Mashable: Latest 7 News Updates - including ““Mafia Wars” Viral Marketing Angers San Francisco City Hall” |  |
- “Mafia Wars” Viral Marketing Angers San Francisco City Hall
- 7 Cool Chrome Extensions for Twitter
- Explore Hip Hop History in Google Maps [APP]
- 10 Tips For Aspiring Community Managers
- Google Tests New Feature: Search As You Type [VIDEO]
- 10 Classic PC Games That Found New Life on the iPhone
- Top 10 Twitter Trends This Week [CHART]
- WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Accused of Rape [UPDATED]
| “Mafia Wars” Viral Marketing Angers San Francisco City Hall Posted: 21 Aug 2010 07:46 PM PDT      The San Francisco City Attorney wrote a letter to Zynga, makers of the online game FarmVille, accusing the company of “sidewalk vandalism” for the viral marketing campaign it used to promote the new expansion for Mafia Wars. Zynga allegedly authorized an ad agency to plant fake $25,000 bills on the sidewalks of the city on its behalf. Anyone who picked one up would find the address of the Mafia Wars website, where they could get information on Mafia Wars: Las Vegas, the new expansion pack for the online social game. The city has since had to remove the bills “at considerable expense,” according to The Wall Street Journal. San Francisco is no stranger to viral marketing campaigns as you can probably imagine, but a city attorney spokesman said “It really is a mess; it’s worse than stenciling.” The campaign was actually organized by an ad agency called Davis Ellen Advertising, which said in a statement, “We take full responsibility for the program, regret any inconvenience this advertising has caused to the city and its residents and are working with the city to immediately resolve the issue.” Zynga is one of the biggest web tech companies in the world right now. It has been valued at a whopping $4 billion, and its games have millions of players on web portals and social networks like Yahoo, Facebook and MySpace. It’s rumored that the company has made a deal with Google to be a cornerstone of a coming Google Games platform or portal. These viral marketing campaigns get a lot of attention sometimes — especially when they stir up controversy like this. It’s tough to say whether or not Zynga and Davis Ellen Advertising knew this would be a problem and were counting on it, but let’s face it, it’s more publicity. Let’s just hope it’s worth any possible fines or other legal action from the city attorney. Reviews: Facebook, Google, MySpace More About: attorney, Mafia Wars, mafia wars las vegas, MARKETING, online games, San Francisco-San Jose, social games, social gaming, video games, viral marketing, Zynga For more Entertainment coverage:
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| 7 Cool Chrome Extensions for Twitter Posted: 21 Aug 2010 05:07 PM PDT   We all know Chrome is fast, but can it also be social? We’ve already brought you a list of social media extensions for Google’s Chrome browser, but here we set our sights on extensions designed specifically for Twitter. We’ve scoured Chrome’s extensions listings and found seven free tools that we think are worth the install for anyone who uses Twitter’s web interface. From extensions that will help you be more productive, to those that will just let you have more fun, check out our list below and let us know about any Twitter-related Chrome plug-ins that you use in the comments. 1. Twitter Share This Page If you want a super-quick way of sharing a URL on Twitter, you can’t go wrong with the “Twitter Share This Page” extension. Once installed, all you have to do — when you are on the page you want to share — is hit the blue “t” icon (which appears on the right-hand side of your browser bar) and the extension will load the relevant URL in your “What’s happening?” Twitter box. If you want the link shortened, right click on the “t” icon and select the shortening option. All shared links will be pre-shrunk using Bit.ly. 2. Twitter Extender Khaled Musaied’s “Twitter Extender” also offers tidy Bit.ly URL shortening abilities with an “add URL” option inserted just below the “What’s happening” box. There are a ton of other enhancements offered by the extension, including old-style retweeting abilities, “reply to all” functionality, quicker direct messaging and the option to load previous tweets if the tweet is a reply.  3. TwitterWatch – Real Time Twitter Update This tool is very useful for anyone wanting a lightweight way to watch keywords and topics, especially if they are topical memes. Installing it will place a little blue “t” button on the right-hand side of your browser bar, which, when clicked, lets you manage your keyword phrases. Once you’ve set up the words you want watched, a tiny number will appear on the “t” letting you know how many mentions the word has racked up. Clicking it again will let you see the mentions in full. 4. Twitter Refresh You can make Twitter streams — whether they are your homepage stream or a search stream — refresh automatically. Tweets pour fluidly down the page, saving you from having to bother with the “X new tweets” clickable bar. 5. Twitter Creation Date This is a fun one. Other than pure nosiness, the only real reason we could see for anyone needing this data is journalistic/research purposes. Usefulness aside, this extension will let you see the date that any user joined the micro-blogging service. 6. Twitter Photo Zoom Ideal for the lazy Twitterer, Twitter Photo Zoom will super-size anyone’s avatar from the home screen or sidebar lists when you run your cursor over the thumbnail. 7. Twitter SymbolsUse this extension if you want to spice up your tweets with unusual symbols like stars, check marks and the like. If they’re supported by the browsers and systems on the reader’s end, they’ll appear in your tweets normally, and you won’t have to memorize any unusual codes or load up a character map outside the browser to make it happen. More Startup Resources from Mashable:
Reviews: Chrome, Twitter More About: browser add on, chrome, Chrome Extensions, extensions, google chrome, twitter, twitter apps, twitter tools, web apps For more Social Media coverage:
