Curator News Feed: July 5, 2013
Happy Independence Day from all of us at Curator! We celebrated a little early by putting together our own Star-Spangled Spotify playlist, and proceeded to blast it in the office earlier this week to really rev up our creative American spirits. It's a little eclectic to say the least, but then again so are we. Bonus points if you can guess who submitted what. Perhaps you'll enjoy our links of the week while simultaneously giving our playlist a spin. Happy Friday!
Happy 25th Birthday to Nike's 'Just Do It,' the Last Great Advertising Slogan, Adweek. It's not only our country's birthday this week, but Nike is about as American as you can get, so I'd say it's fine to celebrate both together. What's really interesting about this article is how Dan Wieden came up with this famous slogan—watch the second video, people. – Maria
The 30 Most Creative Social Media Marketers, Business Insider. We've all seen a lot of these viral social media campaigns, some have even been past links of the week, like the Lowes vines. This is a great look at the powerhouse folks coming up with them. I love the diversity in their thinking and looking at the kinds of approaches they take based on the brands. I think my favorites from this list have to be Allstate's Mayhem and Oreo. What are yours? – Chelsey
'Normal' Barbie By Nickolay Lamm Shows Us What Mattel Dolls Might Look Like If Based On Actual Women, Huffington Post. What would Barbie look like if she were based on the average American woman? Artist Nickolay Lamm used the measurements of an average 19-year-old woman to create a 3D model. The comparison is really jarring, and makes me wonder whether publicity like this will negatively impact the brand, or whether Mattel's iconic doll is so beloved by brand loyalists that it won't do much damage. What do you think? – Noelle
The Dieline Awards 2012 Winners, The Dieline. I wanted to share the Dieline packaging awards from 2012 as the 2013 winners will soon be announced. So, here's some creative inspiration for the day (and some pretty amazing branding). – Kendra
Photo credit: Stranger & Stranger
Former Groupon CEO's new album aims to impart ‘business wisdom’, PR Daily. So many things about this album, entitled "Hardly Workin,'" intrigue me. I kind of love the fact that ousted former CEO and Founder Andrew Mason is putting himself out there in such a big way. And, no, it's not a joke. But it gets better: he plans to drop business lessons in with his beats, aimed at educating millennials entering the workforce. There's no way I'm not going to at least take a listen. – Megan
Teens aren’t abandoning social. They’re just using the word correctly, Medium. A friend shared this link on Facebook, one of my most frequently used social networks. The piece explores results of a recent study from Piper-Jaffray that asked teens to share “their most important social networks.” According to the study, some of the older, established networks like Facebook and YouTube are experiencing a dip in significance among teens. The writer, Cliff Watson, digs into what’s really going on as teens move on to newer services like Snapchat or Kik. The entire piece is a great read, but here’s the sentence I keep mulling over in my head – “Kids aren’t leaving social networks. They’re redefining the word ‘social.’ Rather, they’re actually using the word with the intent of its original meaning: making contact with other human beings.” – Ann Marie
Vine update for iOS adds redesigned camera, 'revining,' and channels, The Verge. With Instagram video on its heels, the Vine app moved quick with their recent iOS update! I've made a personal goal to improve my video skills and this update makes it easy. My favorite feature? The ghost button where a light shadow of your previous clip is shown so you can line your next shot up perfectly! With clever updates at this rate I might keep my Instagram video very limited. Well played, Vine. – Brooke
How to Use Google+ to Expand Your Business Influence, Social Media Examiner. Why Google+? If you're thinking that the "more active users than Twitter" claim sounds a little fishy, you're right, but it's still worth your time. For one thing, it's becoming more and more baked-in to search, meaning pages with more followers will be ranked higher in organic Google searches. For another, people are probably already there talking about you, meaning you should be there to respond. Last but not least, some of those people are people who aren't on the other networks you frequent, and engaging with them means a positive gain in your overall social footprint. Once you've gotten started and filled out your profile a bit, check out this link for how to optimize. — Paul