Wedding Planning on the Interwebs... Google Style

Okay, so here's a little secret about me: I am obsessed with weddings.

I can't think of any activity I like more than going to weddings... they're so happy, fun & filled with alcohol and pretty dresses! I've been planning my wedding for as long as I can remember (despite the fact that I've been single for a depressing amount of time) and now my boss just sent out a link to Google Docs' Wedding Planning Templates. GENIUS!

I may have a head start on planning, but I would be the first to confess that I am not the most organized person in the world. (Cough... my room is a train wreck... cough!) These pre-made templates allow women (and men) like me to keep all of their wedding files in the same place and access them wherever they are.

This isn't completely a revolutionary thought. Google Docs have been around for a while. However, I like the idea of them offering templates like these. (Check out the Budget Planner... it is actually pretty impressive.) Some of the docs are super comprehensive, and no one wants to forget anything when it comes to the "Big Day."

If you check out the Google Doc Directory, you will find templates for resumes, personal budgets, business cards, etc. What other activities would be useful for Google to make templates for?

Wait... it's Valentines Day again already?

WTF, Converse/Pandora? Valentines Day was 10 days ago.

If I had a boyfriend and he was 10 days late on a Valentines Day present, it better be something imported from some exotic location, not a pair of Converse shoes.

Converse, work on your timing. KTHXBAI.

Guess what!

Well, hello again yaybia! It's been a while, I know. Trust me when I say that I have always been faithful to you, it's just that the whole long-distance thing kinda got me. It's so hard to know whether something that is relevant and exciting in my time zone is new and interesting on your side of the pond, as well.

But now it is time to get out of the bitter barn and stop complaining about not knowing what you guys over there might want to know. The flipside is: I know ads you don't know. Not yet, anyways.

To join the yaybia revival I am introducing a new category: Guess the ad!

The rules are simple. I'll post an European ad minus the copy, you use the comment section to guess the product or service that is being advertised. Next week, you'll get the solution and a new picture. The one who guessed it right will be awarded a poster-size reprint of the ad. Please arrange to collect it in Berlin within thirty days of the date of your win.

Here we go, #1:

From the morning after to the buzz about, here is what you need to know about this week on the Internets.

It was a big week in technology and social media. Here is what you need to know, in case, ya know, you were hanging out under a rock all week.

The Superbowl & The Morning After.
It was the year of social at the Superbowl. Neilsen revealed that 14% of all Superbowl watchers logged onto the web during the game. This is up from 12% last year. While 2% is nothing to sneeze at for a notable increase, it wasn't the jump that I was expecting.

The brand that got the "most buzz" was Doritos, but that could very well be due to the anticipation from the user-generated contest, or the pure volume of commercials for Doritos. The "most watched ad ever (in the history of the world)" went to Doritos "Gym"



Facebook's new look book
We all knew that it was coming, but Facebook finally rolled out it's redesign. Once again, it is more than just a reskin - it is a complete UX change. I get pretty accustomed to how my mouse moves on a website. I think most people do. I keep moving my mouse up to search in the upper right hand corner, and seriously not being able to find the search bar.

The biggest implication for marketers is that the boxes width is getting narrower (760-520px), but I believe this change is being rolled out gradually. While everyone was asking where that extra 240px is going, I'm wondering if they pages and profiles are going to start having the picture and that navigation up the whole time while you browse through the tabs.

Google Buzz...and the privacy battle.
While far less anticipated than the Facebook rollout (we really only learned about Buzz a week or so before, but Facebook we've been anticipating for months), both hit our screens around the same time. Buzz has been getting a whole lot of push back on privacy. I've always believed that Google knew everything about me, and well, now it is becoming evident how much they know about how we connect with and how we connect with them. It makes some people upset.

I think Buzz will land on its feet, and be something big. I believe this will be a bit like Facebook's previous turmoil with privacy (e.g. the changes in default privacy settings or the fiasco with Beacon). Services will f-up the first time around, figure out how to fix their privacy settings, and then be happy and continue to use the service. It is just more open that people are used to.

I think the future evolutions of Buzz are what are the most exciting. For example, check out what can happen when you use GoogleLabs.

New York Times gets cozy with Foursquare
While the New York Times reports from the Olympics in Vancouver, they will be sharing all the hotspots through Foursquare. They already have lots of friends on the site, I hope that they spend a lot of time interacting with those friends, instead of just feeding them information. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Barbie got geeks
Our favorite doll's latest career is as a computer scientist. This career was voted on by young consumers, and is a perfect exhibit of the "coolness" of geek.

