Magazines and the Internet

Advertising to multiple markets can often be costly and time consuming. Unlike newspapers that are updated on a daily basis, these publications can be circulated on a weekly, monthly or yearly basis. A magazine publication is a beneficial relationship for both publisher and advertiser because money is being made and news is being spread simultaneously. Yet the effectiveness of publications vary considering where they are sold. The ability of magazines to sell globally differs from that of international sales. On an international scale, a company based in one country sells their product in a different one whereas on a global scale, a company views the entire world as one market.

Ultimately, the Internet has access to an International database around the clock. Rather than have to specifically target certain countries, the work is already done for social media advertisers. Through social media, people can integrate magazine publications and target a larger audience without all of the unnecessary extra work.
The Internet seems to be the tool of choice in 2010 while magazines are still considered an effective tool in brand advertising. The so-called spirit of the magazine has shifted to electronic publications because of the ease and efficiency of the web.

Everyone thinks that paper publications are diminishing as we look toward virtual communities yet these virtual communities are reinforcing the paper publications.

How to "Do Good" in 5 Minutes Using Social Media at Zero Cost

Non-profit organizations and cause groups use the Internet as a tool to attract donors and volunteers. Often people do not go to these sites because of the preconceived mindset that their participation alone won't really make a difference; five minutes may not seem like a significant amount of time to make an impact on the world. On the contrary, many sites are currently contributing to a greater cause in this small amount of time.

Freerice.com is a site on which Internet users can answer a set of multiple choice questions to aid the fight against hunger. In just 5 minutes, you can donate 10 grains of rice with every correct answer you select. This will help World Food Programme feed the millions of starving people around the world. Advertisers pay for the rice and the project is sponsored by Harvard University.

CauseWorld is a site similar to FourSquare that lets you earn karma points, acquire badges, make donations and share accomplishments with social networks and charities.

GiveWork is an iPhone application that helps to increase the working wage of African refugees. Through earning points, a user can virtually help an African refugee with microwork duties in less than 5 minutes

The organization "SocialVibe" pairs brands with consumers. Micro-action games and activities are created by brands for users. Consequently, the brands pay for the interaction by donating to a charity or cause of the user's preference.

With the existence of all of these programs, good can be accomplished at zero cost in five minutes. Next time you have nothing to do for a short amount of time, think of a life that you could be saving by going online.

Tv Newsroom Focus In On Social Media

With the rise of the social media, some may consider the resources offered by the virtual community are a danger to those in television. Not only are individuals using social media at home, but professional such as newscasters, are beginning to utilize these virtual resources more and more. A recent study shows 77% of newsroom use networking sites such as Twitter, 35 % of those using the site at least once a day.

Twitter, which started out as a site on which people could "tweet" what they are doing, is gaining much popularity because of its ability to broadcast news a second after the event occur. Newsrooms find social media particularly relevant because not only because of the textual information but because of photos and visual data. News outlets are starting to extract photos from social media sites and crowdsource them, especially photos of natural disasters that occurred halfway across the world (real footage of tsunamis and earthquakes are hard to obtain without actually being there). 27% of tv stations are also using Twitter and Facebook to obtain more information on certain topics. In addition, these stations are using mobile devices to deliver information.

The Influence of Media on Contemporary Society

With the growing technological advancements, media is becoming more dominant in the lives of individuals from as early as childhood. An eight year old will mimick one of their favorite characters on a television show just as an adult might imitate an actor in their favorite action film. Media is a contemporary social phenomenon which has the power to shape and influence our lives on many levels.

When considering the functionalist view of media, the obvious reason is entertainment. People watch the same television shows religiously to ease boredom, or often to escape what’s going on on their lives. Media frequently acts as an informant, educating teenagers and children distress about the danger of their actions with anti-drug commercials and reality television shows. For example MTV’s reality show “True Life” educates teens about the dangers of drug use,; hence acting as an enforcer of social norms, distinguishing between what is socially acceptable in society and what is not. Yet media can also act as an agent of socialization. Aside from broadcasting the traditional reality t.v.show, television also serves as an agent of communication by broadcasting important events such as natural disasters and urgent news briefs. The Internet for example, allows individuals to have access to news updates with just the click of the mouse. Media also has the power to confer status on certain issues. We often see high ranking celebrites on the cover of magazines to draw the consumers attention and think wow they must be important, The Internet often shows issues form multiple perspectives; something most magazines lack.

Trust, Transparency and Social Media

Due to the fast paced nature of social media, gaining the community's trust from the beginning is very important. Chances are if someone does not feel your are worthy of their trust at start-up, they will not be one of your followers during more mature phases. Trust and transparency in social media are valued equal to product quality and functionality; in Europe and the United States these factors are valued over the other two characteristics. Consider what is happening now with television. The credibility of television is slowly diminishing as around 800,000 people "abandon" television sets and look toward the web. This is not because the quality of televisions are deteriorating but because their is more transparency in the virtual community than what's on television.

