Archive for February 2012

In 2007 the official London 2012 Olympic logo was revealed, its funky feel and bright colours were designed to appeal to a new age, the internet generation.

Many people assumed it was just abstract shapes put together, however in just one night there were online petitions to have a new, better logo created. Almost 4 years later Iran threatened to boycott the 2012 Olympic games if the logo wasn't changed. This is because in it's abstract shapes it can form to read the word "Zion", a biblical term for Jerusalem.

According to the guardian "the logo, a jagged representation of the year 2012, has been said by its critics to resemble many things, from a swastika to a sexual act, but the Iranian government argues it represents a veiled pro-Israeli conspiracy."

Officials of the London Olympics committee expressed their surprise at how long it had taken to make the complaint since the logos revelation and stand by the logo design.

It just goes to show how interpretational logo designs can be, personally I didn't even realise it said '2012' until I started reading more about it.

While the officials stood by their choice, the public came up with more and more images that can be seen in the shapes of the logo. It has even been likened to the cartoon character Lisa and Bart Simpson performing an illegal act…

I would just like to point out that these colours were not part of the original designs, but the power of the internet allows people to create and share their own versions, so… has the target audience been reached? You can be the judge of that.

In the busy world of computer tablets, many of the leading manufacturers are continuously fighting for control over the consumer population, with most tablet users heading for the extremely well known and popular iPad's. In recent months however, tablets running different versions of Android (an OS created and run by Google) have become increasingly popular taking back some of Apples market.

The most popular Android based tablet to date has been the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which has a fairly decent price tag of around AUD$579. This is where Asus' new 7-inch tablet will take podium. The tablet will be running the latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 and will sport Nvidia's Tegra 3 chipset, which is a quad-core processor. At 7-inches it won't be too bulky or heavy and at the same time, will still feel like a tablet. It will have a resolution of 1200x800px, will contain and 8MP rear camera and will have micro USB and micro HDMI ports.

Considering how powerful this tablet is, you would expect it to have a hefty price, but no. At US$259 it should arrive in Australia with a price tag just under $400 in the second half of 2012.

Apparently the IPO papers revealed that Facebook now has 845 Million users and experts are expecting that to grow in 2012.

They are also saying that changes may be made to Facebook once it goes public. Changes may include a paid premium paid for use service and may also extend to more invasive advertising. Currently Facebook users who access the social networking site on mobile devices don't have to put up with advertising, however that could change. With Facebook users who access the site on their mobile devices now totaling around 50%, Facebook may include advertising and sponsored stories on their mobile apps and mobile websites according to the filing document.

Check out the Channel 7 snippet below. It maybe worthwhile keeping an eye on this one to see how things may change in your social media campaigns.

Do you think the Facebook IPO and any changes it implements could effect your social networking campaign?