The Influence Equation

The hot-button topic du jour – influence. Look to Klout scores, Twitter followers, LinkedIn connections, and Facebook fan page likes; yet how can one really know how influential the representative brand is being perceived?

Many social media professionals consider the two most important factors of influence to be the quality of content and the strength of network. If this is true, then the following equation should give insight as to what sort of a resultant measure of influence might be contemplated:

(CONTENT QUALITY) X (NETWORK STRENGTH) = INFLUENCE

where content quality is deemed the level of generated output being shared, published, and otherwise posted, e.g. retweets, incoming referral links, reviews, etc, as reflected by members of the social graph. This will be a qualitative assessment, and subjective in nature. Network strength can be thought of as the level of interactivity with active influencers in the social graph, and takes into consideration how many and how much; a quantitative volume, and therefore objective.

Content quality will reflect training and practice, in both academic and real-world experiences. To what extent does the social graph approve and support the productivity created? Are blog posts being mentioned on Twitter, Facebook, and/or LinkedIn? Are comments sympathetic, and in what numbers? Is the topic under wide discussion? These are all indicators of the value of the content being deliberated. As far as a variable in the equation, it’s significance will be minimal secondary to it’s idiosyncratic characteristics being open to debate and bias. Additional consideration should be given to expetise of the author and recognition of their level of authority, current position, past experience, and so forth.

Network strength is demonstrated by the numbers and purpose of the associates included in the social graph. If Guy Kawasaki, Brian Solis, Chris Brogan, and Seth Godin are all folks whose numbers are on speed-dial, it is safe to say the network strength in question has a bit of clout (no pun intended). When connections and online peers are in touch on a regular basis, and their own content is documented as being of a high quality standard, then the network has measurable strength, and becomes a calculable factor. Thus it becomes highly significant since it’s value is quantifiable.

The query at this point becomes is what is being stated here hard data? Absolutely not – in point of fact, it is little more than intuitive logic, if that. However, it is also a genesis, a place from which to start. Influence is an important parameter in brand recognition, and quite likely a major driving force of effort expenditure, as well as ultimately a component of the economic value of ROI for social media involvement. Influence simply cannot be underestimated in terms of usefulness and merit where business sustainablity is affected in current enterprise industries.

The Effect of Web 2.0 on Business Sustainability

Original research into the impact of Web 2.0 appliance on current business practice

Interaction enhancement, elevated customer experience, and reinforced business prospects offer logical reasoning for the embrace of Web 2.0 tools (Bonabeau, 2009; Kalpaklioglu & Toros, 2011; Mangold & Faulds, 2009; Wade, 2009). Communication within the company is vital, allowing all stakeholders to understand and appreciate every one of the aspects of company activities. The need for information dissemination within the firm cannot be underestimated; it permits the flow of ideas which not only sustain the business, but also sanctions growth of both service and product development. A complemented client experience can lead to customer loyalty, and may provide inserted promotional potential. Buyer satisfaction should be of primary concern. The reinforcing of business prospects contribute to maintained sustenance of operability. The firm’s homeostasis is dependent on the enduring process of business sustainability.

The usefulness of social network tools is dependent on the ability and skill of their implementation (Gibson, 2012). It is therefore imperative that users be well versed in Web 2.0 application and tool use for optimized employment of the technologies. It is also vital that managers understand the necessity of its practice, as well as have an appreciation for the mechanics of skills and expertise. This erudition will ideally be pandemic throughout the firm’s associate population, with buy-in from all stakeholders throughout the company, in addition to the client base.

Questions arise concerning the efficacy of Web 2.0 machinations in business operations. How can Web 2.0 modalities strengthen marketing strategies? What can new and innovative communication technologies do to offer benefit to business? How should enterprise leverage Web 2.0 to enhance business processes? Are firms currently experiencing advantage and subsidy through Web 2.0 employment? An attempt to answer these queries will be the focus of this manuscript. Research suggests that companies should begin embracing Web 2.0 tools because they are able to offer increased communication, greater customer satisfaction, and enhanced business opportunities.

Web 2.0 tools offer amplified communication capabilities to business. That informal word-of-mouth marketing messages, which when utilized by virtue of online methods (such as blogging and discussion forums) is referred to as viral messaging, are desirable and have been understood for over half a century has been well documented (Kalpaklioglu & Toros, 2011). Such evidence diffusion offers subsidy to the firm, increasing the reach of constructive messaging to the potential client base. Since cost and effort will be minimal, a suitable outcome as a direct result of implementation is an expected positive conclusion. Viral messaging has been a natural outgrowth of Web 2.0. Access of this advantage may prove assistive when attempting to achieve an enviable position amongst competition.

