#2011 Social Media Rewind

As I begin this post, we’re just hours away from January 1, 2012. What a year it’s been for us social media gals and guys. Remember when Facebook decided to deprecate FBML in Facebook Pages? Forcing Page Admins to learn iFrames…or at least try.

Do you recall when Spotify launched in the U.S?

What about the impact social media played in this year’s global events? Egypt. Japan. Joplin and others.

As you know, social media is an incredibly powerful tool for networking with friends, colleagues and industry folk. Building a brand. Trouble-shooting customer service issues. Connecting with one’s or a brand’s customers on a deeper level than the telephone or email. Most importantly the ability to make an impact and help others during distress. I am thankful for social media for many reasons and that being one of them.

Social media evolved quite a bit this year. Here’s a short and sweet recap for ya. I hope you have a great News Year’s celebration and an even better 2012!

January
Facebook decides to test adding users’ old Facebook updates in a Memorable Stories sidebar. Has anyone actually noticed old status updates on the sidebar. I think I noticed a few.

February
Twitpic launches new video-sharing feature. Do any of you use it? Or just use the video feature on your iPhone, Droid etc?

March
Facebook officially changes the look and feel for all existing Pages and does not allow the addition of new FMBL tabs. Page Admins had the option of upgrading to the new Page in February or wait till March 10 when it became permanent.

April
Did you hear of the Hootbar? Well, it arrived in April when Hootsuite acquired Twitterbar and made a Hootbar. Awww, how cute.

May
Facebook begins it’s attempt to get into the social check-in + deals arena with the launch of check-in deals to Facebook Pages; Pages that contained an actual street address. Sorry eTailers (sans brick-n-mortar stores).

June
Google+ launches and becomes wildly popular due to a curiosity factor. Invitations were scarce and demand for an account was high! Wajam launches and allows us to search the web and find content based on what our social networking friends have shared on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

July
Facebook teams-up with Skype! The social network launches new ways to interact with your Facebook friends: multi-person chat and live video calling.

August
FourSquare adds updates it’s user experience by adding Lists and Events. All your public Google+ posts now appear in Google search results…love it!

September
By this time, we’re increasingly becoming social online. 100 million people have Klout. Hootsuite acquires Geotoko and enhances it’s check-in features.

October
Google+ traffic drops, according to this study. LinkedIN now allows businesses to post status updates on their company Pages; previously businesses were only allowed to do this in their LinkedIN Groups.

November
Finally! Google+ allows the creation of Business Pages. This was great news for social media pros in all sectors of business. Augmented reality (AR) becomes increasingly popular in marketing campaigns for brands such as Starbucks, National Geographic, Disney, PBS Kids and many others. You can check-out my AR post here.

December
Twitter changes it’s look and feel in an effort to enhance Twitter search and connect with others. You can find my recap of the change here.

Augmented Reality the New Black? Examples.

Technology is pretty awesome, right? I mean, there are times it works against us (i.e. paper jam in the printer, dropped calls, hacked email account, etc), but there are times technology makes us smile, laugh, hug, etc. The reason I mention this is because in a matter of 48 hours I have read stories of three different campaigns involving Augmented Reality (AR). You’re probably thinking…Augmented what?

Augmented reality is when our real and very physical world and the digital world become one.

Here are the three campaigns I recently read about and was eager to share –

Mickey Mouse brings Disney Magic to New York City

National Geographic invites shoppers to interact with dinos, animals and more

Lego.com allows visitors to have a 3D interaction with select products

Augmented reality may be the “new black” in digital marketing and viral campaigns. AR allows social media and digital marketers to bridge the gap between the brand, service and/or inanimate objects and US…the consumer/guest/client. The scope of creativity is wide and I cannot wait to see what’s on the horizon for AR.

What AR campaigns have you seen and/or experienced?