Taking Holiday Traditions Virtual, tracking Santa’s Flight with NORAD
Posted on Dec 14, 2011 by valeriemorini
The holiday season is one of the most tradition rich for families and friends across the globe. From tree decorating and stockings to the milk and cookies for Santa, generation after generation have continued the traditions from their childhoods, adding their own along the way.
When I was a little girl I would look forward to the night that my family and I would get out all our tree decorations, put on my favorite Christmas albums (yes, albums…) and transform our home back into the Christmas land Santa would remember to visit. My dad would recount stories of his own childhood holiday memories, many of which had common threads linked to mine, with simple changes as a sign of the times. Regardless of our ages or belief systems, there’s a magical element in the ability of memories and traditions to bring together people across the world in the holiday spirit.
While many of our traditions are personal and vary based on who was passing theirs on to us, there is one big and jolly underlying tradition that children celebrating Christmas wait for all year, and it’s Santa. For the past 50 years NORAD has been tracking Santa’s flight so children can follow his journey from the north pole to all the homes and chimneys on Christmas eve.
It’s no longer just about putting cookies and milk out, waiting up to see if you can hear the reindeer on the roof. With the incredible technology that we have at our fingertips, NORAD now allows us to track Santa’s journey on computers and mobile devices through GPS and Google earth, which is closer to actually being in the reindeer powered sleigh than many of us could have even dreamed when we were young.
Over the years technology has evolved around this childhood tradition, but the excitement, spirit, and wonder that it ignites in children (of ALL ages) continues to bring the holiday to life. The power exists in the ability of the tradition to unite friends, families, and strangers embracing the excitement, hope, and nostalgic moments that create the Christmas experience.
Kudos and many thanks to NORAD and their tracking team for taking the time to provide us a holiday experience for all ages. During these 12 days leading up to Christmas, NORAD is releasing a new game each day in their Countdown Village to help you pass the time. BuzzMgr will be tracking the trackers through Christmas Day, and will be sharing some memories shared through social media, so share your memories, thoughts, and plans for traditions this holiday season!
4 Places We’d Like to See Mobile Payments
Posted on Jan 20, 2011 by Linda
With Starbucks announcing this week that it is expanding its “pay by phone” program allowing customers to make and manage quick and easy purchases from their smart phones, we got to thinking about about ways we’d like to see mobile payment platforms implemented. If the trends in Starbucks are any indication of mass behavior (more than a third of its U.S customers use smartphones) then other organizations would be wise to jump on this train. Here are some mobile payment platforms we’d like to see…
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NFL’s Carolina Panthers Use Social Media to Engage Fans
Posted on Nov 02, 2010 by Linda
A week ago, SMC media analyst, Hannah Patrick, and I participated in the Panthers Purrsuit, a one day social media scavenger hunt in Charlotte, NC hosted by the Carolina Panthers and Allen Tate. With technological advances in smartphones, GPS and social networking, new mobile apps like Foursquare, Facebook Places, SCVNGR, Gowalla, etc. can merge virtual and real world activities to create a new fan experience. The Panthers Purrsuit incorporated Panther sponsors and community partners into a scavenger hunt competition that engaged fans and leveraged participant social networks to increase brand awareness for the sponsors. Many prizes were awarded, with the winners receiving tickets, airfare and hotel to a Panther’s away game. Read More…
The Sports & Social Media Box Score 7/26
Posted on Jul 30, 2010 by Jackie Adkins
SMC’s recap of what happened this week in sports and social media.
Matt Garner: Social Gaming
New study shows that middle-aged females love social gaming, specifically Facebook games. With women claiming 70% of the market for Facebook games, developers seem to be focusing on them, creating demand for games for younger players and men (do we even need to say sports demographic?).
CrowdZone: The Next Big Check-In App in Sports?
Posted on Jun 03, 2010 by Jackie Adkins
Last week I had the chance to chat with Todd Sullivan, the Co-Founder of an iPhone app called “CrowdZone” that is very relevant to recent posts on here talking both about geolocation in sports and how sports teams can extend the fan experience to fans not at the game digitally.
