Ning, Facebook, Twitter all showing growth as social media marches on

Nielsen recently published it regular review of what is going on in Social Media land the highlights of which were the 2,500% rise in Twitter and the fact that FB has now overtaken MySpace as the most visited Social Network.(69m montly visitors for FB v 56m for MS) There was also one other very interesting fact - Ning which according to Mashable recently announced that more than one million social networks including Twitter Moms group with upwards of 13,000 members, the This is 50 fully branded social hub for 50 Cent’s 400,000 adoring fans, and Ning’s MuggleSpace, where 15,000 plus Harry Potter fans gather together - is now the 2nd fastest growing social networking site with traffic up 283 percent YOY.

It's not all about digital and social media !

In these challenging times "getting the attention of the consumer" has become the most consistent and clearest part of most of the briefs that we receive and all channels are vying to achieve this. As a result social media has become the buzzword of the moment in many Clients' HQs and agency office with varying degrees of desire, aptitude and ability to deliver on this still nascent medium and it was with this challenge in mind that I was invited to attend a round table discussion on social media by Utalkmarketing an online community for the marketing industry (more about that soon). Anyway, after the session, with the lively debate still bouncing around in my head I walked up Tottenham Court Road to a new business meet (about social media) and came across 2 great examples that restore my faith that it is not all about digital. The first was very simple but very attention grabbing - a six sheet poster (picture top right) for "The Boat that Rocked" that incorporated a loudspeaker playing the voiceover trailer for the film including parts of the soundtrack and a sampling van for Vitamin Water that featured a spin and win device based on moods and a free sample for everyone - this was so popular there was a queue of consistently 40+ people for the 30 mins or so I observed the activity for. I know it is not scientific or new news but still encouraging to see not everything happens online !