MKS Blog

The popular bolgging site, WordPress.com announced a program today that will offer their users a new way to make money from their sites. It’s call WordAds.

Sound familiar?

Google’s AdWords (part of AdSense) is the current option for bloggers to have ads on their site, and WordPress is now directly competing with the program. WordPress’s WordAds makes use of its partnership with Federated Media.

The announcement was no surprise. Bloggers have been asking the company to establish an ad program for some time, but WordPress just now caved. The CEO, John Burke, said that the company wanted to wait until they created something better than Google’s “state-of-the-art” program because “users deserved better”. Not very many details have been released regarding the difference between AdWords and WordAds, but the company encourages all interested bloggers to fill out a form on the website.

I am not an avid blogger, but I think that Google needed some competition in regards to advertising on these sites. They have pretty much taken over a lot of activity online, but WordPress’s new program will allow users to make the best choice. Also having a program run through the blogging medium could create much easier access to these ads, and more communication in terms of payment and reach. Being a business major, my mindset is that competition makes for progress, so I am glad that a company challenged Google in this space.

Walt Disney Pictures’ The Muppets will hit movie theaters across the country tomorrow. The film’s release has been promoted heavily throughout the social and digital spheres, which has helped to revive the Muppet brand.

The two-year marketing campaign has truly embraced social media as a marketing means. It all began with the cover of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”, which was then followed by more songs, iPhone apps and witty responses to the spouts of backlash online. The successful campaign was driven by keeping the brand and its characters relatively the same to satisfy its loyal fanbase.

The folks at Mashable called the Muppets’ campaign, “one of the most socially savvy we have seen from any studio for a major release window”. Honestly, I am not a big fan of the Muppets, but this article really put into perspective the ways a unique brand can increase its target market and bring back a concept that has been dormant for several years. Having Disney as the producers has had a huge impact in their reach on social platforms because of Disney’s large presence on the web, but I think that the word-of-mouth piece was key to reach the niche market of a Muppet’s fan. In class, we talked about going viral and social media a lot, and I think this is a great example of how crucial being active on social media as well as digitally can really be a game-changer in this competitive environment. We shall see how successful their opening weekend is, and if these efforts have paid off.

Source: ebooks.com

Our generation spends so much time online using social media platforms

What if we could shop on sites like Facebook for our Christmas gifts this year using some of most high tech apps on the market?

Many of the apps in the article create personalized gift suggestions for your Facebook friends. Other apps match those friends to products on specific sites, such as Etsy and Amazon. Some of these apps crowdsource cash or other contributions for special and convenient presents.

Here were some of my favorite:

• GiveEmThis: Pick a Facebook friend, enter in that person’s gender and age, and then apply their Twitter handle if they have one. The site will suggest gifts that relate to there interests and attributes. Tends to be most accurate among an  older audience.
• Giftly: You can send personalized gift cards to any establishment you want through email, Facebook or tradition mail. The recipient can redeem the gift card by showing the receipt on their smartphones at the time of use. You can choose any dollar amount as well as the image on the card (which can be a picture from Facebook or a stock image)

I always seem to wait to the last minute to do my Christmas shopping, and sometimes that results in sending cards or gifts late to family out of town. These apps could really be beneficial in aiding me in this process, while still keeping the fun of a surprise in the gift. Also, these gift suggestions all better than sending money and our creative! These concepts go to show the power of social media in today’s society, and establish Facebook as the primary social media platform.

Viruses targeting Android-powered mobile devices and Apple computers rank the highest of scams and security threats that people need to guard against this holiday shopping season. McAfee just released its annual 12 Scams of Christmas list, which indicated a 76% increase in malware targeting smart phones, especially Androids through QR codes which many shoppers will be utilizing for deals and promotions this time of year.

Free games and other free applications downloaded on the phone may allow for the transfer of personal information to another source. One free background was downloaded 4.6 million times before it was realized that user’s information was being transferred to China.

Apple users are not in the clear either. The grower number of Apple users has equated to a growing number of viruses targeted at these devices. McAfee reports that 5,000 pieces of malware targeted Macs in late 2010, and that number continues to grow by 10% every month.

