Top Media/PR bloggers from MediaBistro, Joe Ciarallo of PRNewser and Matt Van Hoven of AgencySpy, sat down with Carrot President and Creative Director Mike Germano to chat about the landscape of Social Media.

An excerpt:

“…social media is not meant for everyone (or, more poignantly, every client). Germano says clients come to him, whether of their own volition or via an agency who seeks Carrot’s skills, however Carrot still turns down one in five clients whose business isn’t right for Social Media. Regardless, Germano considers his (and co-founders Robert Gaafar and Chris Petescia) business an agency — not a vendor.”

Videos of each interview are posted on the AgencySpy and PRNewser blogs.

This article is copyright © 2010 

Jacob Cass will be joining Carrot Creative in the beginning of 2010.

As he describes on his website, he’s a self-employed graphic designer, specializing in the fields of corporate identity (logo) design, web design, print design and branding with the majority of his time spent designing and implementing marketing promotions for small businesses such as logos, websites, brochures, letterhead, business cards and more.

But really, who IS Jacob and why did we hire him? (via Twitter to boot!—check out how we lured him in on his own blog post announcing the news!)

We appreciate creativity and an innovative process can give to the Internet. From being fans of Jacob’s blog it was evident to all of us how well he understands the role social media and the impact on design and the future of communications. The Internet has never had geographic boundaries and neither have we with our hiring practice. We moved our office to NY because we loved the culture and the atmosphere and knew that DUMBO was the place to grow the business. We wanted to create the most diverse company working with a variety of clients and work with people who get community. When we came across Jacob, his huge community and following for his award winning design work, his quick understanding of the business and eagerness to work in a cool environment—it seemed like a no brainer. He said yes and now we eagerly wait for his arrival in the beginning of the new year.

In preparation, we’ll be watching this video on repeat until he arrives. Follow Jacob on Twitter and give him a welcome to the Carrot family!

This article is copyright © 2010 

I’ve been a theater buff since my first performance in 6th grade as Lucy in “You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown.” My parents then began taking me into the city to see the shows on (and off) Broadway. Cats. Les Miserables. Miss Saigon. Rent (about 5 times) Mamma Mia! Speed the Plow. The list goes on. While I always felt a connection to the music and performance, the connection usually stayed on my Discman where I could immediately put myself back into the seats and relive the show from anywhere.

Now, with the help of social media—the connection to Broadway and its shows and actors has become much more apparent online. Ken Davenport, a Broadway and Off-Broadway producer and the founder of the social networking website, BroadwaySpace.com recently contributed to a Mashable guest post about Broadway communicating with its fans.

While this is one of the first posts I’ve seen really address this industry and social media, I’m not surprised as even Ken points out, “The majority of today’s Broadway audience were born well before the PC era. Marketing 101 will tell you to speak to your audience in the language that they understand, and one of Broadway’s prime demos is the “55 Year Old Woman.” This era is still new to Twitter and Facebook.

But, it’s changing. Ken posted some great examples of Broadway shows using social media including Altar Boys, Rock of Ages and Next to Normal. The Broadway musical revival HAIR also caught my eye with a huge interactive presence in social media including a Twitter account with live updates from the cast and crew, behind the scenes photos on the Facebook page and a YouTube and MySpace presence.

The industry is perfect for social media and a great place to connect with the thousands of fans that cross through Broadway every day. From individual performers to the full cast and crew, the shows can connect with the many fans eager to continue the experience they had in the theater once they get back home and open up their laptops. They want to know what goes on behind the curtain and see videos of the cast and crew singing impromptu versions of the hit songs. The content is there and eager to be seen by so many.

This is definitely a space Carrot Creative is looking into more as recent conversations have brought up this space and the need to provide some unique ideas to make all of this happen.

This article is copyright © 2010 

I received this email from Johnnie Walker (I’m a member of “The Striding Man Society” that offers some really great events for tastings of the brand-if you get the chance, go!) I get emails from them ever so often about new events or promotions and click on them at leisure to see if anything fun is coming up.  This email today was different. They were letting me know that Johnnie Walker has created a Facebook Fan Page and offered an easy click to become a fan right from the email.

Curious to check it out, I clicked on the “Become a Fan” button which sent me to their custom designed Johnnie Walker Facebook page at facebook.com/johnniewalker. Tons of content: videos, photos, promotions, deals. I liked it and I “Became a Fan.”

While some may say that the initial email defeats the purpose of engaging with brands in social media through viral tactics, I think Johnnie Walker and team did this well on a variety of levels. Here’s why:

• Design. They designed it with customized tabs and information. It has custom content, it’s visually appealing and it provides content their fans want. (A lot of information they already put in their emails)
• Access. Their fans were on email already so inviting them to join the Facebook Page was a logical step. If they had not sent out the monthly newsletters it would have been a bit weird, but these are people who opted in to getting the emails.
• Opportunity. You can’t advertise on Facebook if you’re an alcohol brand. Facebook Fan Pages provide a space to have a unique presence with the community that’s attractive to engage with.