But what can companies do to be more transparent and increase their trust score? With all of the information we have access to its hard to know who we can trust. Companies that maintain consistency, focus on promotion rather than knocking competitors and follow through with their competitors gain the most trust. Being consistent is important because individuals do not want to build relations with a company that is constantly in flux. Often companies are not transparent and use slanderous techniques to hurt the competition; people are not interested in companies that focus on negativity. Individuals are driven to positive promotions and companies that are transparent, they acknowledge they are not the market leader and do not knock competitions. Lastly, companies that use false advertisements and make promises they are unable to fulfill are less likely to be trusted.

Transparency and trust are complements in social media. As more and more people look towards the Internet over television, it is our job in the virtual community to ensure that we are maintaining honest relationships with those around us.

The Influence of the Virtual Community on Business

Businesses are effectively using the Internet as a tool to advertise their product, cut expenses and increase revenue. The Internet is a unique marketplace because of its ability to target the masses within the click of a mouse. Communities are the foundation of the virtual community and can be used to powerfully impact businesses. In order for a business to be able to take advantage of the social space, the different types of virtual community's must be understood.

Many different types of virtual communities exist such as direct, managed and participating. A direct community, such as the National Breast Cancer foundation community site, is owned and managed by a company with a specific purpose or internal target. Managed communities are managed by an organization and have platforms on different networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. For example, Dell has a Twitter page which is managed by corporate to maintain Dell's reputation is the social space. The participating community is usual managed by groups of user, those who are already on social networking sites and sometimes with proprietary software. An example of this type of community would be a specialty interest group where the product being discussed is related to the organization. Everyone is free to participate but has does not create any real statistical data within the community.

How can businesses leverage these different communities? Businesses must define a strategy which aligns with their marketing campaign. Someone who is marketing a handbag would not want to project the same strategy as someone who is focusing on support solutions. Those are two entirely different markets and need to be addressed separately. Setting a clear objective is important and will direct a marketer on which community to target. Depending on the audience the community choice varies. If you are creating a network strategy, direct and managed communities may be the most influential. These communities often provide direct linkage with the organization. Specific foundations have Facebook pages which allow for direct communication with the charity


These communities each allow for data sharing between influential users. Business' can benefit a great deal from having access to such a qualified pool with such ease. In addition, products can be analyzed before they hit the market to prevent future downfalls.

Reputation Management

Online reputations are becoming controversial due to how easily reputations can be slighted by negative feedback. What we have on our Facebook and Twitter pages may no necessarily depict who we are yet this information often defines us in the eyes of an outsider or potential employer. Reputation is not only what we ourselves do, but takes into consideration what others say about us. How we are perceived to other people is often shaped by other people's opinions formed on what they see on our social networking page. Fortunately we can take measures to retaliate against these negative associations with our reputation.

We must consider who is in our network. Often we post things in the moment and don't realize that our whole community of 500+ friends is able to see what we are doing. A grandmother may not interpret actions in the same way a college student would hence it is important to realize who has access to what we are doing. We do not take into consideration the impact of what we are saying on our status' or photo comments until someone within our community actually calls it to our attention. Yes we can all remove our posts if its really necessary but sometimes the damage is already done. Just because you delete a comment doesn't mean that noone else already saw it for its 2 minute lifespan. If we cannot delete, we must compete. Rather than try to revoke what was said we must make a counter post to glorify the situation. On Facebook people delete posts that they find offensive; as if everyone who was online did not just see that post in their mini-feed 2 minutes ago.

Obviously reputation is affected by our actions and we need to be aware of how many people are monitoring us and who is monitoring us. We express things and think of only its momentary impact yet our online reputation can go from positive to negative in that same moment.

Trust in Media: Alive or Dying?

With new programs emerging in the social space, the question of who we can trust has gained much popularity lately. If you type social media and trust into a search engine, many different articles will appear about advertising and trust in the online community to the relationship between trust and reputation. Reputation is easily influenced by what others are saying about us in their blog posts or reviews.

Users used to rely on traditional media to seek reviews, recommendations and advice whereas today trust has shifted toward to individual blogs and suggestions. Consider restaurant reviews on zagat.com as opposed to urbanspoon.com. Both sites offer reviews of a restaurant but urbanspoon.com is frequented more because real bloggers are providing insight. But why would individuals trust peers as opposed to a more reputable source? Reputable sources may know the statistics but they are not always honest.

