Over four years, Archer and Jockers fed 5,000 fiction titles published over the last 30 years into computers and trained them to “read”—to determine where sentences begin and end, to identify parts of speech, to map out plots. They then used so-called machine classification algorithms to isolate the features most common in bestsellers. READ MORE: Algorithms Could Save Book Publishing—But Ruin Novels | WIRED
Tag Archives: marketing
In #Sweden, McDonald’s Happy Meals come with #VR goggles | engadget #virtualreality #tech #gadgets #promotions #marketing
Swedish kids (and adults) can get a toy much sweeter than Barbies and Hot Wheels with their Happy Meals this month. Over the weekends of March 5th and March 12th, 14 McDonald’s outlets in Sweden are bundling real, working virtual reality headsets with their Happy Meal boxes. In fact, the boxes themselves were designed to transform into “Happy Goggles.” You just have to cut on the dotted line, fold it a bit, slip in the goggles and your phone to get something similar to Google Cardboard. READ MORE: In Sweden, McDonald’s Happy Meals come with VR goggles | engadget
5 Lessons #Library #Websites Can Learn from @Buzzfeed | Weave #digital #content #marketing #webdesign #socialmedia #user #engagement #UX
Since its 2006 launch, Buzzfeed has become an Internet institution by recognizing and capitalizing on the insatiable life-cycle of viral media. The idea behind the website is relatively simple: bring together trending content (e.g., news, celebrity gossip, entertainment, quizzes) from around the web and organize it into a format that is short and eye-catching…
…Buzzfeed’s business model relies on shareability, something it has in common with today’s library, which is why library website designers have the opportunity to learn from Buzzfeed’s overwhelming success. Here are the top lessons library website designers can learn from Buzzfeed… READ MORE: 5 Lessons Library Websites Can Learn from Buzzfeed | Weave
The Only Metric That Matters For #Content #Marketing | TechCrunch #digital #metrics #engagement
At Pixable, we — like almost every digital property — are in the eyeball game. We are one of thousands of media companies competing for attention, and, in our case, we seek the attention of young, highly social readers with seemingly infinite interests. It goes without saying that attention grabbing begins with a catchy headline (in fact, we tested three headlines for this article alone), but the real challenge is this: After getting the audience’s attention, how do you keep it? READ: The Only Metric That Matters For Content Marketing | TechCrunch
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5 Effective Ways to Market to #Millennials | Mashable #marketing #branding
As a baby boomer, I’ve seen media trends come and go, and the millennial generation has presented entirely new challenges to the field of marketing. But, I’ve spent much of my career figuring out how to sell products to different types of people, and with age comes the knowledge and attitude not to be put off by something new.
There is no question that marketing is changing — newspaper advertisements, television commercials and direct mail don’t have the influence they once had. Millennials have changed all that, collectively drawing marketers’ focus toward online and mobile marketing.
Paradoxically known for both brand loyalty and short attention spans, millennials are truly unique. Here are five ways marketers can reach them and be heard. READ MORE: 5 effective ways to market to millennials | Mashable
43 #Free Career-Advancing #Courses You Can Take (And Actually Finish) This Summer | Mashable #skills #education #MOOCs
Yes, summer is the perfect time to relax and recharge. But, it’s also the perfect time to pick up a few new skills. Put that relaxed brain (and work schedule) to good use! How accomplished would you feel if, when September rolls around, you could open up your resume and add another skill to it? Very, we’re guessing.
Before you start stressing, know that we’re not asking you to sacrifice your summer nights to a droning professor. Instead, we’re suggesting devoting a few hours every week to advancing your career with an online class. (Online equals your couch and your sweats and an optional glass of wine.)
To make the process easier for you, we did two things. One, we only chose classes you can complete in less than 10 weeks (with some that can be completed in an hour). Two, we hand-curated this list to ensure it’s only courses that are valuable and interesting. The best part? All of them are free. So, without further ado, here are 43 classes you can sign up for today.
READ MORE: 43 free career-advancing courses you can take (and actually finish) this summer | Mashable
What Emotion-Reading #Computers Are Learning About Us | Fast Company #emotionalintelligence
https://embed-ssl.ted.com/talks/rana_el_kaliouby_this_app_knows_how_you_feel_from_the_look_on_your_face.html
Rana el Kaliouby, a Cambridge- and MIT-trained scientist and leader in facial-recognition technology, is concerned about how computers are affecting the emotional lives of her two small children.
There is much research that suggests that emotional intelligence develops from social interactions, yet children are increasingly spending their days in front of computers, tablets, and smartphones. Today, children under the age of eight spend on average two full hours a day in front of screens. El Kaliouby is deeply concerned about what happens when children grow up around technology that does not express emotion and cannot read our emotion. Does that cause us, in turn, to stop expressing emotion?
The answer, according to recent research, is yes. A University of California-Los Angeles study last year found that children who had regular access to phones, televisions, and computers were significantly worse at reading human emotions than those who went five days without exposure to technology.
But El Kaliouby does not believe the solution lies in ridding the world of technology. Instead, she believes we should be working to make computers more emotionally intelligent.
READ MORE: What Emotion-Reading Computers Are Learning About Us | Fast Company | Business + Innovation
The Problem With The Color Blue | Co.Design #business #branding
Blue may seem like a safe bet for a brand’s identity. The data suggests otherwise…There is plenty of psychological research on reactions to blue and other colors, but to evaluate the strategy of choosing blue for a brand, we wanted to measure how blue actually performs, to examine how it measures up against other colors in competitive environments. After all, brands have to compete—they have to work against the idea of sameness and command a premium. So we looked at the comparative performance of blue and other colors in several real-life contexts
READ MORE: The Problem With The Color Blue | Co.Design | business + design
These Female #Writers Want To Stop “Chick Lit” Being Used To Describe Work By #Women | BuzzFeed #books #diversity #genderequality
Bestselling novelist Marian Keyes recently called the term “chick lit” derogatory, and now other female writers are expressing how much they dislike the term. READ MORE: These Female Writers Want To Stop “Chick Lit” Being Used To Describe Work By Women | BuzzFeed
44 Social Media Tools Recommended by the Pros | Social Media Examiner #socialmedia
Are you looking for ways to enhance your social media marketing? Do you want new tools to simplify your marketing tasks? We asked a group of social media pros for the hottest social media tools they use today. Check out these social media tools to see if they’re a good fit for you! READ MORE: 44 Social Media Tools Recommended by the Pros | Social Media Examiner
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