A new study has been released that assesses the impact of social media on eleven different industries: apparel, appliances, automotive, CPG, electronics, entertainment, financial services, healthcare/pharma, home furnishings, telecommunications and travel.
The study benchmarks how buyers use social networking sites to get advice on what to purchase, give advice on companies/products and post content specific to various industries.
According to those surveyed, the most highly discussed verticals on social networks include automotive (61 percent), travel (60 percent) and entertainment (57 percent).
When it comes to social networkers seeking or sharing recommendations on local retailers, home furnishing led all verticals, including automotive.
Highlights include:
56 percent of respondents are fans of appliance brands/retailers on Facebook
49 percent of respondents discuss apparel on social networking sites to compare prices
49 percent of respondents follow automotive brands/retailers on Twitter
23 percent of respondents follow at least one travel company on either Facebook or Twitter
59 percent of respondents are at least somewhat interested in receiving new product announcements from financial services companies/brands on social networking sites.
From cook to C.E.O., LinkedIn looks to plot the career path you’ll need to travel to hit the bright lights.
If you aim to be a chief financial officer of a 5,000-person company, the data show you need to get an M.B.A. within nine years of starting work.
Graduate from college with a physics degree and there is a 22% chance you’ll be a software engineer in two years.
Join the military and your chances of being homeless someday go way up, since you lose your support network when you leave the service.
LinkedIn’s Deep Nishar, vice president of products and user experience, spends his days building algorithms that show the career steps to a chief exec spot.
Okay, the latest news is that GOOGLE has bought social games start-up SocialDeck, the latest in a series of acquisitions that it is currently collecting so that it can compete against Facebook.
It’s on a not-so-secret mission to build an enormous social networking service.
Sorry to rain on the parade, fellas, but yer going to fail.
That’s right folks, you heard it here first, the Google entry into the social media world will be the latest addition to the growing list of Google flops and failures.
As much as I love Google (and truly I do), time and time again, Google falls into the trap of trying to be all things to all man – which is why it fails.
It’s getting to the point where Google simply cannot abide someone else having a decent brand profile on the Internet. Think I’m kidding? Here is some proof. Continue Reading
There is no doubt that Facebook is making large leaps forward, turning cashflow positive for the first time in September 2009.
So with all these users – and now a positive cashflow position – investors speculate when will the IPO happen?
Facebook insists there’s no imminent public offering. But that won’t stop people from wanting to know – What is Facebook really worth?
Shares of Facebook already trade on two private exchanges, where a small market exists for investing in venture-backed companies but because trades aren’t made public, it’s hard to know the true value.
Bloomberg says they’re valued at $24.9 billion while others says its higher than $33 billion, pushing the value Facebook higher than eBay and Yahoo!
Regardless of its capitalisation, and how realistic or otherwise you think that it is, there is certainly investors scrambling to get a piece of the action prior to any IPO, expected to be the biggest technology IPO since Google in 2004.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the new Facebook Places location-based check-in service at a press event this week.
Following in the footsteps of services like Foursquare and Gowalla, the Facebook Places service provides businesses with a platform for marketing and promotion, and provides an opportunity to build customer loyalty.
It hasn’t been launched without some criticism though, with some quarters highlighting privacy concerns.
Unlike Foursquare, the Facebook users don’t have to sign up for the check-in feature but by default could find their friends are posting their location.
When asked at the Facebook Places launch whether or not the new service would be integrated with business pages on Facebook, Reuters reported that Zuckerberg and company dodged the question. Continue Reading
LONDON – Eurostar has cancelled a January radio sponsorship and is to review its 2010 marketing plans and use of social media as part of a contrite reaction to its ongoing service disruptions.
Speaking to Brand Republic, sales and marketing director Emma Harris said that while Eurostar’s first priority is getting people home for Christmas it has a “big job to do from a brand point of view” after three days of “quite damaging” customer disruption.
The problems started on Friday night after five trains lost power and were stuck in the Channel Tunnel.
Passengers were evacuated from two of the trains in the dark.
Passengers’ experiences of unpleasant conditions, delays and lack of communication from Eurostar staff were extensively reported by the media and in social media, while subsequent attention has focused on those marooned in London and Paris due to the continuing lack of operational trains.
Harris has suspended normal advertising, pay-per-click and direct response activity and taken out apology ads signed by chief executive Richard Brown in today’s broadsheet papers. Continue Reading
Amid the bankruptcies, layoffs and budget cuts in journalism, one beat has prevailed.
Behold the rise of the social media director.
About 200 social media directors now exist at newspapers, book publishers, magazines and television news stations.
Most have taken on their positions in the last two years.
Rarely offline, their job is to tweet, ping, blog and friend-find throughout the day, building and interacting with new audiences, promoting media brands and sometimes breaking news.
Companies involved in Twitter are often worried about getting a return for their investment.
But here is some good news: it can be done.
The computer company Dell has announced it made $6.5m in revenues through links on the micro-messaging site.
Its aggregated followers on social media – including Twitter, Facebook and their own Direct2Dell and IdeaStorm – now number 3.5 million and as the firm’s “chief blogger” Lionel Menchaca announces proudly, that is “roughly a fan base the size of the population of Chicago”.
But, before you get too excited, although $6.5m sounds impressive, when you compare it with the net revenue of $12.3bn Dell reported in the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 it becomes clear that this is only a drop in the ocean.
Online social networking pioneer Friendster has accepted a buyout from Malaysia-based MOL Global, the companies announced Thursday, saying the site would shift into e-commerce.
Friendster, which made its debut in 2002, was widely used to share videos, photos and messages before its popularity was challenged by the emergence of mighty competitors like Facebook.
Its users are now mostly in Asia.
Under the new deal, the California-based Friendster will be fully acquired by MOL Global, an affiliate of online payment firm MOL Access Portal which is controlled by Malaysian tycoon Vincent Tan, they said in a statement.
The purchase price was not disclosed.
“The new combined entity gives Friendster the kind of financial backing, retail distribution, and e-commerce infrastructure that will enable us to accelerate our strategy,” Friendster chief executive Richard Kimber said.
With over 75 million registered users, Friendster said 90 percent of its daily traffic comes from Asia, while MOL has over 500,000 physical and virtual channels in 75 countries to collect payment for content and services. Continue Reading