The explanation may be lack of trust. Many individuals feel that social gurus in media tend to be biased and shaped by a certain way of thinking. Advertisers face a similar problem when trying to gain trust. If marketers began to emphasize honesty and transparency in selling products as opposed to just telling the consumer what they they they want to hear, the consumer will deem the brand more credible. Peers are being trusted over commercialized sources because we can identify more with the average human being as opposed to a multi-million dollar company trying to make a profit.

Building Trust

In trusting someone, an individual is securing a bond between another party, which creates a safeguard between the groups. Even if a weakness is exposed and that person may seem vulnerable, the individual will not be condemned due to his trust invested in that other group. Trust can be compared to an unspoken committment, stemming out of confidence and assurance, in which a relationship is formed. The problem with trust it is violated or we are taken advantage of, we have issues trusting again. As human beings we tend to base decisions on past experience. If we have endured a significant amount of emotional neglect or were betrayed multiple times in the passed, chances are we will be reluctant to trust someone. Sometimes we do not want to risk investing time in another and letting our guard down if we have been hurt before, especially if we were taken advantage of without any provocation (victim of circumstance).Through trust we are able to exchange non material possessions; a child entrusts their parent in exchange for safety and nourishment. Although we do not know specifically what we are receiving from the trusted party, a relationship is a barter and both ends must be providing something. This concept of reciprocity is not always immediate and often we grow impatient when our friends do not contribute something to the relationship. Beliefs among people who have been violated in situations are that noone can be trusted, they are alone or the world is out to get them. But their are ways to overcome these perceptions.

Our behavioral traits and attitudes affect how we trust. If we are positive and have faith in other people to be honest and fair, we will develop balanced relationships. Without hope in new beginnings, we would all become socially isolated. To truly believe that others will treat us as equals (faith in the fairness of life) is an essential belief in expression. If we think that we will be treated poorly by an individual, chances are our friendship would not flourish with that person because we have ulterior motives in the back of our mind and are reluctant to trust him/her. We must believe in ourselves and not fear other people’s opinions because fear stunts our emotional growth. The whole purpose of a relationship is to be able to express each other freely and not worry about being ostracized for a stupid comment. Blaming and accusing are actions that should not exist in any environment where trust is evident; principles such forgiveness and acceptance should be emphasized. Reducing competition amongst peers will lower any type of barriers and lead to mutual trust in the long run.

All of these traits could lead to better relationships and are steps on the path to building trust. Our experiences affect our ability to trust yet if we try to change our behavioral traits, we may be able to suppress any negative feelings we associate with trusting and look toward positive relationship building.

Social Networking in the Elderly Community

Networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace are not the only sites that are being visited by senior citizens. Twitter and an Australian based site known as Letters, are popular with the older crowd, reasons being that these are simple ways to keep those that they know updated and connected without having to write long diatribes and send it through the mail or having to call them. This element of trying to remain connected is a general part of human nature; we all have a desire to feel like we fit in somewhere and have people that care about us. Once old age sets in, we may lose our significant others or fall out of love with them and remain unhappy and displeased with the way that we are living and these different social networks are a way to keep connected with the outside world. This desire to be connected with the outside world is now easily obtained as long as internet access is available to these older gentlemen and ladies.

The need to have human contact is prevalent in all societies. This is a distinct human characteristic in which we want to have someone else for company. This person can exist physically with us, be in our imagination (as little children tend to do), or now they can be halfway across the world and we may keep in contact with them through electronic means. We desire to have contact with human beings so that we are not lonely and do not drive ourselves to insanity. This is needed because without human contact with one another the entire population of our seniors would be shut-in their homes, not talking to one another, and presumably rotting away both physically and mentally. In order to keep our seniors entertained we must get them integrated into the world of online communication as this can help them make new friends, connect with old ones and possibly even find new romantic partners that they otherwise would not have known existed.

The number of seniors using social networking sites has increased in the last few years with “2009 has been a tremendous year for the proliferation of Facebook among the elderly. The numbers have been so good that their numbers (55+ age group) has surpassed the number or high school students that saw a decline in demographic share” (techcrunchies.com). The seniors number has grown along with the total growth of users of the site as a national whole; the nation’s use of the site growing by 70.8% as of July 4, 2009. (istrategylabs.com) However the number of seniors on the site has skyrocketed with a growth percentage of 513.7% with the closest growth of an age group behind them only being 190.2% for those that are between the ages of 35 and 54.

