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Shared by Max Users' power is growing and this seems to have a positive effect on quality and maybe ethic...

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This post is syndicated from Max's shared items in Google Reader, by (author unknown)

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Reading this trends, it seems we are moving towards a better world. Will Internet will bring us a news consciousness of the connection between us and the rest of what is around us?

Another new year around the corner, another rollercoaster of threats and opportunities. We tend to focus on the latter: Dive into our 11 crucial consumer trends for 2011, from PLANNED SPONTANEITY to MADE FOR CHINA to ECO-SUPERIOR, and then get going!

Read 11 CRUCIAL TRENDS FOR 2011 »

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Shared by Max
We can observe the increase of branded content as a reborn of the original Soap operas. But now they can be interactive in plot evolution, viewed and reviewed freely, shared and commented.
This can be an occasion for new talents to be engaged, new ideas born and grow from communities, and some valuable content has already been produced.
I am optimistic about the fact that quality will emerge and will berewarded thanks to the Net, maybe because I leave in Italy and when I turn on TV what comes out is so distressing that any alternative can be just better ....

I’ve got to admit, the concept of “branded content” on the Web makes me cringe. It is generally used to refer to Web videos created and packaged specifically for an advertiser. Maybe I am old-fashioned, but I like my videos created for the audience first, not advertisers. And yet, in the budding Web video industry, branded content is bringing in some serious dollars and even some serious talent.

There is a lot more going on here than advertisers bankrolling the production of their own videos because there isn’t enough professionally produced Web video to show their ads against (although that is part of it). The rise of advertiser-produced video entertainment is but a sign of a much larger shift that is happening as people consume more video on the Web. Advertisers love broadcast and cable TV because of its massive reach into every home. They (Read more...)

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It is time for location -based services, finally! It was 2001 when I first start hearing and discussing about the potential of location-based advertising. The hard part of the job has always been the positioning of the user and the collection of the information, plus, of course, the motivation for people to use the service giving to the world its position.
Now that Facebook has introduced features similar to the one of foursquare, all the hard part are overcome.... let's see what will happen

Version 3.2 of the Facebook iPhone app has arrived in the app store, and while it comes with several new features and bug fixes, it’s the arrival of Facebook Places that make this update one to remember.

Revealed earlier today at a press event at Facebook’s headquarters, Facebook Places is the company’s attempt at geolocation. Similar to Foursquare, Places allows you to see where your friends are or to check in to nearby locations.

The updated app prominently puts Places front-and-center when you first open up the new app. “See where your friends are and share where you are” is the message that greets users when they first open up Facebook for iPhone. Tapping on the Places icon takes you to a menu where you can either scan where your friends have recently checked in or check in to a location yourself.

The checking-in process is still a bit buggy though (I can’t refresh the page with all of my friends’ check-ins), (Read more...)

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A clever way of promoting a movie using a service loved by the target. Chatroulette is a pursuit for teenagers that, as you can see in the video, get an "unexpected preview" of the scary "bu bu sette" effect of the orror movie..

Amongst all of the weird characters you can encounter on popular random video chat service Chatroulette, pretty girls are a breath of fresh air, right? Well, it depends: for users who’ve stumbled upon the viral video campaign from Lionsgate, promoting their latest horror movie The Last Exorcism, what started like a pleasant chat ended up very…unexpectedly.

We won’t spoil it for you: check out the video below (be advised, it contains strong words and unpleasant imagery) to see the best reactions of Chatroulette users.

Interestingly, this is not the first viral video campaign for the movie; a couple of weeks ago a website called Church of Saint Marks appeared, bringing “information” on exorcism, when in fact the man featured on the site, Reverend Cotton Marcus, is one of the main characters from the movie. The Last Exorcism is slated to hit the theaters on August 27.

[Thanks, Boris]

More About: chatroulette, The last exorcism, viral videos

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This post is syndicated from Max's shared items in Google Reader, by (author unknown)

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Per un momento di pausa e di sperimentazione di come i nostri sensi si possono ingannare facilmente. Siamo sicuri di tutto quello che percepiamo? ;-)

How long has it been since you watched a video that made you go “Whoa?” If the answer is more than a day, then fear not, as we’ve got five lined up, each chock-full of “whoa” potential.

Using nothing more than our eyes’ and brain’s perceptive weaknesses, these clever videos will trick your gray matter and leave you amazed. Or, if you’re really hard to impress, you’ll at least be mildly taken aback.

Assuming you don’t have a medical condition that would make it unwise to stare at these brain busters, hop on through our gallery below. We pinky-swear there are no trick videos.

Optical Illusion #1

This one works best if you stare really hard at the spiral ... as hard as your little eyes can...

Optical Illusion #2

This video is sure to give you a "whoa" moment if ever an illusion could. It's so good, we had to pause the vid at the crucial moment to make sure it was not a trick.

Optical Illusion #3

The suggestion of movement creates clever optical trickery in this video.

Optical Illusion #4

This example uses receptor fatigue to work. And yes, we did have to look that up.

Optical Illusion #5

We've saved the best for last here. Stare at the cross in the middle as the video is playing. Guess (Read more...)

This post is syndicated from Max's shared items in Google Reader, by (author unknown)

This post is syndicated from Max's shared items in Google Reader, by (author unknown)

Ben Parr / Mashable!:
Twitter to Show Photos and Videos in the Stream [UPDATED]  —  A new Twitter setting called “Tweet Media” has rolled out to some of Twitter's users, strongly suggesting that the company will soon embed videos and photos in the stream.  —  Tweet Media, which the Mashable team and others …

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Pagati per interagire con un'azienda, il "consumatore" finalmente viene remunerato per la sua attenzione

Since January 2010, I’ve been working with Out There Media, a leading mobile ad agency that is taking Asia by storm.  This trailblazing company brings with them some innovative, proven strategies where ads not only build awareness -but also create long-term engagements between customers and brands. This mode of dialogue driven advertising allows them, over-time to build more insightful, detailed customer behavior profiles that go well beyond age, sex, salary and geographic location.

M-advertising isn’t a new in Asia. In fact mobile campaigns were pioneered in this region long before teenage girls in the US ever new what texting was. Interesting enough, today’s regional brand marketing still use mobile advertising like any other traditional media; either as a one-way message blasted out to subscribers (opted in or not) or as a back-channel for customers to “get more info” by sending a text to an SMS short code.

OTM’s new strategy consists of a social reward combined with an engagement variable. What’s that mean? Well, in emerging economies post-paid mobile phone plans are not the norm. In this parallel world, the prepaid mobile SIMs are what the majority of the population uses. Simply put – Once a consumer opts-in to allow for mobile ads to be sent to their phone, they are rewarded for their participation via free calls/sms/mms credits. These mobile campaigns use clever ways to incite participation while simultaneously extracting personal (Read more...)

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A global software company used a mobile scavenger hunt to engage SXSW participants. Here's what the company learned when it comes to the benefits -- and limitations -- of using QR codes.