OMG It's OMD

This week has been a big one if you're into reading Disney blogs that are closer to the source than me and the rest of the Disnerds that pump out pages of content a second (other people do that. When you do the math, I'm pumping about a page every, oh, two months).

That's because, this week, Disney has fully committed itself to the blogging thing that's been popular, since, I don't know, when was the Amy Adams part in Julie and Julia based? Since then.

But, as Microsoft will tell you when you ask them about the Zune, better late than never.

Around Wednesday, Disney launched Oh My Disney, which closely resembles Buzzfeed in style.

Now, you could go on a rant about how it so closely resembles Buzzfeed that you could say it completely ripped Buzzfeed's style of. You'd have some sort of valid point, sure, but this is a blog that is only about one thing: Disney. Buzzfeed is about everything, so it's not an unholly ripoff. And hey, Buzzfeed just takes Reddit's content and makes it prettier, so nobody's hands are clean. Except maybe Reddit; its hands are just ugly.

If you don't know what Buzzfeed is, 1. That must have been a confusing paragraph you just read through and 2. This one will clear that last one up, and explain how OMD (Disney=acronyms) is a copy of that site. OMD is laid out in a very simple way, much like any other ol' blog. It categorizes its content into five different sections: AWWW, Oh, Snap!, Retro, Silly and Woah, much like on Buzzfeed has content categorized with badges like LOL, omg (a lot like OMD?) wtf? (that last one's a tag, but the question could be asked in regards to the copying) and that kind of thing. The fonts are the same, the simple, clean design are nearly identical, but again, Buzzfeed takes on the whole world with its content, OMD is one thing: Disney.

So far, they're doing that one thing well. Disney has always had a problem being "hip" as the kids might say (So depressing that I'm 22 now and not one of the kids. If you're, like 40, sorry that I'm making you feel even older. I'm not looking forward to getting to your stage, either). Hip is about being "with it," and when your a company where you bleed red tape(and in some ways, is a strength. Nobody has a better brad than Disney, and that's because of the red tape), it's hard to produce things that are of the moment.

With OMD, Disney has finally done something that's hip. The tone of the website is super playful, which is exactly the tone it needs. They write with a sort of clever attitude, and the things they write don't seem like they were done more for PR's sake than the reader's actual enjoyment, like some of their other blogs (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE). So, if anyone that has anything to do with OMD reads this: good job guys (also, I totes want to work for you, so look me up on ROSTR)

You can also check out Disney Insider, Disney Movies and Disney Music blog. I could make this post more intimidating and take the word count to 11 talking about them, or you could just go read them for yourself. Heck, just go look at OMD for yourself. Why'd you waste your time reading this when you could have just gone straight to OMD?

The Best Of Many Worlds...And Lands.

Surprise? I was on Facebook today.

Every once in a while, I do actually look at those ads on the sidebar. I like to ensure that the website I spend a better part of my day on (or, probably, life, it'll turn out) stays free. Sometimes, Facebook stalks my information correctly and an ad pops up that actually interests me. Usually, that ad is for something Disney related.

This time, a new app showed up called Disney Parks Shoppes. Normally, any word with a superfluous "e" at the end is an immediate turn-off, but when that word is preceded by "Disney Parks," I make an exception.

I was first struck by the colors. I just finished taking a graphic design class, so now I know about that stuff in a more technical way, or whatever. What I really learned is that when something looks good, it looks good. Look, I just saved you $3,000. Back on point now.

The app, or website, depending on how you access it, is very simple, with a aesthetically pleasing visual navigation, using minimalist inspired icons.

Minimalism seems to the focus with the website, which is a good thing. Less is more when it comes to websites these days, and the people over at Disney know this. The new Disney.com is stripped down and thus has a much better design than the website it replaced.

On the Disney Store website, they've been selling what used to be park-exclusive merchandise, which has been kind of a bummer because it takes away the novelty of only being able to buy something because you were there. Yet it is also cool, and for the opposite reason: if you can't make it to the parks, you can make the parks come to you in a small way.

That's what this new website emphasizes: park merchandise, hence the name.

You're welcome.

The website sells a few things from both the World and the Land, along with seasonal merchandise, shirts that it labels "Facebook First,"for things that have a social media theme to it, and the Dooney and Burke Collection. It also has a weekly trivia question so you hang around the site longer than you should, and a section for merch that you'd buy before hitting up the parks, like Mickey Ears or some luggage.

While shopping, you can compile a wish list and earn badges for different types of accomplishments, similar to things on Foursquare or Get Glue. I got one that was publicly shared for letting the app access my Facebook information and signing up.

The site is essentially just another online storefront for Disney, but the clever people over there embedded some great social elements into it, so it feels more like a hybrid experience, instead of just giving Disney your money. Because why buy something if you can't show it off on your body and on Facebook?

It All Started With a Pin of a Mouse

Pinterest is old news, which is why I am writing this blog post about it. I simply enjoy wasting people's time.

I started a personal Pinterest way back when it was a semi-challenge to get an invite. I pinned some stuff, gave it a chance, and then, like so many other one-trick social networks, I stopped giving it any attention.

Then I realized that a majority of the things that I was either posting or sharing on Main St. Monitor's facebook fan page (which you should like!) were photos. People love photos, I love photos, and Disney has so many amazing photos floating around the internet, just waiting to be appreciated. Facebook was a good place to share them, but not the best place.

So I sent an invitation to myself and made a Pinterest for Mr. MainSt Monitor. Unlike my first go at the mostly-female populated photo/idea sharing site, everything finally clicked.

There's such a vast archive of Disney images out there, from classic photos of the parks, to iconic posters, to early-stage sketches for animated features, that populating my pin boards these inaugural days of the MSM Pinterest have been a blast.

What I've also noticed is there seem to be hundreds of Disney blogs, podcasts, Facebook pages and Twitter account out there, but only a few boards and, besides Disney's official Pinterests, just about zero accounts dedicated solely to Disney (If I'm wrong, comment with the ones you've found, I'd love to follow and re-pin their stuff). So a lot of the things I've been posting have been my own original pins. Though the things I do re-pin are always fascinating.

It has also led to to further explore what hidden Disney gems the internet has to offer. Up until now, I've mostly been following current events, reading about Disney's rich history via old media, like paper books (Yes, they still exist).

People seem to be more receptive to what i share on Pinterest than anywhere else. A couple people like the things I put on the MSM Facebook Page, or click on the links I share on Twitter, and the interaction is a little uneven. From the moment I posted my first pin, people started repining and sharing my content. I haven't had a heavy flow of followers, but people on Pinterest seem to share more freely than on any other social media platform. I'm sure this is old news to anyone who's a casual to heavy user, but it's fascinating to me. No wonder businesses got on board as soon as possible.

Starting the Pinterest account has been a blast, but the best thing that's come out of it is the digging I do to populate the board. There's so many spectacular Disney visuals out there, and pinning them is my new mission.