Getting Your GROUPON

GROUPON has become quite popular in the social media market; the main reason for their success has been left to the consumers themselves. The consumers help promote the deals they have purchased. This is because the deal is only made possible if a certain number of people purchase the featured deal, which motivates customers to spread the word to friends and acquaintances via their social networking sites. With such a simple business model, you have to wonder if GROUPON will continue to dominate, or will copycats be able to revamp the model, offering smaller businesses more security in their feature deals.

In today’s economy small businesses have been struggling, and you would think that opting to use GROUPON in order to attract new customers would be a “no brainer.” Turns out there are a few unfortunate requirements a company can encounter. The feature deal must meet GROUPON satisfaction, meaning they may reject a company’s feature request if the company does not have enough press reviews or even if the featured price is not "aggressive" enough. Another issue and important question would be how many of these GROUPON customers are repeat customers, and does GROUPON make it easy to track these new customers. The answer is NO. Although it is possible to view the statistics on total sales, there is no detailed customer information, which is what a company would get if they handed out coupons themselves.

GROUPON offers a few services to help companies prepare for the big day of the feature, which may end up in an eruption of phone calls. Unfortunately this could turn a business into a call center, which can prevent regular business if not prepared. One problem I see for small business owners would be the inability to cap the number of featured coupons sold. Even though you can specify a minimum required before the “deal is on,” a small business could take a big hit on profit if the number of features sold exceeds their estimate. And since companies are bound to the GROUPON, this is not a risk I would want to take.

Personally, I’m rooting for a revamp, one that gives more flexibility and control to the company [more specifically, the small businesses].

I say GROUP-OFF.


Sources:
http://www.grouponworks.com/
http://gigaom.com/2010/02/01/groupon-and-the-wannabes/
http://visionarydance.com/2010/09/rejected-by-groupon-please-write-a-review/
http://gesterling.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/the-dark-side-of-groupon-sites/
http://e-marketingforsensiblefolk.blogspot.com/2011/03/groupongroupies.html
http://www.groupon.com/blog/cities/now-available-deal-statistics/

face recognition

As a social networker, I have come to terms with the fact that there are photos of me floating online, and I am either tagged in them, or I’m not. I think the most annoying situation would be to have one or two unflattering photos, which I have no control over or permissions to remove. If you consider how much of our online lives encompass real life, that’s only the part we know about. How has cloud computing opened us up to threats to our personal information, linked us to one another, and left trails to be followed. Facial recognition software is a huge privacy concern, making it easy to find people with minimal effort, which can be dangerous in the wrong hands.

Lets say you have an extremely fun party life, which just happens to be caught in multiple photos, and video. Employers nowadays are googling new hires and looking up candidates on social networking sites. Depending on the position it may or may not be beneficial to you. Even if you try and remain offline, it’s guaranteed that there are photos of you online, somewhere. Is being found online, when you’ve made every precaution not to be, an invasion of privacy? I would definitely say yes, but others would say no. So, where is the invisible line that warns us when we have been virtually violated?

On the bright side, or any side, there are specific parameters that are needed for facial recognition to work. The concept works by mapping out the relative positions of the eyes, nose and mouth. Which means partial headshots will not be included in matches, but the matches do tend to work 9 out of 10 times, or so they claim.

Though the power of facial recognition is an extremely interesting technology, it causes me, and many others, a great deal of worry. No longer will we have to lookup acquaintances by name, we can simply snap a photo and become preview to more than enough information to harass or even stalk a person. My only concern now is how long it will take for a system to be put in place to protect us from ourselves, and each other.

So, Who’s keeping track of who’s tracking us?
[You think someone would have developed an app for that already.]



Sources:
http://www.disinfo.com/2010/08/facial-recognition-software-to-go-public-that-allows-identification-from-online-photos/
http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2007/05/facial-recognition-slipped-into-google-image-search.ars
http://techcrunch.com/2008/09/02/picasa-refresh-brings-facial-recognition/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1280145/Google-facial-recognition-debate-goggles-privacy-controversy.html

Can mySpace hold its own.

If you think about it really, what is mySpace? How is it different from Facebook? They are both unique tools. It’s just that one focuses more on people looking to showcase their talent and abilities, whereas the other is a permanent record of a users connections to friends, enemies, likes and wall posts. Facebook is a "self-contained world," where the only thing you search for is people. You stay connected with friends, all while having the ability to make new ones. MySpace on the other hand is different. Until recently they had a limited ability to communicate with and find friends, but users could market themselves. The problem was users knowing how.

Facebook has not provided the ability for users to customize their pages in the same manner as mySpace, I can only assume because the results could be hideous. However, with the right skill set users, musicians and artists could customize their pages to advertise their music and grow their fan base. It can be difficult, which explains why people pay for it.

There is no poking on mySpace, but at least users have the ability to poke around. The first thing you see when you go to mySpace is NOT a login page; it is an online community, with access to music, games, videos, events, forums, you name it. This would explain why more users navigate to mySpace from search engines. It provides a little more than just people, so why has it faded?

http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/myspace

I think the problem lies in the fact that mySpace lacked a main focus. Is it better to be good at ten different things? Or would you rather be really great at one? My space always had one unique feature that they seemed to of overlooked, in the beginning. With their vast library of artists, I think they could have been accomplished a lot more and even improved on the manner in which they sell music to users. Instead they spread themselves to thin.

I had a mySpace account, which I left for dead when I joined Facebook. I have not deleted it because I think eventually I will start using it again. The new trend is in communication over a social network, and Facebook has the lead. I don’t know if mySpace needs to be saved, but they do need to stay on top of their game for the next upcoming trend. Hopefully they can hang on for the ride.


