Invasion of Privacy

With the world of social media slowly becoming the air we breathe, it becomes harder and harder to protect our privacy. Sometimes this is due to our own choice, such as posting statuses every hour about what we’re eating and where we are shopping. However, sometimes its against our will like Facebook tracking our location as we update our statuses or upload a picture. I, for one, am very against posting such things because it could lead to high risk of stalking and potential robbery of my house if people knew I wasn’t home at this exact time. Our first reading this week discusses about another potential attack on our privacy. Employers are now asking for our Facebook account passwords in order to do thorough background checks before we are even hired. Personally I think this is a horrible invasion on our rights. Everyone has a life outside of work and unless we are serial killers, which will be on public records, I don’t think we should be judged for our thoughts on FB or our photos with family. This not only opens up our lives, but also the lives of our friends and family and I don’t believe that is fair to them. If someone chooses to friend their co-workers or their boss after they have known them, it’s a different story. Being forced to give up a password is almost the same as giving up your freedom to be yourself. 

So how do you avoid this without risking your potential job offer? Mashable has ways you can gently let your future employer down. I think they give some valuable pointers such has eloquently answer that you do not feel comfortable giving up your password and direct them to your LinkedIn or other job-related networking sites. You can also plan ahead by cleaning up your FB page and timeline or making it not available for public search. I personally have my name slightly different from my real name to make it visible only to people who know me or ask for me. 

The last article we have this week goes in depth into the legality of this issue. Some states are planning on making this invasion against state law. However, currently there is no clear federal law against employers asking us for passwords. What measures do you think should be in place to protect our rights? Would you give out your password in order to have a chance for your ultimate dream job?

Online Data Usage

Our reading this week focuses on digital advertising and online marketing. Consumer data use is on the rise and even though it is still a developing field, it has matured a lot in the past years. The article itself was a bit out of my league in knowing what exactly it is talking about, however, I did understand the 4 cases it discusses:  audience optimization, channel optimization, advertising yield optimization and targeted media buying. These 4 will help companies better their advertising strategies.

Audience Optimization focuses on targeting the right customers through first and third party data sources. Channel Optimization takes it to the next level, getting the right message to the right people at the right time through the right media. Advertising Yield Optimization deals with making sure the value of available advertising is high and the product/service is selling to high-value audiences across individual publisher properties and delivery media. Targeted Media Buying suggests delivering specific messages through various channels. This was the only one at intermediate maturity level. The other three were still at low maturity level. It was to grow more with time. According the the article, a big hindrance for growth is the lack of ‘data-savvy marketing talent.’ I suppose we’re in the right field. The boom of online marketing and advertising puts consumers in the spotlight when it comes to how they shop or what they are looking for on websites or apps.

What do you think can be done to gain more insight into maturing this type of research? When is using PII, personally identifiable data, stepping over the line of privacy?

The reading for this week was interesting to me because the field I want to go into is International PR. With that, I need to be able to tap into cultural differences when launching a product or targeting a marketing campaign. Message testing is a good way to gain knowledge through researching a group with various messages. Consumer input is extremely important when creating a message. It could make or break a campaign. The first reading was about the testing of sugar consumption in children 3-16 in the city of Philadelphia. They asked caregivers and parents about the different ways they have been trying to keep sweetened beverages from their children. The results can benefit how ads are made for sodas.

The second reading article was even more intriguing to me because coming from a Chinese background, I can definitely see how some slogans or commercials would do well here in the U.S. but fail miserably overseas. Websites are a big resource to consumers all around the world but how a website is laid out and what is included on the site to make it easiest for users varies from culture to culture. The Chinese users prefer more control over what they can do on the website, according to the article, whereas Canadians just want to feel likability.

What other ways can message testing benefit a company? How do you think it can be best carried out, as telephone surveys or ad responses, etc.?

Sending the right message

The reading this week discussed message testing in order to determine effectiveness. Thefirst reading looked at the impact of advertising on sugar sweetened beverage consumption in the city of Philadelphia. This campaign used what I traditionally held as my view of message testing, using consumer input to craft ads for television, radio etc.

The second reading, observed consumer behavior on ecommerce sites in Canada and China. The study measured the impact of emotions on the perception of site atmospherics. According to the research, web designers “should use different techniques to increase visitors’ feelings of pleasure and likeability of the website for Canadian and feeling of control over the website for Chinese customers.”.

The reading for this week was interesting to me because the field I want to go into is International PR. With that, I need to be able to tap into cultural differences when launching a product or targeting a marketing campaign. Message testing is a good way to gain knowledge through researching a group with various messages. Consumer input is extremely important when creating a message. It could make or break a campaign. The first reading was about the testing of sugar consumption in children 3-16 in the city of Philadelphia. They asked caregivers and parents about the different ways they have been trying to keep sweetened beverages from their children. The results can benefit how ads are made for sodas.

The second reading article was even more intriguing to me because coming from a Chinese background, I can definitely see how some slogans or commercials would do well here in the U.S. but fail miserably overseas. Websites are a big resource to consumers all around the world but how a website is laid out and what is included on the site to make it easiest for users varies from culture to culture. The Chinese users prefer more control over what they can do on the website, according to the article, whereas Canadians just want to feel likability.

