New web app aggregates your entire web presence

A new online service called Gist enables you to explore the far reaches of the internet and aggregate everything a person has published under their name, be it a social network profile, a Twitter feed, a blog, or a rant on a message board, into one place.

Gist has placed the increased importance on the need for ‘impression management’ in an era where any amount of personal information is available to anyone with Google at their fingertips, and essentially the web application follows a subject’s entire net personality trail and maps it out for you.

Although the programme may sound a little too Big Brother, and could attract the unsavoury types, the lesson to individuals and brands is clear: what goes online – a place once considered far removed from reality – is increasingly being used to make or break brands and their reputations. Ultimately, in today’s world, a professional online presence is just as important as a real-life one.

Social networks alter minds of young people

Neuroscientist Baroness Greenfield has stated that social networks are altering the minds of a generation of young people.

The comments were made during a House of Lords debate around social networking.

Greenfield said that while the government was looking into issues around online child safety and privacy, the issue of how sites such as MySpace and Bebo were changing young people's minds had not yet been addressed.

One of the concerns about a generation growing up on social networks is that their minds would be “infantilized”, meaning they would suffer with short attention spans, sensationalism and an inability to empathise.

Those growing up online would also end up questioning their sense of identity as sites encourage them to build personal profiles, and that the government would not be able to accurately regulate social media without first understanding if, and how, they were 'threatening' young minds.

Computer Tan website fools thousands into seeing the dangers of skin cancer

A fake company called ComputerTan is offering people the chance to get regular top-up tans from the comfort of their office desk using "a revolutionary new technology".

The ComputerTan.com website contains an infomercial film fronted by fictional ComputerTan spokeswoman Hannah Yasmin, who tells her audience how they can look "Tan-tastic" and offers a free trial of the service.

The site allows people to switch on what they expect to be a free tanning session but once the screen has converted to an array of UV bulbs users are confronted with shocking images and facts about skin cancer as well as a link to Skcin's website for more information.

The campaign is designed to raise awareness and engage those most at risk of developing skin cancer in a humorous way and is using a mix of online, print, outdoor ads, street leafleting, PR and digital seeding to reach those most difficult to talk to via conventional advertising.

The 20 second ad is also running on CBS Outdoor's digital network on the London Underground which reaches 1.7m commuters a day in London.

Skcin also managed to persuade influential bloggers to join in the hoax, and together with online seeding of the film on hundreds of sites, managed to generate in excess of 8,000 references to the campaign on Google in the first day of activity alone.

The charity hoped that the media would play along with the hoax, but last week The Sun carried a story explaining it was a hoax, and who was behind it.

Kia increase digital spend by 50%

Kia Motors is apparently planning to increase its digital spend by 50% in a bid to boost its brand awareness and position in the UK.

The Korean car manufacturer, and top-five international car brand, is looking to increase its digital marketing budget to account for around 25% of its overall spend in the hope of replicating its dominance within the UK.

Kia will also launch a new site in March to grow customer interaction post-purchase.

Kia's increased digital investment isn't however being replicated by rival car manufacturers.

Ford, which has recently launched portals for its Fiesta and Ka brands state its budgets were being cut and that there are no plans to increase digital's share, which is assigned on a campaign-by-campaign basis.

BMW, which hasn't yet cut marketing budgets, is however keen to maintain consistent cross-channel spend, confirming that goals define which is the right channel for the job.

Agent Provocateur embraces social media

Lingerie brand Agent Provocateur has launched an online social media campaign to promote its Hello Agent Provocateur blog using Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr.

HelloAgentProvocateur.com includes blog posts, updates and news revolving around relationships, romance, men and women, as well as Agent Provocateur promotional work.

Reviews of the latest romantic films, results of romance-themed surveys, and the history of the bra are all included in regular updates which also allow readers to comment.

Originating in the US, the website's launch coincides with the steamy new ad campaign with the slogan ‘Love me tender… or else!' designed to remind men to remember Valentine's Day. Agent Provocateur, in association with private equity house 3i, is also hosting a men-only party inviting London's bankers to a preview of the lingerie brand's latest lines over drinks and canapés.

Alfa Romeo focuses online for MiTo launch

Alfa Romeo has just launched an interesting multi-million-pound integrated campaign for its new MiTo model which uses digital as the lead channel to capture the audience in a prolonged and engaging way.

Positioned as a high-end yet affordable car, and targeting the 20-34-year-old audience, the campaign for the brand's first super-mini model puts an online game at the centre of its marketing drive.

Apparently Alfa Romeo allocated 40% of its budget to online in order to promote the car, creating a rally game which has separate racing levels split across ten sites, including MSN, Top Gear and GQ.

The game, which you can join at a central hub at mymitorally.co.uk, will last until June, and encourages players to visit all the sites on which the game is seeded to beat the scores of other players. Players can win prizes including Nintendo Wiis and iPods, with the overall champion winning an Alfa Romeo MiTo.

The MiTo campaign also includes a mobile site, with gamers able to receive mobile alerts about their progress.

The game is supported by its first ever affiliate marketing activity, a high-profile branding campaign including TV, print and radio spots, which all push consumers online.

Mobile phone scheme aims to eradicate tuberculosis

An incentive scheme for TB patients, which rewards people for taking their medicine, has been developed by students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Tuberculosis kills millions of people every year despite the fact that effective treatment exists, and the scheme was borne out of the challenge simply to get patients to take their medicine.

