Wow. Just wow. This is an incredible campaign from Adidas, though I’m not quite sure how this got more than the 3 people involved to run more, it’s still pretty awesome. Check the video below for the full rundown.

As a Community Manager for a large brand on Facebook, it’s commonplace to deal with Spam Comments and indeed Spam Wall Posts. The  nice thing about most Spam is that it’s so obviously Spam that there is no question in your mind.

But what happens when the spam takes on a more personal tone? Indeed, what is a community manager to do when spam is mixed with recognition of your own social initiatives?

Now, I don’t think it would be kosher of me to display any examples. But I can say that the “spammer” is not your typical faceless profile, but instead belongs to what seems to be a normal person who feels that they’ve stumbled upon a great way to get their business out there. But the reality is that their post likely won’t be seen by many people, and those that see it probably don’t even live in the Business’ area. So what real harm is it if I delete the post?

Then again, this person may very well be a loyal consumer, who’s simply attempting to gain a similar level of publicity from the advocacy they’re giving. And deleting their post may only anger that individual unnecessarily, because as I just said, few will ever even see that post.

What’s a Community Manager to do? I feel a distinct desire to put community engagement beyond minor brand inconvenience. But in a world where micro-management and pseudo-social media skills are rampant, that decision may very well bring one into conflict with the Brand one represents.

It’s a sticky situation that lives in a grey area of Social Ethics. Anyone else out there dealt with these issues? Share your experiences in the comments.

This post is a shout-out to the lovely and fabulous ladies of HoopPretty! Barbra and Rachel have been (and still are) wonderful graphic designers and hoop-preneurs who have created such lovely work as the Hooping Narwhal shirt that I got for Tash last Christmas. My heart goes out to you, both for what you’ve done for the hoop world, as well as your new direction.

And with that, those two have decided to close shop on HoopPretty and go out with a bang! Their going to be selling their shirts at an astonishing $9.99, so if you’ve ever wanted to snag some sweet hoop gear, this is a perfect time.

And to top all that awesome off, they’ll be donating 5% of their sales to the World Hoop Day Organization (12/12/12 this year).

So let’s send these ladies off in style!

So, this is what has overtaken my life over the past month or more. As part of our recent campaign with Trident Gum, we collaborated with Steve Aoki and Duran Duran to create a pretty awesome event in NYC, for free son! And this was the outcome:

I recently acquired a lovely new pair of Contact Poi from super-Jedi and all-around swell spinner Charlie Cushing. He has begun selling these poi under the company new LanternSmith and I have to say that his products are unique and potentially revolutionary. Here’s a rundown of the most intriguing aspects:

1. Modularity

All of the products created by LanternSmith have fallen in line with the methodology pioneered by Flowtoys in creating a completely modular system. Which means you can switch out all the different aspects of any pair of poi to create a variety of combinations. For instance, you can unscrew the heads of the poi from the rope and change it out for something different that perhaps better suits a performance. Which means never having to buy complete sets of poi again. Simply buy the parts you want to change.

This is specifically awesome when you consider that they also make Glow-in-the-Dark products. Which means day or night, these poi can do it all. And when you couple that with future plans to integrate their modular system with already existing products such as Flowtoys, this opens up a whole new level of toy customizability. I sincerely hope that his concept catches on across multiple companies in creating a standard for product modularity.

2. Glow-in-the-Dark Products

Although I did not purchase any of their Glow-in-the-Dark products, I got a chance to play with them. For what they are, they work great. Super bright with a short charge time under any blacklight, which as we know are readily available at most festivals. And they are extremely green, considering there is no waste in batteries (though how much energy is needed for the blacklights may even it out).

The only negative I see in this product is that I like my toys BRIGHT. I bought Hyperlights after all, so what does that tell you. And for my part, many festivals have a great deal of ambient lighting all around. Meaning these Glow-in-the-Dark toys may not show up so well. But for those headed to more remote forest-bound festivals, and those desiring a little less extreme lighting, these will certainly fit the bill.

3. Beyond Poi

This is one of the first companies I’ve seen that have actually manufactured high quality products (non-fire) for both the poi and hoop world. They have created crazy Glow-in-the-Dark hoops (not just tape), which I believe are a first. They’ve also included in that design a pretty amazing plastic which, from the center point, can be bent completely in half without affecting the integrity of the hoop. It’s fucking incredible, something you have to see to believe.

Again, the only odd thing about that hoop is that it may be just a little too springy for my taste. It’s very responsive, but perhaps overly so. That doesn’t mean some people won’t dig this hoop, but it will take some time getting used to.

All in all, Charlie and friends have worked hard to create a unique variety of products in a market that’s fast becoming over-saturated with subpar copycats. So if you’re in the market for a new pair of Contact Poi, Puppyhammer, or even looking for a new take on the traditional hoop give these guys a look!

-Sean