Today, Facebook is going public and, according to Business Week, may be worth $140 billion at close of business. The question is, what are we paying for when we’re buying our Facebook shares?

Facebook launched in 2004 and was started as a closed network for college students. 8 years later, it’s become the world’s most popular social network with 900 million global users, 488 million mobile users and 125 billion friendship connections. Facebook has routed itself in our social, pop and political cultures and the term has actually become a verb used by many – “Facebook me”! Some people make up and break up because of Facebook and begin and end their days with it. I’m sure you’ve seen the daily “good morning” and “good night” Facebook posts taking up your newsfeed.

Facebook is also one of the largest information outlets due to users sharing personal information, photos, place of work, birthdays and more with their friends. Many advertisers use this information when placing Facebook ads because of the highly targeted audience.

This wealth of information is what many say we’re paying for now that Facebook is live. Fred Cate from the Indiana University Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research says in an interview with NPR, “When Facebook investors and founders rake in billions of dollars on Friday [the first day of public trading], they are making that money by selling little bits of each of us. What Facebook is selling is us. They’re selling data, but data that more than 900 million of us volunteer on a daily basis.”

So do you think this information is worth $140 billion?

Art Director Drew Frantzen raises eyebrows as he channels his inner Don Draper. Note the requisite Whiskey Sour in hand. A man of detail, for sure!

This week the First Generation office has been ‘a-zou-bisou’ about the season 5 premiere of Mad Men and the swinging 60’s shenanigans at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.

Perhaps the show resonates with us because of our mutual advertising agency settings or maybe it’s the outlandish behavior that we find so amusing, but in either case, there are always lessons to be learned from our stylish fictional counterparts. So here are our top 5 Mad Men-inspired lessons, martinis optional:

5) Equal Opportunity: When a competing agency is shamed for their part in dropping water bombs on civil rights protesters, the SCDP folks pull out a mock ad claiming to be an “Equal Opportunity” employer. But when African-American jobseekers approach the agency for work, the partners quickly learn that this is no laughing matter and it’s time for them to open their doors. Lesson: It’s never too late to right a wrong.

4) Belle Jolie Lipsticks: When testing lipsticks for a Belle Jolie ad, then secretary Peggy Olson coins the phrase, “A Basket of Kisses”. While the client eventually goes with another idea, this creative copy gets Peggy noticed and eventually helps her say goodbye to the secretary pool and hello to the shark tank as the Junior Copywriter. Lesson: Seize opportunities – you never know where they may lead you.

3) Honda: When Roger Sterling’s drunken big mouth almost kills all chances of landing the high-profile Honda account, Don employs some smart thinking to beat the competition. The team pretends to shoot a video pitch, seemingly spending far beyond the strict $3,000 limit imposed by Honda. This leads the competing agency to up their ante and pull out all the stops. When Don goes into the pitch meeting with Honda, he tells them that he knows that the other company has broken the spending rules and since his conscious couldn’t allow him to do the same, he cleverly returns their $3,000. Impressed with his integrity, they tell Don that SCDP still has a shot at winning the bid. Lesson: Know your client and know what they believe in.

Our ever-so-chic Integrated Marketing Producer, Andrea Coyne, shows the ladies of Mad Men how it's really done. Move over, Joan! This lady has work to do.

2) Sugarberry Hams: In order to drum up some much needed excitement for Sugarberry Hams, Peggy and Pete employ some Barnum and Bailey-inspired antics to generate some free publicity for the normally less than exciting pork product. Peggy hires two actresses to “tussle” over the last ham at the grocery store. But what starts as a fun gag ends up as a full-fledged brawl with arrests, hair pulling and newspaper coverage.  Lesson:  Contrary to popular belief, sometimes all publicity isn’t good publicity.

1) John Deere: When Account Executive Ken Cosgrove lands the John Deere account, the office celebrates with yet another wild party. But what happens when you mix lots of booze, a secretary who can’t drive and a pompous executive with bad reflexes? The answer: Gross, dark and hilarious television comedy. Lesson: If you’re going to drive a lawn mower at work- take out the blades.

Apple launched new iPad product marketing last week and, surprise, it’s better than ever!

