Levi's Integrates Facebook's Like Button On Their Own Site

Levi's is betting on the fact that you care what other people think. More specifically, what they 'like'. One of the first brands to utilize the social networking concept of the thumbs up "like" button found on Facebook, they've integrated Facebook's new social plug-ins into their online shopping site.



the press release:
The Levi’s® brand today announced at Facebook’s f8 conference the introduction of an innovative new way to shop for jeans online. With the launch, the Levi’s® brand is among the first companies to integrate with Facebook’s new Social Plugins. The Levi’s® brand will provide shoppers with an interactive, customized shopping experience on levi.com (based on consumers’ “Likes”), information about “Top-Liked” products across consumers’ networks, and an easy way to find and share relevant Levi’s® products.



“We’re creating a new social shopping experience that will change the way people shop online and, frankly, make buying jeans more fun. We’re excited to pioneer this new technology and help our loyal fans connect with our brand and share their favorite Levi’s® products with friends.”

Jodi Bricker, Vice President of Digital for Levi’s® Americas said, “We’re creating a new social shopping experience that will change the way people shop online and, frankly, make buying jeans more fun. We’re excited to pioneer this new technology and help our loyal fans connect with our brand and share their favorite Levi’s® products with friends.”



As part of today’s announcement, Facebook introduced a new set of Social Plugins that can be easily integrated into a website to make the user experience more personalized and social. Powered by the Open Graph, these new plugins include a “Like” functionality, Activity Feed, and Recommendation widget that bring friends, social activity and relevant interactions to any site off of Facebook.com.

The Levi’s® brand is integrating the “Like” functionality on its e-commerce site – levi.com. In addition, the Levi’s® brand is building a Friend Store in which consumers who are logged into Facebook can see a list of their friends’ favorite Levi’s® products and seamlessly shop with their friends.

The Levi’s® brand is innovating with social and digital media on its Facebook page, in advertising and on its e-commerce website. Last month the brand leveraged its Levi’s® Facebook Page to amplify their ninth annual Levi’s®/FADER Fort event – a music festival in Austin, Texas. This initiative grew the fan base by 60 percent and garnered more than 780,000 live streams of the event.


test it out here:


You can explore how other sites integrate Facebook here.

New Social Site, Cougars & Co., Capitalizes On Growing Trend

Yes, it's for real.
My first reaction was "eeeeuuuuwww", then "hmmmmm", followed by "naaaah." But others may claw their way to this new social networking site that capitalizes on the growing trend of older women dating (seducing?) younger men.



The brains behind the concept, Shelli Netko, the founder and president of Cougars & Co. says:

"My main goal in starting Cougars & Co. was to create an environment where women could learn to love the life they live and live the life the love. After all, age is just a number. Recent surveys show 34% of women in their 40s date men who are younger and 17% of women in their 50s do the same. This isn't just a trend, it's a new social norm that both women and men are obviously embracing. Women are gravitating to younger men because they seem to have more of an energetic spirit that matches theirs. Women are taking better care of themselves, as a result, 40 is the new 30; 50 is the new 40. So the age difference becomes a non-issue. You don't have to be a Hollywood star to go out with someone 10 or 15 years your junior, but God Bless Demi Moore for bringing it into the spot light!"


above: the world's most well-known Cougar and Cub; stunning actress Demi Moore and her hottie husband, Ashton Kutcher.


The press release:
The dating jungle just became that much wilder with the recently launched social networking company Cougars & Co. The brainchild of Arizona entrepreneur Shelli Netko, Cougars & Co. is a members-only online community where older women and younger men have the opportunity to meet, mix and mingle, shop and travel all in the name of fun. Cougars & Co. getaways are for the cougar or cub in you who needs a little “me” time – think R&R with a little bit of “BAM!”



“The cougar and cub culture is a growing trend that is less concerned with age and focused on reinventing yourself at any age,” Netko said. “While we plan to go nationwide with our charity bachelor auctions, we thought Scottsdale was the perfect place to introduce the Cougars & Co. concept and begin our social network.”

The site, which is now live, is offering an introductory $1 membership to those that join during the first month. After April 30, the monthly membership fee is $9.95.

Members can join the hunt by creating a profile, joining groups, creating their own groups and initiating online connections. For members looking to get out, monthly happy hour events will be held and year-round getaway vacations for cougars and cubs will be organized.

The Charity Bachelor Auction


As part of the company kick-off, Cougars & Co. is holding a charity bachelor auction on Thursday, April 1st in Scottsdale, AZ. Valley cougars will be pleased to see there's much more on the men-u than chips and dip when as many as 10 cubs (including a past contender for The Bachelorette) strut their stuff all in the name of charity. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Women's Wellness Center at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Care.


above: Greg Bilbro, (previously on "The Bachelorette") will be a bachelor in the Cougars & Co. charity auction in Scottsdale

Cougars & Co. also offers clothing you can purchase from their site, such as the two examples below. And they will be adding more merchandise soon!