The growing number of seniors on the web is happening for a numerous amount of reasons. As those that were previously not in this group but in the business world, before retiring or obtaining social security recipient age, were using computers are more familiar with the mechanics and how to go about on the internet. This new group of seniors is a force to be reckoned with on the web as they are growing in number, giving their opinions on different products more through online shopping sites and blogs, and reconnecting with family, friends and old acquaintances. Another reason that there is a growing number seniors on the web is that the number of seniors is constantly growing as it has no age limit. This makes it that there is an entire year of births added to the population of seniors every year, and with the medical advancements of today the life expectancy is much longer and therefore there are people that are getting quite up there in numbers that are using the web and social networking sites. Seniors tend to have a lot of leisure-time on their hands and during this time, for one reason or another, a lot of seniors spend this time indoors. While indoors they may read, watch television, or they could use their computer and go onto the internet. This amount of leisure time that seniors have available to them makes it so the growing amount of them on these social networking sites is not that hard to believe.

There is a specific need of the elderly community to stay in contact with the world. We need their insights into our social and personal problems. This need is one that is made easier with social networking websites. The desire for the younger generations to listen to their elders is one that appears to be going by the wayside; however the need is still prevalent. The use of social networking sites by the seniors on a global scale is helping to rekindle the passing on of wisdom from our older generations to our younger ones. Since the main objective of these sites is to network people to one another, the main point is that people will remain in contact and can go to one another to share information, ideas, opinions, and business propositions.

Green Alternatives and Social Media

The concept of going "green" is becoming increasingly popular nowadays as resources are diminishing and waste saturation is increasing Whether earthly efficiency is emphasized through fashion practices, politics, or even technology going green is beneficial for the environment. Resources such as water and energy are consumed by the masses on a daily basis, hence it is our responsibility to make sure these resources do not run out. With Earth day coming up and the popularity of social media, five ways have been suggested as to how media users can promote green alternatives using the space. Social media acts as one of the leading communication tools in 2010, allowing users to exchange ideas to millions with the click of a mouse. Hence what better way to contribute to the "green" cause then through the virtual community. Over the next few weeks, users have access to many green tools and initiatives to contribute to the cause.

The Earth Day Network is promoting the "Billions Act of Green" campaign that allows members of the virtual community to make a commitment to doing something more Eco-friendly; one step closer to becoming an environmental leader. The network hopes to log a billion acts of green in total so people can exchange ideas on how to behave more environmentally friendly, if not gain knowledge as to what activities are environmentally damaging.

Underwrite laboratories has developed the "Save Your Water" consumption calculator that allows user to calculate their water consumption based on the U.S. EPA’s daily household water consumption statistics. This tool allows individuals to become aware of how much water is actually wasted on a daily basis; individuals can pledge to cut down their water consumption and the first 15,000 pledges will result in a dollar donation to Water for People ( an organization that promotes water sustainability).

Twitter is hosting a "Go Green Sweepstakes" that sends the winners to Washington D.C. for the Earth Day celebration. Contestants must tweet about people who are making changes that are positive for the environment or suggestions on how to go green in 5 minutes, 5 hours or 5 days. These tweets will help spread tips on how we can work as a community to promote green practices.

Live Earth is hosting a "Run for Water" on April 18th. The six kilometer run represents the distance some people walk just to obtain water in their country. One in eight people does not have access to clean drinking water; often people don't realize this.

“Using IP address geo-location, we’re able to get specific with our
audience immediately; when you visit our event landing page, the event
map zooms in to your location and you’ll see a listing of events in
the region,” said Andy Sternberg, interactive director, Live Earth.

In addition, Live Earth is active on many social networking sites where they have created a community page so users can learn more about this event. The purpose is to help educate the community about the water crisis so individuals will have better water consumption practices.

350.org has focused on educating the virtual community about carbon dioxide pollution.The organization is hosting their a "Get-to-work" cleanup for organizers to meet and come up with a plan during April 22 - 29 on how their community can take measures to become more green. Ultimately, the organization's goal is to lower concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 350 parts per million (hence the name 350). Hopefully the meet up will result in some type of plan that could be enacted in working toward greater environmental efficiency.

These are just a few ways the virtual community can have an active role in going green. The movement needs to be viewed as a world responsibility and social media definitely has the world's attention. Hopefully increasing awareness of going green will result in better business practices and a healthier lifestyle.

Controlling Your Online Reputation

"Trying to control, or even manage, your online reputation is becoming increasingly difficult. And much like the fight by big labels against the illegal sharing of music, it will soon become pointless to even try."

- Mike Arrington

Reputation in the online community is becoming increasingly harder to manage. Through the use of the web, individuals can express themselves freely with very little accountability. What we do on the Internet is exposed to a large audience made up of bloggers, consumers, professionals and other types of individuals Consider social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace where pictures are often uploaded by others to portray an individual(s) in a bad light. If that same individual was looking for a job and the head of the company happened to come across tagged photos, the candidates chances would diminish significantly.In the up-incoming week, a startup is launching with which individuals can anonymously post their feelings on someone/something with minimal legal consequences. Imagine going to a site where you are being reviewed anonymously and see negative feedback from an outsider being exposed to the whole online community. This is not a good feeling, especially if trying to obtain a position or network. Aside from people, brand names can gain a negative reputation through bad customer feedback. But what are users doing to safeguard their reputation in the virtual community? Sites such as Reputationdefender.com allow individuals to manage their reputation to a certain degree in the premature stages; if someones name has been blackened through other publications such newspaper, television, etc, chances are its too late to fix.

