The Social 7 from Zeno Group Digital Lifestyle

Today marks a new day for The Social 7.  We’ve kept the social media and marketing conversation active through our Twitter profile (@thesocial7), but have had limited updates to this blog.  We are renewing our commitment to this blog through our first monthly digest that will encompass both social media and the latest digital news.

Zeno Group Digital Lifestyle-TheSocial7 Sept.09

Zeno Group’s Digital Lifestyle team will continue to manage The Social 7 and will share additional insights on this blog, which may not be published in the two-page report.   As always, your feedback is appreciated and we look forward to addressing the news, stats and studies that drive us daily, move us to action and connect us to each other.

7 Social Media Milestones-at-a-Million

It’s almost been a million years since our last post or at least it seems that way.  As a result of the million-follower march on Twitter last week, we wanted to take a closer look at 7 of the most notable social media milestones-at-a-million.

7) Ashton Kutcher vs. CNN for One Million Followers on Twitter – Twitter has captured the imagination and interest of companies, celebrities and everyday citizens fascinated with the limitations and possibilities of communicating in 140 characters. The pop culture frenzy took an epic turn when Ashton Kutcher challenged CNN to see who could be the first to a million followers. While Ashton edged out CNN to the throne and proclaimed “a media revolution,” the real impact will be felt by the recipients of mosquito nets in Africa through Malaria No More. Kutcher, Larry King, Ryan Seacrest, Oprah Winfrey and Demi Moore pledged to buy thousands of nets to help prevent the spread of malaria. Hey guys, how about a race to a million nets that challenges the entire Twittersphere?

Source: Chartbeat

6) Crowdsourcing the News Gets Big When Digg Surpasses One Million Registered Users – Being featured on the front page of any media outlet is a noteworthy accomplishment, but empowering the community to create the headlines touched a nerve and created a new way to showcase popular content on the Web. Over the past 365 days, the top three stories that users have Dugg have been CNN.com stories on President Obama.

5) Second Life Reaches One Million Residents – What to do when you want more than just your own life? Create a second one in Linden Lab’s Second Life, “a free online virtual world imagined and created by its Residents.” This world captured the attention of both individuals and companies eager to reach a captive audience. The one millionth account or Resident was registered on October 18, 2006 and even produced a virtual real-estate millionaire named Anshe Chung. This week, Linden Labs reported that Second Life is surging in user-to-user transactions. The housing “bubble” is back!

Source: BusinessWeek.com

4) Ning Creates One Millionth Social Network – Everyone (including your mom) is on the major social networks that dominate the headlines. But how many people have created their own social networks around specific interests they care about most? Go on Ning and you’re likely to find a community that fits your lifestyle, with networks such as One Million Dancers or One Million Gardens.

3) Wikipedia Publishes One Millionth Article – As “the most popular general reference work on the Internet” with 12 million articles (according to Wikipedia’s Wikipedia entry), the one-million-article (in English) milestone on March 1, 2006 proved that the wisdom of the crowd was a wise way to build a library of content. The milestone article is about the Jordanhill railway station in Glasgow, Scotland.

2) Fred Figglehorn Reaches One Million Subscribers on YouTube – Would you guess that a 15-year-old kid in Nebraska would have the largest online video audience? Lucas Cruikshank plays a fast-talking (yes, we mean very fast, as in high-pitched) Fred who has squealed his way to a million subscribers and thousands of dollars in monthly revenue. If “Fred Figglehorn” was an online network TV show, it would only trail “Lost” and “Saturday Night Live,” lead “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Heroes,” as well as double the viewership of “Scrubs” and “Survivor.” Here’s looking at you kid! Fred gives thanks to his million subscribers.

1) Barack Obama Reaches One Million Fans on Facebook – The impact of social media in Obama’s Presidential campaign was felt in record-breaking fundraising, far-reaching support and even recognition as the number one marketer of 2008. Today, President Obama has more than six million fans on his Facebook page (plus another million in a group dedicated to him). On June 17, 2008, Senator Obama (at the time) promoted the historic milestone of reaching his first million fans on his page with this message: “Today we crossed an important threshold: one million supporters for Barack Obama on Facebook. The Obama page has by far more supporters than any other page – whether it’s a politician, celebrity, or band – on all of Facebook. For those who have touted the conventional wisdom that young people don’t care about politics, there couldn’t be a better testament to the energy and enthusiasm of young people today. One million Facebook users have made clear that not only are they engaged with the political process, they are ready for change to come too.”

Source: Facebook

Share your thoughts on additional social media milestones-at-a-million.

How Social Media is Changing 7 Industries

Social media is playing a significant role in how consumers participate and share information online.  Instead of our weekly video on the top 7 stories, we’re taking a closer look at how 7 different industries are creating new opportunities and relationships through social media.  Law firms, healthcare, action sports, real estate, travel/tourism and colleges are all examined further.  If you’re in any of these industries, we encourage you to provide additional examples or share insights in the comments below.

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The Social 7 - Episode 08

Welcome to the eighth episode of The Social 7 (wow, has it been 8 already?!)  With a busy (social) week behind us, we have lots of things on the agenda for today’s episode, so let’s get right into it.

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The Social 7 - Episode 06

Welcome to the sixth episode of The Social 7, a conversation on the Top 7 Stories in social media and marketing.   Andrea wasn’t able to join us this week (watch the video to find out why!), but she’ll be back next week!

Big News!  Nick and Alex are guests on this week’s episode of New Gen Tech with Christian Mudgett and Danny Holland.  Make sure you check it out!

More details on all the stories, plus Tweet of the Week, Social Shutterbug, and Viral Video of the Week, after the jump…

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The Social 7 - 2008 Year in Review

Welcome to the Social 7, and Happy 2009! Here at the Social 7, we had a bit of a party of our own; and to celebrate the new year right, we decided to mix things up a bit and recap the top 7 stories of the entire year.  From acquisitions that weren’t to massive behavioral shifts, 2009 was a big year in the world of social media and marketing.  Read below to catch our pick of the highlights.

Episode recap, plus the top Tweets, Picture, and Viral Video of the year after the jump!

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The Social 7 - Episode 03

Thanks for tuning into the third episode of The Social 7, recapping the top seven stories in social media and marketing from the past week.  Enjoy, and as always, feel free to e-mail us tips for next week’s episodes!

Episode recap plus tweet of the week and social shutterbug after the jump.

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The Social 7 - Episode 02

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode - number two - of The Social 7, recapping the top seven stories in social media and marketing from the past week (and due to Thanksgiving, the past two weeks!)  Let us know what you think, and if you have a tip for next week be sure to e-mail us!

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