Big Brother 2.0

It might just be paranoia, but it seems eerily coincidental that facebook is catering its advertisements toward my stated interests and other demographic factors that I have listed on my profile.

I logged onto my account over the weekend to find the advertisements on the right hand of the screen to be of interest to me. This can’t be a coincidence. Ads for vacations, entertainment news and college programs recruiting students in my field of study, among others, seemed to be popping up every time I refreshed my page. I have also been searching for apartments recently, and conveniently, links to rental agencies are showing up all over the place.


What’s even more daunting, is that facebook, along with my mother, seem to want me to meet that ‘perfect someone’. It is likely a factor of my age, which is listed on my profile, but ads for lavalife and the like appear on my profile all the time. I already have my mother nagging me about my dating life, and I would prefer it if facebook would stop doing the same.


While this reeks of a giant facebook conspiracy, it is actually a brilliant marketing strategy on behalf of the organizations utilizing this social media site for advertising purposes. Facebook, addictive my nature, is a perfect place to reach a desired target audience by subliminally placing ads on an individual’s account. It is rare these days to come across a person who does not use this social networking site, presenting the perfect opportunity and venue for advertisements.

With the economy in the state it is in, commercials and billboards are not a priority for most marketing departments. Instead, organizations are seemingly looking towards public relations efforts and cheaper alternatives.

I’m not sure how much a facebook ad costs, but if I had to guess, it is probably significantly less expensive than securing ad space during prime time television.

As ingenious as this opportunity may be for those in the business world, I can’t help but feel that someone is on the other side of my computer screen watching my every online move. It seems weird to me that one day I am searching for cheap vacations and the next day ads of this nature are appearing on my facebook profile and my hotmail account is filled with “AMAZING TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES!”

Can we cruise the Internet anonymously without being bombarded my last night’s click of the mouse? I’m starting to think not.

It’s a Jungle Out There: A PR Nightmare

So we all know that Twitter can be used for good. We see lots of corporate ‘big wigs’ on twitter, micro-blogging about all the positive things their companies are doing-- events, green initiatives, blah, blah, blah.

But, has anyone ever thought of the downside to twitter?

I read this article, and it is becoming quite apparent that spreading the word through twitter can have a negative impact on an organization.

Poor Amazon. What a PR nightmare! I mean, not that they don’t deserve it, but without the widespread messaging that is innate to twitter, would people have noticed that gay and lesbian themed books have somehow disappeared off the best-seller ranking list?

Sure, people may have noticed, but once something gets posted on twitter, things can surely spiral out of control, which is exactly what happened when an avid tweeter discovered the book giant’s ‘error’.

Throw is some eager social media bloggers, like myself, and the mistake becomes bigger and even more widespread.

I guess the real question is what can organizations do to protect themselves against a twitter uproar?

Their excuse, “a cataloguing error”, is lame. This is surely not a good example of crisis management. At the same time, should Amazon really admit that the reason for the omission is simply discrimination?

To further excuse the problem, Amazon stated that the reason the books were accidentally removed from the list were due to the adult nature of the content. The spokesperson said that other books containing adult content were also removed from the list.

Personally, I think transparency is key. If Amazon didn’t have this so-called glitch in their system, there would not be such a social media backlash making the company look bad.

Pornographic books are one thing, but the biography of Ellen DeGeneres is hardly objectionable.

Ethics is central to the PR problem, and it appears that Amazon is in quite a pickle.

Munchie Maharishi

Remember those tasty cheese-flavoured corn chips we all loved as kids?

Well, Doritos has been holding a contest to name their newest flavour of chips. The best part about this campaign: they are using social media to facilitate the competition.

Many marketers are dabbling in social media marketing techniques, and Doritos is doing a fantastic job.

For this campaign, Doritos is calling upon Canadians ages 13 and up to produce a 30 second commercial that is inspired by the new chip flavour. Contestants are asked to name the unidentified chip flavour and make a commercial. The winner of the contest will receive $25,000 and one percent of future net sales of the new chip flavour. Not only that, but the winner of the competition will be crowned "Doritos Guru".

Contestants had the option of posting their video directly to the site, through YouTube or through facebook, which adds a whole new dimension to the social media marketing initiative.

