The White House Debuts Its First Vine Video

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By Elena Zanone

On Monday, the Obama administration showed off its social media savviness when it launched its first ever Vine video to promote the White House Science Fair gathering over 100 students as a celebration of tomorrow’s leaders and today’s makers.

The White House’s stars TV education personalities Bill Nye from the 1990s educational television series Bill Nye the Science Guy and actor LeVar Burton of Star Trek: The Next Generation and The Reading Rainbow.

 

After the White House’s first Vine, it went on to post four more throughout the day, including the president’s own debut on the social network. The video showed Obama getting hands on during the event, pedaling a bike to power a water filtration system designed by two teenage girls from Oakland Park, Florida.

The President and First Lady are well known for their social media strategy, so it was only a matter of time until their administration took on Vine.

The Twitter owned app was recently launched beginning of this year and is designed to allow users upload six seconds of original GIF-like video and share it with friends.

Nye also hosted a Google+ Hangout from the event that can be viewed here {link no longer active}. The high dosage of science and innovation should be more than enough for users looking to get their science fix, even with its limited production quality.

Source Latino Post

Real-Time Isn’t Always Right

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As expected, social media became the hub for information during last week’s intensive manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombers.  At its best, social nets kept people informed with up to the minute information.  Yet as the hunt became more frantic and authorities called on the public for help in identifying the suspects, a morass of misinformation began to unfold online.  Now people are questioning the role of social media as a viable source of information, especially in an emotionally charged case such as a terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

The most publicized mishandling of information during the manhunt is the case of two innocent high school students misidentified as suspects. Photos of 17-year-old Salah Eddin Barhoum and friend Yassine Zaime made it all the way to the front page of the New York Post with the headline, “Bag men: Feds seek these two pictured at Boston Marathon.”  The basis for the connection was an internal Boston law enforcement email which circulated the photo as simply “an attempt to identify the individuals” during the first moments of the manhunt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Boston police have since cleared both high school students, but Barhoum has changed his name on Facebook, fearing that some people will still target his account.

In another case, overreaction by a misinformed public turned a missing student into a terrorist on the run, and targeted a family already pained by the mysterious disappearance of their son.  The name of missing Brown University graduate student Sunil Tripathi began trending worldwide as he became the focus of speculation after Reddit users claimed to have overheard his name on police scanners.  Soon, other social nets jumped on the information and began pegging the 22-year-old as “the man in the white hat” in the photo released by the FBI.

Women’s rights group Binders Full of Women circulated Tripathi’s name as a suspect to hundreds of thousands of its followers on Facebook.  News and pop culture site Global Grind decided to play the breaking news game, with news editor Michael Skolnik taking a leap of faith and publishing the missing student’s name as a suspect.  Self-styled social media sleuths then took interest in a page that the Tripathi family had set up to find their missing son.

“We started seeing ridiculously speculative traffic,” said Tripathi’s sister, Sangeeta Tripathi.  “We froze the page but monitored other social media sites and watched the horrible arc of events unfold.”

Tripathi’s name has since been cleared and many incorrect posts deleted. Unfortunately, Tripathi’s family is still looking for their son.

Journalists have since reflected on the mob mentality that took over the spread of information about the Boston bombers.  Numerous news organizations have shamed the NY Post’s rush to judgment, front-page style, in identifying potential suspects.

CNET executive producer Molly Wood has given an exceptionally thoughtful response to what took place.  Wood outlined ground rules users can take to avoid spreading misinformation across social channels.

She wrote, “We’re still in the early stages of figuring out how to experience news on social media. I do agree that firsthand reports from witnesses, reporters on Twitter, and those to whom an event is actually happening are invaluable new sources of information. I agree that circulating official “have you seen this person” images on Reddit or anywhere else online is orders of magnitude more effective than the old days of nailing said posters to trees and outhouses. Social media and the Internet have a huge role to play in the future of news — they may very well be the future of news. But right now, they’re making news worse before they make it better.”

