Every weekday, PR Daily associate editor Alan Pearcy highlights the day’s most compelling stories and amusing marginalia on the Web in this, #TheDailySpin.
If a picture is truly worth a thousand words, Instagram users are writing a multi-volume tell-all at this point. The social media platform, with the help of
Instacane, is aiding in
documenting every capture-able moment of Hurricane Superstorm Sandy while granting non-East Coasters first-person accounts of what it’s like living smack dab in the middle of her path. (via
The New York Egotist)
Related: As Sandy slams the East, some caveats about pitching
Of course, there are the fake, yet equally enthralling images of Sandy multiplying via social media, courtesy of Godzilla clip-art and bored Photoshoppers. Here are a couple of collections offered by
Complex and
The Week.
Amid the photos—both real and fake—is a slew of Twitter commentary detailing various reports of the storm.
PolicyMic amassed
10 of the best jokes to hit the social network about the hurricane, as well as some of the more
humorous reactions to Sandy it could scrounge up.
Scrounging up Halloween candy might prove a bit more difficult, especially in outer space. Hopefully, it won’t prevent astronauts aboard the International Space Station from doing a little trick-or-treating of their own on Wednesday.
Space.com reports.
Meanwhile, as trick-or-treaters on the East Coast grow more concerned that Sandy has all but washed away their Milky Way hopes and Skittles dreams,
Advertising Age tells marketers not to worry. The inclement weather might ruin the night’s plans for some, but it’s
too late to damage retail sales.
This Starbucks in Manhattan might see its sales increase because of the storm as
people cluster outside the shop reportedly for the free Wi-Fi as power outages continue to grip the New York area.
By the way, did you ever wonder how Sandy and other hurricanes get their names?
Mental Floss explains.
No explanation is needed to understand why
New York magazine is calling Lydia Calas the storm’s breakout star. Calas is Michael Bloomberg’s official sign language interpreter, and she has captivated audiences with her emotive communication skills during every hurricane update from the mayor. She even has her own mock
Tumblr account, naturally.
Jimmy Fallon and David Letterman proved capable of captivating their respective audiences, despite not actually having them. Both late night hosts
taped shows Monday to empty studios in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, as did Letterman’s guest, a brave Denzel Washington.
Even under perfect weather conditions, you won’t find Mitt Romney on the late night circuit.
The Atlantic Wire reports that the GOP candidate feels hosts such as Letterman hate him, while gigs like “Saturday Night Live” are too “slapstick and not presidential.”
Much like doing the monologue of “SNL,” the importance of a good opening is also vital online.
According to Social Media Today, a powerful intro to any piece for a writer or blogger on the Web not only pulls in readers, but also has implications for search engine optimization (SEO).
Speaking of SEO,
Search Engine Land provides
seven tricks that it says will take the scary out of all that optimization.
Ikea is optimizing its catalog with a
new app that
enables consumers to test out what the furniture and other décor might look like in their homes before buying it.
I’d rather test out a few of
McDonald’s new “Great Tastes of the World” menu options. Too bad the promotion is only available in Europe for the time being.
Maybe a global menu offering in the U.S. will help Burger King regain some of the 83 percent net profit it lost in the first full quarter after a new ownership group took it public. For its part, the restaurant chain claims the losses are mainly
because of restructuring costs and unfavorable changes in foreign-exchange rates, as its same-store sales rose 1.4 percent.
Is there something you think we should include in our next edition of #TheDailySpin? Tweet me @iquotesometimes with your suggestions. Thanks in advance.