The Official Fluid Blog

The social inspiration and curation market is on fire in digital. The land grab for market share and consumer pins, posts, hearts, bookmarks and nails is obviously on.

Pinterest remains the marshall of this parade. This has not changed since my last Pinterest post. The one where I said stop reading about Pinterest and start playing with it – but bear with me. I like what I’ve seen this week.

Noteworthy parade participants:

- Juxtapost: 52 days in operation. 50K images bookmarked. They are hot on the heels of the lead dog.
- Little Monsters: It’s Lady Gaga. Her touch is social gold. And she loves a parade.
- We heart it: Around since 2008, this serious contender draws more than folks who dot their “i”s like Junior High girls.

Remember the race last year to optimize men’s style and fashion (Mr. Porter, Gilt Man and CLAD)? The men have officially entered the social inspiration arena. Notably Gentlemint, Fancy and Manteresting. Note: Items are “nailed” on Manteresting, not “pinned.” Put those pins away.

For the record, pinning used to be how a sweaty man in a singlet won a wrestling match.

(more…)

The SoDA Report: 2012 Has Been Released !
Download the publication here: http://bit.ly/AmGSqf

Fluid’s Craftsman TORQUE case study is featured on page 87 of The SoDA Report.

For the fourth year in a row, SoDA has compiled the thoughts and opinions of ≈700 marketers, agencies, technologists and digital industry insiders. Dozens of SoDA member companies have contributed thought-provoking articles and case studies to The SoDA Report (formerly known as the Digital Marketing Outlook). A broad array of guest contributors, CMOs and other senior-level digital marketers from a wide array of organizations (i.e., L’Oreal, Adobe, Google, Compete, E*Trade, Bloomberg and Samsung, among many other blue-chip brands) also provided their insights.  The result: an invaluable planning resource for marketers and agencies in 2012. SoDA is releasing the publication in its traditional format today, and a tablet edition will be released in early March.  SoDA will also be publishing smaller quarterly updates to The SoDA Report over the course of 2012.

Download the publication here: http://bit.ly/AmGSqf

Like a designer loving, unique style finding, in-the-know fashionista who ends up in a room full of people dressed just like her, I delve into writing about Pinterest. I almost feel silly. What can I say that hasn’t been said by the volume of articles flooding my in-box and social media?

I made a Pinterest board to show a sample deluge of articles from the last two weeks. This doesn’t include tweets or Facebook posts:

For the record, my favorite one is Bianca Bosker’s The Secret of Pinterest’s Success: We’re Sick Of Each Other.

The whole digital industry is running to catch-up with a high school friend who lives in Minnesota and discovered Pinterest first. She’s busy making bird nests out of cut string with her kids (found on a How to Make or Grow board) while we all try to figure out when she got so cool.

(more…)

In 1997 I worked on a March to Conquer Cancer. Modeled after Earth Day, it aimed to increase funding for cancer research through the power of grassroots coalitions. Well funded, the kick-off involved full page ads in the Washington Post and The New York Times with a phone number call to action. On the other end of those phone calls? A small team figuring out how to organize a movement on the fly – without the full benefit of digital.

It was fantastic. And frightening. And fulfilling. All at once.

SOPA, Komen and Planned Parenthood scrolling on my Facebook wall, have me thinking about that project. I still spend my days figuring out how to get people to take action – but now that action centers around interaction, engagement and conversion on behalf of consumers and retailers. A social movement still moves me – especially when it uses the uniqueness of digital to compel action.

Specifically, the reaction to SOPA reminded me of the power of the medium in which we work – and the power of people who purposefully engage with it.

Frankly, it fired me up.

(more…)