"Brain Hacking" - Another Unintended Consequence of Technology http://t.co/EOoZ1roK via @sharethis
Top 10 Web Privacy Fallacies
Paul H. Rubin, an economics instructor at Emory University, recently wrote a compelling article in the Wall Street Journal on the 10 most important fallacies about Web privacy. Although all of the points are interesting, two stand out especially.
No. 5 on the list is that the wrong-headed belief that less consumer privacy means someone will know something about a consumer that the consumer might want kept secret. To quote Rubin, "To the extent that things are 'known' about consumers, they are known by computers. This notion is counterintuitive; we are not used to the concept that something can be known and at the same time no person knows it." It sounds like something out of The Matrix, and certainly if you're concerned about robots taking over the world, then you'd be best to keep your shopping habits to yourself. But, for the rest of us, it makes incredible sense once we stop and think about it.
Add a comment Add a commentYes, Virginia, Those Ads Are Stalking You
I've never considered myself paranoid, but I swear that "Harry Reid for U.S. Senate" advertisement keeps following me. I've never donated money to his campaign nor voted for him or his opponents. (Yes, I do vote!) It is clear that Google has heaps of information about me and you stored away for use at some point (see "Google Knows All but What Will It Do with the Info?").
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Social Media Marketing Plus: The Power of Advertising on Social Networks
Most likely, everybody by now has heard of pay-per-click (PPC) ads on Google or Yahoo. And most likely, everybody by now has seen PPC ads on Facebook or LinkedIn.
While they all share the same principle (they are ads after all), there is one big difference: to the search engine, you are still more or less an anonymous user. I say "more or less" because especially on Google it depends if you are logged into your account when you search, if you have set up your iGoogle preferences, if you are connecting from a brand-new PC or IP address, among a lot of other factors.
Location, Location, Location & How New and Social Media Can Help
They say location is the most important consideration in real estate. Buildings are difficult to move and land is pretty much fixed, so what makes location so important? It’s because you want to be located near the right people. The same principle can be applied to virtual real estate.Being near your customers, or at least in the areas they travel, can help bring business in the door. The right location can bring the product closer to the customer. The right location also can benefit you in terms of economies of scope; that is to say, being in the right place can drive down the costs needed to drive up sales.
These costs can come from efficiencies from within the business, such saving time and advertising dollars, or they might come from the benefit of being near similar businesses, which might lead to more foot traffic from the target market. In the online world, the idea is exactly the same and retailers are taking note.
A March 18, 2010, market research report from Forrester Research, Inc., titled, “Retailers Plan To Expand Online Customer Service Channels In 2010”, details the findings of a survey of 291 U.S. online retail executives conducted at the end of 2009. Written by Diane Clarkson, with Carrie Johnson, Elizabeth Stark and Kate van Geldern, the report explains how many professionals plan “significant increases in live help, social, and mobile customer service” in 2010.
The survey shows that 54 percent of respondents currently offer customer ratings or reviews, and that 30 percent plan to offer the functionality in 2010. More interestingly, however, 23 percent have online communities and forums and 16 percent have customer support through Twitter—but those numbers could more than double, increasing by 27 percent and 21 percent, respectively, as many respondents plan to develop the technologies this year. Online business professionals are investing in social customer service, and thusly growing closer to their customer base.
To some businesses, proximity to demand for their products might not be a primary concern. But to maximize sales and minimize costs, especially when competing for customers, having the right location can mean the difference between isolation and prosperity. A key aspect of location that cannot be disregarded is that you need to know where you stand.
Strikingly, only 44 percent of the surveyed professionals agreed with the statement: “We regularly monitor what customers are saying about us on Twitter, Facebook, or other social networking sites.” Whether to recommend or warn, people tell others about their encounters. And if these people are customers, it can mean retention and growth or lost revenue. Hopefully, as they continue to invest in social media, eBusiness executives will take care to better watch the results of their efforts. Their customers and prospective customers certainly will.
Strikingly, only 44 percent of the surveyed professionals agreed with the statement: “We regularly monitor what customers are saying about us on Twitter, Facebook, or other social networking sites.” Whether to recommend or warn, people tell others about their encounters. And if these people are customers, it can mean retention and growth or lost revenue. Hopefully, as they continue to invest in social media, eBusiness executives will take care to better watch the results of their efforts. Their customers and prospective customers certainly will.
After a company has determined a good location, it should immediately engage in a social media or new media campaign to target potential clients, and customers based in or around the location. There are a lot of location-based services providers like Groupon and FourSquare that could be helpful in being successful. In addition, targeting friends, connections and followers based around ZIP codes could help to drive additional business to the location.
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You Can't Run and You Can't Hide
Social media is literally everywhere so don’t try to escape it. This morning, while cruising down I-25 in Denver jamming out to some loud music, I glanced at this:
This extremely simple billboard with a bottle of Maker’s Mark Bourbon and the words “Friend us” got me thinking about how prevalent social media advertising has become. It is so widespread, that ironically, businesses both large and small are now using traditional advertising methods such as billboards to promote their social media assets. I did a little research, and I want to share a few images that I found.
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