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?