The capacity of inter-consumer interaction is defined by Mangold & Faulds as “an extension of traditional word-of-mouth communication” (2009, p. 359). There can be few endorsements as valuable to the company as those made by the customer. Blogging and discussion forums offer excellent opportunity for pronouncement and transference of positive customer response. In this way, buyers can become ambassadors of goodwill to the marketplace. In the past word-of-mouth advertising, while much sought after for its promotional furtherance, was frequently of little impact. In today’s Internet-connected world, this optimal form of sponsorship can be most advantageous.

Sites such as YouTube deliver openings for advocacy via video endorsement (Wade, 2009). Transmission of video over the Internet has become a well-accepted modus of data dissemination amongst users worldwide. Enterprise can avail itself of the chance to broadcast desired information about products and services supplied by video curation Websites globally, thus offering ingress to previously unavailable market segments. Given YouTube’s popularity, firms may leverage this parameter of Web 2.0 to great advantage.

Practicable information sharing for customers has been enabled by Web 2.0-based telecommunications, which in turn endorse collaboration (Knights, 2007). Intelligence shared by contented purchasers within the marketplace may offer opportunity for marketing agenda advancement once customer satisfaction has become manifest. When collaborated by the client base, an opportunity is present for the distribution of viral messaging. In this way Web 2.0 communications applications may offer an increase in the capability of business information sharing. This consideration enlarges when consumers offer their own perspectives in this manner.

Superior customer satisfaction is resultant with incorporation of Web 2.0. Companies such as Dell Computer have used Web 2.0 communication tools to provide betterment of customer service through blogs (Wade, 2009). Customers purchase Dell products online; therefore, communication between client and firm occurs in a virtual manner as well. By using blogs to broadcast necessary and timely information to the client, an interactive dialogue is established. In this way, companies such as Dell may establish a more appropriate client loyalty paradigm, while at the same time creating a fulfilling purchase experience. Enhanced customer satisfaction is often a direct result of enriched customer service.

The exploitation of contests and games conducted online with social media deliver augmented contingencies for consumer interaction while providing increased customer satisfaction as a direct result of client engagement at the same time (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). Contests and games appeal to a wide demographic audience; people of all ages enjoy the challenge of contests and games. This provision of consumer interaction opportunity arises as a call-to-action for productive customer satisfaction effects. By generating attractive occasions, heightened consumer reaction is affected. Incorporation of company willingness to engage the marketplace in such novel approaches significantly augments the process of customer relationship management.

Trust, which can lead to greater customer satisfaction, exists for users of Web 2.0 as “both a micro- and a macro-level phenomenon” (Lai & Turban, 2008, p. 397). Users may safely presume an environment of trust at both the consumer and corporate levels of online communication. Such comfort in employment engenders a conduciveness toward application, leading to a more open discourse between stakeholders. An open discourse becomes foundational in establishment of greater customer satisfaction. In this way, buyers afford notice of their input, giving strength and stability to marketing efforts during the purchase decision-making process.

By means of Web 2.0, the World Wide Web “is positioned as a platform with users in control of their own data” (Skiba, 2006, p. 212). As such, roadblocks to a satisfactory customer experience are no longer an issue; consumers speak in their own voice and of their own volition. An open channel of communication will enable information flow, and provide a platform for the construction of a viable viral communique. Web 2.0 creates within the World Wide Web a medium readily accessible for users to manifest their data in such a way as to give their declaration equal amplitude. Customer satisfaction with purchases may supplement the buying experience, giving it a furthered occurrence.

The engagement and development of Web 2.0 tools has been that “the websites created are almost completely based upon user-generated content, encouraging their own visitors to upload and control the content available on the website” (Brown, 2008, p. 437). User-generated content (UGC) can be beneficial to a firm’s reputation. Unfortunately, marketing managers have no control over publishing by individuals, and so it thusly becomes incumbent on the business to exert whatever influence may be available to shape consumer-to-consumer conversations (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). The firm’s repute avoids tarnish in an agreeable manner, albeit to a limited extent, which is a vast improvement of circumstance often ignored secondary to an inability to affect influence in this context. The importance of UGC to a firm’s ability to interact effectively with both the existing and anticipated client base in an equitable manner cannot be underestimated.

