Twitter may have millions of active users, but many, many more millions don’t even have accounts. Which is what makes this latest news, big news. Twitter’s newest feature called “Fast Follow” uses a classic short code approach and makes it easy to follow anyone via SMS, even if you don’t have a Twitter account.

If you see a Twitter @username at a restaurant or store, on a billboard or on TV, or if you hear one mentioned on the radio, you can simply text “Follow [username]” to 40404 and you’ll start receiving all of that user’s updates via text message. The service can simply act as an SMS-based newsletter or text alert program. This would be a great way for bars and restaurants to simply and inexpensively promote daily deals or special promotions.

Certainly this could become annoying really quick if you follow someone who tweets all the time. But it looks like you’ll have some granular control over SMS messages you receive. Even more control if you have a Twitter account. But with SMS, you can turn text messages on or off by sending ‘on’ or ‘off’ to 40404.

You can follow @twittermobile to keep up with the latest mobile developments.

OTHER TWITTER UPDATES:  Twitter is launching an official Tweet Button for sharing articles on websites and counting how many times a URL has been shared, according to documents Mashable has obtained. The Tweet Button could launch as soon as this Thursday. Read>

Red Mango, the fastest growing retailer of yogurt and smoothies, is redefining the yogurt experience with its first self-serve store in Omaha. Red Mango offers all-natural, probiotic-packed frozen yogurt, smoothies and iced teas. With additional locations slated for opening during the next year, Red Mango enlisted the help of Bozell to raise awareness and plan a buzz-worthy grand opening celebration to introduce the retailer to Omaha residents.

To build excitement and anticipation for its grand opening, Red Mango did sampling and couponing at two largely attended Omaha events – the Men’s College World Series and O-Fest. Bozell designed a unique, yogurt-cup shaped tent to help Red Mango stand out in the crowd and increase brand recognition.

Additionally, to enhance the user experience for Facebook fans of the Red Mango Omaha store, Bozell built the “My Mango” Facebook application that allows the user to create their own Red Mango treat. The app allows a user to select from all the varieties of flavors and toppings, while being presented with a calorie counter and the health benefits of their custom treat. The app then allows the user to share the custom concoction with friends. In the first month since the launch of the app, 367 different treats have been created.

Bozell Smartargeting also worked with Red Mango to develop targeted direct mail campaigns. The first mailing was aimed at a targeted audience of women, ages 20 to 54, living within a two-mile radius of the store. This mailing promoted the grand opening celebration. The second mailing was mailed to members of the Omaha Jewish community, containing a coupon promoting the unique kosher aspect of the product.

As the grand opening date approached, Bozell and Red Mango partnered with the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce to plan an official ribbon cutting, attended by Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle, Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce representatives and members of the Omaha business and young professional communities. Mayor Suttle commended Red Mango for aiding in the economic development of Omaha and creating jobs for our community.

Red Mango Omaha’s grand opening celebration was the most attended in the history of Red Mango; more than 1,800 people visited the store for free yogurt, live music and hot air balloon rides. Radio remotes from two local radio stations aimed at Red Mango’s target audience helped spread the word about this new healthy alternative to other sweet treats. The ribbon cutting and grand opening received multiple mentions in the Omaha World-Herald, with additional coverage in local publications, radio shows and TV stations.

The successful launch of the first Omaha Red Mango location led to greater brand recognition from the Omaha community and sales goals exceeding expectations. The increased awareness will continue to benefit Red Mango as the retailer continues to expand and open additional locations in the surrounding areas.

When Bozell’s social media director Will Flavell started the long drive from his grandfather’s fishing cabin west of Lincoln to Omaha in the fall of 2008, little did he know that what he thought was just a stomach flu was about to become a life-altering, near-death experience.

As he drove through Wahoo, his appendix burst.

An ambulance took him from the gas station where he collapsed in toxic shock to the Wahoo hospital. He was then was transported back to Omaha to get to the needed medical technology to test and treat him.

It was almost too late to save him. Even following surgery.

“You’re in a hospital bed all day. It gives you a lot of time to think,” Flavell said. “I thought, ‘if I live, what’s the coolest thing I could do?’” Fly the F/A18 Hornet, of course.

Before he’d even recovered enough to leave the hospital, Flavell was doing pushups to start the grueling training he knew was ahead of him if he were to successfully join the Air Force to pursue his new dream.

