SmartPhones = Only For Hipsters

At least that's what the advertisements would have us think.

SmartPhone marketers have made it clear that their target audience is a well dressed, concert-going, yoga-doing, skinny jeans-wearing hipsters. And hey, I'm not hating, but at least do it like some of these companies and really reflect on how the youth of America walks, talks and acts. Don't give me those corny commercials with hip-hop-like language and people randomly busting out into synchronized dances at parties (Miracle Whip). Give me glitter, red lipstick, and boys. Then I will be convinced that you want me to buy your phones.Read the full article here to check out some more of the most popular smart-phone ads for hipsters.

The Portrayal of Black Women on YouTube

So I was recently introduced to one of those disturbing-but-supposed-to-funny YouTube videos of a black woman sitting on the toilet, singing (literally) "Sittin' on the Toilet", while pursing her lips. I won't link to it, but you don't have to look hard to find it.

Then I started to think about all of the other YouTube videos I had watched like Sittin' on the Toilet or Scarlet Takes a Tumble or Leprechaun in the Hood  or heck even the Bed Intruder video, and I wondered-- is this really what American boys and girls, sitting in their homes, surfing the internet think of the Black community?Is this what they think of Black women?

So I went to YouTube and poked around a little- hoping that this was just my assumption and that there was some chance I was wrong.

Here are the most common adjectives I came across after some simple searches I did for "Black Woman":

• Big Black Woman
• Large Black Woman
• Fat Black Woman
• Crazy Black Woman
• Loud Black Woman
• and the ever-so-popular Black Women Gets Arrested 

and "Black Girl" :

• Ghetto Black Girl
• Crazy Black Girl
• Big Black Girl
• Hood Black Girl
• Poppin' It Like a Black Girl

The results were, to say the least, disheartening.

To be fair in my informal research I searched for White Girl and White Woman, and came across the random plethora of results typical to any YouTube search and nothing at all like what I had found in my previous search. This is not meant to pin Black against White or vice verse. But it would be interesting to discover why this disparity exists in the online video community...

The Top 5 Facebook Pages for Latinos

Fifty-two percent of Hispanics use Facebook at least weekly, spending an average of 29 minutes on social networking versus White Americans who spend 19 minutes. Even among Hispanic adults age 50 and over, Facebook has become their main online destination (via AARP ).

But what are marketers doing to leverage all of that social media use? Surprisingly not much. Multicultural marketers are experimenting and having a hard time trying to figure out what the Hispanic population wants in an online brand experience.

But the one's who are getting right are the ones who truly embrace the Latino culture and spirit. Check out some of these brand's who have really done a great job of capturing the needs and wants of Latino consumers.

1. éne.bé.a : A Facebook page for the NBA brand, re-branded for the Latino population
2. Being Latino: One of the first and only places for bi-cultural Latino's to express and talk about being Latino in America
3. Tu Pantene: A page that adds a cultural twist to understand the diverse needs of Hispanic women's hair
4. Toyota Latino: Ninety nine different decals with the names of Latin American countries and major cities are offered for free
5. AT&T Latino: Though it only has a fan base of about 1,500 so far, with some more focus, this Hispanic-centered campaign shows promise

The Hispanic population doesn't want to be singled out, but they do want to feel like they are apart of the conversation. These pages do a great job in addressing that need.

Read the full story here.