Source CNET

Epicurious’ Epic Fail On Twitter

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By Elena Zanone

On the morning after bombs rocked the city of Boston during the Boston Marathon, Condé Nast site Epicurious became the poster child for how not to use social media around this latest tragedy.  It only took two tasteless tweets from the recipe site.

The first tweet read, “In honor of Boston and New England, may we suggest: whole-grain cranberry scones! epi.us/TKTK.”

There seemed to be a moment of calm afterwards, which some later attributed to assuming the site had accidentally overlooked a scheduled post.  The unforgivable moment came with the second tweet.

“Boston, our hearts are with you. Here’s a bowl of breakfast energy we could all use to start today: epi.us/TKTK.”

The tweets went to more than 385,000 of Epicurious’ followers.  After backfire from users and, as the tweets went viral, from writers and bloggers, Epicurious responded by copy and pasting the same apologetic tweet 17 times.

“We truly regret that our earlier food tweets seemed insensitive. Our hearts and prayers are with the people of Boston,” Epicurious tweeted.

 

 

Still flustered followers of the thread remained unsatisfied, pointing to how the word “seemed insensitive” meant the site still didn’t get how egregious their action had been in the wake of the fatal bombings.  Epicurious carefully copy edited its apology.

“Our food tweets this morning were, frankly, insensitive. Our deepest, sincere apologies,” it sent out.

Epicurious has not tweeted since.

On the other hand, and unrelated to Epicurious’ fiasco, Twitter showed that outside of enabling communication and information during a tragedy like this, a social media site can also step it up and facilitate recovery.  Twitter donated its “promoted trend,” one of its main sources of ad revenue, to hashtag  #OneBoston help keep information about the bombings and its aftermath top of mind. It’s worth noting that a “promoted trend” on Twitter can cost upwards of $200,000.

The hashtag has since been used to rally support for Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino’s The One Fund {link no longer active}.  The charity helps affected Bostonians cope with Monday’s devastating tragedy.

People have taken to #OneBoston {link no longer active} to share stories as they cope with the tragedy and mourn the loss three lives and more than 170 injured people, many critically.

The hashtag has also become the platform through which professional athletes “both those who play for Boston as well as other teams – have circulated messages of support.  In one of the most moving sports tributes, Boston Red Sox rivals the New York Yankees played Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” during a pause in play at their game on Tuesday.  The song is a Fenway Park tradition, played during the seventh inning stretch at Red Sox home games.  Among those thanking the Yankees for their support were Neil himself.

“Thank you NY Yankees for playing ‘Sweet Caroline’ for the people of Boston. You scored a home run in my heart. With respect, Neil #OneBoston,” he tweeted . {link no longer active}

Source: Mr. Media Training

Defiance Universe Takeover

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On YouTube, the new transmedia property Defiance has launched a takeover that connects the show to the game.  The takeover begins with Joshua Nolan (Grant Bowler) introducing the evolving threat and then enlisting the audience to help.  Within a few seconds, the user is given a reticle to fire and spot the oncoming enemy.  Give it a try and hit replay to try again and again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lawmaker Tweets Tit For Tat

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Tennessee Democratic State Representative Steve Cohen has claimed that a tweet calling musician Cyndi Lauper “hot” is part of a ruse to teach the media a lesson in journalistic integrity.

The tweet read, “@cyndilauper great night, couldn’t believe how hot u were. see you again next Tuesday. try a little tenderness.”

Cohen sent the tweet after attending a concert at the White House that showcased music from Memphis.  He left it on his Twitter thread for 21 minutes before it was deleted. Cohen says it was all orchestrated.

The scrubbed post got picked up by a website called Politwoops, a site which archives all deleted tweets by Congress members.  The site is part of Sunlight Foundation, an organization that aims to make government more transparent.

