Peach, the new social media application has generated lots of buzz these past few weeks. So, what exactly is it? Dom Hofmann, the founder of Vine who also jumpstarted this app says it is simply “A space for friends.” Launched on January 7th, Peach is already ranked as the 8th most popular social networking app according to iTunes. The question, then, is: Will it stand a chance against the other giants of social networking apps?

Have you or your friends used Venmo, or any other money transferring app but feel neglected by the inability to send the recipient a seflie along with your money transference? Fear no more! We now have… Snapcash. Snapchat and Square are collaborating on this project where Square will handle the actual cash movements and Snapchat will host the social networking platform. The deal will also provide Square with access to Snapchat’s 100 million plus monthly active users according to Mashable.

To use the new feature, one must live United States, have a debit card, and be 18 years old. Snapcash will be made first available to Android users, and shortly after it will be brought to iOS users. When using Snapcash, one also creates a Square account where the actual money transference will take place. This new feature exhibits Snapchat’s ability to push past its original limitations of strictly existing as a chat application and now becoming a surprising new competitor to mobile payment companies such as PayPal. 

Snapchat has recently begun marketing and developing platforms for Snapcash, so draining your bank account might be even easier in the near future. Also, we love the video Snapchat made for the new feature. It’s crazy but that’s part of the reason why it’s amazing!

Read more about it on Snapchat’s blog.

Ello is a revolutionary social networking site unlike all the rest. Ello, is different from Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking giants in that it is completely add free. Ello’s manifesto reads, “We believe a social network can be a tool for empowerment. Not a tool to deceive, coerce, and manipulate — but a place to connect, create, and celebrate life. You are not a product. Ello. This is what makes Ello unique from its forefathers.  To generate revenue, Ello allows for users to customize their pages with special feature tools which may be purchased for a small price according to Ello these features are not necessary, but do provide some financial support to the company, as well as allowing for users to continue to create and uniquely customize their social networking experience.

Ello is set up as like a mash between Facebook, Pintrest and Twitter, in which users may generate statuses, post pictures and gifs, find friends and comment on posts. Started by a small group of programmers and artists, Ello has sprung up quickly with rapid popularity. There are as many as 35,000 requests to join the social networking site per hour according to The Guardian , and Ello’s head team is working rapidly to keep up with their growing popularity. The site however is not new; Ello was launched in March and was intended to be a small, invite- only community between friends. Interest was recently sparked by the LGBT communities’ migration to other social networking sites after Facebook launched their real name policy, prohibiting users from using names other than their legal names. As interest increased, Ello became more public, but one must still obtain an invite to join the site. Some have even begun selling Ello invites on eBay ranging from 5-150 dollars according to Mashable ,but it is still unclear whether or not Ello will be a fad, or is here to stay. 

In a world where there are so many different ways and outlets to communicate, one system has stood out above the others: EMOJIS.

These little pictographs you see on their separate keyboard on your iPhone or iPad are relatively new, appearing in the last couple years or so, with origins in late 1990s Japanese cell phone usage (which explains much of the appearance of some of the emojis). Emojis were encoded into Unicode Standard in 2010, with over 700 characters currently in existence.

Emojis are there when words don’t or can’t say enough, to provide a visual example to a message, and for all those moments in communication and life when you just want to include a cute little relevant emoji. With each younger, tech-savvier generation, emojis have permeated to the furthest depths of the internet: Twitter supports them in a remarkably clean 2D style (see this article), you can track the use of emoji on twitter in realtime on emojitracker.com and there’s even a Wikipedia-esque website dedicated to explaining different emoji, Emojipedia.

Social media marketing has its challenges. At Oniracom, we navigate these challenges by employing a team of experts dedicated to providing the most engaging campaigns for clients. Our Community Management team works on behalf of clients to brainstorm and craft campaigns aimed at engaging the client’s audience in creative new ways. Our goal is to provide small and medium business owners with actionable advice for overcoming the challenges of social media marketing using the assets that are currently available.

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Social media advertising and promotion seems to be ultimately inescapable in this day and age, but how much is your social media activity actually worth in cold hard cash?

With the most recent numbers from social media analytic teams, here is a breakdown of what your likes and tweets mean in revenue.

A single Facebook like (follower) has been valued by ChompOn at an average of $8.00. Each time someone likes your page, all of his/her friends are alerted and exposed to your page as well. Because of this exponential nature of Facebook promotion, the $8.00 value projected for each follower has the potential to skyrocket quickly. Interestingly enough, the estimated cost of a Facebook like is $1.07. A seemingly low cost in comparison to the value, acquiring a Facebook follower incurs only a minor set back due to the whopping $8.00 or more in potential profit.

