J I B B E R - J A B B E R

I've always wanted something that was personalised. But darn my crazy parents for attempting to "Australianise" of my Vietnamese name and not going far enough meant that NO ONE will ever have Lynh inscribed on any key chain or water bottle.

But not anymore.

That's right, I can get my name on a virtual Coke can. Or a real one if I'm willing to travel out to one of the Westfield locations that personalise them.

In Coca-Cola's recent integrated marketing campaign they ask their consumers to 'Share a Coke'. On cans instore, they have 150 common names replacing the Coca-Cola logo and also on their famous billboards much like the one at Kings Cross in Sydney.

Smart? Maybe. But what I don't get is the point of the virtual Coke.

But who would want to do it? I mean I do. Purely because the chances of my name occurring on an actual can is 0, like fo sho. But I am not allowed to send one to myself.

Therefore hacking onto boyfriend's account gave me this.

And I am satisfied!

But really, who would want to send a virtual Coke. To be quite honest, I am not too sure I understand the concept in the real world. Who would want to buy a Coke can with someone else's name on it? I would think that Coke's are bought for the individual and only in rare cases are the Cokes bought for another. And then again, one would be biased towards the names that are on the cans. I know people say that they won't care and will just grab a Coke, but seriously, if I saw a name of someone I disliked on my can, I would not have positive feelings associated with the brand.

So yeah, I like how there are different mediums being integrated into this campaign, but I question the virtual one. Other than for the novelty of it, and I guess it would spread the brand name.

So here's my question. Would you send someone a virtual Coke can? And who to and why?




So this is my last blog post for the semester.

Special thanks to Wags - best lecturer ever! For making me want to come to these 9AM lectures and even if they were to be at 8AM, I'm sure I would've still rocked up!

And as for this blog...I might continue it in the future, if something comes up. I think I will actually, so stay tuned.



But for now, leave a comment answering the questions above. Or just writing random stuff. This is the last blog post, so help me get a HD!!!!

I love the Amazing Race! And one day I hope to be one of those teams dashing across the world in the quest to win $1 million.

Maybe.

One day.

But how is this related to e-marketing?

The CBS has just created a FourSquare page for the show where followers can be updated when teams arrive at different destinations!

Click on this link to view the FourSquare page: Amazing Race Foursquare page

Ingenious! It's like the two were made for eachother! But I'm not too sure whether its the teams checking in while they are actually travelling in real time, or whether they are checking in with the show while its being shown on television.

I think the first option would be better as this would generate interest leading up to the actual television show. It will keep loyal viewers interested throughout the week, instead of the two hours once a week.

Also, whilst watching the show last night, I saw use of social media actually in the show.

So what happened was one of the contestants dropped their passport at a servo and was frantically running around trying to find it.

An earlier team had driven passed the servo and asked some randoms for directions to the airport. In what was a possible total coincidence, the randoms picked up the passport and Tweeted:

"So #TheLife gets crazier so after being randomly filmed for the amazing race I see that one of them dropped there passport!!"

Obviously someone from the social media team picked up on this Tweet and asked the kind gentleman to bring the passport to the airport if he could.

Which he did. What luck!

Amazing what one Tweet can do!

So here's my question for you this week.
Are there any other shows or anything of the sort that, like the Amazing Race, has a social media forum that was meant to be with one another?
And do you think that the Amazing Race has enhanced their brand by adding this function?

Here's my Instructional Video for my MKF3881 class.

How Cupcake Central uses social media to create value!

This is my friend's business, and its super inspiring to see where she once came from to where she is now.

Originally an online store, Sheryl (owner of Cupcake Central) relied heavily on social media to generate interest, awareness and as a result work (by directing them to her website to make orders).

What started off as a girl who was laid off due to the GFC baking cupcakes in her kitchen for family and friends has grown into two store locations in Melbourne!

I don't think that they would have been this huge without the use of social media. I remember when they first started out on Facebook, I was sending their page to everyone I knew telling them about the awesomeness of these cupcakes!

