Pinterest announced a new tool yesterday, called Place Pins. Place Pins is a product that can feature local spots that might interest users as well as help users plan vacations.
Place Pins can be found on a new pin board that features a map where users can pin locations such as restaurants, bars, tourist sites or different hot spots around a city and add descriptions about them. With partners such as Trulia, Booking.com and OpenTable, these new Place Pins include a brief description of each location. Not only can users create their own Place Pins board for trip ideas or places to go, but they can also share their entire board with their friends.
A team of researchers at the National University of Singapore have developed a new taste simulator that allows you to sample virtual food. The device consists of a small silver electrode that attaches to the tip of the your tongue. Through slightly shifting the electric currents and altering the temperature of the electrode, almost identical tastes to the natural flavors can be experienced.
Zendesk is a could based customer service app that has revolutionized the ability to meet customer’s needs. Zendesk displays an easy-to-use interface that is now being used by more than 200 million people worldwide.
Zumper Pro is an app for your smartphone that makes searching for future homes easy and safe. Zumper’s goal is to make the moving experience for renters and landlords’ complete and total bliss. Continue reading →
Social media and relief efforts now go hand in hand when it comes to national crises. Social media has changed the way people can help with relief efforts during a crisis. This can be seen with the online relief efforts that social media sites have enacted in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
A recent BuzzFeed article showcased a hilarious Twitter conversation that has garnered a lot of attention. The conversation won the internet for one simple reason: it took place between major UK-based companies Tesco Mobile, Yorkshire Tea, Jaffa Cakes, and others.
Image courtesy of BuzzFeed
The exchange began when a man named Riccardo Esposito tweeted a picture to @tescomobile of a Facebook status complaining about the company’s customer service. Tesco responded in a clever and familiar way, leading to a full on conversation between the company and the random individual who caught its social media manager’s attention. The situation became truly remarkable when the back-and-forth between Esposito and Tesco turned to the subject of a party, getting food and tea brands involved. Acting like old friends, the banter turned into a playful argument that allowed the brands to bring the attention to their products and public images.
The responses were pithy and dripping with a typically British dry humor, making the exchange all the more enjoyable for those who so happened to be following one of the companies or customers involved. The conversation is funny because the companies are conversing like a solitary person amongst themselves and consumers. Because of the unlikeliness of the situation, the Internet, including BuzzFeed, picked it up and ran with it. The BuzzFeed article garnered a lot of attention for Riccardo Esposito, as well as the companies he engaged.
The conversation demonstrates a clever and thoughtful way to engage playfully with consumers using social media. Companies engaging with each other through platforms like Twitter allows them to entertain customers while potentially informing them about products and promotions in a subtle way. This situation also shows that branding through Twitter and other social media outlets doesn’t always have to be through promotional and special deal tweets. Because of the uniqueness of the situation, the conversation and how it unfolded would be hard to replicate, but the idea is eye-catching nonetheless.
Hobbies are a great way to become better rounded individuals and meet new people with interests alike. Communities by hobby make the ideal niche networks to find activities and the social web is a great place to connect to advice and know-how. Here is a selection of listening posts from impassioned hobbyists: REMcloud, Ravelry, Line-for-heaven, Dogster and Catster.
Gone are the days of travel agents and agencies. Due to the Internet, new technology, and social media, many components of global travel have changed. Continue reading →
Google Glasses have always attracted the public’s attention. However, many believe and have considered that they will not survive on the market. Price is a big problem and the cost does have a lot of power in making a difference between a ‘big boom’ or a ‘complete failure’. The U.S might be a good market to begin with, but will the ‘Google Glasses‘ survive at an international level ?
If in fact the Google Glasses do survive at an international level, then social media will be destined to change as well..
It seems that Nov. 13 is National Indian Pudding Day, arguably one of the most important days in American history. Outside of New England, it is almost unheard of, and understandably so. The holiday itself is so obscure that according to food historian Kathleen Wall, “[it] has never been petitioned at the White House.”
