The Power of Social Media - Google goes Apple with + Project

Today Google released it's + Project

The Alien's at Sky Pulse Media are very excited because while we will advise people and brands on Facebook we view it as a massive marketing failure for Brands in general, big and small. Just peruse this blog! But we are very bullish on the Power of Social Media. And while we just debunked Viral and Influence yesterday, meaning how Individual Pieces of Content rarely go Viral. Topics go viral.

The number of Tweets and Blogs today about the Google + Project is overwhelming. This is classic APPLE. Apple doesn't do the Twitter/Facebook game. When Apple has an announcement and army of bloggers and tweeters and even big news sites all talk about APPLE. And today GOOGLE went APPLE!

By Friday everyone will know about this project and start looking at it to see if it can really compete against Facebook. And once the first stream of testers start telling us their experience this will either explode or die a quick death. Time will tell.

Some great discussions of Google + Project:

SpinSucks by Gini Dietrich

Barataria by Erik Hare

We Are Social by Robin Gant 

I am sure Mashable has a write up but who reads Mashable? Not serious Marketers or Thought Leaders.

Just check Twitter check the Blogosphere the world is on Fire over this. And that is the power of social media. It is PEOPLE POWER. Not BRAND POWER. When Google launched Wave it had an hour long presentation explaining it. No one cared. When Apple launched Ping. No one cared. But if you give the people reason to get excited. They will do the heavy lifting for you. If they yawn. Good luck. You can always convince us with 30 sec spots on TV!

Chief Alien Note: We changed the background for the posts to make them more readable even if they take away from the Space Theme.

Social Tuesday - Torching Social Influence for Marketing and just a bit of Facebook love

First off I need to state Ben Kunz has been killing it. Not sure if he is the smartest person on the Twitter or possibly Gunther Sonnefeld but they are neck and neck. Ben has been blogging using math lately over at Thought Gadgets. His latest post is brilliant.For the most part Twitter and Facebook are not Viral Platforms. In fact they are almost just plain NOT VIRAL. There are trending topics but rarely a trending piece of content. And it's the content, not a topic that is what viral is all about in Marketing.

A Deeper Essay into Viral Success

I can say a You Tube video that is viewed 1 million times in 1 month is Viral correct? But that comes down to just 33,333 per day. Considering how many people are on the Web world wide that is almost zero. 

Next some observations I wish to share as proof Twitter is really not a Viral Platform for Content:

This really dings Klout too and Social Influence. Notice Mari was tweeting about a FREE Webinar. In 90 minutes she got only 3 Retweets from her 100,000 plus followers. I don't know who Guy Kawasaki is, and maybe the problem is no one else does either and thus they didn't retweet it. But only 3? Wouldn't Mari have at least 100 friends out of 100,000 followers who would retweet just because it is her tweet? Obviously her 78 Klout does not include influence when it comes to Webinars or Guy Kawasaki.

Notice Mashable (I hate that mug shot serious who could ever follow on Twitter that mug shot! lol) has 2.3 million followers and got a whopping 17 and 40 retweets. The 17 was in 2.5 hours and the 40 was in 3.45 hours. Obviously Mashable has zero influence on the topics of HTC, Social Media, Tech and Mobile because otherwise wouldn't the 88 Klout score earn a ton more Retweets?

As we know the longer time lapses the less likely a Tweet was seen so I doubt it will bring up more. Caveat is if this is only recording Hootsuite Retweets (anyone who can clarify please share). To me this torches Viral and Influence (Klout)

Next Facebook:

Really what does gaming the system get you? I have proven no one will see your Brand Page Posts like a gazillion times.

First the positive for Facebook as promised. Cross posting photos for my client to Twitter that reside on Facebook has greatly increased traffic to the Brand Page. But the impressions are so wrong it isn't funny. Facebook is adding the network numbers of the 2 LIKES to the total. I mean seriously with 1800 Fans who wouldn't at least LIKE this delicious gourmet ice cream sandwich?!! No we got two because so few saw the post. Bad platform for marketing simple as that.

Lastly I won an award I am very proud of!

THE CHIEF ALIEN HAS BEEN BANNED BY MASHABLE FROM COMMENTING! 

They got tired of me exposing their Fan Boy Journalism and shoddy reporting. I never once used bad language on their site or said anything anyone would be offended by. But the truth hurts. This hasn't stopped me from commenting. But I can not comment with my Sky Pulse Media Twitter Account. Which BTW get's me back to these STUPID commenting systems based on Facebook and Twitter! 

