Study: Social Media Irresistible As Sex

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A recent report administered by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business revealed that the urge to check social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest was eerily comparable to temptations to cigarettes and sex.

In the study administered in Germany, subjects between the ages of 18-85 years old were asked to inform researchers every thirty minutes if they felt a need from “strong” to “irresistible” to check their social communities on mobile devices and also rate their desire for other needs such as sleeping, drinking, smoking or sex. They found subjects rated wanting to check social media stronger than the rest.

Lead author of the study, Wilhem Hofmann stated, “Desires for media may be comparatively harder to resist because of their high availability and also because it feels like it does not cost much to engage in these activities, even though one wants to resist.”

The research stems from previous social study that poses the question, “Is social media destroying real-world relationships ”

Find out more at Mashable.

 

Go Get Yourself Lost In The Echo

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From the masterminds behind the scary and viral “Take This Lollipop“ video, Linking Park’s new music video for “Lost in the Echo” places your Facebook pictures into the storyline to personalize the tale for each viewer.

The video can be found at LostInTheEcho.com, which will ask for temporary access to your Facebook photos. This teaser video shows how the emotionally intense people in the video will react to your pictures.

Interactive director Jason Nickel and Tool‘s Jason Zada co-directed the video, infusing it with the Facebook integration that turned “Take This Lollipop” Facebook app into an eerie web sensation in 2011. The app was proclaimed the fastest-growing Facebook app ever, with nearly 10 million Likes.

At the end of the Linkin Park video, the site will give you the option to share the experience on Facebook or Twitter.

In Relentless Pursuit Of Monster Potential

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Disney and Pixar have launched a viral site for the prequel film, Monsters University set on campus while Mike and Sully were not the greatest of friends. Built like a college website, we are given historical facts, maps, news Alumni pages, and a store.

The brief history states:

“Established in 1313 following a land grant from the city of Monstropolis, Monsters University has grown from a small local center of learning to a leading global institution of higher education. Upon this hallowed ground, some of the most fabled academic buildings in the world have been built, serving the hundreds of thousands of alumni that have walked the halls and grounds of MU.”

A new piece of artwork that is visible across the top of every page of the site.

A map shows the layout of the campus.

The store sells MU-branded shirts, sweatshirts and mugs redirects to the Disney Store website, where checkout can be completed. Monsters University arrives in theaters on June 21, 2013.

 

Three Brands Rising Above The YouTube Noise

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What do Nike, Hot Wheels, and Nerdist have in common They’re offering lessons on how branded YouTube channels can be truly entertaining destinations.

Whether it’s Hot Wheels’ episodic adventure, Nike’s infectious amount of variety, or Nerdist’s display that is way too appetizing not to click, these three super brands are captivating their audiences. And they’re not necessarily doing it in extraordinary ways. Ultimately, the key is to make the most of display elements YouTube offers, as well as the various interactive opportunities within the videos themselves.

Find out more at iMedia Connection.

Pro Tour Predictions Wanted

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The Fantasy Pro Tour app {link no longer active} lets you predict which cards will show up in Magic the Gathering Fantasy Pro Tour Return to Ravnica happening on Friday, October 19.

Produced by Ayzenberg Group and Wizards of the Coast, start by researching the best cards – DailyMTG.com {link no longer active} is an excellent source for card analysis, recent tournament results, and top decklists, and Gatherer.wizards.com {link no longer active} is a complete database of every Magic card ever printed!

Then, select a “team” of cards, made up of a Planeswalker, a large creature, a medium creature, a small creature, an instant, a sorcery, an enchantment, an artifact, a non-basic land. Add a Pro Tour player as your tiebreaker. You have until Friday, October 19 at 12 p.m. EST to lock your rosters.

Once the Pro Tour starts on Friday, you’ll be able to compare your team to your friends’ teams. Follow the coverage here http://www.twitch.tv/magicprotour to see what cards are showing up!

Earn points based on how often the cards in your roster are played in decks recording at least 18 points in the 10 Swiss rounds of Modern competition at Pro Tour Return to Ravnica. After the Pro Tour, see how you did and compare to your friends’ scores on the Leaderboard. You can even see how you stack up next to the Top 100 Fantasy Pro Tour players of the season.