The use of Web 2.0 tools and applications enhance business opportunities. The use of crowdsourced (gestalt knowledge of a group) data poses the possibility of overcoming limitations that typically arise from the decision-making process (Bonabeau, 2009). Circulated intelligence distributed throughout the firm increases available information when needed for decision-making and strategic planning processes. Limited understanding may prove a liability during tactical and premeditated business forecasting. In this way, data mining of crowdsourced intellect proves itself a positive outcome of Web 2.0 employment.

Businesses whose operations are spread across a wide geolocation are finding social networks to be quite useful for communication development (Gibson, 2012). Accessing the collective intelligence of groups beyond customary networks constitutes outreach (Bonabeau, 2009). Historically this disbursement has been problematic for the informed opinion of knowledgeable associates, and outreach became a difficult prospect. Aggrandized business opportunities arise with the access of crowdsourced insight. Web 2.0 tools offer an agreeable alternative in this respect, and prove to be a viable option in the consideration of the vitality of business sustainability, especially during anticipatory formulation phases of development.

Additive aggregation occurs when data is amassed from varying assemblages (Bonabeau, 2009). This can be highly effective when used for perspectives arising from the client base, giving insight to customer demands and desires in product and service research and development. Cumulative statistics offer tangible records whose relevance may not be readily apparent (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). The active process of curating these facts and figures for future use offer security in unanticipated problems and needs that may surface later and when least expected. Providing collateral guarantees for a deferred date generates a wise investment of resources for unforeseen difficulties and obstructions. Information significance may have applicability at varying times, and an accessible record will have bearing if and when such requirements arise.

Entrepreneurship is oftentimes unconsidered when business subsidy factors are deliberated. Social networks can provide entrepreneurs with valuable assets (Jenssen & Koenig, 2002). Asset worthiness may range from experience advisement to financial support, and supplanted in all cases by the network graph, or the collective of contacts developed and maintained within an online social network.

These listed benefits serve as further corroboration and substantiation of the overarching hypothesis hereby being presented. Communication capabilities are augmented through use of blogs, forums, and other Web 2.0 artifices. The ability for the consumer to conduct information sharing online via social networks, blog comments, and forum participation provide opportunity to engender desirable response from the company in the form of word-of-mouth. Viral messaging is a highly effective mode of promotional effort spread through the marketplace by individual buyers. Inter-consumer interaction in blogs and discussion forums may elicit valuable endorsements for the firm. Video broadcast sites such as YouTube provide opportunity for a well-accepted modus of information dissemination. Web 2.0 applications have provided a platform for business information sharing that is advantageous.

Enriched consumer satisfaction follows betterment of customer services, and trust enabled when Web 2.0 use embraced. Dell Computer’s usage of blogs to enhance consumer relationship is a prime example of customer service advancement. Online games and contests render participation from the client base, and are seen as beneficial, delivering optimized customer satisfaction. Trust is a natural outgrowth of Web 2.0 employment, one that additionally strengthens and stabilizes marketing efforts during the purchase evaluation process. UGC is under the direct control of the user, and therefore unable to be diametrically managed. Nevertheless, reputation management by judicious application of effective Web 2.0 contrivance therapy is a viable adjunct.

Cultivated business prospects are the direct result of crowdsourced statistics, access of collective intelligence, and additive aggregation. Crowdsourced data, disseminated via Web 2.0 applications, overcomes limitations otherwise experienced. Businesses whose operations are widely dispersed globally can find social networks useful for communication development during retrieval of communal understanding. Amassed records may have immediate or delayed impact and relevance. Entrepreneurship, many times overlooked, can also benefit greatly from Web 2.0, both in terms of expertise and financial supplementation; each consideration may often be of immediate and critical concern.

Valid, peer-reviewed research supports the notion that social networking sites, blogs, media distribution Websites, and associated appliances can provide positive outcomes for enterprise. Businesses should embrace Web 2.0 tools because of the offerings of increased communication, greater customer satisfaction, and enhanced business opportunities.

