Starbucks hit social media gold


In the season of giving, Starbucks rolled up their tech sleeves along with (RED) to create a  global sing-along as a part of their continuing efforts to help fight AIDS in Africa. The project is Starbucks Love Project.



At 1:30 pm GMT on December 7th, people from 156 countries joined in the sing-along. You can see the video edited together on the Starbucks site, Starbucks Love Project, YouTube, even their Facebook fan page, which has a caption that reads 'One moment. One song. 156 countries.'

From accross oceans, tribes, languages, cultures, ages and more, people came together to sing one song of love for all to hear, 'Love is all you need.'

This is a project that wouldn't have been possible years ago, and with the assistance of social media, this has become an amazing tool to create AIDS awareness along with brand awareness for (RED) and Starbucks. I can't help but think of how this is such a phenomenal example of how technology can be used for extraordinary things. Starbucks and (RED) didn't just create a montage of clips of people singing. They gathered people from corners of the world, had them huddle around their webcams and sing together. It's a brilliant and unprecedented event, giving us one voice. Taking a Beatles hit 'All you need is love' and running with the event.

I think they not only excelled in the use of the new media, but busted through a roof. Starbucks and (RED) gave consumers what they wanted during the holiday season. This 4 minute video is something that can't help but bring a smile to faces in such an uncertain time. While places are facing political unrest, economic uncertainty and more, people are stopping and sining about love.

Is this really just a video?

Miley Cyrus says aidos to Twitter

That's right, she's leaving the micro blogging site. Cyrus has nearly 2 million followers- or did.

In the rapping video released on YouTube on October 9th, Cyrus stated a few reasons for quiting the site. Mostly it seems to be that she 'started living for moments and living for people' and she's sick of it all.

She's trying to give herself some privacy by announcing on YouTube that she's leaving twitter, admitting that she did get a little obsessed with following Britney.

Watch the rap here:


Congrats Miley, I'm happy that you found an noninvasive way to communicate with your fans about leaving twitter.

As Chris Matyszczyk from CNET said 'I know that you, together with the Twitter hierarchy, will cling on to the fact that one of the world's other great rappers, Kevin Federline, appears to still have a Twitter account'.

The Office's most anticipated episode is influenced

The Office, a popular 30-minute NBC show that airs on Thursdays, had two of the main characters, finally tie the knot. This one hour special is a prime example of how social media can impact entertainment.

**If you are a fan, and haven't watched the episode, don't read below- spoiler alert! **

In the wedding episode, Jim & Pam leave right before the ceremony to be married by a ship's captain in Niagara Falls. They happily return to the church to have the customary ceremony, but the wedding party has another idea. Their characters are 'surprised' to see the wedding party dancing down the isle like the popular wedding video that circulated this past fall:




The Office's interpretation:




This is a prime example of how social media comes full circle. Without this video, what would of happened in this episode? I think it really shows how people's creativity can have a direct influence over today's entertainment. This of course wouldn't of been possible without the technology of YouTube.

One question: is this copyright infringement?