Personally, I think this campaign is genius!

What's great about the company's use of social media is that they have created this campaign using already existing social media sites, making it even easier to enter the competition and create brand buzz. The fact that people can post their entries on YouTube or through facebook makes good use of these credible and widely used social media sites. Not only that, but it allows people to follow the competition through various sites that link directly to the Doritos Guru competition.

Doritos is also using facebook connect, which mirrors contestants Doritos Guru profile with their facebook profile. This enables the contestants to vote, comment and submit contest videos via facebook. This gives the Doritos brand great exposure through facebook, while encouraging people to create a Doritos Guru profile. This is also a great way to monitor the groundswell and track visitors to the site.

Another great thing about this campaign is that social media users are the ones who determine the winner of the competition. People, just like you and me, get to vote on their favourite YouTube powered Doritos Guru video.

To me, it's obvious that Doritos had its target audience in mind when creating this campaign. I would guess that the target audience of the chip brand is the 13-25 age group. What better way to reach this Internet-savvy, social media-using cohort than through the Internet with a social media campaign?

Check out this video explaining the competition. This video has had over 18,000 hits and numerous video responses.

The YouTube video submissions for this competition are hilarious and have been creating quite the buzz. People are posting video responses to the commercials, thus creating their own Doritos Guru commercial. This is great exposure for the competition and the brand itself.

Currently, the top 5 videos (Cheesy Enchilada, Angry Ranch, Chipacabra, L'Interrogatoire and Scream Cheese) have been posted on http://www.doritosguru.ca/.

It's up to us to determine the winner, so sit back with a bag of Doritos, watch the videos and vote!

The ground is swelling and it's delicious!

The world is slowly being transformed by social media.

Right now, social media sites like facebook, twitter and YouTube are defining the way people think about your organization.

Bloggers are blogging, people are watching YouTube advertisements and twitter statuses are all creating an ongoing conversation about various brands and organizations.

This phenomenon, the groundswell, is defined by Charlene Li and Joseph Bernoff as a trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations.

Ultimately, the groundswell allows for people to inform themselves and others about their views of an organization without being corrupted or impacted by the organization itself.

While some might see this as a bad thing, organizations should embrace the positives of the groundswell. Yes, some control is lost on behalf of the organization, but if the organization uses this groundswell to listen to what consumers are saying, they can better meet the needs of their target audience.

One of the better ways to "listen" to what social media users are saying is by using social bookmarking sites like delicious.

For those of you who don't know what delicious is, it's a site you can use to bookmark interesting articles. The site will show you how many other people have tagged a site or article that you are looking at. The public nature of the site also allows you to see what other people are bookmarking and reading. It's a great way to connect with like-minded individuals and find cool stuff to read.

For a corporation, delicious can help monitor if their websites are gaining popularity, which can be used to identify public perception about their brand. Essentially, it is a technological gathering of public opinion based on the number of tags received.

Personally, I have just started using my delicious account more actively and have been reaping the benefits of doing so. I come across other articles that interest me just by clicking on who is looking at the same stuff I am. It's pretty awesome if you ask me. I have been connected to blogs that I now follow and have read lots of articles that I may not have come across on my own.

So, next time you come across the delicious bookmarking widget on Internet Explorer, click on it, add to your list and see what other people are reading.

To Tweet or Not To Tweet

A few weeks ago, several classmates and I recorded a podcast with president and co-owner of Palette PR, Martin Waxman.

The interview with Waxman can be heard on the podcast attached and was very interesting. In fact, I may have been persuaded to join Twitter, but not just yet.

Waxman definitely made a good argument for the global conversation tool.

Twitter is a means by which people get their news, communicate with like-minded individuals and converse with one another about current events and opinions. It's a way to connect with people you may not normally come accross on a daily basis, if at all.

So, why am I not on Twitter yet? Well, quite frankly, I'm a little intimidated. I have been educated on the importance of Twitter, the widespread use of Twitter and all the amazing things that Twitter can do. I am not sure that I can live-up to the title of "tweeter".

Perhaps in time, with a little more convincing and a little more encouragement, I will join the conversation-monitoring masterpiece.