Rather than try to reject any negative feedback that could blacken a reputation, individuals are starting to accept the theory that reputation is dead and indiscreet remarks should be accepted. Maybe if imperfections are virtually exposed, employers will be more lenient when hiring employees considering how many people are not perfect; one bad photo does not stand out in relation to hundreds of bad photos of different people. Society will start to accept that not everyone is going to have a 10/10 rating and the bar will be lowered. Individuals wont have to work so hard in masquing their daily activities for fear of someone in their network seeing them with their guard down.

How to Gain Female Trust in the Social Space

Whether through body language or the use of technology, the act of expressing one’s self is very important and can lead to the collaboration of ideas on a larger scale. Even those who suffer from impairment of a sense, such as blindness or deafness, can actively communicate through some type of social medium. Studies show the average person spends seventy percent of their day in some type of message exchange; whether through verbal, nonverbal, or physical behavior.


Due to rapid advances in technology and emerging tools in the social space, communication has become much easier to carry out. In the past, physical confrontations were the main sources of idea exchange yet in the 21st century, the Internet has become increasingly popular as a communication tool. The Internet allows those who have extenuating circumstances and are unable to leave their homes to communicate just as effectively as those that are in good health. Older people and those who suffer from disabilities benefit significantly from this tool because they face a disadvantage when it comes to physical encounters. But in order to use the Internet to communicate effectively, we must understand its unique capability.

Females in particular, tend to have more intimate relationships with peers as opposed to men. When considering the usage of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter women occupy 65% of the community's voice with 10,000,000 more females online than man. Yet recently females expressed negative feelings toward advertisers in the areas of food, beauty, apparel, health care and automotive industry. A vast 66% of women feel that their interests in these categories are overlooked, hence a panel has been formed to discuss how social media can be more effective in targeting females. Duties of the panelists will include how to gain female trust in the social space by promoting issues that they can identify with.
The panelists will outline social media strategies, approaches and tips for businesses, small and large, on how to communicate with this desirable target through real, credible content and the savvy use of insights, learning and technology.

With the introduction of the panel, hopefully women will be able to find elements in the social space they can easily identify with. It is important not only to communicate a message to you audience, but acknowledge the specific needs of that audience you are targeting.

How can we express ourselves more clearly online?

Communication is a key aspect of any society. Through communication ideas are exchanged, skills are gained and sometimes perceptions are altered. A society without communication would be monotone and restricted from social growth because expression would be limited to one’s own thoughts. Whether through body language or the use of technology, the act of expressing one’s self is very important and can lead to the collaboration of ideas on a larger scale. Even those who suffer from impairment of a sense such as blindness or deafness can actively communicate through some type of mechanism. Studies show the average person spends seventy percent of their day in some type of message exchange whether through verbal, nonverbal or physical behavior. In today's society, individuals rely predominantly on the Internet but frequently people are unable to understand the context of e-mails,blogs, wikis, forums, IM conversations, status updates, etc.

First we must not forget the purpose of online communication: to convey some type of message to an audience. Just because someone goes on your website or comes across a blog does not necessarily mean that individual will be coming back. Language should be used to build a relationship between the reader and the poster so that new perspectives can be exchanged. If messages were communicated with more clarity, individuals could relate more to a specific blog and maybe actually go back to that site. "The web is full of blog posts that say nothing, articles that have no proper ending and generally disjointed thoughts mashed into chunks we call “content” but would more accurately be described as “filler.” We must plan what we will say prior to posting to ensure that what we are saying is consistent with readers' thought process. Often we write emails and use language that the receiver may find difficult, causing the message to be misinterpreted. Words should not be wasted for each word holds a unique weight in communicating. If you are not sure of something, you are instilling a false sense of trust in the reader hence references are a must. When expressing an opinion make it clear that is is not factual; if you are not familiar with something you are writing about, research the issue.

All of these factors contribute to the accuracy of proving a point. Communication is only as effective as the management of its tools. We have all of these resources yet we find ourselves sorting through wordy emails and skewed blogs. If everyone made a conscious effort and acknowledged the audience behind the Internet, messages would be clearly conveyed.

TrustCloud Enters the Matrix

At TrustCloud, it's not about how many friends you have.  How much money you have in the bank.  How successful you are.  It comes down to one simple thing - how many monitors you have.  CEO Xin Chung, seen here at his desk searching for "The One", recently acquired a fourth (?) monitor much to the dismay of ConEd.  And while we can't argue about how cool his set up is in person, we can state that, suddenly, our 1920x1200 monitor is seeming so very, very ... small.

