Bigwig advertising executives in expensive suits are probably going to shake their heads and dismiss the idea because it sounds like too much fun. And, to that, I would say you’re exactly right; it is fun. Bam. Now what?

People love fun. They love competition and they love winning. But, more than any of those things, people love rewards. I dare you to tell me you’ve never stood in line at the grocery store behind a customer who is asked if they have a store club card.

Customer: Umm, I have one. I just forgot it at home. Can you look me up?

Cashier: Well, you won’t save anything today so it doesn’t really matter.

Customer: I’M ONLY 5 POINTS AWAY FROM GETTING MY FREE THANKSGIVING TURKEY OK? LOOK UP MY CLUB CARD. NOW.

So if that same woman was told that there is a special promotion today and any customer purchasing Ragu tomato sauce will receive double points on her club card, do you think she’d do it? Of course she would. And you probably would too.

It’s our nature to crave rewards for the things we do. We can’t help but feel like we’re doing The Fresh Grocer a favor by shopping at their store, so of course we expect to be “paid back” for that gesture.

When you think about it, the whole world seems to be based on this idea of gaming. You get a job with a company and maybe you’re told that in 12 months you’ll sit down with your manager and discuss progress. If you get above a 90% on your ratings, you’ll get a bonus. Will you work harder than you would if this conversation never happened? Of course you would. You’re human, aren’t you?

So when brands build social campaigns, it’s probably best that they ask themselves:

What are we doing to motivate our audience?
Why should they feel compelled to ‘like’ this page?
How do we plan to pay them back for being so loyal?

Marketing efforts should mirror real life. Real life is full of rewards and the urge to earn them. The theory, of course, is that all of the money you spend rewarding them will come back around in the end.

The guys at Pizza Hut when I was a kid knew that there was no way we’d collect our free pizza and leave. Of course we’ll order breadsticks and of course my brother didn’t read enough books so we’ll have to pay for his. It was the perfect set-up. And I didn’t feel cheated at all. I read all of those books so that I would get my reward. I did my part and they did theirs.

So, think about your business. Do people have a reason to pursue you? If your answer is no, then maybe it’s time to get thinking about social gaming.

These sugar cookies are a classic recipe, taken out of the oven pleasantly early so that they retain a nice chewy bite. I came up with the vanilla icing recipe when I was a kid and haven’t stopped using it since. The funny part is, I never actually measure out the ingredients so I can’t quite share the recipe if anyone were to ask. It just sort of happens when I’m making it.

What’s the weather like where you are? If it’s anything like the streets of Old City Philadelphia are right now, I wish you warm thoughts and nights filled with blankets, hot chocolate, and a classic Disney movie.

In a way, it’s kind of sad. But it’s just how we are. We crave things instantly and then, before we can even process what we heard, we spread it to the masses. There’s a ton of big wigs out there writing books about our generation of millennials and how we’re tearing society apart by the seams. But you know what I think? I think we’re kind of brilliant. And, in every possible sense of the phrase, we’re changing the world.

So here’s the countdown of the top 11 moments with the highest tweets per second in 2011:

11. Japan Earthquake: 5,530 TPS

On March 11th, during the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and consequent tsunami that swept the coast of Japan, thousands of tweets went out either expressing shock, wishing well, or looking for help.

10. Miami Heat NBA Finals: 5,531 TPS

LeBron James, small forward for the Miami Heat, caused a social media uproar when he tweeted his reaction to the team’s loss in the NBA finals. He announced, “The Greater Man upstairs know when it’s my time. Right now isn’t the time.”

9. #RIPSteveJobs: 6,049 TPS

On October 5th, the world lost a visionary, an innovator and an absolute creative genius. Steve Jobs passed away shortly after resigning from his position as CEO of Apple. #RIPSteveJobs trended worldwide.

8. UEFA Finals: 6,303 TPS

In the final match of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Barcelona won against Manchester United. The final score was 3-1 and Twitter was sure to capture varying reactions.

7. BET Mixup: 6,436 TPS

When contest winner Tiffany Greene had her 15 seconds of fame as the presenter of the BET Viewers’ Choice Award, she probably wasn’t expecting the attention she would get. The teleprompter ahead of her indicated that the winner was Rihanna but the tablet in her hand said Chris Brown. The mix-up made way for some extreme mockery across Twitter.

6. 12am Across the Globe: 6,939 TPS

As midnight struck across the world, “Happy New Year” tweets raced across time zones, starting with Japan. The movement of such a common sentiment is stunning to say the least.

