Beware, Mad Scientist At Work

Hard at work!

I have been busy in my laboratory the past couple of months working on a social media experiment that is  getting ready to launch (with help from my colleagues).  I can’t divulge to much of the experiment.

The one thing I can say is that it will use a ton of social media applications. I will be using the normal cast of characters in the  experiment. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr and WordPress will all be used in unison. The purpose of the experiment is to see if all these social media applications working together can truely benefit a brand. Oh, dear…I may have said to much.

Sorry, I can’t let you know exactly what I am doing. I will however give updates on how things are proceeding from time to time. At the end of the experiment I will let you all in on the secret.

My main question in all of this is….. Will this experiment work or will I have created a monster?

Image via Wikipedi

Only time will tell….

PSA – Public Social(media) Alert!

Image via CrunchBase

I read an article on Yahoo (see below) this morning warning about viruses and worms invading social media sites. While this is probably old news the frequency of these types of problems is rising. For new social media users this could be very problematic since some won’t be able to tell what is and what is not a legit social media outlet.

Just be careful out on the social media highway. It is a fun place to interact with all kinds of people. However, there are others out there that look to prey on users that are niave.

Yahoo Article:

As Facebook works to make itself more relevant and timely for its growing member base with a profile page makeover, attackers seem to be working overtime to steal the identities of the friends, fans and brands that connect though the social-networking site.

Indeed, Facebook has seen five different security threats in the past week. According to Trend Micro, four new hoax applications are attempting to trick members into divulging their usernames and passwords. And a new variant of the Koobface worm is running wild on the site, installing malware on the computers of victims who click on a link to a fake YouTube video.

The Koobface worm is dangerous. It can be dropped by other malware and downloaded unknowingly by a user when visiting malicious Web sites, Trend Micro reports. When attackers execute the malware, it searches for cookies created by online social networks. The latest variant is targeting Facebook, but earlier variants have also plagued MySpace.

Koobface’s Wicked Agenda

Once Koobface finds the social-networking cookies, it makes a DNS query to check IP addresses that correspond to remote domains. Trend Micro explains that those servers can send and receive information about the affected machine. Once connected, the malicious user can remotely perform commands on the victim’s machine.

“Once cookies related to the monitored social-networking Web sites are located, it connects to these Web sites using the user log-in session stored in the cookies. It then navigates through pages to search for the user’s friends. If a friend has been located, it sends an HTTP POST request to the server,” Trend Micro reports.

Ultimately, the worm’s agenda is to transform the victim’s computer into a zombie and form botnets for malicious purposes. Koobface attempts to do this by composing a message and sending it to the user’s friends. The message contains a link to a Web site where a copy of the worm can be downloaded by unsuspecting friends. And the cycle repeats itself.

An Attractive Face(book)

Malware authors are investing more energy in Facebook and other social-networking sites because that effort pays off, according to Michael Argast, a security analyst at Sophos. Facebook alone has more than 175 million users, which makes it an attractive target.

“Many computer users have been conditioned not to open an attachment from an e-mail or click a link found within, but won’t think twice about checking out a hot new video linked to by a trusted friend on Facebook,” Argast said.

Argast called the Koobface worm a mix of something old and something new. The new is using social networks as a method to spread malware. The old is using fake codec Trojans linked to a saucy video to induce the user to install the malware.

Argast said people can protect themselves by running up-to-date antivirus software, restricting which Facebook applications they install, thinking twice before clicking on links from friends and never, never installing a codec from some random Web site in the hopes of catching some celebrity in a compromised situation.

“I would expect to see more attacks on Facebook,” Argast said. “As long as this is a successful propagation method, the bad guys will double down and invest more. They are entirely motivated by financial gain. If it pays, they’ll continue to romp in your social playgrounds.”

Year End Review 2008 Mayhem Style

Image via Wikipedia

Sitting here I am thinking of what lies ahead for me in 2009. Will the economy come back around? Will my career take a turn I am not expecting? Will my wife and kids continue to drive me insane:) But I can’t really get to far ahead of myself without taking a quick look back at how 08 shaped up for me.

