My Foursquare Experiment

Over the past few weeks I've been conducting a Foursquare experiment.  I have no friends on this social networking site.  Does that defeat the purpose?  Absolutely.  But I wanted to test the waters without making a fool of myself or over-sharing things that I don't want others to know - before I knew they shouldn't know them!

Here's what I've done so far:

1. Signed up for the site.
2. Made all of my information private.
3. Checked into various locations, including during my recent vacation.
4. Added a new place!
5. Became the mayor of said place.

So far, it seems to be going okay.  Nine times out of 10 I forget to check in, despite the fact that my phone has a good Foursquare app.  Without any friends, there doesn't seem to be much point to my checking in, although I do use it to track the distances of my bike rides.  (I'm sure there are dedicated exercise apps I could use instead.)

Will Foursquare be around for the long-term?  I'm not sure.  It seems like they need to add reviews in addition to the Tips section.  That would make me more likely to visit a particular place.  Also, lots of locations are missing or don't show up in search.  Perhaps this is because there aren't a lot of Foursquare users in my area just yet.

I've also read about check in fatigue.  There are apps to check you into your various location tools.  But what about the act of checking in itself?  I have a feeling it won't be long before people tire of this itself.  Obviously, phones will be able to check us in automatically someday - but this could be seen as an invasion of privacy that will freak out most, if not many, people.

I guess I'll keep playing with this tool and see where it goes from here!  But you won't be seeing my Foursquare updates on Twitter any time soon - unless they're to let you know that I passed a new biking milestone, like the 10 miles I hit on Saturday.  :)

Intentions of Corporate Social Media

Why are companies like Target, Coca-Cola, and Dell using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to engage users?  Is it to promote a brand, use data mining techniques to learn more about their customers, or to generate sales?  Maybe it's all three.
I recently read an article on ZDNet written by Tom Foremski titled "Corporate social media is not social - it's sales media."  This headline says it all to me.  While some organizations may create social media profiles to generate goodwill among their publics, even this intention has an end goal - to increase the bottom line.

Why Are We Public Fans?

People become fans of organizations they like on Facebook.  (Actually, I think you "like" the things you like on Facebook now.)  Why do we do this?  It goes beyond showing support by spending our dollars at the cash register.  Do we do it to show people what we like in our personal lives?  To get the inside scoop from our favorite companies so we can be "in the know"?  To be informed of sales?

I think there are two main reasons for being a fan of/"liking" a company on Facebook:

• Show that you like the company (for yourself; for your friends)
• See what's going on with the company (new products, sales, news)

In return, corporations get a lot in return for that one little click of a "like this" button:

• Overall number of fans/"likers"
• Demographic information of each individual
• Other information that can be data mined based on each individual's privacy settings

Social Media vs. Sales Media

We know that corporations should stay professional on their Facebook, Twitter, and other accounts.  But does this cross the line?  Foremski compared corporations on Facebook to tupperware parties in your living room.  Facebook is a personal account; you access it to share information with your friends.  "Liking" a company's Facebook page puts ads on your newsfeed - equating it to being marketed to in your home.

This form of marketing could be considered voluntary, however.  By "liking" something the user invites the ads (or can "hide" them from the newsfeed). 

Facebook marketing is a two-way street - both parties have to give and receive information.  It's important for the user to understand that corporations are using their information.  It's important for corporations to clearly disclose what they're doing with the users' information.  As long as both parties understand the implications and use it responsibly, it is a viable way for them to get the information that they need.


Resources:

Foremski, Tom. "Corporate social media is not social - it's sales media." ZDNet. N.p., 19 May 2010. Web. 23 May 2010. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/foremski/corporate-social-media-is-not-social-its-sales-media/1327

Vasquez, Ishmael. "Facebook's Next Frontier: Measuring Social Media." Blue Fountain Media. N.p., 2 Feb. 2010. Web. 23 May 2010. http://www.bluefountainmedia.com/blog/category/marketing/advertising-marketing/ (image)

Facebook Privacy Affects All

We've all heard stories about images from the past coming back to haunt someone.  On Facebook, this can happen quite literally, even resulting in jail time.  Yet some people seem to have trouble - or just don't learn about - updating Facebook's privacy settings to eliminate some of the risk of unwanted viewership.

Not that the mega social network makes it easy.  There are many menus to choose from (the screen shot at the right depicts what you see when you visit the link in the first paragraph) and each menu has many options.  Photo albums and videos can have individual levels of privacy.  So can the various applications and games, which have an entirely different privacy interface.

Facebook Changes Privacy Policy... Again

In operation for less than a decade; Facebook has changed its privacy policy and options several times.  (It's changed its layout, too, and there are many user groups discussing that if you're interested.)  According to a SciTechBlog entry, Facebook cites an understanding of users' confusion with the options above, and says it will release a simpler version of privacy settings. 

Facebook undoubtedly would like to spend its developer resources on new and improved features, expansions, partnerships, and yes, even more data mining opportunities.  But the privacy issue has been one that has plagued it for awhile.  By stepping back to that core value of its users, Facebook is showing that it listens and is attempting to resolve an ongoing issue.

Despite Facebook saying it will "do better", according to a Telegraph.co.uk article, some doubt still lingers.  According to the article although users can make most information private, fields including name, gender, and connections are public.

A simpler and less wordy privacy policy is a good step in the right direction.  (According to The New York Times, Facebook's privacy policy contains more words than the United States Constitution.  You can see a graphic here.)

What Does Privacy Mean for Corporations?

It's no secret that the owners of the advertisements and applications on Facebook use the site for data mining (collecting information about users).  If the above-mentioned improvements do make it easier for users to lock down their profiles and information, will corporations continue to use Facebook at all?

It will be interesting to watch and see if a drastic change in privacy setting options has any impact on how the rest of Facebook operates - both from the user side and the corporate side.  Only time will tell, but just as with the rest of social media and emerging technologies, everyone will have to roll with the punches or be left in the dust.



Resources:

Barnett, Emma. "Facebook executive responds to users’ privacy concerns." Telegraph.co.uk. N.p., 12 May 2010. Web. 20 May 2010. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/7714942/Facebook-executive-responds-to-users-privacy-concerns.html

"Facebook Privacy Settings." Facebook. N.p., 2010. Web. 19 May 2010. http://www.facebook.com/settings/?tab=privacy (image)

Gates, Guilbert. Facebook Privacy: A Bewildering Tangle of Options. 2010. The New York Times. Web. 19 May 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/05/12/business/facebook-privacy.html

McCullagh, Declan. "Police Blotter: Facebook photo convicts school aide of drinking charge." CNET News. N.p., 17 Mar. 2009. Web. 19 May 2010. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10197908-38.html

Sutter, John D. "Facebook says it will make privacy changes." SciTechBlog. CNN, 19 May 2010. Web. 19 May 2010. http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/19/facebook-says-it-will-make-privacy-changes/