Social Media Users Beat Down Nestle

Environmental activists have been continuously beating down the Nestle company over social media sites such as YouTube and Twitter. They claim that Nestle is helping destroy the rainforest, and endangering orangutans, by purchasing palm oil from an Indonesian company that is notorious for tearing down the rainforest to build palm plantations.

Nestle states that they have already decided to terminate business with the company.

"We, like Greenpeace and many others, abhor destruction of the rain forests, and will not source from companies where there is verifiable evidence of environmental damage," says Nestlé spokeswoman Nina Backes.

Greenpeace, however, says this is not enough. There is proof that they are continuing to buy the products.

Activists had always used Web media, but are now hitting the companies in their soft spots: new social media. Somewhere they do not have complete control.

A protest video renaming "Kit-Kat" to "Killers" was posted on YouTube and spread. Nestle had the video banned and told Facebook users that they would delete comments that used an altered logo. Those most familiar with social media believe that these actions caused the incident to worsen and grow.

Experts say it may be a good idea to delete social media pages and start over.

Read more here.

The following video is the protest video posted on YouTube. Warning: It can be seen as disturbing.

Facebook gets ride of "Fan" pages

Facebook announced today that they will discontinue the "fan" page option. They will now allow users to like certain brands or companies.

Social media experts believe it's "lower" to become a fan of something as opposed to liking the brand. Facebook's research has shown users become a fan of four pages a month.

Facebook has yet to announce if they will completely take away fan pages, or if they will keep fan pages where it makes sense i.e. band or celebrity pages.

Here's the original article.

Fashion Industry Falling Behind on Social Media

Twitter is no where near slowing down and the fashion industry finally figured that out last month during fashion week. The Wall Street Journal looks at how designers are exposing those personal details.

"After the Marc Jacobs show in New York last month, the label's chief executive, Robert Duffy, tweeted his several thousand followers to "come to the Standard" hotel, where the fashion house was holding its after-party. He attached a photo of a completely naked guest (seen from behind) who appeared to be doing a strip tease."

The fashion industry is obviously still learning how to use and conduct themselves on Twitter and social media in general. It needs to learn to cater to the customer and develop the persona that they would like to convey towards their line.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to cast a spell over guests this summer

Universal Orlando Resort announced that one of the most widely anticipated theme park entertainment experiences ever created – The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is set for a public grand opening on June 18.

Universal Orlando also revealed details about one of the parks main attractions called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. It will be one of three themed attractions within The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, including Flight of the Hippogriff and Dragon Challenge.

Universal boasts an experience that guests will never forget as they feel things no one have ever felt inside an ordinary theme park attraction, move in ways no one has ever moved, experience film like no one else ever has, explore the detailed sets accompanied by amazing special effects – and have an adventure only possible in Harry Potter's world.

Click HERE for the original article.

Kirstie Alley Promotes Show on Twitter

Kirstie Alley's new show Kirstie Alley's Big Life premiered Sunday, March 22. Alley has been promoting the show on her Twitter page. She wrote, "Excited for my show's debut tomorrow. And it is the debut for my daughter and my friends," the day before the premiere. Alley has only been on Twitter for about 48 weeks according to Twitterific. You can follow Alley on Twitter @kirstiealley.

Alley also has a Web site where she's promoting her newest weight-loss plan. On her page, she blogs about her show and her diet.

iPhone App To Sidestep AT&T

The newest iPhone app, Line2, costs only $1. For this dollar, the consumer gains access of a second phone line on their iPhone or iPod Touch with its own voicemail and everything. On top of that, the second line is a carbon copy of the iPhone's own phone software. This copy of the software is groundbreaking because Apple's rules prohibit applications to look or work similarly like the iPhone's built-in apps.

A perk of Line2 is it turns the iPhone to dual mode. When in this mode, the iPhone can make calls using Wi-Fi, so it is great for being indoors at the office. This allows the consumer to use less AT&T minutes and possibly save money with a cheaper plan. While this dual mode service costs $15 per month, AT&T unlimited minute plans can cost $100 per month. If a plan is dropped to a 450-minute plan, the cost goes down to $70, potentially saving the consumer $15 per month.

To learn more, please visit the nytimes.com article on this exciting new feature.

Palin in the Great Outdoors

Sarah Palin ability to sustain a solid fan base has allowed her to write best sellers and now, feature in a documentary nature series. Palin is close to closing a deal for a travel show, “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.” The program will be produced by Mark Burnett Productions.

