About Cynthia Boris

Cynthia Boris is a freelance writer, social media consultant and a firm believer that content is still king. A former magazine staff writer and book author, she now devotes all of her time to the world wide web.

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Infographic Shows People Are Two-Timing on Their TV Sets

posted on May 24, 2013

Memorial Day means the start of the summer blockbuster movie season. This weekend, we’ll all be getting Fast and Furious again along with another Hangover. Next month, Superman returns to the big screen and in July the Lone Ranger rides again. But if you prefer not to fight the crowds, you can also stay home and watch some of the best movies (or the worst if that’s your thing) on your PC or mobile device.

In honor of this holiday weekend, here’s a look at how men and women stream from M-Go.

streaming steaming

What a terrible blow for TV sets all over America. They probably have no idea how often their man is cheating on them! He’s running around with that hot, stylish mobile phone while his first love sits in the living room, cold and alone just waiting to be turned on.

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What and When Do Social Moms Share

posted on May 24, 2013

One of the great truths of social media is that moms like to share and they’re powerful influencers when they get behind (or are annoyed by) a brand. We know it’s true but we keep studying it to make sure the world hasn’t slipped sideways.

The latest fact checkers are ShareThis and Digitas. They surveyed 200,000 moms (that’s a nice sampling, don’t you think?) to find out how they interact with social. The packed their results into a slide show called “Wired for Sharing” and now I’d like to share a couple of key slides.

Think moms are all about Facebook? Have a look at this:

ShareThis-MomsStudy_May2013-FINAL-7

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Facebook Users Watched 740 Million Videos in April. . And Only Came in Second

posted on May 23, 2013

If you think 740 million video views sounds like a lot, prepare yourself for a shock. According to the latest comScore Video Metrix’s report, YouTube visitors (in combination with other Google properties) watched 13 billion videos in April. Yes, billion with a ‘b’.

What’s really fascinating is the rate of the climb. Look at these charts for April and February.

comscore april

comscore feb

In three months, the list, particularly in number of videos viewed is incredible. In February, Facebook had just crossed the half a million mark. Now, they’re almost at 750 million. The difference in the number of unique viewers isn’t as drastic because, let’s face it, we have to be reaching the max pretty soon, right? But as you can see from the last column, it’s not about more people, it’s about more minutes per person.

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Target’s New Cartwheel Takes the Long Way Around to Digital Couponing

posted on May 23, 2013

cartwheel collectionsTarget recently launched a new digital coupon app called Cartwheel that is supposed to make shopping more social. It begins with a great idea; personalized digital coupons but from there, the wheel gets a little wobbly.

Here’s how it works. First, you have to log on to the Cartwheel site and sign-up using your Facebook login.  You must have a Facebook account to use the program and that seems like an unnecessary hurdle. The point is to get more people to shop at Target, right? But if I don’t want to give you access to my Facebook account, then I’m out. Hmmm. . .

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Majority of Mobile Users Would Rather Engage an Ad Than Pay for an Upgrade

posted on May 22, 2013

The psychology behind how we spend our money is a wondrous thing. I’ll gladly throw down $1 a day for a Diet Coke, but I’m reluctant to spend $1.50 on a box of pasta that would feed my whole family when I can get it for less than that on another day. I’m also reluctant to pay for additional levels on my iPad games. I’ve done it once or twice, but it’s not an easy button push.

For whatever reason, mobile users will do almost anything to keep from paying for an upgrade – including engage with ads.

tapjoy free content

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The New Flickr is Lovely to Look at But Users Are Crying Foul

posted on May 22, 2013

Yahoo’s had a busy week. First, they took over Tumblr and then they redesigned their old photo storage service Flickr. (Or was it the other way around?)

Flickr’s an interesting beast. Like many aging websites, there was a time when everyone knew it and used it. But in the last few years, people have slowly migrated their photos over to Facebook or Google+ and Flickr’s been on a downhill slide.

In order to renew interest, Yahoo invested in a lovely new design that even made me, the girl with only 35 pictures in her account, come back.

flickr new design

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A Day Later. . . It’s All About Ads on Tumblr

posted on May 21, 2013

panicYesterday, Frank posted the news that Yahoo bought Tumblr. The big takeaway was this quote from Yahoo’s announcement:

We promise not to screw it up.  Tumblr is incredibly special and has a great thing going.  We will operate Tumblr independently.  David Karp will remain CEO.  The product roadmap, their team, their wit and irreverence will all remain the same as will their mission to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve.  Yahoo! will help Tumblr get even better, faster.

Yahoo (which used to be hip. . . but this is what happens with age) attempted to replicate the kind of wry humor you find on Tumblr with an animated gif that changes from “Keep Calm and Carry On” to the words Yahoo!, Tumblr, then the final graphic you see here on the right.