Reddit - The Front Page of the Internet?

Many of you probably know of the popular website known as Reddit. The name comes from combining the words Read and It, who would've known? Myself being a Redditor, I can tell you first hand that the clever name is only the beginning of the clever and interesting things you can find on this domain. Honestly, it's the type of site you can get lost on, being that there are so many random and intriguing "sub-Reddits". For any of your interests (or pretty much anything you can think of), there is probably a sub-Reddit with humorous content and a dedicated community of Redditors interacting on the page. In turn, Reddit has also become a viable social media source of information as users crowd source news, and quickly seek out the proof that deems the news legitimate.

However, the Business Insider published a report this morning pertaining to Reddit's traffic stats from 2013. Author Jim Edwards states that although Reddit saw an 83% increase in traffic in 2013 (up to 731 million unique visitors), the site has dwindled to a much smaller amount of social media sharing traffic. Shareaholic found that Reddit's share of information given to publishers dropped around 36%.

This growth in overall traffic, but decline in shared information can only mean one thing - that Reddit has begun to horde its own information. Publishers are now beginning to "link in" to information from Reddit, whereas Redditors used to do a lot of "linking out" to information found elsewhere online.

For charts, graphs, and more information visit the Shareaholic link posted above. And furthermore, if you are interested, I invite all of you to go check out Reddit for yourselves!

Social Media Greatest Influencers

First of all, I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable New Year's Eve! I'm excited for what 2014 may bring us!

The other day I was browsing my Twitter feed when I stumbled across an article from WSBTV about Georgia's 2013 social media influencers. It's definitely interesting to see which celebrities/Atlanta locals are piling up the most followers, or the creating the most popular content. 

In case you're too lazy to follow the link and see for yourself, the list goes as follows:

1. Jennifer Brett (@AJCBuzz)

2. Paste Magazine (@PasteMagazine)

3. Everything Georgia (@GAFollowers) -- My personal favorite.

4. Clark Howard (@ClarkHoward)

5. Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks)

6. Jovita Moore (@JovitaMoore)

7. Atlanta Events (@ATL_Events)

8. Kim Severson (@KimSeverson)

9. Kasim Reed (@KasimReed)

10. 2 Chainz (@2Chainz)

So if you're from Georgia and enjoy social media, get on your Facebook or Twitter and give these people a follow. You'll be amazed with the kind of information and discussions they create. 

PS. Congrats Jennifer! Keep it up! (This is her Twitter avatar, go follow her!)

World Cup 2014

Last night I was watching ESPN Outside the Lines and an interesting story came on about the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. I've linked ESPN's "topics" page here, as they consistently publish intriguing sports news/stories. Anyways, the story was about the lower and middle classes in Brazil beginning to protest the World Cup. Not because they dislike the sport, but because of the way their government is handling and organizing it. We must remember, Brazil is a relatively new country when it comes to democracy, and in some parts democracy can be hard to find.

The leaders have begun tearing down schools and hospitals just to build parking lots for the bigger stadiums. Teachers have now begun their own protests, and the exponential growth of people involved will eventually cause some kind of a revolution in the streets of Brazil.

There are articles about this everywhere, but here's one I found also related to this issue (article online from Eye Witness News). As protestors fill the streets, crowd control becomes an issue for the government -- which means pepper spray, tear gas, and rubber bullets.

I guess this is the real cost of hosting a World Cup, at least in a somewhat underdeveloped country like Brazil. Although Brazil's culture calls for an ideal World Cup location, the government, transportation, infrastructure, etc. must be in place prior to attempting this type of development. Please share this story, it's important the people in Brazil are heard and that changes come sooner rather than later.

Cristiano Ronaldo - a Business Man?

We all (hopefully) know who international soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is, if not -- check out these highlights. And if you don't really know soccer, just trust me that he's good. Pretty much he's my favorite player and extremely entertaining to watch, so the recent announcement of his attempt to transcend futbol is big news to me.

Being a very fashionable individual, as well as the world's high paid footballer, meant that eventually he would probably try to enter the fashion market. Well, now he finally has... WITH AN UNDERWEAR LINE!! The question now is: will he be able to succeed in the ways David Beckham has? Beckham, an English footballer now residing in the USA, is quite possibly one of the wealthiest and most well known athletes of all time. He has endorsements with everything from watch companies, to car companies and perfumes/underwear lines at H&M. Also, he is now in the early stages of bringing a new MLS franchise to Miami! On the other hand, Ronaldo is often seen as individualistic and selfish, which may lead people to believe he is simply trying to make more money. However, he does play for a big club and is physically appealing, so the odds are in his favor in terms of marketability and reach. The linked article includes some of CR7's endorsements and deals throughout the years if you're interesting in reading more. I just thought this was an interesting development and it would be exciting for all of us to see how it progresses. Will his "selfish, bad boy" demeanor kill his fashion attempt, or will his skills and fans buy into his brand extension?

