Fierce Fun at CoderDojo Coolest Project Dublin 2016

CoderDojo Coolest Projects 2016 was so special! Our games Terminus and QuizTimeTrivia were a big success with the little Ninjas CoderDojos!

They were playing and giving us their feedback all the time!

We are working on Terminus game so keep up with us for more news and the free preview version!

But the most popular with the adults was Quiz Time Trivia, it is a generational thing. Check it out freeplayhttps://fiercefun.com/quiz-time-trivia/

Here are a few more snaps of the CoderDojo Coolest Projects in Dublin: see the full album here

CoderDojo Fierce Fun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Generation Z and Social Media

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In a recent U.S. college survey by Fluent marketing and insights, conducted in March 2016, students between the ages of 17-24, (a.k.a. Gen Z)  were asked about the social media platforms they use most. The results are not surprising with Facebook getting a resounding, 67%, Snapchat at 51% and Instagram at 50%. Predictably the Snapchat phenomenon is continuing unabated with the steady rise of this platform worrying the Facebook executives.  33% of respondent stated they have increased usage of Snapchat and no major increase in the use of  Facebook.

However, it was found that Facebook retains its dominant position in the social media sphere, being the favoured platform for friends, family, and brands. But the findings indicate it needs to keep evolving if it is to keep its position as the default social media platform of choice. Snapchat and Instagram appear to be used by Gen Z for tighter close-knit friendships or groups.

The survey’s most interesting findings revealed what the platforms are being primarily used for.  

Facebook is the Daddy. Primarily being used for general digital profiles and regarded as necessary. Regarding advertising on Facebook, respondents indicated they preferred display ads as opposed to news feed ads. Despite Facebook heavily promoting  video lately, respondents still favour using specific video platforms like You Tube.

Snapchat & Instagram: The good buddy platforms. These platforms are used several times a day by the respondents and are used to communicate with close friends and their campus community. They are open to ads on these platforms if they are brief and not pretending to be content which is perceived as disingenuous.  

YouTube & Pinterest are brand central. Respondents follow brands and celebrities on all channels, but they seem to favour interaction with  brands on Youtube and Pinterest. They also like following celebrities on these platforms. Twitter is also popular for following celebs. Respondents expect  ads on these platforms, as they seem more brand oriented.  Adverts that service a need or address issues they care about are usually clicked on. The quality of visual content in Snapchat and You Tube, promote repeat visits, in contrast,  branded stories or celebrity endorsements do not engage respondent enough to buy a product.

Time is of the essence, but video is king.   Most respondents (74%) spend more than two hours a day on social media with just under half  (44%)  spending more than four hours a day. Video is popular on all platforms with You Tube, as expected being the top provider. Two-thirds of respondent watch up to two hours of video a day for entertainment, this may happen over several visits during this time. Unusually live streaming video conversation were not as popular as these figures would suggest, with in-person contact being the preferred method of communication.

 

Snapchat vs Facebook

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We all know Facebook loves your photos and family videos, for what reason, we shudder to think? They are now, yet again I may add, trying to move into the Snapchat space and create a cloned Facebook version of the popular app, we are reliably informed. This is an effort to push their 1.6 billion users to generate more images and videos. Why? Possibly for their data mining operation? The planned app will be compatible with Instagram whom facebook already own and there will also be a video app to feed to your facebook account directly.  

But I hear you say, this has all happened before, and you would be correct in saying that. 

In 2012 Facebook launched the facebook camera almost in sync with its Instagram takeover. It bombed, probably because they realised they were re-inventing the wheel i.e Instagram were already doing it and they were doing it better.

Later in 2012,  they tried Facebook Poke an unashamed copycat of Snapchat, it lacked integrity and people saw through it. It bombed in 2014.

Also in 2014, came Bolt, designed by the Instagram boffins in their secret hideaway lab (probably located under some obscure mountain range). A  secret weapon perhaps? No! It bombed as well,  a year later.

Then came Slingshot another Snapchat clone, a stand alone app requiring no Facebook affiliation at all. It bombed in 2015.

Last but not least, they gave us Riff devised in the bowels of the innovative but not defunct Creative Labs at FB, a remix and editing app, which also bombed like the team that built it.

So we are sad to say the track record does not inspire confidence for Facebook’s attempt to take the Snapchat space. Some would ask, why can’t they leave other successful apps alone? What’s with this megalomaniacal attitude of destroying all potential competition?