The many that did 'like' the page, soon became super 'fans' as Sheryl kept posting up mouth-watering photos of her delicious creations!

It is quite amazing what social media is capable of.

Do you know of any companies/brands/small businesses that have seen huge success fro social media?

Check out this Facebook page: Qantas

Yes, it does not look bad now, but about a week ago it was a lot worst.

A shrine of hatred, close to 95,000 fans and person after person writing comments regarding how horrible the service is, the problems they are having relating to tickets and relating to the latest advertising campaign 'New Spirit'.

And no reply from Qantas.

This was a little surprising seeing as I have them seen them as a an active Twitter user.

So what should be done?

To be quite honest, I am stumped. I posted this on the MKF3881 forum to which Wags asked me:

And I never replied.

Because I had no idea.

But I figured now I will put it out to the audience, what would you do if you were in Qantas' position?

Here is what I think they could do:

Option 1

Cut your losses. Delete the page and start fresh. Like Wags said in the lecture, brands should enter this domain with great caution. I don't think they listened or experimented with it. Social media is a long term commitment. Once you've joined up you can't just abandon ship, and leave things to manifest. As much as a brand has no control over what the customer says, they still have the opportunity to defend themselves in the public sphere.

The only problem I see with this is that Qantas is then abandoning close to 95,000 fans. Those people aren't going to go seek the Qantas fan page again because they have assumed they were already a fan.

So this is probably not a viable option.

Option 2

They can just ignore everything that has occurred in the past and just concentrate on any new comments. So engaging with the 'fans'starting from this point. I think that at this point, all those who have not heard back from Qantas can be treated as a lost cause.

Option 3
Go back to the beginning of Qantas Facebook time and reply to everyone.


Of the three options, I think the second is the most realistic.

I don't think that Qantas really knew what they were getting themselves into. They probably just jumped on the bandwagon purely for the sake of remaining current.

Social media is not something that can be checked once a day. It needs constant 24/7 monitoring to ensure that all customers have their queries or complaints tended to. Most of the answers I saw on this fan page were quick, automated responses telling the customer to send their complaint to an address and that it may take a couple of weeks to reply.

No. These people are venting via Facebook as it is the easiest means to get their point across. If they wanted to place their complaint via that other forum then they would have. They want a response then and there and to be told to go somewhere else and leave it at that is not it.

Conversations need to be held with these people and that is not happening. Maybe the more serious complaints regarding refunds or lost baggage should be referred to other people, but yeah.

I tried to Google how one would fix something like this, but could not find anything.

So what do you think? Let me know!!

Up until about a week ago, I thought PayPal was an excellent method in which to pay buyers when I purchased goods online. I was always very pleased when the option to pay via PayPal was offered and always opted for that over paying via credit/debit card.


However, what I had originally perceived to be a reliable method of payment has turned out to be not so true.


Recently, my significant other had posted an ad on Gumtree wanting to sell his car. Prior to that, he had an ad on carsales.com.au, but had very little response, so decided to choose to sell via Gumtree as it had next to no fees associated with it.


About a couple of hours after he posted the advertisement, he had about 5 different messages all keen on the car. And all wanting him to email them with an email address they had provided.


As he had to go away, I dealt with a guy named Stuart via email.


And this is how it went down.

On Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 11:30 PM, Harvey Nguyen <XXXXXX@hotmail.com> wrote:

Hi Stuart,

The car is in new condition as described, there is only a few minor scratches but other than that, everything is perfect.

And the price is $19,500 as advertised, but if you are wanting to negotiate please call my parents on XXXX XXXX as I will not be available until Tuesday.

I hope that helps.

Thanks,

Harvey 

Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2011 23:53:47 +0100
Subject: Re: Car advert
From: stuart19560@gmail.com
To: XXXXXX@hotmail.com

Hi,

Thanks for the prompt response. I will like to know more about its condition and possibly have more pictures of it. I will be very glad to have more pictures of it. I will be very glad to conclude this as soon as possible.

I am a Flight Sergeant (FSGT) of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). 

