Instagram Hangs Itself

Instagram's fame as THE
photo-sharing app is in jeopardy.

Instagram released its new terms of service overnight, and the backlash has been swift and sharp.  No one knows yet how this will play out, but many Instagram users are threatening to leave the service.

So what happened?  Their updated terms of service state that "you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you."  Ouch!

If the debate gets any hotter, there could be government intervention or a law suit, which would hurt the company even more that user abandonment!

Instagram's response, so far, has been to say that this was a move taken to better integrate with its parent company, Facebook, which already does this a little.  I've seen ads that list profile photos and names of my friends as "Likers" of other pages that I should also, apparently, like.

The Marketing Take-away
This is a two-edged sword for marketers, because we LOVE to use customer data for our own purposes, and photos are part of that.  But with the severe infringement on people's personal information and images could cause consumers to lose confidence in companies that use this type of information to sell products or services.

My advice to marketers and companies?  Wait it out and see what happens before making the move to use people's Instagram photos and metadata to marketing anything?

Now tell me: what do YOU think about Instagram's new terms of service?

-MJP

Man of Steel hits 10 MILLION VIEWS!!!

When I was a kid, I absolutely LOVE getting to the theater early enough to catch all the previews!  Now, I just watch them all on YouTube.  The most recent one was the second trailer for Man of Steel, the Chris-Nolan-produced Superman reboot.

Nolan-branded entertainment is popular right now, thanks to his recently-completed Batman trilogy.  This latest Superman movie trailer got to 10 MILLION views in just three days, which points to an excellent opening next June.  I know I'll be going; will you?

Click "Read More" to view the trailer and continue reading!

Hugo Chavez and Cancer Treatment

Hello, everyone.  It's been a while, but I'm back!  It's been a couple of busy months, and my new goal is to write a new post once a week...we'll see if that happens...

Anyway, the topic for today is: Hugo Chavez and his cancer treatment fiasco, which has blown up in the past 60 minutes, or so.  Since he last

Pilgrimage - A Novel of the Sovereign Era

I don't often do this, but I feel like I owe it to Matthew Wayne Selznick to try and help support his Kickstarter campaign; his novel, Pilgrimage - A Novel of the Sovereign Era, is a sequel to Brave Men Run, one of the first podcast novels EVER!  I read the first one and have been a fan ever since!

Click below to watch the video trailer for the book and to read more about Kickstarter and crowdfunding.

Never say "No" to Panda!

I'll admit that I'm ignorant of different languages, so I have NO IDEA what language they're speaking in these videos; the subtitles help, but aren't necessary, really. The moral of these commercials: buy Panda brand foods because you never want to make a panda mad; they'll make you pay for it!

Click "Read More" to watch the video.

Is the Twitter logo change a good thing?

The answer, quite frankly, is NO!  Yes, they may be wanting to convey upward movement, and psychologically, that's probably a good move; the old bird seemed to be flying horizontally.  The problem is that the new bird looks like a clip art graphic, which, for a major Internet brand, is probably a step in the wrong direction.  The old logo, with its little tuft of hair, was more personal.  Click below to see the picture!

Worst acupuncture experience EVER!

I have no idea what this ad is for, but it made me laugh pretty hard! Please post a comment below with guesses as to what it might be!

Who wants some Ronald tonight?

GEICO is famous for its funny ads, many of which have very little to do with insurance.  This one is my new favorite, and I was super-excited to find this uncut version of it!  After you watch the uncut version, check out the second video. It's the actual ad that appeared on TV, and I enjoyed seeing how they added text and re-cut it to act as a GEICO commercial.

Please leave a comment letting me know about YOUR favorite GEICO commercial!

Playing with your phone on YouTube

This is a pretty funny song, but the message is clear for marketers: mobile marketing has MASSIVE potential!

A Canadian University's BIG blunder!

I'm all for protecting copyright-holders and all of that, but YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!  This has to be the dumbest school rule EVER!  Monitoring university email addresses to check for LINKS?  What's wrong with links? The university said it's to protect copyright infringement, but it's obvious what they're doing: looking for another way to make money!

How to interview

Will this bow tie help with my interviewing skills?

I want to mention a blog I read this morning that had some good advice on having Q&A-type discussions with other business professionals.  Click here to view the article.

The fact is, most people have NO IDEA how to conduct a quality interview; at least, I know I haven't

Dollar Shave Club's AWESOME video is marketing GOLD!

I saw this video the other day, and it made me laugh...maybe even OUT LOUD! I actually went to their site, just to see if it was real. It IS a real company, and they do what they say they'll do: ship you one razor each month to your door. Despite being pretty funny, the video also does a good job of laying out the company's purpose and promise. The promise is one of the funniest parts: "Our blades are F*CKING great!"

Click "Read more" below to see the video, then let me know what you think by posting a comment!

Banana Marketing

I never would have thought...

It's a pretty funny way to do it, and it's one of the last places I would think to look for an ad...which makes it the best place for it.  Plus, putting the ad on bananas fits the "Chipwrecked" movie's theme of tropical islands.  I didn't think of it, but I'm wondering now if they had these same stickers on OTHER types of fruit, too!

This party is MANDATORY!

I 'm a big fan of best-of lists, especially when they're funny.  This one's pretty good, and I'd also like it if there was a best-of-30-Rock list.

Brand Symbols, Part 1

The almighty NES controller!

When they originally released the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the United States, it was a smash hit, including my home.  Due to parental controls - in those days, that actually meant "parents" - I could only play it for 30 minutes every weekday.  Weekends were different, of course, and Saturdays were when the controllers got the most sticky from sweat and food residue.

Small pet...or huge rat?

This 3-foot rat looks more like a pet dog than a monster rodent!

I've always heard jokes about giant-rat sightings in New York City, but this is no joke!  It was found in the back room of a Foot Locker in the Bronx.  My question is: how can Foot Locker turn this around and keep it from turning into a big problem?