5 of the best social media stories of the week as chosen by the Qubite’s. Also 5 of the rest aka “ Stuff we thought woz interestin’ ”.

5 of the best

Data.gov.uk

Probably the biggest news of the last week was the government launching data.gov an online platform for all its publicly available data. On a basic level this means you could search the site rather than submit a request under the Freedom of Information Act. On a more exciting level it means developers can use this data to create interesting applications and websites. Check out a couple of websites that have already been built Safer Streets and Where Does My Money Go.

Test Tube

Just like Google uses its Labs to show off new ideas and experiments Youtube is doing the same with Test Tube. Insights for Audience and Comments search are really useful for finding out what the Youtube audience is interested  in and talking about.

Preparing for the Launch of the Games and Applications Dashboards

Prepare for another change to how you use Facebook. The current Facebook interface for applications and games has always felt a little makeshift. Now Facebook have created a special dashboard for users to get all of their information in one place. Hopefully this will mean I stop getting ugly duckling gifts on my wall, thanks mum.

Does your company really want to hang out with me?

A succinct and spot on observation of how some businesses still use Social Media. I have lost count of the number of times I have heard Social Media referred to as “A marketing channel” or “promotional tool”. Stop trying to push your message for just one minute and actually listen to what the people you are shouting at want to say.

Your State of the Union

Even with data.gov it looks as though our government is still playing catchup with America. Not only will this years Citizens address be streamed live on Youtube, but users will be able to submit questions to President Obama! Users can then vote on their favourite questions and some of the highest rated will be asked to him the following week. Now that is Social Media!

5 of the rest

Charlie Simpson -  Just Giving

This young man wanted to raise some money for the people of Haiti with a sponsored bike ride. He set himself a target of £500, a whopping target for any one child to raise (I think the most I managed was £50 for a junior fun run.) He has now raised over £160k not bad…not bad at all Charlie. An amazing achievement, but I wouldn’t hire him as my financial forecaster.

Music spies a Spotify sunrise

We are big fans of Spotify here in the Qube office, but have often wondered whether or not it is financially viable. Well it seems the answer is yes and no. Other than the UK and Spain subscription levels are good, but us Brits don’t mind persevering through adverts to get ourselves a bargain. Personally I would like to see more features for my £10 a month. What would get you to upgrade to a Spotify premium account?

Billy Moyers interviews David Simon (creator of the Wire)

If you are a big fan of The Wire this is a must watch. If you haven’t seen it yet this video does contain spoilers…so don’t watch it, just go buy the complete box set here (Do we get commission for this?). You can thank me later .

Functional – why simple, small and cheap appeals to all

Some great examples of why cheap and simple works! Sometimes the best solution is the simplest.

TV shows on Youtube

Not sure how new this is but I just found that Channel 4 and 5 have put all their on demand shows on Youtube. Seems like a smart idea to me. It is a shame that they have disabled comments on the videos though, would be a great way to create conversations and get feedback on episodes.

Currently “PR” is the weapon of choice with regards to companies getting information about their games online. This entails a series of press releases and interviews appearing on the biggest gaming websites which then filter down through the smaller sites and eventually into the communities.

This practice is only a slight evolution of the old PR model used when print was king. The aim was getting column inches in the biggest newspapers and magazines and bagging the much sought after magazine cover. PR stands for Public Relations but most of this sounds like Media Relations to me.

This old school way of doing things is fine in the most part. A lot of gaming enthusiasts visit these sites so it makes sense to target them first. If you do get a story on there the site’s influence and advocacy will add kudos to your brand’s reputation.

That is if you even manage to get your story onto those sites in any meaningful way. Ad-funded sites need as much web traffic as possible so your news story could be old news within minutes.

Old school PR doesn’t reach those gamers not on these websites, the mums buying Wii Fit, the kids pining for a Ben Ten game and it’s hard to imagine all of those Call of Duty sales exactly matching the web traffic of Gamespot and IGN. Finally this top down message is all one way traffic. How often do you see game companies commenting on their own news stories with more insight, correcting misinformation or just answering questions from the community.

Another Way?

Just because you are making a game does not mean IGN or Gamespot are your best bet for reaching the widest audience. Really work out what your game is about and who would like it, different communities have different common interests.

Try looking at smaller games communities with niche interests that match your product, look further afield at communities that aren’t all about videogames. You may find that Mumsnet is a better place to get information for your new fitness game to reach its target audience than any games website.

In all honesty that bit of the job is the easy part, making your PR actual relations with the public requires more time and care. Make the information relevant to them and actually talk about what it is you are trying to sell. When someone asks a question go answer it. Show that you care about your audience and build your online reputation.

Having conversations with the right people and communities is much more important than a one way message to be disseminated from on high. Use all the social media tools (forums, blogs, Twitter, Facebook etc) to have real interactions with the people that matter most – your customers!

