So far Quora has been an interesting resource. It is incredibly easy to get lost on for hours as you research about things you don't necessarily need to know. Many of the questions I follow are media or communication related (or about Justin Bieber...). While these questions and their responses are interesting, it's the less serious questions I find myself being more concerned with. One of these questions being "What would you advise your (hypothetical) 22-year old college-grad child to do with their life?".
The responses to this question have provided me with so much incredible (and free) advice. The respondents really took the time to write out lengthy paragraphs generally describing things they wish they had known. Some of the advice is specific like "don't work for a big organization" while other bits of advice are more general like "don't take things too seriously".
I appreciate the unbiased nature of these responses. Because the people responding aren't advising one person in particular there is a hint of genuineness that is unparalleled by parents and peers.
I'm not sure if free personal advice was an initial goal of Quora, but it certainly is a unique feature that transforms Quora into something more. Something truly useful.
This blog aims to explore the effects of trending social media news. It will investigate new facets of social media and determine how they will or can effect current societal norms. Some of the main components making up this blog include, social media marketing/advertising, social media in popular culture, popular social networking sites (Twitter, Facebook), emerging social media sites (Quora, Tunerfish, Hunch), as well as reactions to social media literature.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
TV still number one market for advertising
Someone on Twitter posted a link to an article on AdAge that revealed that television is still the number one market for advertising. I found this particularly interesting considering half of my blog posts are about how the internet is revolutionizing marketing and advertising.
According to this article, 39.1% of advertising dollars are spent on television, ranking it number one over the internet and print. This news comes as somewhat of a shock to those, like myself, who assumed that television advertising dollars would shift toward the internet with the always increasing amount of time people spend online.
The article continues with a quote from eMarketer CEO Geoff Ramsey which points out that new trendy social media, cell phone apps, and things of the like are having little to no effect on consumers television habits. eMarketer estimates that $64.5 billion will be spent on TV advertising next year, almost double the amount marketers will spend on the internet.
While I find this fact interesting considering how much credit people are giving social media because of a shift in societal norms, I also find it somewhat scary. Among statistics of television's durability, what I gathered from this article was that now more than ever, we can't escape media. Our attention isn't being shifted by social media, it is being joined alongside television, film, music, and literature. What defines a media overload?
According to this article, 39.1% of advertising dollars are spent on television, ranking it number one over the internet and print. This news comes as somewhat of a shock to those, like myself, who assumed that television advertising dollars would shift toward the internet with the always increasing amount of time people spend online.
The article continues with a quote from eMarketer CEO Geoff Ramsey which points out that new trendy social media, cell phone apps, and things of the like are having little to no effect on consumers television habits. eMarketer estimates that $64.5 billion will be spent on TV advertising next year, almost double the amount marketers will spend on the internet.
While I find this fact interesting considering how much credit people are giving social media because of a shift in societal norms, I also find it somewhat scary. Among statistics of television's durability, what I gathered from this article was that now more than ever, we can't escape media. Our attention isn't being shifted by social media, it is being joined alongside television, film, music, and literature. What defines a media overload?
Twitter vs. Facebook: Who got businesses to pay attention first?
"Twitter has not only led the way for the evolution of microconversations, it has single-handedly forced businesses to pay attention to online conversations on a mass, and growing scale."
- Brian Solis , Engage
I would argue that the above quote is factual minus one keyword, "single-handedly".
It is no secret that Twitter has played a massive role in establishing an unbiased communication tool for consumers and producers. But I wouldn't say they worked alone. I don't know the numbers, but I would say that there is probably a somewhat equal number of business-associated presence on both Twitter and Facebook. Maybe Twitter was easier to get the dialog started, and a less complicated avenue for such dialog, but it is my opinion that businesses felt the need to break into social media because of the overwhelming popularity of Facebook, not Twitter.
Facebook led the social media revolution as we know it today. Sure, 7 years ago we all had Myspace's, but we weren't engulfed in it the way we are in Facebook. Myspace was a one dimensional option for shameless self-promotion. Facebook was a tool for connecting people and creating conversations. Twitter was essentially a less complicated combination of both, minus pretentious behavior.
