Original Post #3: I've Got Bieber Fever!

Credit: http://thenewsoftoday.com/

I will admit, I saw Justin Bieber: Never Say Never in IMAX 3D last weekend after being pressured by one of my friends. I surprised myself because I really enjoyed it! I shouldn’t have been that shocked though, considering it topped the box office with an estimated grossing of $12.4 million on its opening day from 3,105 theaters! I do listen to Justin’s music, such as “Baby” when it comes on the radio, but I never thought I would pay to see a movie about him. In a nutshell, the movie is a 3D part-biopic, part-concert film and gives viewers an inside look at the rise of Justin’s rapid transformation from a street performer in his small hometown of Stratford, Ontario to an internet phenomenon, and finally, to a global superstar. Did I mention that he is only 16 years old? That is what makes his story so inspiring.

I did not know Justin’s life story and that he got noticed utilizing social media, more specifically, through the user-generated content site YouTube and microblog (Twitter). His current manager, Scooter Braun, discovered videos of Justin on YouTube by accident. YouTube is a way to self-promote an artist to attract producers and record labels. Scooter was so impressed after watching Justin’s videos that he tracked down Justin’s mother (Pattie) who eventually gave in to allow her son to fly out to Atlanta, Georgia to meet Scooter and record demo tapes. He ultimately met R&B singer/songwriter Usher there, which started his path to fame.

 

Credit: http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia

It is fascinating to see how YouTube has helped launched the careers of many young singers these days, but most noticeably, Justin’s launch into the competitive music industry. Essentially, YouTube is a video-sharing website where users can upload, share, and view videos. Countless people utilize this website because unregistered users can simply watch videos without signing up for anything, while registered users have the ability to upload an unlimited number of videos. “A YouTube video is really about letting go of control and trusting that your creativity will engage the groundswell” (Groundswell, 198). It is interesting to see how other celebrities, such as Lady Gaga, achieved fame and success without the use of YouTube, by going through the grueling process of performing gigs in small clubs for a number of years until she was finally recognized and signed to Island Def Jam Records. On the other hand, Justin was signed to a major record label simply because his video on YouTube went viral.

Credit: http://thenextweb.com/socialmedi

In addition to how Justin promoted himself on YouTube, it is equally important to discuss how he effectively utilizes Twitter. Twitter is a free, microblogging service in which users send and receive messages (or tweets) that can be no longer than 140 characters. Twitter is a brilliant way for artists to build and maintain relationships with their fans. Moreover, it allows celebrities to promote their latest work to give fans a peek into their everyday lives. On Perez Hilton’s website, Justin has consistently been in the top 140 most popular Twitter users and he averages 11,000 new followers daily.

  

Clearly, many celebrities like Justin have done an exceptional job using popular methods of social media, such as YouTube and Twitter, to keep their fans in the loop of their latest singles, appearances, etc. If you think you have a great voice, it doesn’t hurt to make an account on YouTube and upload a video of yourself singing. Who knows? Maybe a producer will stumble across your video and you could become famous!

Reading Reflections #2: Brand Success Through Energizing and Embracing the Groundswell

Credit: http://www.marketwire.com/

After reading chapters 7 through 10 of Groundswell, I completely agree and value the third level of groundswell thinking which is: energizing. It is imperative for companies to energize the base because it has the ability to boost businesses, as illustrated through the case study of Jim Noble and eBags. Moreover, it is incredible how committed and enthusiastic customers (like Noble) can manifest into viral marketers, by simply telling others how much he values his eBag.

Clearly, Li and Bernoff emphasize that word of mouth is vital to increase the brand marketing for companies. This is because it is an honest form of marketing and ultimately, "people believe other people more than media" (Groundswell, 131). This method is successful because it is "believable (testimonials from customers are far more credible than any media source), self-reinforcing (hear it from one person, and it’s intriguing… hear it from five or ten, even if you didn’t know them before, and it has to be true), and self-spreading (…if a product is worth using, its word of mouth generates more word of mouth in a cascade that’s literally exponential)" (Groundswell, 130). Evidently, by embracing the most enthusiastic customers, this allows companies to turn these people into "an integral part of the company’s products and processes" (Groundswell, 151). 

Credit: http://dilbert.com/

Throughout my own experiences, I can relate to energizing the groundswell when I bought my Sennheiser HD 555 Professional Headphones with Sound Channeling online through Amazon. Before making this purchase, I had never owned headphones that covered your ears entirely, since I used the small iPod  headphones which you plug into your ears. Once I received the Sennheiser headphones in the mail and listened to music with them, I was ecstatic with my purchase. Because I was so happy about my new headphones, this prompted me to tell all of my friends about them. Like Noble and eBags, this is an example of energizing the groundswell since I utilized the power of word of mouth to tell others how unbelievable a specific product/brand was!