Here are Qube’s favourite tweets from the last week.

@Glennw’s favourite tweets

A tweet from @google:

“New & very high-res imagery of Port-au-Prince post-quake now in Google Maps. http://bit.ly/8R5oTC”

A tweet from @Ratsofatsorat:

“.DK? What country is that?” “Donkey Kong Country?” #lifeatbethesda (LOL!)

A tweet from @rexbox:

“Just stumbled onto this: http://tr.im/KS32 Man, they are really going to clean up in the emerging dead fish/squirrel market”

@Nijay’s favourite tweets

A tweet from @MarkClayson:

Just How Miraculous Could an Apple Tablet Be? [Blockquote] http://goo.gl/fb/dwjX

A tweet from @mockduck:

“Mummy, how many more birthdays have you got before you die?”

A tweet from @SMBSeattle:

Study Finds Marketers Embracing Social Media Marketing In A Big Way. http://bit.ly/76WvJy ^CC

@MrTomasz’s favourite tweets

A tweet from @vikkichowney:

Tesco to launch ‘buy one, get one free later’ deals to cut down on food waste: http://bit.ly/4yqjdG

A tweet from @wearesocial:

The new social technographics ladder http://bit.ly/5PKxNx

A tweet from @BrandRepublic:

Google’s YouTube to introduce live sports coverage http://tinyurl.com/ycmbspb

@FionaJane’s favourite tweets

A tweet from @wearesocial:

Please check my Blog! http://is.gd/5NmVP (trust us, this will rock your world) trust me, it will stick in ur head allll day

5 of the best social media stories of the week as chosen by the Qubite’s. Also 5 of the rest aka “The Home of amazing”.

5 of the best

Old people talking about Facebook Exodus

Apparently teenagers are leaving Facebook as it is too full of adults, who wants their mum checking their Facebook wall after all. Anecdotally I don’t see much evidence to back this up, most teenagers I know cant seem to get enough Facebook! There are also a bunch of Youtube opinion videos from teenagers for some interesting insight. One thing I would say to many of those complaints against Facebook is that it is just a tool. A tool that is only as good as what you do with it, so if someones status updates annoy you just un-friend them. (more insightful Facebook advice is available on request )

The Whuffie Bank

A virtual bank, but not for your money. The Whuffie Bank is building a new currency based on our reputations. Twitter and Facebook are making our online reputation really important, we all excerpt our own influence over groups of people in different ways. This site offers you a way of turning your reputation into a currency that can be traded and used for … well whatever someone is willing to give you for it. I first scoffed at this site and thought “It will never take off”, but then I tried to be a bit more open minded about it. The money we use today is just a system we all believe in and use, what is to say a new virtual currency couldn’t exist and do the same? Food for thought.

YouTube to introduce live sports coverage

Youtube will start showing live sports shows, only Cricket for now but this marks an interesting move for the video sharing site. Obviously this means you can watch it anywhere without a TV licence, but what does it mean for the product? One of Youtube’s main features is the ability to rate and comment. This could be the beginning of live sport becoming social in a big way.

Virtual game purchases benefit Haiti Relief Fund

The recent events in Haiti have been tragic and is something we all need to help with. Whenever such atrocities happen companies often donate large sums of money, but more importantly those companies use their influence to encourage others to help. Hugely popular Facebook game Farmville has recently added some virtual items that can be purchased to support the Haiti Relief Fund. I think this is a great idea and something all people and businesses of influence should be encouraged to do. Think about how you can use your influence to help others when they need it most.

Manchester United bans players from using Twitter

After some high profile Twitter gaffs from professional footballers Man Utd have banned their players from having a presence on social networking sites. It is a shame that the club feels the need to control the PR of their players so heavily. The nice thing about footballers being allowed to use these networks is it actually made them appear as real people, with real faults. It also gave them direct contact with the fans who help pay their wages, something that is surprisingly lacking in the modern game.

5 of the rest

Silicone ‘clay’ lets consumers modify troublesome products

If the product you bought doesn’t quite fit the bill, maybe you can customise it? This stuff looks a bit like silly putty to me, but hey maybe it is just what I need to fix my action mans broken arm.

Crayola Color Chart, 1903-2010

How Crayola’s colours have evolved over the year. I like cool looking diagrams .

Crappy Taxidermy

This is a weird and slightly creepy site. Probably not for everyone and the title pretty much says it all.

Love Money

I have been whining about lack of really good online banking tools for a while, it looks like the banks aren’t listening but at least someone is! Love Money requires you put in your account name and password (which is a little scary) but in return offers you a financial breakdown of your spending in a really useful way. You can even set personal savings goals for it to track. Definitely one to watch.

Irrational Behaviour

For anyone interesting in videogames especially those create by Ken Levine (System Shock, Bioshock, X-com) should go check out Irrational games new website and should definatly check out their new podcast. A great example of how to do a company podcast and how to make it interesting.

