#Politicians Are Trendy(ing)

After logging into Facebook, and Twitter today I was quickly notified that Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) had finally joined Twitter, and would be keeping the people up to date on the Vice Presidents campaign trail for Decision 2012. Even with disclaimers explaining that Joe Biden isn't actually tweeting live, and the account is run by campaign staff, in nine hours of being live the account has already reached 54,125 followers. Of the top 100 people followed on Twitter, President Barack Obama ranks at #8 with over 13 million followers.

The article looks into the possible regulation of politicians using social media in Australia, which was interesting to compare to what is going on in the United States, with the spread of politics across the board with social media. The article explains that restricting the social media use among politicians in Australia could hinder the political debates, and overall reputation with getting information out there. Obviously there are still going to be publicized debates on television, but with the politicians wanting to target the younger generation, going to where they are is key.  Most young people, who aren't incredibly political savvy, most likely won't sit through a two hour debate on television, on the contrast if say Obama posts a link that would be interesting to the voters, they may look at it through Twitter.

While I do have an interest in politics, and do generally tune into televised debates among candidates, I also follow Barack Obama and Joe Biden on Facebook and Twitter, along with receiving emails from their campaign staff about what is going on in their plans for the future.

Would I be as interested in politics if it weren't for social media in general?

Honestly, probably not. You see it everywhere now.  Facebook friends are always posting interesting links about their choice politician, or an interesting law or bill that has been passed recently. It is widely known that we are constantly affected by the people around us, and what they think, say, and do. As a generation, we are online.  We are tweeting, posting to Facebook, blogging on Tumblr, and pinning to Pinterest.  If the politicians want to be successful and known among the generation that is beginning to take over the country, they need to go where they are at.  This generation is online. This generation is partaking in social networking.

For them to be successful whether we're talking about American Politics, or those abroad being a member of a social media network is a key to success among young people.

Ashley

This article was found using LexisNexis:

Australian Financial Review
April 3, 2012 Tuesday
First Edition
Politicians all a-twitter about tweets

BYLINE: Emily Parkinson

Macy's Millennials

Macy's, who beat JC Penny, and Kohl's in gains of sales in the past year is working to target a new group of shoppers, the millennials. Their goal is not just to target these shoppers between the ages of 13 and 30, but to also improve the speed and ease of their decision making. 

Macy's has discovered that despite their spending power, millennials are not shopping at Macy's.  Because of their large spending power, they have developed a three year plan to target these individuals.  Their plan involves six aspects:

1) Reorganize the corporate organization to allow for more collaboration2) Better identify customer preferences so that they can market to them better3) Make the merchandise more relevent to the local market4) Use technology to make a more seamless buying experience5) Create more engaging internet content6)  Improve the in store experience through better training

Thus far, Macy's has implemented more attractive brands for this specific demographic, to prevent the retailer from becoming old and out of style. The article mentions that this millennial demographic spends    large amounts of money on clothing and other textiles, to which Macy's is missing out on because of their marketing power.  

Personally, I don't generally have Macy's on the top of my shopping destinations.  I think they have noticed this gap in their marketing and spending power among consumers in time to rectify their challenges.  I don't think of Macy's the same way I think of Dress Barn, or Ann Taylor.  While the articles insinuate that they are becoming "out of style" and "old" I don't think they are past the point of no return.  They've both noticed the gap, and begun to make changes to bring this demographic into their stores. I am personally interested in seeing these millennial specific brands they have brought in, and may just stop in to see what this is all about.


Ashley


Links:
https://blogs.lt.vt.edu/bit5414/2012/03/24/macys-goes-all-millennial/


http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46810098/ns/today-money/t/macys-has-new-mindset-millennials/#.T3n1plHU7zI

Rush, You Finally Went Too Far

(Disclaimer: I'm going to attempt to keep politics out of this post as much as possible...since, well, this is an internet marketing class, not a political science course.)

