It seems that incredible, triple-digit growth is not sustainable. Who knew? According to CNN, the number of Twitter users (tweeters?) has finally leveled out. On the bright side, the people using Twitter use it more than ever.

image from kelly Livesay's blog (thanks!)

Foursquare is slowly but surely taking over the world.

Much like Twitter, its appeal is somewhat hard to describe, but more than a few folks here at Creative Asylum have been bitten by the Foursquare bug. The idea is this: members use their cellphones’ GPS capabilities to check in regularly from physical locations such as  restaurants, bars and shops. People within their network are notified of their locations, and conversations and discoveries about new places and new things ensue.

We’ve noticed two particularly newsworthy developments with Foursquare of late:

Harvard has partnered with them to create a campus-based game that rewards students with badges and points for exploring the school and surrounding places of interest. Essentially tacks an official Harvard-specific game with a special collegiate badge on the existing Foursquare functionality and purpose.

Twitter and Foursquare Become the New Loyalty Program at Tasti D-Lite - This marks the first time that a restaurant chain has tacked on social media rewards for social media exposure to their customer loyalty programs, and it’s been a long time coming.

Now if only rival Yelp wasn’t completely honing in on their turf!

There’s this new movie coming out, maybe you’ve heard of it. It’s called AVATAR?

James Cameron’s sci-fi juggernaut has been gradually building buzz in anticipation of its December 18th release date. As one of the most anticipated and costly films ever made, AVATAR is bringing the hype—especially with the promotional campaign.

A partnership with McDonald’s was recently revealed that includes sneak peeks of a planned interactive Web site and a Twitter promotion. McDonald’s is pulling out all the stops by incorporating augmented reality into the mix, with “thrill cards” that put customers on Avatar’s home planet. Cool.

The official Avatar interactive trailer is pretty darn cool too. While you watch the trailer, interactive “hotspots” come up where you can learn about the characters. Not to mention the integration of Avatar’s Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube accounts.

The wildly successful ElfYourself campaign from Office Max has become a holiday mainstay over the last few years. Something you can count on… like egg nog and shopping mall brawls.

Office Max and JibJab have just launched the 2009 edition, complete with a Facebook Connect component AND a flash mob.

So be sure to get elfed this year. Now, with more social media!

 

What’s tastier than a pudding pop and less itchy than a sweater? Why, social media of course! Just ask Bill Cosby, the veteran comic who has recently taken the web by storm. With no less than eight outlets, Cosby is more accessible than ever.

He’s even got a Facebook app that lets you dress yourself up in a Cosby-style sweater. Who’d have thunk all the strange and wonderful places we’d go wtih social media?!

Read more about the Cosby invasion here and here. And be sure to follow him on Twitter here.

Honda and Ford have been at the forefront of the social media marketing shift lately, proving that the auto industry—albeit struggling—has its finger on the pulse.

Case in point: Honda’s ‘Social Experiment’ recently netted 2 million Facebook fans. This cross-platform push urged people to join as fans and also to learn how they are connected to other owners, friends, and fans around the world. It would appear that “Everybody Knows Somebody Who Loves a Honda,” but the real question is: will it sell more cars?

And let’s not forget Ford’s Fiesta Movement. This grassroots social media campaign gave 100 social “agents” the keys to the new Fiesta model and encouraged their feedback through blogs, Twitter, video and events. All without spending a dime on traditional media.

While both Honda and Ford have turned out impressive numbers, the jury is still out on what this will mean for the revival of the auto industry. Perhaps the more important implication here is the extent to which social media is overtaking traditional ad dollars and making more sense when it comes to brand marketing.

How do you sum up college in 140 characters or less?

Would-be journalists at Griffith University in Australia could tell us. The academic institution just made Twitter education part of the mandatory courseload.

“Some students’ tweets are not as in depth as you might like. But I don’t know if getting them to write an essay is any more beneficial,” said Jacqui Ewart, senior lecturer at the university.

Let the Tweducation begin!

Attention, Finns! Broadband is now a legal right. In a landmark case, the Finnish government became the first country worldwide to sign a law dictating that every citizen has a legal right to a broadband connection.

In other news, the Federal Court in Australia has recently decided that individual judges may decide (on a case by case basis) if they will allow Twitter coverage in their courtrooms.

And, not to be outdone, our very own CIA has just invested in a social media monitoring firm. The agency plans to use technology to monitor International intelligence shared in public channels to get an early edge on what’s being communicated by influencers.

An app that helps guys “get lucky” with 24 different types of women had Pepsi serving up a mea cola yesterday, but consumers aren’t buying it.

The app, released to promote Pepsi’s AMP energy drink, presents guys with 24 types of girls, including such clichés as “Rebound Girl,” “Women’s Studies Major,” “Cougar,” and “Twins.” The app assures guys that it will be a “roadmap to success with your favorite kinds of women,” lets them create “Brag Lists” of girls they’ve gotten lucky with, and even encourages them to flaunt their conquests via social networking.

Pepsi’s half-hearted apology has left many customers cold and even instigating a boycott of Pepsi goods.

Let’s hope the men out there are scoring with this app, because Pepsi sure isn’t.

“Paranormal Activity” might just be the latest anti-blockbuster not coming to your city.

Taking a page from the Blair Witch playbook, DreamWorks and Paramount are taking a grass-roots approach to marketing their latest horror flick, relying heavily on the assumption that social networking will do the rest.

“Paranormal Activity” opened last week in very limited release (seven select cities), and also released an Internet trailer asking viewers to demand the movie come to their local cinema. The studio is not only hoping social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter will build buzz for the film, but are using feedback to determine where to screen next.

Read more about the marketing tactics here, here and here.