Let’s start with the good things.

My loving Wife – after 15 years of marriage she still puts up with my crap.

My awesome kids – bringing constant enjoyment and chaos to my life (I wouldn’t have it any other way).

Bella – added a new addition to the fam. A black lab puppy named Bella.

Metal – This year a ton of great Metal albums came out. Here is a short review:

• Metallica/Death Magnetic: Metal Gods are back
• Motley Crue/Saints of Los Angeles: It’s like they never went away. Oh yeah, I read Nikki Sixx’s book “Heroin Diaries“. All I can say is WOW!!
• Disturbed/Indestructible: Best album since their debut
• Slipknot/All Hope is Gone: So so effort I felt.
• Guns n Roses/ Chinese Democracy: Good Axl Solo album, but not a GnR album

Things I’ve Learned – I dove into the social media pool earlier in 08 and I am now swimming without help. I learned that it’s bad to mix my wife’s family with my family at Xmas time (the horror). I can now make an awesome Mango Martini

Capitals: Caps winning the SE division and making the playoffs. Ovechkin winning a ton of NHL awards.

Travel: I traveled to Chicago, Buffalo and to Bermuda. Need to travel more in 09.

Movies: Iron Man and the Dark Night were fantastic

Health: I’ve been averagine 8:49 miles. I haven’t done this since high school

Things that went bump in the night:

Gas prices – Seriously, $4 for gas?

The recession – Great that the government finally admitted that we were in a recession. It only took them a year.

My house – cracked foundation yet again:(

Redskins – They started off great but ended the year in shambles.

Looking ahead I can only wonder what’s going to come across my path. I hate to try and predict the future because that eliminates the surprise of life. I once heard that chaos is good. I could not agree more.

Here to an unpredictable 09.

Diving into the social media pool.

To any marketer out there that is thinking of diving into the social media pool, below is a newbies guide to getting started.

Part I:

I have read countless blog post and news articles by the so called “experts” of social media telling me what social media  is and how it should be use. I know, I know I am going to be a hypocrite right now but I swear you’ll appreciate it.

Ok, so a few months ago I was starting out in the new social media world. I was a kid in a candy shop, all these wonderful toys to play with and no one to tell me how to use them. I first started out using Facebook, connecting with friends and reconnecting with old friends. From there I stumbled upon LinkedIn and reconnected with old colleagues. Later, I moved onto the wonderful world of Twitter. I now write my own blog, albeit about nothing.

Starting out, I purposely didn’t read any articles  just so I could have an untainted experience in social media. It seems that every Tom, Dick and Harry has an opinion about social media. This person says you have to do this. This person says you have to do that. How can you put rules and guidelines on something that is social? Isn’t that the point of all of this? We the user makes social media what we want it to be. I have all the control on what I want my social media experience to be. I have experienced different social media tools and decided what I wanted to get out of them. Some I like and some I don’t but the point is that it’s all up to me. Oh and I forgot one really big piece of advice. “Have fun” in social media. If you are not having fun it becomes work then you won’t get any enjoyment out of being part of this brand new medium. Also, remember it’s an experiment. You are out there trying new things and gaining new insights.

For more on getting started see my previous blog post about integrated marketing (I know shameless plug).

Part II:

Brands and Social Media:

So how do you take what you have learned and apply it to brands/clients/marketers? In gaining your own experiences in social media you can  help guide your clients in this brave new world. What I wrote above can be thrown out the window when it comes to brands and social media.  Brands do need to think about how to use the social media tools. What voice should the client have in interacting with people? What should they say? How should they say it? Does every company need to use social media? Let’s use the current Twitter debate as an example shall we:

One interesting debate that is raging right now is whether or not Brands should use Twitter. I ask, why shouldn’t brands use Twitter? If a brand is truly engaging with their customers who’s to stop them, especially if the customers follow and engage them back. Using Twitter is still in it’s infancy stages, marketers are still trying to figure out how it can benefit their business. If a brand actually engages with their fan base as opposed to trying to sell them they will have a better experience with Twitter.

