Social media marketing is such a broad term, yet most marketers are so quick to stereotype it with an association to Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks of the like. Broadly speaking, I tend to look at social media marketing as the closest thing we’ll get to the modernization of the oldest (and still the most successful) form of advertising, that is, word of mouth. For example, Yelp relies on real people to share unsolicited recommendations on almost everything under the sun. Therefore, the age-old act of somebody recommending a restaurant to a friend is a primitive microcosm of Yelp’s service, or should I say, Yelp’s service is simply the modern day (technology-powered) macrocosm of that same act.

Unfortunately, it’s too late for some brands to unlearn what they already know about social media. Most campaigns tend to take an existing brand and plug it (sometimes force-fit it) into a ready platform such as Twitter, Facebook, or Yelp. I’m not suggesting that there are no smart ways to activate on these websites but often times, this plug-and-play strategy is executed in a way that’s no different than buying online banner placements on high-traffic websites. These websites just happen to be social networks.

Social media has the potential to do so much more. It presents a unique opportunity for brands to develop marketing programs from the ground up. Meaning, instead of being an afterthought, social media has the ability to be a key aspect of the product development process, resulting in a great product that’s innately capable of social interaction. Meaning, social environments, whether it be Facebook, Twitter, or brand owned, should work naturally with a product’s functions. T-Mobile’s Sidekick does this with built-in social apps that are custom to the device and Blackberry does it with Blackberry Messaging (or BBM) that’s an exclusive service for Blackberry users around the world. Communication devices are certainly an obvious application but it’s when we apply social media to less “social” products that it gets innovative.

A prime example is Nike+, which is a truly (buzzword alert!) holistic program with social media at its core. Nike+ does a tremendous job at combining brand awareness, product innovation, and an extremely engaged online community, all working towards the sales of the Nike+ line of products and as a result, we have ROI at its finest. Buy the gear, track your runs, challenge yourself, challenge your friends, or challenge the world. Get motivated, get running tips, find new trails, make new friends – all of this centered around the world of Nike+. Nike built it and we came running, literally. It’s a never-ending marketing campaign that’s mostly user generated. Genius! Nike+ gives us the ability to interact with our shoes as well as the ability to interact with like-minded people via our shoes. It’s a good example of how a product developer had the foresight to integrate social media into a product at its nascent stage.

Social media marketing only exists because today’s world is more social and more connected than ever. As marketers, we tend to approach new ways of advertising with preconceived notions from television, print, and radio but it is important that we remove ourselves from these constraints and approach social media with a fresh outlook.

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The thing that’s changed is, for the general population, new arcade titles easily get lost with all of the attention drawn onto today’s mega blockbuster hits.

‘Splosion Man is pretty much what it sounds like. You play as a character made entirely of explosives and explode yourself to jump into the air, jump off of walls, and kill your enemies. With explosions as the answer to everything, it really doesn’t get much simpler.

Zombie Apocalypse is a fast-paced top view shooter with a simple objective: Kill all zombies. The simple concept of blasting swarms of zombies to beat the game seems to get lost in the complicated storylines of today but I love that Zombie Apocalypse embraces the pure unadulterated fun that is destroying swarms of zombies over 55 levels of non-stop action – awesome!

Both games are slated for release this summer and both will be available as a quick download on Xbox 360 or PS3. I’m a hardcore gamer so I know this and I would have found out regardless. Yes, arcade titles are far less expensive to develop and don’t merit big advertising budgets but it seems a bit counterintuitive that hardcore gamers like myself are the only ones that are anticipating upcoming arcade hits.

A casual gamer may see a wonderfully artistic commercial for say, Assassin’s Creed 2, and be impressed with the “graphics” but it’s unlikely that he’ll justify spending $60+ to purchase it. On the other hand, get a casual gamer excited about an approachable arcade title that costs $10-$20 to download and your chances go way up

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That’s not to say that basketball, as a sport, isn’t a tough sport. In fact, just like hockey or football, the sport of basketball breeds a culture of perseverance and, of course, toughness. From inner city street courts to grueling varsity practices, the tough thrive and progress while the weak get weeded out.

The NBA earns its “soft” reputation as a business and a league, not as a sport. And after watching a few heated NBA playoff series and after hearing that the commentators, coaches, and players all share the same sentiment, the NBA, as it exists today, has gained my official stamp for Pansy League.

All the flops, flagrants, and mind games that are integral to today’s NBA games have dramatically taken away from the toughness that’s inherently associated with basketball. Tough players like Kobe Bryant (all allegiances aside) and Ron Artest are deprived of their reputations for being tough because of the league’s “play nice” mentality.

