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Social Media & App’s Reaching The World

It seems that we can find just about anything on social media sites.  Whether it’s breaking news about Balloon Boy, looking for the latest gossip about Jon & Kate, or commenting on our friend’s status’, the world is only one click away from seeing what we post.  And while the point of social media is to have your voice heard and to share content with the rest of the world, Toyota & MySpace are trying to get voices heard even more.

Toyota, the Japanese car manufacturer, is using its social media app to showcase drawings on jumbo-trons in New York’s Times Square.  The Experience Prius app, which came out in August has added a new feature this week, which will allow you to take what’s on your iPhone screen to the big screen.

App users are given an option to “draw a tree,” and although users can draw anything they want, they are able to use their finger to draw something on the screen, which could eventually be posted on the jumbo-trons.  The catch however is that you are limited to a one continuous movement, so that means no lifting your finger from the screen. When done, users will be presented with an option to submit their creation for broadcast on one of the digital displays in Time Square.  Although it’s not guaranteed your drawing will make it to Time Square you can look for it live on the web with two Times Square webcams.  The two digital billboards, which are owned by Reuters and NASDAQ, will post drawings to promote the hybrid automobile until sometime later this week.  

MySpace set up a similar campaign earlier this month called Step Up To The Mic, which runs through November 2.  However, unlike Toyota’s set up, users on MySpace, can upload a picture and send a short message, which can be anything from a shout-out, a love note, or anything else you can type in a 50 character limit.  The messages will then be sent out to over 300 digital screens around the globe. 

MySpace created the campaign for it’s users in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland to share their thoughts with the public in cities such as Chicago, London, Glasgow, and 8 other cities.  The digital screens are posted everywhere from train stations to actual moving buses.

“MySpace has continuously provided our users with online and offline capabilities on a global level,” said Angela Courtin, from MySpace’s Marketing Entertainment and Content Department. “It enables our users to broadcast themselves in a creative and innovative manner, just as they do on the site.”