Personally, I follow a number of brands on Twitter. Some get it and some don’t. I see brands post price points and offers while others actually try and engage their followers. That’s the real key. People don’t want to be sold to. People like to feel like they have a voice and business’s that engage allow those people to have that voice.

The Twitter debate is really the key in all of this. How does a brand/client/marketer use social media? The answer? It is all an experiment. It’s trial and error. What works for one brand may not work for another.

I told you in the beginning that I was going to be a hypocrite didn’t I. That said, I think what I said has value. Don’t let others influence your experience (like me:). Go in and explore this new world, it’s not going away. This will help you in guiding  your clients in the social media world.

One more thing. I am not a social medai expert. I am a user of social media trying to help other newbies.

So we’re in a recession. Who knew?

This past week the  National Bureau of Economic Research announced that the US economy has been in a recession since December of last year. Wow, it took them a whole year to determine this? This news didn’t come as a surprise to US citizens, what with the housing situation/high gas prices and now the layoffs.The endless news feeds telling us that another bank has problems or that the auto industry is in trouble.

For all of this I have two words. PRESS ON!!

I was recently in a meeting where the speaker talked about “Press On”. He was referring to the fact that the recession we are in right now is a mere moment in time and that it makes no sense to dwell on the abysmal economy. But to focus on what we personally can control. Making sure that your family is safe and secure. Make sure you are in good health both personally and professionally. With the holiday season is full swing it becomes difficult not to dwell on the negative but remember, a new year brings new possibilities. Think about ways to positively effect what you can control. If you have to make monetary cut backs for the time being then do it. Recessions always end, it just may take longer for this one to end.

So Mayhem, aren’t you concerned about the state of the nation?

Yes I am. Working in the advertising field makes me a prime target for layoffs. For a company the first thing they usually look to do is cut marketing budgets. Which means that my job and others in my field are not as secure as we would like. Everything I have heard points to a reduced advertising/marketing pressence for 2009. Even from a QSR stand point the budgets could be lower in 09. One thing that concerns me with QSR’s is the franchisee’s. Not the really big ones but the “little guys”. The guys that own a handful of stores. I am already hearing that the “little guys” are in financial troubles and that a prolonged recession will all but close them down.

Mayhem, How are dealing with things then?

Well, I crank up the metal \m/ to 11 (Spinal Tap reference) and rock out. I also enjoy the time I have with my wife and kids (I know sappy). I also follow my Redskins and Capitals!

Oh, and I “Press On”.

Remembering Sean Taylor

This really isn’t an informational post rather a rememberance of a person tragically taken from this world.

In rememberance of Sean Taylor:

Play like a Rock God and eat some chicken while you’re at it!

In the last several weeks several QSR’s have launched promotional tie-ins with video games/consoles. In the world of “new” media, advertisers are looking at every conceivable avenue to try and promote their Brand.

KFC and Guitar Hero World Tour:

KFC launched the “KFC Rocks” Guitar Hero World Tour contest in conjunction with the video game’s recent launch and KFC’s branded in-game integration and on-cup video game promotion. The contest allows gamers to attempt to beat Guitar Hero expert Dave Barley’s high score for the chance to win a year’s supply of KFC and $2,500.

I can attest to the KFC product placement in the GH game. I was shredding to a Jane’s Addiction song when I notice the KFC bucket very prominently displayed on the screen.

Burger King Gift Card and Wii Promotional Tie-in.

Just in time for the holidays, Burger King has kicked of a promotional tie-in with the Wii. The sweepstakes offers customers a chance to win one of 500 Wii systems with a purchase of a BK Crown card.

Each card purchased at Burger King restaurants and online between 11/10 and 1/4 will come with a detachable instan win sweepstakes game piece for an opportunity to win a Wii. The BK Crown cards will be Wii themed with popular Nintendo characters

The Wii is still a popular item around the holidays. There are already rumblings that they again will be hard to come by this year. It will be interesting to see if Burger King’s gift card sales spike sharply during this promotion.

