Go forth and be social

The quest to set up a customised social website (think Metrotwin) has become a whole lot easier as SocialGO today announced that it is now in OpenBETA.

This much anticipated bespoke social network maker is free to use and allows people to create a customised social website for any group, topic, business or theme. With a simple, easy to use design and a load of useful features you can have a network set up within a few minutes.

Having been in intense development for twelve months and having reached over 1,000 social networks already, SocialGO seems set to make a refreshing impact on the social networking scene.

An interesting departure

British Airways has launched its very own social media platform – Metrotwin. The online community links those from 'the two greatest cities in the world' - London and New York, and represents one of the most significant drives into social media by a big brand.

The network allows users to provide recommendations of the best places to go and things to do in both cities whilst also helping users navigate the vast amount of online information on the two cities. Echoing Facebook, Metrotwin lets users create profiles, follow others and review and rate different aspects of London and New York.

This use of social networking signals a trend whereby content is becoming more niche and personalised. Where once an individual, group or brand might set up a page or group on a networking site, perhaps our demands and experiences are such that we now want to be able to create an entire platform to establish a unique, personal and relevant social network.

The pet...2.0

Remington has this week launched the ‘digital pet man’ – a downloadable widget housing a ‘hunk’ who will strip for you on demand in between working out, cleaning up and showering you with compliments. In the interests of equality at this stage I have to mention a similar widget launched by The Sun a few months back whereby you could download the star of page 3, Miss Keeley Hazell, to your desktop. Racking up over 10,000 downloads in its first four days this proved a major coo for the tabloid paper.




So will Remington be able to replicate this popularity with their application and nuzzle their latest product offering on to the desktops of thousands of women? Judging by the reaction from some of the girls in the office, it seems likely!

A Pru-dent move?

There was an interesting piece of experiential marketing outside the Mantra offices today which proved a talking point in the office. The bus stop on Tottenham Court Road had been taken over by Pru Health and turned into a kind of fruit vending machine. One of the advertising boards had been filled with oranges with a gap at the bottom for passers by to take advantage of the free fruit on offer.



Ever keen for a freebie, there was a buzz of people around it at lunchtime so it seems that Pru Health was on to a winner.

Walking on water

EA Games proved itself to have a great sense of humour this week as it responded to a YouTube video poking fun at their latest Tiger Woods game. Discovering that Tiger Woods could actually walk on water in the game, Levinator 25 posted a video on YouTube to share this embarrassing flaw with the world. But rather than trying to mend the damage and take an apologetic tone, EA gave as good as they got and turned the situation to their advantage by posting a brilliant video of the real Tiger Woods walking on water as testament to his uber talent.



Cue EA grabbing a raft of positive attention to their latest offering - an amusing example of a brand paying more than just lip service to the world of digital media.

Friends in high places

There is often a perception that not all brands need to pay attention to social media as a brand building tool. Some brands just do not fit with the social media audience. But is this really still true? This week Cartier, one of the world’s most exclusive jewellery brands, published its very own MySpace page. An interesting move from a brand which few would ever associate with the MySpace generation. So is this a sign of a brand jumping on the band wagon or should we instead view this as a brave and clever move which will reach out to an untapped and lucrative market?

Some of the guys from Mantra were out mingling at the Moo summer party last night. Held at The Vibe Bar in Brick Lane, the jam packed party saw the who’s who of Web 2.0 and digital media schmoozing (and enjoying a few free drinks!). So a big thank you to the guys at Moo Towers for a fun, hot and sticker filled evening - bring on the next one! ;)

Pics galore here