Called X Out TB, the scheme makes use of an indicator stick that can test for the presence of TB medicine in urine. If it tests positive, it reveals a code that the user can redeem for free mobile phone credit. Field tests have been carried out in Nicaragua, Pakistan and Indonesia.

X Out TB could be a breakthrough in monitoring patients in developing countries, who may not have easy access to medical centres. Importantly, the plan is a clear-cut incentive-based scheme that harnesses the power of popular technology – the mobile phone. With such simple encouragement, X Out TB puts forth a strong attempt to make sure sufferers take care into their own hands.

Art goes digital

The finest details, usually unnoticeable to the human eye, are being picked out of paintings in a new online museum in Google Earth, using the best of the web to enhance a typically offline experience.

The paintings being shown online are from the Prado museum in Madrid, and with the use of Google Earth technology, viewers can zoom in on the small, easily missed parts of some the most famous paintings from the gallery.

First interactive TV show for mobile phones

TV has just got more interactive with the launch of a new drama called Thmbnls created exclusively for mobile phones.

The shows, which will be broadcast on mobile networks, will allow viewers to use text messaging to send in their opinions and ultimately shape the course of the plot throughout the series, meaning viewers can personally interact with the characters and the issues they’re facing in a way that’s not been achieved before.

In our highly connected world, with an always-on work ethic, the New Millennial generation is starting to see these tools as providing a resource for their everyday entertainment.

Google Earth 5.0 – Oceans, Time-lapse, and Mars!

Google has launched a new version of Google Earth which allows users to explore the oceans, track historical changes over time, create their own earth-tours, and explore the planet Mars.

Google teamed up with scientists from National Geographic, the US Navy and several other oceanographic associations to create the new ocean function which allows users to explore an interactive 3D map of the ocean floor, complete with thousands of data points containing videos and images of ocean life.

Google Earth 5.0 also displays satellite images of locations over a specific expanse of time, from years to decades. For example, you can look back over the last decade and see the melting of the glaciers image by image.

Google Earth's new Touring application allows users to create a shareable, narrated, fly-through tour by using a record button.

Also announced was the 3D Mars application, which was created in conjunction with Nasa. Users can explore the red planet, read geo-located excerpts about different locations, or observe where various Mars Rovers and Landers have touched down.

MSN Mobile launches music download service

Microsoft has launched a music download service on MSN Mobile which allows users with internet-enabled phones to purchase and download music via their mobile.

The new service is available across all UK network operators and boasts a catalogue of up to one million tracks, 25,000 Realtones and 10,000 Music Videos from record labels such as Sony Music and Warner Music.

Users can purchase full tracks for £1.50 via the PayForIt billing framework; appearing on the user's monthly bill for post-pay contracts, or debited directly from pre-pay mobile plans.

Consumers enter www.msn.co.uk into their phone internet browser and select the music service from the menu, or alternatively text MSN to 63463 to recieve a link to the service.

Twitter used for global fundraising events

Continuing on the topic of Twitter, users around the world are using the micro-blogging website to organise special fundraising events, dubbed “Twestivals”, to raise money for charity.

The events, or "tweet-ups”, will be held on 12th February 2009 and will raise money to support charity: water, a not-for-profit agency aimed at bringing clean drinking water to people in developing nations.

The individual Twestivals are being organised by volunteers and 100% of the proceeds goes directly towards the charity.

The first Twestival was held in London in 2008, and social tweet-ups like this are a great way for people to meet the faces behind the avatars while raising money for a good cause. There are over 100 cities officially signed for the event across Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

This years London Twestival has over 400 followers, and separate spill-over events are being planned for those unable to get a ticket.

Twitter users can go to the Twestival website to find an event in their city, and can also follow @twestival for regular updates.

Twitter traffic increases 974%

Traffic to Twitter has increased by 974% year on year, according to Hitwise UK.

The micro-blogging social network was ranked as the 291st most-visited website in the week ending 17 January 2009, while a year ago it ranked 2,953rd.

The amount of traffic Twitter sends to other websites has increased 30-fold over the last 12 months. Some 17.6% of traffic goes to entertainment websites, 14.6% to social networks, and nearly 10% to news and media websites. Just 6.6% of traffic goes to blogs and 4.5% to online retailers.

Twitter is one of the fastest growing sites in the UK and if anything, the service is even more popular than the numbers imply as Hitwise only measures traffic to the main Twitter site. If people access their Twitter accounts via mobile phones and third-party applications (such as Twitterrific, Twitterfeed and Tweetdeck), the numbers could be even higher!

Facebook blocks Burger King's Whooper Sacrifice campaign

Burger King has dropped its Whopper Sacrifice campaign on Facebook after the social networking site demanded it be altered, citing a violation of its privacy policy.

The promotion, which Burger King launched a few weeks back, rewarded Facebook users with a free Whopper coupon if they dumped 10 Facebook friends.

A total of 233,906 Facebook users found themselves "de-friended" in the name of a Whooper before Facebook requested the application by changed. Usually when a friend is removed on Facebook, no announcement is made, however the Whopper Sacrifice application created an update to inform the deleted friend that they had been "sacrificed for a free Whopper".

Facebook objected to the de-friending notification on the grounds that it would disrupt users' privacy expectations.

Facebook stated that although they encourage creativity from brands and developers they had to ensure that applications follow users' expectations of privacy, and that this application facilitated activity that ran counter to user privacy by notifying people when a user removes a friend.

Facebook did approach Burger King with some suggested solutions, but Burger King decided to pull the campaign rather than continue the application with restrictions.

The Whopper Sacrifice website now reads: "Whopper Sacrifice has been sacrificed."