Five things worth sharing from the last week or so, brought to you by a different member of the Browser Media team every Friday.
This week’s My Five is by Matt.
1. The router of all evil
The unthinkable happened earlier this week when the internet when down for a few hours, all because of a dodgy router – how very BT. The company has since apologised (which is apparently news in itself) but if the reaction on my Twitter feed was anything to go by then it’s going to take more than a “soz guys” to repair the emotional damage inflicted by this atrocity.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this segment, you may take comfort in /r/firstworldproblems – a problem shared is a problem halved, as they say.
2. Are you a local search expert?
How well do you know the ins and outs of local SEO? Moz’s new Local Search Expert Quiz is designed to test your skills on all things local in 2016, with questions covering everything from acronyms (NAP, anyone?) to citations, as well as questions to test general industry awareness.
Test your skills at moz.com/blog/local-search-expert-quiz-2016.
3. Emojinal torture
House of Fraser is pulling a massive ‘embarrassing mum on Facebook’ at the moment in the form its #emojinal social media campaign.
The company’s massively off-brand series of Snapchat-style tweets, which feature pictures of John Terry wearing a crown and a drunk girl holding a chicken have been met with mixed responses, but mainly complete confusion.
Can’t decide if #Emojinal is a PR nightmare or a piece of strange PR genius.
— Simon Brackenborough (@sbrackenborough) February 1, 2016
Whether this is a massive fail or a carefully engineered piece of marketing is up for debate (I know which camp I’m in), but with the best part of two weeks to go until Valentine’s Day, there’s plenty more #cringe left in the tank yet.
More on the story here.
4. Deadline Day
Transfer Deadline Day: the most exciting day in the footballing calendar, or a jumped up pantomime that represents everything that is wrong with modern day football? Whatever your opinion, there’s no disputing the ridiculousness of it all.
But ridiculous as it is, the sheer amount of buzz around #DeadlineDay attracts brands to it like seagulls to a discarded chip wrapper. Here are some of the better efforts found on Twitter:
Remember you can always spice up #DeadlineDay by playing Transfer Deadline Day Bingo! pic.twitter.com/YbRT7DfWYn
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) February 1, 2016
Yet another successful negotiation for Woodward and #MUFC https://t.co/mopSGf5lGv https://t.co/VnjcEkrdrC
— FootballFanCast.com (@FootballFanCast) February 1, 2016
When you come back from the shop & your dog’s pretending to be Harry Redknapp #DeadlineDay pic.twitter.com/ZjM533KLIX
— BreatheSport (@BreatheSport) February 1, 2016
5. Ooh, Facebook friend
Sighs of “Oh gawd, I feel so old” were heard across the Browser Media office yesterday as Facebook announced its 12th (yes, twelfth) birthday in the form of what it has dubbed “Friends Day” videos.
Facebook said:
“To help our community celebrate the importance of friendship, we’re delivering a personalized Friends Day video to millions of people around the world. These videos stitch together special moments with your friends in a short film that can be edited and shared”.
If you need help celebrating the importance of friendship, then it’s time to stop playing on Facebook and go outside. Go, now.