And probably, most importantly:
You'll be hearing a whole lot more from the ladies of Yaybia now. It is like we are all Minnesotan bears, coming out of hibernation or something.

Soucie Billboard

Okay... so this is completely random, and also completely local... but has anyone else seen the Soucie Law billboard on eastbound I-94?
(This isn't the actual billboard, rather the top part of his website, but it's the same picture.)

I've been looking at it FOREVER during my drives back to the Cities, and the only thing that comes to mind is: is this guy related to Groucho Marx?


For real though... they're twins.

That's all. I apologize.

Okay... maybe not...

Google Buzz - The Hive is Missing Context

Not only will this be the 15th post you read about Google Buzz today, but if you're connected to one of our writers, you'll potentially end up seeing it 4 times because it will appear in your Reader, Twitter stream, (maybe) Facebook news feed, and now all up in your Google Buzz. No, I don't blame you for not wanting to see this post 5 times. I don't even want to see this post 5 times.

Libby and I have initial thoughts.

Erin: i don't think i like buzz
Libby: i don't like buzz. no context.
Erin: it's TOO much. i already follow these people. it's just repeat content. it's google friendfeed. skip it.
Libby: right! no, it's friendfeed plus the awkwardness of watching people you don't know comment on friends' FB statuses. why didn't google realize that friendfeed sucks for a reason? if i want tweets i go to twitter. if i want fb i go to the book. if i want flickr, usually people cross post it on FB. otherwise i arrive there because i'm searching for something.

This is not a new conversation for us. Maybe not for you either. Social aggregation is intended to make life easier, but it lacks context. In the land of 140 characters, you can expect conversations and shared items to be short, fun and drunk. On Facebook, you'll receive updates of photo albums along side Farmville invites that won't go away. In Reader, you get fresh content from marketing blogs and LOLcats from Alicia. Bringing all of this together doesn't simplify life; it actually makes me think harder when I try to skim through headlines and keep getting tripped up trying to identify where things came from.

Maybe groups/folders/tags will help, maybe not. Currently I'm telling Buzz to buzz off. (Libby wrote that, blame her.)

Silence of the Lam

I saw this first gem on my walk home this evening and then not an hour later I was greeted by this lovely Facebook ad. Ok, I GET IT, I haven't blogged in centuries. The Silence of the Lam is over. Hope you guys are ready.

Mrs. Tebow can't act and the no-pants trend on the Superbowl tonight

I thought that everyone seemed to be playing it a little safe in Superbowl Ad-land this year. I found most of the ads to be rather forgettable, but here are my thoughts on the rest.

The Tebow Spot:
Like I said, Mrs. Tebow doesn't have a future in Hollywood. That being said, overall that was a lot of hype for something so lame. And the production of the whole thing...little too much Apple and E-Harmony in there. It seemed to rely very heavily on the URL call to action at the end. However, no search terms about that spot made it into the Google search trends or Bing xRank, which means that either everyone remembered that URL and went straight there, or the spot was pretty ineffective, relative to other spots (more about those below).



The Beer Advertising Monopoly:
Anheuser-Busch is the ONLY beer advertiser in the Superbowl? And honestly have to say that I was a little disappointed in the overall beer ads. Beer ads used to literally run the Superbowl - what is up with them now? I think Budweiser is taking the horses a bit far now, and personally, of the beer ads, I only liked BudLight's T-Pain Spot:



The Car Spots (and lack there of):
I really expected more form the American car makers, but the Dodge spot was good. I found most of the spots pretty lame for Hyundai and Kia, but I think VW did a great job making a classic Superbowl spot. They took an idea so simple that everyone, from age 6 to age 90 can understand, and turned it into a spot. SlugBug. I liked it.





The Google Spot:
A first for the search engine, and it was definitely cute. Once again, points for being a very simple quick-get idea. I think most people can relate to it. But I find it interesting that this was loaded onto YouTube back in November, so obviously not made just for the Superbowl. Last-second media buy discount, or strategic move?