Whether you hate her or love her, it’s an undeniable fact that she has captured the attention of the American public and has a concrete fan base, with more than just the Republican community. The 11-part reality show will follow Palin acting as a guide to Alaska’s great outdoors. The program will be similar to popular nature shows such as “Planet Earth.”

This project will be the most expensive documentary the BBC will have made, commissioned at 25 million dollars. Palin is asking $1.2 million per episode. Discovery communications has eliminated A&E for the project and other networks in bidding for the show include TLC. So, will you be watching?

Google Closes China-Based Search Site

Google and the People's Republic of China have had more than a few issues since Google's entry into the Chinese market in 2006. Most recently, after human rights activists' email accounts were hacked, Google announced that it would no longer filter search results as requested by the Chinese government. China responded by blocking access to a majority of Google's platforms.

On Monday, Google announced it would no longer operate its Google.cn search site based in China and has directed users to Google.hk out of Hong Kong. That site has now also been blocked by the Chinese government. Although Google holds only a 13 percent stake in the market, China is the fastest growing market and this makes the move by Google all the more important. Some believe this may hurt research and education involving China because the Chinese government may decide to block users outside the country from accessing information inside the country.

Source: CNN

Jenny Craig's Use Of Celebrities

The word "diet" can be interpreted in many different ways. Some people see it as a way of life, while others use it sparingly, for special events or holidays. Either way, a diet involves dedication, hard work, discipline, and the knowledge of food. Not everyone has those things. Not everyone wants those things. So how does Jenny Craig® do it? Jenny Craig® has taken great efforts to keep its company at the top. It has done a nice job - Using different celebrity spokespersons. Jenny Craig® chooses friendly, lovable, funny, overweight, and well-known faces as figures to diet alongside the client. Jenny Craig®'s spokespeople are much more involved in the promotional campaigns; along with appearing in commercials, celebrity endorsers also write blogs to the official Jenny Craig® website. The blogs, commercials, status updates, and personal words creates motivation amongst viewers.

They target their audience through the qualities and personalities of their spokepersons. They target both men and women, bringing comfort to all sexes. 2010 has already given Jenny Craig® celebrities, such as Jason Alexander, Sara Rue, Valerie Bertinelli, and Nicole Sullivan. The continuous flow of new spokepersons is a great tactic for the diet company's business. Viewers are able to watch a success story and be motivated to diet alongside the next success story.

Michael Jackson Estate Signs Record Deal

Even after his death, Michael Jackson is still breaking new records. The King of Pop's estate has signed the biggest recording deal in history: a $200 million guaranteed contract with Sony Music Entertainment for 10 projects over seven years. This record-breaking contract through 2017 could possibly be worth even more if certain conditions are met.

Projects being considered include a new album of never before released MJ hits, a video game, a DVD compilation of videos and a rerelease of Off the Wall, Jackson's fifth album. One of the projects already completed is the film based on footage of concert rehearsals for Jackson's big comeback, This Is It.

"We're dedicated to protecting this icon's legacy and we're thrilled that we can continue to bring his music to the world for the foreseeable future," said Rob Stringer, chairman of Sony Music's Columbia Epic Label Group.

The money will go a long way toward settling Jackson's debts, estimated around $400 million when he died. But the singer whose life was plagued with scandal has had a resurgence in popularity in death.

Read More.

The School Lunch Project

Can you remember eating school lunches?

In the start of 2010, an Illinois school teacher began an anonymous blog "Fed Up With Lunch" that illustrates concerns about school lunch. Mrs. Q, as she dubs herself on the site, will voluntarily be eating school lunch every day, documenting photos of the food on her tray, providing some nutritional information, commenting on the taste, and detailing the bellyaches she’s had since beginning the project; all of which is chronicled on her blog and through tweets.

She writes that the timing of her project is critical because, “The Child Nutrition Act is being debated in Congress. It’s important that people realize that funding for school lunches is vital to children’s success in school and in life.”

Mrs. Q also says that caring about what kids eat for lunch is an investment in their long-term health and the eventual well-being of our country.

So why is she keeping her identity hidden?

“I’m blogging anonymously because I like my job and getting a paycheck. But I’m still putting my livelihood on the line by speaking up. Why? Because I want to raise awareness about school lunch. It may not be what every child in this country eats, but I believe the meal that I am showing represents what most children eat at lunch in the US,” she posted in February, just over a month after she launched the lunch project.

Her blog includes posts by guest bloggers, many of whom are teachers, all of whom have their own take on what is on the trays.

Through her use of social media, Mrs. Q continues to raise awareness on what children are eating during their school lunch.

