Is there really a such thing as "privacy" on the Internet?

Since we were talking about privacy this week in class, I wanted to post some valuable information that I found on the Internet about how to increase your privacy settings while using Facebook. Ever since I took the MIS 555 Information Management class here at Depaul, I have been more guarded with the information that I am willing to share via the Internet. One of my professors also reinforced the thought in my mind as he shared with us his difficulty in getting his undergrad students to understand that employers are using the Internet, especially the social media sites to gain information on potential job applicants. I will admit that I have talked to various people who think that what they post on Facebook is not going to be shared publicly, but all you need is one "friend" to tag an embarassing picture of you or post something to your wall that you don't want others to see.

I came across the following site which shares 10 Privacy Settings every Facebook user should use. I definitely think that it's worth a look at.

1). Use your friends lists
2). Remove yourself from Facebook search results
3). Remove yourself from Google
4). Avoid the infamous photo/video tag mistake
5). Protect your albums
6). Prevent stories from showing up on your friends feeds
7). Protect against published application stories
8). Make your contact information private
9). Avoid embarassing wall posts
10). Keep your friendships private

http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-privacy/

Love or Hate iPhone maps?

I must admit that I love my iPhone for the most part and I do love the Google maps on my phone. It has helped me find my favorite restaurants, find my way back home after I missed my turn, and helped me out of more jams than I could ever imagine. However, I noticed the last time that I was traveling down the Tri-State trying to find the nearest Subway before class that I noticed that there was this weird pin that showed up on my map and had someone else's name on it. I didn't think much of it until I came across this article on Tech Crunch "Google Injects Ads and User-Generated Content Into iPhone Maps"

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/03/google-injects-ads-and-user-generated-content-into-iphone-maps/

As we were talking about User-generated content this week in class, after reading this article I had to think "What was Google Thinking?", why would this be of any value to your users? If anything, this just reinforces in my mind how big companies start to make stupid mistakes and ultimately lead to their demise when they don't have their customer's best intentions front of mind.

Mobile Marketing to the Extreme...

I happened to come across this story on CNN.com and thought that it was appropriate given that this week in class we were discussing mobile marketing. The story talks about 2 tech savvy guys in their 20s that rigged their iPhones to a 42-inch modified tvs to create costumes for Halloween.


http://us.cnn.com/video/?/video/tech/2009/10/30/wfts.iphone.costumes.wfts

The story has created such a buzz and following. The story has been viewed alone on YouTube more than 530,000 times since October 24, 2009.

Just too busy to tweet...

I've often heard from many people how I should be on Twitter either tweeting or following other tweets. I came across a very interesting article on MSNBC regarding a Pew study (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33405217/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/) that found that nearly one in five Internet users are using Twitter or another similar service to share personal and business updates, or to see updates about others. That number increased from 11% last Spring to 19% now.

The Pew study attributed the increase in Twitter traffic to 3 types of Internet users: those who are already familiar with social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn; those in the age group of 18 and 44; and those who are accessing the Internet wirelessly via mobile devices such as their Blackberry or iPhone. On-the-go Internet users say they like to share what's going on in their lives and like to communicate with other people - if you have the means to do it easier via your phone, tweeting becomes a default action.

The Pew study also found that people that have 4 or more wireless devices are the most likely to use Twitter, with 39% saying that they do so, compared to 28% of users with 3 devices, 19% with 2 devices, and 10% with 1 device. Twitter becomes even easier to access as there are over 1Bn people worldwide with Internet access compared to 4Bn with cell phones that can access Twitter via SMS.

The Nielsen Co. reported that in 2Q 2009 that there were 4.2Bn text messages logged by the 2 largest wireless carriers, AT&T and Verizon Wireless. They found that the clear leader was Twitter with 1.3Bn messages, followed by MySpace with 740 Million. Twitter's website is bringing in 54 Million visitor's a month, according to comScore.

Last, the Pew survey found that not everyone on Twitter is tweeting. Many are following, or listening to what others have to say via their tweets.

I find this study very interesting as I am not on Twitter at this time. It's not that I am against the technology as I do have access to Twitter via my iPhone or laptop computer. I personally don't think that I have anything interesting to tweet about in my life nor quite frankly do I have the time to constantly tweet what is going on in my life when some days I'm not sure if I remembered to do something. Who knows??? Maybe one day soon I will venture out of my comfort zone and decide to see what all the fuss is about...after all I will have some free time just as soon as I get done with this MBA program.

David vs. Goliath

I came across the following article on my company internet and I thought that it was very fit to discuss given last week's topic for the discussion board regarding search engines.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jfgfhgCzTgada4wkisPvh8kn2dUAD9B2EDCO0

Google is allowing users to better refine the way that they see search results showing that they are trying to seriously fend off rival Microsoft's search engine Bing. The change is nothing new as it has been around since May, but it allows the users to define what they see in their search results such as: videos, books, reviews, discussion forums, etc. Google said that its latest changes were made because of changing demands of its audience. Microsoft introduced a similar feature back in June.

Bing has been successful in helping Microsoft gain ground in the area of search, which is expecially important as it drives much of the advertising that's available on the Web. Microsoft has also been able to gain ground by investing in a $100 million dollar marketing campaign for their Bing search engine. By doing this, Microsoft has been able to increase their market share to 9.3% in August from 8.0% back in May; while Google maintains 65% of all U.S. web searches. Microsoft is also hoping to take an even bigger part of Google's share when they start processing Yahoo's searches next year.

I think that Microsoft has a good chance to take on "Goliath" as they have been able to make Google follow their lead in adopting new functionality...and afterall, Google hasn't always been the major player in search.

So True...The past vs. the future

I must admit that I frequently view message boards to see people's comments on a wide range of topics. I had to laugh when I came across the comment below regarding an article about marketing to customers via social media:

"My girlfriend, a marketing major and clothing company owner was ridiculed by another clothing company owner.

"why would you ever put your business myspace address on your business card if you have a website?" he said.

"What's your favorite brand of clothing and how many times did you visit their official website?" she replied. (silence...)

"Now how many times did you check your myspace today?" she says, smiles, and walks away."

I think that the above conversation sums up the 2 varying view points when it comes to social media. There are those companies that embrace the technology & those that obviously don't understand how it can be used for business. I feel sorry for the latter...

Reaching customers through social marketing

While doing my usual daily surfing of the Internet, I came across an interesting article from USA Today about how more marketers are embracing social networking to reach their customers.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-08-27-social-networks-marketers_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

In the article, they talked about how Ford Motor Company is really hoping that the US launch of the Ford Fiesta goes well. They gave 100 bloggers a Fiesta to use for 6 months as long as they uploaded a video of them using the car once a month to YouTube and encouraged them to talk freely about the car on their social networking sites. I think that this is a HUGE gamble on Ford's part, especially given the current market for US car companies. However, if the bloggers have a positive reaction and a large enough following, it could definitely work to Ford's advantage. I also applaud Ford for reaching outside their comfort zone to accept new technologies to reach potential customers, hopefully it allows them to come out on top of other American automakers.

The article also talks about how large companies such as Ford, Levi Strauss, and Chevron are refining their marketing techniques to embrace digital media to create online communities, outreach programs, and to reach out directly to their customers/fans. I think that this is key for any company that is looking to be successful in this era, especially if your target demographic is between the ages of 18-35.

Ultimately, the companies have to realize that they can't rely solely on Social Media. It should be integrated in a thoughtful way with the traditional marketing methods that they already use. Once companies realize that it's not about the bottom line, but about making fast connections to their customers...which is priceless!