Reference

Bonabeau, E. (2009). Decisions 2.0: The power of collective intelligence. MIT sloan management review, 47-48.
Brown, B. (2008). Fortifying the safe harbors: reevaluating the DMCA in a Web 2.0 world. Berkeley Technology Law Journal, 437-467.
Gibson, S. (2012, March 2). Tech In-Depth. Retrieved from eWeek: http://www.eweek.com
Jenssen, J. I., & Koenig, H. F. (2002). The effect of social networks on resource access and business start-ups. European Planning Studies, 1039-1046. doi:10.1080/096543102200003130 1
Kalpaklioglu, N. U., & Toros, N. (2011). Viral marketing techiques within online social network. Journal of Yasar University, 4112-4129.
Knights, M. (2007). Web 2.0. IET Communications Engineer, 30-35.
Lai, L. S., & Turban, E. (2008). Groups formation and operations in the Web 2.0 environment and social networks. Group Decision Negotiation, 387-402. doi:10.1007/s10726-008-9113-2
Mangold, W. G., & Faulds, D. J. (2009). Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business Horizons, 357-365. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2009.03.002
Skiba, D. J. (2006). Web 2.0: Next great thing or just marketing hype? Nursing Education Perspectives, 212-214.
Wade, J. (2009). The new wild west. Risk Management, 26-31.

Web 2.0 for Business Sustainability – Outline

The third assignment is the paper’s outline.

Thesis statement: Research suggests that companies should begin embracing Web 2.0 tools because they are able to offer increased communication, greater customer satisfaction, and enhanced business opportunities.

1. Preliminary paragraph steering to the thesis statement paragraph.
1. Background information paragraph describing the significance of Web 2.0 in business applications.
1. Interaction enhancement, elevated customer experience, and reinforced business prospects offer logical reasoning for the embrace of Web 2.0 tools (Bonabeau, 2009; Kalpaklioglu & Toros, 2011; Mangold & Faulds, 2009; Wade, 2009).
2. The usefulness of social network tools is dependent on the ability and skill of their implementation (Gibson, 2012).
2. Paragraph delineating research queries and concluding with thesis statement.
1. How can Web 2.0 modalities strengthen marketing strategies?
2. What can new and innovative communication technologies do to offer benefit to business?
3. How should enterprise leverage Web 2.0 to enhance business processes?
4. Are firms currently experiencing advantage and subsidy through Web 2.0 employment?
5. Thesis statement: Research suggests that companies should begin embracing Web 2.0 tools because they are able to offer increased communication, greater customer satisfaction, and enhanced business opportunities.
3. Topic sentence for Point 1: Web 2.0 tools offer increased communication capabilities to business.
1. That informal word-of-mouth marketing messages, which when utilized by virtue of online methods (such as blogging and discussion forums) is referred to as viral messaging, are desirable and have been understood for over half a century (Kalpaklioglu & Toros, 2011).
2. The ability of inter-consumer communication has been referred to as “an extension of traditional word-of-mouth communication” (Mangold & Faulds, 2009, p. 359).
3. Sites such as YouTube provide opportunities for advocacy via video endorsement (Wade, 2009).
4. Practicable information sharing for customers has been enabled by Web 2.0-based telecommunications, which in turn endorse collaboration (Knights, 2007).
4. Topic sentence for Point 2: Greater customer satisfaction can be achieved with incorporation of Web 2.0.
1. Companies such as Dell computer have used Web 2.0 communication tools to provide betterment of customer service through blogs (Wade, 2009).
2. The use of contests and games conducted online with social media provide enhanced opportunities for consumer interaction while providing increased customer satisfaction as a result of client engagement at the same time (Mangold & Faulds, 2009).
3. Trust, which can lead to greater customer satisfaction, exists for users of Web 2.0 as “both a micro- and a macro-level phenomenon” (Lai & Turban, 2008, p. 397).
4. Practicable information sharing for customers has been enabled by Web 2.0-based telecommunications, which in turn endorse collaboration (Knights, 2007).
5. By means of Web 2.0, the World Wide Web “is positioned as a platform with users in control of their own data” (Skiba, 2006, p. 212).
6. The engagement and development of Web 2.0 tools has been that “the websites created are almost completely based upon user-generated content, encouraging their own visitors to upload and control the content available on the website” (Brown, 2008, p. 437)
5. Topic sentence for Point 3: The use of Web 2.0 tools and applications enhance business opportunities.
1. The use of crowdsourced (gestalt knowledge of a group) data poses the possibility of overcoming limitations which typically arise from the decision making process (Bonabeau, 2009).
2. Businesses whose operations are spread across a wide geolocation are finding social networks to be quite useful for communication development (Gibson, 2012).
3. Accessing the collective intelligence of groups beyond customary networks constitutes outreach (Bonabeau, 2009).
4. Additive aggregation occurs when data is amassed from varying assemblages (Bonabeau, 2009).
5. Social networks can provide entrepreneurs with valuable assets (Jenssen & Koenig, 2002).
6. Conclusion to the paper.
1. Review of the main points:
1. Communication capabilities are augmented through use of blogs, forums, and other Web 2.0 artifices
2. Customer satisfaction is enriched with betterment of customer services, and trust is enabled when Web 2.0 use is embraced.
3. Enhanced business opportunities are to be realized via crowdsourced data, access of collective intelligence, and additive aggregation.
2. Reiteration of thesis statement: Businesses should embrace Web 2.0 tools because of the offerings of increased communication, greater customer satisfaction, and enhanced business opportunities.