As to the price, Do as well advise on the least amount you will like to sell it. I will be very glad to make the payment through my PayPal account as it is very reliable,fast,secure and easy to use and I have my bank accounts linked to my PayPal and shouldn't have any problem making this payment.

Due to the nature of my work, I will not be able to come for the inspection. I will however be needing your address so that I can forward it to my shipping agent who will be coming over there for the inspection and shipping.

Thanks again and hope to hear from you soon..

Stuart

On Sat, Sep 3, 2011 at 5:53 AM, Harvey Nguyen <XXXXXXX@hotmail.com> wrote:

Hi Stuart,

This is Harvey's girlfriend. He is currently away on a training weekend and won't get back until Tuesday. So I'll let him know about your situation and get him to take more photos of the car and give a more detailed description of its condition. 

Other than the photos that are currently online, were there any specific photos that you wanted to see?

Also, in regards to the price, the least he is willing to sell it for is $18,500. But I think if you're going to pay via PayPal, he may have to increase the price because they take a percentage of the money, if you get what I mean. Other than that, I guess you could deposit the money into his bank account?

Email this address if you have any further queries, I will be checking it and will answer them as best as I can. But it won't be until Tuesday when you get more details regarding the condition of the car.

Thanks,

Lynh.

Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2011 3:52:19 +0100
Subject: Re: Car advert
From: stuart19560@gmail.com
To: XXXXXX@hotmail.com

And I stopped emailing him.

Why?

Call me naive, but I genuinely believed his story. I did not see any problem in allowing him to pay via PayPal and getting his shipping agent to come get it.

But one thing came to mind. Why not buy a car from the UK and not have to deal with shipping costs and importing it etc?

So I called the significant other and told him about it, and he said maybe. He didn't sound too keen, and when I asked him why, he said it was because he had read of such scams through the forum www.nissansilvia.com.au and was a bit iffy on the whole situation.

That put me in defense mode and I researched it and heard of  different scenarios where the buyer was  unable to come out to the car due to other commitments and was also really keen on paying via PayPal.

Then I also learned that PayPal doesn't protect users outside of eBay. So that made me think. How is PayPal safe?

After much research, I found out that PayPal is owned by eBay. And in theory, it should be safe because you're paying for the product through PayPal and therefore, your credit card information should be displayed.

And I guess it is, but by reputation one would assume that nothing bad could possibly go wrong. Well, I did.

I could probably be a minority. But I'm now a LOT more cautious...

So here's my question for this blog entry, have you ever been scammed online? Tell me about your experience!

So here's two ads I want you to watch.

And now watch this one.


So tell me, what's the difference?

Well, the first one is made by a student, Nick Haley, on his MacBook and uploaded onto YouTube. The second one is Apple collaborating with Nick to create an ad campaign that they actually ran.

I can't find the ad that Apple had prior to Haley's interpretation, but let me tell you, it was a bit bland.

But this is a great example of a brand collaborating with a consumer, listening to what he had to say and taking it on board.

Unfortunately, this cannot be said about all brands. Saw this ad in a recent episode of the Gruen Transfer.


Like Will said, Coles went about removing this ad. Which is funny, with their whole aim at trying to engage with their customers via social media.

Consumer Generated Content is something that has blossomed with this whole media age. We are given more tools and the creative ability to convey our thoughts and feelings. Instead of simply going onto a brand's FaceBook page and writing a complaint, they can get their voice heard in a differently light, possibly reaching more viewers if it were to go viral. Or by writing their own views and opinions in blogs.

So how should brands deal with this? I think that brands should not stop it. Stopping people from engaging in such forms of communication would be them trying to stifle our new found power and pushing us back into the previous period where we, as consumers, were being subjected to being told what to do.

Brands should learn to embrace this kind of communication, whether it be good or bad. Take it on as a form of feedback.

So tell me, what are your views on this? How do you think brands should approach negative consumer generated content? 

RANDOM!

