one click, each day at a time.

The term cyber-stalking is not unfamiliar. Granted we sneak a peek at old friends or crushes or even exes from time to time to see how they're doing (and if they're suffering a fate far horrible than ours mwahahah). 

But there are others who don't quite see it that way. The stalking becomes an obsession, a perversion to the extent that it crosses the lines between normal and acceptable to just downright creepy.

Check out my stalkers. I mean it's really sweet with the photo and tattoo but... I don't really want to be bloodied up. I can't quite deciper the moral of this ad. Is it that we ought to be careful with the kinds of people whom we allow access to our profiles, privacy and information? Or that we should just be generally careful and cautious of teen girls who might display over-fangirlism?

If you can't see the video above, click here.

That's exactly what punkrock cult band Blink182 did.

The reward wasn't in terms of cash rather, with the help of AT&T, the band searched for all videos on YouTube that made use of their music/lyrics/etc without permission.

And what did they do after? They made a music video out of it to launch their new single "Up All Night". I guess when you say imitation is the best form of flattery and to have the person whom you imitated to use your works kinda has a new meaning now. Ok, that didn't quite make sense but I'm pretty darn sure you get what I mean.

The rise of covers on YouTube shows the immersiveness and penetration of an artiste's song. Take a look at the number of covers for Adele's "Rolling in the Deep". Even Linkin Park did it and it was a tribute to the British popstar's brilliantly crafted song.

What does this all mean though? That musicians realise the potential of user-generated content? You don't have to fork out dough for a music video? That your fanbase just triples in loyalty and growth because YOU acknowledge their existence and thank them for supporting you in any way/means possible? Hmm.

What do you think?

In the meantime, check out the video here.

Tribal DDB kinda beat me to this. 

At a loss of ideas in what to offer your client? Can't decide between social networks, check-ins with Foursquare or an app? Spin the Wheel of Concept and you'll let fate (or a nice algorithm) determine what you should do/offer/suggest to your client.

Plus it comes with that nifty Concept Board in PDF with explanations as to what the idea is about. How you wanna implement it, is your choice.

I loike.

I really wish I had the talent, knowledge and ability to do something like this.

Why do they not teach us these things in school? Or if they did, why so late!

Hitch from Pascal Monaco on Vimeo.

(OK, and shutup about the lack of technology and flexibility then. Hmpf.)

First it was Ford who decided to incorporate popular Zombie culture into their ads. And then Toshiba joins in the fun with their Satellite series (hard impact thingy included).

I just love the way the "CEO" thinks far into the future, believing that a crash in a system would lead to loss of power, rotten milk and eventually zombies.

Ok. I just like zombies.

Today a colleague brought in a copy of TODAY (yes, the newspaper) and we were both intrigued by an advertisement placed by G2000.

The whole QR versus NFC debate isn't quite over yet for me so seeing G2000's attempt at using QR as part of their campaign during the Great Singapore Sale intrigued us both.

Instructions on the newspaper were as follows:

• Snap the QR code to reveal more exciting deals and stand a chance to win an iPad2*
• *Terms and conditions apply. Download a QR reader from the Apple App Store or Android Marketplace Now.

So the first thing we did was to get a QR reader from the App Store. I downloaded 3 different readers and after they were installed, tried snapping the code. This is my first time making use of a QR reader so perhaps, I may have gotten the whole concept wrong. We tried snapping, waiting for something to happen. But nothing did.

My colleague then went on to the G2000 Facebook Page and this was what we saw:

No promotion or discount or instructions appeared in our smartphones. There was nothing else on the Facebook Page that would explain or enlighten us as to what the promotion is, what we would get etc etc.

Maybe there was a specific QR reader that we were supposed to get or we had to snap the picture, present it to the counter staff and then something will happen. Whatever it is, if you decide to use something like this QR code as part of your campaign, perhaps you might consider making your instructions a little bit clearer. Espeically if you have QR-noobs like us.

As it stands now, I downloaded a QR reader, tried to snap/take the picture, nothing happened. I pop over to the Facebook Page hoping for enlightenment but... nothing.

Or maybe I did it all wrong. Hmm.

Did anyone else get the QR code? Mind telling me where I went wrong?

