Even More Media, Social Style

July 27, 2010 | Written by Dave Cannon

Facebook and Ford

Ford has made some significant design changes to its signature Explorer, so the brand decided to do something equally fresh to unveil the 2011 model. Ford simulated a daylong auto show experience on the Explorer’s own Facebook page, creating a “Reveal” tab to house a number of videos and chats about the new vehicle.

Make no mistake – this isn’t your ordinary campaign. The unveiling doesn’t have a real-world counterpart, so the entire event is happening digitally and socially. There’s even a sweepstakes component, where one lucky fan of the page will win a 2011 Explorer.

The Explorer won’t hit the road for a few months, so there is some concern the campaign is a little premature. Regardless, Ford deserves credit for taking a big risk and diving head first into the social media game.

Ready, Set, Groupon!

One of the biggest challenges facing independent filmmakers is how to convince theaters to screen their films. Without any guarantee of ticket sales, which few indie films offer, theaters are more inclined to dedicate screens to more popular flicks.

Enter the Groupon strategy. The creators of a new film, Ready, Set, Bag! use Groupon’s group discount model to solve multiple problems at once. By featuring a movie screening as one of Groupon’s daily deals, filmmakers can promote a film while simultaneously guaranteeing a minimum attendance number to theaters.

Ready, Set Bag! is a documentary about a national grocery bagging competition. And yes, it is exactly what you think it is. Instead of explaining, I’ll leave you with the trailer below.

India’s Fabled Tablet

Last week, India’s Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal revealed a prototype for a $35 tablet, now hailed as the world’s cheapest computer. The tablet will run on Linux, and appears to have video and wireless capabilities. Sibal announced the tablet as an “answer to MIT’s $100 computer,” which is in the works in collaboration with the One Laptop per Child Program.

In theory, the computer could be used for educational purposes in countries without access to comparable technology. Although $35 is still too expensive for some institutions, government subsidies could bring the price within an affordable range.

Behind the patina of optimism, India’s announcement has been met with reasonable scrutiny. Wired and Computerworld cite concerns about questionable math, media hype and political opportunism.

Personal Plug

This weekend, I took a trip to the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum to see the Why Design Now? and Doodle for Google exhibits. You can read about them here, so I won’t go into detail, but I’ll give you the key takeaway: the future is now.

My favorite idea? A solar lawn umbrella that provides shade during the day and soft lighting at night. If you have the time, I highly recommend a visit. It also might be your only chance to see Twitter in a museum.

Extra Bits

• Mashable’s Pete Cashmore provides commentary on Facebook’s amusing but unlikely “Dislike” button
• VH1 is jumping on the foursquare bandwagon (get it?), featuring the service in its ads to drive adoption
• Mobile location-based game SCVNGR is being used to promote the upcoming book-inspired film Eat, Pray, Love
• Google Maps on Android phones just got even cooler. Check it out here

More from RFI Studios

• The Dark Side of Social Media
• Why Social Media monitoring is important – Left Brain
• Show Me the Money
• The Dilemma of (Client Side) Social Media Evangelists – Left Brain
• The Union of Search, Social and Mobile – Left Brain