Knowledge that the National Security Agency and the British Government Communications Headquarters have been working together to gather personal information from the public doesn’t come as much of a surprise as the ability to look in on individuals’ technologic activity has existed for years. What’s new this time is the platform through which the public is being watched and recorded. According to documents provided by Edward Snowden and jointly released by The New York Times, The Guardian and ProPublica, the NSA and CGHQ are sourcing personal information from “leaky” smartphone apps, gathering information on “networks connected, websites visited, buddy lists, documents downloaded, encryption used and supported, [and] user agents” (1). Such targeted apps include the ever popular game Angry Birds, Google Maps, Facebook, Flikr, Flixter, and Winzip, undoubtedly among others that remain unspecified. The success and increased effort to accumulate user data is evident in the budget increase of $563 million in 2007, the year the NSA documents were created. Although there is no eminent threat imposed on individuals by the NSA, it remains unsettling to know that one’s personal settings and information can be corralled by the government for as simple an action as playing a game on your smartphone.

The leaked documents shared by The New York Times, The Guardian and ProPublica can be found on Documentcloud along with some BGHQ documents. 

TO ALL THE PINNERS OUT THERE!

So have you ever wanted to plan a trip to Europe (Or maybe Wisconsin… because you’ve always desired to visit the most interesting place in the world) but had no idea of where specifically you wanted to go? Perhaps you wanted to just collaborate with a friend and plan a trip from scratch. Well Pinterest has found a clever solution for all your sightseeing desires.

VINE
Pros:

Cons:

Future:

INSTAGRAM
Pros:

Cons:

Future:

Also, this fun website plays two videos side by side (from Vine and Instagram respectively) and lets you pick which one you think is the best. Vine is currently winning the battle with 13657 votes, while Instagram has 11747 votes.

So who is the better video sharing app? Only time will tell, but we have millions on millions (literally) of both Vine and Instagram videos to look through in the meantime.

Flickr rolled out some new features and a hot new design that offers higher resolution, a news feed, and more.

Landing on the home page, you’ll already notice the brand new design, bigger images, and crisper resolutions. Flickr is giving all its users 1 terabyte (yes terabyte) of space. This makes way for bigger and better images.

Mashable explains that the “news feed” feature is a bit similar to the Instagram news feed. To see this feature in full, check out their video that takes you through the new Flickr here.

Sharing is now also easier on Flickr. Once you post, you can easily share to Facebook. Twitter, Tumblr and more.

Overall, the new design is much more progressive in the digital/social media realm and the endless amount of space and higher resolutions are sure to make all Flickr users happy.

Hold on to your hats everybody, Facebook is revolutionizing the newsfeed with the biggest facelift it’s endured since I was 19. (2009 if you must know)  Yep, as of today Mark Zuckerberg has announced that Facebook will redesign the holy grail of social media, the newsfeed.  The redesign that will soon infiltrate your own personal blue screen is adapting with the changing times of Internet sharing.  So what does that exactly entail? I will tell you.  And I will also tell you what I think about it, because let’s face it, I just want to be one of the cool kids.

One of the main changes, as pointed out in this Gizmodo Article is a much greater focus on visual/rich media than ever before.

There’s a lot of buzz going around about Twitter’s new iPhone app Vine.  It’s a social networking app that allows you to take a 6 second video and edit in-phone. Many believe that this is the next big thing in social sharing. There is much speculation as to what will make or break this app in the beginning stages of catching on (Mashable), but rather than being critical like I usually am, I’m going to focus on the positives.

This simple little idea allows anyone to create his or her own cinematic masterpiece… or videos of our very own Calia eating chocolate cream pie…

That’s what I like about this new app. The possibilities are endless. You can re-create your own version of the Harlem Shake sensation re-sweeping the nation as seen on illustrator / video animator Ian Padgham’s Twitter account @origiful [See it here]

By now I’m sure the majority of you are all too familiar with the Harlem Shake dance meme that has overtaken Gangnam Style as the latest viral sensation to hit the web.
I’ll admit, I too am guilty of spending a shameful amount of time watching these videos online…

While the Harlem Shake may have been burning through it’s 15 minutes mercilessly, there’s no denying that it marks one of the most popular and pervasive memes of 2013. Within just a span of a few weeks, it already boasts well over 170 million views from 40,000 different YouTube channels.

