“This Week in Social Media” Hot Topics: Week of Jan. 11
January 11th, 2010 by Greg Straface
Each week, the PJA research department surveys current topics in social media. A couple of these stories become the main topic for our weekly Internet radio show, This Week in Social Media. Here is a list of stories that we think are worth knowing about.
Recent Social Media Dreams and Nightmares:
1. Facebook Blocks Social Networking Removal Site
- Web 2.0 Suicide Machine offers to remove users from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and MySpace. It does not delete their accounts, but changes their passwords and removes “friend” connections.
- Facebook has said that by collecting login credentials, the site violates its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.
2. Facebook Bra Color Question: Real Breast Cancer Awareness or Slactivism at Its Finest?
- Last week brassiere-wearing Facebook users were asked, seemingly in the name of breast cancer awareness, to share their bra color in a status update.
- Users were encouraged to “write the color of your bra in your status. Just the color, nothing else. It will be neat to see if this will spread the wings of breast caner awareness.”
- As the chain’s popularity exploded, some key questions arose about why women were mentioning their bra colors and if the movement was legit or merely the latest example of slactivism – a feel-good effort with little in the way of results.
- Some people called it a “terrific tool for raising awareness.”
3. Twitter Becomes Key Evidence in Murder Case
- Jameg Blake, 22, is accused of shooting and killing his friend after they got into a fight on Twitter.
- Tweets sent by the victim and the accused killer could become key evidence in a murder trial.
4. Privacy No Longer a Social Norm, Says Facebook Founder
- The rise of social networking online means that people no longer have an expectation of privacy, according to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. He said that privacy is no longer a “social norm.”
- The constant tug of war between public and private information that ensued led to a series of embarrassing incidents where individuals published information online thinking it was private only to have it reach the public.
- Zuckerberg said it is important for companies like his to reflect the changing social norms in order to remain relevant and competitive.
Here are some interesting articles related to this week’s radio show topic:
5. Lemonade, Behind the Scenes
- After he was laid off from his job as a senior copywriter in October 2008, Erik Proulx started Please Feed the Animals, a blog and community for the recently unemployed advertising professionals to vent and get through a difficult time.
- Instead of hearing about hardship and struggle, Proulx received lots of stories about hope and reinvention that inspired him to made the film Lemonade to help people see the opportunity presented to them in time of crisis.
- At first he had stories for filming, but he didn’t have a crew, money to travel, music, lights, editing, producers, etc. But thanks to social media, everything fell into place. A production company saw his tweet about making a film and offered him their resources; Virgin America sponsored his flights after seeing an open letter requesting their support; Facebook and Twitter helped him find producers, camera rental companies, etc.
6. How Naked Pizza is Using Twitter
- New Orleans-based restaurant Naked Pizza reached a Twitter presence of 4,300 followers in a short time and said that nearly 69% of sales generated during a one-day Twitter advertising blitz came from customers drawn in from the site.
- The owner posts 1-15 times a day, and says his company sees a sustained 20% of sales dollars from its Twitter presence.
- Naked Pizza is the first company to replace its old billboard with one calling out for Twitter followers.
7. Landscape Company Wisegrass Uses 21st Century Communication
- Paul Stoltzfus, owner of WiseGrass in Pennsylvania, uses multiple avenues to reach potential clients.
- In addition to going on the radio once a week to talk about the landscaping business, there is a link to his blog on the company Web site; he uses the blog as a mini-seminar.
- The site also has a link to Stoltzfus’s Twitter, where he found that is a quick and easy way to communicate anything from lighthearted to serious. For example, he tweeted about wanting a photographer and had 5 suggestions within minutes.
- Stoltzfus says his multipronged marketing has brought him business from neighborhoods he might not have targeted through traditional mailings or door hangers.
8. 4 Social Good Trends of 2009
- Citizen philanthropy
- The rise of social action video
- Micro-activism via mobile apps
- Transparency, cause marketing, and real-time search
