Airlines make traveling easier with mobile boarding pass

Sometimes I really love technology. I mean really LOVE it.

Last week I was flying home to Sacramento, California to visit my family over Mother’s Day weekend. My flight was departing Orlando at the crack of dawn. I am not one who does early mornings well, and additionally, I am detrimentally late for everything.

The airline industry had me in mind when they rolled out their mobile boarding pass. No long lines at the check-in counter. Nothing to print up at home. I was even able to sleep in a few extra minutes because I had checked into my flight the night before on my phone, and all I had to do was go straight to the security check-in line. There the officer scanned the barcode displayed on the screen of my phone, looked at my photo identification, and I was on my way.

Typically between security check-in and my gate, I somehow misplace by boarding pass and have to go through every pocket of my purse and carry on to find where I put it before boarding the plane. Not anymore. It was all on my phone, which I always seem to know where it is…this technology is truly Lisa-proof!

And not just Lisa-proof—according to a CNN article, TSA actually likes mobile boarding passes better because of improved security. Apparently the paperless boarding pass will help prevent fraudulent paper boarding passes that could be created and printed from home.

…And of course for travelers, this technology makes traveling much more easy and convenient. Afterall, we don’t always have access to a printer, but most always have access to our phones.

Continental, Delta, Alaska and American Airlines all offer this technology.  There is one catch—not all airports are yet equipped for this technology, so you should check your airlines website first before your trip.

The Twilight Saga leads the way in social media

Last week I flew home to Sacramento to spend Mother’s Day with my Mom. 3,000 miles is a long airplane ride, so I used this time to myself to catch up on some reading. With the release of the third installment in the Twilight saga, Eclipse, opening June 30, I was compelled to read the book in advance– so I am better prepared to scream with the teenage girls when “Jacob” enters the scene with his shirt off.

Obviously Twilight is all the rage, and upon some discovery, the brand has taken over almost every aspect of social and new media to continue to build buzz—as if it needed any more!

Today I officially joined the other 5.7 million fans on Facebook to see how social media is really done. I joined the hype by entering to win “Bella’s” engagement ring from the movie; getting a sneak peak of the band Muse’s  ”Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever)” on the Eclipse soundtrack website; and of course viewed the latest Eclipse trailer.

And for the sole purpose of my education (really), I downloaded the Twilight Tracker App to my iphone. This official app for the Twilight Saga movies shares news, photos, and film clips. And strangely, users can choose a Twilight character avatar and talk to other fans via the public message board. Another interesting app is the Vampire Guide to Forks, where Twilight fans can browse Twilight points of interest in this town made famous by the novels and movies. (The Forks Chamber of Commerce is even in on this, and has a special page dedicated to Twilight on its website!)

And just yesterday, on a social media venue that I thought had fizzled out, tracks from the upcoming Twilight Saga: Eclipse soundtrack were revealed one by one on MySpace Music, every half hour through out the day, for seven hours.

I am certain that this Twilight rage is going to be the center of many case studies written on Emerging Media in the future. These efforts just keeps evolving more and more with each film. And continue to lure in innocent bystander like myself into its spell. At least this time I can say it is for education’s sake!

Hallmark Channel taps into social media for Mother’s Day

Forget to put your Mother’s Day card in the mail? No problem.  The Hallmark Channel is giving Facebook users the opportunity to create special 60-second multimedia testimonials about their Moms that are then posted on the “Meet My Mom” tab on its Facebook page. This is a chance to not only tell your Mom just how great she is, but tell the entire social media world!

And the best part…It’s Free!

The Mother’s Day promotion was kicked off on April 19 as a way for families who are far apart to connect with one another.  Since then more than 500 people have uploaded photos, video and audio to pay tribute to their Moms.

The good people at Hallmark even partnered with the USO to reach out to actual overseas soldiers to use this platform as a way to wish their Mom’s a Happy Mother’s Day, on a day that they probably miss each other the most.

See some of their videos here:

This was a really smart promotion by the Hallmark Channel–I love when social media brings about warm fuzzies, and isn’t just blatant commercialism to promote a brand. Although, this effort certainly makes sense for the brand as well.

Reports say that the site has received more than 5,000 new fans since the start of this promotion. Even more remarkable, the Hallmark channel is up to 67,000 fans. Just six months ago they only had 250. This upswing can be attributed to Hallmark Channel’s utilization of its new marketing company Buzztone, who was hired to increase its outreach and social media platforms.

The effort is tied to the May 8 premiere of “Meet My Mom” on the Hallmark Channel, an original movie focusing on an overseas soldier who builds a relationship with the mother of a boy with whom he has become a pen pal.

The movie looks just corny enough that I think I am going to love it!

Soldiers show Lady Gaga how its really done

Thank you YouTube. Thank you Lady Gaga. And Thank you soldiers in Afghanistan. My day is now complete.