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| Explore Hip Hop History in Google Maps [APP] Posted: 21 Aug 2010 04:00 PM PDT   A new Google Maps-based web app has placemarks for major locations mentioned in hip hop lyrics, plus the inside story behind each place and the song that named it. It’s called “The Rap Map,” and its database is by far strongest in New York City. That’s partly because New York City is an important locale in hip hop history, but we have to admit we’re a little disappointed with the volume of entries for Los Angeles and Chicago, two other cities with incredible histories documented in rap music. That said, the map is less than a week old and users can suggest locations, so the entries will probably expand in the future. The app was created by Rap Genius, a website dedicated to the history, meanings and stories embedded in hip hop song lyrics. It’s a natural extension for the website’s mission, of course, and just another neat example of how web apps like Google Maps and the developer tools that come with them can be used creatively. In the past, we’ve seen Google Maps used to aggregate Foursquare and Gowalla checkins together, help people find flu shots, map Twitter trends, show apartment listings and even help the people of Iran find embassies accepting injured people. Those are just a few examples of many, of course. Reviews: Google Maps More About: api, App, Chicago, Google, Google Maps, hip-hop, music, new york, rap, rap genius, the rap map For more Entertainment coverage:
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| 10 Tips For Aspiring Community Managers Posted: 21 Aug 2010 02:54 PM PDT   As the world of dominant brands becomes more fragmented, established companies and startups are hiring community managers to cultivate an engaged community in a digital world where customers’ experiences with the product is amplified through social media, whether good or bad. And it’s not just the experience that users value; the relationships and connections they are able to make with companies and fellow consumers are just as important. As a result, engaging users online and off has become evermore important for both companies big and small. That’s because social media has revolutionized the idea of word-of-mouth marketing, providing not only an opportunity for companies to expand their brands but also creating the risk of a customer service nightmare. Community managers, who come in all shapes and sizes depending on the company and its mission, are often the online face of their companies, and more increasingly, offline as well. They’re the social strategist, community builder, storyteller, marketer, product manager, designer and evangelist rolled all into one. But most importantly, they’re responsible in projects and initiatives that strengthen the community of consumers, users and customers of the company. Though there’s no silver bullet to being a successful community manager, for those aspiring to become one, we’ve gathered some tips from community builders on what it takes to land a job and be effective at cultivating community. 1. Be an Expert and Evangelist of Your Product or CompanyEffective community managers are not only experts of the company or product they represent, but also are passionate about it. Chrysanthe Tenentes, Head of Community at Foursquare, said good community managers are ones that are genuine advocates and evangelists for their products and their users. "The best community managers are superusers of their products and can understand the passion of the user base, whether someone is complaining or offering feedback," Tenentes said. This means doing your homework on the company and product. It’s important to research the relevant aspects of the company with a "fine tooth comb mentality," said Seamus Condron, Community Manager at ReadWriteWeb. This will not only prepare you as you go into an interview for a community spot at a company. Aspiring community managers should do a thorough "social media audit" of the company they’re interviewing with, said Daniel Honigman, Social Media Manager at Sears/KMart Home Electronics. This also means knowing the competitive landscape. 2. Love The Product and Company, But Be the Users’ AdvocateUnderstanding the product will help you become better at engaging and understanding the customers and users as well. Mario Sundar, Senior Social Media Manager at LinkedIn, said you should love the product or company you represent, but you should also have an understanding of users’ pain points. He said a community manager should be empathetic, that will help them be better at responding to complaints (and, at times, rants). This is particularly true of customer service teams, and companies like Zappos, he said, have set the bar high in building customer support by empathizing with consumers. "A community manager’s role is no different," he said. 3. Work on Your Communication SkillsOne of the characteristics a community manager should have is that of an engager. A good community manager can engage people in an effective dialogue, said Andres Glusman, Vice President of Strategy & Community at Meetup.com. They understand that their role is to help people and enable their community to connect with each other, he said. To do this, they have to be effective communicators and articulate themselves well. To prepare yourself for a career as a community manager, having a background in either marketing or journalism helps, Tenentes said. Having a communications background and experience in writing will help you be an effective communicator. 