By no means do I wish to discredit Twitter as an innovative outlet for increasing communication between consumers and producers, but I don't think they worked alone in emphasizing the need for businesses to pay attention to online conversations. I think it just provided the easiest way for them to do so.
- Brian Solis , Engage
I would argue that the above quote is factual minus one keyword, "single-handedly".
It is no secret that Twitter has played a massive role in establishing an unbiased communication tool for consumers and producers. But I wouldn't say they worked alone. I don't know the numbers, but I would say that there is probably a somewhat equal number of business-associated presence on both Twitter and Facebook. Maybe Twitter was easier to get the dialog started, and a less complicated avenue for such dialog, but it is my opinion that businesses felt the need to break into social media because of the overwhelming popularity of Facebook, not Twitter.
Facebook led the social media revolution as we know it today. Sure, 7 years ago we all had Myspace's, but we weren't engulfed in it the way we are in Facebook. Myspace was a one dimensional option for shameless self-promotion. Facebook was a tool for connecting people and creating conversations. Twitter was essentially a less complicated combination of both, minus pretentious behavior.
By no means do I wish to discredit Twitter as an innovative outlet for increasing communication between consumers and producers, but I don't think they worked alone in emphasizing the need for businesses to pay attention to online conversations. I think it just provided the easiest way for them to do so.
Hunch Discusses Design Challenges and Opportunities with NYU ITP students
Chris Dixon, Hugo Liu, Christina Mercando speak to NYU ITP students about the development of Hunch.
If you have the time to watch this (it's almost an hour in length) it is a really interesting break down of how Hunch was developed, who's behind it, and basic design information for someone wanting to create a start up. Note their age, style, and intelligence it's fascinating to see people from your generation becoming leaders among technology.
Becoming Media: We are what we consume
In chapter four of Brian Solis' book Engage, he makes a subtle point that really caught my eye.
In his description of how the creation of media is shifting to become more controlled by its consumers, rather than producers, he says, "We have the power and capacity to reach people far beyond our local television and radio broadcasts and even beyond those of the most prestigious nation media empires. The difference is that this reach is not prescribed; it must be earned."
He goes on to describe how media has transformed into a two way street and because of this, we as consumers are able to have a choice about what media we chose to follow and even, to some degree, trust.
This idea got me thinking about the life span of media. When radio and television first came out consumers were given less than a handful of programming options. Our programming options increased fairly steadily in years following its creation, until recently.
It seems like over night we went from having a specific number of media outlet options to having an innumerable number of options. We have satellite radio, internet radio, and local broadcasts. We have basic cable, direct cable, dish networks, Hulu and Netflix. These examples just being the ones that came to my mind instantly. It would be impossible for me to truly calculate all of our media options on the internet.
This is all due in large part to consumers now play in their media. While some ethical issues surrounding the concept that anyone with a computer can be a "journalist" exist, it is somewhat refreshing to have so many options. Will this fact change the structure of major media conglomerates? How will major networks compete for audiences in the future?
In his description of how the creation of media is shifting to become more controlled by its consumers, rather than producers, he says, "We have the power and capacity to reach people far beyond our local television and radio broadcasts and even beyond those of the most prestigious nation media empires. The difference is that this reach is not prescribed; it must be earned."
He goes on to describe how media has transformed into a two way street and because of this, we as consumers are able to have a choice about what media we chose to follow and even, to some degree, trust.
This idea got me thinking about the life span of media. When radio and television first came out consumers were given less than a handful of programming options. Our programming options increased fairly steadily in years following its creation, until recently.
It seems like over night we went from having a specific number of media outlet options to having an innumerable number of options. We have satellite radio, internet radio, and local broadcasts. We have basic cable, direct cable, dish networks, Hulu and Netflix. These examples just being the ones that came to my mind instantly. It would be impossible for me to truly calculate all of our media options on the internet.
This is all due in large part to consumers now play in their media. While some ethical issues surrounding the concept that anyone with a computer can be a "journalist" exist, it is somewhat refreshing to have so many options. Will this fact change the structure of major media conglomerates? How will major networks compete for audiences in the future?