5. Jobs Steps Down: 7,064 TPS

Mere months before the announcement of Apple’s latest craze, the iPhone 4S, the company’s CEO, Steve Jobs, resigned from his position. His letter read, “I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.”

4. [and 3.] FIFA Finals: 7,196 and 7,166 TPS

When the United States faced Japan for the final match in the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Twitter feeds were overflowing with reactions. The same goes for the Paraguay vs. Brazil game, which was also played on July 17th of this year.

2. Davis Controversy: 7,671 TPS

After being sentenced to death for the controversial 1989 murder of an off-duty police officer, Troy Davis garnered the year’s second highest number of tweets per second. Despite the social uprising, Davis was executed the following day.

1. World’s Most Popular Baby: 8,868 TPS

During her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, Beyonce announced to the world that she and her husband, Jay-Z, are expecting a baby. This news, above all other news in the world, holds the place for the highest number of tweets per second in 2011.

532,080

per minute

31,924,800

per hour

766,195,200

per day

279,661,248,000

per year

So, did you predict them? Were you one of the thousands in that very second in time that tapped the letters on your phone and quickly pressed “tweet” to be part of the moment? Or did you just sit back and watch them unfold?

It really makes you think. What was the most important moment in your 2011? How many things in your own life happened and felt more important than Beyonce’s pregnancy? What do you wish the world was talking about? The best part is, you have the power to make it happen -maybe 2012 is your year. Happy tweeting!

Happy Birthday Zain!

Our director of client recruitment’s birthday got lost in the middle of this busy and eventful week, so the celebration got pushed back to today. But the sun is shining, our doors are open and Old City is bustling, so I’d say it’s a perfect day for some birthday cake.

The inspiration for this cake is pretty obvious. And although we’re in the midst of baseball playoffs featuring Zain’s other favorite Philly team, a football field cake was just too tough to resist.

The cake is golden white flavored, a nice little switch from the usual funfetti, and it’s frosted with my signature homemade vanilla icing. I made two separate cakes in order to cut a football shape out of one of them and carefully place it on top of the base. Since the edges of the football were exposed, applying the chocolate icing was a scary and delicate process because the cake tends to rip apart. But with enough concentration and the right playlist provided by my roommate, I managed to pull it off.

Then I added a few details to drive home the point that this is a football field, but limited space made yard lines and a detailed Eagles logo a little tough. And yes, the football only has 7 laces but we’ll just say that makes it unique.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAIDEN MEDIA GROUP LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE

In Celebration of an Active and Successful First Year in Philadelphia, Maiden Media Group Launches a New Website

PHILADELPHIA, PA – OCTOBER 5^TH 2011- Maiden Media Group LLC, a digital experience agency, launched a new website today in order to reflect the tremendous changes the agency has undergone in the past year and a half. From updating the look of the office, to seeing significant changes in staff, Maiden Media Group’s year in Philadelphia has been full of experiences now documented on their new digital platform. “With our official birthday coming up on October 12th, it seemed like a good time to celebrate and take a look at the changes that have come about in a little over a year,” said Zain Haseeb, Director of Client Recruitment.

By focusing on the social footprint in Philadelphia, Maiden Media Group has experienced success in a short period of time. They have partnered with Apple in holding a workshop series that demonstrates “How to Build Your Social Ecosystem,” an engaging and novel perspective on social media marketing. The series is being continued at an event with the Wharton Alumni Club on October 12th.

Maiden Media Group has been very active in the local technology community, holding a key event during Philly Tech Week, and now sponsoring StartUp Weekend, a team building event coming to Philadelphia the weekend of October 14th. In addition, Maiden Media Group’s Creative Director, Amol Waishampayan will be speaking at the Power of eMarketing conference in Rhode Island on October 12th and 13th, where he will serve as a panelist and moderator providing his knowledge and expertise in social media best practices.

The new MAIDENMEDIA.COM was built using HTML5 elements, CSS3, JQUERY, AJAX and an open-source content management system to showcase client work and case studies from the past year. Additionally, the site profiles key employees and staff working out of Maiden Media’s Philadelphia office. “This site was about capturing Maiden’s unique combination of personality with experience, and then translating it into a visual representation of our business. The way we see it, you could make a website for the sake of having one or you could choose to do it as a representation of what you stand for in the most organic and honest sense possible – we chose the latter,” said Designer and Developer Amanda Erickson.

About Maiden Media Group
Maiden Media Group is a digital experience agency located in Old City, Philadelphia. Comprised of Digital Natives who execute organic solutions via digital platforms, the agency’s clients primarily include small to mid-size companies in the B2B and B2C space. Maiden Media Group is headquartered at 130 N. Second St., Philadelphia, PA 19106. For more information, please visit http://maidenmedia.com.