If you require me to log in with Facebook to comment.....NO COMMENT

photo: ben andrus

Mobile Monday - LBS needs the Network and a Mobile Success

Satellite needs the ground Network:

Anyone who uses Android Navigation in their car will know that unless you have the ground network the 'Route' information does not work. Vermont which has very poor Verizon coverage will allow me to have the Map with my Location but unless I am in the 3G coverage area to set the Route Info, it doesn't work. Once the Route is set I can leave the 3G coverage and it will still give directions and the mileage left etc.

Without the Ground Network you also can not check in using any of the LBS services such as Foursquare or Gowalla, or even pull up Yelp! listings. They can find your location but the Apps will not work without the network.

Mobile Success Story:

Normally I am exposing frauds and holes in things in an effort to show clients and readers not to take things on Face Value. I had a discussion this weekend with Simon Salt (aka @incslinger ) about the lack of Social Media success for Marketing for big Brands. Tomorrow's post is going to freak you out when I debunk 'Viral' with some very powerful proof (though I actually have something nice to say about Facebook for once).

Simon showed me the Airwalk Pop Up Store campaign which I found very clever. Airwalk started as a Skateboarder shoe and then stumbled in the mass market a few years back. They have survived but aren't quite the same cache as say Vans, DC or Fallen shoes have today. The problem when you are leader in a niche is to keep the core supporters when you attempt going to the mass market. Many brands in Skate and Surf and extreme sports have died because of this effort. There is a huge disconnect I will share with the video narrator, the campaign, and reality which I will share later.

LINK

Video LINK

While this campaign is unique and was very successful, it obviously is not scalable for the mass market. But the important thing this does showcase, is how we can integrate technologies in such a way that helps leverage small budgets. It also shows why going to an IDEAS Agency can have a big impact on your marketing efforts. It allows an Agency to use various technologies that best fit your Brand's needs vs trying to force fit you into whatever technology 'We Have'. And this is a powerful statement on why this is all TECHNOLOGY vs MEDIA. Y&R pulled in technology from all over to make this happen. 

I am very skeptical about the $5 Million in Earned Media they claim, since they give zero proof or support of this, just a number. But even if it was just $1million or $500,000, if they sold 600 high end shoes and got that earned media with a small budget it is a win. In fact remember this statement: 

Unless a Marketer gives you supporting data to prove a claim, don't believe it. Ever.

Now I get to be a snob. It is my blog right?

I spent 17 years living in Southern California at the beach in Hermosa, Redondo, Huntington, and Venice and have had many Skate Punks as my friends, starting at Arizona State in 1985-87, even separating my shoulder on a Quarter Pipe there, I can state this campaign was not aimed at the Airwalk hardcore Skateboarder but in reality the more affluent people. Trust me 12 to 21 year old Skaters are not reading Blogs. They aren't even on Facebook unless they are Pro and need a Fan Page. They are Skate Punks. They don't care about you and your Facebook or Blog. Though they will upload videos of themselves skating to You Tube. But in reality they are out Skating. I have spent so much time in Southern California watching the Skateboarders (I gave it up after getting hurt), they are not sitting around using IPhones and reading blogs. They are Skating.

This goes to the heart of marketing. Reaching your desired audience. I stand by my assertion that the only people who watched the Old Spice Twitter/YouTube campaign were people in Marketing, Advertising, and Media. Trust me, Old Spice wants to compete with Axe yet that demographic surely wasn't watching that campaign. Clever idea. Bad product. Poorly targeted. Over all a failure in my view.

SKATE OR DIE PUNK!

Social Tuesday - Feeding the Fire under Facebook

Another few rowdy links to read to stir the pot. But I want to preface something so my readers understand my stance on things. 2 - 2.5 yrs ago Facebook was a people to people communication platform. A platform people might of paid a fee to be a member on. They weren't doing crazy things to exploit their users until the failed Beacon Project. Beacon technically has been revived in various ways and was definitely a precursor of their mindset. Exploitation of it's users. There was a time that I uploaded photos to Facebook and actually participated with friends non-stop. That ended 2+ years ago. I do communicate some on the site. I have added a few connections here and there. But not like I was 2+ years ago.

