Jabbawockeez

It's pretty hard to imagine, but I only got to know about the Jabbawockeez this week. They are an amazing dance group, check this out:


So now I have a favorite masked dance group (the Jabbawockeez), a favorite masked band (Hollywood Undead), and a favorite masked wrestler (Super Dragon). I should get a mask myself. Haha.

"I'm a PC, and I'm a 4-1/2 year old."

The latest Microsoft ad features a cute 4-1/2 year old girl showing how easy it is to use Windows.

What do you think about it? It is definitely cute - a departure from the previous commercials.

The CNET article is here:

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:533e05d2-9f12-4a86-bdda-efd0455fcd36&showPlaylist=true&from=msnvideo" target="_new" title="Kylie uses Windows Live Photo Gallery">Video: Kylie uses Windows Live Photo Gallery</a>

Can we predict user-submitted content popularity?

According to a paper published by the HP Social Computing Lab, it seems that there is.

The paper points to the possibility that the popularity of user contributed content can be predicted very soon after the submission has been made, by measuring the popularity at an early time. Three models for predicting popularity were shared in the report.

Disclaimer: The Labs' data sources were Youtube and Digg. Also, the paper didn't touch on the semantics of why user-generated content becomes popular.

The paper is available here. This is very math-heavy, so be warned :)

On Twitter snowstorm maps and creating unique digital experiences

For me, effective digital marketing is all about creating a service (a site, an application, whatever you want to call it) that addresses a unique need for a set of users. It has to be unique so that it stands out among many other competing brands' efforts. And it has to offer a unique service so that consumers will like the utility and aid brand recall.

One particular example that showcases a unique service - although it's not done in a digital marketing sense - is #uksnow at http://benmarsh.co.uk/snow/

We all know that the UK has been suffering severe snowstorms this year. In fact, it is the worst in 18 years. Twitter users in the UK have been tweeting about this weather so Ben thought of combining Google Maps with Twitter posts to create a Twittermap of the UK snowstorms!

It's a simple idea: Ask people to hashtag their Tweets with #uksnow, put in their geo information, and add a twitpic if possible. Voila! Those tweets feed into the Google map. These realtime tweets allow users to see how the weather is at several parts in the UK. Even a million-dollar telescope can't do that because of severe cloud conditions. That's a unique service :)

Here're the exact instructions on the site:

Tweet the first half of your postcode, and rate the amount of snow that is falling out of ten (0/10 for nothing, 5/10 for steady snow and 10/10 for arctic blizzard conditions) >> "#uksnow [FIRST-HALF-OF-POSTCODE] [SNOW-SCORE]/10", ie: "#uksnow NG9 3/10".

Add your twitpic url to the end of your tweet to show it on the map >> "#uksnow [FIRST-HALF-OF-POSTCODE] [SNOW-SCORE]/10 [TWITPIC-URL]", ie: "#uksnow NG9 3/10 http://twitpic.com/aaaaa".

Hotel 626 - A game that sticks to you

In my opinion, Hotel 626 is easily the best flash advergame out there on the internet right now. Created by Doritos, it was launched during the Halloween of '08. The brand thinking behind is probably producing something of genuine entertainment to enhance your Doritos snacking experience - I read this in an article but couldn't locate the link. Most probably though, it was just to create buzz, and if you measure success by the buzz it is successful! A great feat, considering that this site is only up 50% of the time. You have to visit the site between 6PM-6AM to be able to "check in to Hotel 626." But of course, smart people have learned to adjust the system clock to be able to play anytime.

People are raving about this game, calling it the scariest game/site on the internet. I say it's infectious, and really engages you to spread the word. The plot of the game is after you check in, you wake up in the middle of the night due to some disturbance, and you're sucked into a series of challenges to make it out of the Hotel alive.

The great thing is that one part of the game is randomized! Meaning you can't beat the game completely by relying on some walkthrough. It also has personalization, if you choose to have your picture taken via webcam. It will be used in the latter part of the game...

Why do I mention the URL only now? Because it is really scary. Go to http://www.hotel626.com

Here is a youtube video about it.