Thursday, March 24, 2011
MyLikes: Social media marketing on steriods
One of the many celebrities (and by celebrity I mean reality star, don't judge me) I follow on Twitter recently (7 minutes ago) tweeted about her adoration for a site called MyLikes. Out of curiosity (and absolute boredom) I clicked the bit.ly attached to the tweet to find out more about MyLikes.
If you've never heard of MyLikes it is an absolutely crazy yet incredibly relevant new marketing and advertising concept that gives even more control to the consumers. On MyLikes you simply create an account that links to your Facebook, Twitter, or other social networking site. Once an account is created you simply go to the website and start rating and commenting on random products and services. What separates this from everyday consumer promotion is that MyLikes will pay you for your opinion.
MyLikes describes themselves as a "word-of-mouth advertising platform that connects advertisers with influencers on the web. Influencers can spread the word and earn money."
Getting paid to click a "like" button? Am I alone in thinking this all sounds too good to be true? Is my pseudo-celebrity a reliable source? Someone make an account and let me know if how soon their paycheck arrives.
If you've never heard of MyLikes it is an absolutely crazy yet incredibly relevant new marketing and advertising concept that gives even more control to the consumers. On MyLikes you simply create an account that links to your Facebook, Twitter, or other social networking site. Once an account is created you simply go to the website and start rating and commenting on random products and services. What separates this from everyday consumer promotion is that MyLikes will pay you for your opinion.
MyLikes describes themselves as a "word-of-mouth advertising platform that connects advertisers with influencers on the web. Influencers can spread the word and earn money."
Getting paid to click a "like" button? Am I alone in thinking this all sounds too good to be true? Is my pseudo-celebrity a reliable source? Someone make an account and let me know if how soon their paycheck arrives.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
How the consumer-marketer relationship has shifted
As a communication major my fascination with trending social media grows with every class. I find it so incredibly interesting how viral social media is in itself. In such a short amount of time it has completely transformed the art of communication as a whole, whether it be personal communication or business communication. Social media has a hand in it all.
While this subject is compelling, I do find myself slightly scared about how prevalent social media has become, especially the fact that every article I read claims that this is just the beginning of social media. How much more encompassing can it get? As it is now it seems that social media has transformed marketing the most. Advertisers and marketers now have the ability to connect with consumers in almost all avenues of their life. To me that seems a tad invasive.
However the first chapter of Brian Solis's book "Engaged", he eases some of these fears. He says, "Social media is about speaking with, not "at" people. This means engaging in a way that works n a conversational medium, that is, serving the best interest of both parties, while not demeaning any actions or insulting the intelligence of anyone involved." It seems that social media is forcing marketers to stop acting above consumers instead leveling with them about what they really want or need. Social media has caused these agencies to rethink the way the treat their customers. We are no longer numbers or statistics, but people.That is a concept I can get behind.
I think it is about time the consumer-marketer relationship got a face lift. Marketers and advertisers need to realize that consumers respond better to peers than pop-up ads. I really enjoyed how Solis captured the idea of personable marketing when he stated, "While intent counts, value talks and BS walks".
While this subject is compelling, I do find myself slightly scared about how prevalent social media has become, especially the fact that every article I read claims that this is just the beginning of social media. How much more encompassing can it get? As it is now it seems that social media has transformed marketing the most. Advertisers and marketers now have the ability to connect with consumers in almost all avenues of their life. To me that seems a tad invasive.
However the first chapter of Brian Solis's book "Engaged", he eases some of these fears. He says, "Social media is about speaking with, not "at" people. This means engaging in a way that works n a conversational medium, that is, serving the best interest of both parties, while not demeaning any actions or insulting the intelligence of anyone involved." It seems that social media is forcing marketers to stop acting above consumers instead leveling with them about what they really want or need. Social media has caused these agencies to rethink the way the treat their customers. We are no longer numbers or statistics, but people.That is a concept I can get behind.
I think it is about time the consumer-marketer relationship got a face lift. Marketers and advertisers need to realize that consumers respond better to peers than pop-up ads. I really enjoyed how Solis captured the idea of personable marketing when he stated, "While intent counts, value talks and BS walks".
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