I run a Brand Page for a Client but Twitter is much more successful a platform for us. I do communicate with friends and a few Brands but usually when I log in I have 300+ updates waiting and if your update is not on the first page it will never be seen by me. For a site that has a business model telling Brands they can reach me this is 100% a lie. Brands have a CHANCE to reach me. That is all. And not a high chance at that. I estimate a robust 3% chance I see their posts. In fact I only go to one Brand page on my own that is Chobani Yogurt.

So here are a few great links for your reading enjoyment:

Ben Kunz is back! Here is Math of 1 out of 6,250 Fan Pages 
btw follow Ben he is one of the smartest people on the Twitter!
Read his blog Thought Gadgets!

Mashable and Likeable - One the worst articles on Facebook ever possibly  I guess it is all about fans huh? I mean really? May 2011 and you still write articles about Fan accumulation being the measure of success? I can't believe any CMO would hire Likeable and not fear for their job. No data on what these Facebook Pages did after they garnered fans. How many see the posts. How many participate and engage. Did it increase sales or revenues. Upcoming blog post will go deep into the numbers for you.

Lastly the MOST DAMNING ARTICLE EVER WRITTEN ABOUT FACEBOOK on the Huffington Post.

This wasn't meant to be. Read it. You will say Chief Alien what you smoking? Can I have some? Read it. Facebook is built on display ads. It is most of it's revenue if not all it's revenue right now. There have been recent studies showing click rates are half the rate for traditional digital. Now granted clients only pay for clicks. But the premise is since Facebook has so much personal data (they actually don't they only have demographic data and they only see a fraction of what we do online and in real life) they can laser target who to serve ads too.

So in this study they served 74 million ads aimed at people who stated they are Republican. The same group of people that over 50% think Obama is not a US Citizen and almost the same number think he is Muslim! If you were an investor and a Stock Broker said Facebook is worth 50bil or 100bil based on pure Display Ad revenue what are your thoughts when the people who should be going rabid with clicks did not click.

"While SocialCode purchased over 74 million advertising impressions for this project, those display ads were clicked on less than 16,638 times and liked just over 5,192 times. That means that just 0.02 percent of the ads were clicked on at all and only 0.007 percent received a "like."

I think Swifty has a much brighter future than Facebook does.....

Mobile Monday - Pros and Cons of LBS Auto Check In

On the last week's Beancast Marketing Podcast which I highly recommend you subscribe to and listen to every Monday there was a great discussion about location based services (LBS) and checking in as a barrier to stores communicating with people who are inside or nearby. My friend Aaron Strout who was a panelist and writing LBS for Dummies discussed why he felt the 'Passive Check In' is the future which is when we don't check in, the system knows we are there and checks us in. He gives a really good example of WiFi and how we set up our devices to access WiFi just by walking into our home or work. BUT this is Opt In up front and the passive after set up.

Friday night I went to the minor league Class A baseball game where 4500 tickets were sold (It was sold out). The game was at 7pm. At 6:49pm I parked and checked in on both Foursquare and Gowalla. The total check ins combined was 11 (including my two). Based on the numbers of Smart Phone penetration at least 500 people had smart phones there taking into account many kids were there. Obviously almost everyone (Divide 10/500 see simple Math. Then Divide 10 by 4500!) found zero value in checking in even for fun like I did.

I have very strong feelings Pro and Con and since Sky Pulse Media's mission is to help Brands break through clutter I see this eventually being like email in one of two ways. If we are allowed to Opt In we will slowly accumulate so many that they all become white noise. If  the system exposes us to all stores it is even worse. Imagine driving down a service road and every business contacting your phone.

I put this in a letter to him and thought it would be great for a Mobile Monday Blogpost:

Pros:

1] Obviously no need to check in. Won't forget to check in. (but satellite is still gameable)

2] Should be consumer based not network based. Meaning I don't want a network seeing where I am and allowing any stores to contact me that I did not opt in for. But if there is a great interface allowing me to opt in and control I am all for it.

3] System should be covert. Meaning an App or something on my phone I can access on my own to view the contact from the stores I want to see specials or anything. I don't want clutter.

4] If this can be connected with a history of my purchases through an identifier for customized deals that would be huge.

5] If this can be connected with a loyalty program this could be huge.

Cons:

1] Satellite Based: my opinion this all fails because of the issues with being indoors. But this really applies just to Malls. THOUGH if I am not inside I could get checked in falsely to a store. I prefer network based vs satellite.

