Evolutionary Landscape…

The prominence of online or virtual communities might seem new, but the communities themselves have been around for longer than you might think. Here’ s a little history lesson for you. Virtual communities began with Computerized Bulletin Board Systems (CBBS) back in the 70’s, which required some type of computer skill. With the creation of the Internet, sites like Yahoo and AOL replaced CBBS. Even with poor Internet connection, people could connect all around the globe. Later in the 90’s with enhanced connection, users could load images, media and video files. Virtual Worlds as of today are more sophisticated with easy access to the Internet and powerful streaming media technology.

As the capabilities of technologies are enhanced and users become more diversified, virtual communities continue to press forward. Facebook and Twitter are some of the extensively used virtual communities at the moment, but what’s next? In recent years, online communities have occupied a space of greater and greater distinction and the social media landscape continues to progress swiftly. Social networking has taken the world by storm in the last decade or so. From Blogs, YouTube, and Social Bookmarking (1996), there are so many dimensions to it, and social media is still in its infancy. With revolutionized computer hardware and software platform, the way people interact with each other has changed and will continue to do so.

Virtual communities are the big phenomenon of today. They are changing how people work, spend their free time and interact socially. Strong social relationships start to develop over time. Sites such as secondlife, Sims games, and multiplayer gaming sites create an alternate reality. New communities are being built today with access only through your keyboard. These communities of cyberspace are becoming more real than almost real life. With no physical limitations, this online community is developing new types of interconnected and valuable communities that are defined by common interest anywhere in the globe. The types of social relations and communities, which can be built on these media, share these characteristics. Each user has access to every other user, and an equal chance to be heard based only on their opinion and not physical features. Given these characteristics, networks hold tremendous potential to enrich our collective cultural, political, and social lives everywhere.  It’s actually pretty powerful when thinking about it all.

This topic brings to mind a Bruce Willis film called Surrogate. “The film’s main concept centers around the mysterious murder of a college student linked to the man who helped create a high-tech surrogate phenomenon that allows people to purchase remote-controlled humanoid robots through which they interact with society. These fit, attractive, remotely controlled robots ultimately assume their life roles, enabling people to experience life vicariously from the comfort and safety of their own homes.” Maybe the future of virtual communities will turn into humans living in isolation and interact through surrogate robots!

Reference:

http://beamsandstruts.com/articles/item/501-the-evolution-of-online-communities

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrogates_(film)

Follow @Raqueld27

Opps…

As powerful as social media is perceived to be, many brands are unable to connect with consumers in the social media world. CVS seems to have taken the right approach using social media for a while now with successful campaigns, rewards programs and promotional videos. They have an active Facebook page with over 900,000 fans and counting. Additionally, they are working hard to get customers to connect with them more online, particularly via their Rewards Card program. Let me also say that I’m a rather frequent CVS customer, and have enjoyed their deals and service over the years with one or two hiccups. I even worked there for a few years back in my teens. I usually do my shopping for prescriptions and other small items there for convenience purposes and sometimes they do have the cheapest deals believe it or not.

Then in March of this year, the below occurred happened:

A CVS store in Chatham, New Jersey mistakenly distributed a breast cancer drug to parents thinking they were getting fluoride pills for their children to at least 50 families. It took about 2 months for anyone to realize what was going on. Even though it was said the pill wouldn’t hurt anyone despite side effects the breast cancer pill has, parents were not at ease and wanted answers! The story hit the national media quickly on Saturday, and a news search for CVS on Google outstandingly displays the story right at the top.

People started posting commentary about this on the CVS Facebook wall all through the weekend, and even though the company issued an official statement about the error, they completely disregarded posting the statement on their Facebook page or their website. This all happened while CVS was running the campaign “My CVS Pharmacist Story”.

With all the bad press CVS was receiving, of course customers mainly posted negative feedback on their Facebook page and main website. There were also issues with customers saying the promotion wasn’t even working. CVS was not prepared for this crisis by any means. Facebook news travels quickly which is the great thing about it but in this company’s case, it was their enemy and they have no plan of attack. No one was monitoring what was being said to work on a strategic plan for how to even respond. Since then, CVS has allowed two way dialogue with customers on their Facebook page, worked with children charities, and our promoting healthy living.

