Spreading the Word

This week we continued reading from the "Whuffie Factor". The section we read this week talked a lot about building your whuffie, and the benefits of doing so. Having a strong presence online, and creating a lot of social capital, is not just to be popular. There are a lot of real world benefits, especially for those in the advertising industry.

The reading talked about the fact that sometimes a blog from a well-followed person, can be just as effective as an expensive advertisement. The author talked about how she had a large following on a variety of social networks, all of which are connected. Having such a large following enables you to get out your message to a wide variety of people. It is also a smart option because it is free. Another great thing about this is the fact that the message you send will not only go out to all your followers, but all of those that your follower's extend the message to. This sounds confusing, but basically it means that someone who is following a blog (Twitter account, Facebook account, etc.) that sees something interesting, will most likely pass it along to their friends and family. In that way, there is no telling how many people one message will reach.

Another great benefit is the fact that the communication is a two way exchange. Readers are able to post their comments and give feedback. This is great for advertisers because they can get actual opinions from consumers on why they like a product or what they think should be changed about a product. It also helps to build relationships between companies and consumers because it allows them to have a lot more customer service capabilities. Before this whole process started, many people would be dissatisfied with a product, vent to a friend about it and move on. Now they go onto a social networking site and put a comment about their bad experience. The company that makes the product then has the ability to contact that person, offer apologies, and perhaps give them some sort of promotional offer. The great thing about this is not only are you maintaining relationships with customers, but you are building trust from potential customers who read that interaction.

Another way that this two way interaction is beneficial can be seen in the example from the reading. The author talked about the fact that there was a time that she was struggling to decide what type of digital camera to buy. She had it narrowed down to two choices and decided to turn to her followers for help. From doing this, she got hundreds of responses from people offering their opinions and advice. She was able to choose a product that she is really happy with. This whole concept is pretty cool. The idea that you potentially can ask thousands of people for help with a problem, even if its as simple as which product is better. This concept gives me the feeling that the world is not so big, and we are all connected in some way. We are no longer limited to the people we see in our day to day encounters.

So far I have talked about a lot of benefits of having a large network of followers. However there is a major negative to this concept that is becoming more and more prevalent in the news. This is the idea of bullying. This is not a new idea. Kids have always been bullied. I'm sure most of us were at one time in our lives. However, this concept has risen to a whole new level with the advancement of technology. Kids are now able to bully their peers online, out of school. They can wage an all out attack on someone without ever having to physically speak to them. The ability to say things online, without having to do it face to face, gives people a lot more confidence. They will typically say things that they would not say in person. This means that kids will be even more cruel online. There have been many recent hospitalizations, and suicides because of this growing trend. I don't know what the solution to this problem is, I just thought that it was a very important topic worth mentioning. What are your thoughts on online bullying? Do you have any ideas for possible solutions of how to reduce this problem?

Whuffie: Not just what a dog says

This week we were assigned readings from a book called, "How To Be A Social Capitalist". If you read my previous blogs, then perhaps you remember the discussion of social capitalism. I tried to simplify the idea as much as possible by saying that it is having a sense of pride and connection with one's community, and doing things for others within that community.

I was starting to feel that I had a pretty good grasp on the subject due to the fact that I had done some reading in class and outside reading for a presentation on the topic. However, I was surprised to learn that this concept I was learning about was also known by a much different term: Whuffie. I think it's best to take the definition given in the book:
"Whuffie is the residual outcome-the currency-of your reputation. You lose or gain it based on positive or negative actions, your contributions to the community, and what people think of you"
It seems to be very similar to the definition of social capital. So why the different, and strange,name? From my understanding, social capitalism is a general term and whuffie is a more specific term dealing with online social capital. Even more specifically, it has to deal with building social capital through social networking tools.

I'm sure that most of you have noticed that social networking sites are not just for everyday users to discuss what they ate that day, and share pictures of their friends drinking. In fact, social networking sites have a variety of uses, one of which is to promote businesses. If you do a little searching, you can usually find most any large company has a Facebook page that you can check out. Many such pages have advertisements for the brand, and deals and promotions. Some have lists of upcoming events that relate to the brand, and perhaps even some sort of entertainment such as a game. All of these pages allow users to add the page to their list of "likes". This is good for the company because it not only advertises to users friends that they are a part of this group and entices others to join, but it also helps the company to gain trust from users because it has such a large following. These days having an online presence is vital for a company's success. So how does a company gain popularity online? How do they get people to add them to their list of "likes"?

Answering this question is what our reading was all about this week. The author made the humorous comment that there are really only three ways to build a business and make money online: "porn, luck, and whuffie". A company needs to establish themselves online, and create a following. One of the most important things is having good connections, in other words, networking. If a company can show that they are somehow connected to another well-liked, highly-respected company, they will most likely gain respect through doing so.

This idea is not only for businesses. Actually, anyone who is online and a member of some sort of social networking site, has whuffie. How much time you spend building your whuffie is up to you. One wonders how far this idea will go. Perhaps one day employers will be looking at a person's whuffie when considering them for a job. The book gave a very interesting example taken from a science fiction novel, "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom". The author of the science fiction novel envisioned a world in which whuffie is the only currency used. You would pay for everything you need with your whuffie. This would not be in some sort of paper or card form. Instead, your whuffie is a part of you at all times and anyone can access your internal computer to figure out how wealthy or poor you are. This is an extremely interesting concept to try and wrap your mind around. The weirdest part is that it doesn't sound altogether impossible.

The reading for this week was very informative, and we are continuing reading on the same topic next week. Please let me know your thoughts on the subject, and look for more information in my next blog.