Between punching inflatable giraffes and underwater tabletop dancing, it’s hard to choose which Harlem Shake videos are the most creative. Thankfully, Mashable has compiled a comprehensive list of must-sees for viewers. Check it out here.

And for those of you hoping this meme couldn’t fade into obscurity any sooner, I’ve got bad news for you. A variation of the Harlem Shake, or rather, “Harlem Fake” has made its way to the Internet—but this time, viewers are greeted with a twist once the bass kicks in.

Here are a few clips of funny Harlem fake-outs:

Instagram announced that the company currently has 90 million monthly active users, which is 10% up from December’s statistics. Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom told AllThingsD that “Instagram continues to see very strong growth around the world.”

Instagram also dropped a few more statistics on their press page stating that they have 40 million photos per day, 8500 likes per second and 1000 comments per second.

We knew something big was going to happen when Facebook announced three months ago that they have purchased Instagram. A lot of users however, did not expect this drastic policy shift.

Beginning January 16, Facebook “claims the perpetual right to license all public Instagram photos to companies or any other organization, including for advertising purposes, which would effectively transform the Web site into the world’s largest stock photo agency” (CNET). This means that Facebook won’t have to pay you anything to use your images. If for say, you took a splendid image of a restaurant, and that restaurant decides that they’d like to use that image for advertising purposes, they pay Facebook and not you.

CNET also makes another great point, stating that this policy could “trigger state privacy laws” if the photos that Facebook sells contain images of young children without obtaining parental consent.

Last night, Oniracom and StartupSB came together for a night of creativity and inspiration! StartUp Creativity was a success, and Oniracom would like to thank everyone who made last night possible. Thanks to CreatorUp, an awesome organization that offers web series tutorials online for presenting, Rusty’s Pizza for providing us with delicious food, StartupSB for letting us host this event in honor of Startup Weekend, and of course to everyone else who made it out to our office!

At this year’s Social Good Summit, Doctor Deepak Chopra discussed the inevitable power of social media, and why and how this technological accomplishment will be the next phase of humanity. Mashable featured a video of Dr. Chopra’s speech and discussion at their Social Good Summit. In his speech, he explains that social media has made humanity more connected than ever. He states, “At the most fundamental level, we are not just connected, we are inseparable.”

Google+, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and LinkedIn are competing for the social network spotlight— making it hard for users to decide which sites are best for them. Pointing out the strengths and weakness of each platform, this infographic can help users decided which is the most appropriate site for them to use!

Thanks Mashable.com for highlighting this!

Infographic design by Emily Caufield.

Late last month, the unveiling of Google+ prompted the world over reconsider the future of social media and online networking, and many began to wonder if The Goog’s latest product would boast enough innovative features to dethrone Facebook, king of the social networking realm. Speculation has run rampant as the search giant’s latest foray into new media gains momentum, much of which attempts to size up Google+ against Facebook. Many in the tech world are projecting whether or not + will be successful both in stealing existing social network users and attracting new ones. But here at Oniracom, my compadres and I have been interested in how Google+ will integrate into the larger scheme of social media marketing and brand growth strategies. While wishful thinking would allow Google+, Facebook and others to harmoniously coincide with each other in the virtual world, it is becoming ever-more clear (as is obvious with Facebook’s Skype contract retaliation) that there really may only be room for one. It’s impossible to know which network, if any, will prevail, but Google+ is making a strong attempt by promising features and upgrades not available on Facebook or other social networking sites.

My Blackberry is my best friend. It is practically glued to my hand. I never leave the house without it, it rests next to me on the table during all my meals, and ever so nicely wakes me up in the morning to the sound of Jason Mraz’s, “I’m Yours.” If you had asked me ten years ago if I thought I would be more dependent on a little handheld device than I am to my parents or best friends, I would have thought you were crazy. The concept of being completely and totally attached to a wireless phone was not something that most people would have predicted. Although the “main” purpose of a cell phone is to make phone calls, I personally think that phone calls only account for about 40% of my phone usage. Most of the time I am texting, Facebooking, Googling, or listening to music. The evolution of the cell phone has exceeded all expectations and the influence it has on teen life today is extraordinary. Mobile advertising companies have caught onto this phenomenon and are using it to their full advantage, trying to catch the attention of their consumers. But, the question is, are their advertisements targeting the correct crowd?

Feel free to check out our latest project, Iration’s new website: IrationMusic.com.

