E-Commerce Sites Primed to Break Sales Records During this Holiday Season.

   During this holiday season, especially Black Friday and Cyber Monday, e-Commerce sites are set to break records in sales. According to Rebecca Borison, writer on TheStreet, researchers at Forrester expects online holiday shopping to exceed $95 billion this year.

   While some companies like Amazon are staying quiet during promotions this season, other companies like Ebay are ramping up promotions bigger than they did before. But, according to Jim Cramer, another writer on TheStreet, he believes with all the hype Ebay is having - that Amazon is going to steal the show this year. This is due to their strong business model and patented 1-click purchasing option.

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, e-commerce makes up 7.4% total retail sales for the year but that number is constantly growing (up .2% from the previous quarter). Rebecca Borison explains the reason for this is due to the increase in smart phone use. Now, shoppers don't have to be present for the time-crunching deals. They can still be involved in the promotion while not being present.

   This topic tackles another one of the four zones in online communities - social commerce. Amazon and Ebay expects to see a boost in ratings and reviews this holiday season due to the increase in online purchases. In essence, this holiday season can set the tone for new products entering the market. Word of mouse spreads like wildfire, especially during the holiday season. In essence, if a company (or sellers) experiences a high number of positive reviews this season - it can be a fantastic base to start off with entering the new year. These reviews can act as social proof that the seller is legit, making buyers more confident in making the decision to buy.

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http://www.thestreet.com/story/13366693/1/e-commerce-sales-are-set-to-hit-new-records-on-cyber-monday-and-black-friday.html?puc=TSMKTWATCH&cm_ven=TSMKTWATCH

ooVoo now Allows Users to Video Chat as 3D Characters!

   Let's talk about a once rapid growing social media tool now gone stagnant - ooVoo. Remember when Skype and Face Time came along and video chats where the next big thing? Well, ooVoo was in that mix and became very popular amongst young adults who didn't have an iPhone or Skype account.

   Before I get into the latest news on ooVoo, lets shed some light on the company for those who don't know. ooVoo is a video calling tool that allows users to communicate via video on cell phones that don't have the Face Time feature. Think of ooVoo as the more fun way to video chat that Skype doesn't offer. People with Androids and Windows Phones can now enjoy the same benefits as Face Time while now being able to make it more interactive.

   ooVoo has now enabled users to choose the option of becoming a character on the screen instead of their normal selves. With this option, users can choose to become a dog, unicorn, sunflower, or even Obama! There are also other options to choose from as well. Here's the fun part: These 3D characters communicate the same way you do! So if you are sad, the character looks sad and speaks (with lips moving) the same way you do. If you are mad, the character looks the same way. This cool new feature allows users to brighten up the mood and make conversations fun again.

   With this update, ooVoo expects its user base to grow by strengthening its levels of participation.

   This news update really digs deep into the first of the four zones of online communities, which is social community. This app allows users to use directed communication in a cool, new, and truly innovative way. This is one of the first instances that the social media realm has used face recognition on 3D characters as a way to communicate. While video calling may be the new "standard" of social media moving forward, ooVoo plans to take it to the next level.

Follow more on this story with this link:

http://androidcommunity.com/oovoo-adds-animated-3d-characters-to-mobile-video-calls-20151106/

Pinterest Catching up with Twitter in Total Active Users

   Who would have thought Pinterest would get this big - catching up with Twitter, part of the three headed monster dominating social media use (Facebook and Instagram the other two). Compared to Twitter's 304 million active monthly users, Pinterest is reaching 100 million active users for the first time. As we all know with social media, if Pinterest catches fire it can reach Twitter in active users within months.
   Pinterest is a content sharing social media tool that allows users to share what they find online to their followers. This can be in the form of news, promotions, coupons, cool tips, and anything else imaginable. When a user pins an item of interest, followers can click on those pins and be directed to the same cool reason why the user pinned it in the first place. This is a great social media tool for marketers because it opens the door for the opportunity of earned media in its products. Earned media is the promotion of a product without the company having to pay or direct the advertising. An example of this with Pinterest is a user pinning a sale promotion at Macy's without Macy's company having influence on the pin. Macy's sale promotion "earned" the pin without having to reach out for promotional help. Macy's just had earned media in this blog post just by me using the company as an example.
   Social media marketers can also use Pinterest to connect with a community of users interested in what's new with the company. Companies can pin online promotions, coupons, and sneak peaks of new products all with a few clicks or touches. If used correctly, loyal fans will spread the word and also post the same pin on their walls for their followers to view. If a consumer as a very active fan base, one pin has the potential to catch wildfire within the active users of Pinterest. Companies can also earn revenue off these pins, due to clicking on the pin of course, without having to pay for the Pinterest account (only those who monitor it). All-in-all, any content sharing social media tool, like Pinterest, can be a big boost in marketing for companies if used effectively.

Follow more on this story with this link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pinterest-monthly-active-users_55fae532e4b08820d917a7b3?utm_hp_ref=pinterest
  

Cell Phone Screen Recording Apps vs Snapchat

   With over 30 million active users, Snapchat boasts a unique social media tool that allows its users to communicate with videos, photos, and text without having to worry about the material being on the internet forever. Users have the option to set their messages to auto-delete between 1 and 10 seconds or 24 hours. After that time span, the messages are gone and no users are capable of digging up those messages again (unless you're Snapchat or the FBI, of course). Hence, the ghost on its logos. This adds a whole new dimension to security that all of the other social media platforms do not have.

Not so fast...

   News just surfaced that App companies have found a way to derail Snapchat's unique privacy software (by having messages delete) in order to allow users to secretively save Snapchat messages forever. According to Damon Beres on Huffington Post Technology, an app called AZ Screen Recorder - No Root allows users to record the activity on their cell phone screens and save it in its memory as a video. This application can be found on the Google Play Store for free. So, all of those ugly selfies and provocative videos can be secretly saved by a slick user on the other end.


   Although the App is not well known, it's out there. I don't believe that this will completely take Snapchat out of business, but if more news surfaces on this topic people may become skeptical. Remember, all content on social media has the potential to become viral. All it takes is one example of how someone used this recording App to be posted on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram in order for the news to leak fast. That will be devastating for Snapchat to bounce back from - even through exhaustive marketing efforts.

   With that said, this news is not meant to scare current or interested Snapchat users, but as a caution to what you post on Snapchat. If used correctly, Snapchat can be a very interesting social media marketing tool.

You can follow this story more on this link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/save-snapchat-video_561e5771e4b028dd7ea5d393