4. Blog and Have a Social PresencePart of being a good communicator is engaging customers and users with an authentic voice. Practice makes perfect. Having a voice in the community by maintaining a blog, for example, or even having a presence on various social platforms will enable you to become better at engaging, while getting the attention of employers. "Having a blog where you write about the industry is a great way to get companies to pay attention to you, as does having an active Twitter account that indicates you know how to communicate one-to-many," Tenentes from Foursquare said. Sundar also got help from blogging. He said he found his job for LinkedIn because of blogging and believes taking an hour a day to blog on social media topics will help you stand out from the rest of the social media crowd. "I'm constantly surprised by how few of those aspiring community managers actually spend time to manage a career blog where they share tips and tricks on what works and what doesn't," he said. "Everyone has a LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter account, but career blogs are few and far in between. Build a brand for yourself with your blog before you actually get paid to manage one." 5. Be AuthenticIt’s not just about having a voice, but having an authentic one. Condron said he tries to utilize his sense of humor when appropriate (and sometimes when it’s not). At the same time, he also does his best to be humble, and let his work speak for itself. "I hate selling myself, and that includes associating myself with silly titles like guru and expert,” he said. Sundar points to examples like Comcast and Dell, which have shown how even big brands successfully present an authentic face while dealing with customers. The key in building trust with your user base, he said, is being authentic and more about the people behind your company rather than a faceless brand.  6. Be Multi-Skilled and Prioritize Your Platforms StrategicallyGood community managers are ones that are able to multi-task and are multi-skilled. Having experience in web design, writing, and even some coding helps when you take on projects that involve site integration. It will help you know what’s possible and if you have enough skills to build out site features, it will help make integration more efficient. But, in general, the more skills you bring to the table, the more valuable you are as a candidate, especially for small companies that are looking for a one-person band that can play all the instruments and sing. Condron also points out that the community manager role is very different for each company, and because so many companies are still hiring their first community manager, the role is often defined by your existing skill set. "The more you know, the more you have to offer," Condron said. Being a good multitasker and having a range of skills also includes the ability to pick your battles, said Katy Zack, Communications Manager at Howcast. She said this means looking at the platforms that are out there, and investing your time and resources based on where your audience is. This means thinking beyond the major social platforms like Facebook and Twitter. 7. Listen, Add Value and Build RelationshipsIt’s important to listen to the conversations taking place around your company, industry, or product. Being a good listener will enable you to gather feedback more effectively, feedback that can go towards improving the quality or experience the user has with the product. Also, although it’s important to have a voice in the space, using that voice effectively means adding value to the conversations taking place and not just adding noise to the echo chamber. Sundar also points out that it’s important to strengthen your relationships whether or not you're looking for a job. "Building relationships is a must for your career, especially for folks in the community space, and is more effective when you're actually not looking for a job," he said. This helps create authentic relationships, not just ones that are based on you trying to sell yourself for an open position. If you invest in relationships, it will open opportunities up down the road. 8. Engage Online and OffThough online community is important, connecting with people in-person will help strengthen the relationships you build, Zack from Howcast said. Go to the places where community managers come to exchange ideas and network. "Don’t discount the real-life community," she said. "Find your tweetups and where people with your interests are meeting in real life." This is also a principal to take once you land a job as a community manager. The offline community is just as important to facilitate through events, meetups and in-person meetings. Tenentes said community managers should reach out to the local tech community, go to meetups (or start their own if there is a lack of community), and meet with people in the same industry. This not only helps in building relationships, but will also help you learn from others in your industry.  9. Think Like an Entrepreneur and Be Quick to AdaptCommunity managers have to be entrepreneurial and have a vision for each project, big or small. Building a community means having a strategy for it and the knowledge and drive to implement it, whether with building on a big platform or having a presence and voice on a small one. Sundar said tomorrow's community manager should be able to adapt to the latest social media technologies. They should also be able to build measurable engagement within that user community, he said. In many cases you have to be the driving force behind a project, with no one pushing the strategy and idea. Having an entrepreneurial spirit will enable you to get things done quickly and efficiently. 10. Empower Your Colleagues to Be Community BuildersYou can’t do it on your own. Building community also includes the internal community of the company itself, and being able to empower your colleagues to engage the community will make your job easier and also help them better understand the value in what you’re doing. "If your boss and your colleagues aren’t buying into what you’re doing, your head is going to start hitting the ceiling fast," Condron said. Honigman, Social Media Manager at Sears/KMart Home Electronics, said this doesn’t mean mandating social media involvement from your colleagues, because it won’t work in getting them interested or engaged. "Find a few folks within the organization you can win over and work with, and let them help you tell your story," he said. Bonus: DOs & DON’TsHere are some bonus tips and dos and don’t that some of our experts offered as you search and find a career in community management.