What other ways can message testing benefit a company? How do you think it can be best carried out, as telephone surveys or ad responses, etc.?

Eyetracking

This term makes me think of the hurricane tracking, more so cause I have been stuck at the airport for a day waiting on standby to fly back home from New York. It doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon. It’s been a crazy fight with Sandy. Back on track with actual eyetracking, I had no idea you could track eye movement and record it by warmth. Like this article shows, Google Places research can tell what area of results is seen first and clicked most. I use Google Map and Places all the time and never thought about how I could be tracked by eye movement. The way this paper describes the eye tracking procedure makes me think of Lasik eye surgery. It also states that certain people who wear glasses, hard contacts, and even women with long eyelashes might not qualify for this research.

 I believe that using eye tracking could help designers figure out where to place important information to best attract attention. It could help with layout and navigation placement. Also with photos, color is a lot more attractive to the human eye compared to black and white, according to Poynter.

What other limitations would eye tracking have? What are the benefits of using the results from eye tracking research?

Rise of Crowdsourcing

Whenever I think of the term crowdsourcing, I think Wikipedia or iStockPhoto. Wikipedia has become the largest online collection of random facts and valuable information. Because anyone can contribute to Wiki, its a melting pot of variety. That may be good but in some cases, it could also be hard to filter through.

With out reading this week, it seems iStockPhoto is ruining some photographers lives. I never really thought about it from a purchaser point of view. For me, it was a cheap way of getting decent quality photos for my projects. However, from a photographer’s point of view, how can they charge hundreds for their hard work when some freelancer charges $1. The competition eliminates all the chances for making a large profit. Another example of this is 99Designs. Logos can be bought for a small price by companies and private organizations. Professional designers that might charge a high price by hour would lose their advantage with this competition.

I think the same concept can be applied to websites like Yelp. Professional food critics and reviewers are less and less valuable because now anyone can review a restaurant. This type of crowdsourcing is great because we’ve gotten so use to “peer reviews” with eBay and Amazon, we tend to believe in what our “friends and neighbors” say versus someone who might be getting paid to say positive things about a company or brand.

Another form of crowdsourcing is for fundraising purposes. This was an unfamiliar world to me besides just defining the term. With the Jam article, you can see how effective it is to come together as a group and brainstorm different ideas. This is a great way to tap into many brains all at once towards a common goal. With fundraising, you can outreach to leaders then to individuals in various groups without having  leave your room.

Have you had personal experience with crowdsourcing and what was it like? What other types of crowdsourcing are there?

Good vs Bad Reputation

I recently had a  horrible experience flying JetBlue and I sure let them hear about it on their Facebook page. I didn’t hear back from them or get any sort of compensation. Needless to say, I will not be flying JetBlue again any time soon. On the contrary, Southwest had a delay in a flight and when I finally got to my destination, there was an email in my inbox from the company apologizing and letting me know that it was a weather concern. With each generation gearing more and more towards social media, I think it is imperative for companies to know what is being said about them via social media networks. This chart from an AdWeek shows what percentage of consumers use these networks and for what.

In almost every category, the percentage has rose from 2010 to 2011. It shows more people are going online to express their concerns and needs. Now its up to the respective companies to listen. PR Newswire calls this Social Echo. Companies should pay attention to what type of information is being repeated, what tweets are being retweeted and if there are patterns or similarities.With social media websites, a negative comment can go viral and spread like wildfire within seconds. If it is not caught in a decent amount of time, there could be great potential damage to a company’s image. They have created a Social Media Metrics tool that analyzes this information and comprises it on a main dashboard for easy access. Facebook has an insights chart for business pages as well. However, the internet is very broad and any information posted onto the web can be viewed from anywhere in the world. As Bunting and Lipski states in their research, internet simply enhances the scope of human interaction. What consumers use to do as neighbors or at community gatherings, now can be done via the internet and around the world. How has this benefited consumers? On the other hand, how has this made things more challenging for companies to maintain their reputation?

This type of reputation management is not only for companies, but for individuals as well. Being an active buyer and seller on eBay, my feedback and ratings are very important. The higher my ratings are, the more buyers will come to me and trust I will be a good seller. The same type of rating system can be found on Amazon as well as customer reviews. Before I buy anything, I always read reviews so I know a bit about what to expect. These online reputation systems are updating constantly. They are used for 4 main objectives according to Dellarocas, they are to build trust, promote quality, facilitate member watching and to sustain loyalty. How would you prioritize these objectives?

Mobile Usage on the Rise!

