Move Aside Corporations... Bloggers Coming Through

Who knew that when blogs first came into being that they would become such a powerful force in our society? I always thought blogs were just a place for people to write their feelings and experiences, much like an online diary. Well apparently, blogs are about much more.

According to this article, what would have once been just a few dissatisfied customers has turned into a full on lawsuit for Verizon Wireless. It all started with only one angry customer blogging about his disappointments with his mobile phone. However, that one blogger turned into hundreds of other disgruntled bloggers with similar problems. Until finally, that blogging turned into action...a class action lawsuit to be exact. Blogs have the ability to give consumers a united voice as well as a place to begin waging their wars.

What is important to note from this story is the power blogs have to influence businesses, not only in negative ways, but also in positive ways. The article mentions how blogging technology, such as search engines, make it much easier for the word to spread. Every good marketer should know that word of mouth advertising is some of the most effective out there.

Now (if not before) is the time for corporations to understand and utilize blogging for their benefit. Corporations can use blogs to create buzz around new products or to revive old ones. They can make their own blogs as well as have employees reading blogs for relevant information.

"If companies don't understand that and don't learn how to track what people are saying, they are going to be hit violently with PR problems that they don't understand or know where they are coming from" says Robert Scoble.

Not getting involved in blogging can cause corporations to lose out on advertising and promoting opportunities. Blogging is a popular way of communicating, and if a company isn't looking for ways to infiltrate the blogosphere they are ignoring an entire potential new market. Moreover, just because they aren't using blogs doesn't mean their competitors aren't.

But corporations beware, blogs are not just another medium for marketing. Bloggers have minds of their own and when they are scorned or disappointed, someone or maybe hundreds of someones are going to read all about it.

Who's Joining Facecbook Now?

When I began college four years ago, facebook was just coming up in the world. I remember the excitement we all felt when they added more schools and you could begin to friend your friends from home. It started growing then and it just kept going.

After a little while I found myself wondering, who created the monster? What I found so great about facebook, it was only open to college students, was suddenly desecrated by the arrival of high school students and then the city networks. Now just about anybody can join facebook, and although this may seem good to some, I think it hurts the value of facebook.

According to the article, Social Graph-iti, the value of a network increases as does the number of its users, but this theory does not apply to social networks. Social networks are not actually about connecting to everybody, everywhere, but really about connecting to the right people in the right places. This undesirable growth of social networks has caused a movement to create smaller, more exclusive social networking sites.

Dr. Karen Stephenson writes that trust is a pivotal part of social networks. The problem we begin to see with facebook and myspace is that there is a lack of trust. People are concerned about who can find their information, or what creepy stalker may be friending them next. As the network gets bigger, trust gets smaller and so does the value of the network.

Just like any brand, facebook needs to learn the value of staying true to the wants and needs of its core market. And bigger is not always better.

At Least I Have Academic Integrity

Welcome to my blog! Although you may be confused by the extremely entertaining nature of this blog, the reality is that this blog is for academic purposes. On my honor, all posts on this blog are my own. I am a student at American University and this blog will be used for one of my information technology classes. Now that that is clear, get ready for a semester's worth of highly exciting, yet refreshingly educational blogging.