Infographic: American Idol Social Media Showdown

Another season of American Idol has come and gone and surprise! The winner is Phillip Phillips! Yes, American Idol has added yet another WGWG (that's "white guy with guitar" for you) to their growing list of WGWG winners.

From L-R: David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee Dewyze, Scotty McCreery and the newly crowned Phillip Phillips

I'll be honest, I stopped watching AI the moment Taylor Hicks took crown in Season 5. Such a letdown, especially following the amazingly talented, beautiful and down-to-earth Season 4 victor, Carrie Underwood. Still, I kept with the times, reading the news and occasionally chancing upon it on TV.

It was one of these "occasional chances" that made me decide to watch AI again. It was top 8 or 9ish by then and I heard Jessica Sanchez sing. Holy smokes, I thought. This is it. She wasn't perfect. Her renditions of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" were okay at best (Steve Tyler was being nice). Her stage presence needed work, unlike Joshua, Skylar and Phillip, who were naturals. But she had raw talent, she was young, passionate and more importantly she was marketable.

Online, the signs pointed to her victory (let's forget the whole "Saved" debacle, which was totally staged anyway). Check out this infographic I made summarizing Jessica and Phillip's respective social media profiles before the finale:

It's clear that Jessica has a larger, or at least more socially active, following. So why did Phillips win?

It's a simple answer that many businesses tend to overlook. As important as social media is, it does not necessarily represent offline behaviour. First, a handful of Jessica's fans are likely non-Americans. Second, just because someone shares his or her opinion online, doesn't mean it will translate to concrete actions.

I wish I didn't have to say I was disappointed with the results. After all, Phillip Phillips is a very talented man in his own right (and hot to boot). Still, with AI's ratings steadily dropping since Season 6, a fresh new winner might have been just the boost it needed.

Til then,
Mae

Facebook, Marriage and Organ Donors

First things first: Congratulations to Mark Zuckerberg on his wedding with long-time girlfriend Priscilla Chan! For those who haven't heard, the couple tied to knot in a simple surprise ceremony on May 19, 2012.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Priscilla Chan, who just earned her medical degree at the University of California last week, has no doubt been a inspiration to the world's youngest self-made billionaire; the most recent example being Facebook's decision to incorporate the new Organ Donor feature in Timeline.

"Starting today, you can add that you're an organ donor to your timeline, and share your story about when, where or why you decided to become a donor... (Facebook) can be a big part of helping solve the crisis out there."—Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, May 1, 2012

 

Since the announcement, tens of thousands of users have already signed up to be organ donors. Finally, an online act that can actually potentially make a difference, as opposed to meaningless (and often unrelated) Facebook memes! An act that not only announces your support, but gives you the opportunity to do something about it if and when the need arises.

What do you think? Will you sign up to be an organ donor*? 
*Note: this feature is not yet available in Canada

xoxo
Mae

Related links
Organ donation: Facebook's priceless offering
Mark Zuckerberg wife: Priscilla Chan Profile