Google Continues to Take Search Budgets from Rivals
Kids Pack in Nearly 11 Hours of Media Use Daily
More Attacks Expected on Twitter, Facebook in 2010
iPhone App Helped Man Survive Haiti Earthquake
Will the New York Times Meter Kill Traffic From Social Media?

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A misconception held by many internet users is that you must be a user of social networking to use the real time web.  That is not the case, anyone can easily take advantage and learn from the real time web without being a member of any of the sites.  Below, we will explain how.

Anyone can search the real time web.  Several search engines have launched to help you learn what people are saying right now in regards to any search term.  You can check out this search tips page which overviews several of the types of searches which can be beneficial in the real time web.

Another way to navigate the real time web is through seeing what the current trends are.  Since people write about topics all day long, websites are able to see what current trends are through seeing what is being talked about the most. What The Trend not only shows you what the current trends are but they also show you reasons behind why a particular topic has become a trend.

Lastly, links can be researched on the real time web.  Since many people post links online in the real time web, data can be compiled to see what the hottest stories are right now.  Tweet Meme shows you the hottest stories right now along with information on how many times a particular story has been shared right now.  You can also do a search at Sency.  On the results page – you’ll see the today’s most popular links tab on the top right hand side of the page.  This will allow you to see the hot links right now for any respective keyword.

All in all – its good to learn how to use the real time web as there is a lot of information out there which gets updated each minute.

This guest post is by Evan Britton, the Founder of Sency.

New, real-time, up to the minute search has become the next big thing in both Google and Bing. While many people are concerned that this may ‘cheapen’ the quality and value of regularly indexed search results, having tweets and Facebook profiles crawled almost immediately after their conception will not be detrimental to search engine results. And here’s why:

Here’s your weekly dish of top search engine marketing and social media links for the week of January 18, 2010:

Can Search Engine Optimization survive google?

Search engine marketing on the rise, survey shows

Coakley v Brown: the social media divide may decide the election

Social media websites strengthened holiday season for retailers

Haitian relief dominates social media
NOTE: If you’re looking for a way to donate to Haiti relief, you can simply text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts. The $10 will be charged to your cell phone bill. If you have Sprint, they are waiving any text message fees for users who are using text to donate to Haiti. The damage done to Haiti is going to cost billions of dollars, and they have little water, clean medical supplies, and are having to use mass graves in order to bury the dead because there are no other alternatives. Please help!

30 tips for using social media

7 questions key to social networking success

Microsoft has a plan to improve Bing’s poor indexing

‘Old school’ SEO can address google’s ‘new school’ real-time search

SEO Vital in Content Marketing: http://www.directnews.co.uk/news/search-engine/seo-development/seo-vital-in-content-marketing–$1351812.htm

SEO Tips for Smarter Social Media: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/25497.asp

Why Social Media is Still a Redheaded Stepchild: http://webworkerdaily.com/2010/01/06/why-social-media-marketing-is-still-a-red-headed-stepchild/

Social Media Permeate the Employment Life Cycle: http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202437746082&Social_media_permeate_the_employment_life_cycle&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1

Facebook, Twitter Become Business Tools, but CIOs Remain Wary: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/01/07/urnidgns852573C400693880002576A40062146B.DTL

How to Say Stupid Things About Social Media: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jan/05/social-media-cory-doctorow (header image from this article)

Sherlock Holmes from Warner Brothers was part of the single largest holiday season box office ever, holding a solid second place in earnings behind James Cameron’s Avatar. Directed by Guy Richie and starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, it spawned a transmedia experience sponsored by 7-11, Coca-Cola and Lifelock. Partnered with Facebook, 221B uses the website’s connectivity and privacy protocols as a portal. 221B is a groundbreaking, immersive game that should be emulated as an example of social media applications, transmedia narrative and interactive gaming.

The story follows eight related cases that Holmes and Watson must solve using clues found in videos, articles, flash games, virtual searches of rooms, and asks players to deduce the solution to cases that lead directly into the mystery the film. The game offers character introductions and “Easter Eggs,” tidbits from the game that the feature film will reference, validating the fans’ participation in the property. The game’s production design is fantastically executed: its aesthetics are beautiful and engrossing, allowing the player to play the game for hours without a jarring exit from the page. Even the branded mini-games from the sponsors are aesthetically and thematically consistent while still getting their brand’s messages across to the targeted consumer.

Another innovative element of this social media endeavor is that the game has a multiplayer option; the player can invite a Facebook Friend to play as their Watson or as Holmes to their Watson, based on a personality quiz at the game’s beginning. The two players then must work together to assemble clues that when looked at together lead to the solution of each case. While 221B isn’t trying to yield a social media community, it has broken apart the boundaries of what a social media game is expected to be and is clearly helping to create a fan base for the Sherlock Holmes movie and franchise.

The social media rollout of Sherlock Holmes is carefully executed (despite the occasional questionable in-store poster for taquitos) the transmedia program has even managed to integrate Twitter. Mrs. Hudson, Holmes’ housekeeper at 221B Baker Street tweets gossip about the cases as they are released and The Society Spy reports on the more tawdry and scandalous news stories of fictional London Society. When one gets over one’s initial aversion to the idea of Victorian characters on Twitter, the narrative bits that are expanded in the twitter feed seem more and more charming. With the help of yet another sponsor, The Tweetdeck Telegram Co. preserves 221B’s aesthetics and once again, shows how a consistently executed production design can bring an audience member into a fictional world.

There is one, lingering question that plagues this particular campaign: is it drawing enough attention to itself? While there is no doubt that 221B is brilliantly crafted and should be trumpeted as part of the release of the film -which has had no problem drawing attention to itself- I stumbled upon the social media component almost by chance about five weeks into its rollout. Not only is direct marketing for the Facebook game somewhat lacking, but the response on the movie’s fan page is hardly robust. One has to wonder if given a greater chance to explore within the narrative universe or communicate in narrative, as Valemont did so elegantly this fall, might have created a stronger game-based following, the partnered multiplayer somewhat discouraging a wider social network growing out of the game?

The lack of direct marketing of the game itself, or the way in which that direct marketing was implemented, may or may not prove to have limited the number of people who play 221B before the movie came out, but there can be no doubt that, post-release, people hungry for more Holmes can enter the expanded universe. Hopefully enough of the movie’s fans will experience this fantastic narrative experiment to appreciate just how groundbreaking it is as a social media campaign. This sort of high quality production and complex gameplay will be associated more and more with major releases to whet the appetites of fans and draw considerate attention to brand sponsors. As with other narrative experiments in social media from 2009, there are limitations one can see in its use of social media, but without question, it is on the vanguard of things to come in social media, and has earned a place as a jewel in the crown of narrative ventures.

Caitlin Burns is a Transmedia Producer and Editorial Lead at Starlight Runner Entertainment. To hear more of her thoughts on media, follow her and catch up on her other blogs through Twitter: Caitlin_Burns