Goodbye Social Media, Hello Smart Phone?

Well the time has finally arrived, or so it seems. A majority of media professionals predicted that mobile apps would be the next big thing in 2012, yet what they failed to place major focus on was social media fatigue. New reports from India claim that “Of 2,000 Internet users surveyed across 14 cities, 55% recorded that they had consciously reduced time spent on social media, while nearly 30% had already deactivated or deleted their accounts from popular websites like Facebook, Twitter, Orkut and LinkedIn.” The users surveyed were urban Indian students ages 12 to 25, the most popular ages for social media sites.

Social media fatigue has been a concern but people failed to predict  just how fast it would get here. India ditching social media may be the beginning of change in the social media realm. It has been suggested that social media sites such as Facebook will be used mainly for E-Commerce and E-Marketing in the future and not for connecting/building relationships with friends. However, this report startles me. Universities across the United States are just now implementing social media classes in their communications colleges and departments. Are we too late? Is social media just a phase?

I do understand the fact that India is the only location to be reporting such high statistics and that additional research is needed to verify if results could be replicated in other countries. Yet, what can social media sites learn from this report? According to the researchers from the study, mobile apps that can directly connect people to each other are the way to go.

For example, one respondent answered “I’d rather talk to friends on ‘Whatsapp’ than write on their Facebook wall and await a delayed response.” Another said, “One can multitask between texting, calling, chatting and gaming rather than being addicted to a web page all day long.” It will be interesting to see if this social media fatigue trend increases and spreads, but also will be a great time for mobile app companies to really expand and reach new users.

Does Facebook Make You Sad?

I recently read a fascinating article titled Facebook: Issocial media envy making you sad? The writer of this article discusses how researchers from Utah Valley University “found that the way we view our lives and ourselves could very much be dependent on how much time we spend online.” One of the most interesting results the researchers discovered was that people who spend more time on Facebook thought others had a much better life than they do.

As a public relations professional, I spend hours on social networking sites, however, this is part of my job. Myself and other PR experts often define a lot of strengthens based on use of social media. For example, a Masters student in my class was recently asked to describe himself. He talked about his job and why he was getting a Masters degree, but then also concluded his introduction with his Klout score. He valued his “worth” based on how influential he was on Klout.  Perhaps those who are not using social media sites for work are experiencing social media envy.

Glancing through my personal Facebook news feed I currently see posts about babies, how lucky people are to be in love, wedding/engagement announcements, etc. My news feed is filled with people basically bragging about their lives ha-ha. One of the most common status updates I see if “I am so lucky to be in love with a wonderful man who treats me like a queen!” or “I am so blessed to have such a beautiful baby who is perfect in every way.” People seem like they are pumping themselves up or bragging about their amazing life. Are they really this happy all the time? I would say no. I think that most use social media sites to push positive messages because they don’t want to appear sad or unhappy. They want others to think everything is going perfectly in their lives when instead they most likely live a normal, chaotic, emotional life like everyone else. So if the majority is posting positive happenings in their lives, do others feel their lives aren’t good enough? According to the research yes.  

I do not live my life based on what others post or what I read on Facebook. I am not sad when I read that someone is engaged or bought a new house or something. Instead I just click the “like” button and move on to more interesting posts. Perhaps what Facebook users should realize is that the people you know on social media sites aren’t the real deal. You know their lives through a social media realm, not through personal face-to face interactions. Body language is removed, leaving only the word of the person posting to trust. So don’t be sad when you read others status updates that are happy, just be happy for that person and know that they face similar day to day problems just as you do. No one is perfect no matter how hard they try to make their Facebook profile reflect so.

SOPA Strike

So today is the big day! Major Websites are going dark for 24 hours in protest of web piracy bills. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what is occurring, let me fill you in briefly:

“Simply put, S. 968 and H.R. 3261 would require ISPs to block access to foreign websites that infringe on copyrights. Online piracy from China and elsewhere is a massive problem for the media industry, one that costs as much as $250 billion per year and costs the industry 750,000 jobs, according to a 2008 statement by Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). But how exactly the bills would counter piracy has many up in arms.” (FoxNews.Com)

The blackout is a “response to the Protect Intellectual Property Act under consideration in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, a pair of bills backed by the motion picture and recording industries that are intended to eliminate theft online once and for all.” (FoxNews.Com)

Major Internet sites participating in the blackout include Reddit, Wikipedia, Word Press, Mozilla, and more. For a complete list of participants, click here. Google, Twitter, Amazon and Facebook are also protesting. On my home page on Twitter, I count 14 tweets about SOPA that have come through in the last 10 minutes and the number will only continue to grow as the day goes on. Today is a big day for social media researchers. It will be interesting to observe how each site protests. For example, Google is protesting by censoring their logo. Wikipedia is making all of their English pages dark. This protest/blackout will give scholars and researchers a firsthand look at just how powerful and influential Internet site owners can be. Will the protest be successful or will it just cause Internet users to be frustrated with the sites? Do you agree with the protest or not?

Groupon Gets Clicky

Everyone loves Groupon and Living Social. These companies have been competing head to head offering daily deals in cities across the United States. I personally prefer Groupon over Living Social because the companies chosen for discounts are more reliable and if they are not, Groupons customer service is easier to deal with than Living Social.

However, Groupon is about to take themselves one step above Living Social and other daily deal sites by offering a Value Wheel called Clicky that will let you spin for discounts. “Clicky’s proposition is pretty straightforward: Groupon members can take a spin on Clicky and will be randomly awarded discounts.” The Groupon site does state that most people will not win anything but it still seems like a great way marketing tool. Who wouldn’t want to attempt to gain a discount on an already discounted item?

Groupon was one of the first companies involved in the daily deal movement and has remained at the top since its launch. Clicky is a great way for Groupon to gain new customers while keeping regular customers engaged as well. Plus, Clicky is not offered on other daily deal sites. I predict that numerous daily deal sites will follow with the discounts on an already discounted item idea shortly.   

What are your thoughts on Clicky?

Best/Worst Commercial of 2011

This will be a very short post today. I recently conducted a poll through my Twitter, Google +, and Facebook pages to see what my followers thought were the best and worst commercials of 2011. I appreciate everyone who voted and participated in my poll! Here are the results:

#1 Favorite: Party Rock Anthem-Kia Soul Hamster Commercial

#1 Worst: Poop There It Is-Luvs Diapers

There were some very close runner-ups but these two seemed to gain a unanimous vote! Do you agree with the results? Have ones that you think were better or worse? Let me know your thoughts!