Flavell talked to a recruiter and found that pursuing his new dream would be a long trek up a very steep hill. He was at a disadvantage to begin with, having no military experience – they told Flavell not to get his hopes up. But Flavell quickly got to work, signing up for Officer Training School, working out every day after work and studying on the weekends. And this September, Flavell will report for duty.

Along the way he also went skydiving and returned to his old hobby of longboarding.

“That’s the meat of living, the ‘wahoo,’” Flavell said, explaining his new passion for living life on the edge. “Once I’d faced the real possibility of death, it just didn’t seem that big of a deal anymore.”

As Bozell’s first social media director, Flavell helped to develop the firm’s social media marketing services from the ground up, keeping Bozell ahead of the curve as new technologies developed.

“Will has a lot of spirit and tenacity. He goes for everything 100 percent. We are sure that these traits will serve him well wherever life takes him. We feel fortunate to be able to count him as part of the Bozell family,” said Kim Mickelsen, managing partner.

About Bozell
Bozell is a creative marketing communications company with offices in Omaha, Nebraska and Overland Park, Kansas. Bozell combines qualitative and quantitative methodology to get close to its clients’ customers. Bozell then uses advertising, digital marketing, dialogue relations, technology and innovative creative to provide targeted solutions for local, regional and national clients. For more information, visit www.bozell.com.

Using location-centric mobile social services like Google Buzz, Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare could raise your home insurance premiums, or even result in the denial of insurance claims.

A gag Web site called “Please Rob Me” raised the obvious truth about location-based mobile social networking: When you tell the public where you are, you’re also telling burglars you’re not at home.

Insurance industry watchers predict that after customers get burglarized and file claims on stolen property, the insurance companies will probably investigate to see whether the customer broadcast information over social networks in a way that constitutes “negligence.” They could also make “social networker” the homeowners insurance equivalent of “chain smoker” in health insurance — a category of customers who are charged higher premiums.

TIPS

• Only use location-based services when you need them. Sites like Foursquare may be fun, but letting everyone know your routines could spell bad news for your home security.
• Don’t post your address anywhere. This should be a given!
• Don’t tweet about vacations, unless you have a house sitter.
• Think before you tweet! Something as simple as tweeting about your meal while out to dinner could tip someone off that you’re away from home.
• Don’t friend anyone you don’t know on a location-based app or service. Yes, Twitter may be all about the numbers, but you don’t want someone knowing where you are all the time because you friended them.

I have to admit that I use all of these services mentioned above and I never thought that this could impact my home insurance rates.  I will continue to use these services but I must admit that I will exercise greater caution now.

With all of the good in the world we must remember that there is unfortunately the bad as well.

Most people use three different sentence formats when they write. With only these three variations your writing can get monotonous. If you expand your repertoire to include six additional sentence formats your writing will automatically seem more sophisticated and be more appealing to the reader. Don’t let the “grammar” scare you, once you read the examples it all starts to make sense. Here are the different formats that can transform your writing and they’re very simple to master if you use these guidelines:

Main clause: subject + verb + completers

• Jeremiah walked home.

Subordinate clause: subordinator + subject + verb + completers

• After Jeremiah walked home,
• Because Jeremiah walked home,
• Until Jeremiah walked home,
• Unless Jeremiah walked home,

NOTE: Subordinators can give information about: time, place, manner, cause, condition, concession (if)

Phrase: contains subject or verb, but not both (sometimes has neither one).

The kinds of phrases are: participial, prepositional, infinitive and subordinate, such as:

1.  Participial phrase: participle + object

• Delivering the food,
• Watching the game,
• Sensing danger,
• Worked up,
• Having fun,
• Avoiding all the difficult tasks,

2.  Prepositional phrase: preposition + object

• Under investigation,
• In big trouble,
• To bed,
• At home,
• Between friends,
• Of each person,
• Of no certain address,
• Up front,
• On time,
• Down home,

3.  Infinitive phrase: infinitive + Object

• To classify the material,
• To struggle mightily,
• To be silly,
• To have big ideas,
• To pretend sickness,
• To sense danger,
• To drive fast,
• To classify the material,
• To have no ideas,

4.  Subordinate phrase: subordinator + phrase

• Participial construction:
• After watching the game,
• Before delivering the food,
• Completely worked up,
• Hardly avoiding the difficult tasks,

5.  Prepositional construction: subordinate + participle + prepositional phrase

• After being under investigation,
• Now having been in big trouble,
• Almost on time,
• Now under investigation,
• Never on time,
• Next to bed,
• Then of no certain address,

6.  Infinitive construction: subordinate + participle + infinitive phrase

• Unless wanting to classify the material,
• If trying to drive too fast,

Now, after all that, here are the sample sentence patterns that will release the Hemingway in you:

Main Clause

• Writing graceful sentences is really tough.