Every now and then we come across a video worth sharing, and today is one of those days.

A group of U.S. soldiers stationed in Afghanistan used some of their rare free time to put together a reenactment of Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s famous “Telephone” video. Choreographed dance moves, homemade costumes and a couple military jokers make for what may be the video of the year.

Closing in on 3 million views in just one week, this video that was intended to delight the soldiers’ friends and family back home has gone viral.

When he posted the video, 24-year-old soldier Aaron Melcher included the following note:

”This is a couple guys located in Afghanistan, that re-made the music video by Lady Gaga….Telephone. Prepare yourself for a fantastical journey. Right now this is the temporary version, we have more scenes to cut, and edit, however with guys always on mission it is harder to film than you think.”

Temporary version? I can’t wait for the final cut!  And gentlemen, where did you get the props in the desert? Particularly the pink “Drama Queen” sash?

The original Lady Gaga video has garnered 28 million views since early March. It would be interesting to study how viral videos such as this one effect music downloads by the artist. I must admit that I have a WHOLE LOT more appreciation for this Lady Gaga song than I ever had before!  Similarly, I wonder what the “Best Wedding Entrance Dance Ever” video did for Chris Brown?

Pixar goes viral with Lots-o’-Huggin Bear

The folks at Pixar are building buzz for its latest film Toy Story 3, which is due to be released this June. In true Pixar fashion, they have outdone themselves again—and I’m just referring to their marketing.

This third movie in the Toy Story series is set around the premise that the toys are dumped at a day care center when their “owner” Andy grows up and goes off to college. New territory certainly means the arrival of new characters, and Pixar is using viral video to introduce us!

Lots-O’ is one of the new pivotal characters in the story. He is said to be a fictional toy that supposedly originated in the 1980’s—and one of the oldest toys in the movie.  As so many of the Toy Story characters are based on real toys—Mr. Potato Head, Barbie, Toy Soldiers, Slinky Dog—Pixar has very creatively released this faux Lots-O-Huggin Bear commercial, circa 1983, on the web.

From the clothing, hairstyles, lunch boxes, and film quality, this certainly feels like it is an authentic commercial. In fact, it is nostalgic enough that I feel like I must have owned a Lots-O- Huggin’ bear as a kid!

The most interesting part of the campaign is that the YouTube channel hosting the video, MrCrazycommericials, has uploaded several authentic 1980’s commercials, and Lots’-o-Huggin Bear is just a piece of the fun. Real commercials include Get In Shape Girl by Hasbro (one of my favorites from my youth), Strawberry Shortcake dolls, and Speak and Spell. An interesting, and brilliant tactic to reach out to the children of the eighties that will be bringing today’s youth to see the film—or in my instance, I’m excited to see the film all on my own.

The official Toy Story 3 page has a section that introduces us to all the new characters. Lotso is desribed as:

a jumbo, extra-soft teddy bear with a pink and white plush body and a velvety purple nose. This lovable bear stands fuzzy heads and shoulders above other teddy bears because he smells like sweet strawberries! With a smile that will light up your child’s face and a belly just asking to be hugged, Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear is sure to become a bedtime necessity. Stain-resistant. Spot clean plush surface with a damp cloth.

Yep, pretty sure I would have owned him in 1983…and I look forward to seeing what sorts of merchandise rolls out with the new film! …and hoping for some additional marketing tactics as brilliant as this one!

2010 is the year of Betty White

In 2008, we learned the power of social media during the Presidential election. And, in 2010, we’re learning how Facebook can reignite Betty White’s television career.

It all started when 29-year-old David Matthews created a Facebook page called “Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!”. The page was started to encourage Saturday Night Live producers to consider 88-year old Betty White to host the show, as she has never done so during the course of her long entertainment career.

500,000 fans later, and a letter to SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels, and Betty is now scheduled to host Saturday Night Live on Mother’s Day weekend! In an USA Today article, Lorne Michaels states that he’s always wanted Betty White to host. In fact she’s turned the offer down three times in the past.

This time was different—and I have to imagine its because she couldn’t let down half a million fans cheering her on from the internet.

Betty’s Facebook fans couldn’t be more delighted. They are lighting up the Facebook page’s “Wall” with comments counting down to Betty’s episode of SNL–“We Love You, Betty;” “You go, Betty;” “One Week Away!” …Who knew that Betty White was becoming such a pop culture phenomenon? I suppose we should have seen it coming with her recent Snicker’s Bar commercial that first aired during this year’s Super Bowl, which has now had an astronomical 1.6 million views on YouTube alone.

In the SNL promo video for next weekend’s show, Betty White proclaims “Thanks to the internet, I’m hosting Saturday Night Live.” An interesting case study indeed, for the power of social media. Now lets see what it can do for World Peace!

I can assure you that I’ll be watching along with the other 500,000 Facebook fans. I’ve never heard of a Facebook revolution quite like this one–impressive to say the least!