04.13.10

Jared Lyvers

Join, follow and friend me

“I just retweeted your tweet about your post on Facebook for your new blog entry and then added a link on my blog back to your original post. Thanks for the friend request.”

In today’s world the above would be commonplace as more of us have entered this world of “status updates”, “tweets” and “blog posts”. This new evolution has allowed us to keep in touch with people through quick snippets of 100+ characters. I say evolution because that is exactly what we are looking at. We are social creatures and this is nothing more then the Book Club or Tupperware Party of the past. Those D&D Thursday nights or Monday Night Football gatherings. Now we see people hosting their Book Club and Tupperware Party in virtual settings like Second Life, and Monday Night Football has turned into a Facebook/Twitter/MySpace status update each time our team scores. While DND Thursdays have turned into all-night raids during games of World of Warcraft.

There is no denying the fact that social media usage has made massive gains. These gains are not just among the normal internet user but also the on-the-clock internet user who sometimes uses these sites for more than simply personal reasons.

Several reports have now shown that there has been a steady increase in on-the-clock users for several of the online networks. The top reasons users gave for using these sites at work were professional networking, keeping up with friends, and general research. While a small percentage were logging on for more specialized reasons or to market to customers.

Not surprisingly, this rise in usage has started to raise red flags for some companies. In one poll three-quarters stated that is was unacceptable to check Facebook or other social networking sites if unrelated to work. This new stance has caused complications for some users when friending a colleague or supervisor and has blurred the boundaries between personal and business because of these sites’ usefulness at work and at home.

This doesn’t mean that these social networking sites are only good for home use and keeping in touch with friends, but for those of us who have taken the time to integrate them into our lives and our business we need to know not only how to use them but better yet – when to use them. We need to recognize the networking medium as a way to more intimately engage the end user and to help better understand their needs. Social media can help to get those conversations started or to jump-start an old conversation with your end users, allowing you to offer better support to them. It’s up to us as advertisers to figure out how to best gauge the value and the budget needed to attract those end users. Because in the end there is no real reason to have a fan base that had to be bribed by a re-tweet, re-post, or a ping back. Not to mention, Tupperware Parties just don’t seem to be in style anymore.

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3 Comments »

1. The blurring of work and play is a truth that has been coming into place for some time now. If I send a fellow creative a link to a commercial, is it work? If we tell a joke about that spot, is it play? The answers aren’t so simple. As you say, Twitter and FB are simply replicating activities that were already taking place In Real Life. The advantage that the electronic networks give an agency like Lewis is that it’s just as easy for our people to be a part of the national conversation. For decades in cities like New York and Boston, there have been bars where ad-types have congregated. Where deals were done, careers were made, vendors were recommended, and secrets were shared. And during those early decades, ad people in Birmingham and Topeka were generally cut out of the loop. You weren’t at the party, you didn’t hear about the job. Maybe why it took so many years for the Minneapolises and San Franciscoes of the world to capture their place of relevance in advertising. Now, we’re all at the advertising watering hole, free to discuss. And the only limit to your participation is how interesting the things are that you have to say. Human networks are powerful things – and were so in the creative community long before they were happening electronically. All you have to do is look at the portfolio schools and see how powerful their alumni networks are. Good creatives know good creatives who know good editors who know good music companies. And in many cases those people tend to eat together, drink together and spend leisure time together. Social media in many cases is simply an extension of those personal relationships. Or, when you’re geographically separated, it can maintain them. I’ve found electronic networks of personal connections are vital for building bridges to potential recruits, freelancers, and vendor partners. It has certainly made it easier for us to attract high-level talent. I would say 65% of the meaningful recommendations I get from other creative directors for freelancers, producer, directors and music companies take place over FB. In the advertising community, electronic networks have flattened the playing field, and in my mind that’s a terrific thing.

   Comment by Stephen — April 19, 2010 @ 5:27 pm

2. Nice post. It is very interesting to watch the cultural revolution afoot in corporations these days as a result of social media. “Should I friend my boss?” “Is it sexual harassment if a co-worker posts indecent pictures on his Facebook wall?” Corporations will have to figure out a way to be ok with their employees participating in social media at work – after all, even if they lock you out of getting to http://www.facebook.com on your computer, there’s always your iPhone! Phyllis Neill http://www.wementorsmm.com

   Comment by Phyllis Neill — April 24, 2010 @ 2:58 am

3. HTML5 is giving web designers and developers new capabilities that were things of fantasy with previous versions of HTML. Web pages will now be more semantic with the use of structure specific tags. Visual elements like rounded corners are now built in, and so is the ability to create drag and drop interactivity. Even though HTML5 is not fully supported in major browsers, there are those that are pushing forward and experimenting with its new features.

   Comment by agence publicité — July 1, 2010 @ 5:32 am

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