As promised, I have attached the podcast for you to listen to as well as some notes.

Podcast Notes: 00:10 – Sarah Oberholzer, T.J. Goertz, Jillian Cramer and Erick Bauer state varying definitions of Twitter.

00:26 – T.J. welcomes everyone to the show and introduces the hosts and topic : To Tweet or not to Tweet?

00:52 – Erick welcomes Martin Waxman, Twitter aficionado and co-owner of Palette PR in Toronto.

01:14 – Erick asks Martin why he signed up for Twitter, what drew him to the application. Martin says he heard about it by reading Robert Scoble’s blog. He also didn’t use Twitter effectively for a few months, he says.

02:43 – Erick asks Martin how Palette is utilizing Twitter. Martin says employees are encouraged to use Twitter, “if for no reason…(than) to monitor the conversation.” Martin discusses the Facebook Terms of Service controversy and resulting Twitter conversation.

04:38 – Erick asks Martin about potential Twitter negatives. Martin says there is potential for danger in something as open and public as Twitter. It’s like broadcasting. He mentions the recent public Twitter fight between National Post reporter David George-Cosh and marketing consultant April Dunford. Twitter users need to use good judgment at all times, Martin says.

06:40 – Erick asks Martin whether Twitter users aren’t using it to their full potential. Martin says no one knows the full potential of an application that is “almost a news feed” and it’s hard to predict what will happen.

08:35 – Jillian asks Martin whether Twitter is useful for the average Joe? Martin says it depends on what you want to get out of it.

09:35 – Jillian asks Martin where he sees Twitter going in the next year. Martin sees it becoming more adopted by consumers but with a more stable platform.

11:08 – Erick thanks Martin for coming and gives a shout-out to Martin’s Twittionary. Martin discusses the creation of the Twittionary.

12:40 – Erick wraps up the show and the White Stripes pound out Little Bird to end the first and only What the Heck is a Tweet? podcast.

Here is the audio- Enjoy!

@#???Twitter???#@

Hashtags, DMs, "tweet ups"- I just don't get it.

Well, that's not completely true. As I get ready to record a podcast on the uses of Twitter I have definitely been doing my research on this social networking/micro-blogging site.

At the same time, I have yet to sign up for Twitter, because quite frankly, it creeps me out.

It's not that I don't recognize that Twitter can be useful. I think it can be beneficial if you are trying to network with people in your industry and engage in conversation with those that have similar interests to you.

At the same time, I think it's a little weird that people I don't know, have never met and may never meet, can follow me on twitter. It's basically like stalking someone openly.

Also, letting people know what I'm doing at all times would be a little much. Sure, I do interesting things some of the time, but there are times where I sit on my couch, surf the net and stuff my face with chocolate...should I tweet about that?

Of course I realize that I wouldn't have to actually change my status every time I changed my activity. But, If I were to only tweet about the things that would interest my followers I would not be staying true to my personal brand.

So, if I don't want to be fake what should I be posting as my status???

My opinions on interesting articles, sure. My thoughts on class discussions, sure. But, ultimately, who cares what I ate for lunch???

Stay tuned for my podcast- I may be converted to twitter-user.

Let's Get "Real"

Can establishing an online identity ever be real? Are we ever who we say we are?

Forget about transparency for a minute. Technically, I could pose as a 35 year-old male who sells dental equipment for a living. I could establish an account on Plenty of Fish and talk to girls who may or may not be interested in dating me. Well, not me, but the person I am assuming to be.

This is the problem with establishing an online brand. How can we know who is legit? In reality, we can’t.

There are people who have twitter accounts who post the most ridiculous things to make themselves sound smarter and more in-tune with whatever audience they are trying to reach. These people are not being themselves; they are being who they think others want them to be.

When we take out the in-person variable, all we are left with is an online world of potential posers.

"Stunt Blogging"- A Conversation Created

It's possible that I made up a new term today- "stunt blogging". If the term already exists, then I apologize and am not as clever as I thought I was.

I participated in a discussion about blogger ethics and whether or not it is acceptable for a company to use a blog to promote business and heighten brand awareness. My classmates had mixed opinions and to be honest, I don't think either side is wrong.