Reference

Bonabeau, E. (2009). Decisions 2.0: The power of collective intelligence. MIT sloan management review, 47-48.

Brown, B. (2008). Fortifying the safe harbors: reevaluating the DMCA in a Web 2.0 world. Berkeley Technology Law Journal, 437-467.

Gibson, S. (2012, March 2). Tech In-Depth. Retrieved from eWeek: http://www.eweek.com

Jenssen, J. I., & Koenig, H. F. (2002). The effect of social networks on resource access and business start-ups. European Planning Studies, 1039-1046. doi:10.1080/096543102200003130 1

Kalpaklioglu, N. U., & Toros, N. (2011). Viral marketing techiques within online social network. Journal of Yasar University, 4112-4129.

Knights, M. (2007). Web 2.0. IET Communications Engineer, 30-35.

Lai, L. S., & Turban, E. (2008). Groups formation and operations in the Web 2.0 environment and social networks. Group Decision Negotiation, 387-402. doi:10.1007/s10726-008-9113-2

Mangold, W. G., & Faulds, D. J. (2009). Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business Horizons, 357-365. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2009.03.002

Skiba, D. J. (2006). Web 2.0: Next great thing or just marketing hype? Nursing Education Perspectives, 212-214.

Wade, J. (2009). The new wild west. Risk Management, 26-31.

Web 2.0 for Business Sustainability – Article Synthesis and Paraphrase

In this second part of the research paper assignment, an article is reviewed and synthesized. The chosen manuscript is Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix, by Mangold and Faulds (the preceding link will download the article from Google Scholar). The paraphrased portion is indicated within the body of the following text.

Synthesis and Paraphrase
John Stringer
Western Governors University

This report gives a thorough examination of the communications management process, a focus frequently undervalued in the available literature. The title provides an explanation of social media as a new fusion of traditional marketing strategy constituents. Five rudiments mark value in this source, including dynamic elements of marketing and promotional communication, the representation of social networking, the intelligence interchange concept, communication management techniques, and description of the shift of the current communications paradigm.

The principal argument of the article is a description of the hybrid disposition of social media in existing marketing strategies. Traditional business communications archetypes have utilized a one-way modus of dissemination, that of the company to the consumer. Little regard was given to customer opinion shared laterally within the marketplace. However, the ability to control disseminated information about a company to the public, classically the purview of management, has been transposed to the customer base due to the template modification caused by social media and Web 2.0 (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). This is illustrated by case studies of firms such as General Electric and Proctor and Gamble, in which they structured information interchange by leveraging social media campaigns in league with established company goals, leading to successful customer perception of corporate persona and desired data trade between consumers.

Other relevant concerns designated by the editorial suggest a prerequisite for managers to embrace the Web 2.0 communique model as well as understand limitations resultantly imposed, and to operate within this framework in an endeavor to moderate awareness shared between buyers. Business methodologies have changed with the onset of Web 2.0 tools, particularly with the development of user generated content (UGC), which includes the ability of consumers to vocalize concerns in social media such as online forums and blogs. (Mangold & Faulds, 2009) This constitutes word-of-mouth advertising, and while outside the direct control of marketers, can be influenced in routes that ascertain a posture which is advantageous for the company while preserving adherence to inaugurated mission statements and other customary mandates.

