The REport - Clean Slate

Keep your friends close! A new survey found that 88 percent of Facebook friends have physically met each other as opposed to only 48.2 percent of people who have met their Twitter followers. This news is probably not surprising to Twitter Founder Biz Stone who recently said Twitter is a news service not a social network. Do you your own accounts follow this trend?

In an interesting twist, the same week Twitter deemed itself to be less personal, it made people searches one of its main search features.

Remember MySpace? In an attempt to reinvigorate its image and membership, the site is unveiling a new look, with a major focus on news streams. It will be interesting to see if it can catch up to rivals, especially as numbers show that, since last year, membership has dropped 5 percentwhile Facebook membership has grown 50 percent. (Facebook is actually expected to announce its 500-millionth user– WOW!). Do you think MySpace really stands a chance?

In our industry, we are constantly on the go, driving to new homes around our area. If you have a tendency to get lost, check out Google’s “Send-To-Car” feature that lets users send destinations from Google Maps directly to their vehicles. The service is compatible with 20 car brands including BMW, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury. Don’t ever be late to an appointment again!

Within three weeks of posting her house on Facebook, a woman in Iowa accepted an offer. This just goes to show the power of the Web as a sales tool.

If you are planning to advertise soon, take a page out of About.com’s new campaign. In research, the site “found that consumers responded well to ads that helped them go from a ‘need’ to ‘accomplish’ state.” Think of how you can communicate problem solving in your ads. If you are developing a marketing campaign, check out Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign, a very innovative use of social media which has gone viral. The face of the campaign, former NFL-player Isaiah Mustafa, responds to consumer’s questions via video in almost real time. Can you integrate real-time responses into your efforts?

In closing, if you are planning any late-summer barbeques, check out Weber’s On the Grill iPad app for recipes, rubs, sauces and grilling tips. Enjoy!