It’s clear that the NBA is looking after its own interests, granted, but they’re going about it in a way that compromises the sport’s integrity. Delaying the game for medical attention every time Paul Pierce whines about getting slapped on the wrist or ejecting players from the game after some good hard-nosed defense inhibits the potential for some great competitive rivalries that fans crave. There’s an acceptable level of preventative maintenance but these days, the NBA is kissing the footsteps of neurosis.

After game three of the Lakers vs Rockets playoff series, Kobe Bryant went on camera to say that Ron Artest’s ejection was unnecessary. That it should’ve been two shots, simple as that. Jeff Van Gundy complained about how players can’t stop a simple lay-up these days without getting penalized.

Obviously, there was that “incident” at the Palace. Jermaine O’Neal sliding his fist into a fan’s face and Stephen Jackson rearranging a fan’s nose in the stands didn’t help the cause but it’s been over four years now and there’s definitely a better way than to eject Ron Artest at the end of every game for no good reason.

I say bring back the 80’s. Bring back Bill Laimbeer and the days of the Motor City Bad Boys. Let’s never go back to the fight at the Palace but come on refs, let them block a lay-up without getting ejected from the game. Squish the soft serve and let them play!

Love, Go Raptors!

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I can’t go thirty minutes driving in my car without hearing about Twitter. From this, you can safely assume two things: 1. I don’t have satellite radio, and 2. Twitter is officially mainstream, spreading like chickenpox in a third grade classroom.

To my girlfriend, it’s nails on a chalkboard as she rolls her eyes every time Twitter gets mentioned on the radio… on television… by me. “So lame,” is the general reaction for non-twitter-ers. In the back of my mind I’m thinking, little do you know, my dear, that you will someday succumb as well… just you wait until the day you discover that Stephanie Meyer is tweeting. Yes, she is one of one hundred gazillion raging female fans of the Twilight novel series – my turn to roll eyes.

[The hottest new social utility and the hottest new novel series share the same first three letters. Coincidence? I’m officially inventing a new iPhone app and I’m going to call it (yup, you guessed it) the Twiddler – the first iPhone app that will automatically filter work emails by “fun”. Okay sorry, back to the post.]

Unlike the radio hosts I listen to, I’m not here to plug and promote Twitter. I simply find it fascinating that such a simple tool has mutated and formed into different uses for different people, purely based on personal interpretations.

For me, it’s an entertaining tool for boring flight delays and random funny observations at the local Starbucks, but no celebrity stalking or excessive grocery shopping updates will come from my phone. It taps into my silent desires of self-promotion and insta-voyeurism.

Celebrities (and their publicists) love it as an equity-building tool to connect with fans on a more personal level (e.g. “OMG, Michelle Obama just twittered a reply to me!”).

For others, the simplicity attracts them. No need to setup a profile or upload pics like Facebook and MySpace to become engaged. It’s good clean fun that’s super approachable for those of us that are less willing to jump over registration hurdles, follow setup protocols, or simply have a low tolerance for pedophiles (sorry MySpace).

Some twitter-ers actually use it for its original purpose, to stay hyper-connected to their friends – walking down the street, eating lunch, wasting my friend’s time by making him read a twitter post about me ordering a bagel for breakfast. Not exactly my personal style but I’ll withhold judgment, sort of.

Advertisers are catching onto the goodness too. Movie studios can scan Twitter for candid feedback on their latest movie releases, car manufacturers for new vehicle launches, videogame developers for game launches, the list can go on forever.

Twitter is quickly becoming the ubiquitous social utility for life’s updates and musings. So much that it has become socially synonymous with the definitions for both words.

Is it too far fetched for twitter to one day become a socially accepted substitute for the aforementioned words? Meaning, can you ever imagine yourself or somebody else saying, “Hey! Long time no see! I want the full twitter from the past year.” Yeah, probably a bit far fetched but it worked for Kleenex with tissue and Post-It for little square pieces of paper with sticky backings – so you never know.

Much like a couple of four-letter obscenities I can think of, twitter, as a word, can exist as a noun or a verb (e.g. “Twitter is great” or “don’t forget to twitter while you’re on vacation”). I know I know, the proper verb is “tweet” but I feel that “twitter” is also an acceptable verb so calm down Twitter Sheriff.

Its cultural resonance warrants stunned faces whenever the question, “what’s Twitter?” is asked and is usually followed by a semi-condescendingly inquisitive, “you don’t know what Twitter is?!” answer. Oh you poor un-informed, un-hip member of society.

@Denuology. Signing off.

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