The latest technologies always seem to be protected from these malware schemes, but McAfee’s research has shown that this is clearly not the case. With more and more users relying more and more on their smartphones this has given groups the incentive to release viruses affecting millions of individuals. I think its sad to think that many consumers will utilize company’s apps on their mobile devices this holiday season to save money for their family, but may end up with a major malware problem on their phone or laptop. At least, I now know the importance of keeping on top of updates to insure I am at the lowest risk during my online shopping experience this Christmas.

The New York Times reported today that Disney and YouTube are set to announce a partnership worth between $10-15 million. Under this agreement, YouTube will invest millions of dollars on an original series produced by Disney, which will only be aired on both YouTube and Disney.com.

The Co-President of Disney Interactive said that this move was to “go where it’s audience is”. For YouTube, this partnership was part of its efforts to bring premium content to its site.

I think that many of the entertainment companies will follow Disney in joining YouTube to create videos for customers to watch at their leisure for free. These videos put the viewer in control, another blow to network’s power.

On Thursday, the social networking giant, Facebook,  joined the U.S. Department of Labor in a new initiative to lower the national unemployment rate. The partnership between the two will bring job hunting to Facebook for the first time, and may eventually include a Facebook job posting system.

A major component of this plan was the launch of “Social Jobs,” a portal that provides the user with job-search tools and advice from different sources. This page will be promoted in the 10 states with the highest unemployment rate, as well as Puerto Rico.

This type of service will directly compete with LinkedIn and Monster, as Facebook tries to enter the job posting market. Although, no additional initiatives are confirmed, Facebook stated that this is an avenue they see themselves adding value to the user’s experience.

Many companies already have a careers page or portal linking off of their company page on Facebook to assist users in the job search (e.g. Verizon), but I think that if Facebook were to offer such a service it would dramatically increase overall usage. While nothing that Facebook does is not linked to their bottom line, I think that this program with the U.S. Department of Labor will give Facebook a positive image online. In contrast, LinkedIn and Monster must adapt some form of differentiation in order to compete with Facebook head-to-head. The only downfall I perceive from this move is the balance between personal and professional when interacting on Facebook.

Just as drink giant Diageo joined 56% of food and beverage companies on Facebook, leaders in the field have urged other companies to do the same.

However, along with free publicity lies a lot of risk because consumers can produce an negative image of a product/service that could potentially destroy a product or brand’s reputation. While 78% of these companies utilized social media, only 38% of them had plans to deal with potential problems.

Also, deleting negative comments may be tempting in order to curve criticism, but industry leaders firmly believe that having these comments in small quantities (hopefully) will make your product/service much more compelling.

The trend among industries is to become a part of the customers’ life through social media, but doing so does require action on behalf of the company to prohibit a disaster to occur on the web. As the saying goes, “with great power comes great responsibility,” and I believe this saying echoes on these platforms as well. I think that companies need to make the shift as soon as possible, but they have to be able to control their brand online and interact with those online in a responsible way.

When I think of a business thriving on social media platforms, Red Bull is the first company that comes to my mind. Red Bull has a clear sense of who its target market is, and their over 22 million fans agree. From their unique landing page to the multimedia features, Red Bull takes it to the next level.

They barely ever mention their actual product on these social platforms, but instead their content revolves around the sports, hobbies, and interests of their target audience. The response rates, at least on Facebook, speak to the success of this strategy, showing numbers of likes and comments almost unheard of on Facebook.

Facebook users noticed something different on their new timeline profiles last week. Users could see who had unfriended them over the past few years.

The defect was quickly fixed.

Under your friends you would see an option to “Add as a Friend”, instead of the normal check mark next to the word “Friend”. Now those people are removed from your friend list altogether.

When I first read this article, I found it almost comical how Facebook’s minor flaw could potentially end friendships and create drama both online and offline. Then I realized that there were definitely people who I had defriended over the years or just never befriended, and now, looking back, I find it so immature but if that surfaced now it would reflect badly on myself. Facebook has such control over the way we communicate and participate in relationships that a minor deflect really does impact the connection we have with those in our lives.