With an eye towards established policy, advancement of marketing efforts must be attended by cognizance of company mission statements and values. Web 2.0 applications provide intercommunication with consumers in addition to each other. Blogs and Facebook populations provide mediums for intercommunication between companies and clients. Customers are also able to use these to commune, which enables viral marketing to large population segments. The ability of inter-consumer communication has been referred to as “an extension of traditional word-of-mouth communication”. (Mangold & Faulds, 2009, p. 364) These characteristics consequently establish social media as an amalgamated element in marketing campaigns, an integral parameter which must not be disregarded.

One would wonder if the authors have sufficiently considered the psychological sensitivities and motivations of customer behavior. Firms are able to discourse with customers, and customers with each other, through the use of Web 2.0 tools (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). Yet little attention is given to those impetuses and actions demonstrated by buyers in the marketplace. This regard becomes a valid apprehension when scrutinizing those approaches designed to exert guidance among social media participants.

Because this report demonstrates the intercommunication aptitudes of Web 2.0, relevance to the research paper’s thesis statement is well established. While a lack of importance perception and appreciation of the human element, that is, the emotional connection so often attached to products and services by customers, involved in businesses social networking communication with consumers seems evident, manifestation of increased communication via Web 2.0 methodologies leading to greater customer satisfaction, and ultimately enhanced business opportunities, serve to provide germaneness.

Paraphrase

Note: This paraphrase is of the section shown on pages 359 (last paragraph) and 360 (first paragraph) of the original document: Social media – The new hybrid element of the promotion mix – Mangold and Faulds.

Historically, constituents of marketing strategies have been synchronized, with the various parameters being under the direct control of the firm and related representatives. Information streams ran from the company to the consumer, while customer articulation was limited in scope and effect among buyers. This had been the case since the Second World War, principally due to the optimized jurisdiction over correspondence methods which have benefitted business. Within the realm of Web 2.0 communications applications, promotional executive’s traditional hegemony over what is being said and when about products and services has been rigorously compromised, with data originating with consumers via social networking sites, blogs, and forums. This has impacted customer conduct by empowering the marketplace secondary to the independence of these programs, and stands as a novel paradigm (Mangold & Faulds, 2009).

Reference
Mangold, W. G., & Faulds, D. J. (2009). Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business Horizons, 357-365.

Web 2.0 for Business Sustainability – Thesis Statement and Annotated Bibliography

Thesis Statement

Research suggests that companies should begin embracing Web 2.0 tools because they are able to offer increased communication, greater customer satisfaction, and enhanced business opportunities.

Annotated Bibliography

Bonabeau, E. (2009). Decisions 2.0: The power of collective intelligence. MIT Sloan Management Review, 47-48.

This article, from the highly respected MIT Sloan Management Review publication, explains Web 2.0 tool application’s escalating worth as important firm assets when utilized to achieve enhanced data resource in managerial governing. It describes processes which state that business administration requires responses which are immediate, accurate, and achievable via the composite understandings of company associates and stakeholders. Bonabeau serves as CEO and chief scientific officer for lcosystem Corp., Cambridge, Massachusetts, a consultation service which employs complexity science to increase the efficacy of business tactics. As evidence of claims are supported with graphical representation, as well as caveats presented concerning roadblocks and difficulties, the document is thus considered well rounded. Bonabeau’s conclusions will be ascribed into the research paper to demonstrate arguments that discourse and involvement from work force cadre, actuated by Web 2.0 methodologies, can assist in accomplishing augmented idea generation and aggregation leading to enhanced business opportunities as well as healthier customer expectation fulfillment (Bonabeau, 2009).    

Brown, B. (2008). Fortifying the safe harbors: reevaluating the DMCA in a Web 2.0 world. Berkeley Technology Law Journal, 437-467.

Published in the Berkley Technology Law Journal, a publication of the University Of California School Of Law, this passage by article editor Brandon Brown describes considerations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in lieu of changes wrought by the advent of Web 2.0 applications. Brown’s thrust is an analysis of Web 2.0 impact on extant DMCA regulations, with emphasis on function and relevance of current technological procedures, and how these changes impact current pertinence to law employment. Since Web 2.0 application development in current business appliance is based largely on user-generated content (UGC), it has broad implications in the germaneness of legalities implied by the DMCA. Inclusion of the element as a validated reference will provide a more global overview to the paper, providing accommodation of the constitutionality contemplation secondary to assertive parameters often overlooked in Web 2.0 tool inclusion to superior business artifice and planning scenarios (Brown, 2008).