As we are in the first month of 2010 I am still allowed to make a prediction for the year. I predict this year we will see social media become a big part of videogames.

Right now there are a few standout shining examples in a sea of lame attempts and auto tweeting options. I will highlight a couple of these fantastic communities designed to allow players to interact with each other and the game while away from their console.

Bungie.net

Bungie.net is probably the poster child for linking a game and web community into one experience. Bungie have created a space that brings players of the popular franchise Halo together, wherever they are.

The site allows you to see global stats such as how many people are playing online and where they are, but more importantly it acts as a better way to share information than the in-game interface.

Bungie.net is a great resource for finding and sharing user generated content. Users are constantly sharing and rating their favourite content to share their experiences and add content to other peoples.

Killzone.com

Killzone.com joins the gaming community of the highly rated, Playstation 3 game, Killzone 2 together. Killzone.com also offers similar levels of stat tracking, enabling you to see who the best players are in the world and what online tournaments are coming up.

The site also allows me to check out my own statistics away from the game. I can also quickly check which of my friends are online playing and compare my progress to theirs. Now my friends can rub in how much better they are in the pub and use their iPhones to prove it (please don’t do this.)

Why are they so important?

Creating a web based user interface allows for greater flexibility than a game interface where the user is confined to a controller. A browser combined with a keyboard and mouse is much better for interacting with large sets of data and information. The experience shouldn’t be completely separated from the game but should enhance the options already available to the player. It should also act as a window into the game’s community away from the console.

For example Bungie.net allows the user to search the Bungie community for user created maps. The user can then filter these by tag or rating until something takes their fancy, then with the press of a button the map is queued up ready to download the next time they turn on their console. That level of integration is vital for joining the web and console communities together.

Social networks, such as Facebook, already have huge pull for users, so rather than reinventing the wheel with an isolated gaming community these existing platforms should be enabled. On Bungie.net a user can share links to their own maps, videos and statistics across their other social networks. Being able to share a great moment of fun or a level you have found across your Facebook or Twitter makes more sense than just sharing it within the game’s own space.

This can also pull players back into the game as their friends highlight why the game is still fun and may even help to drive sales as potential players see their friends enjoying themselves and want to get involved.

The communities allow all of your activity to be linked together, so when I ask a question on the forums I can see if the answer I am getting is from a player who knows what’s what (ie how much has he played Killzone and is he any good.) The beauty of all this is it happens without need for user input, I don’t have to manually input my stats or tell the site who my Playstation friends are, it just pulls all that data in. Again linking any communities that exist outside the game as closely as possible to the in-game community needs to be done as tightly as possible.

The more ways you allow the players to interact with your game and their friends when they are not sitting in front of the TV, the more likely they are to keep coming back and playing it and therefore more likely they are to keep telling other people about it.

To Wrap Up

Those are just some of the features these community sites offer. There are a host of other communities developed around games (listed below.) I recommend you check some out and spend some time getting to know why they are so interesting and how you might make a better one! If you know any other good examples let me know in the comments.

Over the coming year I expect a lot more integration of videogames in other places, whether it is checking out your friends’ stats on the web or sharing your top score on Facebook. Gaming’s integration into social media isn’t going away. It is only going to get bigger and better.

Fifa (http://www.eafootballworld.com)

EA Skate (http://skatereel.ea.com/)

Spore (http://eu.spore.com/sporepedia/)

Social Media Strategist / Consultant

Qube is recruiting again. We’re looking for someone who is fascinated by digital/social technology and how it is impacting our lives.

Someone who can thrive in an open creative environment and personally contribute to the growth of the agency through ground breaking Social Media strategies and initiatives.

We are not necessarily looking for someone who has worked in Social Media before but you will need to have a solid experience in brand communications, ideally from a digital perspective. You will have good business acumen and a strong planning and/or research skill set, be able to take a brief, analyse it and propose the best solution.

Read the full job description here.

An hour ago the Parlaphone Twitter account announced a competition to win tickets to the Blur film premier. To win you simply have to tweet #blurfilm more than anyone else does. Queue mass #blurfilm spam tweets. Wait, why is there so much spam? Parlaphone clearly said not to spam:

The problem is the entire competition was set up in a way that will always generate spam. In order to tell all of my twitter friends about the film I just have to make one tweet….that is how Twitter works. I make one tweet and all of my followers will see it. Sending each of them a message individually is still spam and unnecessary. This should have just been a random prize draw, even a Retweet competition would be better (although still spammy!)

Parlaphone in fairness use Twitter better than most, they interact with their followers and don’t just push news through an RSS feed but this is quite a faux pas. Fortunately it only lasted an hour, however even with the competition over some users seem unaware and are still spamming away.

Naughty Parlaphone!