JP Morgan Chase & Co. is already in the negative spotlight due to eight Justice Department investigations. The company further cemented this negative attention after opening up a Q&A session on Twitter, using hashtag #AskJPM this past week.
Last Friday, Amazon’s original series “Alpha House,” a political comedy, debuted to Amazon customers. While some users may think that Amazon’s original series will be available to binge watch like Netflix series Orange is the New Black and House of Cards, “Alpha House” will be aired weekly.
By posting new episodes of “Alpha House” weekly, Amazon hopes that gossip about the show will carry on longer than the buzz surrounding shows on Netflix that can be watching in a few days.
Although Amazon hopes that it’s original series will be talked about over a period of time, the buzz that revolves around the show will depend on the success of the show itself. If the show is not popular among viewers, Amazon potentially runs of the risk of talk about “Alpha House” dying out rather than spreading.
Amazon’s original series can be viewed by not only Amazon subscribers, but by all customers with a free trial as Amazon has found that free trial Prime memberships often turn into paid subscribers.
With there only being 11 to 12 million Amazon Prime members compared to there being 43 million Netflix members, do you think Amazon’s original series will compete with Netflix’s original series? What are your thoughts on binge watching versus anxiously waiting the suspense of next week’s episode?
Attention Gotham City, I mean San Francisco, there is a new hero in town and he goes by the name of Batkid. This five year old is here to fight crime, all before bedtime. Continue reading →
In the digital world, sometimes there’s nothing more eye-catching than a well-made collage. On a blog, on a website, on Instagram or Facebook – you know you stop to look when you scroll across an intriguing collage. Polyvore thinks so too, and that’s why they’ve created a global community with a new way to discover and shop for things you love. That’s right, through the creation of collages inspired by the website’s members.
Just when you thought the world has seen enough selfies, teen pop star Justin Bieber decides to back a new social network site called Shots of Me. This app, which will be marketed by RockLive, is a network exclusively dedicated to selfies.
Love is a wonderful thing, and finding love is an even more wonderful thing. Some people meet their soul mates on the playground in their youth, in their High School cafeteria, on orientation day of college, love finds people at different stages throughout their lives. Thanks to social media outlets like Facebook, we as outsiders are guaranteed a front row view to some of the most lovey dovey, lip smackingly, obnoxiously happy, couples in the Facebook world! Continue reading →
In the past year Facebook users have been at a low. It seems that right as the older generations started to use Facebook, the younger generations have started to wean themselves off of the site. Although the site will never go away because of its use of timelines and archiving life event, it seems that the younger generation is steering towards relying solely on other social media applications, such as SnapChat and Instagram. Facebook slumps as other media sites are taking over.
Dropbox over the years has proven to be an amazing and effortless website that was created for storing files and a place to share between friends and colleges. The number of satisfied followers has grown to over 200 million happy Dropboxers and now the company is trying to aim to create a Dropbox for Business. Continue reading →
In 2010, Hipmunk a travel planning start-up was created as website and mobile app. Hipmunk caters to spontaneous traveling as well as being a full-service travel site that takes the agony out of travel planning with an easy to use site and low fares. If that doesn’t lure you in maybe the cute little chipmunk in an aviation outfit will. Continue reading →
In May, Yahoo revealed a new version of photo sharing site Flickr, complete with 1 TB of free storage and the ability to upload full-resolution photos. Although early reviews were glowing, the results have been less than satisfying. The number of Flickr’s unique monthly users has dropped from 27.3 million to 26.2 million: over one million since the May announcement. Continue reading →
It seems that Nov. 13 is National Indian Pudding Day, arguably one of the most important days in American history. Outside of New England, it is almost unheard of, and understandably so. The holiday itself is so obscure that according to food historian Kathleen Wall, “[it] has never been petitioned at the White House.”