Earth to Facebook, competition is good, it drives innovation and just throwing wads of cash at something does not buy success. Hunger drives success that’s where Snapchat came from, that’s where Facebook came from for pity’s sake.

 

Hashtag Love

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Hashtag Love

The obsession is growing and shows no signs of abating whether it be for promotion of a business, a life hack, creating a global conversation or attempts to break the internet (don’t hashtag that by the way), the humble and previously unloved hash symbol, now called hashtag is here to stay… (for the present, anyway). After looking at the hash symbol for years on my keyboard and never having occasion to use it, I was amazed when it was reworked as the metadata tag of choice in the late noughties initially and primarily for Twitter, but now also used by Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Google+ and Pinterest.

We at Fierce Fun

We at #FierceFun like all game developers are reliant on them increasingly for marketing, and the phrase “where would we be be without them” springs to mind. Our new game #Big Bad Quiz will use a lot of pertinent hashtags to our enterprise, such as #MobileTrivia #BagMan to name a few. Our hashtags are intended to identify chat and interaction on the social media channels which may be pertinent to our business here at Fierce Fun. The hashtag allows us target the right people more accurately than previously on microblogging sites and so get our product out there. The Fierce Fun marketing content would ideally reach those interested in free online apps, quizzes, trivia games, trivia questions, for their smartphones. We would hope to reach them as seamlessly and easily as possible using the trusty hashtag.

Do no harm (to yourself)

Of course with the popularity of the hash tag comes responsibility, there are many ways to mess up the message, as millions of people everyday create new hashtags any one of which could be in some tenuous way relate to you or your product, service or cause. Hashtags cannot be copyrighted they are in the public domain and anything can happen. In business the more generic hashtags cannot really reflect or affect a brand’s identity. When a brand establishes a hashtag for itself, they may be using a campaign competition or promotion, but this can easily come back and bite them in the backside as it may be used as a vehicle for disgruntled employees or customers in the Twittersphere. Despite your best intentions many businesses do not anticipate the negative spin that could be put on a promoted hashtag.

A Little Misunderstanding

There is a great example of an international hashtag misunderstanding, which I credit to an article entitled  Hastagology 101, by Jonathon Crossfield of Content Marketing Institute, but in fact it went viral at the time. It refers to the death of ex United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. A hashtag soon rang out with the announcement #nowthatchersdead. Across North America this hashtag was taken to mean Now that Chers dead. Same language different meaning. This is happening all the time and regional appropriations of terms, names or perceived celebrities is going to increase with the increased use of the hashtag. In the bible of the English language, (as perceived by those of us living close the source),  the Oxford English Dictionary, they give this following definition –  Hashtag – A word or phrase preceded by a hash sign (#), used on social media sites such as Twitter to identify messages on a specific topic. But what about certain hashtag with acronyms which can be easily misunderstood or misinterpreted. One popular one is #FTW which is often taken to mean F*** the world, but in fact, I am led to believe, actually means For The Win taken from the US game show Hollywood Squares which would translate as a huuh haah moment as you throw your fist in the air triumphantly.  

And now the List – Top Ten Hashtags 2015

Of course the list depends on your favourite hashtags and it is a matter of taste and choice. But remember it is always hard not to look what’s trending as it blinks at you from the left hand corner of your screen. Because everyone loves a list, here are my top ten hashtags 2015 – I have collated these myself and they are an amalgamate of  top ten lists, and from a limited amount of research. The top ten lists vary greatly from Twitter to Instagram and to other channels. But I think the hashtags below are worth a mention, in no particular order they are regularly listed among all channels top ten – #Selfie #friends #Family #style #FridayFeeling #Food #Quiz #100HappyDays #LoveWins #FromWhereIStand

Brief Summary

Briefly to sum it all up, the hash tag is a tool like any other it can be used for good or for bad. It has many great business capabilities especially in the  marketing area and used wisely can provide, not only contact with those whom you want to reach, but also can provide precious feedback, which can be invaluable as we plan future campaigns. In #Fierce Fun we employ our hashtags when appropriate, for example when promoting our new games like #BigBadQuiz and we find it a very useful for our marketing efforts. This once lonely button on my keyboard is now starting to wear away from overuse. What a plaudit for the little character or symbol that is following in the footsteps of its bigger brother the @ symbol.