2] Any alerts that buzz or make a noise I do not want. Flashing light is ok. Shopkick I disabled because it buzzed me. I can see a mild manner Dad going bonkers from his phone buzzing and going postal and blowing up his local Hallmark Store.

3] Without connection to unique store purchasing behavior by me it becomes a drone no different from Sunday circulars. Why have this if you aren't custom tailoring this to me.

4] The more stores I sign up for the more this becomes clutter. How do brands stand out. For example Macy's: wouldn't Macy's and every brand they sell want to know I am in the store? If I go to the Mall and only want Macy's deals and 30 stores are on the list and I have to go access that list is this much different than going to Macy's and checking in?        

5] Is this any different than email except for mobile? I have used email as an example since I switched to a new gmail account 18 months ago and signed up for opt in contact from sites and brands and now I mass delete 99% of it every time I log in. I see this having similar potential. Even if I sign up for one at a time. I could be in REI and say hey I love REI I will sign up. etc etc. But once I get to say 20 or 40 stores....

6] As with email if I already get sales fliers and other advertising via email, TV and print if it is the same stuff the value is reduced so brands have to be canny. But if they all are canny does that then dilute everything. Could this become a huge margin reducer for many businesses if done wrong. 

7] Can this network be hijacked in anyway stealing information? Security is important.

8] What if there are many competing networks? I already have some competers as Apps like ShopKick. Obviously it will be similar to FourSquare and Gowalla. There will not be just one network or technology. People will have choice and Brands must then set this up across all options.

9] What if it exposes me to a broader network? It should not be tied in with anything Social ever. If a message pops up asking me if I want to share that is fine. But as we all now don't trust Apple for mapping IPhone users movements, do we want just anyone seeing where we are at all times without our consent?

I think as long as people find value it can work. I stopped using Foursquare much because I never see deals where I check in. Gowalla I use a bit more because no one who is not a friend is in my network.

But it needs to be 100% Opt In for each store, it must be respectful, it must bring me value, and it must be different than other forms of contact I am already getting from the Brands I love. Otherwise I do not want passive check in.

Fun Friday - Chobani Rocks the Yogurt World

This post is the first of a series on Chobani Yogurt that will continue next week. Those that know me know I am a big fan of the Brand and the Product.

Announcement in Yahoo Finance April 20, 2011

In April of this year Chobani became the number one yogurt in the US. This is not a social media story. This is a product and timing story. They have the finest yogurt (in my opinion) which justifies their premium pricing. Their tag line Nothing But Good is not a load of bull. Read the label. It truly is Nothing But Good. All natural. No chemicals or preservatives. Even the milk is hormone and chemical free. All ingredients are premium high grade stuff. People know this. If you haven't been aware there has been a shortage of product because they can not keep up with demand. Show me a Consumer Food Product that has a shortage? I have never seen this. 

Chobani has 60,000 Facebook Fans. Two months ago it was 40,000. So this is a product story not a social media story. I will go into the details next week on what they have done right in their marketing. But I have said over and over no marketing or advertising can make up for a bad product or poor customer service.

This is a fun brand. They have passionate fans and customers including me. If you follow me on Twitter or see my Facebook posts I am very active in supporting them. But this goes deeper. They have created this passion in me beyond the product. Yes I have received free yogurt from participating on Twitter and Facebook in coupons and twice a whole case of 12 sent to me. They give away a lot of Yogurt! They encourage people to engage across many platforms. They support bloggers, chefs/cooking and fitness/nutrition. Their staff is as passionate as their customers. They care about their fans and do many things right.

Look at these fans. These are photos from their Facebook Page

I recommend you follow @Chobani which the very personable Emily Schildt who is Chobani's Communications Manager and thus Community Manager. As well as @ChobaniNicki which is Nicki Briggs MS RD who is their staff nutritionist. Ask her a question she will help you.

And if you want to see their CEO Hamdi Ulukaya interviewed on Bloomberg in April with his truly immigrant to America success story adding to 400 years of such history which is why people outside of America view us so differently here you go:

Social Tuesday - Finally the Facebook is Dying Wake Up Call

This blog is littered with proof Facebook is dying. The reason most Media Publications are silent is if it dies they have less news to write. Mashable has their whole business at risk. VC's will flee Social Technology Companies if this happens. Workers, Entrepreneurs and I.P. will run to where the highest potential for gain is. This wouldn't be the case if the hype machine had not started. If people who are smart cunning self promoters but only average marketers in real life, hadn't jumped in early with books, and twitter followings, and Brands and Agencies getting suckered into thinking Social Media Marketing was ever going to be bigger than TV or even Digital. 