Cohen says he suspected this would happen with his Cyndi Lauper tweet.  Politwoops ignited a Twitter controversy earlier this year that Cohen admitted hurt his relationship with his estranged daughter.

“Two months ago, my family was personally hurt and victimized by sensationalized, fact-less speculation masquerading as journalism,” Cohen said in a statement.

During the State of the Union earlier this year, Cohen sent a tweet thanking a young blonde 24-year-old woman for tuning in, calling her a “beautiful girl” and adding “Ilu,” which is internet shorthand for “I love you.”

It turned out the woman was not Cohen’s inamorata but his long-lost daughter who he was attempting to shield from the public eye.

With his ruse panning out as planned, Cohen was good natured about the outcome.

“I hope this serves to bring attention to the need for journalistic integrity as well as encouraging everyone to watch the spectacular and hot performances of Memphis music by Cyndi Lauper, as well as Justin Timberlake, William Bell, Steve Cropper, Sam Moore, Booker T. Jones, Queen Latifah, Ben Harper, Charlie Musselwhite, Eddie Floyd, Alabama Shakes, Joshua Ledet, and Mavis Staples on PBS next Tuesday evening,” he said.

Good one, Cohen.

Source Time

A Digital Will For Your Google Goods

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Google recently announced a new tool to help users manage and plan for their digital afterlife. The tool is called the “Inactive Account Manager” and allows users to delete or appropriate trusted contacts to their Google properties once they have passed.

“Whatever the reason, we give you the option of deciding what happens to your data,” Google stated in their blog.

Users can choose to have their data deleted three, six, nine or twelve months after it becomes inactive. Idleness can also prompt the system to take effect.  Google won’t automatically delete the information after the allotted time. Rather, the service’s “timeout” period is wired to warn users through a secondary email address or a provided phone number before taking any permanent action.

Besides the most popular Google features, Gmail and Google+, users can choose to have their YouTube account, Blogger, Google Voice and Picasa Web Albums passed on to determined beneficiaries as well.

Providing a way to address digital properties when someone passes, similar to a will, is becoming necessary as people trust more of their personal data to online services and communities. Social networks, cloud data storage services, online photo albums and other digital platforms are housing more personal information than ever before. The number one social network Facebook already allows members to have their accounts “memorialized” or deleted after they pass on.

Twitter has similar option where users can contact administrators to either completely delete or obtain a permanent backup of a deceased user’s account information, including tweets.

These moves could be in response to the fact that written laws in the United States and other countries don’t seem to be fully equipped for how to deal with digital data after death. The fate of digital property rights after someone passes is vague, with complications and legal controversies over loved ones’ accounts more prevalent over the past few years. One recent highly publicized instance {link no longer active} is the story of a young Canadian girl who committed suicide because of relentless bullying from peers. After she died, the taunting messages posted to her account continued to live on her Facebook page.

Google is urging a little planning now to help prevent having personal and vulnerable information out there after someone passes.

“We hope that this new feature will enable you to plan your digital afterlife — in a way that protects your privacy and security — and make life easier for your loved ones after you’re gone.” Google stated.

Learn how to set up the Inactive Account Manager here.

Source: Washington Post

 

Official GTA Radio Playlists Now Available

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Rockstar Games has compiled the entire radio history of Grand Theft Auto on both Spotify and iTunes.  The official playlists feature tracks from all the music stations featured in Grand Theft Auto IV, Episodes from Liberty City, San Andreas, Vice City and more. Some songs that were originally featured in the game aren’t currently on either Spotify or iTunes, but Rockstar is hoping to be able to add the original songs where possible soon. And for those nostalgic for some of the commercials from these games, be sure to check out The Advertising Council repository if you haven’t before – a proper collection of radio adverts from the archives of LC, VC and SA‘s historical radio dials…

 

 

 

Madden Cover Vote Down To The Final Four

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With the Madden NFL 25 cover vote down to the final four, Arian Foster is still battling to take the cover. Fresh off a tight 4 percentage point win over Russell Wilson, the Texans star is now going helmet-to-helmet against the only true juggernaut of the new-school voting: Adrian Peterson.