2010 Advertising Trends

Developers are constantly trying to enhance or create products to attract those in the social space. Although advances in technology are beneficial, great minds tend to think alike. In 2010 advertising trends must be acknowledged in order to have a successful product due to the rising number of competitors out there. How can one effectively advertise and distinguish their product from the competition?

First we must define the objectives of social media. Social online experiences aim to shift ideas or products from consumable to sharable. The whole purpose of advertising something online is to increase awareness. In the past advertisers used bold, flashy ads whereas now they are communicating their brand through small ads on social networking sites. The most effective of these ads are said to involve real people, have an actual message and the ability to be implemented in the real world. Consumers often refer to the social space for recommendations. Sites such as Linkedin or Twitter allow people to interact with others in niche categories; hence advertisements on these sites should be more specific in communicating the brand message Social networking goes beyond just friendship considering the many capabilities of networking sites. People are not only joining virtual communities to reconnect with old friends. The social space consists of influencers, friends and communities. Influencers such as bloggers are able to promote or reinforce, friends are able to spread the word and communities are able to relate to the discussion. Advertisers must consider the importance of delivering a message that communities can identify with because it is the communities that are most effective on a larger scale. Lastly,real time must be considered. The Internet allows for immediate communication, if not live communication. Someone can read a restaurant review upon entering the restaurant; if the reviews negative the restaurant goer may leave and bring their business elsewhere causing that restaurant to lose business. By monitoring live communication, advertisers can eliminate any negative feedback of their brand along with leverage positive endorsements.

The social space offers great opportunity if the right advertising techniques are implemented. It is important to keep up with the changing environment and identify brand names with messages the virtual community can relate to.

TrustCloud Goes Skiing

Part of what we're working on at TrustCloud is creating easier ways for people to engaged in experiences with friends.  And with that purpose in mind, a few of us from the office went up to Killington, Vermont for some team-building on the mountain's snowy slopes.  Luckily (or unluckily) we brought along a video camera to capture some of if.  Here is the result:

The Basics of Trust

Trust can be defined as many things considering the impact it has in everyday decisions. Trust is an emotion which takes into account logic and past experiences. Typically we trust those who we can relate with positive experiences and shy away from those who take advantage of our vulnerability. Emotions such as love, friendship, reliability and comfort are often associated with relationships formed throufg trust. But what are the deciding factors in trusting someone? The fundamentals of trust can be narrowed down to predictability, value exchange, reciprocity and exposed vulnerabilities. It is human nature to extrapolate and forecast current goals. Whether a personal goal or a company goal, individuals design plans as to how they can achieve something in the future and prepare for threats. Trust ties into predictability because trust eliminates the threat factor in a friendship. If you trust someone, you are forming a silent commitment to protect their best interest in the future. Value exchange focuses on a barter relationship. Through trust we are able to exchange non material possessions; a child entrusts their parent in exchange for safety and nourishment. Although we do not know specifically what we are receiving from the trusted party, a relationship is a barter and both ends must be providing something. This concept of reciprocity is not always immediate and often we grow impatient when our friends do not contribute something to the relationship. Trust could not exist in a one sided relationship where the element of reciprocity is never fulfilled. In addition, trust leads to vulnerability if we place trust in the wrong hands. People are often reluctant to trust someone because they don't want to be taken advantage of.
Trust is a key element in every relationship and must be exercised carefully. Once invested in the right situation, trust has much more benefits than losses.

Marketing with Facebook and Omniture

Facebook is becoming more and more popular as an effective networking tool for many
companies. Whether through an ad or actual brand name page, businesses are trying to market their product on a site.

Omniture, a web analytic company, teamed up with Facebook about nine months ago to create an application that could measure analytics within a desired social network. Omnist SiteCatalyst users could use analytics and segmentation to measure how popular certain Facebook apps were and determine whether or not these apps had the potential to be a long term success. Considering how much larger the Facebook community has grown since then, Omniture and Facebook have expanded their marketing partnership with the addition of Omniture's SearchCenter Plus which lets users purchase Facebook ads.

Omniture customers can compare Facebook ad campaign metrics to the tactics of other media channels and access familiar tools. In addition, reports can be generated to understand how effective ads are on Facebook pages and applications in marketing products, Many companies are starting to use Facebook as a marketing tool hence this type of report would be beneficial to see if it truly provides accurate results.

Android or iPad?