Would you read a book (never mind buy) by Brian Solis or Chris Brogan focusing on the next big wave in Marketing if they do so just 2 years from now knowing Facebook is flailing and Brands have decided there was no home run, that it was just ancillary sales being added and that all the hype for Brand Pages and Communities just didn't pan out? Would you hire them as a CMO even? Probably not.

What if the Social Influence companies like Klout or Edelman also don't deliver. Klout goes away. Does this impact Edelman's non-social line of business if their clients feel they were mis-led in a major way (not on purpose btw). How would you feel about the quality of their advice? This is no different than the stock market people. When a brokerage house bets wrong and their client's lose money, investors flee to who got it right vs saying 'Well next time you will get it right'.

Three key articles here are worth reading:

First is by the wicked smart Ben Kunz (@benkunz)  of Media Associates on his blog Thought Gadgets: LINK

He discusses why Facebook will die using history of networks dying for his thesis.

Next is Business Insider who shows a loss of users in key markets like the US as a sign of something is wrong. LINK  (thank you Chris Baccus for this article)

You should compare that to my last blog post. LINK

Lastly is Media Post also bringing up a flagging network. LINK

In April I proved the network had seen over a 30% drop in use per person per day. I also guest posted on Waxing Unlyrical showing how anyone can use math to figure this stuff out: LINK

As a Brand what do you do. Do you blindly trust the Social Agencies, Social Media Talking Heads, Mashables, VC's and Goldman Sachs that Facebook will be supreme in commerce and marketing to make you money when really the goal is for them to make money, when they don't give a flying shit about you? Or do you believe the smart people who show you over and over that this is not happening now nor will it happen in the future. 

Remember once again Class Repeat after Me:

Social Media is not Media nor Marketing! It is a Revolution in Interpersonal Communication Technologies. Ad Support will fail Marketing will fail! Proof is your cell phone! Do your calls get interrupted by a word from your sponsor? NO! You pay through the nose for the service because the value is communication! And that is where these networks should focus. On bring value to consumers and showing they need a service and will pay for the service vs gimmicks, smoke and mirrors, and cutesy games.

Yes I can be smug. I have been screaming about this for over a year. So dear clients of the Agencies like Virtue and Likeable Media I am available for hire. I will not steer you wrong.

As you all know I hate Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. I find them slimy unethical weasels who would rather exploit people over and over in chasing a buck than care about their users whom without they have no network! Es Stupido!

Why Math and Reality Hurts Facebook

Every so often I go to the Facebook Stats Page to number crunch and see what is really going on. This blog and my previous one are littered with proof Facebook's hype is way beyond reality from the 33% drop in use per person per day since April 2010 to the fact that for every 2 Unique Active Users that log in each month only 1 will take an action (Status Update, Comment, Like). I see this lack of activity when I run a client's Brand Page. This client makes the most delicious gourmet ice cream sammies on earth and yet when I try to give them away to our 1700 Fans they aren't paying attention. If FREE Gourmet Ice Cream Sammies that people pay $5 each for and they buy a lot of them, can't get someone's attention what hope does a major brand selling something boring like Mac and Cheese or Chips have?

So I am interested here is the two key metrics Compete shows. Unique Monthly Visitors and Visits. Monthly visitors is not accounts. Per the Compete notes if I click on a link and it takes me to Facebook to view a photo or anything on their network I am considered a visitor. A visit is being active on the site not a log in. If I leave the site and I am inactive for 30 minutes they end my visit. And if I come back an hour later it is a new visit.

First I will say to get over half of the 250 Million US consumers over the age of 13 to visit your site once per month is very freaking impressive. But as Compete notes Facebook could buy a ton of digital ads that get people to click and this take them to Facebook to kind of game this system if they wanted. I am going to say they do not do this nor have too.

But the increase from 125mil to 137mil unique visitors is technically flat over the last year rising less than 1% per month. Definitely not a juggernaut in the US anymore and has probably peaked. And the 18% drop in visits in April from March? Curious about that.

