Posts Tagged Social Media
Unvarnished, a new website where people rate people; advancement or trollfest?
Unvarnished is a site that allows people to review people anonymously. We think this is an extremely negative event with dangerous ramifications. The web allows engenders a type of sociopathy in some people which has led to an increase, and maybe a pride in, trolling. (Are there paid trolls?) Reality TV provides tutorials on how to be mean spirited delivered by “troll” role models. In addition, any savvy web user knows that people will take time to write bad reviews more often that people will make the time to write good reviews. In addition our experience is that most negative reviews are a result of some disappointment with a product or service rather than the product or service failing in some disastrous way.
That’s not the least of it. If sites that allow people to post reviews of other people take off; how will that affect someone’s willingness to make controversial statements that may need to be said? What will it do to controversial people? For example, would you be less willing to tell the truth (after all you might the crowd) if you knew that negative reviews of you could be posted on social networks, and that you had no control over them?
Even further, could a person take you hostage or bend you to their will by threatening to post negative reviews about you?
Would we eventually be forced to become a moving mass, a cud chewing crowd of people living in fear of being different? (Don’t want to chance ruining my reputation)
Don’t tell us about how physically expressive society has become with tattoos, nose rings, and fixed gear. If a large group of people adopt a look it loses its power and is no longer an example of “freedom”. We’re reminded of the black and white pictures of Chinese Communists wearing the same “look” in their clothing choice(s) and on their faces.
Molly Wood at cnet wrote what we consider to be a “fair take” on the situation here.
Jessica Guynn with the LA Times give an overview of the feedback about the site here.
Posted by eBrand Media Research Department in Social Media, Trend Tracker on April 1st, 2010
Simple Redesign Doubles Social Sharing: 5 Insights
SUMMARY: Getting website visitors to share your content on social networks is a great way to boost traffic. But what’s the best way to promote social sharing to your visitors?
Find out how a travel insurance company doubled the amount of content visitors shared on third-party networks with a simple site redesign. We offer five insights they gleaned from this simple, eye-opening test.
World Nomads sells traveler’s insurance in 150 worldwide markets, and relies heavily on user-generated content to attract visitors to the site. Some 8,500 travel bloggers have published more than 55,000 stories and 600,000 images through the team’s platform.
The site’s blogs are free to create, and this content provides a wide funnel to introduce visitors to the company — typically through travel-related searches. But social sharing is increasingly helping them fill their funnel.
“We recently noticed that people were getting far more connected in their social media lives and their social networking, and we just did a tiny little redesign in how our share tools were displayed,” says Christy McCarthy, Community Manager, WorldNomads.com
A simple redesign — making social sharing a more prominent option — doubled the amount of the site’s content shared through social networks like Facebook and Twitter. If you’re offering social sharing tools on your site, you may have a similar opportunity to increase usage.
Here are five insights about how to encourage sharing that McCarthy and her team gained through the test:
Posted by eBrand Media Research Department in Social Media on March 2nd, 2010
Relationship Management – How To Build A Community That Will Spread Your Brand’s Word
Forbes CMO Network
Douglas Atkin, who wrote The Culting Of Brands: How To Turn Customers Into True Believers, observes that brand communities have mushroomed since he published his book six years ago, and social tools like Facebook and Twitter have exploded. But, he says, most brand stewards are confused about what “community” means.
“Being a fan or follower is not the same as being a member of a community,” he writes. “Membership delivers a whole higher degree of commitment. It also demands a whole other level of engagement from participants and, consequently, a deeper appreciation by the community leader of their responsibilities.”
Atkin then offers five different strategies for building a community along with examples of marketers who have done so. But the golden rule in the brand-community business, he says, is “BE USEFUL.” If you prove that you genuinely care about the people who are giving you their hard-earned dollars, “the social networks will enable people to tell others. If you don’t, they’ll also enable people to tell others.” – Read the whole story…
Posted by eBrand Media Research Department in Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, Twitter on February 22nd, 2010
Trends and Insights On Web 3.0
Software applications provider ICON believes that the next generation of the web, or “Web 3.0,″ promises more recommendations, free services, intelligent (semantic) searches, and tailored information. In an effort to heighten awareness about Web 3.0, Gege Gatt, the founder and director of ICON, recently identified some broad trends that are in tune with Web 3.0.
“To put the list in context,” says Gatt, “we’ve identified some broad trends that dominate the new crop… and which are in tune with the next generation of the web… which is no longer random data, but tailored, highly intuitive and delivered in real time.”
According to Gatt, these trends are:
Posted by eBrand Media Research Department in Web 3.0 on January 25th, 2010
New Chart: Perceptions about Social Media are Changing – How Social Media is Perceived at Budget Time
By Sergio Balegno, Senior Analyst
The question was — Which statement best describes how social media marketing is perceived within your organization at budget time?
Considering that social media is at a very early stage in its lifecycle, a 7% confidence rating that it is producing measureable ROI and should be funded liberally is outstanding.
Conservative budget increases by half of all organizations at budget time — based on the promise that social media will eventually produce ROI — is another vote of confidence in the medium for the longer term.
The 17% of organizations who still believe social media marketing is basically free and should stay that way, are destined to get what they pay for.
Not surprisingly, those who have reached the strategic phase of social marketing maturity are far more likely to be producing measurable ROI or at least seeing signs of a return on their investment on the horizon.
On the other hand, marketers in the trial phase of social marketing maturity are more than four times as likely to not recognize the value this tactic has for organizations willing to invest appropriate time and resources.
For additional research data and insights about social marketing, download and read the free Executive Summary from MarketingSherpa’s 2010 Social Media Marketing Benchmark Report.
Posted by eBrand Media Research Department in Social Media on January 11th, 2010