Thanks!

QUICK UPDATE! My 5th QR app finally worked. If you wanna get the G2000 promo, then download i-nigma from the app store. I'm still wondering, why didn't it work with others?

By the way, only $5? Sigh... for all the trouble I went to, I guess I had too high an expectation.

What indeed is a social media strategy?

As of late I find myself wondering about this often. I used to think and believe that a social media strategy was made up of the following components:

• Facebook engagement and community management
• Content planning and strategization
• Campaign conceptualization, strategization and execution

These days though, I find campaigns that are social media-themed and yet aren't at the same time. When it comes to the social aspect, it appears to be more of sharing the content across social networks (Facebook and Twitter). The premise here then is pushing content through these channels. The act of pushing and sharing is user-oriented. You create compelling enough content to appeal and to make them want to share it.

Ok. I think that's being too general and specific and overall, confusing.

I read two posts on my Google Feeds from AdPulp.

One said that content was essential, king even, in getting people to notice you amidst the clutter online. Without content, you are nothing. The other article said that content is merely SEO and isn't as compelling enough to warrant a 'click on share' from the end user.

How do we strike a balance between the two? How do we make content and social an immersive experience?

Sometimes it feels like the lines between a social experience and a premeditated advertising campaign experience is blurred.

The best social media experience I feel is Google Chrome's videos (or is it Google's Chrome videos). I blogged earlier about the father who created an email account for his daughter, sending her letters via gmail, taking photos and sharing them etc. The use of several social applications for one simple reason was the best way to explain/describe what a social experience should be.

Or I could be wrong.

What do you think? What do you consider a social media experience or a social media strategy?

NFC stands for Near Field Communications.

The premise of which is to place the phone or object equipped with NFC next to the promotion (or whatever it is) that's also equipped with NFC, getting them to communicate and transfer information.

QR stands for Quick Response code.

You get a blockyweird graphic thingy that you snap a picture via an application and then it tells you what promo it holds.

In terms of accessibility and idiot-proofness, I think NFC might win. I don't think QR is that quick after all. Don't you still require a connection to the Internet? In addition, what about phones that aren't equipped with a camera?

Which do you think is the lesser of two evils?

I have to be honest, I still don't understand how QR codes work. I also don't think they're suitable for us in Singapore. Based on what little I know, Singaporeans can be a really lazy bunch and we dint want to have to take a photo it's a code in order to get to a website. Wouldn't it just be easier to give us the URL in the first place?

But somehow QR codes are huge overseas. Or at least in Japan and Korea. The way Tesco (or Home Plus) does it is rather ingenious.

I like how they identify the problem of not being able to reach out to as many consumers as it's rival; an online eshopping site. Additionally, that extra effort in market research and understanding the culture and lifestyle of it's target audience really impressed me. At least now I know that unlike me, Koreans aren't a huge fan of grocery shopping. I can be in a supermarket for hours.

Turning the waiting time to shopping fine was pure genius. We spend approximately half (or maybe even more) of our lives just waiting. And since the Koreans aren't the type to want to waste time, this appeals to them and (for lack of a classier word) makes sense.

If one were to translate this to a Singaporean context, what if Giant or Sheng Siong wanted to kick NTUC out of the grocery shopping market. Unlike Koreans, there is still much of the older generation who don't use smart phones and are also unclear as to how to use it. This would then appeal to the office drones so placing the shopping board if sorts would have to be strategic. Think the bus stops along the CBD stretch or Raffles Place MRT station.

Unrelated, I would like it if they did something similar to bookstores or even libraries. Pain in the ass to search for books and sometimes when you want them they're all sold out or relocated or some idiot decide to reserve the book. The wall and it's supporting/complementary application can book/reserve desired book and if that isn't available, let you know and prompt you if you'd like to reserve it.

I don't boil eggs.

So if you ask me how to do a hard-boiled or a soft-boiled, I can't help you there sorry. But hey, I can tell you about this app that can get you the perfect egg.

Created by a Swedish sandwich spread Kalles Kaviar, the app basically guides you through getting the perfect boiled egg.

Although when they say that the egg has to have a code in it, does it mean that it can only be a specific brand of egg that you can use to work with this app? Hmm.