I'm sure most of you have already noticed, but Blogger has updated their layout, theme, EVERYTHING. Right now, this page I am typing on looks so different from what I am used to. I noticed along the side that they also have a 'Location' option.

What is up with knowing where I am?

No, I am not in Caulfield right now, but that's cause I don't want people knowing where I live! I just wanted to see what it would look like on ze blog.

So here's the deal.

As fellow Gen Yers or members of the digital natives clan, we are constantly surrounded by social media of various different kinds.

So much so, that we rely on it.

I mean, I know of some people who refer to social media as their drug, so addicted that they can't imagine a world without it.

I don't know if I could do it. To be honest, when away on a holiday, I was checking Facebook EVERYDAY. But then again, maybe it was because I was in Canberra!

So what makes me think this? Two reasons.

1. I saw how much influence it has in the lives of myself and of all those around me (with only a handful of people being unaffected by it)

2. As a result of the riots in London, people are suggesting that social media should be banned during times of unrest. David Cameron, UK PM, suggested a total ban.

The second point really stimulated my thoughts, as I already talked about in my previous post, social media was not the 'cause' of the spread of the riots!

And on top of that, TWITTER is aiding in the cleaning efforts in London!

So why ban social media when it was not really the cause?

And what would happen if that were to happen?! If you get what I mean.

There would be a whole lot of withdrawals, that's for sure. And God knows what else. We are only beginning to really understand the potential in social media. For it to be subjected to a ban would allow for things to run wild and the truly ugly to happen. Which would cause more problems, and more knee-jerk solutions from the authorities.

So can you do it?

Vote on this poll! It'd be interesting to see.

Comment below. Tell me, what would you do if all forms of social media were banned. How would you cope?

To be quite honest, I was uninspired this week. Usually, I have something that catches my attention, and so I jump at the opportunity to blog about it.

Not this week.

So I put out a call for help on Facebook, and this is the response I got.

The one that really caught my attention out of all the feedback was the comment regarding Facebook Places and deals.

Clearly a new avenue businesses to market themselves online through Facebook.

So the general gist of it is that businesses can offer deals to visitors or fans through their pages (which is a practice that is already in place) and Facebook Places, something that Australia has just decided to adopt now. Facebook outlines the categories in which the deals can be obtained.

I think this is particularly useful, especially for the retailers in light of their recent problems relating to sales. In conjunction with this, apparently Facebook Places has been in 'Struggle Town', therefore, the two combining together allows for the retailers to increase traffic in their stores, and for the Facebook Places function to be used more often.

So far there have been four brands that offer deals to celebrate the launch, those being 7-Eleven, Commonwealth Bank, Westfield and KFC.

I think this is also another great way for businesses to engage with their consumers. This will also help generate more customers as often people will need to do something in exchange for the deal. Like the Commonwealth Bank is giving away free movie tickets to all those who open up a new Everyday Account with them. Here are the deals other brands are offering.

I have no doubt in my mind that businesses will jump to this opportunity, I mean the only costs that they will be incurring is that of any discounts, but the benefits are numerous!

I think it's time for me to get an iPhone to utilize this app, the stingy Asian in me is telling me to do so. But then again, I'm not willing to jump on THAT bandwagon just yet. Maybe I'll just upgrade my phone.

What do you think? Will you be making the most of this?

Moral Panic. A term coined Stanley Cohen in the study of criminology and defined it as disjointed episode, whereby society is subjected to moral panics in which the values and principles within society are potentially jeopardized. He elaborates on this concept by stating that these episodes are amplified by the mass media, exaggerating the facts and turning them into a bigger issue than what it may actually be.

So why am I bringing this up?

In my recent criminology classes, we were discussing the effects of moral panics and their effects on society including the stereotypes they introduced and were implemented into society. We discussed different types of moral panics that have occurred in the past, including the mods vs. the rockers in the 70's and the HIV/AIDs threat in the 80's. Then we were asked to think about modern examples.

And after seeing a news report on the London riots earlier that morning, I thought of social media.