Ever since I put a data plan on my cell phone, I can’t go back to the “stone age” where I couldn’t buy stuff on eBay through my phone or immediately upload a photo via Instagram. What was once a unnecessary luxury, now mobile internet and apps are a necessary convenience for many. As Cisco states with various statistics and facts, “Global mobile data traffic grew 2.3-fold in 2011, more than doubling for the fourth year in a row.” The use of mobile data is still on the rise, whether its on mobile phones, tablets, laptops or iPads. To my surprise, Cisco shows in a chart that Android is actually doing better than Apple. This was very surprising to me because I thought with all the Apple worshipers, it would definitely beat out Android but I was wrong. (I personally have an Android phone so I guess I’m adding to the stats)

The world of apps is still relatively new to me. I wasn’t sure how companies were tracking my usage but with every update, there seems to be something changing whether for the better or worse. After reading Apsalar’s article, I understand a bit more on how things are being updated. Its really cool that developers can target specific audiences with new app launches based on research Apsalar gathers. There are some new shopping apps that I use to buy clothing and sometimes I will put things in my cart and not purchase it right away. Not long after, I will receive an email with a message saying “Hey you seem to have forgotten some items!” and some companies will offer up a discount code to push you along to purchase.

As far as QR codes, I started seeing them on posters and ads but I can’t say I have much experience with them. I have used them for the Cheetah Hunt roller coaster launch at Busch Gardens when I worked for SeaWorld. I got to see how a QR code is developed and exactly what information can be stored on this little square. I think its very intriguing and it can provide a lot of useful advertising with very little space needed. The QR code article describes what QR codes are and gives some websites that can create one for your company. I think there are still some kinks that need to be worked out with this method of marketing but its going the right way, especially when used for charities. It is a good way to let consumers see what they’ve donated to or what the cause is for.

How does mobile data affect your daily life? Have you ever gotten information from a QR code and how was your experience?

Second Life

This week is my topic week so I will briefly discuss my experience with Second Life in this post and elaborate more when I present on Wednesday. The reading this week was by Boelstorff, a Princeton Anthropologist that researches in depth the world of Second Life. I personally played many MMORPGs in my young days. Such games as Nexus and Ragnarok still haunt me as I spent hours and hours of my day creating my character and leveling up by doing quests. I made “friends” and we would all go on at the same time and join quests together. This was my “escape” back when I had ample time to live a “2nd life.” Now I barely have time to live my one life.

Second Life is not much different from what I played. It is more realistic in the fact that there’s bars and houses and jobs that you can have versus just leveling up and conquering lands. This type of game is more deadly in my eyes. You can actually get sucked into thinking it is another life you live. You log in, buy furniture for your “house”, buy “clothes”, go to “work”, and go have a few “drinks” with your “friends.” I think this is a great way to socialize and be happy if you are very unhappy with your current life, however, this also brings up my main concern with these games, how do you know who’s on the other side? Maybe I watch too much Criminal Minds, the thought of socializing with complete strangers scares me. What if the girl avatar you are talking to and shopping with is actually a 60 year old stalker with no job? I remember when I was still actively playing online games, there’s such options as marriage and courting in the games. Some people actually took it very seriously and get upset with the other avatar socializes elsewhere. The “marriage” sometimes gets carried into our real world and people share phone numbers and chat offline. This becomes a very dangerous and unhealthy obsession that could lead to someone living two lives. I think Second Life is a great online game to play but if taken too seriously, it could be hazardous. Am I completely out of line for having these worries?

Overall, I think the game is intriguing. The graphics are pretty up to date. The avatars move around smoothly with my internet connection. The “rezzing” of characters sometimes lag a bit but mostly it is quick to react. The online world and map are extensive and you can be a creeper and see who is around. How’s that for stalker training?

Overwhelming amounts of CRM

Customer Relationship Management is very important to companies now a days due to the great amounts of competition in each industry. Knowing exactly what your consumers want and how you can bridge the gap of communication better can make or break a company and its product. Actually, right before I typed this blog post, the top of the page had a “You win a prize! You are our lucky survey taker ” from WordPress. This was a single question from WordPress.com that asked if I would recommend this website to a family or friend on a scale of 1 to 10. This information can be used to gauge how user-friendly WordPress is and if the users actually enjoy using the website to its full potential, enough do some word-of-mouth marketing to family and friends.

In our reading this week,  Hoot Suite is introduced to us. I think this such an amazingly useful program, especially to websites or companies that have various social media pages. When I worked at SeaWorld’s PR department, I was in charge of their Facebook pages for all 4 theme parks here in Orlando and one of the tools I used was FaceBook insights. This program was able to tell me how many new group members the page gained, how many were female and male, what the best comment was, what the worst comment was, how many page likes, etc. This made it a lot easier for me to create a weekly page report for the upper management. It also made it easier to reply back to any negative comments or complaints people leave on the page. Ow.ly Click Stats is a very clever twist on a name. I think this is good for product websites to judge how many people only come and browse their products but don’t actually make a purchase.

American Banker did an article that stated some interesting research results. Bank of the West was open to gain a lot of new opened accounts due to social media websites and online marketing. I am familiar with these types of marketing as well. I get randomly bombarded with “Get $125 for opening a new account” all the time. The articles states there’s a fine line between this type of social networking and being sued for “violating public advertising and communications rules.”

So when are these large corporations over-stepping boundaries? At what point is it not an issue of Customer Relationship Management and it becomes spam?