The arrival of the Apple iPad has been gaining much attention over the past few months with its 9.7 inch touch screen, and advanced capabilities. Although the product had an alleged presale of March 26th, customers have been signing up on Apple's waiting list for quite some time. But what the public seems to forget is that Apple is not the only technological guru to come out with a touch screen tablet this year. Google's Android operating system is also debuting a touch screen tablet this year. The iPad is to be powered by the iPhone Os, an operating system originally designed for cellphones like the Android. Back in January,many companies showed off the new tablets at the Consumer Electronics Show. One Indian company, Notion Ink, spoke about the capabilities of an Android tablet called Adam. Estimated to cost between $327 and $800, the Adam uses the Tegra 2, features a rotating webcam and Compal, MSI, and Quanta played demos of Android-powered devices with seven to ten inch powered by Nvidia's Tegra 2 microprocessor.These Android based tablets can make use of established and different display modes. Android apps; some even have the ability to run Flash, as well as a webcam and multitask software; features the iPad lacks. The question is what product will be more capable : Android or iPad?

Building Trust in Social Media

Social media refers to the tools which allow a message to be communicated explicitly through an electronic or digital source. Networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are examples of social media tools that permit instant communication rather than have to pick up a phone and wait for a response or schedule a physical meeting to relay a message. This allows for more effective communication and eases the barrier for those who get uncomfortable in face to face situations. Unfortunately, many members of social networking sites experience lack of trust between the site and their own self-interest. People feel as if they cannot send out a group invitation publicly without drawing a bad crowd. Posting pictures has become a problem for many users who have insecurities. Facebook allows a user to post pictures of their friends with the option to report the picture inappropriate;the picture usually remains up and no one from the team contacts you. Circumstance's like these cause users to trust less. Companies are starting to ask customer's feedback through online surveys and discussion boards. Starbucks for example, has a "My Idea Website" on which coffee drinkers can submit new drink ideas and improvements they would like to see take place at Starbucks. Many people come across this site and other large brand sites with a reluctance to share an opinion because they feel as if they're just one opinion amongst many in the social space. So much feedback is submitted yet the majority remain not reviewed contributing to the lack of trust. In the technological world, whether it be a company site or a networking site, the issue of trust must be dealt with. Rather than focusing so much on advertising or trying to reach out to the user the needs of the individual should be catered to. If Facebook had more customizable features rather than generalized selection tools, a user may not be as reluctant to sent out that event invitation. In addition users would feel more comfortable about taking photos with their friends knowing that the picture could be taken down at their request for whatever reason they deem it hurtful. If Starbucks worked more intimately with their online community and actually reviewed all of the suggestions of consumers even if they do not approve of them, maybe Starbucks patrons would feel like they had more of a voice and trust more in the Starbucks name. These issues all relate to the absence of trust and are critical in improving relationships between individuals.

Social Networking: A source of Gratification

In the past, loneliness has held a negative connotation as having no social interaction or being a misfit. Loneliness is not necessarily the act of being alone; someone could be with a group of people and feel isolated solely because they are unsatisfied. We may become lonely because we are unsatisfied with being by ourselves or just because we seek companionship in another. One way to suppress loneliness is by receiving some type of gratification. Fortunately, Social Networking sites allow people who are lonely to receive instant gratification. A workaholic for example, has no time to pick up the phone and make plans during the week. Hence when the weekend comes, the loneliness sets in. Websites like Facebook and Twitter facilitate interaction between the workaholic and his network, allowing hint to make plans or see what other's are doing. "The impulse for social connection- though it is stronger in some people than others - is rooted in the basic need to survive." The need for connection among individuals whether through a networking site or phone app alleviates feelings of being alone. Virtual connections can give us what we need, a sense of instant gratification as long as the privilege is not abused. If a virtual connection is used as a supplement to physical relationships, loneliness will only get worse. Yet if you have circumstances which don't allow for physical contact to facilitate plans, the Internet is a great way to make connections and decrease feelings of isolation. Continual contact does not necessarily guarantee happiness but some interaction can reduce negative feelings. Even if we are not physically alone, sometimes we feel mentally alone due to lack of communication between ourselves and our friends.

Techology: An Educator?

Education and technology have served as complements since early innovations. Technology has a reputation for impacting the way we learn but we cannot further our knowledge of technology if we are not educated. Unfortunately most schools don't permit the use of certain technology like cellphones during school hours but in Bangladesh students are encouraged to keep their mobile devices on. This is because teachers in Bangladesh want their students to have access to Janala, (also known as "window"), a learning service created by BBC development which gives anyone with a mobile device the chance to call a number and learn the English language. Janala offers three-minute audio lessons and SMS quizzes all in English. Mobile users are able to chose their performance level ranging from basic English to more difficult levels such as story-telling. The purpose of this service was to assist in language barriers; in addition the standard of living is not very high for the majority in Bangladesh, hence if more young people start to learn English, they may have a competitive advantage in the international business world. 84% of Bangladeshis view English as a necessity in attaining a quality job and making a better life for their family. With a log-in record of over 400,000 calls in Bangladesh, Janala is growing very popular contributing to the large, pre-existing mobile telecommunications industry there.