Lots of social media integration going on here - music fed in from SoundCloud, tour dates brought in by Bands In Town, Blogs pulled from Tumblr, and a Facebook commenting system. Another fun feature - the background changes from “daytime beach scene” to “evening beach scene” depending on the time of day. Check it out:

Thank you to Ignite Social Media for this great INFOGRAPHIC about our average consumption of social media.

Facebook introduced the new profile to its users this past December, and hoped to upgrade all users from the old profile to the new profile early during the new year. Gradually reeling its users towards the new profile allowed users to sample the new profile before it officially became mandatory, which stirred up different types of discussions between almost all Facebook users. Not only did the new layout get users talking, but the new features such as exposing all users to individual friendships and connecting interests between them, caused much debate between whether the old profile or the new profile was viewed as “better.”

For artists, Modlife is the next-generation of interactive online media and provides Artists a platform equipped with the tools necessary to build an excited, engaged, and loyal community of fans. A Modlife site is the place for fans to interact with artists directly.

Modlife seems to be a new social network for fans as well as a streamlined concentration of all the best tools and features of the most popular multiple social media websites in one location:

Thanks to Facebook who recently released their “Best Practices” guide for musicians.  Facebook attempts to teach musicians how best to connect music fans on their social network.

On page 3 of the PDF, they reference some tips on how to connect, and under point 2 “Create Content Worth Sharing” they show an example of Oniracom’s Lenny Kravitz photo-tagging campaign!

Oniracom is honored to be part of this official Best Practices Facebook guide.

 

Blip.fm is a Social network founded in 2008, but just starting to pick up some good steam. The layout is nearly identical to Twitter, in that you have your “blips” that come in from all of your “favorite DJs” just as tweets come in from whom you’re following.

As the website itself will tell you:

A blip is a combination of 1) a song and 2) a short message that accompanies it. The way you create a blip is to first search for a song that you want to hear (or a song that you want your listeners to hear), then add a short message (under 150 characters), finally you submit it. Submitting a blip is also referred to as “blipping”, so from here on out, when you read “he blipped my favorite track” it means “he submitted a blip that had my favorite song attached”.

Video after the break

Since speaking at the Social Media Business Summit in London on March 18, I’ve been pondering the meaning of transparency and what this paradigm means to business and the social realm. The topic is HOT on the tongues of many as Facebook works out its kinks and philosophy in this area.

I’m convinced that humanity is entering a fantastic age, where undiscovered aspects of ourselves and the world appear the moment we imagine. And I firmly believe that our social networks offer us the means for this evolution to take place. And I believe that transparency plays a significant role in this growth process.

We have entered an age where fantastic job titles are possible, careers for Social Relationship Architects, Social Strategists, and Social Physicists, among others. These careers are for people who have training in existing disciplines AND who are able to think metaphorically, drawing lines across right and left hemispheres of thought, weaving new worlds of relationship. Many brands are using liquid metaphors and the overall ethos in business culture implies, and actually demands, porous, permeable forms.

We live in a time when our networks contain people who are super-relevant and specific to our dreams, aspirations and challenges. Goethe’s quote could not be more true at this time: “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” It takes a boldness composed of genius, power and magic to enter one’s social networks and begin creating and synthesizing relationships. It takes a willingness to ask questions, be awe-inspired and open to what your particular network has for you, for where you are right now. No other person has the same network that you have. No other person sees the world like you do. And no other person has the opportunities to contribute to this customized network than you…you are, after all, the one who built it and owns it. Corporations, communities, and the numerous other forms that humanity has created for progress MUST be more like the clear waters of the Mediterranean vs. the opaque waters of the Pacific.

Transparency is not something to be feared. It is the greatest opportunity to be exactly who you are meant to be, no shame, no fear: a wild animal out in the open, a tendril springing across the earth for all to see as you bloom and root into the soil of your community and offer your fruit. And, of course, as in the animal and plant kingdoms, there are associated dangers of competition and survival of the fittest. As human beings, our challenge is to balance all of the shades of experience: thought and heart, mind and body, civilization and “the wild”. And it is this very weaving of opposites, of varying shades, that creates the patchwork quilt of the human family and our social networks. Transparency offers benefits to progress that cannot be ignored. Learning implies freedom of movement and communication. Transparent environments offer us this.

My observation is that an alignment is taking place globally that is akin to a holographic puzzle coming into wholeness. Before, with Google, we looked and found. Now, with social networks like Facebook, we see in multi-colored, multi-dimensional space, what the community surrounding a keyword looks like…we see the faces, read the updates, hear the music and taste the journey that this key-phrase is taking. The paradigm of transparency is revealing the living nature of our languages and images. This is a good thing!