I hope they learned their lesson for everyone’s sake!

References:

http://www.facebook.com/CVS

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/03/cvs-gives-kids-cancer-drugs-by-mistake/

http://info.cvscaremark.com/newsroom

Follow @Raqueld27

Great Deals At Your Fingertips…

Groupon was launched back in 2008 and is currently available in 48 countries. There philosophy is “pretty simple: we treat our customers the way we like to be treated.”  Sounds too good to be true but so far as a consumer I have yet to be disappointed. The company offers daily/weekly deals, which can be redeemed at a later date. All offers appeal to the average consumer. Terms and conditions are laid out and readable so no one feels tricked. With the Groupon app, consumers can purchase, manage and redeem Groupons directly from their mobile device, which includes the iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry etc.

First you plug-in your location from the given city options. Then enter your email address and you’re in! Enjoy all that Groupon has to offer such as daily deals for local restaurants, cleaning services, travel etc. I used a Groupon deal last month for a Spanish Tapa restaurant that is normally a little up there in price. I recently saved $50 for a delicious meal and when it was time to pay, the waitress just scanned the bar code on my phone and that was that! Definitely makes me consider going and doing things I wouldn’t have wanted to waste money on before. I also have a few more deals that I just couldn’t pass up on for the summer time!

According to Murphys article “Groupon announced at the 2012 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday that it experienced a record-breaking month in December among mobile app users, as one-quarter of all Groupon vouchers were purchased via a mobile device.” They continue to have great success. Below are some methods they would like you to stay connected and feel a part of the Groupon community.

Like us on Facebook


Check out our Facebook App


See how you’re connected on LinkedIn


Follow CEO, Andrew Mason on Twitter 


Groupon works with a network of merchants and service providers to promote their services to consumers by offering significant coupons or discounts to use at their businesses. Businesses can profit from instant revenue generated through Groupons large direct email network and online market place. Under Groupons current business model, Groupon charges a small marketing fee compared to the exposure. In the course of two years Groupons model has become extremely attractive for businesses seeking immediate local and occasionally national exposure.

There is some type of loss due to discounted prices but the business gains so much more with exposure and buzz. Rather then pay thousands, even millions in advertising to generate the same type of WOM buzz Groupon is able to deliver at a fairly more affordable rate. It’s also appealing to companies with very little to no staff and resources.

They will continue to have great success! Take a look at the video below and see how it all works.

References:

http://mashable.com/2012/02/27/groupon-mobile-app/

http://www.groupon.com/about

Follow @Raqueld27

Social Media and Film…

I am a HUGE movie critic and enjoy the alternate reality every chance I get.

From self-funded independent projects to big name Hollywood blockbusters, the movie industry has embraced social media….BIG time!!!

Traditionally, this makes a lot of sense. Conventional Hollywood had fan magazines. Modern Hollywood has Facebook, Twitter and mobile phones. From creating viral alternate reality campaigns to using social networks to build awareness, the movie industry is busy leveraging social media to connect with fans and promote its products.

Here’s some of the ways that social media is having an impact on movie marketing and promotion.

• One of the best examples of this strategy was for Paramount’s Paranormal Activity. The film, which was made for less than $15,000 went on to gross more than $150 million at the box office.
• Paramount extensively used Facebook to promote the film, partnering with Eventful to get would-be fans to request a screening of the film in their area. The goal was to get 1 million fan requests for the film to enter wide release. That goal was met pretty quickly, but the real proof came via the box office receipts. I remember Subways having a sign up sheet for the screening in the Boston area.
• The cool thing about this strategy is that it lets fans have a sense of ownership of the film. It also creates a level of appreciation and connection that you might not get just with running radio or TV spots.

A look at some of the biggest hits at the box office this year proves that many of the majority successful films also had strong social media campaigns.

I actually went and saw The Avengers today and man oh man, truly amazing. The hype for this film on TV, and online outlets was extreme. In three days, the film made over 200 million.

There were several previews for highly anticipated films such as The Dark Knight Rises. “Thanks to a photo scavenger hunt social media campaign yesterday that asked the public to help the Gotham Police Department track down the sought-after hero.”

