Daisy Whitney's Blog, page 3

Augmented Reality Gets Practical and Social Gaming Ads Get Big

Augmented reality is one of the sexy new areas of the digital marketing business and may be shifting away from gimmicky uses and to practical world applications. For more details, watch the New Media Minute, where you'll also learn about the ad growth in social games and why big brands are liking the ad environments in them.
Tags: daisy whitney, new media minute, natpe, digitalsmiths, the platform, theplatform, augmented reality, social games, forrester research, emarketer, ads in social games, $1 billion social games, practical use of augmented reality, bar code scanners

Win THE MOCKINGBIRDS for Your Library!

Libraries are amazing. Librarians rock. And in honor of the awesomeness of libraries and of THE MOCKINGBIRDS making the American Library Association's list of "Best Fiction for Young Adults" I am going to donate a signed copy of my book to three different libraries around the country. The three winning libraries can be school or community libraries. To enter visit my Facebook page and comment on your favorite place to read either as a new wall post you create or as a comment below my post. Winners picked on Saturday morning January 29! You can win the books for your local library, for the library you work at, or for your school library. You don't have to be a librarian to enter – you just have to supply the mailing address of the library if you win!

Come to Kepler's!!!

Hi. I'm doing a signing, talk, chit-chat, hang-out at the fantastic indie bookstore Kepler's in Menlo Park, Calif. next week. Won't you please come? It would be so fabulous to see you there! And just to make it doubly wonderful, I'll be signing, talking, chit-chatting, hanging out with my writer bud and fellow debut author CJ Omololu, author of the page-turner DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS. Come see us Wednesday February 2 at 7 p.m.!

A Must Read – THE THINGS A BROTHER KNOWS

So you're looking for a book to read. You're strolling through the bookstore or clicking around online. But you just don't know what to get. I HAVE THE BEST BOOK FOR YOU!!!

You must must must read THE THINGS A BROTHER KNOWS by Dana Reinhardt. It is one of the best books I have read in my entire life. Yes, it's up there with A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT, IF I STAY, SOMETHING BORROWED, HARRY POTTER, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and A SEPARATE PEACE — all-time favorites of mine!

Why is it so good? Because it's subtle and beautiful and graceful and it's ultimately about the simplest and the most important of things – human connection. It's about how we try and how we fail and how we try again to connect with other people. That's why it reminds me so much of my favorite book ever – A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT – because that book is also about the fragility of human connection.

So if I can urge you to buy one book, please buy THE THINGS A BROTHER KNOWS. It's about brothers and it's a young adult novel, so it's a great read for boys, girls, men, women, everyone! Plus – every writer should read this. It's so well done that it's like a clinic on how to write. I learned so much from this book that I have already put to use in my edits for my novels.

Here's what I said about THE THINGS A BROTHER KNOWS in my online reviews.

Touching, tender and subtle – the story of Levi's effort to reconnect with his soldier brother Boaz is one of the best books I've ever read. Boaz returns from war and is changed; Levi wants to understand him, but can't. So Levi joins Boaz on a walk from Boston to D.C. in a story that's ultimately about connection – whether two people can or can't connect. Dana Reinhardt conveys with one sentence – sometimes even one word – what it would take lesser writers a paragraph to do. She trusts the reader implicitly to understand the big moments without ever signaling "this is a big moment." And in so doing, the story weaves its way into your heart and under your skin and stays with you long after you've finished reading. A beautiful story about humanity, connection, love and healing that should be read by everyone.

Real-time Bidding – The Hot New Online Ad Growth Sector

One of the hottest areas in the digital ad business is real-time bidding and its poised for more growth this year, according to several new studies. While less than one-third of Web publishers offered real-time bidding on their ad inventory last year, about 44% of publishers will offer it this year, according to a recent report from eMarketer. The report underscores the growth in this sector of the digital ad business that started to take off last year, bolstered by venture investments in real-time platforms like AdMeld as well as Google's purchase of real-time system Invite Media. For more details on how real-time bidding works and why it's hot, check out this week's New Media Minute.
Tags: daisy whitney, new media minute, natpe, digitalsmiths, real-time bidding, google, ad meld, admeld, invite media, emarketer and real-time bidding report, online display ads

Checking In To TV Shows

Social media has become the new watercooler for TV shows and thats why were seeing a number of new Fourquare-like check-in services for TV shows emerge. TV networks from HBO to NBC to OWN are pairing up with the new players in social TV like GetGlue, Philo and Miso. For more details on the ad and promotion opportunities in social TV check-ins, watch this week's New Media Minute.
Tags: daisy whitney, new media minute, natpe, digitalsmiths, the platform, theplatform, philo, miso, getglue, social tv check-in services, kelsey group, hbo, own, nbc, christian louboutins

No More Pearl Jam in my Books…

I love Pearl Jam. They are one of my favorite bands ever. But they're one of my favorite bands and I'm 38, so Pearl Jam just can't be a teen character's favorite band. And that's why I'm telling you – you won't find a character digging Pearl Jam in my novels.

I tried in Mockingbirds 2. I had a brief mention of Pearl Jam, and it was fitting because the character playing Pearl Jam – Jones – is a classic rock guy. But Pearl Jam's not classic rock. So my savvy and younger-than-me editor wisely nixed Pearl Jam for a much trendier and CURRENT band. (If you want to know which one – read the book when it comes out later this year!).

And that's because you just can't be giving your teen main characters the same musical taste as you. In fact, it's one of the rules. My fellow YA writer Joelle Anthony said so in this article for SCBWI, the writer's association. Giving your characters your musical taste is one of the most over-used things in young adult fiction, along with lab partners who do all the work, characters who hate math, and hot boys with jewel-like green eyes, her article says.

Which means, I have to go change the eye color now of the love interest in my new novel. While I listen to Black.

Which is a totally awesome song!!

ALA Picks THE MOCKINGBIRDS as a Best Book for Young Adults

Hurrah for libraries! Hurrah for librarians! They are often the start of word-of-mouth for a book. And word-of-mouth has been VITAL for a book like mine! That's why I'm thrilled to learn that the American Library Association picked THE MOCKINGBIRDS as one of the best books for young adults – officially known as the 2011 Best Fiction for Young Adults list. Lists like this help the longevity of a book immensely as librarians often stock their shelves from such lists and recommend books to teens from such lists. Thank you, thank you, thank you awesome librarians!!

The Five Best Practices for Brands Partnering with Charities via Social Media

One of the biggest uses of social media has been philanthropy — studies show brands can raise a tremendous amount of money AND get people involved in worthy causes through Facebook campaigns. The social media software company Context Optional shared its best practices and tips for how brands can get the most out of a charitable partnership in this week's New Media Minute.
Tags: daisy whitney, new media minute, natpe, digitalsmiths, context optional, facebook, charitable giving, cause marketing, philanthropy and facebook, brands and charities, natpe

Book Giveaway thanks to Books A Million

Books a Million made The Mockingbirds its pick of the month for its teen book club (yay!) and since I like to support bookstores who support me, I'm giving away 1 to 2 copies of my book from Books a Million on my Facebook page. Come play!