What do you think about brands asking you to engage with them on Facebook via email? I asked some people on Twitter what they thought of this and posted the responses below. As you’ll see, mixed answers with some strongly disliking and others open to the idea with some limitations.  Leave YOUR thoughts in the comments section below.

This article is copyright © 2010 

While del.icio.us is the standard for tagging articles, we still wanted to put emphasis on what we were getting out of the news. Posting that you liked an article or thought it was interesting is a plus for research and reference. But, the extra two cents YOU put into the story is what really makes things work. Just think about recent articles or blog posts you’ve read. Half of the comments on them are more interesting than the actual article!

So, is there a new solution to doing this? Enter Amplify, a service from the creators of Clipmarks. I met with  Eric Goldstein, one of the creators last week to talk about what they’re doing and how this can change the way people check out news on the web. Amplify, as it says on the website, “is a service for sharing clips from articles, blog posts or anything else you read on the web with your friends on Twitter.”

That’s really it. The easy interface (once you add the Amplify add-on to your Firefox browser) lets you clip parts of the articles you like onto a clog in a few simple clicks. Once you’ve sent the clip to your clog, you can comment on it, share with across the web and keep a conversation about your post write there. You receive notifications when others respond (a bonus) and get to interact with like minded users willing to provide feedback.  I’ve been a fan and some of the Carrot Crew has already picked up on it as well. Check out Jeff’s clog.

We’re going to use a group clog for Carrot Creative to start sharing what we’re reading on a daily basis and provide commentary. We’ll still of course blog here, but check out the Carrot Creative clog here.

This article is copyright © 2010 

This mystery client is Tucker Max. We’ll be building a fully integrated website and digital strategy for his upcoming feature film, “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell” based off of the New York Times Bestseller book of the same name.

We had an awesome time meeting Tucker in person earlier this week for a private screening of the movie (if you like his stories you’re going to love it) and to discuss ideas as to what will really light it up. The great thing is that Tucker is as open and excited about our ideas as we are and isn’t afraid to push the limits to what we can do. When you have that kind of trust from a client, it’s always refreshing and makes our entire team want to start immediately.

The movie opens September 25th nationwide so the website will be up prior to that. We’ll keep you updated on the launch of the project and other cool promotional tie-ins Tucker has up his sleeve to get this going.Trust me, they’re going to catch your attention.

On a side note, if you know the history of Tucker Max (and you can check out his website or book if you want to really dive in) you can tell that he knows how to push boundaries and step on toes. While we here at Carrot have many clients interested in getting into social media, some aren’t willing to jump over the big walls and try things that may be a little risqué for the current status quo. Sure, this is totally fine, but if you take a look at the campaigns that really take off, it’s from the companies that push limits and make a loud statement. This is the exact reason why we chose to work with Tucker Max. He embodies all of this and we’re going to build a kick ass website and digital campaign to match all of these ideals.

Tucker Max wants a campaign that will excite everyone and stir some conversation. Carrot Creative is here to help with that.

This article is copyright © 2010 

How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live
TIME’s cover story on Twitter by Stephen Johnson, a must-read.

10 Ways Twitter Will Change American Business
This slide show takes us through 10 ways using Twitter might become profitable for businesses. Hyper-local marketing, consumer data mining, and micropayments are a few of the topics covered.

Twitter craze is rapidly changing the face of sports
SI.com presents an in-depth look at athletes who tweet and how Twitter is having a big impact on sports.

Apps Boom as Companies Seek a Place on Your Phone
More and more companies are setting their sights on the mobile industry for sustained revenue, and this gives developers a chance to not only just sell their apps in the App Store, but also sell their company. This NYTimes article by Jenna Wortham discusses the opportunity on the table.

This article is copyright © 2010 

HUGE , Carrot Creative neighbor (we have a view of their window) and recent Digital DUMBO host, organized an Internet Week event today at the DUMBO Arts Center.

A Job Grows In Brooklyn: Brooklyn-based interactive agency HUGE challenge you to steal their jobs.Think you’re good? Take it to the next level by learning from HUGE’s celebrated senior team. Find out what they’re looking for in the next big talent. Now that you’re a major player, how do you move higher? Where are the jobs in digital going? Developers, visual designers, project managers and interaction designers will learn to become more confident, more marketable and who knows, maybe land an interview with HUGE. We’ll share on-the-job insights and take you through examples of applicants that did (and didn’t) make the cut.

While there was no fighting or throw downs to removing the HUGE staff members from their current positions, the speakers each provided a great overview of their individual disciplines, what HUGE is looking for and what people looking to get a job (or new job) in the digital age should be thinking about.

