The Skinny…A daily double-shot of digital goodness.

The Skinny is a synopsis of current digital marketing and social media trends. The Skinny’s mission is to deliver the buzz
to you in a few minutes or less so you can be in the know and focus on what matters most- your work.
If you cannot see the images it’s because they are being stripped by the mail client. You can view a PDF of The Skinny
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Starbucks is Offering Rewards for Foursquare Checkins Today

 Starbucks is celebrating its 40th anniversary today by ramdonly awarding $40 gift

cards to customers who check in using Foursquare.

 The promotion started this morning at 12:01 AM and runs until 11:59 PM this evening

will give out 500 gift cards to those who check in to participating Starbucks locations

an dunlock a “Tribute Badge.”

 Coffee drinkers can also enter the drawing via email by sending a note with the

subject line “Starbucks Foursquare Entry Submission” to foursquare@starbucks.com.

 Winners will be drawn March 16. Rules to the promotion can be found here.

Study Shows that Gmail Users are Younger and Better-Educated than AOL, Yahoo! Users

 A new report from Hunch.com shows that Gmail users are thinner, better-educated,

more-traveled and more likely to be male than AOL or Yahoo! email users.

 This potentially-offensive blanket statement is based on a newly-published study from

Hunch which makes a wide variety of recommendations to its users based on

asnwers to survey questions.

 Hunch analyzed 75 million anssers from its approxinately 700,000 users to determine

the demographics, lifestyles and personality traits of people who use email addresses

from Gmail, AOL, Yahoo! and Hotmail/MSN.

 According to the study, 72% of Gmail users are under the age of 34 with 68% falling

in the 18-34 year-old range.

 That compares to 57% under 34 for Yahoo! and 42% for AOL.

 Hotmail users were the second youngest demographic with 64% under age 34. Click

here to read more about the study.

Samsun LCD TV Powers Iteslf, No Need to Plug It In

 The new LCD TV is now energy efficient enough that it can be powered by ambient

light alone. ( no cords, no betteries )

 Samsung thinks that consumers will be intrigued enough by the idea that they will

purchase the new kind of TV.

 The screen also acts as a full ten finger touchscreen.

 Samsung has plans for commercial models, but the company has not given details

about the release date or cost of the TVs.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Reports That More TV is Now Viewed on Computers Than TVs

 A recently-released consumer research study from PwC found that across all age

groups the respondents watched 12.4 hours of TV shows/videos and movies online

while they only watched 8.9 hours of that content on network TV and basic and pay

cable.

 Consumers are spending about 20 hours per week accessing digital content that

includes TV shows, movies and other videos on a cell phone, computer or mobile

device.

 The 44 and under age group do the majority of digital videwing, but even the 45-59

age group was close to even with 9 hours of traditional video watching vs. 8.3 hours

of online video viewing.

 The study was based on a survey of 560 people, including focus groups. The margin

of error is 5%-10%.

 The number of people getting their entertainment from computers, cell phones and

other mobile devices will surely grow because people are unhappy with cable

providers.

“Advertising is totally unnecessary. Unless you hope to make money.” –Jef I. Richards