We hope you found these useful and we want to know what some of your tips are. In the spirit of community, please share them in the comments below! Community Management Job ListingsEvery week we put out a list of social media and web job opportunities. While we post a huge range of job listings, we’ve selected some of the best community management jobs from the past two weeks to get you started. Happy hunting!
More Job Search Resources from Mashable:
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, mattjeacock Reviews: Facebook, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Twitter, iStockphoto More About: careers, community manager, companies, job search series, jobs, List, social media, tips, trending For more Business coverage:
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| Google Tests New Feature: Search As You Type [VIDEO] Posted: 21 Aug 2010 01:38 PM PDT   Google is testing a feature that displays live-updating search results as you type your search query, no keystroke on “Enter” or “Return” required. When you start typing, the search box is relocated to the top of the site. Results are changed to match what you type as you go, kind of like a Firefox page search, Spotlight on the Mac, or Windows 7’s “Search programs and files” field in the start menu. These live search results are not available to the public at large. Google regularly tests new features with very small selections of users. Some of those features never see a public launch, but some do. Google releases new search features to the public all the time; just last week it launched Google Apps Search, which searches Google’s Gmail, Docs and Sites web apps. Google makes its money by displaying contextual ads based on your searches. You’d think this would make that more challenging, but as far as we can tell from the video, those ads are updated live along with your search results. Blogger Rob Ousbey discovered the feature (others have confirmed it) and wrote about it. He also recorded a video of the feature in action; we’ve embedded that below. [via Google Operating System] Reviews: Firefox, Google, Windows, blogger More About: Feature, Google, incremental search, live search, Search, search engine, test, trending, video For more Tech coverage:
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| 10 Classic PC Games That Found New Life on the iPhone Posted: 21 Aug 2010 12:20 PM PDT   Apple’s iPhone may mark a second golden age of computer gaming for a lot of reasons. The open marketplace means anyone can create a game; from major companies to just a couple of talented people in a garage. The result is a new boom in innovation, the likes of which we haven’t seen in about 20 years. Even with all the potential for innovation, maybe you still want to relive that first golden age of gaming. If you’re excited for how new tech can update the classics, then this list is for you: 10 of the greatest, most influential, straight-up classic computer games ever made, all available on and completely remastered for Apple’s handset, and in most cases also playable on the iPod touch and iPad. There are so many phenomenal PC game ports for the iPhone that we had a hard time narrowing it down to just 10. We couldn’t help but sneak in a very special bonus at the end. Flip through the gallery below for the list and be sure and tell us about your favorites too. 1. Doom Classic The mother of all first-person shooters, this game is so iconic that it spawned a web community dedicated to getting other devices to play it. As for the iPhone, we can safely say: "It plays Doom." Price: $6.99 2. Myst A masterwork of interactive storytelling, this game was unlike any that came before it. Blatant imitators have been making games for more than 15 years now. Price: $4.99 3. The Oregon Trail An educational game that became part of an entire generation's zeitgeist, The Oregon Trail got a radical renovation for the iPhone. The graphics are improved, and there are a lot of fun mini-games to now play during your journey. Price: $2.99 4. The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition One of the funniest games of all time, The Secret of Monkey Island was made by the illustrious LucasArts adventure game studio. You can play the game as it originally appeared, or you can play the voiced and redrawn version. The iPhone remastering of the sequel just came out, too. Price: $7.99 5. Plants vs. Zombies It's not very often that a game comes out that can be called a classic just over a year after its release. Few would dispute that Plants vs. Zombies is deserving of the title. It's hard to believe that the game originated on the PC, though, because once you play it on a touchscreen, you won't want to go back. Price: $2.99 6. Beneath a Steel Sky: Remastered Not as well-known as The Secret of Monkey Island, Beneath a Steel Sky was a point-and-click, cult hit adventure game. Solve the mysteries and meet the strange characters of a post-apocalyptic world in this one. Price: $2.99 7. Prince of Persia Retro The PC wasn't known for its platform jumping games. But Prince of Persia was a uniquely PC take on the console-dominated genre. This remastered version is faithful to the original, including its unforgiving difficulty. Watch yourself. Price: $0.99 8. Rogue