Some key points for those who could not attend:

• The space is still growing. Digital is growing. Digital agencies are hiring for things that will be super relevant over the next 3-4 years. (Carrot Creative is too!)
• When asked who will be working in digital in 2015, most of the room raised their hand. One thing to learn: Your skill sets are changing.
• Working in digital is like working in dog years. If you’ve been in this space for a few years, it feels like 7 of your life because of how much has changed. (I really liked this quote by Nantini Rauch, Head of Recruiting for HUGE)
• When interviewing at digital agencies, show off your successes and show off your failures.
• Be willing to collaborate. If you can’t, good luck finding a job in the digital age.
  

Joe Stewart, Creative Director at HUGE was definitely the highlight (for me at least) with some tips to Designers:

1. Be terrified every day.
2. Never stop designing.
3. Embrace Arial.
4. Becoming a great designer has nothing to do with Photoshop.
5. CEOs don’t give a s*** about your kerning.
6. Don’t go back to school if you have a job.

In short: Do what you love to do. I’m glad that message came out of the panel as it should be the one thing everyone is thinking about these days. Work in a place that makes you happy, keeps you excited and encourages you to learn. If that’s not the current state, move on. You have to be happy and you can be.

This article is copyright © 2010 

As Social Technologies Become Pervasive, Prepare Your Company
Jeremiah Owyang discusses the implications of social technologies in business. He goes through the different vendors that have entered the space and explains some of the changes they’re facing. He also offers some great advice for brands as they get more immersed in social media and embrace the social web. A good read for anyone running a business.

Google Wave Drips With Ambition. A New Communication Platform For A New Web.
Google Wave was announced last week at the Google I/O conference. If you haven’t heard the buzz yet, check out the articles below. This could be the next big thing – at least, that’s what Google is planning.

• Google Wave: A Complete Guide
• 6 Game-Changing Features of Google Wave
• Testing Google Wave: This Thing is Tidal

Bing Opens Up. Is It Good? It’s Too Early To Tell.
Microsoft’s new search “decision engine” recently launched aiming to provide the best results in a more organized way.

Is Social Media Making Corporate Websites Irrelevant?
Kristin covered this article on the Carrot Blog last week. Definitely a must read.

Top 20 YouTube and Video Memes of All Time
The title speaks for itself. The top 20 viral video sensations! Quite entertaining.

comScore Announces Media Metrix 360
Yesterday, comScore announced Media Metrix 360, a ‘panel-centric hybrid’ solution to digital audience measurement. Fred Wilson posted his thoughts on the launch, saying it’s a great opportunity for smaller web services. Official release here.

This article is copyright © 2010 

The benefits of sending to social sites are obvious including more interaction and an easier way to gather a group of users interested in your brand versus sending them to a corporate website.

Adam hits the point with something we’ve been saying for awhile: get your fans in one place. While corporate websites are great for branding and having a secure presence for all the information about your company, many are static and not interactive. Plus, you’re not offering any incentive to come back to the site and collect information about all of the interested people clicking.

By driving people to Facebook and having them simply click that they’re a FAN of the brand, you’ve got them. You may not have really exciting stuff to give them now, but that doesn’t mean you won’t later on. For your already loyal set of fans, they’ll gladly join the page. And for the “fans on the fence” or new fans, you’ll be able to entice them on a place they’re already familiar with.

Here are a few doing a great job in driving folks to their social sites:

• Universal Pictures: While they have set up basic websites for some of their summer movies, Universal is also sending fans to designated Facebook Fan Pages. (The official Bruno website is actually a MySpace page)  Land of the Lost. Drag Me to Hell. Public Enemies. Bruno. Funny People.  (I have to wonder what the marketing team at Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is thinking about this. There site isn’t interactive at all besides a simple game, which is comparable to most movie sites. Think about all of the interaction they could have had on social media with the characters and content!)
• Southwest Airlines: The crafty crew at Southwest Airlines set up a photo contest using their official Twitter account where users submitted a  photo of a very specific travel or tourism-related picture. The company offered a travel package to the winners. If you check out the Twitter account, you can already see the overwhelming response. Why? Well, it’s easy. A simple upload of a photo and a tweet takes 2 minutes. Plus, people are on Twitter and thus familiar with the platform. Sending people to the official Southwest Airlines website for a contest would be a bit odd wouldn’ it?
  
• Skittles: And then of course there is Skittles.com, which is completely shifted into a social site. (Right now it’s YouTube. In the past, Twitter and Wikipedia were the backdrop of the site.) We all remember the backlash, but there website still has everything on it to get more information about their company from a social media perspective.

What do you think? What other corporate sites are driving people to social media sites?

This article is copyright © 2010