But if I take the number of total visits last month and divide by unique visitors I get 23 per month per unique visitor. Which means on average each person visits 3 out of 4 days a month. That assumes one visit. This is something important people! Your visit ends if you are inactive for 30 minutes! So if I visit for 10 minutes and leave that is not a lot of time spent on Facebook. The average time per active account is down to 35 minutes per day from 55 minutes in April 2010 (from Facebook stats page).

What if one person visits four times a day = 120 in a month? That erases 5.2 two people!!!!!! If 22 Million people in the US got to Facebook 4 times a day for a whole month. Then that leaves ZERO visits for the other 115 million unique visitors.

My point being the number of people on Facebook each day is being grossly overstated by the Media, Social Media Agencies, and Social Media Guru's. This is possible because Facebook is coy and only now gives gross numbers like number of accounts vs real activity numbers. Whenever they give activity numbers it always is embarrassing so they try not too. Like each active user watching 0.5 Videos on Facebook per month is a huge failure even if 300 million videos viewed seems a lot. This allows the people looking to snow companies into thinking they can reach more people with Facebook than they really can. And reinforces why when I post a chance to win a FREE Ice Cream Sammie only 6 people participate out of 1700. The 1700 are real people and real accounts but they aren't on Facebook very much nor spending much time on the network. And that my friends is 100% factual.

Editors Note: Obviously with visits down 18% there were more visits per Unique Visitor per month in March 2011. It doesn't change the thesis here. What would be great to see is if May had a drop in uniques too. Then Goldman Sach's will buy Compete just to shut them down to protect their Facebook Investment!

Social Tuesday - Is Livefyre a Threat to Klout and maybe Radian6's?

Just some food for thought. I read a lot of blogs. I comment on a lot of blogs. Comments are public but the more we comment on blogs less time is spent talking on Twitter and Facebook. But do the Klout's and the Radian 6's also filter through comments posted via Disqus and Livefyre? 

What happens to Klout and all influence companies if more and more communication they can't see. What about listening tools like Radian 6? The more communication that is private the less available of the communication pool is there to determine influence and sentiment. I have already shown how Facebook use is in steep decline. LINK btw it is now up to a 33% decline per user per day from 22% in November. Twitter use is growing albeit at a slower rate but that is at least all public.

But I see the Conversation Engines of Livefyre and Disqus growing fast. And Klout and Peer Index sees none of this. And thus so much is being missed. I already proved that most world wide communication occurs not on social networks. Not just most. ALMOST ALL! If only 2-3% if via Social the pool of data is small. And in private we are much more free with what we say and share. LINK

So my take is as more platforms take us off the main Social Networks and into new playgrounds that some of these listening and measuring companies can't gather data from, their business models could be at risk. I am not worried about Radian 6 because even if they wind up with just Blogs and Traditional Digital Media that is a massive trove of data. But if Klout can not see what we are talking about to each other, their doors will be closed fast.

Fun Friday - Ad Week Allows False InfoGraphics!

Next week I will upload some of the Mobile Technology Ads that Ad Week took the money from who are bullshitting more than Social Media Agencies!! But now to the Infographics. They had two Inforgraphics in their Issue and I am going to crack your silly asses up ripping the numbers apart considering they refuse to support the info. This comes from the May 23rd Print Issue!

Let's run through the falsehoods since they give no proof of anything!

A: They fail to define what Socializing is since most people do not own smart phones still this number seems extreme. Is this texting that they mean? It surely isn't the time spent on Twitter and Facebook. Even a heavy user like me who runs a client Twitter feed on my Android doesn't spend this amount of time socializing via Social Media on my phone. 

B: Twitter has 165 Million Accounts! THAT IS NOT THE NUMBER OF USERS! Why do Advertisers and Marketers use these gross numbers vs real numbers. They are so misleading! There are only 30million users world wide using Twitter actively today! And sending 1 Tweet a day is NOT USING TWITTER!

C: I know the number looks big. But $4.2 Billion spent on Apps is less than $1 per year per cell phone that has a subscription service. Even $29.5 billion is small. McDonald's gets more money per customer in one visit.

D: IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR 85% OF CHILDREN TO OWN A PHONE! Unless you count Fisher Price! And is this in the US or World Wide? It is a blatant lie and needs to be shot in the head and buried! If you consider children age 15 and under 33% will be age 5 and under! How many 5 year olds own a phone?