READ

Tiger Returning to Masters Will Not Stop South Park

Despite skipping the first two tournaments of the season for...personal reasons...,Tiger Woods announced that he will return to golf via the Masters tournament April 8. Woods usually uses the first two tournaments to prepare for the Masters, but that was before he was caught cheating on his wife.

Returning to golf for the Masters may save Woods from embarrassing situations with paparazzi, but it cannot stop South Park.

For their season opener tonight, South Park plans to slaughter Woods even further by reliving his "apology" press conference. In one hand, Tiger is moving on with his life and career. On the other, he will have to relive his embarrassment played out on a very popular, very unforgiving cartoon.

I can't wait. If you can't either, click here to view the trailer.

Caleb Hudgens

Topeka is now Google, Kansas.

In order to vie for an internet opportunity, Topeka, Kansas will now be Google, Kansas.

Bill Bunten, mayor of Topeka, Kansas, says that the U.S. is behind global standards in internet connection speed. So, he decided to change the name of the city for a month to try to get into Google's "Fiber for Communities" program.

"The Web giant is going to install new Internet connections in unannounced locations, giving those communities Internet speeds 100 times faster than those elsewhere, with data transfer rates faster than 1 gigabit per second."

The mayor believes that the faster internet connection will encourage the youth to stay and, therefore, businesses to develop.

The change in name isn't a first for the city, they renamed themselves ToPikachu for a day in 1998 after the growth in Pokemon popularity.

In case you are interested in Google's experiment:

More on this article...

Dispute between Cablevision and Disney may keep viewers from the Oscars.

Cablevision and Disney's dispute could cause 3.1 million viewers to miss out on the upcoming Oscars on Sunday night. Cablevision, who has a dispute before with Disney, is threatening to pull ABC programming by the beginning of this weekend if an agreement isn't reached upon.

Cablevision has even created its own Facebook page, mircosite and hotline which allows customers to express their supports for Cablevision.

A statement from EVP Charles Schueler states that “... It is not fair to force Cablevision customers to pay a new TV tax for programming ABC Disney gives away free, both over-the-air and on the Internet. In tough economic times, it is shameful that ABC Disney would hold viewers hostage by threatening to pull the plug, and we urge them to work with us to reach a fair agreement.”

However, Disney is fighting back by denying the figures and opening a new campaign, which asks reads to "Tell Cablevision, 'Lose my shows, lose my business.'"

This dispute is similar to the January fee battle between Cablevision and Scripps.

Original article here.

Lionsgate plans to “KICK-ASS” with social media

Lionsgate is teaming up with thisMoment, a company focused on creating engaging experiences at the point where social media, mobile devices, and the real-time Web collide to engage fans of its upcoming feature film, KICK-ASS, across multiple social environments.

thisMoment's new Distributed Engagement Channel (DEC), is enabling Lionsgate to deploy a single interactive brand channel in its entirety across YouTube, Facebook and MySpace, publish user-generated and official multimedia content, and capture a stream of real-time updates about the film through one, simple content management system.

The KICK-ASS channel on YouTube, Facebook and MySpace will include several interactive features aimed at increasing fan engagement making KICK-ASS movie content more readily available. All multimedia content on the channel can be shared with a user's own social graph, extending the reach of that content even further.

User interactions such as uploads and comments will also be synced in real time across all instances of the channel, allowing KICK-ASS fans to communicate with each other and creating one connected community around the film.

For the original article click HERE

PS3 Meltdown

Sunday, many PS3 users turned on their consoles to find that they could not connect to the Playstation Network used for online game play and interaction, and many of their trophies earned from game play had since disappeared. Upon further investigation it was discovered a majority of the older "fat" PS3s had a bug in the time/date function which was resetting to a date in the past, commonly around 1/1/2000. After finding out about the problem from many disgruntled users tweeting their catastrophic problems, Sony in turn tweeted their acknowledgment of the current issues taking the gaming world by storm. However, as of posting this entry there are new reports that the PS3 systems are back to functioning normally.

Anything Else is Just a CupFake

Cinnabon is celebrating its past 25 years of business by launching a new line of cupcakes.

The original creator of the Classic Role was brought back to develop the new cupcake line. After experimenting with 556 different recipies, each containing the same secret ingredient, to create the perfect treat.

There are currently four delectible new flavors including the Cinnacake Classic, a tribute to the Cinnabon's world-famous Classic Role, Chocolate Passion, Vanilla Bliss and 24-Carrot Cake.