Subordinate Clause + Main Clause

• When I try too hard, writing graceful sentences is really tough.

Main Clause + Subordinate Clause

• Writing graceful sentences is really tough unless I give it total concentration.

Main Clause + Main Clause

• Writing graceful sentences is really tough, but graceful sentences make up graceful paragraphs.

Subordinate Clause + Main Clause + Main Clause

• If I am not completely involved, writing graceful sentences is really tough, so I have learned how to get involved.

Main Clause + Main Clause + Subordinate Clause

• Writing graceful sentences is really tough, and I could really use a day off after spending a full day with the kids.

Main Clause + Subordinate Clause + Main Clause

• Writing graceful sentences is really tough after I’ve spent a full day with the kids, and I could really use a day off right about now.

Subordinate Phrase + Main Clause

• After a day’s work, writing graceful sentences is really tough.

Main Clause + Subordinate Phrase

• Writing graceful sentences is really tough after playing with the kids all day.

Typical weekend errands. On my list was toothpaste. Simple right? Not so much! Usually I just grab my preferred brand and off I go. Paying little attention to the entire shelf. But on Saturday, it so happened that the toothpaste aisle in this particular store was very wide and as I turned the corner, I had a visual perspective that caused me to stop dead in my tracks. The number of choices, even among the same brand (Crest for example), was staggering.

At what point does choice cease to be compelling and become instead, a burden? Have we devalued real choice by making such a big deal out of small differences? Are we diluting brands with too many line extensions? These questions had me curious and interestingly enough while doing some research over the weekend, I found an excellent new video presentation on TED on this very subject. Definitely worth watching. It may give you a fresh perspective.

Findings from a new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project report that adults are just as likely as teens to have texted while driving and are substantially more likely to have talked on the phone while driving. In addition, 49% of adults say they have been passengers in a car when the driver was sending or reading text messages on their cell phone.

Overall, 44% of adults say they have been passengers of drivers who used the cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger. Beyond driving, some cell-toting pedestrians get so distracted while talking or texting that they have physically bumped into another person or an object.

According to Pew, 82% of American adults (those age 18 and older) now own cell phones, up from 65% from the first reading in late 2004. 58% of adults now send or receive text messages with their cell phones. By comparison, a September 2009 Pew Internet survey found that 75% of all American teens ages 12-17 own a cell phone, and 66% text.

According to research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2008 alone, there were 5,870 fatalities and an estimated 515,000 people were injured in police-reported crashes in which at least one form of driver distraction was reported.

Some of the key findings from the survey include:

• 47% of all texting adults say they have sent or read a text message while driving. That compares to 34% of texting teens ages 16-17 who said they had “texted while driving” in a September 2009 survey
• This means that 27% of all American adults say they have sent or read text messages while driving, compared to 26% of all American teens ages 16-17 who reported texting at the wheel in 2009
• 75% of all cell-owning adults say they have talked on a cell phone while driving. 52% of cell-owning teens ages 16-17 reported talking on a cell phone while driving in the 2009 survey
• Among all adults, that translates into 61% who have talked on a cell phone while driving, which compares to 43% of all American teens ages 16-17 who said they had talked on their phones while driving in the 2009 survey
• 49% of all adults say they have been in a car when the driver was sending or reading text messages on their cell phone. The same number of all teens ages 12-17 said they had been in a car “when the driver was texting.”
• 44% of all adults say they have been in a car when the driver used the cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger, compared to 40% of teens who said they had been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a dangerous way.
• 17% of cell-owning adults say they have physically bumped into another person or an object because they were distracted by talking or texting on their phone. That’s 14% of all American adults who have been so engrossed in talking, texting or otherwise using their cell phones that they bumped into something or someone.

