Sunday, August 8, 2010
Is Social Media a Fad?
Social Media energy is sweeping through businesses large and small. Is it a fad? Does it have relevance for businesses around the world? According to a recent survey by Regus published in July 2010, the answer is a resounding yes! 40% of companies surveyed successfully leveraged social media for new customer acquisition. Dell credits their Twitter presence with generating $6.5 million in revenue last year; Starbucks gains valuable product ideas by encouraging consumer suggestions; Pepsico has created significant positive brand image through its Refresh Project, which makes grants based on consumer votes. Brands that do not pay timely attention to social media have experienced negative repurcussions. Dave Carroll's song about failing to get United Airlines to pay for damaging his guitar was viewed by over 4 million people worldwide on YouTube, negatively impacting their brand. More recently, the Twitter spoof account @BPGlobalPR with nearly 10 times the following of BP's official Twitter acccount, BP_America, has undoubtedly done its bit to whip negative brand sentiment. Curious about which brands are leveraging social media effectively? Wondering how your brand is doing? Check out which global brands are most engaged from this report by wetpaint and Altimeter Group.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Social Media and Actual Change in Humans
Image by webtreats via Flickr
I have been doing some research about multitasking and the studies seem mixed. So much has to do with an individual's working memory capacity, not to mention the somewhat fuzzy definition of multitasking (do you mean the ability to prioritize the work and projects on your plate or do you mean actually doing two or more things exactly at the same time?). For an additional study to weigh in, read this study by Eyal Ophir, Clifford Nass and Anthony D. Wagner entitled Cognitive control in media multitaskers and do some searching yourself, as well as post what your experiences have been multitasking. Draw your own conclusions, add to the conversation....perhaps at the same time!
Related articles by Zemanta
- Social Media Use in the Workplace Is on the Rise (blogs.forbes.com)
- LIVESHOT: iPhone Addiction Brain Change? (liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com)
Censorship of DIGG
Below an interesting article about efforts at censorship of the social media website digg. Although this doesn't relate specifically to the UW program, it demonstrates the influential nature of social media.
http://blogs.alternet.org/oleoleolson/2010/08/05/massive-censorship-of-digg-uncovered/
http://blogs.alternet.org/oleoleolson/2010/08/05/massive-censorship-of-digg-uncovered/
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