Every now and then companies and public figures should put more “human” content on their social media accounts. This helps the company go down to the level of their consumers and it really does make their social media channels more relevant and interesting to visit. Let me just share some photos that ABS-CBN’s news channel, ANC, posted on their Facebook account this morning. It’s something that you really wouldn’t expect at all, haha! Here’s a photo of their anchor, TJ Manotoc, playing Plants versus Zombies on the desk with the giant LCD TV. I’m not the...

… is what you have to be if you want to become viral. I had this really good conversation with the Vice-President and Global Head of Brand Experience for Friendster, Ben Dunn, yesterday about Buzz Marketing. I’ve noticed over the past few months that more and more agencies are trying to pitch for viral videos and low-cost PR stunts that would generate hype for products or candidates. The problem that they always encounter though is that the videos fail to get the targeted viewership. This is mostly because the things they pull off aren’t extreme enough to the point that it would...

I had some free time tonight so I decided to sign-up for an account over at Formspring. It’s basically a website which allows people to ask and answer questions anonymously. I already configured it so that the questions that I answer will appear on my Facebook and Twitter account (technology is fun). If you have anything you want to ask me, please go ahead and ask away in my Formspring profile. Since we’re on the topic though let me share with you a personal branding blunder that I made with Formspring. Each time a good online social platform goes up, I’ll make it a point to reserve...

Last Tuesday night we had an exclusive dinner party for Filipino bloggers at the National Sports Grill restaurant in Greenbelt 3. During the event, Friendster Vice President and Global Head for Brand Experience, Ben Dunn, gave everyone a sneak peek at the new Friendster which is set to launch soon. It was good to see the positive reaction of the bloggers. We’ve been working really hard on the relaunch and re-branding for the past few months. More than the features though, I’m particularly proud about how the new brand will be executed. By the way, we’ll be having a press conference...

Before people would get their news by reading newspapers, magazines, or talking with friends. When the internet became popular, it became much easier since all we had to do was type the URL of the new site which offered free news. With the advent of social media, it’s now totally different. Before we looked for news – now it finds us. What’s even more amazing is that we get it from the most credible newscaster of all: our friends. What’s interesting and relevant The status streams in social media are turning out to be one of the most influential press wires. People tend...

I often get puzzled looks on the faces of clients each time I include social media in their digital marketing plans. The same questions keep popping up again and again – how can we measure success? Will this really work? Do we really need to spend on that? It’s looks easy, can we have someone in my staff do it? I’d usually whip out my “social media 101″ deck and explain but it looks like those days are gone because I found a really powerful video that explains beautifully what social media is all about. If you’re a businessman, marketer, or just someone interested...

Friendster caused a social revolution when they first broke into the mainstream sometime in 2003-2004. Everyone started asking for Testimonials and e-mail addresses. I can still fondly recall badgering my college block mates to send me Testimonials and to add me on Friendster, haha. My fiancee and I even had a competition on who would have to most number of friends (she won by the way). Anyway, through the years though it looked like Friendster lost their way, especially when the product started to stop innovating the the brand seemed like it lost focus. However, things are going to change really...

One of the websites that really got my attention is “Oh Crap. My Parents Joined Facebook.” It’s basically a site that shows contributions from readers with screen shots on how their parents ruined Facebook for them. If you go through the site, you’ll see hundreds, if not thousands, of examples. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with parents checking out the Facebook accounts of their kids. Why? Because it’s inevitable, haha I mean I’d do it if I had a kid. Responsible Social Networking You can’t ignore friend requests from your family. It’s...

I never knew that “Unfriend” was an official word. In fact each time you type it on word, it still gets the red dotted underline which says that there’s no such thing. However. in a recent press release, New Oxford America declared “Unfriend”, or the act of removing someone from your friends list in your social network, as the word of the year. Here’s the full article for your reading pleasure: ‘Unfriend’ is New Oxford American word of the year Agence France-Presse First Posted 07:59:00 11/17/2009 Filed Under: Language, Internet WASHINGTON DC, United...