Word of Mouse; Kill That Mouse

Ok, so the Economist published an article on how social networks and their marketing potential. The following was taken directly out of the article.

Thus the main thesis of “The Cluetrain Manifesto”, written in 1999, was that “markets are conversations” which the web can make transparent.

I agree 100% with this quote, but at the end of the day most people sign into Facebook or MySpace to connect with old time friends, not to be hit by specified ads or banner ads. Personally, most of the ads on Facebook on not catered to my interest. Just the other day, I looked at the side of Facebook and saw Car Insurance Rates for high luxury automobiles. Ummmmm...NO. I drive a Nissan Altima, and in no way is that a luxury vehicle, also how many college kids on FB have luxury cars? This is the same problem Andrew ran into with his Facebook experience. Check out his blog out at http://accandrews.blogspot.com/. Although companies such as Google cater to using keywords and searchwords typed in by the user to select specified ads, I still fill as if it's a hit or miss.

I think the idea "conversational marketing" is great in theory. When films such as 300 and companies such as Sprite create interactive pages on social networks, I think they get their name out and and increase their target audience. But here comes the problem, the article notes that there is no mass targeting, yet a use of "opinion leaders" who in turn push forward a specific ad that they have seen within their social network. This doesn't work.

Call me old school, but Facebook would be great without ads.

Crazy Old Lady Says What???

Ok so you won a Nobel Prize, congrats. But in today's world that does not give you the right to go on about your beliefs about how the current computer world is siphoning our brains ans destroying our culture. I am sure Doris Lessing is a wonderful lady and a suburb novelist, and her books have sold millions, but what was she talking about? It sounded like a pranoid old grandmother nagging about anything that includes the word technology around it. Yes, she was indeed too old and ill to give the speech herself, but she missed out on all the benefits computers do bring.

I have been using the mass form of communication and global awarness (aka the computer) since my early teens. Reading CNN, Motor Trend Magazine, ESPN, and Financial Times in no way ruined my culture-I promise you that. Hey, but I am sure there are plenty of kids and grown adults sitting on eBay, YouTube, or playing online games as the wee hours approach. But I do not think it was proper for Doris to go ahead and put comuters in a negative light. I'm sure there was more to her speech than the current article gives and I'm sure things were blown out of proportion, but I'm still sure that Doris does in fact think that "The Internet Makes Us Dumb".

Using the Internet I was able to find out that there are mini computers being delivered to developing areas of India and other South East nations to serve for educational purposes. Listen, it all depends on how you use it. If you are one of the brain-drainers, then that's your fault and not the Internet. If you chose to use your time learning and using a computer to your advantage, well then hats off to you sir.

Who knew?

Crowd-sourcing is the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent (usually an employee) and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call. Ok, maybe this makes sense to the ITEC kids, but call me incompetent cause I was lost.

After some more reading, I noticed that crowd-sourcing is all around us. Take a look at www.wikipedia.com and www.urbandictionary.com These are great examples truly show us how important crowd-sourcing has become. Wikipedia has become an online enclypodia that millions of users can contribute as well as urban dictionary. This is a great idea. Compolations of online cookbooks would be anoter idea that one of my friends is actually working on.

So go ahead and contribute.

Second Life; not so great

I have heard rave reviews about this online application that allows people to log in and create their avatars and communicate via the web. I think there is a huge flaw with this. I don't think people notice that an online voice is completely different from a personal voice. As I am writing this post, I can basically write anything . That's the same concept with Second Life. Behind the screen, individuals have little shame or embarrassment because they are not talking face to face with another person.

I feel that if people continue to avidly use the program that when they meet in public, they will not know how to be their selves. Maybe it's a good thing, that you can be a different person online, as to being in the real world. But I just prefer to talk to you in person and not look at your avatar on my screen. Just my opinion.

Sept 3

Six Myths about Informal Networks brought up an important myth titled: everyone should be connected. Initially I figured that everyone should be connected to improve productivity. If John and Sarah are connected then they can share information through the web without having to physical leave their desks. But i did forget the time and effort it takes to maintain these personal connections. I am sure that through Formal Networks, everyone is connected under a secure network where they can share, edit, and comment on personal company information. But for the sake of having an informal network, there is simply no need for everyone to be in contact with one another.

The practical guide to social networks had be thinking about how certain companies handle daily business processes. I'm sure Dell, AT&T, and Panasonic's Customer Service Dept use the Routine Response model to handle their situations. Each call is placed to a specific issue and then handled in it's own specific way. The Modular Response reminded me of how a Marketing/ Advertisement Team may work. They all work for the same common goal under a complicated set of instructions. Different parties work on certain ideas, and then bring them back to the table for general discussion. In general, it is extremely interesting to see how social networks are all around us and how people tend to take them for granted.

My name is Boris Yampolsky and I am student in an the ITEC-335 class. It's good to be back for another semester, yet it is slightly sad that this is my last semester in this school. So I'm just here to enjoy the last few months of my college life and go onto the "real world" that our parents have been bugging us about for so long.