Google Buzz : A little too personal?

In the recent week, Google has apologized for the privacy issues arising out of their recently launched Google Buzz service which provides a new way to communicate through g-mail. The application has five specific features : auto-following, a fast sharing experience, public and private sharing, inbox integration and favorites. The "Buzz" tab provides immediate access to social networking sites and other recently viewed sites. One can access the service through from Google Mobile’s website, from Buzz.Google.com with either iPhone or Android , and from Google Mobile Maps Yet Google users are finding the application is a conflict of interest between the Buzz's capability and right to privacy. The feature received the most criticism for its ability to show the world who each e-mailer corresponded with the most. In addition, individuals who would correspond with co-workers about work were annoyed that these same co-workers were included in their social circle and not classified into a different category. G-mail users were automatically members of the service, hence Google is now making a turn-off option for all users who do not wish to be part of the community. Google Buzz can now only make friend suggestions rather than include all correspondences in a general circle and hide their followers/followings as well. These changes are supposed to be effective over the next few days and will hopefully improve the impact of the new service.

Facebook : A social networking site or a marketing platform?

Facebook, one of the leading networking site's on the web is no longer just a virtual place to reconnect with friends. What used to be a virtual world primarily to communicate with friends, Facebookis evolving into a advertising haven where companies can target users all at once. Brands and business are starting to use Facebook as an advertising tool whether through ads, contests or games. With Valentine's day coming up, Victoria's Secret has utilized the site's features to market their products to the fullest. Facebook users are able to become a fan of the brand on the site and are forwarded to a contest on Victoria's Secret homepage where they can win up to a $500 gift card. Target on the other hand, has a more charitable approach with the "Super Love Sender" application. This application allows the Facebook user to send cards to other users and vote for one out of five charities to receive a $1 million endorsement by Target, reinforcing the brand's image of being charitable. The number of votes determines the money alotted to each particular charity. Ebay India, in attempt to promote their online marketplace, is offering an Ipod Touch to those Facebook users that express the most love for themselves on their status'. Brands are gaining much recognition due to the location of these ads. When users login and see all of these applications that either sponsor a charity or offer the possibility of winning something, chances are that user is going to use that application or enter that contest. Whether it be networking or marketing, Facebook is emerging in the social space as an effective communicator.

Appealing to the Senses: I hear you, I see you"

James Cameron's epic picture Avatar has been gaining popularity with its three dimensional character concept design and unique script. The film is able to capture the viewers attention within minutes and keep the viewers interested till the end, "I hear you, I see you" is a quote expressed repeatedly throughout the movie and can be interpreted many ways. Hearing and seeing are two sensory behaviors which allow an individual to recall some type of mental impression. Often we remember experiences by physical characteristics that were sensed in the process.Whether it be a visual image or auditory sound, the senses are being manipulated in some way causing an individual to correlate that sound to a brand image. Studies conducted by advertisers have shown that if a customer can recall a sensory impression conveyed by a particular brand, they are more likely to be a loyal customer. The most important aspect of marketing is the lifetime value of the customer which is furthered by brand loyalty.
In today's social space phone applications are becoming more and more sensory whether through touch or voice activation. Blackberry, for example, has a voice activated feature that enables the caller to say the name of a contact in their address book and have the name automatically dialed eliminating the strain of manual dialing. The VoiceControl feature on the I-phone not only allows for hands-free dialing but allows the user to use their voice to play music. Applications that appeal to the senses are becoming more and more popular. Being able to verbalize a need to a cellular device and linking the need to an image derived by the phone will allow the consumer's satisfaction increase. In addition, the consumer will now link their phone manufacturer to a positive brand image with high capability. With advancements like these, who knows what the social space will hold for the future. We can only anticipate products that will make networking easier and allow for more mobile device - human conversation. We are the future of technology and must focus on catering to our senses as they broaden. Like James Cameron wrote, "I hear you, I see you," if a consumer can say that about an element of technology, the program is a success.

Our First "Official" Blog Post

First and foremost, welcome to our web-blog!  We hope you'll come back here to catch up on all the amazing things TrustCloud is working on.  Second, we encourage you to follow us on Twitter as we like to showcase some of our ideas and research on that feed.  Third, we moved into our new offices about a month ago and we went a little bit overboard with the iPhone photos.  After the removal of a select few (who wants to see air conditioning ducts anyway?), we thought we'd share some with you.

 

Thanks for reading, and we look forward to sharing some exciting things with you in the next few months!