Polar Plunge: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's Twitter Challenge

Hey @jimmyfallon, got this for you. See, I told you, the City of Big Shoulders has your back. -MRE #jimmyplungewithus pic.twitter.com/f8p58xjwJJ
— ChicagosMayor (@ChicagosMayor) February 21, 2014

Oh, the joys of Jimmy Fallon and his social media prowess. If you don't already follow the man on Twitter, you need to. He is honestly the best tweeter out there because he just gets the platform and the Twitter generation.

Thanks to Fallon's open invitation to a Tonight Show appearance for — and admittance to his fear of — Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanual, which he mentioned while being interviewed about Tonight by a Chicago news outlet, Emanuel reached out to Fallon, challenging him to be a man and do the Polar Plunge. In honor of the Special Olympics, the Polar Plunge has a $150 ticket price and involves people "plunging" into the cold waters of Lake Michigan this Sunday, March 2. 

In exchange for Fallon's plunge, the mayor will appear on an upcoming episode of Tonight. To check out all the conversatin around this, follow the hashtags #JimmyPlungeWithUs and #SwimmyFallon (and Fallon's most recent tweets below).

Chicago - I'm wearing a suit and tie for the #PolarPlunge. Show solidarity by wearing a necktie. (I'm not telling you what else to wear.)
— jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) February 24, 2014

How cold is it in Chicago this Sunday for #PolarPlunge you guys still doing this? #imstillin
— jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) February 26, 2014

Read more on the Chicago Sun-Times.

Need SMM Help? Ask a Liar.

TV's been turning to social media over the past few years as a way to help prove the worth of its shows since day-of ratings are becoming less of a "success" indicator. ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars is an excellent example of TV getting it right.

With more than 11.3 million fans total across the three main social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest), PLL does a great job of not just honoring loyal viewers (through great UGC, such as fan art and fan reactions to "shocking" moments, and sneak peaks) but of creating useful content during the show. An example of during show content involves the show's stars holding "cue cards" that include special reactions to moments from the show or messages that hint at exclusive content, like live Twitter chats. Below is a small gallery of some of PLL's social wins (in my opinion).

Update: The season 3 finale of PLL was the first series to amass 1 million live, airtime tweets.

Hashtag Fail: Herbal Essences

Our new collections aren't the only thing making a comeback! Check out our NEW ad #firsttime #GRAMMYfirst youtu.be/AI5UIP-qTs8
— Herbal Essences (@herbalessences) February 11, 2013

During Sunday night's Grammy Awards, Herbal Essences debuted a new ad for its classic collections. Though the ad is a good one that takes fans of the hair products back to the glory days of the "Yes, Yes, Yes!" tagline, the attempt at social media tie-in is — in my opinion — an epic fail.

The hashtag #FirstTime has a lot of conversation around it already and is used, most often, in instances unrelated to haircare. Plus, when you see it in the commercial, your immediate reaction goes to something that is most likely NSFW, amiright?

Let me know your thoughts on #FirstTime in the comments.

Hot Topic: Vine

Vine is officially the latest buzzworthy social media tool and I love it. Similar to Instagram,  Vine one-ups the photo-sharing app with the awesome ability for users to upload personalized videos (with or without sound) or GIFs. Amazeballs? Totes.

Check out some of the already fabulous creations from hip "socialites" (including me!).

My #firstpost on Vine: 6 sec desk tour! (cc: @vineapp) vine.co/v/bJEtjr0QEmu
— Emily Drake (@DrakeEmily) January 30, 2013

A trip down #Gap advertising memory lane for our #firstpost on Vine. vine.co/v/b5PeYQOLuLj

— Gap (@Gap) January 25, 2013

Dying for a coffee. #magic #vineart #pleaselike vine.co/v/bJwnA9qjYiH

— Ian Padgham (@origiful) January 29, 2013

Ah... Geek Out!

Yes, the above photo has me totally geeking out. BSB, the obsession of my childhood and my absolute favorite band, is now following me on Twitter as of yesterday evening. Not to mention, they were named No. 1 on E!'s 15 Awesomest Boy Bands special (see below). Team Backstreet = Winning!

My Apologies

Hey everyone!

I wanted to take a second to apologize for failing to update my blog as regularly as I'd like to. There are so many things to keep track of these days!

Anyway, I wanted to point you to my Twitter (I update that almost hourly...maybe not something I should brag about :/), as well as the VIM Magazine blog, for which I am the current lead blogger.

Other than that, as soon as I have something worth sharing with ya'll I promise I will!

Twitter & Data

Check out this amazing article about Twitter:

Harvard Business Review > Blog: Twitter

Truly fascinating and, my guess? Right on the money.

P.S. The Tiger Woods graph made me laugh.