If you want to get noticed start participating elsewhere. The more you start to contribute the more people will answer back.

4)   Start tagging. You can “tag” people or other pages to your status. This will increase traffic to your own site and increases your own personal participation.

Utilizing these tips can help increase traffic to your Facebook page and increase active participants. Be interactive and don’t be afraid to show your personality. If you are going to have a page that represents you, than make sure that it’s great.

How have you improved the quality of your Facebook page?

Is social media changing the way we watch TV?

Today, social media has become a key aspect in television shows. Social media has become an essential part of TV viewing and has changed the way that many people watch their favourite TV shows. Now you can have to opportunity to interact with your favourite characters, actors and other fans.

Shows now have Facebook Fan Pages and Twitter accounts, and provide fans with the opportunity to "live tweet" or “live blog” with the use of hashtags throughout the show to interact with their fans.

Hashtags

Hashtags are now seen at the bottom of television screens, with shows encouraging their viewers to interact online and voice their opinion. Tweets and comments from fans are often displayed on screens as well, and can be used in television shows. You can also track hashtags, which allows other viewers to hear what other people are saying about their favourite show.

Talking to your favourite characters and actors

Ever want to talk to your favourite character? Well, it’s now becoming more and more common for fans to talk to their favourite characters. Television shows like Degrassi, Glee and Community have created character Twitter accounts.

Fans now have the opportunity interact with their favourite characters and even have conversations with them! This also provides fans with a behind the scenes look at characters lives “outside” of the show another way to see interaction with characters.

Do you like to interact with others through social media when watching your favourite television shows?

Pepsi or Coke?

PEPSI OR COKE ?

 Brands today have such an impact on consumer purchases.

·         They influence people  through key messages and advertisement

·          Have brand association with celebrities

·          sponsors

Companies have formed our opinions and preferences. It seems that certain preferences can be based on personal choice, or have we been influenced so much, that we do not really know what we like, as we have been told what we like.  Companies have used theories including bullet theory to impact our self-conscious and make us lean towards their product or brand.

In my experience, one example that comes to mind as bartender in the hospitality industry is how different clientele have brand preference for either Pepsi or Coke.  Look at these two products, they are very similar. The both have similar ingredients, packaging, taste and advertisement; however have such adversity when it comes to people’s preferences. At my work Milestones we offer Pepsi products. When our guest orders a Coke we must ask them if Pepsi is ok. The reactions are never the same and they vary. A couple examples of reactions would be, a big sigh and say “ok ill have a Pepsi but with a slice of lemon,” “yes Pepsi is fine” or they stop dead in their tracks, get angry and say “no I will have water.” It’s funny to think someone that was craving a similar tasting dink will then divert to a plain glass of water. Whether or not people may argue that they can taste the difference, I still believe that the way the companies advertise and the key messages they use have a huge impact on our preferences and influence on what we consume.

Illegal downloading: good or bad?

As a struggling musician, one of your biggest fears is to have all your music taken away from you. Or even worse, not to get the credit you deserve for the hard work you put in. Illegally downloading music has been an ongoing issue for quite some time and many people are still on the fence. But is it all really so bad?

Those for downloading music argue:

• The cost; no fee to download music.

• Easy access; Music that you would otherwise have to go out in stores and purchase is now a click away.

Those against argue:

• Artists don't get the deserved credit/pay

• It's illegal.

Both have valid arguments, but can there be a positive outcome for musicians?

Drake's album "Take Care" for example, was due to be released on November 15. But somewhere between this past Saturday night and Sunday morning the album got leaked onto the Internet.

The album became a trending topic on Twitter, getting nearly everyone to place one-liners from his songs as their statuses.

Drake didn't seem too upset over the leak though. Instead he tweeted Sunday night “Listen, enjoy it, buy it if you like it... and take care until next time." This had people tweeting "buy the Take Care album”.

Although there’s an obvious loss in album sales, through concerts and merchandise, money is still made. Word of mouth creates so much hype around an artist’s music and gets people listening to it.

More people will get to the music if it’s free, building attention around the artist. So in the end, is downloading music really all that bad? You tell me.

Quantum communications: Real science behind Web 2.0 analytics?

                                                                                                                

HOW LONG IS A PIECE OF STRING?     






This is the question posed last week on BBC's Horizon documentary hosted by Alan Davies. In this episode, Davies finds out some astonishing answers:

1) The piece of string is infinite.
2) The the piece of string can be in two places at once.
3)The piece of string has no measurement until it goes through the process of being measured.


All these answers were supplied and verified by scientists and mathematicians utilizing quantum physics and mechanics models and formulas. A series of experiments in measurements were utilized, the audience learned that the word "quantum" has its origin in the Latin phrase "how much".

Do you think we can make a  connection here to mass communications?

Firstly, we're communicating by way of complicated mechanical devices invented by people who had to study things like the significance of E=Mc2 and apply it to other things like........the speed of particles through fiber optic conductors.

Secondly, we use these devices as PR practitioners to monitor social interaction between our subjects and identified publics. Industry is beginning to feel the impact of this and value the benefits that this two way symmetrical communication affords.

Finally,  PR practitioners  in the field are continually needed to qualify their work with with something other than output. We need to quantify our results. If you are in the field, how secure do you feel using the old models of measurements in a Web 2.0 world?

HOW LONG IS YOUR PIECE OF COMMUNICATIONS STRING?


Perhaps the answer lies in the physical science behind communications - although Quantum Communications maybe a misnomer here as it deals more with communications on the  molecular  level. However, I'm putting it to you fellow Web 2.0 pioneers that a formula or formulas should be developed . Go back to quantum basics E=Mc2.  KPIs and SEOs we use as PR practitioners will be taken very seriously. Behind the data is an ancient science.


Is it infinite or have you even started to to measure it? How do you measure something that seems infinite anyway? When anyone, anywhere, anytime can create content, can we ever measure it?