Rogue is the great grandfather of World of Warcraft. Until that hugely popular MMO hits the iPhone, this is one of your best bets. As with Monkey Island, you can play either the remastered version or the original (in this case an ASCII-text only affair). Yes, Rogue is really that old, but its influence is strongly felt even today. Price: Free 9. Sim City Deluxe Everyone knows SimCity. This iPhone version is basic compared to some of the later offerings in the series, but when you're playing on the go, that's probably okay. Price: $6.99 10. Worms Another cult hit, Worms was the final evolution of an obscure genre of games that involved calculating angles and wind speeds to deliver lethal volleys at friends. Worms was more action-oriented and hilarious, and the franchise has been a staple for gamers for a long time now. Price: $4.99 BONUS: Frotz Frotz isn't a game on its own, but we had to include it because it's one of the most exciting classic PC gaming apps for the iPhone. It's kind of like an iBooks or Kindle for interactive fiction. Text-based adventure games were immensely popular in the late 70s and early 80s; if you remember those times, you won't want to miss Frotz. It runs many of your old favorites, plus new adventures made by enthusiasts who are still being creative today. Price: Free More entertainment resources from Mashable:
More About: apple, Beneath a Steel Sky, classic games, classics, Doom, DoS, games, iOS, ipad, iphone, iPod Touch, Mobile 2.0, myst, pc, pc games, plants vs zombies, Rogue, simcity, The Oregon Trail, The Secret of Monkey Island, video games, Windows, Wolfenstein 3D, worms For more Entertainment coverage:
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| Top 10 Twitter Trends This Week [CHART] Posted: 21 Aug 2010 10:47 AM PDT   Entertainment — of the U.S. and international varieties — takes home the Twitter gold this week, in what was a fairly stable list of trends. The new comic book-inspired film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, starring Michael Cera, jumped from #4 last week, to #1 this week, despite modest returns at the box office. Long-time Twitter trend Inception sank to #4, and the new Sylvester Stallone action flick The Expendables grabbed #6. Brazilian politics are back, football has never left, and a handful of Indonesian trends, one related to Twitter favorite Justin Bieber, round out this week’s chart. Check out the complete list below, compiled by our friends over at What The Trend. Because this is a topical list, hashtag memes and games have been omitted from the chart. You can check past Twitter trends in our Top Twitter Topics section as well as read more about this past week's trends on What The Trend. Top Twitter Trends This Week: 8/14 – 8/20
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, ricardoinfante Reviews: Orkut, Twitter, iStockphoto, justin bieber, movie, twilight More About: entertainment, football, inception, justin bieber, List, Lists, Movies, scott pilgrim vs the world, social media, sports, teens, Top Twitter Topics, trending, trends, twitter, twitter trends For more Social Media coverage:
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| WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Accused of Rape [UPDATED] Posted: 21 Aug 2010 08:03 AM PDT   Update: Swedish authorities have withdrawn their warrant for Julian Assange, according to the Associated Press. “I don’t think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape,” chief prosecutor Eva Finne said in a short statement. — Julian Assange, the founder of the controversial WikiLeaks website, is being accused with crimes of molestation and rape by Swedish authorities. The website is denying the allegations, saying that they are “without basis.” Swedish authorities issued the warrant for Assange’s arrest late yesterday. While details are sparse, Sweden’s prosecutors’ office has said that Assange should contact the police “so that he can be confronted with the suspicions,” according to The Guardian. Assange and WikiLeaks have responded though. “The charges are without basis and their issue at this moment is deeply disturbing,” Assange stated in a tweet several hours ago. Since then, the organization has issued an official statement:
Swedish tabloid Expressen, which first reported the story, says the rape accusations revolve around two 20 to 30 year old women he recently met. Those reports are unconfirmed, though. WikiLeaks rose to prominence last month when it leaked over 70,000 secret documents related to the U.S. war in Afghanistan. The leak has caused a firestorm of controversy. The Pentagon has already demanded the return of the Afghan war reports or it will find ways to “to compel them to do the right thing.” WikiLeaks recently pledged to release 15,000 more documents related to the Afghan war. Assange was in Sweden last week to deliver a talk and to apply for a publishing certificate for WikiLeaks, according to media reports. The organization has servers in Sweden because of its laws protecting whistleblowers. It’s unclear where Assange, an Australian citizen, is currently. [img credit: Markchew2010] More About: julian assange, legal, Rape, sweden, trending, wikileaks For more Tech coverage:
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