The week in social media news curated by your friends at Fandom Marketing. LinkedIn’s new app helps meetings, Facebook pushes video content with new recommendations, Burger King’s Facebook page blows up and they don’t care, and find out if Twitter plans to turn the stream into “buy” buttons. And oh yes, the CIA Tweets about Tupac. This week is rich.
Angry Christians Flood Burger King’s Facebook Page With Hate, World Responds With Brilliant Logic
July 5, 2014
A colorful burger wrapper with a beautiful message of equality, ignited a growing firestorm of religious hatred over the simple phrase “We Are All The Same Inside.” You would think this level of outrage would be over a mass genocide or terrorist attack, but instead, thousands of angry ‘Christians’ directed their rage against Burger King for supporting equality and acceptance of all human beings. The controversy began last weekend when BK unveiled the “Proud Whopper” to celebrate San Francisco Pride. The rainbow-wrapped burger was sold for a limited time at the 1200 Market Street BK in San Francisco, CA. Many outraged victims, left their angry comments on Burger King’s Facebook page. Luckily, thousands responded to their vile thoughts with brilliant and often hilarious responses.
Full story on The Gaily Grind
Also read how “Burger King — like Nabisco and General Mills before it — has learned that being inclusive is good for business, and that companies in the end will be rewarded for braving a backlash in the hopes of achieving a greater good.”
Facebook Pushes Video Content With New Recommendations Feature
July 7, 2014
Facebook wants you watching videos. If you already do, it wants you watching more. The social network is testing a new “related videos” feature that surfaces similar, popular videos after you finish watching one in your mobile News Feed. Similar to what you might see on YouTube, once a video is done playing in News Feed, you will have the option to re-watch that video, or select a different, related video from a sampling provided by Facebook. The feature, which is only available to a small group of test users on iOS and Android devices, was first reported by TechCrunch. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the new feature, but didn’t elaborate on when it will be more widely available. “This is a new feature we are testing on mobile to help people find more videos they might be interested in,” the spokesperson told Mashable.
Full story on Mashable
The CIA’s Social Media Manager Deserves a Raise
July 7, 2014
Somebody at the Central Intelligence Agency has a pretty good sense of humor. Just one month after the organization sent out an epic first tweet, the CIA returned to the social media network to answer five of the top questions people have asked in the time since.We can only imagine the long list of questions users have submitted to @CIA. The answers, however, were not what we imagined. Turns out the agency’s social media manager doesn’t take social media too seriously. Included in the five responses are a selfie reference, the hashtag #sorrynotsorry and a nod to deceased rapper Tupac Shakur.
Full story on Mashable
I Love Twitter’s Buy Button. I Hate Twitter’s Buy Button.
July 8, 2014
Re/code recently shared a few mockups of a rumored new Twitter “Buy now” button, which was apparently leaked by shopping app Fancy. It’s not clear whether this was leaked on purpose, but it’s highly likely it was a mistake. What is a little clearer is that this in-tweet functionality would only come directly from Twitter, so in other words Fancy was in all likelihood a beta tester for this new service.
How long before Twitter truly jumps the shark and becomes nothing more than a place to shriek (messages) and shill (products)?
Full story on MediaPost
LinkedIn’s New App Predicts What You Need To Know Before A Meeting
July 10, 2014
LinkedIn wants to become a bigger part of its users lives by reminding them of networking details they ought to know, so they don’t have to bother remembering them. The professional network with 300 million registered users says it’s launching a new, smarter app that uses “anticipatory computing” techniques to prompt users with tidbits of information they should know about people. The Connected app, launching Thursday, replaces a previous app called Contacts, and uses a card-like interface to show users updates on what’s happening with people in the network. The app is also smarter than its predecessor in a few ways: it can integrate with a smartphone’s calendar to learn about forthcoming appointments.
Full story on Forbes
How BCBG Turned Its Birthday Bash Into A Retail Hit
July 11, 2014
BCBG is in the midst of celebrating its 25th year. The LA-based apparel and accessories brand currently encompasses labels BCBGMaxAzria, BCBGeneration, Max Azria Atelier and Herve Leger by Max Azria, has 500 stores in 47 countries. Rather than fall prey to a quarter-life crisis, the company –which was exploring a potential sale last year – is embracing the future of retail. To do this, BCBG planned a 25th anniversary event to be a retrospective of the brand’s fashion through the years with a liberal dose of social media. The company teamed up with Postano by TigerLogic TIGR -2.69%, a social curation and analytics platform for brands. As part of the in-store event, BCBG used Postano’s platform to display hashtagged social content. Those unable to attend could view all the content on a social hub.
Full story on Forbes
What We’re Watching
A brand brave enough to be inclusive. Video proudly shot and posted to YouTube by Burger King.
~ Melonie
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