The Interactive portion of South by Southwest has officially drawn to a close, and with it, the opportunity for brands to make a splash with the tens of thousands of tech-obsessed attendees of the annual conference. So which companies ended up getting the most buzz? Ad Age teamed up with social media analytics firm People Browsr to analyze the number of SXSW-associated brand mentions of specific companies across Facebook and Twitter. The top 10 (in order), according to the study: Mashable Twitter Google FourSquare Facebook CNN GroupMe Tumblr Microsoft Instagram. While we’re of course delighted to be topping the list (with our two-day Mashable House , Facebook Live and Gowalla partnerships, and other social media initiatives likely driving the numbers), the results do provide insights into many of the companies and trends we were tracking at the conference. The battle of location apps was once again in focus at SXSW, and by attracting 13% of the brand mentions (among the companies tracked), Foursquare appears to have once again been the big winner. The startup made a number of big announcements leading up to SXSWi, including a partnership with American Express that provided deals on the ground to attendees in Austin. CEO Dennis Crowley also joined our CEO Pete Cashmore on stage for one of the keynotes. GroupMe and Instagram, two highly buzzed about startups going into the conference, managed to grab 3% and 2% of the mentions, respectively. That’s more impressive when you consider it’s more buzz than big sponsors with a big physical presence at the event (like Pepsi, Chevy and Microsoft) received. GroupMe also scored the highest ranking among the top 10 for positive brand sentiment. CNN ranked second in this category while receiving 6% of mentions overall — both likely a result of its prominent CNN Grill, which provided live content (and free food) throughout the event. We’d have loved if the study had gone deeper into some of the other startups we were watching going into the event. We’re also curious as to the buzz Apple received after setting up its special venue for selling the iPad 2 . Which brands were you most excited about at SXSW?
If you’re looking for a job, ask yourself if you’ve tapped every possible resource. Have you scoured Craigslist and made Monster your homepage? Have you set Google Alerts for every possible word combination that could land you a job? Have you checked Facebook ? And I’m not talking about Facebook’s rather useless Marketplace . While Facebook is better known for helping people lose their jobs , it’s largely an untapped resource when it comes to job hunting
Another busy week at Mashable HQ has yielded another mega list of tools and resources for your reading pleasure. Check out our Social Media section for tips on how turn any video viral, find out why the web loves cats so much, or simply determine what kind of geek you are. Tech & Mobile is packed with tools like top blogger templates, Photoshop tutorials, and tips for beginners when it comes to PHP programming. Business rounds out the list with how to use hashtags to boost you job search, great social media management tools, and some games for learning stock market strategy. Looking for even more social media resources? This guide appears every weekend, and you can check out all the lists-gone-by here any time. Social Media 7 Fantastic Free Social Media Tools for Teachers Do you want to use social media in your classroom but aren’t sure how to get started? These are our seven picks for great free tools to add to your lesson plan. The Future of the Hotel Industry and Social Media There’s big potential for social media to improve the way hotels provide service in the future. Here are six trends on the cutting edge. How Massive Was the Chilean Miners’ Rescue Online? [STATS] The broadcast of the Chilean miners’ rescue broke television and online audience records. 5 Reasons Your Online Chat Pals May Block You Read on for five ways you’re potentially leading your co-workers, friends and casual acquaintances to hit “Block.” 5 Fun Social Media Halloween Costume Ideas [CONTEST] Take our suggestions, or submit your own awesome social media costume pics for the chance to win a $400 shopping spree from Griffin Technology! 3 Things Any Video Needs to Go Viral These attributes are common to many successful viral videos
Yes, you heard this before. The Death of Cable TV. Yet, it hasn’t happened. But now, so many disruptions are happening in the video space, cable tv is really stepping towards the cliff. Don’t expect the cable industry to just give up. We’ll get some new insights next week when the largest U.S. cable operator ( 23 million cable customers ), Comcast , reports its Q3 earnings and subscriber count. Comcast cable customers dropped nearly 3% in Q2 compared to last year. In Q2 for the industry overall, a record 711,000 subscribers abandoned cable tv, and six of eight operators suffered their worst quarterly subscriber losses ever. Just this month, a lot has happened: Google unveiled its Google TV platform less than 3 weeks ago. You can’t ignore Google. Hey, they just built a car that drives itself . But Thursday, in a battle that will likely become more frequent between old media and new, ABC, CBS and NBC blocked their programs from Google TV . MTV, Fox and HBO are still available, but that could change