Companys like Nike and Sunsilk post stunt videos (a form of viral marketing) on YouTube. These videos are designed to create conversation about the brands, thus heightening awareness. However, the brand name itself is nowhere to be found in or associated with the video- the stunt aspect. People start talking about the video and then somehow information is leaked out about the source and a conversation begins about the brand. This conversation is a great way for the organization to advertise and increase brand awareness without actually advertising (or spending money).

Click this link to see the Sunsilk stunt video: "bride has massive WIG OUT" (Thanks to Jessica McLaughlin for this). The video was made by Sunsilk but the company is not identified once in the video.

Can the same methods be used by bloggers? I know that the blogosphere is supposed to be a transparent social media forum. The use of a blog for this purpose my not be very 'blogosphere-ish".

Some may say it would be unethical for a company to "stunt blog" or post blog entries to create a conversation about a brand. But wouldn't blogging in such a way promote conversation? And, isn't the point of blogging just that- promoting a social conversation???

The Irony of Inauguration

It's no secret that both the Canadian and U.S. economy has entered a recession. We have been bombarded by notions that our economy is in the toilet.

That being said, I am appalled at the amount of money spent on the inauguration of president Barack Obama.

I am not anti-Obama. In fact, I think he is the perfect man for the job. He is an inspiration and a role model. I could not be happier to see power restored to the hands of the Democrats. I am thrilled to have been able to witness such a historical landmark. Change is coming. Change is good. Change was definitely needed. Change deserves to be celebrated. However, change is expensive.

It can be argued that the inauguration of Barack Obama was a perfect opportunity to celebrate; to boost the morale of the American public. While I agree, the irony of the elaborate nature of the ceremony has left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I wondered if I was the only one who felt this way. I mean, the swearing in of Obama into office was a huge deal; the whole world was watching in celebration.

I surfed the net, and quickly came across this article among others. I was relieved to see the headline. I was not the only one who felt this way. $170 million is a lot of money. In fact, it is more than triple the amount spent on past presidents' inauguration ceremonies.

The concerts, the hooplah and the donations made by Wall Street excecutives and employees contradicted the very nature of the state of the economy and the very words spoken by Obama himself.

"Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered..."

The above quote was taken directly from Obama's inauguration speech.

If a $7 billion bail-out isn't enough of an indicator of a recession, then what will be???

Etymology of Widget

Ok, I realize that many of my readers (I hope to have at least several at this point) may also be social media virgins. Seeing as the title of my blog is “What’s a Widget?”, I deem it necessary to define the term.

According to Wikipedia (postings on this online encyclopaedia are sometimes referred to as “Wikis”), “Widget” is short for “window gadget.”

Essentially, a widget is a virtual button or icon that provides easy access or links to information--sort of like an 'easy button'. Widgets appear on a computer’s desktop in order to access information quickly by clicking directly on the widget itself. Widgets can also be embedded into websites or blogs to provide quick links to relevant information or sites from one central access point.

Confused??? So was I. After much web browsing, I found the following site:
http://www.widgipedia.com/faq/

If you are still unsure of the definition of “widget”, I encourage you to check out the above link. Or, if you can explain this term better than I did, I invite you to comment on this blog posting.

*I dedicate this post to the word sniper.

My Social Media Journey

Up until now I thought a widget was an economic term used to describe a hypothetical unit of production- a gadget of sorts. However, it has recently been brought to my attention that a widget has a whole different and computer-related meaning.

I was made aware of the meaning of “widget”, when my Online PR teacher, Jessica McLaughlin, mentioned the word several times during one of our classes. I turned to my classmates and asked, dumbfounded, “what’s a widget?” They laughed and made me aware of the fact that I had a lot to learn with regards to social media and many of the terms associated with it.

Thus my blog was born.

I am a social media virgin. Sure, I have a facebook account which I use to post embarrassing photos of my friends and connect with old acquaintances. But as I enter the field of Public Relations and Corporate Communications, I am becoming more aware of the many uses of various forms of social media.

So, I invite you to journey with me as I begin to “tweet” on twitter, uncover the meaning of social media jargon and venture into other social media domains.