Interested? Curious? Perversely Fascinated?

Buy some merchandise, learn more or Sign up here.

note: This is an updated version of the original post.
all images and information courtesy of Cougars & Co.

Top Social Networks- February 2008 Rankings

With all the talk out there about how important it is to use social networks (often referred to as web 2.o or social media) to promote not only yourself, but also products, companies, brand image and more...you may be wondering which ones will bring you the most potential traffic and audience.

Where to start?

Well, below are the most visited social networks as of february 2008, as calculated by Compete.

(click on the chart to enlarge)



UPDATED - 3/13

* Myspace was down slightly from February 2007 in terms of total US visits. However, the networking giant still holds a commanding traffic lead over all other Social sites.
* Facebook visits fell slightly from January 2008 to February 2008, but over the year the site has grown by over 75%. In terms of US visitors, it is now about one half the size of Myspace, but receives about 1/3rd as many visits.
* Niche markets are still attractive in terms of Social networking: Cafemom (a social network geared towards mothers), Linkedin (a networking site for professionals) and Fubar (“the first online bar”) all grew by 5X or more from February 2007 through February 2008. Fubar, in fact, exploded into the top 20 networks from relative obscurity one year ago.
* Innovative business models also had success in 2007: Communication platform Twitter, and white label social network Ning, both found a dramatically larger audience in the past year.

source

Match.com is for Plebians; Introducing the Snottiest Online Dating Service: The Diamond Lounge

Beginning this October, the Diamond Lounge -a 'social networking' site for the elite (aka an online dating service for the pretty and wealthy set), requiring application and 'approval' will launch.

They are purposely vague on the site but if you dig deep enough (under membership terms) you will find the details.

My favorite part of the application is the following:



And I love that the 'fees' have yet to be determined.

If they truly want to be the MOST EXCLUSIVE club, they ought to only take American Express Centurion Cards as their form of payment. And, if you don't know what that is... you should automatically be rejected.


Above: The American Express Centurion Card (aka The Black Card)

By the way, no surprise this "Diamond Club" is centrally located in London. P-shah.

Below is reprinted directly from their site:

THE MOST ELITE COMMUNITY EVER CREATED------------------------------------------------

The Diamond Lounge is a new online members' club aimed at the world's genuine elite.

The club will launch on October 1st, 2007 and will provide members with a sophisticated and refined online environment where they can meet and interact. The Diamond Lounge will be totally private and non-members will not have access to the club or be able to see who is inside. Membership will be granted on an exclusive and discretionary basis and many members will join through personal invitation.

The Diamond Lounge will provide members with a variety of quite different online experiences. On the one hand, the club will be traditional and formal. On the other, it will be decadent, extravagant and even a little hedonistic.

This is private business networking, social networking and dating for the world's most amazing people. A secret society where everyone has to keep the secret. As one person put it: "This is Small World meets Studio 54!"

INSIDE THE CLUB
The Diamond Lounge has been heavily influenced by the ultra-exclusive private clubs of the 80s and the somewhat 'retro' feel of the site will reflect this. It will be a beautiful, technically advanced and highly secure online world where the elite can get together out of view of everyone else.

Everything about the Diamond Lounge site will be luxurious and personal. Members will be able to create totally individual profiles that mirror their own personalities (and can work with our award winning designers on these if they choose to). They will be able to interact with other members using live video links and even utilise an array of business networking and collaboration tools. In addition, they will also be able to take the club everywhere with them (as the Diamond Lounge site will function on mobiles, PDAs and the iphone).

The Diamond Lounge will also have an incredible 'real life' element with members having exclusive access to some of the most lavish private parties and events ever staged. Expect to be very surprised!

PRIVACY
A central focus of the Diamond Lounge is privacy. The owners of the club and those managing it won't divulge information about members or events to those outside the club. In fact, many of the events will be so secret that their exact locations won't even be published until the very last minute.

And members will also have to respect the privacy of others. Quite simply, who is the in the Diamond Lounge, and what happens in the Diamond Lounge, must stay in the Diamond Lounge!

MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA AND OBTAINING MEMBERSHIP
To become a Diamond Lounge member, you must be successful, sophisticated and attractive and genuinely have something interesting to bring to the club. You can obtain membership either by being directly invited or by submitting an online application which can (but does not have to be) supported by a recommendation from a trusted existing member.

THE TOUGH DECISIONS
All decisions about who to accept for membership are taken by an anonymous, pre-appointed and representative Committee of 'elite' individuals. This Committee is external and none of the Diamond Lounge Management Team can influence their decisions.

Membership to the Diamond Lounge is reserved for the real elite. It is unashamedly difficult to obtain and is already being highly sought after.

APPLYING ONLINE
If you have not been personally invited but fit the Membership Criteria, click here to apply to be accepted for membership.

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE CLUB
As was the case with so many of the private clubs that inspired it, you will probably never know exactly who is behind the Diamond Lounge. It's all part of the secret!

Apply here.