THE WAY WE USED TO BE

We have gotten used to seeing major tech players like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google on our phones, tablets, desktops and within apps. We swipe, scroll, and even read via eye scan. Does anyone really remember what these websites (if you can even call them that anymore) used to look like? Take a tour back in time and see how far we really have come in the last decade of web design.

(Source: jaymug.com)

Let a stranger from around the globe re-imagine your profile picture and return the favor with Selfless Portraits.

(Source: fastcoexist.com)

Marketers are no longer just interested in the largest amount of ‘likes’. As brands have clamored to find success in social media, many have found that a mountain of Facebook ‘likes’ does not translate into much of anything. Instead, digital experts are now touting ‘NPS’ or the Net Promoter Score as the healthiest indicator of social media strength.

Facebook has released a new, more complete for users way to search.  Graph Search, live in a limited capacity as of this morning, will allow users to search by dozens of new categories including city, employer, school, friendship, post content, and more. 

(Source: thenextweb.com)

The question is no longer do you use social media- it’s how.  Are you a liker? an influencer? a multi-mayor?  

An infographic from Brandflakes outlines all of the various social illnesses out there and may help you find your diagnoses.

Social media wars get Pinterest-ing with Facebook’s new Collections feature- includes ‘want’, ‘collect’ and ‘buy’ buttons for retailers

(Source: psfk.com)

 Justin Timberlake and the Myspace team are giving the public a sneak peek at the upcoming site redesign. 

After past failures to rediscover the magic of its 2006 heyday, Myspace may have finally turned itself around by focusing more tightly on music and utilizing a seamless dashboard design similar to Pinterest and tumblr.  The “new” Myspace is tightly integrated with Facebook, Twitter, and Vimeo for ease of sharing and has been positioned as the new (old) home for all media. 

While the release video distances itself greatly from the creepy internet graveyard that many felt Myspace had become, it still remains to be seen if the once dominant site can truly resurrect itself.

Mitsubishi puts a stop to pretentious on Facebook with the Unpretentious Facebook App for the Outlander Sport. The app determines who your most pretentious friend is and creates a custom video to put them in their place. Check out the video here.

Oreo does social media right, posting a simple yet amusing daily treat on Facebook and Twitter to celebrate everything from the Mars Rover landing to the US gymnasts’ gold medal.

(Source: adland.tv)

There’s been some user backlash to Facebook’s most recent marketing feature, Sponsor Stories, which generates advertising endorsements with user’s profile pics when they “like” a product or other item. According to the NYT this tool is “turning Facebook users into unpaid pitchmen”.
 
As Facebook look to add more advertising money to their revenue stream, the Sponsor Stories plan is proving it works better on paper than in practice.
 
“Users do not always realize that the links and “likes” they post on Facebook can be deployed for marketing purposes.”
 
What we want to know is how Sponsored Stories will work when applied to other Facebook actions, like ‘read’ and ‘listened to’. Watch this space!
 
Via NYT Bits

Brazilian retail chain C&A has rolled out a program called Fashion Like. People can “like” certain articles of clothing on the brand’s Facebook page, and the like counts are updated in real time on hangers in the store.

Skype’s on a mission to humanize the digital sphere. Humoticons promotes real expressions over stock smiley faces for more authentic conversations online. Read more.

Facebook’s Timeline benefits brands with its wide range of applications for storytelling http://bit.ly/z1uZIL

The Ikea Facebook Fan Sleepover let fans try out a bed for the night in store. http://bit.ly/zreT6L