...


Sources:

http://www.myspace.com/
http://www.bnet.com/blog/technology-business/myspace-vs-facebook-the-fight-isn-8217t-over/7659
http://www.16thletter.com/2008/04/04/myspace-vs-itunes/
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-how-to-save-myspace-the-seventh-day-adventist-version/

Engines and the Buying Decision Process

In the seven stages of the decision making process, e-marketing has had a definite effect on the information search. I would even say that the information we search for and have access to on a regular basis, has a heavy effect on our need recognition. Mainly because what we consider and include in our desired states, is a product of what we see, and search for. So what do we interact with every day? Well, depending on your age group it can range from email and search engines, to social networking sites. Our search habits are marketed to, as expected; it is how we use this information with regards to our needs that marketers focus on.

Google for example, provides users with two types of search results: organic and paid results. Organic being natural and untainted from sponsors, while paid is exactly the opposite. Google even provides you with information when you are not looking for it. Let’s say you are browsing your emails, on the side panel, you are bound to see advertisements for items related to your recent searches or the content of your actual emails. We are bombarded constantly by subscriptions, spam and general advertisements, all of which are fighting for our attention.

When we look for information, search results are not the only thing needed to complete the decision process. Website design and usability are just as important because users will judge a page in the first ten seconds, at which they will either stay or move on to the next. So content needs to be arranged in a manner that allows easy access to information, and it needs to be labeled. Companies that have poorly designed websites are more likely to lose a customers interest while browsing, especially mine.

E-marketing has had a monumental effect on the buying decision process, allowing connections to be tracked and monitoring from who, to what, to where, when and how many. So, are we getting what we search for? Of course, and we are told in those unnatural results who is paying for it. I my self am fine with this setup, I would rather know who’s on top by popularity, rather than having my results skewed by payments.

Happy trails…

Sources:
http://www.quirk.biz/emarketingtextbook/
http://e-marketingforsensiblefolk.blogspot.com/2011/02/where-is-e-marketing-in-buying-decision.html

Social Media, connecting you to good friends, or just acquaintances...

Social networking has become a necessity amongst today’s generation, now we see corporations getting involved. Lets focus on facebook.

Facebook currently has more than 500 million users. The average user has 130 friends, and for each of those users the average number of community pages a person belongs to, is about 80; this includes groups and events. There is no doubt to whether users are connecting with each other on facebook, or how deep that connection is. That can be told by how many times a person interacts with others, how often and the content involved.

The question we should be asking is how effective is the information being provided, and are marketers connecting to users? What does connecting mean? For users, connecting is supplying a pool of personal information to marketers, while they enjoy their online lives. Majority of Internet users know this, so how do they view the advertisements customized for them, based on their browsing habits, emails and facebook likes?

Based on survey's conducted in June of last year, 53.5% of users said they "don't mind them," while 40.3% of users made it a point to say, "I dislike them." It is no surprise that so many people on facebook dislike advertisements in general. What is most interesting is the number of people that dislike advertisements from other sites. A total of 62.7% of users liked seeing advertisements from external websites the least.

So, what does connecting mean for those marketers? Can it really be called connecting if the users don’t like it? This could explain why majority of facebook marketing does not work. Likes are for people, like myself, who are too lazy to write a comment. Which is the attitude held for most interactive ads; if there too much effort required, I will navigate away. Now, if we consider how much data and information a company has on an individual user, it will always be impersonal. Online is impersonal; its convenient and intentional. We go online to avoid going into stores, and because search engines help us cut out the middleman.

Please, share, follow, like or tweet me!!!

Sources:
http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics
http://www.insidefacebook.com/2010/06/15/facebook-users-survey-results-ads/
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/why_most_facebook_marketing_doesnt_workp2.php

Starbucks Coffee Company, and their Features.

In “flows of compensation,” does the Starbucks pay-by-smartphone really fit?

Recently, Starbucks has updated their mobile app, Starbucks mobile card, to allow users to make purchases using their mobile Smartphone’s. Currently, customers are able to manage multiple gift cards and gold cards, with features that allow them to check their card balance, reload, collect rewards and find the nearest location. In addition, gold members are sent coupons for a free drink in the mail, once they have reached 15 stars [cups of coffee].

Perhaps mobile payment should just be labeled and stored under innovation as a new addition. Starbucks already provides account holders, with amenities like free drinks, caramel and more. So what does this new feature provide? Now, instead of digging around in your handbag or pockets for your gift card, you look for your smartphone. The transactions are said to be faster than regular methods of payment, but It could be argued that it would take an equal amount of time to swipe a card as appose to scanning a smartphone.

Mobile payments have been forecasted as a $633 billion industry,

which raises some concerns about the direction in which technology is taking us, with regards to customer service. Imagine a new app that allows customers to place an order as they leave their house, and when they arrive in store, with a wave of their smartphone, they can avoid as much human interaction as possible. Is it a smart idea to start relying solely on our smartphones and their reliable networks? Let’s just hope the nothing fails.

As an avid coffee drinker, I enjoy my trips to Starbucks. No matter which barista is on duty, my ‘Grande White Mocha Frappuccino, no Whip’ is made perfectly, and it is always topped off with some kind words. Even though, I am surrounded with new and interesting technologies every day, mobile payments aren’t for me; but I’ll take the other amenities that Starbuck's offers.

Caramel … Please!!!

Sources:
http://e-marketingforsensiblefolk.blogspot.com/
http://www.finextra.com/community/fullblog.aspx?id=4933
http://www.tuaw.com/2011/01/19/starbucks-now-accepting-payments-through-iphone-app/
http://www.codero.com/blog/using-smartphones-to-pay-for-in-store-purchases/