Credit: http://www.head-fi.org/

Additionally, if you look at the reviews on Amazon.com, you can see that people are answering one another’s questions about any issues they are experiencing with the headphones. This saves the company a great deal of money and shows how the groundswell is supporting itself. This type of marketing is brilliant for Sennheiser because it doesn't cost them a single penny. Furthermore, Sennheiser "keeps the customers at the center of [their] organization" since they engage with their customers (Groundswell, 198). In an interview with John Falcone, President and CEO of Sennheiser, he said, "Our approach is to listen to our customers and respond with the right solution." This is critical for helping the groundswell support your company.

Essentially, even though companies themselves can utilize the groundswell to increase their businesses, customers can turn into such an incredibly powerful asset as well. Ratings and reviews from customers play a critical part of their success. As a valued customer, if you buy a product and you absolutely love it, why not rave about it online so that others will hear about it! On the other hand, if you end up buying a product and hate it, you should be even more inclined to write about it to warn other potential customers!

Original Post #2: Did I Really Send That?

Credit: http://blog.txtblaster.com/

The launch of Texts From Last Night (TFLN) in February 2009 has rapidly increased in popularity throughout the past two years. Texts From Last Night is very similar to other sites such as FMyLife and When Parents Text because they utilize user submitted posts. The regularly updated blog was created by two college students from Michigan (Lauren Leto and Ben Bator), in which they collect reader-submitted text messages and simply re-post them for other’s reading pleasure. The text conceals the identity of the person who submits the text message, however, they are prompted to give their area code. Typically, the texts are extremely funny or scandalous which is one of the main reasons why Texts From Last Night has become such a popular site since its launch date.

Credit: http://www.thebuzzmedia.com/

Credit: http://www.benjaminsun.com/

Their slogan states, “Remember that text you shouldn't have sent last night? We do.” An example of a text from Rhode Island writes:

(401):

This is a mass text. Does anybody know where I am?

The blog is geared towards college students since the majority of the text messages are associated with alcohol-related incidents. An article on AOL Tech writes, “Those of you who turn into prolific and inappropriate texters after a few drinks, be warned; your SMS ramblings may end up as someone else’s entertainment online.” Once the text message is chosen by the creators to be posted, users have the ability to rate it as a “good night” or a “bad night.” They also have the option to reply to the specific text or order it on a t-shirt (which costs $20.99 including tax/shipping and handling).

Texts From Last Night is just another site illustrating how crucial the users are to essentially keep the blog up and running. If people decided to stop submitting their ridiculous text messages, then there would be no content to look at! This brings us back to the reading in Groundswell and the importance of the Social Technographics Ladder. If Texts From Last Night only had spectators, who are people that read the blog, then this site would not be able to survive. It is also important to note that the people can easily become critics by commenting on someone else’s submitted text since it is quick and anonymous. Furthermore, other users can click a thumbs up or a thumbs down symbol to point out whether they liked your comment or not. 

Credit: http://socialmediagroup.com/

 

Texts From Last Night continues to attract more and more people everyday. If you have some time, maybe you should check the site out! But then again, maybe you have better things to do than to see drunken people’s text messages.

Reading Reflections #1: The Power of Blogs!

Credit: http://www.dannyfoo.com/

Throughout the past few years, I have slowly immersed myself into the ever expanding world of social media. From my general knowledge, I mainly understand the more popular types of social media such as blogs (Blogger), social networking sites (Facebook and MySpace), microblogging (Twitter), video sharing (YouTube), photo sharing (Flickr), and professional networks (LinkedIn). However, there is so much more out there that I am currently becoming familiar with. Within the first few chapters of Groundswell, Digg.com was mentioned a few times. Even though I have heard of it before, I have never utilized this category of social news. After reading about it, Digg.com and similar websites amaze me by illustrating how much power users can have by simply commenting and voting on news stories.

Credit: http://buildinternet.com/

Essentially, it is imperative to define the term groundswell which is “A social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations” (Groundswell, 9). Blogs are a great example of groundswell technology and is a way of bringing people together. A blog is “a personal (or group) journal of entries (‘posts’) containing written thoughts, links, and often pictures” (Groundswell, 19). Moreover, bloggers have the option of publishing videos and articles. This type of social media can vastly threaten institutional power since they are not regulated, in which bloggers chime in with their own opinions, create/spread rumors, and ultimately have the power to do much more.

Credit: http://www.atomicideas.com/

It is evident that blogging has drastically grown in popularity. In a study titled, “I’m Blogging This: A Closer Look at Why People Blog,” the researchers write that there are five major motivations for blogging:

1.) Documenting one’s life

2.) Providing commentary and opinions

3.) Expressing deeply felt emotions

4.) Articulating ideas through writing

5.) Forming and maintaining community forums

I further found it interesting in the reading that blogging can help companies solve the issue with having multiple sets of customers and complex products/services. “Not only can blogs help with this consideration, but they can also reassure people before, during, and after the sale. And as an added bonus, blog posts often get featured in mainstream media and Web searches, improving awareness for complex products” (Groundswell, 125).

After reading the first few chapters of Groundswell, it is evident that using new types of media can be extraordinarily beneficial to the user. Of course, when first learning how to utilize the various platforms, it may be overwhelming to the inexperienced user, but I have learned that the quickest way to use these new fields of social media is to just sign up for the account and play around with it!