Rush Limbaugh has been known for being one controversial, loud mouthed conservative radio figure. He has supporters, and until recently had the support of various online super powers to market him as an individual. 

Late last week, Limbaugh made some quite unsavory comments about a Georgetown Law student calling her a "slut" and "prostitute" for her liberal views on the current issue of the availability of contraceptives through insurance despite religious beliefs of the company. 

On Saturday, AOL suspended any advertisements for Limbaugh's radian show on the grounds of him lacking integrity for his comments about Sandra Fluke. 

Thinking about the number of people that visit AOL.com daily to check news, email, and so much more. There are so many people that are not going to see his advertisement now. He might be known for being loud mouthed, and politically opinionated, but he seemed to have crossed a line that he may not come back from. 

Sometimes, you can go to far. Silly Rush Limbaugh.

-Ashley

Bottom Line: AOL suspends ads on Rush Limbaugh Show:

http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/05/10583805-aol-suspends-ads-on-rush-limbaugh-show

TMI on Twitter?

While my previous post was about websites like Google and Facebook bypassing cookie settings in Safari, and Internet Explorer this issue of privacy and potential marketing possibilities has me in a trance.

THEN,

I come across this article on MSNBC about Twitter selling users tweets dating back from January 2010 to companies to sell to marketers. After reading the article, which suggests going and deleting tweets that you believe carry "TMI" in the eyes of potential marketers my first thought was, "What have I tweeted?"

THEN,

I started thinking like a marketer,

In my 11,493 tweets since 2009 I have expressed a multitude of things that a potential marketer could improve, fix, and create. As a marketer, using the "TMI" of twitter users seems amazing.

So...

A marketer doing research to improve, we'll say, the condition of certain retail establishments (I'm using this example because I just left Target, where I tweeted about the ridiculous lines).  If these marketers gather enough tweets from consumers saying that these lines at Target are outrageous, they could possibly work to fix the situation.

OR...

I think back to every time I've expressed my LOVE for something or complete DISGUST for something. This is excellent information to a marketer, and, as a future marketer...I completely support it.

There are no doubt a large number of people who are going to have distaste for their twitter feeds being sold to random strangers to use to further their business ventures; but as a future marketer and business person I would be crazy to fight this. It's not as if I'll be watching a news story and see "Ashley Hurd tweets about her hate for the cobblestone quad on the University of Missouri - St Louis' campus" 

Seriously, no one cares THAT much what I think. (if only....)

"Think about all those seemingly innocuous things you write that a marketing company could build a profile upon: tweets about your alma mater, organizations you support, donations you've made, retweets from all over, people you know, activities you like, and most importantly -- where you spend your disposable income." --Athima Chansanchai

Ask yourself, what is in your twitter past?

-Ashley-


(http://www.technolog.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technolog/tmi-twitter-marketers-searching-through-your-old-tweets-now-236475)

Internet Privacy: fact, or fiction?

You may think that by manually going into your internet browser such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer or Apple's Safari and setting your privacy settings will regulate what various sites are able to collect from you, or do you?

Microsoft's Internet Explorer uses a protocol called P3P, adopted in 2002, and developed five years ago to allow the user to control the cookies allowed on their browsing habits.  Where other browsers allow users to either "accept" or "do not accept" cookies, P3P allows the user to dictate cookies by low, medium, medium-high, and high. These terms are incredibly vague, and leave both users and and Web developers frustrated.

It seems as though even if you think you're being safe in your internet adventures, you probably aren't. Google isn't the only company who seems to be bypassing these internet cookie settings. Popular sites like Amazon, AOL, GoDaddy, Hulu, IMDB, and even the most popular social networking site, Facebook aren't compliant with Microsoft's P3P.

The biggest argument Facebook and Google are opening voicing against P3P is that the protocol is outdated for current internet users.  Facebook argues that P3P is not effective for the current social networking services that weren't what they are today five years ago when it was put into act.

Moral of the story....Never doubt the ability of a Web powerhouse like Google to by sneaky and still get information from you, whether you want them to have it or not.