Now for this doozy!

A + B: First of all I can not believe 5 in 7 people in the planet are subscribers. This is FALSE. Considering that we have 2 billion Children (or more!). So every adult in the world is a subscriber? No they are counting every subscription including when you have a personal phone and a work phone. In fact ALL BUSINESS ACCOUNTS ARE INCLUDED!

Secondly if 1 in 10 have a secret phone immediately 500 Million of these lines are not UNIQUES!

C: This number looks daunting but comes down to just a few texts per hour per teen. That is not surprising. If I say 3000 texts a month you go WHOA! If I say well they are up for 15 hours a day and divide 100 per day by 15 and you get 6.67 per hour you think YAWN. 

BTW Remember none of this communication can be seen by anyone. Not Facebook, Twitter, Google Alerts, Radian 6, Klout, NO ONE! Good luck figuring out teens folks by monitoring Twitter, Facebook (oops 70% of Facebook Accounts are 100% private). This proves almost all personal communication is not public.

D: This number I am not shocked at. Because I often use my laptop or check my phone when watching TV. The key here is what does this include? Texting? Surfing the web? Checking Twitter once? That is very important because if I watch 5 hrs of TV and check Twitter a few times that doesn't really mean I am using my mobile phone while watching TV.

E: Lastly this is another example of aggregation of numbers that drives me crazy. 200 million You Tube videos is not a lot per day. In fact it on a worldwide basis it comes out to less than 1 video per mobile subscriber per who has the capability to even watch a video (I low balled 400million have phones that can do this). Like when Facebook announced 250mil videos watched per month which was less than 1/2 a video per Account per month. Not impressive. In fact it's a big failure that more video is not watched on mobile or Facebook.

Chief Alien's Note: We shred all Inforgraphics. The default setting everyone should use for Infographics is False until proven Truthful. Not the other way around.

Wednesay Marketing Extravaganza

First: Apple possibly has peaked? At least by stock price. And this point is from Investor Viewpoint more than anything else.

Finally Malware Attacks Mac OS - LINK

This was something I heard all the time from Mac users about why Window's sucks.

Android Makers could Torch IPhone - LINK

I think the IPhone will be the same as Mac. 10% of the Market more upscale but never growing beyond that.

The IPad. It's part phone (uses Apps and part PC surfs web). The IPad is NOT revolutionizing Marketing. As much as the Media Industry hopes and prays. It will not trump phones for LBS and it will not replace a juiced of laptop yet. And when low cost Tablets become mainstream...oh no!

And Trust! Own an IPhone or IPad? Apple is following you without permission. They make Mark Zuckerturd the Weasel seem like an Ethical operator on privacy in my opinion. At least Facebook only tracks you on Facebook (unless you do dumb stuff such as clicking Like on the Open Graph (it opt in at least for the suckas). Apple has opted you in with no way to opt out. They follow you everywhere your phone is! Think of what that would show.

Lastly Apple used to be 'Renegade' now they are mainstream (aside from invading your privacy!). They used to be like the Ramone's but now they are like Maroon 5 (in my opinion). So all of this to me says Apple is ripe for a flattening in growth with trust possibly declining.


Me? I am a full on renegade. I play Vinyl Records and sticking with my Commodore 64. What are your thoughts?


Next: I told Edward Boches who shared this link on Twitter People should be customizing the web for themselves. The web should not be customizing the web for us.


Read this shocking article from the NY Times: LINK


Seems Google's and Bing's etc are feeding you back what THEY THINK YOU WANT TO SEE, not what should be returned to you from your search results objectively!


Lastly: Proof the Social Media Agency is going to be dead! I read this on the Huffington Post written by the CEO of Likeable Media. Doesn't anyone in advertising or media use critical thinking? The article basically says that because Stephen Colbert Tweets his brand is more social than Jon Stewart. There is ZERO analysis of Facebook or Twitter tweet volumes, engagement etc. 

And just because Vin Diesel has 21 million Fans on Facebook are they really Fans? How many ever click Like or Comment on his page? Not 21 million. How many pages are you a fan of that you never go to, see a post from, or participate on? Like MOST you have clicked Like on? So when will Social Media Marketers stop shoveling the horse shit? Yes I know Marketers working for Brands are gullible. But come on. You can't be that gullible!

And thus this proves agencies like this will be exposed for not returning value to their clients.