Facebook makes changes!

So, it continues… Compiling all of your thoughts, feelings and opinions into a well-structured 250- 500 word blog is not as easy as it seems. I have been sitting here for the past ten minutes watching the cursor ‘blink’ while trying to decide what to write. Filling a page is easy; creating user interaction is the difficult part.

Before I get started, I should introduce myself. My name is Tim Hendry. I am currently enrolled in my third semester within the Business Marketing Diploma program at Humber College.  This year I am also a participant within the OCMC (Ontario Colleges Marketing Competition) as a Sales Account Management Analyst. Social media is my life; I am connected to nearly every platform available. Over the summer I started both Facebook and Twitter accounts for the company I was working at. I quickly realized the true impact that Social Media can have on a business. In addition, I also create weekly Youtube videos discussing my opinions and views on business news throughout North America. I am extremely pleased to be given such an opportunity. I hope that you will enjoy all of the content that I will post.

Although this is only my first post, I hope to gain and build connections with the readers. I highly encourage everyone to comment and discuss the matters at hand. Feel free to express your thoughts, interests, and concerns. Challenge me wherever you see fit. After all the purpose of a blog is not for me to sit here and write; it is a medium in which we are all able to interact. 

Interaction has seemed to be a key theme over the past week. Recently the Social Media giant Facebook announced that they were yet again changing the profile layout two a split column design which will essentially works as a scrapbook (telling your life story as posted).

Personally I think this is a great idea and a very smart move. The entire point of Facebook is to connect with family and friends. Facebook’s goal is to focus on making content more accessible for every user, as well as allowing for a greater individualized ‘feel’.

Apparently, many people do not share the same thought as me. Users were angry! Some people even threatened to delete their accounts if the changes were not stopped. Although the internet allows for everyone to have an equal voice, sometimes it’s just not worth yelling. With over 800 million users, it is nearly impossible for Facebook to keep everyone happy.

This morning I came across an article written by Christina Warren posted via- Mashable. I can’t say this any better than she can, so I’m going to let Christina do the talking.

“Sure, Facebook has faced user revolts in the past – practically every major overhaul to the platform has been met with user backlash- but this time apparently, it’s just too much.”

Facebook is changing, and there is nothing that any of us can do about it. Love it or hate it, we will all continue to use it (how else you see know that the high school ‘sweethearts’ just broke up?) . Although not all of the changes are improvements, I strongly feel that Facebook knows what they are doing. After all they built the foundations of Social Media. Some people argue that Facebook will loose its ‘zing’ and that it will be replaced by a new platform. However, the facts don’t lie. Facebook has nearly 500 million more users than any other outlet. I don’t think that they plan on stopping anytime soon.

Tim

Can You Keep Up With Digital Marketing?

The digital era is well under way, and it’s now up to you to keep up with it! Every day we are introduced to new marketing statistics and data that show us just how significant social networking has become.  Many of our students are Millennial’s- products of the baby boom also known as “Gen Y’s” and this puts them at the center of this new trend in technology.  The internet has become the center of most media consumption for the Millennial age group and this presents significant opportunities for us as marketers.

A snip from a demographic profile released by the eMarketer in March suggests that over 90% of this age group is online and almost as many of them are using social networking sites.  If you haven’t seen the info you can check it out here @ http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008382.

So what does this mean for the digital era, and how significant really is this information?  The increases in social media consumption are clear to me as I sit in the middle of this age group.  But while many are actively part of this social networking trend, there are still plenty that have accounts that remain dormant and unused.  While older generations remain skeptical to the security and privacy of social media- younger millennial’s tend to embrace the concept, using the networks to share tastes and preferences and furthermore as a platform for opportunities.  

Businesses are still learning how to use social media in a way that can create opportunities and boost credibility- many have done well, some have failed miserably, and others are just not there yet. This is where we see the shift in digital marketing beginning, as certain businesses solidify their presence in online and digital marketing others find themselves becoming left behind.  An interesting question arises, what will happen when one the most powerful cities in the world goes digital and according to a new TechCrunch article- New York City is looking to be that city sooner than later.  Check out the post here @ http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/16/ny-digital-city-road-map-2011/.

Interestingly enough, there is one social networking site that has however had an impact on older generations.  LinkedIn has produced several studies that show that older generations (like boomer’s) have found benefit in the LinkedIn network as a place to both find opportunities and showcase their achievements.  A recently published infographic suggests that the demographic on LinkedIn is dominated by the age groups of 25-34 and 35-54; a likely result of the professional image of the network.  The data also suggests that the major industries on LinkedIn are in Tech, finance and manufacturing- check it out below or @ http://www.vincos.it/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/state-of-linkedin-0311.png

       

To gain a better insight on the growth of LinkedIn in Canada I looked to a QuantCast traffic report to see what kind of increases had occurred.  The numbers were impressive showing users had almost doubled since January, and have not stopped growing at that rate since! So if you haven’t made the step into social media, a great place to start may be LinkedIn- and while you’re there don’t forget to become a member of our Humber OCMC 2011 Group @ http://linkd.in/ffJCkG .  To see the full Quantcast report, check it out here@ http://www.quantcast.com/linkedin.com?country=CA#traffic .

"Social Media Revolution"

A year ago you would NEVER find me using Facebook or Twitter - I went online for two reasons: to check my emails; and to watch videos on YouTube. At the beginning of my fall semester as a student studying marketing it became evident to me that if I didn’t open my mind up to social media, I would be left behind and out of touch with what’s going on not only online but with everything else in the world (thanks Christina!).  My views didn’t change until late in the year when I attended a business conference in Toronto and heard co-founder of eBay Canada, and now director of Facebook Canada, Jordan Banks speak to the significant impact of social media - check out this short video from his presentation!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng&feature=player_embedded

For those like me who have decided to pursue a career in marketing, it is the new trends of today that create niche opportunities, and staying current with new trends is what marketing is all about!  Day-to-day changes are no longer unheard-of or surprising. People get famous overnight with YouTube and Twitter, while Facebook and LinkedIn continue to grow in popularity amongst businesses everywhere. Social networking sites have made it simple for companies to find their customers by developing innovative solutions that make “hyper-targeting”, re-targeting and metric tools easily accessible for users.

    

OCMC is now using social media for the first time to help profile the event and to help students, faculty, volunteers and sponsors connect, network, and build the OCMC brand.  Throughout the early phases of our campaign we have seen the center of our communications emerge through our Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/HumberOCMC, twitter account http://twitter.com/HumberOCMC and on this blog. Our OCMC blog http://humberocmc.blogspot.com/ continues to provide insights, stories, and information on OCMC with tips from past participants and guest bloggers. So stay connected. Subscribers gain an added advantage by receiving weekly posts directly to their inbox so why not subscribe to our posts and get them straight to your email or RSS feed?

NEW to our social media this week is LinkedIn. Our LinkedIn group http://linkd.in/dXmbrB is designed to let students, faculty, and sponsors optimize their networking experience. If you’re part of an OCMC college team as a coach, student, or advisor, please join us...Thanks for reading!!!