Barack Obama in Manila!

Funny commercial leveraging Barack Obama's popularity in the Philippines.



It turns out that there was a viral created behind the commercial. Check out this blog, or this Youtube channel, which supposedly "documented" unconfirmed sightings of the US President-elect in Manila, Philippines.

This commercial rocks for 2 reasons:
1. Barack Obama is wildly popular even in the Philippines.
2. Filipinos love spoofs

What you do in school won't help you succeed

I believe this simple XKCD comic strongly. What you do in school won't be of much use when you begin your career. What school helps you with specifically is soft skill development, so that you will learn how to learn (and thrive) in whatever new place you are put in.

Hit Pres. Bush with shoes @ sockandawe!

So Pres. Bush evades flying shoes very well... therefore some guy created a game for you to practice your throwing skill! Play the game at www.sockandawe.com


Why does negative stuff spread faster on the internet? :)

Singkit na Pag-ibig: song for a Chinese-Filipino affair

Singkit na Pag-ibig (or Chinky-eyed Love) is a song created by some of my friends at De La Salle University, primarily as a birthday gift for my friend. This is for Filipino men who have fallen in love with Chinese women, and have encountered cultural obstacles. My friend is from La Salle of course, and it's common knowledge that there are many Chinese students in La Salle.

The first line of the song "Gua ai di" is Chinese for "I love you" to those who do not know.

I thought of putting this song up to be a little different for Christmas. :)

SUMO Paint = Photoshop in your browser

I recently discovered SUMO Paint, a browser based photo editing application, much like Photoshop.

You should try it, it's a very nifty tool.

For people who are more artistic, try out JacksonPollock.org. This is a site that allows you to paint like Jackson Pollock himself.

Manny Pacquiao pulls a lot of advertising weight

I'm watching Pacquiao's match with Oscar de la Hoya right now on GMA 7 in the Philippines, and I'm frustrated by the relative length of the commercials compared to the fight itself.

For every 3 minutes of boxing, there's roughly 8 minutes of commercials! Drat. Out of these few dozen commercials, probably 5 of them had an internet or mobile marketing component.

Yahoo sport's round by round coverage of the fight is very detailed. Read this, and it's like watching the match without commercials. (Well, there's an ad in the website too. But you can choose to ignore them.)

http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news?slug=ki-liveboxing120608&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Intel hero webcomic series

Intel found a way to at least make their processors more interesting. I'm liking this webcomic series.

I also like how they localized the comic (even a bit) by using Manila as the "city."

The URL is here.

Email marketing: Tony Romas b-day treat

As several members of Pinoy Exchange probably would receive once a year, I got this email from the restaurant:

TONY ROMA'S WISHES YOU A HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

As a Friend of Tony Roma's, you can enjoy BUY 1 GET 1 FREE ON ALL MAIN COURSES

any day within the month of your birthday.

To redeem this offer, please print and present the attached Birthday Voucher
with your Friends of Tony Roma's Card to our server on your next visit to
Tony Roma's to enjoy this special treat.

Please note that each member is only entitled to one redemption in the month of your birthday.
Presentation of identity card may be required for verification purposes. For other details,
please also refer to the terms and conditions stated in the voucher.

Should you require any clarification, please do not hesitate to contact any of our managers

by phone or email.

Thank you and we wish you an enjoyable birthday meal at Tony Roma's.

I never gave my opt-in to Tony Roma's explicitly...

Funny series of comments in Techcrunch

Upon reading the news about former Yahoo Exec Dr Qi Lu moving to Microsoft as head of online services, I chanced upon this funny series of comments by some users:

Google's strategy

If you want to understand Google's strategy, then you've got to read this.
As mentioned, the presentation talks about, and
1. Why won't Google be affected by the [global economic] crisis?
2. Why is Google trying to change the mobile world?
3. Why isn't Youtube a content portal?
4. Why Microsoft fears Google?
5. How is Google competing with Facebook?
There are 9 more questions, and they're equally interesting.

All about Google

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: google strategy)