The BrandForward Blog

Did you miss anything last week? The BrandForward Top 10 Podcast assembles the top stories, video memes, TV spots, and interesting social media developments on the web. Everything is condensed into a news-style podcast, available on iTunes each Monday. To subscribe, search “brandforward” in the iTunes store.

Also included in the podcast are recommended TED talks, books, blog posts, and available white papers. The week’s upcoming tech and social media events are also listed, including the official Twitter hashtags. The podnotes below are filled with links and embedded video to make for easy one-stop access to the week’s most relevant marketing and social media content.

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Podnotes

10. General Motors Puts the Kibosh on “Chevy” Moniker.

9. Las Vegas Review-Journal Suing Bloggers.

8. Pepsi Teams With VC Group & Mashable to Support New Social Media Start-Ups.

7. AOL Changes Direction, Hires Hundreds of Journalists .

6. FTC Investigating Apple on Anti-Trust Allegations.

5. FBI Investigating AT&T iPad Account Breach.

4. The New York Times Bans the Word “Tweet” in News Stories.

3. Foursquare Announces New Rewards and Benefits for Badges.

2. Twitter Expected to Begin Selling Trending Topics.

1. DDB Creates Unique World Cup Reality-TV Promotion for Budweiser.

BrandForward Recommended: Books

Engage: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web by Brian Solis

BrandForward Recommended: TED Talks

“Rory Sutherland: Sweat the Small Stuff”




“John Underkoffler points to the future of UI.”

This Week’s Apps to Watch

Google Goggles
It’s designed to allow users to snap a photo on their smart phone, and Google returns back results that identify the object, including buildings, landmarks, products, and in some cases even bar codes. The image recognition technology is also expected to be released as an API later this year, which means there are most likely a lot of interesting new apps in the works that will leverage that technology.

Topguest
Mashable’s Spark of Genius shows off a new app that lets users simultaneously check in with the top geo-location apps like Foursquare, GoWalla, and Loopt. Its design makes it easier to get credit and rack up points and badges without having to check in with every app. The name of the platform is Topguest. And it has its own loyalty rewards program as well. Mashable says the company will be adding new partnerships with major brands later this year.

Heineken
Heineken just launched a website in Ireland that allows users to design their own six-pack, It’s an application that resembles the NikeID footwear customization website. There’s a number of designs and subdesigns, plus you can add text and a photo. The bottles look pretty cool. The cost for a six-pack is $36 dollars US.

This Week’s Spots to Watch

Kraft “Macaroni and Cheese” from Crispin Porter + Bogusky




Detroit Public Schools from Leo Burnett




Dodge from Wieden+Kennedy

This Week’s Featured Blog Post:

I’d actually intended to feature a new blog post each week, but this time it’s a blog. Amber Naslund @ambercadabra and Tamsen McMahon @tamadear – two leaders in social media have started up a new blog called Brass Tack Thinking. They just launched it about a week ago. Check it out.

BrandForward Recommended: White Papers and Presentations

The Reality of the Working Woman: Her Impact on the Female Target Beyond Consumption
From Ad Age Insights. Free. Available online or in this week’s print edition of Ad Age.

YouTube Memes Worth Watching

Lego Felt Tip Printer

BP Spills Coffee and All Hell Breaks Loose




Social Media Revolution 2

Marketing, Tech, and Social Media Events: Week of June 14-21, 2010

June 14-17: Boston, MA. Enterprise 2.0. #e2conf
June 15-16: Wilmington, DE: Early Stage East. #earlystageeast
June 15-16, NYC: The Corporate Social Media Summit. #csm10
June 17: Washington DC: 140 Conference. #140conf
June 17, NYC: Untethered. #unteth
June 17th, Boston: Seth Godin Live in Boston. #sethbos (Thanks! @katjaib)

To report a news story or event, or to recommend a book, blog, or video for next week, send a tweet to @michelletripp or label your tweet with #brandforward.

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