Facebook has crept up to be the fourth largest distributor of news content on the Internet. Last year less than 0.5% of visits to news and media sites came from Facebook, according to Experian Hitwise. Just last week, 3.5% of visits to sites in the news and media category came from Facebook.The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times are already publishing content to the platform and it is likely that other news and media sites will adopt the Facebook platform. Facebook is behind primarily Google, Yahoo! and MSN where people go to get their news online. Last year Facebook overtook Google News rising from just over 1% in January 2009 to 3.5% last week.

Data released from Nielsen recently showed that in December 2009, Facebook had close to 120 million US users and that average time spent on the site increased by 200% over December 2008. This increased time on the site is having repercussions on how people consume media and as result an increasing number are learning about breaking news through friends’ status updates. Malorie Lucich, a spokeswoman for Facebook, blogged: “As news quickly travels, your friends are often the best filters you have for surfacing meaningful news. They are how I heard about Michael Jackson’s death, President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize and even ‘Balloon Boy’. Facebook is now encouraging users to set up personalised news channels - yet another reason why we should watch this space.

Sources: Brand Republic and Digital Beat

Air Jordan
www.jumpman23.com/aj2010
Celebrating its 25th anniversary experience Air Jordan via full-screen videos with integrated feature call-outs in a rich experience.

Wrangler Blue Bell
http://eu.wrangler.com/bluebell/#/collection
Full size interactive video showcasing Wrangler’s latest collection, with an additional interactive feature to allow you to really feel the clothes by pulling and dragging.

Toyota Prius
http://promo.prius.ru
Beautiful website demonstrating all the advantages of a new Toyota Prius in an engaging way.

Lego click
http://legoclick.com
A special place devoted to creativity, innovation and the moment when ideas just go ‘click!’

Since the dawn of digital marketing, a brand’s website has been the single biggest online focus for brands. However, with the evolution of social media growing at unheard of rates the era of the destination web seems to be drawing to a close – as the graphs below demonstrate, branded websites and microsites are losing traffic to social media destinations.

Today, to have an effective online presence requires a near omnipresence – an active presence across the social web. This means the creation of active profiles on popular social media sites with high reach (fish where the fish are), as well as the creation of (or “unlocking” of) content so that it’s easily distributable across networks. Freeing content to sit on or flow through “off-site” sources and platforms will enable web users to access unique content where they want to experience it and ensure they have the means to carry the message further – i.e. share the content with new audiences.

For brands, measuring success online will be less about measuring unique website visitors and more about measuring the flow and reach of content. Facebook has also recently added the functionality to allow brands to incorporate fan features directly on to their branded websites. Subsequently website content updates can be sent directly onto fans’ Facebook pages.

Through this kind of development we are likely to see the greater harmonisation between branded websites (hubs) and supporting social channels (spokes). One thing is for sure, we will stop creating content simply for websites and create content that will live across the decentralised web.

Branded Websites:

Social Platforms:

This brilliant film was produced by Keiichi Matsuda for his final year Masters in Architecture. It forms part of a larger project around the social and architectural consequences of new media and augmented reality. Matsuda suggests that as the expansion/progression and blending of digital utilities and platforms continues into the latter half of the 20th century, there is a distinct possibility that we will see the merging of the online and offline worlds through hyper-reality. This hyper-reality will provide a cacophony of imagery and sound through a constant and always on media space. Architecture will take on a whole new role for branding, image-building and consumerism.

The question is asked; could augmented reality recontextualise the functions of consumerism and architecture, and change the way in which we operate within it?

SOBE
www.sobe.com/
Check out this refreshing new site launch for Sobe Lifewater, asking real people one simple question: “What do you think?”.

Verbatim Championship
www.verbatim.jp/
Create your own ‘media monster’ and take part in this online fighting game to celebrate the launch of a Japanese branch of the American media company ‘Verbatim’.

Royal Australian Navy Submariners: Ocean Recon
www.defencejobs.gov.au/
Explore the Australian Navy’s Collin’s Class Submarine, and see what goes on inside one of the world’s most powerful vessles. This is a slick site with nice graphics and great interactives.

The Meta Project
themetaproject.com/
Sometimes the realisation of artistic ideas is difficult and perhaps frustrating. Metaproject is an agency who create new communications through artistic endeavours. A lot of ‘wow’ stuff here!

It was less than a month ago that the entire world was on tenterhooks for the announcement of Google’s competitor to the iPhone: the Nexus One. What unfolded was a less then exciting affair which saw Google extol upon the masses a phone to compete with the iPhone. Unfortunately it is yet to make any major dent in Apple’s market grip. The Nexus One does do many things the iPhone does, but don’t get caught up in the hype! The Nexus One has functionality that the iPhone had when it was launched over a year and a half ago.

While software innovation may be Google’s forte, it is hardware innovation where Apple are the master craftsmen. First came the clickwheel on the ipod gen 1, then video and photos landed on gen 4 ipod, then after the world held its breath, Steve Jobs launched the iPhone, which in turn has changed our world and left Apple’s competitors fumbling in its wake.