Check out the matchups as the last remaining contenders get ready for the old-school and new-school bracket winners to finally face off.

Old-school Bracket
(1) Jerry Rice vs. (3) Barry Sanders – Rice beat Deion Sanders by a larger margin than Sanders beat Joe Montana in the elite eight. This is a serious toss-up, as Sanders has received more fan votes throughout the campaign, but Rice seems to be gaining support and peaking at just the right time.

New-school Bracket
(4) Arian Foster vs. (2) Adrian Peterson – When you crunch the numbers, the cover is Peterson’s to lose. The overwhelming fan support he is receiving is unprecedented in “Madden” cover vote history that doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

 

 

OMG Was Here

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There is a new interactive website that tracks social media users’ mentions of god and categorizes them in a satirical way.  Appropriately born on Good Friday, the site, which pulls data from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, bills itself as “tracking god and all that he does in real-time.”

Chicago-based copywriter Kevin Lynch created the site after he and his colleagues noticed the propagation of “thank you god” messages offline.  It’s common for athletes, movie stars and others blessed with success to attribute their good fortune to god.

“Obviously, God is busier than we thought,” says Lynch.  ‘Someone should be keeping tabs on His daily achievements.”

As an example, the satirical site tracks how many times “god” and “coffee” were mentioned in the same post as compared to “god” and “beer,” for instance when someone “thanks god for coffee.”  At the time of this writing God had 277 thanks for giving us the caffeinated beverage versus just 19 for beer.

Another section is “god is a matchmaker,” where users can see how many people are currently thanking god for their significant others.  In “god’s a geek,” users can witness how many phones “the great iAm” has created.  There are also “god achievements” that grant badges the almighty has earned for his handiwork.  For instance, the “alarm clock badge” measures the number of people “god roused from bed today.”  Other badges recognize god’s hand in people getting paid on payday, getting motivated enough to work out, and having McDonalds.

 

The site compiles the data it collects into a map of the US showing in real time which states are responsible for the most god mentions. Currently it’s Texas.

There are a few flaws with the site’s data-scraping algorithm, highlighted by instances the context doesn’t always match the category. For example, the “god gets angry” section aims to compile messages where “god” and “damn” are used together, but some tweets just happen to include both words independently.

The search for god on the internet starts here.

Source: Mashable

Finally, A Tweet From President Clinton

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Earlier this week, political satirist Stephen Colbert created a Twitter account for former President Bill Clinton during an event for college students involved in the Clinton Global Initiative. Colbert segued a conversation on whether young people should get involved with politics into Clinton’s social media presence, namely Twitter.

The comedian who goes by @StephenAtHome on Twitter is avid on social media, delivering daily quips to more than four million of his followers. When he prompted the ex-president to talk about his social media involvement, Clinton’s participation in the social sphere proved to be limited.  Although he uses Facebook, Clinton explained he has reservations about Twitter.

“What if you tweet and nobody tweets back?  There’s nothing worse than a friendless tweeter,” said Clinton.

He also recounted a quote from a speech where he admitted to being a complete novice when it comes to technology.  Shocking if not for the fact that he first served in office 20 years ago, Clinton claims he sent just two emails during his term.

Colbert used humor to get Clinton to reconsider his absence on Twitter.

“Sir, I took the liberty of opening you a Twitter account,” he told Clinton during his show.  “Now, President Clinton was taken. William Jefferson Clinton was taken. But PrezBillyJeff was available.”

Colbert then asked, “Would you like to break into the 21st century right now, and send your first tweet?”

And with that, a bit of presidential history followed with Clinton’s first tweet.

 

Clearly the former president who is popular around the world had nothing to worry about in the engagement department. His account has amassed over 35,000 followers since the first tweet. Although he did get some help from Colbert.

Source: Huffington Post