05 Dec MINI Smartphone Game, Starbucks, Walmart Shopycat, GCHQ Hackers | Topics That Are Igniting
MINI Campaign Has Smartphone Users Play Cat & Mouse Game To Win Car
Starting last Friday and running over the course of nine days, smartphone users in Tokyo will be able to hunt for and catch a virtual MINI coupe. The contest comes from agency JvM who did a similar campaign last year in Stockholm. A virtual MINI was placed somewhere in Tokyo. Whoever captures it first has to run as fast as they can to stay away from other players. If another smartphone user gets within a 50-meter radius of the person who has the MINI, the app prompts them to ‘steal’ it. Whoever is holding onto the MINI as the end of the competition wins the car.
Social Media Users Love Starbucks More Than Any Other Coffee Chain
According to a new report from social media analytics firm Amplicate, social media users were very positive about US coffee chains. Starbucks was the most loved coffee chain on social media with 89% of opinions expressing enthusiasm for the Seattle-based coffee giant. The data also reveals that fans of coffee chains were not only more vocal than major coffee chains’ detractors but their opinions carried more weight. The average fan of coffee chains has 573 friends or followers on social media, while the average detractor has only 402.
Walmart’s Shopycat Uses Facebook to Recommend Gifts
Walmart recently launched Shopycat, a new Facebook application that recommends gifts based on information your friends have shared about their interests. Shopycat matches users’ interests to a catalog that includes products from Walmart.com and other sites including Barnes & Noble and gifts store RedEnvelope. It’s the first social shopping app from Walmart’s recently-formed @WalmartLabs unit, which was created after its acquisition of Kosmix. The lab repurposed the social media technology platform created by Kosmix that filters and organizes content in social networks in a manner relevant to users.
GCHQ Aims to Recruit Computer Hackers with Code-Cracking Website
A new ad campaign from UK government intelligence service GCHQ is aiming to attract the next generation of web-savvy spies. Its new an ad campaign challenges computer hackers to crack a code to get an interview. GCHQ, which reports to the British Foreign Secretary and works with MI5 and MI6, has set up a website that is home to a tricky visual code. The agency is drumming up interest in the code by seeding a message into social media, such as blogs and forums, that people with an interest in hacking might frequent. GCHQ usually hires its cyber specialists straight from college. However, the organization admits that with the fast-moving world of computer technology, it needs to tap the ranks of “self-taught” hackers as well.
