Want to catch up with what happened in the digital world this week? Our weekly cheat sheet will fill you in on everything you missed while you were scrambling to meet deadlines and put out fires.
Read about how brands are embracing Google+ and Viddy, NBC’s new Sports Live Extra app, a browser plug-in to help you shop on-line, and what Mitsubishi has to say about your Facebook friends!
1. Viddy gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the MTV Video Music Awards
The MTV VMAs were televised live this week, and MTV gave viewers a behind-the-scenes looks using the hot new video app, Viddy. Dubbed the “Twitter for video,” Viddy encourages users to “live life in the moment” by recording short 15 second clips that can be shared with friends and family. Since clips were shared by MTV staffers in real time, it provided viewers with an authentic and less polished look at all of the night’s presenters, performers, and winners backstage. MTV does an excellent job of embracing different platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but, more importantly, they know how to keep viewers interested by uploading unique content to each platform.
2. Google+ lets you hang out with Steven Spielberg
Last week, Google+ introduced new features for businesses, and this week, it continue to builds its image as a viable platform brands can use to engage users. On Wednesday, it was announced that the trailer for the upcoming Steven Spielberg film, Lincoln, will premiere in a Google+ Hangout on September 13th at 4 PM. After the trailer, users will be invited to take part in a live video chat with Spielberg and actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt. This isn’t the first time a studio has hosted a live video chat to promote a new film, but this will be the first time a studio has premiered a trailer on a social networking site. Lincoln is predicted to be a hit with both audiences and critics, and if the hangout goes well, this can significantly increase the profile of Google+ with studios.
3. NBC rebrands Olympics Live Extra to NBC Sports Live Extra
This week, NBC gave the Olympics Live Extra app a makeover. Taking advantage of its built-in audience, a new update for the app will rebrand it as NBC Sports Live Extra and give users access to sporting events that come around more often than every four years, including those from MLS, the NHL, and the PGA. Capitalizing on the trend of viewers watching more television on tablets and other mobile devices, NBC will let users live stream sporting events that air on NBC, NBC Sports Network, and the Golf Channel. The app will retain all of its social functions, like the ability to post to Facebook.
4. Hukkster is a new browswer plug-in for fashionistas on a budget
Tell me if this sounds familiar: You find something on-line that you really want, but really can’t afford, so you decide to wait until it goes on sale to buy it. You then spend the next 2 months dutifully checking the website, and, of course, on the one day that you forget to check, the item goes on super-duper clearance and sells out before you get to snag it. Now, there’s a new browser plug-in to make sure that never happens again. Currently in private beta, Hukkster lets you bookmark products that you want and set up an alert to notify you as soon as its price drops to a certain amount that you set. Hukkster’s current focus is on clothing retailers, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see it expand to all on-line retailers.
5. Mitsubishi ends pretentiousness
Mitsubishi is taking a stand against pretentiousness in a new social media campaign for the 2013 Outlander. “Mitsubishi Unpretentious” is a Facebook app that analyzes your friends list for your most pretentious friends. Once an offender has been found, an Outlander runs down a photo of them, before declaring, “It’s time to destroy your friend’s pretentiousness.” The tagline was inspired by and aligns with the car company’s belief that a well-designed car doesn’t have to be expensive. We can see Facebook users installing the app simply out of curiosity to see who the app pegs as their most pretentious friend.