The Internets
Since people kept talking about social media and the Superbowl, I expected stronger calls to action driving to websites, social media, and texting in spots, but really didn't see too much. However, some naturals prevailed in search as usual. Dockers seemed to take the cake for most search terms on Google, and Bud and GoDaddy appeared to win on Bing. Most notable is that there was no mention of the Focus on the Family spot, or those Intel spots that were hell-bent on getting you to go submit a moment to their microsite. That means if there is a load of traffic, it is coming from direct entry of the URL, or it just isn't popular enough to get on those trends lists. Once all the buzz around spots happens over the next few days, I think we'll have some more info to report on.

Overall trend = No Pants
I couldn't really figure out why there were so many spots with guys not wearing pants? Dockers, Coke and Careebuilder.... Did anyone else find it funny that Careerbuilder.com's "Casual Friday" was played back-to-back with the Dockers "Men Without Pants" spot?

Funniest that I didn't talk about above: Snickers

Worst that barely deserve a mention: Sketchers and FloTV.

The Rest:
If you missed them, want a chance to see them all again, or just need some commenting material, check them out in Hulu's sweet little widget, below:

And maybe in life, too.

me: all you have to do to succeed in social media is be nice and be real

Erin: fact



Debate in the comments.

Twitter = New Water Cooler?

Mashable questioned whether Social Media could have been the cause of the spike in Grammy's viewership this Sunday, which I think is a cool idea to think about (as you saw from my last post), but the Bill Nye within me (that's what she said?) cries, "TOO MANY VARIABLES!" I mean, come on... you know half of the people, if not more, were tuning in to catch what insane circus act the Haus of Gaga would spit out. BTW - Elton John... fabulous.

But the most important part of the article, to me, was the idea of Twitter becoming our water cooler. (Of course, I'm not talking solely about Twitter, but any microblogging service or even Facebook's status updates.) Now, I may be somewhat nerdy and we ALL know how nerdy my friends are *cough*ERINandLIBBY*cough*, so I am wondering what you all think. Do you think that these sharing sites are creepin in on the watercooler's mojo among the greater Internet population? Do you think it is making next-day chatter at the office "like, SO 10 hours ago"?

I sometimes find myself not wanting to re-tweet articles when I know they've been out there for a few hours. I think, "Nah... this is old news..." I even considered not writing this post because the Mashable article was "so yesterday." But then I realized, maybe not everyone is as nerdy as Libby and Erin. Whoops... forgot to cover that up with a cough. My bad.

But then again, if you're reading this, it's very likely you're in the nerd boat with us. (And I mean no offense by this! Truly. I mean it in the endearing/smart/sometimes a little awkward sort of way.)

I'm the one on the right. Cuddlin'. Erin & Libby: you can fight over the other two.

I'm a Fan

Grammy's. This Sunday. Me = excited.

I've always liked the Grammy's, but I've never been particularly moved by its advertising before. But that was before....

This is now.

Shit's gone social.

I first noticed the social element of the Grammy's campaign when I saw the Beyoncé television spot with user generated YouTube video clips pieced together, making a visual and audio collage of awesomeness.

Don't get me wrong... the singing itself wasn't Grammy-worthy (in fact, it made me feel like I was back at Blarney listening to a bunch of drunk college girls screeching together into the microphone for karaoke), but the concept was so interesting. So social. So... modern.

We are all fans, we want to feel like we're a part of what's gotten the artists to this milestone in their career. In a way, we've all contributed to their nomination (or, if they're lucky, their award.) Every time I post a song to my Twitter followers, I'm helping spread the fan-dom. And the crazies that are ballsy enough to record themselves singing and post it to YouTube are helping as well... well... some not so much, but whatevs. (Lady GaGa TV spot here... I actually prefer this one because it's a little less shrilly.)

So, I was already excited, right? And then I saw the website.

GAAAA... I'M IN LOVE!

Now, I know I'm a social media nerd. I admit it. However, this site is not only beaUUUUUtiful (props to TBWA\Chiat\Day & Visible Technologies), it's informational, engaging & it drives viewers to create their OWN collage with real-time social media updates for their favorite artists.

Oh yeah. I did it. Check it. (May take a while to load, but SO worth it.)

Overall, well done. Loves it.

Pizza Turnaround; Breadstick Standstill

Jameson and I ordered Domino's tonight at my insistence because I've been totally mesmerized by the Pizza Turnaround campaign. Some will argue that it's an admission that Domino's had shitty pizza. Well, yeah, it is. But it's also the only way they could ever get customers (like me) who had made up our minds that Domino's = failfest to try it again. Also, it's an admission that they are listening to what people are saying, and their social media has gone from crisis management to being reactive and receptive.