So why are Brands doing this?

Video games have become an entry level for brands trying to reach a younger demo. Brands are using online games and in-game advertising to place there logos throughout the gaming experience.

How does the recent economic landscape play into this?

Despite success in the video game industry it is likely that the current state of the economy will slow the rollout of these types of ventures. Brands will not look to use “experimental” advertising until the economy comes back online (no pun intented).

EMarketer estimated that U.S. marketers spent $2.6 billion on “experimental” advertising in 07 (social networking sites, mobile devices, video games, online videos and web widgets). With the tough times this number will more than likely be reduced for 08. 09 will not look much better.

All that said, the next time I play GH I just might have a bucket of chicken next to me.

Happy gaming!

Diary of a Mad Man

As I sit here starring at an imposing blank screen I am wondering what I should write about. Should I write about what this blog will be about? Should I write about my life? Both?

As I am writing these words I am realizing that this is like a therapy session. But before I get into deep let me give a little background about me.

For the past 10 years I have been working in the marketing/advertising field. Funny thing is that I never went to college to be in this field. I went to school and graduated with a PR degree. I can B.S. with the best of them:). My marketing specialty is in the retail sector. I would list the clients I have worked for but I am going to respect their privacy. I have worked with some really interesting people over the years and I have made a ton of great friends. The best part of my job is that I get to try new things every day.

Now as for my personal life I am married and have twin girls that run me ragged. I am a huge DC sports fan. You will probably see a ton of posts about my beloved Redskins and Capitals. You won’t see many posts if any about the Orioles or Wizards. I am a fare-weather fan when it comes to those teams. I love music, especially hard rock/metal. On occasion I will listen to other things but dealing in my line of work metal let’s me get my aggression out.

You may be wondering where I live. Well let’s just say it’s in the heart of NASCAR country. NO! I am not a NASCAR fan. Since I was born and raised in the DC area and I drove around the beltway so many times that I feel like a driver. Sorry, didn’t mean to get off topic.

So anyway feel free to tag along with me as I try and navigate work and personal life. Like I said before this feels like a way for me to share with the world what it’s truely like to be a “Mad Man”.

P.S. Not trying to cash in on the “Man Men” show. Just thought it was a cute way to start my blog.

Enjoy!!

Diary of a Mad Man › Tools — WordPress

Diary of a Mad Man › Tools — WordPress.

How to Cope with Integrated Accounts

I attended a AAAA’s Seminar this past week regarding Leadership for Integrated Accounts. I was in a room full of other Account Service professionals from different agency’s. While we all had different backgrounds and different life lessons one common theme ran through us. How do we be the best Account Service leader for our clients?

The answer seems difficult and complex, but you know what? It really is simple. All you have to do is educate yourself on what is effecting the client and their business. I will use myself as a case in point (not grand standing I promise). I started my agency life as a Traffic Coordinator, from their I dabbled in Creative and finally ended up in Account Service. I think beginning my career as a Traffic Coordinator gave me the mind set to learn different disciplines within an agency. Fast forward to the present and I have gained knowledge in Promotions, Media (planning and buying), grass root campaigns, non profit campaigns, creative and finally social media. I have made a point  to read the industry trade pubs or relevant blogs pertaining to the client. I also follow and track what the clients competition is doing. I learned this early on and it really helps.

A few months ago I could not tell you what Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebookor Digg meant or there purpose. I made the concisious effort to leap into the Social Media pool and find out for myself. I not only started understanding how everyone communicated. I also started to understand how clients can benefit from using Social Media (and when they shouldn’t use it). Needless to say I am hooked.

My point is, everyone in the agency especially the Account Service team should have knowledge of all the different facets of the agency. This will make you invaluable to the client along with inside your agency. As Account Service our jobs are increasingly complex, it’s up to us to dig down and make sure we understand all that is out there to help lead our clients and agency.

Oh, yeah! One piece of advice I was given yesterday. Unless your client asks for it, NO MORE CONFERENCE REPORTS!!

I’ll drink to that.