Facebook Evolves The Power Of A ‘Like’

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When Pinterest hit the social sphere in 2010, the highly visual platform changed the way users interacted and showed how images can be one of the most engaging forms of content. Facebook responded with Timeline, introducing a more aesthetic way to interact with users while simultaneously creating a living “timeline” of their activity. Now, images on Facebook will hold more weight than ever, and possibly in dollars.

Facebook is currently working with Victoria’s Secret, Pottery Barn, Michael Kors, Wayfair, Neiman Marcus, Fab.com and Smith Optics on an effort it calls “Collections.” It’s going to evolve the value of a “Like.” With “Collections,” users will additionally be able to tag images they see with “Want,” “Collect” and “Buy.” “Buy” would take users to the third party site where they could then purchase the product. It’s a feature that could be perfect for Pinterest, except they haven’t yet integrated it.

Many of Facebook’s past e-commerce efforts have failed. Remember the introduction of Facebook gifts But this new approach seems to align with how users are already interacting with content. Like most of the social magic of Facebook, users will not be exposed to a “Collection” unless a friend has “Liked” or “Shared” with their social network. “Collections” are designed to appear right in users’ news feed.

A Facebook rep stated that Facebook will not get a cut of the transactions from “Collections” and there is no word that Facebook’s latest acquisition, Instagram, will be integrated.

Find out more at Mashable.

An Amazing Second Screen Experience

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Available exclusively for the Sony Tablet S, Sony Xperia Tablet S and Apple iPad, The Amazing Spider-Man Second Screen App syncs only with the Blu-ray Disc, and transforms the movie-watching experience, giving users behind-the-scenes access into the amazing world of Spider-Man throughout the film. Additionally, the App will unlock new content each week with all content available by the November 9 release of The Amazing Spider-Man on Blu-ray.

The App includes two interactive modes —  Timeline and Production — both featuring extensive content from the set such as interviews with the cast and filmmakers, featurettes on the making of the film, behind-the-scenes photos, storyboards, concept art, pre-visualization sequences, stunt rehearsals, trivia, factoids and more.

In Timeline Mode, the App syncs with the Blu-ray Disc, allowing scene-specific trivia, featurettes, storyboards, interviews, and other content to scroll across your tablet in time with the movie.

In Production Mode, users can explore even more content that goes deeper into the making of the film by diving into the various areas of the production process including Filmmakers, Story, Design, Cast, Location and Stunts, among others. And when the App syncs with the Blu-ray Disc through a connected player, users can “sling” select content from the Sony Tablet or iPad to the television screen to watch it in full HD, for a greater viewing experience.

In addition, users can also update their Facebook and Twitter pages and share their viewing experience by posting trivia and facts directly from the App.

The Amazing Spider-Man Second Screen App is available for free from Google Play on the Sony Tablet or at www.play.google.com {link no longer active} and from the App Store on iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore {link no longer active}.

Brands Being Cheesy On Social

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It’s easy to annoy through social media, and the more removed the source the more annoying it seems. That’s a tough place to be as a brand. Once they’re perceived as boring or worse, bothersome, it’s every reason to say goodbye for good.

Five brands seem to be making mistakes along those lines in their social media communication, ranging from pestering followers to just being lame. Whether it’s Papa John overselling coupons or Triscuit crackers coming across as the self-absorbed type, their missteps help shed light on a few worst practices.

Find out more at iMedia Connection.

Facebook Ad Study Finds ‘Men Are Cheap’

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Women have a slight edge when it comes to Facebook’s audience, yet a recent study found companies are running more ads on the social net geared towards men. Kenshoo Social and Resolution Media’s study “Men Are Cheap: Efficient Gender Targeting with Facebook Ads” found that while 58 percent of Facebook users are female, more than half of the ads there are chasing male users. The study also found impression and click volumes favoring men as ad targets.

Source: Kenshoo Social and Resolution Media

CPM is where men proved to be a lot easier to get than women. The study found an average $0.16 CPM for men versus $0.20 for women.

Find out more at ClickZ.

X-Ray Specs A Reality With New App

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Wonderbra has released a new “Decoder” app designed to let you look at Adriana Cernanova in her underwear. The tastefully done advertisements let you see the model in her undergarments by pointing your smartphone at Wonderbra ads, be they print, outdoor or video

Using the app will also let you get product details on the various Wonderbra products, if you aren’t simply content in watching an underwear model strut her stuff.