Gibson, S. (2012, March 2). Tech In-Depth. Retrieved from eWeek: http://www.eweek.com

Published in the eZine, eWeek, an online promulgation featuring information technology (IT) news and other chronicles of relevance to the IT management industry, this article is authored by the publication’s executive editor, Stan Gibson, a seasoned technology journalist of 19 years. Gibson scrutinizes the very important bearing of return on investment (ROI) and other considerations of economic viability as the result of employment of Web 2.0 tool inclusion in business. He states that ROI “is a slippery concept” when the need to accurately account for expenditures of time and effort in the use of social networking is critically examined. Corporate spending on software designed to support social networking and other Web 2.0 enhancements as described can increase customer satisfaction and are thus sound investments. ROI is crucially afflictive to the bottom line of business profit, making the article serve as an important acknowledgement in the construct of the research paper (Gibson, 2012).

Jenssen, J. I., & Koenig, H. F. (2002). The effect of social networks on resource access and business start-ups. European Planning Studies, 1039-1046. doi:10.1080/096543102200003130 1

A research briefing from the official publication of the European Planning Studies. Jenssen and Koenig present their findings about the denouement of Web 2.0’s social networking on entrepreneurial undertaking with regards to resource access, giving an audit of the level of substance to the connection and the affinity of related asset characterization. Their study investigates levels of involvement with other social network participants, and describes an altogether unsuspected result of enduring relationships providing a knowledge base while those of a more moderate nature implement financial ingress. These findings show pertinence to the beneficence of Web 2.0 toward increased business communication. Jenssen is a member of the Faculty of Humanities and Education, Agder University College and Research Institute in Norway, and Koenig with the College of Business at Oregon State University. The assay is peer reviewed and appears to be both cogent and valid. The data will be utilized to demonstrate the efficaciousness of social networking as an effective Web 2.0 tool for aggrandized information exchange (Jenssen & Koenig, 2002).

Kalpaklioglu, N. U., & Toros, N. (2011). Viral marketing techiques within online social network. Journal of Yasar University, 4112-4129.

In their study of viral marketing techniques published in the Journal of Yasar University, Kalpaklioglu and Toros explain the system of methods as well as benefits harvested when used in word of mouth, or perhaps more appropriately, word of keyboard advisement of product and service recommendation via customer conversation in social networks. A functional shift in the human communication paradigm has been affected by the use of online social networking, one which is abundantly manageable for consumers and allows them to allocate opinions about commercial products and services more readily; a process termed viral communication, and considered an alternative marketing technique. This study contributes a definitive case in point of how Web 2.0 tools can implement amplified communication capabilities. Dr. Kalpaklioglu serves as Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Communications, Public Relations and Advertising Department at Beykent University. Dr. Toros, PhD., is a Public Relations Specialist. Investigative procedure is well documented and adheres to accepted academic standards, and lends credence to the paper’s stated suppositions about increased communication (Kalpaklioglu & Toros, 2011).

Knights, M. (2007). Web 2.0. IET Communications Engineer, 30-35.

Maya Knights, a well-known freelance technology and business journalist, authored this article for IET Communications Engineer, which is a publication of the Institution of Engineering & Technology. The paper underscores the organizing system of how Web 2.0 tools can be capitalized upon to accommodate heightened enterprise fortuity because of the effective increments dispensed in utilitarian serviceability and practicality. Relevance is supported for the hypothesis of enhanced business opportunities as a result. Knights has written profusely about retail technology, and was a nominee for the 2010 Crapps Journalism Award. The critique is judged as both well-argued and convincingly stated, and additionally has been peer-reviewed. The importance of Web 2.0 tool exploitation for the enrichment of business prospects is a cornerstone of the paper’s premise, and accordingly this content will be included as an important reference (Knights, 2007).

Lai, L. S., & Turban, E. (2008). Groups formation and operations in the Web 2.0 environment and social networks. Group Decision Negotiation, 387-402. doi:10.1007/s10726-008-9113-2

Lai and Turban discuss the nature of Web 2.0, along with a variety of implements and applications such as blogs, wikis, social networks, and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) in the practice of composite understandings apropos to the enterprise related online communities in this editorial.  Their findings provide a definition of Web 2.0, describe the purposes of the technologies involved, particularly those associated with business interests, and examine its social complexion. The study provides a detailed model of Web 2.0 and its allied means significance to business operation sustainability and prospects. Lai is an associate professor in the School of Business, Macau Polytechnic University and has written abundantly about eCommerce. Turban is a Visiting Scholar at the Pacific Institute for Information Systems Management, College of Business, University of Hawaii, and has authored many books about information technology management. This authoritative work affords sturdy grasp of Web 2.0 perceptions. The understandings gleaned will integrate perception about the benevolence of Web 2.0 to trade practices (Lai & Turban, 2008).