More details from major findings include these notes…

47% of texting adults say they have sent or read a text message while driving:

•  Male texters are more likely to report texting at the wheel; 51% of men who use text messaging say they have sent or read messages while driving while 42% of women texters say the same
• Those in the Millennial generation (ages 18-33) are more likely than any other age group to report texting while driving. While 59% of texting Millennials say they have sent or read messages at the wheel, 50% of text-using Gen Xers (ages 34-45) and 29% of texting Baby Boomers (ages 46-64) report the same

75% of cell-owning adults say they have talked on a cell phone while driving:

• Men are more likely than women to report this distraction; 78% of cell-owning men say they have talked while driving, compared with 72% of cell-owning women
•  80% of cell-using Millennials say they have talked on their mobile phones while driving. However, Gen X stands out as the group most likely to chat at the wheel when compared with older generations. While 86% of Gen Xers who own cell phones talk while driving, just 73% of Boomer cell owners and 50% of those age 65 and older say they talk on their phones while at the wheel

49% of all adults say they have been in a car when the driver was sending or reading text messages on their cell phone:

• Men and women are equally as likely to say they have been in a car when the driver was texting. However, non-white American adults are more likely than whites to say they have been passengers of texting drivers. While 56% of black adults and 58% of Hispanic adults say they have been passengers of texting drivers, 46% of white adults report the same
• The likelihood that someone will be a passenger of a texting driver decreases dramatically with age. While one in three (75%) Millennials say they have been passengers in a car with a texting driver, 59% of Gen Xers, 37% of Boomers and just 18% of adults age 65 and older say they have had that experience
• Parents are considerably more likely than non-parents to say they have been passengers of distracted drivers; 58% all parents say they have been passengers when the driver was texting, compared with 45% of non-parents

44% of all adults say they have been in a car when the driver used the cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger:

•  Men are more likely than women to report being passengers of cell-distracted drivers (48% vs. 40%) 
•  Millennials and Gen X are about equally as likely to report being passengers of drivers who use the cell phone in a dangerous way (59% vs. 52%). However, both groups are considerably more likely than older generations to report this experience. Just 37% of Boomers say they have been passengers in a car while the driver used a cell phone in a dangerous way and only 21% of adults age 65 and older say they have had that experience

The physically-distracted crowd is also slightly more urban and well-educated than others. Cell owners who live in cities are more likely than rural residents to bump into other people and things (20% vs. 13%). And cell owners with college degrees are more likely than those with high school diplomas to be looking at their screens when they should be looking at their surroundings (20% vs. 14%).

The findings for those ages 18 and older come from a nationwide phone survey of 2,252 American adults conducted between April 29 and May 30. 1,917 were cell owners and 1,189 used text messaging. The margin of error in the full sample is two percentage points and in the cell subpopulation is three percentage points.

Source:  Center for Media Research & Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project

Calvin Klein has a reputation of pushing it in their advertising and so I’m always curious to follow them to see what they are up to. A couple weeks ago Calvin Klein replaced some of its billboards (in NY and LA), not with controversial or racy imagery, but with a giant QR code with the tease to “Get it Uncensored”.

Although widely used in Europe and Japan, QR codes are still somewhat of a novelty here in the US. However, as smartphone penetration increases, it’s becoming more and more common to see QR codes appear in ads, on packaging and used in general promotions. We’ve played with these a bit here at Bozell, but since most U.S. citizens still do not own smartphones, and even those that do don’t necessarily know what a QR code is or have the necessary scanning software to read it meant pretty limited exposure. However analysts predict that smartphone penetration will match feature phones by this time next year, so the picture could change drastically.

Since I live in neither NY nor LA I obviously didn’t have the opportunity to scan the CK QR code myself to see what happened (although I tried from online images but couldn’t get it to work). When I finally saw the exclusive, 40-second commercial (below) that the QR code brings up featuring Lara Stone, I was disappointed. I guess I expected something way more provocative given CK’s history. Seems like a missed opportunity to me. From what I understand, it’s a test for CK, but marks the official premiere of Calvin Klein Jeans’s Fall 2010 advertising campaign. At the conclusion of the video, viewers can then share the code with their Facebook and Twitter networks.

One is a typical star-studded montage. The other is a charity F-bomb-a-thon. Read More

The verdict is in from Forrester Research, Foursquare is too small for major marketers right now.  Read More