Peter Kerwood: Getting social sorted

Add social to your digital address book
The average person has around 1000 contacts across all of their networks and in various address books. Brewster, launched last week, is a brand new app that is not so much focused on addresses, but ‘understanding the relationships around them and using the power of the social web to bring them to life’, streamlining your contacts over a number of different services. Incorporating contacts from Facebook, Twitter, LinkendIn, Foursquare, Gmail and your iPhone address book, Brewster creates a profile for each person you know displaying all contact information in the same place together with a profile photo (if you have one) and all their social information. The app sorts the people you talk to most, and allows you to search through your contacts by name as well as city or interests such as the conferences, exhibitions or networking events you first met. Designed to ‘connect the dots you never know existed and see how your relationships are evolving’. This free app is currently only available for the iPhone, but there are plans to release an Android version in the near future. @brewsterapp

Sonar reveals hidden connections you may have missed

Sonar is an app that helps tell you when your colleagues, friends and family are nearby, revealing hidden connections you may otherwise have missed. The app makes use of social data from networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and LinkedIn. It’ll give you context about the people around you, and introduce you to those with shared interests. It’s a small world... 
@sonarme

Shhmooze makes face-to-face networking at events easy and effective 

Most people who attend networking events find them a challenge, me included. I find it really hard to find the people I really want to talk to in a crowded room find it even harder to strike up a conversation. That’s where Shhmooze comes in. The smartphone app was a runner at last month's app circus. Download, create your profile, browse the list of nearby conferences and meetups and check-in to the event you're at. Now people can see you and you can see them. Check out the 'who's here' list and decide who you want to meet and send them a message and arrange a face-to-face meeting. Then put your phone away! 
@shhmooze

Engage with all your likes in one place

Launched late last year by UK startup Cascaad, CircleMe is the inverse of the standard social network. CircleMe connects you to you and is described as ‘a deep dive into your sense of self as defined by the various kinds of digital things you like.’ The CircleMe user can pull in your digital footprint (Facebook ‘likes’ and Foursquare ‘check-ins’) resulting in a digital rendering of you customisable profile that can be shared with others. Ultimately, it seems, you are what you share. @circleme

Social Bro is the king of the Twitter marketing suites 

Social Bro is my discovery of the year. SocialBro is a comprehensive Twitter marketing suite that is transforming the way I use Twitter. It pulls together all the best bits of all the other similar services and bundles them into a single easy to use dashboard. With this tool you will be able to filter your contacts based on who they are and how you know them. Segment your business and personal Twitter life and interact with people more appropriately. You can monitor hashtags, view insights, analyse competitors and find out the most effective time to tweet to your followers. Don’t just take my word for it. McDonalds, Volkswagon, Elle, IBM, Mastercard, Google, Coca-Cola Paypal and Samsung all use SocialBro.
 @socialbro

‘Automagically’ share on Twitter with Buffer

Buffer is a simple web application that lets you schedule tweets. When you see something during the day you want to share, you clip using the nifty Bookmarklet, fill up your ‘Buffer’ and the app sends them out for you. By keeping Buffer topped up, you will be maintaining a consistent social media presence. You can also track bitly clicks and the impact of your tweets and you can add multiple accounts. Brilliant!
 @bufferapp

Do not underestimate the power of social media – case study  

A video displaying the humiliation and suffering of an elderly New York woman proved an unlikely YouTube hit when it went viral recently. A middle school student posted the ten minute video of 68-year-old bus monitor Karen Klein being bullied by a group of youths on his Facebook page, which led to millions sharing her pain through social media channels. The incident is not the first clip of everyday suffering to have been brought to light through the web, and won’t be the last. Social media can be attributed with empowering people to act when they witness such events, and can even lead to random acts of kindness. In the case of Karen Klein, viewers rallied together to launch an appeal to pay for her to go on holiday. Donations recently topped $680,000. The culprits are now being investigated by the police and one of the boys has received death threats. Do not underestimate the power of social media!  

Uniqlo Pinterst campaign

Last month, New York based digital agency First Born put a clever spin on the way Pinterest works, turning it into their very own scrolling Uniqlo animation. This video shows you how they did it. Other examples of brands using Pinterest in innovative ways include Kotex, who ran a really clever campaign based on what 50 inspiring woman had posted on their Pinterest accounts, Peugeot’s puzzle campaign, Fashion Label Guess’ ‘Colour me’ contest, Proctor & Gamble’s ‘Thank you Mum’ campaign and BMI’s plane ticket lottery. Check it all out here. @firstborn_nyc