Now unless you have been living under a rock or just blissfully ignorant, Apple have a new creation due to be unveiled today in San Francisco. Time for Apple to show the world its latest hardware masterpiece. At this stage it wouldn’t be giving much away to say that the new creation is going to be Apple’s tablet computer - The iSlate. As usual, secrecy is paramount, with all employees, vendors and stakeholders being forced to sign legally binding non disclosure agreements. However, with such hype being built up (even by Apple themselves), glimmers of light have emerged as to what Apple are planning.

A series of conspiracy’s have been circling the web for many months now debating the specs of the new Tablet. Without fuelling speculation on these, we think its best to let Mr Jobs tell us about the goodies at 6PM GMT. One thing is certain however, after a series of underwhelming tech unveiling’s, this one is sure not to disappoint. Are Apple about to turn the world on its head again as they did with the iPhone? Here’s hoping they do!

Credit cards at the ready, roll on 6 PM, and just be here!

It’s not often that you’ll find a CEO as powerful as Steve Jobs, who’s willing to put there neck out there with such a bold statement, but sure enough multiple sources have reported that Steve Jobs has referred to the forthcoming new Apple product as the “most important thing I’ve ever done.”

For quite sometime rumours have been rife that Apple are about to unveil their Apple Tablet. Tomorrow, Wednesday 27th January, Apple are due to present their Q1 earnings and unleash something on the world. Jobs said, “The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product that we’re really excited about.”

The strange thing about this press release is that Jobs would even mention new products in a release about the last quarters earnings. So what are we to think? Is Jobs simply that “excited”?

Further to this, during Apple’s earnings call on Sunday, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer took a question about unannounced products and their effect on Q2 earnings with, “I think you’re alluding to our event on Wednesday.” Although from there he simple said to “stay tuned”, the fact that he would randomly bring up tomorrow’s event would suggest it is worth paying attention to.

Finally, during the same call Apple COO Tim Cook, when presented with a direct question on a new product unveiling, answered with “I wouldn’t want to take away your joy of surprise on Wednesday when you see our latest creation.”

So what can we expect tomorrow, what do Apple have in store for us?

One thing’s for certain, the number of iPhones sold in Q4 2009 doubled in one year to 8.7 million units while Apple’s net income of $3.38bn (£2.08bn), was a growth of nearly 50%. That represents a quarterly revenue increase of 32% to $15.68bn. So Apple are clearly doing something right, despite the current economic climate.

Unfortunately for now, as Apple would say, stay tuned…

It’s that time of the year again, and although slightly later then their usual February slot, the Irish Blog Awards are upon us. Taking place this year on the 27th March, the awards will be held in the beautiful city of Galway, at the Radisson Blu Hotel. Nominations are already open, so if you haven’t nominated your favourite blogs already, don’t waste any time. Nominations will close on the 5th of February at 3pm.

While it may be old hat in the US that sports franchises ban their players and coaches from using Social Media platforms, it now seems that the UK is following suit. Last week Manchester United announced that it had banned its players from using social networking sites. With immediate effect this saw the closure of Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs Twitter accounts.

The official Manchester United statement that was posted to their site read:”The club wishes to make it clear that no Manchester United players maintain personal profiles on social networking websites. Fans encountering any web pages purporting to be written by United players should treat them with extreme scepticism. Any official news relating to Manchester United or its players will be communicated via ManUtd.com.”

Many US Football and Soccer clubs have introduced similar bans as far back as May of last year. The general reasoning being given that unguided and unapproved commentary on the clubs or club’s management, were undermining the authority of those in charge to conduct their business. With clubs trying to closely manage their communications with their stars, their fans and other third parties such as rival clubs or sponsors, comments made on the spur of the moment were leading to sensitive informations leaking into the public domain.

A prime example from the beginning of the week was Liverpool’s Ryan Babel, who complained on Twitter about a potential loan agreement that would see him going to Sunderland. In a series of tweets, he wrote: “The boss left me out the squad. No explanation. I never had a fight with the manager. I always kept quiet. Where did it go wrong? You have people who support me and don’t support me and one day, you will see what I’m capable of. Will it be at LFC or somewhere else - I have faith.”

While it may seem that banning the use of Social Media platforms is a very harsh step to take, it is understandable. If professional athletes were writing to newspapers and discussing their clubs business there would be no question that they would be in the wrong. However, you’d imagine that there must be some degree of trust that can be placed on these professionals? Would it not be enough to just heed a few simple rules? We always find that the best advice when it comes to Social Media is to consider this before you hit ‘post’: would you be happy to have your mum, your partner, your future children and your boss, read what you just wrote. If you can safely say ‘yes’ then you should be fine.

Starbucks Love Project
www.starbucksloveproject.com
Promotional website for Starbucks and Project (Red) which features a crowd-sourced mash-up inspired by the Beatles song “All you need is Love.” All contributions help to raise awareness and fight AIDS in Africa.

Finger Industries LTD
www.fingerindustries.co.uk
Beta version portfolio site of Finger Industries LTD based in the U.K. Beautiful illustration and animation.

Summit on the Summit
www.summitonthesummit.com
Virtually follow the climbers journey up Mount Kilimanjaro as they embark on their summit to raise awareness for the global clean water crisis.

Diesel: Be Stupid
www.diesel.com/
If for nothing else other then an outrageous call to action, Diesel’s latest campaign captures your attention and forces you to stop and take notice. It’s not just a call to action though. This is a slick, minimalist campaign that captures the imagination. Bravo.