Charlie Sheen Makes Internships.com an Overnight Success with Twitter

The Los Angeles Business Journal reports that Charlie Sheen’s Twitter was one of the most successful campaigns for Internships.com that ad.ly Inc. ever brokered.

The power of social networking is almost unprecedented with the growing number of users turning to sites like Facebook.com and Twitter.com to keep in contact with one another and exchange ideas. And of course advertising companies have taken notice. Especially groups like ad.ly who helped Charlie Sheen set up a Twitter account on March, 1, 2011.

Giving him the breakdown of how Twitter works Sheen posted a tweet expressing that he was, “looking to hire a #winning INTERN with #TigerBlood.” Embedded in the post was a link to Internships.com where perspective interns could apply. That day alone Internships.com received more than 95,000 clicks and 74,000 applications for the position making the site one of the biggest overnight sensations in internet history.

Other celebrities and advertising companies have taken notice. Despite that no hard numbers have been disclosed, on either how much each ad.ly charged Interships.com or paid Sheen for the tweet, it was estimated to be around $25,000 to $100,000 dollars or more for their services. Celebrities can also make around $200 to $25,000 per tweet, and there is no doubt that Sheen got his fair share.

Some people have stated, like Davie Brown Talent of the Marina del Rey Entertainment Practices, that having such publicity with the notorious actor could have a negative impact on companies like ad.ly and Internships.com. But a company spokeswoman from Internships.com replied that Sheen’s reputation was not factored in their decision. Probably because Sheen’s fan followings and negative hype have only helped to promote both companies regardless of how the actor seems to be garnering the attention. Either way the success of the campaign cannot be denied, nor the power and influence of social networking in today’s media market.

Read more:

www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2011/mar/14/startups-take-sheen-charlie

www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-quick-20110310,0,6939948.story

Social Networking Service Foursquare Continues to Grow

The Los Angeles Times reports that the social networking service Foursquare is still going strong despite Facebook’s rival product launch of Places.

Since the launch of Foursquare in March 2009, the location-based mobile platform has more than doubled its number of users to 7.5 million and adds about 35,000 users daily, according to the article. However, when Facebook launched a similar product in August 2010, called Places, many believed that the more than half a billion users would destroy Foursquare for good.

But according to co-founder Dennis Crowley, the company is experiencing two million check-ins per day.
“We are trying to do something different than what Facebook is trying to do. We are trying to change the way people experience the physical world so they will go out and actively explore more,” Crowley told the Los Angeles Times.

Foursquare allows users to share their location with friends by checking in via a smartphone app or SMS. Through Foursquare’s platform, users can find places to go and things to do based on what they like, where they are, and the types of places they’ve checked-in.

The location-based mobile platform is also helpful for merchants and brands. Companies can utilize Foursquare to obtain, engage and retain customers and audiences.

Learn more:

latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/03/attention-facebook-foursquare-is-still-going-places.html

latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/08/foursquare-facebook-dennis-crowley.html