Contact:
Maiden Media Group
Ph: (215)-253-4576
pr@maidenmedia.com
Twitter: @maidenmedia

Google has rebranded what being a successful company is all about. When was the last time you saw a billboard or a TV commercial for Google? You haven’t, and why not? Because they don’t need traditional advertising, while other search engines do. Sites like Bing that advertise heavily on their ease and simplicity of making a decision using their search engine, still need to advertise heavily in order to get their name out there. They created many different TV commercials using the tag line “Bing and decide”, as well as hiring celebrities (many of whom have their own reality shows) to use Bing as part of their “everyday life”. Hiring celebrities to endorse Google will never need to happen do to the fact that they have a business and creative platform that is blended so perfectly that the search engine practically advertises itself. Happy 13th Anniversary Google!

Making the Magic
This is actually one of the few times I’ve ever made marble cake, since I’m typically a Funfetti kind of girl. But I loved the process of swirling the chocolate batter into the vanilla and making fun designs. I made my classic vanilla frosting, trying to match the colors just right while staring at a picture of the DVD cover. Believe it or not, I made this cake while my two friends and I were watching Aladdin, hoping it would strike some inspiration. Luckily, the Aladdin font is available online so I could try to recreate it Maiden style.

Tasting the Treat
As always, my signature frosting is super sweet. I tend to go a little overboard with the sugar because I can’t stand bland icing and I have the taste buds of a 7 year old. But nonetheless, it made a nice compliment to the marble cake and a sweet addition to an otherwise umbrella-filled Friday.

Making the Magic
These cookies are my classic recipe, made possible by the 15 pound bag of chocolate chips Tusar bought for me. It was beyond difficult to form these into the shape of Mickey because they kept expanding while they baked and ended up forming one big circle instead. So once they came out of the oven and were still warm, I re-shaped them carefully with a knife.

Tasting the Treat
These cookies were no surprise to the Maiden team. I’ve kept pretty consistent with my recipe, besides maybe adding an extra handful of chocolate chips depending on the occasion. So hopefully they gave a little sweetness to the end of the work week.

So what is it about those few people who did think of it? Why were they lucky enough to put that simple idea into action and walk away with all the credit and all the money? And more importantly, what else is left out there that we’re still missing?

Sadly, I don’t know the answer either. But there is definitely a more realistic approach than just simply looking at what’s already been done and feeling stupid for not thinking of it yourself.

We make the natural mistake of believing that there is some logical progression toward new technology, but we lose sight of the fact that it is usually just a blend of a bunch of things we already have and understand. So, blinded by the excitement of releasing something totally new that no one has ever seen before, we get caught up in visuals of epic launches, millions of dollars, and a stunned public.

But the reality is, we simply have to innovate what is called the “adjacent possible.” This guy named Steven Johnson throws this term around a lot, basically explaining that “new” things are simply the next obvious blending of old things. When reapplied to a new goal or a different angle, they appear to be innovative, but are much more natural than we realize.

So the point is – no, you probably will not invent the “next big thing.” If you do, congratulations for being in a small minority of the world. But what you can do is you can start piecing together the old things in brainstorming for new. Maybe it’s the company you work for, maybe it’s your family home, or maybe it’s simply you as an individual. There are pieces of things that have been successful in the past and can be reapplied with a simple shift in perspective.

Stop focusing on the big picture and being bogged down by Apple’s new releases. We’re all innovative, it’s just a matter of staying practical and not thinking so much.

So why the change? Why take a perfectly good website and rip it apart, bring it back down to zero, and rebuild it from the ground up? Why spend countless hours on something as small as the way the edges align on an obscure version of Internet Explorer that everyone forgot about in 2006? Why write every meticulous word and lose sleep over every chosen font? Why spend our time perfecting something that will probably never mean as much to anyone else as it does to us?

Because we want people to get it.

We want to put our whole hearts into showing this world who we are, what we believe in, and how we can help them. So we told you about the whole digital native thing on the old site, right? We wrote it and designed it and pushed it in any way possible.

This is us proving it.

We’re digital natives and we’ll never be able to slow down. Even now, even mere minutes after launching the new site, we see things we want to change. A better way to say this, a more appealing way to show that. There’s always going to be room for more, always a chance to make something cooler, cleaner, better. And the best part?

We love every second of it.

Thanks for checking us out. Explore the site, look at our work, read our bios, get to know us. Maybe you can relate. Maybe you’re just like us. We are digital natives. We are Maiden Media.