Welp, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon is finally in full swing. It seemed like forever that they were running TV spots promoting Jimmy’s Facebook page, Webisodes, and a million other social networking sites.  At first the constant advertisements were a dismal reminder that my nights would soon be Conan-free, but I got used to the idea and decided to give Jimmy a chance.

I figured if he was going to spend so much time on social media sites, I should pay attention. We always talk about how important it is for people and companies to listen to their audience. Jimmy is a perfect example of this. He was listening to his fans online for months before his show premiered. This was especially crucial when trying to create a smooth transition for Conan to Jimmy.

Let’s be serious, Jimmy’s got it hard having to fill Conan’s shoes. Especially since he’s like 10 feet tall. But really, over the last 16 years he has gathered a very following. I think all of us were a little nervous to see how Jimmy was going to handle it.

I was really surprised at how naturally Jimmy took over Late Night. Not only did he get through his first week alive, he actually did really well. But what was even more surprising is that all of the social media sites that led up to the Late Night premiere are still active. Every night last week Jimmy either mentioned the blog or his twitter account. He actually asked Cameron Diaz questions submitted from his Twitter followers. Who knows how long he will keep this up, but I think it’s a great way to keep and build his audience.

So Jimmy’s first week was good. That could have been due to the fact that most of his guests were people he had worked with in the past, but let’s keep it positive. He’s started out really well and I think he will continue to do well as long as he doesn’t ditch his online presence. It was essential for build-up into his Late Night premiere and it will continue to be an asset if he wants to stay relevant.

There has been crazy buzz about the new skittles.com . If you haven’t heard anything, you probably aren’t using the “Internets.” But anyway, Skittles has linked together different social media sites through a very simple and small navigation menu that floats over any of the sites. Essentially the Skittles brand is now in the hands of social media junkies. 

Skittles has surrendered most of their power to talk about themselves. Anything written about them is immediately publicized without filters. Many critics have said this is a horrible idea. But I say, “Why?” You don’t have to be a genius to predict that some people are going to pair the word “skittles” with derogatory words and phrases in their Tweets. Sure, that’s not the best but at least Skittles isn’t trying to hide it.

There are also some people who don’t like that the new site doesn’t have any practicality of a normal corporate site. But nobody was going to their corporate site, anyway. Again I mention, compare 20,000 site visitors in a good month to 600,000 Facebook friends in three days. 

You also have to consider how Skittles has been branding themselves the last few years. They’re known for their incredibly creative and off-beat commercials (my favorite). Everyone was surprised when a fruity candy company actually made themselves relevant with their new advertising. You would think most people would be prepared for Skittles to extend their branding to their online face.

I think the most important thing that Skittles has done with their new website is show that they care about what their consumers are saying. Not only are they listening to them now, Skittles is allowing everyone else to listen in, too. Skittles may not have as much control over their brand but they are trying to be as transparent as possible.

In conclusion, I have been craving Skittles like crazy since the new Skittles’ site hype. Effective? Absolutely.