Like what you read ? Share the love http://us1.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=75b5be7135a3e05a9fdfe8573&id=8ebdd04296&e=[UNIQID]
    
Another Charitable Social Network Joins the Fray - Why This One is Different
Facebook co-founder and chief digital organizer for President Obama’s presidential campaign Chris Hughes unveiled a new philanthropic social network Tuesday -- Jumo. Another social network? What makes this one different than sites like Idealist and GlobalGiving, and the Facebook Causes app? Here’s how it works:
-
Jumo is built on Facebook Connect, so you must log-in through Facebook to join.
-
Any not-for-profit organization with proof of official tax exemption can create a profile page.
-
Users can follow specific charities and see what organizations their Facebook friends are following or start to follow other Jumo members (people passionate about the same charities, volunteers, etc).
-
Jumo consolidates everything known about a cause from Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, new sources, etc. and provides a service that Causes and Twitter do not—the ability to view all the charities and issues they support on one home page.
At launch, Jumo featured 3,000 organizations and causes, ranging from Climate Change to At Risk Youth. Hughes is focused on engagement, as he sees Jumo as a way to increase support for charitable organizations by bringing people closer to the causes they are most passionate about, which he believes will translate into a high rate of fundraising over time. However, it’s important to note, another distinction of this network is that the main goal is not giving. In fact, organizations can’t ask people to donate for the first month it’s on the network to encourage organizations to put out compelling content and build relationships so that requests for donations does not feel invasive.
While it remains to be seen how many consumers will opt to join and participate in yet another social network, initial response has been strong with traffic crashing Jumo’s servers. This initial rush to the network certainly could be driven primarily because of the shiny new “must test it” factor, but the initial success could also be due to the fact that Jumo has built a network that mimics the way people socially think about philanthropy offline with our online behaviors.
As the Jumo community grows, we recommend following the causes your brand supports to stay current on the content in social media channels that could be cross promoted on your own social assets, and also monitor the Jumo response to that content from followers to shape future communications about joint initiatives. Jumo may also help brands identify cause advocates/influencers that could be engaged to amplify PR and social media efforts.
How Social Media Changed the Game for #BlackFriday
This year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday madness may have finally come to an end, but discussion about the season’s winners and losers is only just beginning. Social media changed  the game more than ever this year – while Black Friday sales increased just 0.3 percent, social media chatter was up an astounding 250 percent from last year. Retailers and brands have traditionally remained tight-lipped about their offers up until the last minute, but this year, social media allowed marketers to build buzz among consumers in the days leading up to the event. So who did it best?
-
Without a doubt, Target was one of the biggest winners of the day. In addition to a hilarious advertising campaign, the retail giant launched a massive social media campaign – creating a Twitter handle for the star of the ads, @ChristmasChamp and even buying the #BlackFriday hashtag, which posted the company’s tweets above the rest anytime a user clicked the hashtag link. Target also captured the most Foursquare checkins, accounting for 25 percent of all check-in activity on Friday.
-
Wal-Mart implemented a Facebook app, CrowdSaver, to bring Groupon-esque deals to its Facebook fans. The retailer also invited 2,000 of its 2.5 million Facebook followers to an open house at select locations where participants were given free samples and other holiday giveaways.
One trend that had major impact for retailers was cross platform promotions that required customers to engage with brands across multiple networks to receive a special deal. For example, users needed to both check in on Foursquare and post to Twitter in order to receive a discount. This extends word of mouth mentions two a second network for even greater brand visibility.
Check out this post on Hypertext for more brand examples and trends.
Groupon and Google Executives' Tweets Scrutinized
A hot topic with the press and social media world this week was the rumor that Google may buy Groupon for billions.
While press and bloggers scoured for inside information, Alexia Tsotsis at TechCrunch scoured Twitter.
After back looking at Neera Jarora’s, a Google M&A manager, tweets, Alexia found that he had congratulated Groupon CEO Andrew Mason on something back in September and implies that while the tweet doesn’t point to acquisition it shows that there has been a public dialogue between the companies for months.
Why should you take notice of this TechCrunch article? It serves as an example that even the most simple of pleasantries between executives can generate buzz and fuel rumor. Are you monitoring your executives’ social media activities? Have you set ground rules for social interactions during sensitive business negotiations?
|
Blog - 
Twitter - 
Friendfeed - 