Happy holidays to all our readers! In honor of the season, here are a few seasonal tidbits for your enjoyment.
I remember being a kid back in the ’70s, when my favorite thing about the holidays was calling the toll-free number to NORAD as it has tracked Santa and his sleigh across the sky. Now, over three decades later, and the jolly fat man has embraced social media in a big way.
N. Ibanez, a writer for Bussines Review, fills us in:
In addition to tracking Santa on the NORAD, Google Earth is also available to help kids track his flight. Kids can still call NORAD at 1-877-HI-NORAD from 4:30 a.m. on Christmas Eve to 5 a.m. on Christmas Day. Kids can log on to NORAD’s Facebook page, Twitter account, and Picasa photo album. Who knew the big jolly man would be so up-to-date with social media in between all of the gift-giving around the world?
Just goes to show, everybody is more connected these days.
It seems like every year there is some new spin on the Christian nativity story, this year’s tells the tale using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, Wikipedia, Google Maps, GMail, Foursquare, Amazon, and more:
The Twelve Days of Christmas is a song that often undergoes interesting permutations at this time of year. This year, Danny Brown gives it a social media spin. Here is an excerpt from the lyrics (you should really check the whole thing out):
On the eighth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eight gains on Technorati,
Seven Scoble gadgets,
Six BackType comments,
Five brand new friends,
Four Facebook apps,
Three Brogan blog posts,
Two Magpie tweets,
And the Twitter bird in a pear tree.
No matter which mid-winter holiday you celebrate, this is a season of good cheer. The days are getting longer again, and the triple theme of friends, family, and food is common to all.
Have a wonderful holiday, and if you feel like giving to those less fortunate than yourself, there is a vast number of ways to do so through Facebook and other social media platforms.
Have a safe and happy holiday!
Source: “Track Santa with NORAD, OnStar, social media,” Business Review, 12/22/10
Source: “The 12 Days of Social Media Christmas,” DannyBrown.me, 11/19/10
Image by billaday, used under its Creative Commons license.