Fancy Vine

What I fancy about Fancy

After last week’s presentation on Fancy, the “social photosharing webstore and mobile app” (thanks, Wikipedia), I immediately downloaded it and was hooked. As someone who is interested in men’s fashion, art, architecture, interior design, and innovative new products, Fancy is the perfect app for me. It has been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing for my browsing pleasure. A curse while I was trying to finish a paper this weekend and could do nothing but scroll through all the pretty products.

Anyway, there’s a lot to fancy about Fancy. Here are 3 of the top reasons why Fancy is so great:

1. Sharable content: When you “fancy” anything on Fancy, you can immediately share it with friends via the “Share” button underneath the photo. When you click the button, a window pops up with the product info, and links to all major other social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, and others that I had never even heard of before. It also allows for e-mail and a personal note as well as embedding, perfect for blogs. Basically, sharing on Fancy is easy-peasy.

2. Easy shopping: The shopping component on Fancy is definitely unique. Fancy allows you to easily browse content and products, but you are able to purchase products directly through the app. When you see something you like, you can click “add to cart” and you can immediately proceed to checkout. No links to other sites necessary. All major cards accepted. Ability to easily add shipping address. It even has a gift order feature. Impressed yet?

3. Add to Fancy feature: At first, Fancy can seem more like an online shop than an interactive social media platform. But this isn’t true. The “Add to Fancy” feature is also great, because it allows users to take photos and add their own content to the site, or add anything they find on the web. You can add descriptions; log it under any of the categories (Men’s, Women’s, Home, Art etc…). This feature is really what allows for your personal stamp on the site.

 

Moral of the story, if you like browsing high end products dreaming about the day when you have the money to buy them, like I do, then Fancy is for you. And if you have the money to spend, well lucky you, and buy away!

Snailmail My Email Vine

Snailmail My Email

While scrolling through twitter today, I noticed a tweet from SparkPR. The tweet linked to a video called Snailmail vs. Email. In the video, people were asked about how frequently they received emails vs. handwritten letters, and how both communication tools made them feel.

Not surprisingly, they all said they received emails almost every day, while a handwritten letter was a rarity and a treat. They called emails overwhelming and daunting, but they said handwritten letters made them feel warm and fuzzy, overjoyed and appreciated.
When I watched it, I obviously couldn’t agree more. But it got me thinking about the idea of email and efficient communication vs. snailmail and emotional communication.

We email to get information from point A to point B as quickly as possible. Conversations are brief, and the most important info is always emphasized first. We are meant to receive and act on email info. I cannot even count the number of times I have sent or received an email simply saying, “got it”.

But snailmail is used to express something so much more. My parents raised me to always send handwritten thank you notes. Whenever one of my friends’ parents come into town and take me to dinner, whenever someone gets me a birthday or Christmas gift etc. I used to write hand letters at summer camp, so I could explain my experiences to those at home. Holiday cards from Grammy and Grampy come on every Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and birthday without fail.

These handwritten cards show a true emotional connection with people who are important to us. The main takeaway is that this feeling couldn’t ever come across in an email. Sure, there are e-cards, and emailing with a friend abroad is a quick way to get updates on their life. However, it will never give us the same sense of excitement, surprise and joy that a handwritten letter does. The time and effort put into a letter mean so much more than just firing off an email.

My dad sent me a handwritten letter this week. I talk to him on the phone weekly, and most of the things he wrote he had already told me via phonecall. But I still felt his love from 400 miles away just through looking at his handwriting. He sat down, probably during a busy workday, and took the time to let me know that he cares. And that is what is so important to realize. Letters show you care. They show love. They show all emotion, really. And this is something an email will never accomplish, even though it is the number one form of communication we use today.

Snailmail will always trump email with personality and emotion. No matter what.

——

The producer of the video also created this awesome collaborative art project to show the importance of handwritten letters:

http://www.snailmailmyemail.org

“Snail Mail My Email is a worldwide collaborative art project where volunteers handwrite strangers’ emails and send physical letters to the intended recipients, free of charge. In 2013, 243 volunteers collectively sent 2,500+ letters over a seven day span.”

My Uber Vine!

Uber Vine refuses to post! Here is the link:

https://twitter.com/cvdorl/status/396378243777175552

https://twitter.com/cvdorl/status/396373472164986880

#HelloMcKinley

A round of applause for the American University School of Communication, doing what they do best; communicating!

This fall, SOC created the Hello McKinley social media campaign in order to promote the new SOC building. SOC, currently located in what I would call the “attick” of the Mary Gradon Student Center, has needed a new home for years. Our classrooms are dingy and dated, there are no study spaces, rooms are windowless, offices are small and makeshift, and ultimately, the current School of Communication is a space that doesn’t foster communication at all. The new SOC McKinley building will have more classrooms, bigger classrooms, a lecture theater, open study spaces and top-of-the-line technology. It truly is something to be excited about.

Hello McKinley was the perfect way to facilitate a conversation surrounding the excitement of our new building. Students engaged on various social media platforms including facebook, twitter, vine and instagram, posting pictures, videos and tweets with the hashtag #HelloMcKinley. Throughout the campaign, people really did engage. My instagram feed was filled with artsy photos of the building and twitter was blowing up with students’ various excitements.

Not only was the campaign interactive, it had incentive. SOC offered a prize package for the best tweet, picture and video, which included a tour of the new building, a $50 gift card and promotion on the SOC social media channels. What broke college kid doesn’t want a $50 gift card? And what SOC kid doesn’t want social media promo of their own content and a tour of their beautiful new school?

People got creative:

People got funny:

People got weird:

And people showed their overall genuine excitement:

Successful engagement, trending hashtag, great content! A job well done!

And how could I forget, the Hello McKinley graphic was SPOT ON.

 

UberX flawlessly used twitter to promote their FREE UberX event in DC

I use Uber a bit excessively… every weekend my friends and I rely on it to get home from our various escapades, especially since the DC public transit is pretty much non-existant at night. I’ve been a loyal customer since moving back to DC this past summer, and their quality product and customer service have always been outstanding.

Two weeks ago, Uber did a two-day free promotion for their UberX cars, the lower-priced version of Uber that uses hybrid and mid-range cars. They went full speed ahead (pun intended) with their social media, mainly twitter, to get the word out to their valued customers. Not only did they promote the event itself, they partnered with local businesses and restaurants that would offer deals if customers arrived in an UberX and showed their UberX receipt. Uber DC’s social media team cranked out tweets covering all the different deals, as did the participating businesses, and they generated quite a bit of buzz.

The one that stood out to me was Hank’s Oyster Bar, as I am a New Englander and love oysters on the half shell. Hank’s promo; 12 oysters on the half shell FREE with your meal after showing an UberX receipt. Conveniently, I had a date scheduled during this promotion. So I forwarded the tweet to my date, who was then equally as pleased as I was. We took UberX to Hank’s the next day, got our free Oysters, and ordered quite a few cocktails to go with them. UberX literally made my date happen… social media can be crazy, folks!

Not only was Uber successful in promoting the free UberX, they were successful in promoting other businesses in DC. Social media rule #1: Nobody likes it when all the content you create is about yourself. Uber promotes their brand while creating buzz around others as well. They have an interest in the DC community, and that is clear through their social media tactics. 

Included is an exchange I had with Uber during the promotion. It can be virtually impossible to get a taxi let alone an Uber in the AU area, so I tweeted at them, and they responded, creating a conversation. Overall, their use of twitter is concise, conversational, fun, and very interactive. 

Thumbs up, Uber!