"Helllllo web personalization!"


Ashley

http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/21/technology/google_microsoft_ie_privacy/

The Digital Doppelganger

Talks of Second Life, World of Warcraft, and other virtual world simulators made me wonder if they were still holding a presence in the internet world. So, I set out in search of virtual life on the interweb. While I found various articles about companies in India using Second Life to predict climate changes, I needed something more relevant to me personally, or at least the United States. That’s when I found the Digital Doppelganger plan for the U.S. Army.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/01/army-virtual-reality/

 The program would go beyond just a physical doppelganger. Each achievement, and results from training would be inputted into each soldier’s virtual world. If a soldier does poorly on a Physical Training Test, they can expect their virtual doppelganger to be lacking in the same area.

Furthermore, Peter Singer wrote:

“The method threatens to churn out soldiers who are seasoned pros on Xbox – but aren’t cut out of the rigors of real-world war.”

While playing Call of Duty (I will apologize ahead of time for making any false assumptions) your avatar is somewhat of a superhero type. I assume that if you die in battle, your gaming experience isn’t over.  In essence, the war and your avatar is on a constant reset cycle. Obviously, this is not the case for the current War in Afghanistan. If you are injured or killed during battle, that’s the end. There is no reset button in the war.

The idea that this virtual world can give soldiers an additional outlet to train with other soldiers, while also being more exposed to real life war experiences before being deployed is revolutionary, and amazing.

"The last thing soldiers need, before deploying to a real-life combat zone, is the impression that they've got mad superhero skills." -Katie Drummond

Ashley

Business, or Phenomenon?

Roughly three months ago, Pinterest became all the rage among both Facebook, and Twitter friends alike. Naturally, being the social network butterfly I am, I had to know what all the buzz was about, and headed to http://www.pinterest.com/. While the majority of social networking, and image sharing sites let you join on your first visit, Pinterest was totally different giving you the option to “request an invite”. Even after waiting two weeks, I still hadn’t received my invite, and started hunting down Pinterest users on my Facebook friends list.

Within minutes, I was an official Pinterest user.

So why and how has this site become such an obsession and favorite among so many?

Feeling crafty?

Pinterest users have a board for that.

Feeling hungry for something new?

Pinterest is becoming the go to for recipes.

Planning your upcoming wedding?

Pinterest can help with that.

Mother overloaded with stress and disorganization?

Pinterest is there to help.

Bored college student looking for a new outlet for procrastination?

Pinterest is most certainly there for you.

Unlike Facebook, and Twitter who both carry some opportunity for companies to feed information to their target market Pinterest users are looking for specific information, and businesses. Through the use of boards, and pins resembling that of a bulletin board, people can find exactly what they’re looking for.  Each picture pinned to a board contains a hyperlink to the site where the picture was found. Companies like Whole Foods and Williams-Sonoma are using Pinterest to bring customers to their sites through the use of pins and hyperlinks. Williams-Sonoma specifically have recently noticed a large influx of customers coming directly from the Pinterest site.

The site isn’t just popular, it’s booming. In May, there were 418,000 users. In October, just five months later, there were 3.3 million.  With growth, and usage like this, it’s crazy to think that any business would be passing up the opportunity to target a large section of the market this way.

From a personal stand point, as a human of my generation, and Facebook junkie, Pinterest has surpassed Facebook on my “Top Visited Sites”. That has to say something for what it is becoming, and the opportunity that is out there from a marketing stand point.  

"Instead of one way interruption, web marketing is about delivering useful content at just the precise moment a buyer needs it."  --David Meerman Scott (Author, The New Rules of Marketing & PR)

Ashley

Article:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/why-imagesharing-network-pinterest-is-hot-11172011.html

Pinterest:
http://www.pinterest.com

Kirsty Colquhoun's blog; 365 Days of Pinterest Creations:

http://kirstycolquhoun.blogspot.com/