UPDATE: Just got sent this screen grab from the Blur Facebook page encouraging users to tweet as much as they could. The comment has been taken down now, probably because the competition is over, but maybe to hide the spammy encouragement? Conspiracy! Double Naughty Parlaphone.

5 of the best social media stories of the week as chosen by the Qubite’s. Also 5 of the rest aka the “Bazaar of awesome”.

5 of the best

Google end censorship in China

Google will be ending its censorship of results in China. Google’s mantra is “Don’t Be Evil” and it looks like they might be living up to it.

Ad Agencies Please Know That Social Media is Not a Tactic

Too many times companies treat social media as another tick box without much further thought.

TV ad? “check”

Print ad? “check”

Facebook page? “check”

Social media is a conversational platform and not just another place to plaster your witty advertising slogan.

Zuckerberg: I know that people don’t want privacy

A fair few articles popped up around Zuckerberg’s recent comments on privacy. I have mixed views on internet privacy but you have to hand it to Facebook for being so willing to make huge changes to their product. Many companies get stuck for years with legacy systems that just don’t fit into the ever changing landscape.

Children who use technology are ‘better writers’

I have often wondered how the internet and social media effects literacy. Using the internet means we are often reading and writing more than ever. Sure there are arguments to be made about the quality of the writing, but being able to use the internet is quite a big incentive for someone to get literate.

The great specialist vs. network agency debate

As I work for a specialist social media agency I may be biased (slightly) but I would say the network agency have quite a lot of catching up to do in the social media space.

5 of the rest

Why I believe printers were sent from hell

The Qube printer is one of Qube’s most hated office appliance. Second is the stapler that always hides itself and decides to stop working when you finally find it.

ASDA Complaint – Welsh Pizza

What a punchline!

How to make Jack Nicholson very happy

I have no idea if this picture is real, but it is perfect in every way.

Audi A5 “suicide ad” still touring the web. p.s It’s still a spec ad and not real

This advert may not be real but it is expertly put together and very funny. I wonder if there is a way to track this fake ad to traffic, brand awareness or sales of Audi?

FARMVILLE Commercial!!

After my social gaming blog post about Farmville I received this funny and spot on video.

My mum is an addict. It isn’t drugs or drink or anything taboo no this is much worse. My Mum is addicted to Farmville.

For those of you that live in caves without internet (how did you get to this blog!) Farmville is a hugely popular game on the even huger social networking site Facebook. How huge? Last month Farmville had over 26m users, and that was a slow Christmas month! Last I checked Facebook had around 300m users, meaning that Farmville is being played by around 10% of those people!

Players of Farmville spend most of their time Farming. Ok you’re not asked to get up at 4am to clean the pigs out, but you must look after your crops and animals and try to sell them to make more money. If Farmville was just that though it wouldn’t have trounced Harvest Moon for the Wii, a better and more involved farming game (although it does cost a few quid more).

What has made Farmville such a storming success is the social basis it is built from. Before you have even planted your first crop you are encouraged to gift a farming item to a friend, whether or not they play the game. The more friends you have playing the more likely you are to get daily gifts in return for your farm.

The game is designed to be played in short bursts over a long period of time. With some tasks requiring you to return on a daily basis.

So how did my mum end up playing this game? The age old water cooler talk. Unless you work in a particularly geeky office video games are not really a hot button issue around the water cooler, but since Facebook has gone mainstream so has its games.

The water-cooler talk once reserved for celeb gossip and soap news has now been taken over by a game. As a gamer this makes me very happy (even if the game in question isn’t that good.)

My mum is addicted not so much to the game but to the social experience it offers. She speaks to her work friends online and at work and while sometimes the conversations are about virtual farming they are often about other things. Farmville has given my mum a way in to the office conversations and also an excuse for her to be connected to her friends.

Social networks and social gaming have gone mainstream people. My mum says so!

Here are Qube’s favourite tweets from the last week.

@Glennw’s favourite tweets

A tweet from @dylancuthbert

http://vimeo.com/7809605 incredibly good CG, especially for lovers of architecture, very inspiring

@Nijay’s favourite tweets

A tweet from @euzie

There is no aitch at the start of aitch #mypedanticbugbear

A tweet from @joe_90

“Independent Woman” Beyonce plays private new year gig for wife-beating son of Col Gadaffi. Money over morals, be ashamed.

A tweet from @laurencehill

don’t care about Crystal Maze but Amanda Holden shouldn’t be allowed 2 present anything. Or leave the house #notoholden

@MrTomasz’s favourite tweets

A tweet from @joshfeldberg

France proposes ‘Google Tax’ to help artists http://tinyurl.com/y9e6pel

A tweet from @abigvictory

Day 2 of boyfriend quitting smoking and I think I’m going to hide all the knives.

A tweet from @strutting

Pajamas: because you should dress for the job you want, not the job you have.