The most newsworthy feature that places it ahead of its’ protégés iPad 1 and iPad 2 is screen resolution. According to Apple’s website, the screen resolution on the iPad 3 is 44% greater in color saturation and offers 3.1 million pixels on their 9.7” screen. Most images currently on the web are 72 ppi (pixels per inch), while the new iPad screens offer 264 ppi.

For the technically challenged, this “geek speak” means that the new iPad screens offer better resolution when viewing all web images, reading articles or playing games.

You may think this will only effect the way iPad users view web-based applications, but based upon Apple’s track record, they won’t create this amazing screen resolution for just one product.

How does this affect you?

If you have a website or microsite, create applications or publish web-based articles, you’ll need to rethink the revisions of current and the creation of future web-based marketing tools. The best way to cater to all users is to create two versions of your images and apps. One version can be viewable on current computer and tablet screens, while the second version should be viewable on the new iPad screens and future high-resolution screens.

If two versions of the images are created, the user’s web browser will choose which version to show the based upon the tool (New iPad or current resolution screen) being used.

Need help figuring all of this out? Give us a call at 610-437-4300! First Generation stays at the forefront of the technical world so you don’t have to!

Facebook has announced that their company page templates are changing again. This new change called Timeline, which has already been introduced to personal pages, is going to affect the look of your company page, apps, posts and advertisements within the site. Timeline requires page revisions, so get familiar with the requirements now to be prepared for the mandatory change on March 30^th!

Here are some tips for creating and using your new Company Timeline:

Last night’s ADDY Awards Gala brought out the best of the best in Lehigh Valley’s advertising scene. Representatives from agencies and organizations across the Lehigh Valley came together to celebrate the creative spirit of advertising at this year’s awards ceremony and reception at the Hotel Bethlehem, hosted by the Lehigh Valley Ad Club and sponsored by First Generation.

The ADDY Awards are the nation’s largest awards competition, awarding excellence in advertising through over 200 American Advertising Federation member clubs across the country.

First Gen truly represented itself as a creative force to be reckoned with at this years ADDYs,  not only sponsoring the event, but arriving with a total of 19 attendees (all looking quite sharp, I might add), providing our A/V services through our Hotel Bethlehem A/V partnership, and leaving with a total of 11 awards – including 2 Gold!

I wouldn’t expect any less from the amazing team at First Generation. As Creative Director, I’m proud to represent such a talented and committed group who consistently puts forth an incredible effort to create award-winning work for our clients.

First Generation congratulates all of this year’s winners, and sends out a big thank you to the Lehigh Valley Ad Club for hosting the event. We also thank all of our clients, who know that working with us is a “win-win” situation!

Check out our winning entries:

GOLD Winner: New World Aviation 'Go' Mailer

GOLD Winner: Carpenter Knife Box

B|Braun Perifix Video

MTF Biologics.org Launch Campaign

Olympus Dealer Sales Kit and Catalog

B|Braun Infusion Systems Space Pump Video

Carpenter 'Natures Energy' 2012 Calendar

B|Braun 'Changing Lives, Saving Lives' Video

Olympus TruePic VI Video

Carpenter 'Tactical Advantage' Video

First Generation '1G for Good' Video

This winter, First Generation took over the social media strategy for Carpenter Technology (NYSE: CRS), global specialty materials manufacturer, providing insight into trends as well as scheduling and creating content to engage Carpenter followers and markets.

In just five months, Carpenter has seen significant improvements in their social media performance. Check out these stats:

Social Media Audience grew 280% since Jan 2011:

• Facebook audience increased 100% to 246 followers
• Twitter audience increased 96% to 211 followers
• Linked In audience increased 84% to 686 followers

Social Media Referred 375 qualified leads to the corporate website. These leads, on average, stayed on their site for at least 12 minutes:

• Facebook referred 126 visitors to their website
• Linked In referred 240 visitors to their website
• Twitter referred 9 visitors to their website

“Social media is more than just sporadic Facebook and Twitter posts,” says Allison Drych, Account Planner and Social Media Specialist at FG. “Successful social media begins with a strategic plan that explains how to reach, educate, and engage your target audience through relevant articles, videos, photos and questions.”

Does your social media strategy need a boost? Drop Allison a line at adrych@firstgencom.com. We’ll define, develop and deliver a plan that works for you!