Posts Tagged ‘celebrations’

The Perfect “Happy Birthday” for your boyfriend

November 15th, 2011

So, my boyfriend’s birthday is coming up in a week and I have no idea what to get him this year. You’d think it’d be easier after four years of being together! It’s always nice to make your boyfriend something, but with all the midterms and assignments on my plate, I could not possibly devote the time to personally make him something, as sweet as that might be.  Not to mention, I totally blew my last month’s salary on a gorgeous dress for my cousin’s wedding. It was until I came across this free app called Birthday Mashup Cards on Facebook. Yes, sometimes good things can be free.

The app offers personalized e-cards with a variety of community templates that you can choose from. Best part is that it allows you to upload all sorts of different media- photos, music, videos. It’s a simple process, since the app is directly linked to Facebook, which enables you to just extract photos from your albums and drag it directly onto the card. It really saves the hassle of uploading the photos, not to mention I have turtle speed Internet. I also searched and inserted a cute little video directly from YouTube, which is linked within the app. Anyhow, I finished making the card in less than ten minutes, although it really doesn’t look like it. These mashup cards are perfect if you’re looking for something personal and simple, best of all- free! Here’s a link to the website for those of you who are interested: http://www.mashuparts.com/, or you can just search “Birthday Mashup Cards” on Facebook. I think my boyfriend will love it- all those memories we shared mashed up into that little card.

Share Awesome Birthday Ideas

November 8th, 2011

As we become more and more of a digital generation, I wonder how we will integrate daily aspects of our lives into the “www” world. Like, how can we celebrate birthdays in a 100% online fashion? What is exciting, about this idea of a virtual birthday, are the innovative options its users can offer. Online users possess a strong sense of community and authenticity. However, as unorthodox as this idea may sound, options are already available to the bold user.

For the users who feel passionate about online gaming, they can organize to meet and play against each other at virtual worlds. For instance, DDO’s celebrated its 5th birthday with its users in a purely online manner this past February. Twitter uploaded a website where the company featured a Youtube video featuring 16 famous people—amongst them UFC’s president, Dana White. If you want to read more on how these media companies celebrated their birthdays online, check out http://www.cssreflex.com/2011/06/10-popular-website-birthdays.html/. Other sites recommend booking a computer lab or an online forum where everyone invited can meet and contribute by competing in games or creating websites to mark the occasion.

Another area that I have not addressed yet is the birthday gifts. In the web, we have the option of online gifts—but, they may be costly and require you to provide credit information. However, my favourite option available is Mashup Arts . These guys embody the online ethos of our generation, since they use UGC (user generated content), and their app. operates on Facebook.  Like the options provided above, Mashup Arts removes the cost pressure, and focuses on the birthday boy/girl. The app. is all about making personalized birthday cards for the person. If you are on Facebook, you may download the app. for free. A feature of the app., named the Automashup, creates a 3 page photo ecard with Youtube video(s), and a personalized title. If you don’t like the card, you click “remix”, and the app. instantly provides you with new content. Plus, as a way to promoting community spirit, many users can participate in the making of one card.

After reviewing this, I’m excited to see how social media may extend online celebrations.