Anyway.

The new pizza was pretty, pretty, pretty good. I'd say at least Pizza Hut quality. But I'm not here to talk about pizza. I'm here because online we ordered breadsticks:

Pretty standard, 8 pieces with dipping sauce. Yum. We received:

Perhaps Pizza Turnaround really was just an ad campaign, and not an actual recommitment to quality? Sad face.

Ninja Your Way into the Super Bowl

I'm not sure that I can say he's a hometown hero now that I live in New York, but our buddy Mike Rylander (who also made an appearance on Yaybia in 2008) is co-starring Snack Time Samurai, a finalist in the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest!

Now, it's no secret that I love ninjas, but my love for Doritos Nacho Cheesier throwing stars might be greater. Mike & his crew have already snagged $25K for making it into the final six, but if they take top honors (vote here!), Doritos is gonna give them a shit ton of cash.

GAP Employee Cheer

Okay... so I'm not completely sold on the GAP television spots with the cheers. I know, they're festive, they're happy and they fit the brand personality. However, I don't find them particularly creative. (Call me Scrooge...)

I know friends that have sent GAP cheer via cheerfactory.com and quite liked doing so. I think it's great that they're giving the giver and givee 20% off, but I probably won't send any because I has no moneys.

On a completely complimentary note, however, I DO think the campaign has succeeded in internal relations with its Cheer Off competition among stores. GAP stores across the U.S. and Canada (I think... those are the only vids I found) competed with each other to make a festive GAP-themed cheer video. I have no clue what the prize was for the winners of the competition, but I do know what GAP received from this: workers who felt a little more tied to the company. (Insert "Oh how sweet..." sigh here.)

Just take a look at some of these videos. There are terrible ones on YouTube if you search "GAP Cheer," but I've just posted a few of the better ones here.

Here's one, which is a take of the J&K Wedding Entrance Dance video that became so popular on the interwebs:

Then there's "Baby Got GAP." Not my favorite, but the girl at the beginning makes me laugh:

And, of course, "Plaid Romance," my personal favorite. (Okay... I'm biased because I know one of the girls in it. Lauren Sudbrink! WOOT WOOT!)

These little creative exercises can really bring a group of employees together. They may have been only co-workers before, but I bet they feel a little more like friends after spending this time together.

BEWARE: ÜBER CHEESY END REMARK APPROACHING!

Now that's something to cheer about.

Farmville Dreamin'

me: farmville now sometimes redirects to famrville.com from facebook...

Erin: whaat

me: right!
i mean the FB connectivity is still there
i bet they're getting more ad opportunities

Erin: right

me: there are no advertisers on farmville.com yet
but
there can be
if i were an advertiser i'd insist on game integration, not banners
i mean cmon
yes i want to gift my friends a Ford pickup

Erin: RIGHT

me: or they have these theme limited edition items, they just had all these fair-type decorations. yes i want the minnesota users to see MINNESOTA STATE FAIR gear
or like wells fargo has the college effort. i want the college users to have a wells fargo sponsored coin box
frickin that would be insane

i'm gonna just yaybia this snippet

Erin: SNIPPLET

I Want TwitterPeek to Die

For your Friday reading pleasure, I present: The most bullshit device to ever grace Holiday 2009 shopping lists, the TwitterPeek.

I can't even fully describe how ridiculous this is, so I will resort to a list of reasons I hate it.

1. BULLSHIT FLAG on "expensive data plans" and people without smart phones. The last survey from ChangeWave Research says that a full 39% of US mobile users own smartphones. I have a hard time believing that number but they have the trend to back it up, so we'll go with it.
2. YOU DON'T NEED A SMARTPHONE TO USE TWITTER. Unlimited texting is not that expensive and if you're that in love with Twitter/communications, you probably have it.
3. Let's say you're a Twitter user. Odds are you're somewhat tech savvy in general. You're also extremely like to own or want to own a smartphone...not carry around another single-purpose device. Multitasking, I can has?
4. It's $100 with service for the first 6 months and $8/month service after that. How is that expense justified, but a smartphone with OH, I DON'T KNOW, THE ENTIRE INTERNET isn't?? (Or you can get lifetime service for $199. The extra $100 works out to about 12 additional months' service fees. Because Twitter will be the micromessaging service of choice for the next another 18 months. Er, wait, no. Moving on...)
5. If nothing else, there's the iPod Touch. Starts at $199 with no service plan. "Oh, but you need Wi-Fi." Honestly, how many places do you go that you will need Twitter but don't have Wi-Fi? Your car? A bike ride?
6. Devices should do more, not less. Don't you want to kill several birds with one high-functioning stone?