Of course, this definition of moral panics was written 40 years ago, a long time before the introduction of the internet and the www and definitely a long time before the social media sites. However, a contemporary moral panic that is occurring currently, and that has been a moral panic is social media itself. The definition has been expanded to include not only 'a condition, episode, person or group of persons' but also to include social media. I guess that's what you would call it right?

Yeah sure, Facebook and the likes have very little to do with crime. However, the hype that has surrounded the whole social networking phenomena has been controversial, with the younger generation embracing it and most of the older generations unable to comprehend it (a characteristic of moral panic, the youths of society embrace it, whilst the older people worry over it).

When I was watching the report on the London riots, I had next to no knowledge that it was happening, and it shocked me when I realized that it was entering it's 4th day. What amazed me in the report was that there was no mention of the alleged cause (which I discovered later having to Google it that an alleged police shooting had occurred which led to the youths rioting), merely stating that there was unsatisfied minors within the community and that social media was the real cause.



And I thought, how? The Daily Mail claims that the violence was fuelled when photos of a burning police cars were re-Tweeted 100 times on Twitter, and The Sun writes about how Twitter was used to increase their numbers. However, it turns out that Twitter did not fuel this riot, it was the Blackberry Messenger.

Another case of mass media targeting social media? Most likely.

You see, there are a lot of older people out there who are scared of the unknown, and social media is one of them. I think it is hard for them to comprehend the size of it, the ability for one to simply post something up and have everyone see it and to be able to engage with hundreds of people in front of a computer screen.

I also think that traditional forms of media are scared of this new media, as discussed in a recent Electronic Marketing seminar. These older forms are going out of business and in an attempt to save themselves, they have resorted to tarnishing the name of social media sites so as to decrease their popularity.

Such examples are children under 13 being allowed to gamble on Facebook and paedophiles preying on children through MySpacce and Facebook, just to name a couple of the more recent examples.

Then I sit on the other side (in front of the computer screen), and I think to myself, it is really not that bad.
Sure, there may be some paedophiles using Facebook or MySpace as a route for their disgusting behaviour, but how many?
Sure there are some children who may have seen an advertisement on Facebook for a gambling game, but how many have actually played?

 I think it was about a month ago that I was invited to Google+.

Eager to join the new online phenomena, I quickly joined up and was a little confused by the layout of everything. I think a lot of people whose interests did not lie in IT or broadening their interactions with different forms of social media were put off, with a friend saying "I would use it if it looked more like Facebook".

And many others must have been thinking the same thing as sites such as this allow people to convert the Google+ layout to the Facebook one to make the transition easier.

Until very recently I have re-entered the Google+ website and tried to understand the different concepts, and have realised that it IS a WHOLE lot better than Facebook.

Using circles allows yo to follow people without requiring the acceptance from that certain someone. But circles also allows you to be selective about who gets to see what, a tool that is especially useful allowing for me to engage online in a manner that doesn't make me feel so restricted. On Facebook, before updating your status or posting up images, I usually consider who might see it. Family and work colleagues that are my friends on Facebook stop me from going all out when I want to state how I feel.



I still want to try out the Hangout function, got some friends on standby waiting for a free moment so we can try it out! Will update on that when I get the chance to do it!

So, have do you have Google+, and what do you think?

Follow me! Cause I'm awesome :)

I'm also wandering whether Google+ will offer the same ability for businesses to promote themselves online (like fan pages, but I guess in this scenario, members would just follow the particular business). Does anyone know?




RANDOM:

I was talking to my cousin who works at NextGen Networks, a provider of data services about a recent meeting she had with her elderly superiors. The topic? Introducing NextGen to the social networking websites to increase their exposure.

This situation was a clear portrayal of the digital immigrants and digital natives that reside in modern society. Especially when the 'wannabe' digital immigrants were clinging to every word of the digital native's words regarding their interaction with sites such as Facebook.

The funnier thing about this whole situation is that these superiors didn't want their customers to be interacting with them i.e. commenting on their Facebook fan page. They only wanted another route to communicate information to their customers. Which defeats the purpose of the whole situation...

Right?