Giving thanks for viral marketing and social media

While I was scrolling through my news feed figuring out what I was going to write about, it hit me! All of the commercials about sales on Black Friday are all over my feed. People sharing the ones they like, and even the ones they find obnoxious. It seems as though Black Friday commercials have taken over the Super Bowl commercial craze. Even one of my friends sent me a link to commercial in my message box because I "just had to see it."

More and more people are relating to commercials on a personal level. Is it because of the reality TV phenomenon? Before reality TV, the only people that you saw were actors. Since major networks have shows that include everyday people, the line between actors and real people is blurred. Even now, if you have a high profile court case, like Casey Anthony, you too can be an overnight celebrity.

In other news, the government is now using Twitter to spread the news about fryer fires (say that 10 times fast). They want people to learn the devastating effects of putting a frozen turkey into hot oil. Now for those of you who don't know why that's a big deal, you should click here to find out why.

The video was posted on YouTube on October, 10th and it has only gotten 5,000 hits. Obviously the government needs a lesson on how to make their videos go viral.

I feel like this video would have had a better shot at more views if Obama had gotten in the mix and they had acted like the White House burned down. Now that would have gotten some more hits! (I wish no ill will on the government or its leader, just suggesting a better video)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey Taxi!!!!

I know I do not currently have this problem, but living in a super crowded city I can see where hailing a cab can be more of a sport than something that you have to do out of necessity. You essentially let the free app know where you are and the cab finds you. Right now this app is working with the black cab system throughout the United Kingdom, but do you think this could come to The United States soon? Why of course!! The company is planning a US launch in New York City soon, but they are seeing some resistance from Taxi Magic, a competing app. The difference between the apps is Hailo lets you see cabs around you and it is way more social. Taxi Magic is the equivalent of calling the taxi company and calling for a car. If everyone had time for that, there wouldn't be a need for a better system.

Hailo boasts that they will only charge you for the trip and that there aren't any hidden charges. This service also works with the cab company to eliminate fake drivers that may have poor intentions. This company also checks your drivers license to make sure you are a good ambassador for their service.

The competitive advantage that Taxi Magic has over Hailo is that it launched in the US and has a national system, whereas Hailo will launch in New York and branch out from there. The problem I see with both services is that it is illegal to text and drive, and I feel like this is just as bad. I just wonder when the law is going to be so strict that we can't have any kind of smartphone activity going on while we are driving.

Have you used one of these systems? Which do you prefer and why?