I want TwitterPeek to crash and burn. Its stupidity infuriates me.

Special thanks to Alicia for the graphic. I <3>

Kitten Videos: Sometimes Popular, Always Inspiring

It's always fun to watch the popularity cycle of YouTube videos. Like how The Office brought another wave of interest in the JK Wedding Dance after Jim & Pam's wedding episode.

We saw today that we have 32K views on our 8 month old video interview with Maddie from Kittens Inspired by Kittens. So why the uptick in views?




We think it's from an Entertainment Weekly article that was published at the end of August recapping Notable Kitty Videos, with Maddie's video earning (only?!) a B+ on the kitten funny grading scale. With all the internet meme costumes (and parties!) that are going to hit the streets this weekend, it will be interesting to see which videos take off again and which ones can finally be put to rest.

In other news, YouTube now wants to make some cash on the video and help us take home some change. I think this is a great idea to help Alicia get some extra cash to move out of her parent's house, don't you?

Social Media Halloween Hunt!

Hello YAYBIAland!

As you all know, we are social media nerds. SO... we want you all to hunt down your favorite social media-inspired costumes this weekend, take a picture & send us the link! (Or, if a digital camera is somehow out of grasp, you can explain it to us... we won't judge you for this... too much.)

We've all seen the list of Nine Social Media Halloween Costume ideas (if you haven't, take a click,) but don't feel limited to the list! I know for a fact that one of our own YAYBIA! contributers will be donning a social media-inspired costume that KICKS MAJOR TUCCHUS!

Halloween is definitely my favorite holiday, so you can count on me hunting down some social media costumes in Uptown, Minneapolis. I'll be the hot girl in the X-Men Storm costume, getting white hairspray all over herself.

Case Study in Awesome

You know that feeling you get see something you wish you'd thought of? The one that reminds you why you love this godforsaken industry in the first place?

@UrBaconMeCrazy gives me that delicious bacon-y feeling. Perfect fit for how consumers actually use Twitter. Specifically: conversational tone, Twitpics, and random "I'm eating lunch" / "I love bacon" posts. Good job, Wendy's. You made me remember why I love advertising (and bacon).

One strike against them: they have yet to respond to Lam's inquiry...

Wanted: Murdoch, the Hulu killer.

Most people I know don't like Rupert Murdoch, or his shady sidekicks at News Corp. (Watch this A Bit of Fry & Laurie sketch if you haven't already... it's one of my faves.) And now, with news of the probability of Hulu becoming a fee-based site, I like him even less.

Despite the convenience of watching shows and movies whenever (and wherever) I'd like, Hulu is not completely free, just as broadcast television is not free. Sitting through commercials is my payment for such a convenience. Do they think I enjoy sitting on the edge of my seat through an episode of House (oh- there's Hugh Laurie again... LOVE) only to be interrupted by a Tostitos commercial warning me that if I "don't use my baby factory, it may shut down?" Well, I don't. I don't like it one bit.

However, as annoying as that may be, I take that emotional punch in the baby maker because I love my television shows, and when my father is undeniably cruel enough to turn off my DVR recordings of those shows (grrrr), I turn to Hulu. (PLEASE don't make fun of me for living with my parents...)

But would I pay for this?

NO!

I can find sites all over the Interwebs that allow me to watch my shows. I just LIKE to use Hulu if I can. "Like" being the key word. I don't need Hulu to see my shows and, therefore, I will never pay for a Hulu subscription.

News Corp. can't expect the general public to just roll over to a fee-based plan when they are accustomed to it being "free." I know Murdoch keeps trying to find ways to rake in the cash, but he needs to give it up. Fees will lead to the downfall of Hulu... mark my words.

Hulu has tried so hard to get people to their site with their SuperBowl commercial and other television spots, and these talked about the benefits of the FREE site. Now, once they've received more viewers, News Corp. plans to alienate them (and yes, I used the word "alienate" to be punny) by saying, "Oh- we were just kidding about that whole 'free' thing..."

Bad plan.

Hulu just needs to focus on selling itself as a viable media vehicle to advertising agencies so they have enough spots to fill the gaps.

Thoughts?