CT Moore is an old friend and colleague of mine – who also happens to be a fun and engaging  speaker – so I thought I’d pass on his presentation. The topic of his presentation was Cloudvertising: Social Media and the Future of Online Advertising, and it explored how social media will shape the way that online ads and marketing campaigns will be targeted.

This is the Ustream recording of the appearance, with the Powerpoint presentation below.

Step 1: You ask to cancel your account.
MySpace has an easy to access Cancel Account button right in your settings. This looks easy enough.

Step 2: Are you sure?
The guilt begins. Are you sure you want to leave? MySpace essentially asks “what did I do wrong?”

Step 3: Are you really sure?
MySpace gets defensive, and turns the blame for this failed relationship on you: “Maybe you’d enjoy MySpace if you had any friends, loser. Do you even know how to add them?”

Step 4: Are you really, really, really sure?
Reiteration that it’s your fault you’re not enjoying their service, reiteration that you’re an asshole for leaving them, a comment box (so you can apologize?) and a disclaimer that this process may never end.

Step 5: Please don’t leave us
An official notice that this process may never be over, and a disclaimer that you’ll need to look for future clues in this treasure hunt for deactivation.

Step 6: Hide and Seek
MySpace sends you an email, which most likely gets caught in your spam filter, junkmail folder, or is automatically labelled hazardous by your anti-virus. If you’re lucky enough to find the email, you can take the next step towards requesting deactivation.

Step 7: Excuses and Apologies
If you make it to this step, MySpace takes a stab at explaining why they put you through this whole process. It goes something like this: “It’s about security. It’s about safety. I’m full of shit, please don’t leave me.”

Step 8: Congratulations, you have now been authorized to deactivate your MySpace account.
Don’t get ahead of yourself – this doesn’t mean the account is gone. Nope, all this means is that, if you’re lucky, your request will now be passed on to someone at MySpace who actually has the authority to do this.

Today Barak Obama will be sworn in as 44th President of the United States, but to say this is just an American event would be silly.  This election has inspired hope in the hearts and minds of people across the world – not just the United States.  As a result, this inauguration watched on television by a global audience of millions, and will also be the first inauguration to be shared over the global social media network of communities (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.)

This morning, CNN is broadcasting President-elect Barack Obama becoming the next President of the United States in a joint effort with Facebook. Clicking on the CNN live application brings the user to a CNN/Facebook hybrid type page that allows you to update your own Facebook status and see status updates from your friends, while simultaneously watching the inauguration. While I could stream the inauguration on another web channel, there’s something great about being able to be watching “with” your friends, even if it’s remotely. If you’re at work today, like I am, you can schedule your lunch for 11:30am – that’s when the swearing-in ceremony takes place, followed immediately by Obama’s inauguration address.

My friend Le refers to Obama’s welcome to DC concert as “The Grammy’s,” and she’s not entirely wrong.  This is being treated like a celebrity event, complete with coverage, hoopla and sharing across media channels. Not unlike Kennedy and his Rat Pack, Obama has a whole crew of celebrity supporters (Anyone remember Brother-in-Lawford?)

I’ll leave you with a fun Obama related slip. Did anyone else see Jill Biden’s “oops” moment on Oprah?  It went something like this: “Well, Joe was given the choice between being Vice President or Secretary of State…” before she saw the looks coming from both her husband, Oprah, and the entire live audience.  It was pretty awesome.
Happy Inauguration Day!