“The site posted a list of locations in a “police file” on thedarkrises.com and asked followers to go to spots around the world, take photographic evidence, and email or tweet their findings. A geo-location setting had to be turned on to ensure accuracy. Together, Batman fans unlocked the third trailer released for the film, seen here:”

One of the new trends are celebrities using social media as a platform to promote their upcoming movies by taking to Twitter and Facebook to encourage their followers to see their films. Entertainment studios like Lions Gate are also diving in to SM. Corp Chief Executive Jon Feltheimer said “Movie studios will likely buy fewer TV ads in the future, and look more to online promotion.” Roughly 55% of moviegoers who saw Hunger Games said that most of the information about the movie was found online. I usually use sites like imbd or yahoo movie reviews from critics and consumers to see what others think before I invest my money.

Every movie has a core audience, and the Internet is the most strategic way to get to those people. This allows you to do the EPK [electronic press kit] and other advertising much later.

References:

http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/blog/2012/05/the_dark_knight.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/04/hollywood-socialmedia-idUSL1E8G3RAT20120504

http://movies.yahoo.com/box-office/

Follow @Raqueld27

Site name…

Trying to come up with a name for my blog was tough but then it came to me well along with how it looked. So my full name is Raquel Andrade Thompson and people call me RAT LOL. So I thought Raquel and the @ symbol worked out great.#RandomPost#Raqueld27

Follow @Raqueld27

Social Media Matrix

-The MATRIX-

-Click Image To Enlarge-

Follow @Raqueld27

Social Media Tools……

First off I want to direct all my followers to my Greetings section in hopes to get to know my personality!

When it comes to building an audience and driving traffic, I have turned to social media. Instead of relying on traditional methods, I am aiming to develop a following on key social networks as a way to promote my brand and ultimately get more clicks. Below are lists of SM tools I currently use. Please feel free to follow me…

Facebook (Raquel Thompson): Facebok pretty much allows you to keep in touch with friends and family, and keep your pictures and share pictures with other people. I follow a few beauty/fashion blogs and wedding websites to see the latest and greatest in both industries. I also enjoy chatting with old friends and long distance cousins that I don’t see often. Definitely provides easy access to folks.

Pinterest (Raquel Thompson): Is the cool new kid, and I am one of the many to recently join. You can pin your best photos onto themed boards with links to a relevant blog post. It’s great for blogs with strong visual content, like fashion, food, design, crafts and travel. I have found myself pining photos of decorated rooms in the home to updos for weddings. It’s more for the creative mind compared to Instagram with day-to-day photos. I have retrieved delicious recipes and entertaining quotes to keep me laughing throughout the day.

Twitter (Raqueld27): Twitter is a tool for sharing what you are doing at any given moment with other people online. It’s also a powerful social networking tool for both business and personal use. At first it seemed only for the celeb world but now I see the full benefit of Twitter and branding ….NETWORK,NETWORK,NETWORK! Updates are automatic which is great.

Youtube (Raqueld27): If you are a video creator, or you enjoy multimedia creations, then check out the benefits of using Youtube. I have yet to post a video but I must say I view tutorials on anything you can think of. It’s simple and free. YouTube allows connections all over the globe. Most recently was the cause for KONY that created a buzz with 86 million views. One celeb tweeted the link and presto, it’s a worldwide campaign. Videos become viral and can make an average person a movie/music star.

Instagram (Raqueld27): It’s a fast, beautiful and fun way to share your life with friends through a series of photos. The editing capabilities bring a photo to life.

 

References:

http://techtips.salon.com/purpose-twitter-1039.html

http://articles.submityourarticle.com/Steve-Duval-7594/twitter-97888.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kony_2012

Follow @Raqueld27

social-media

Follow @Raqueld27

Greetings!

About raquelat

I am a person who is positive about every aspect of life. There are many things I like to do, to see, and to experience. I love movies, I like to talk, I like to listen, I like to Travel, and I like to push myself. Happily married to my college sweetheart. I always try to be up on the latest and greatest technology. I love wedding planning. I have a Prius 🙂 So far Life is Good!

Follow @Raqueld27