#MadeInTheATL

Last night I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to volunteer the 2013 AiMA Awards show at the Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta. For those of you who don't know, AiMA is the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association. To say it was a great event would be a huge understatement. I have never had that much fun as a volunteer! It really set my sights on a career in the social/interactive marketing industry, and made me appreciate what these talented groups are doing for the city of Atlanta.

For example--a Nebo representative and fellow UGA graduate named Darien LaBeach introduced me to the Choose ATL campaign that was just recently introduced. The campaign illustrates why we love Atlanta and the reasons to live here, work here, and start-up here. Atlanta has been given a not-so-great reputation for some reason or another, and Nebo is out to fix this and re brand the city as one of America's greats. So remember to use the hashtag #ChooseATL next time you post a picture to Instagram doing something around Atlanta! YOUR picture will become a part of Atlanta's story seen around the world!

Here's a picture of me at the event's photo booth, holding up a Choose ATL sign (please excuse the picture quality).

Back to the event. My day began around 1:00 PM with gift bag distribution and banner hanging. Then we began loading in food from local Atlanta restaurants (P'Cheen, Bone Lick BBQ, and Highland Bakery). My personal favorite of the three was Highland Bakery, but Bone Lick BBQ was awesome too. They brought a whole hog! Here's a picture of me holding its head up.

Another great thing about the event was how they showcased local talent. The DJ, live performer, food, desserts, and even the music during the awards show were ALL from Georgia! I thought this was a fantastic and creative idea. This is what the lobby area looked like while I was running food. (There was also an upstairs VIP area with a balcony overlooking the stage, but I neglected to take a picture of it.)

So, after loading in food and serving Hors d'oeuvres for about two hours (all while they were filling themselves with specialty cocktails from the local mixologists), the show began. AiMA President Steven Roe opened the ceremony, and from there introduced various speakers and gave away various annual awards. It was a lot of fun to watch. Here's my view of the stage.

Following the show came dessert. Highland Bakery provided peanut butter french toast and there were cupcakes, brownies, cookies, and so forth. Last, but certainly not least, they cut the cake. This picture should say it all. I don't think there was a single person there who did not take a picture of this enormous Georgia-themed creation!

All in all, it was a great night and I look forward to more events with AiMA; either as a volunteer or possibly a member!

America's Favorites

This past week I found a couple intriguing articles to share with you guys. They're about America's Favorite BEER, and America's Favorite CITIES! These two topics are very relevant to my interests, and actually could end up meaning a lot to me (I'm in the market to relocate, so the cities list made quite an impression on me).

The beer list from the Business Insider website was published just a few days ago. Blowfish conducted a poll and worked with third-party research firm AMP to get this information. It surveys each of the United States' "favorite" beers. The beers that dominated include: Yuengling, Bud Light, Blue Moon, and Sam Adams, with Blue Moon being the favorite here in Georgia. Sounds about right to me! I could go for a nice Belgian ale with an orange slice right about now... There are a couple other tables/charts created from the study, so be sure to check out the article in the link embedded above.

The favorite cities list I found through the Condé Nast Traveler website, and drew the rankings from the Reader's Choice Awards. I'll highlight Savannah (GA), New Orleans (LA), New York City, and Charleston (SC) as my favorites, but you'll have to check out the website embedded above for the full list. Obviously (and unfortunately) I have not been to half of these cities yet, but would love to one day explore them -- and possibly live in them. This list stuck with me and brought a feeling of excitement looking towards the future. I have long considered leaving Atlanta, and lists like these are eye-opening to the fact that there are thousands of places better than my hometown. So, here's to starting an online job hunt... Wish me luck!

Free Spirits - The Silna Deal

Last night I watched one of ESPN's captivating 30 for 30 episodes; this one being about the St. Louis Spirit and its' owners Ozzie and Daniel Silna. They had created the Spirit ABA basketball organization with aspirations of one day cashing out through the inevitable NBA merger. However, when things did not go as planned, and the NBA did not accept the Spirit into the league (in part because of the irrational behavior of Marvin Barnes), Ozzie and Daniel had their own plans. They asked to be given a small fraction of the NBA's television revenue in perpetuity. At that time no one could imagine how much money would be in television, and how quickly the industry would grow. For some, this was even a bit of a joke. To this day, the Silna's have made over $250 million through the deal. Talk about innovative thinking. This outside of the box proposal has been cited as one of the best business moves ever. Watching this episode really got me thinking - what will be the next industry to explode like this? What new technology is capable of delivering an insane ROI? To be one step ahead of the pack, it is important to consider the bigger picture in ways like these.

Here are 2012 New York Times and Forbes articles for more detailed information. (Including how the deal is becoming even sweeter for the Silna's, as they seek to tap into the international broadcast revenue.)