Mangold, W. G., & Faulds, D. J. (2009). Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business Horizons, 357-365. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2009.03.002

In this analysis, shepherded via the Kelly School of Business at Indiana University, Mangold and Faulds appraise how the significance of consumer-to-consumer (C2C) communication, enabled by social media in the mercantile sphere, becomes a hybrid in the advertising promotional amalgam. Since no immediate constraint of these conversations can be exerted by marketing leaders, techniques for their administration are presented. Managers are required to develop proficiency in influencing discussions of this nature within the constraints of organizational operation mandates to better achieve and maintain reputational stasis. Communication with consumers has historically been in one direction, that of the firm to the buyer. Web 2.0 has created a paradigm shift, wherein the customer is now also able to commune with the firm as well as with other patrons. Glynn Mangold, Professor of Marketing at the College of Business & Public Affairs, Murray State University, has written extensively about social media and viral marketing. David Faulds, Associate Professor in the Marketing Department at the College of Business Administration, University of Louisville, has authored at length on the subject of marketing. This expertly presented report will demonstrate the intercommunication aptitudes of Web 2.0 which also increase consumer approval.  (Mangold & Faulds, 2009).

Skiba, D. J. (2006). Web 2.0: Next great thing or just marketing hype? Nursing Education Perspectives, 212-214.

Skiba begins her article by stating, “Even a strategic analysis of Web 2.0 by Arma Partners [an independent advisory firm] views it as ‘part hype, part marketing jargon and part reality’”, then goes on to delineate what Web 2.0 comprises along with descriptions of some of its more popular appliances and their use. While her intent is to provide guidance for practice by educators, her depictions give a firm understanding about the basics of the Web 2.0 concept. Underlying theory is explained as being an array of ideologies and customs acting in concert to produce a unified model. The essay provides substructure for an understanding of the unitary notion beneath review. Diane J. Skiba, PhD, FAAN, FACMI is Professor, Option Coordinator, Health Care Informatics and Project Director, I-Collaboratory: Partnerships for Learning for the College of Nursing at the University of Colorado. She is funded by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) Division of Nursing Advanced Nurse Education Training grant to prepare nurses in the field of informatics. The manuscript is well ascribed. The data will supply foundational discernment of Web 2.0 which implement enhanced business prospects. (Skiba, 2006).

Wade, J. (2009). The new wild west. Risk Management, 26-31.

Senior editor of Risk Management magazine, the issuing periodical, Wade touts Web 2.0 as an innovative epoch propelled “by a sea change” in online interactivity which must be embraced by companies to avail themselves of the values proffered while maintaining performance which minimizes hazard through effective idea exchange within the marketplace. The paper provides examples of Websites such as Google and YouTube  which can be utilized in a favorable manner for promotional purposes, and applications such as blogs and forums to preserve favorable impressions amongst clientele. Enhanced business opportunities and increased communication leading to greater customer satisfaction are exemplified as expected outcomes. Wade has been on board with the publication since 2002, and is a veteran journalist who has also written for the New York Daily News. The systems are thriving and satisfactorily demarcated throughout the span of the piece. The statistics will be assimilated into the research paper to confirm how communication and marketing properties can be optimized with Web 2.0 tools (Wade, 2009).

 

 

Customizing Twitter Backgrounds

You don’t have to be handicapped to be different, ’cause everybody’s different.
-Kim Peek

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This article is part of a group of posts focused on optimizing ROI in Twitter use.

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There are a great deal of Twitter users adopting a policy of consistent branding and positioning carried across from other Webspaces, e.g. Websites, eStorefronts, etc., by employing customized Twitter backgrounds. This would seem to be defined as best practice, as many marketers advise keeping the process of branding both homogenous and persistent transversely through availed channels.

Customized backgrounds lend an air of professionalism to one’s Twitter account. Also, followers tend to be encouraged when they see a touch of personalization and branding. By following these few easy-to-understand steps, you too can be the proud owner of an upscale, bleeding-edge Twitter site!

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Here is an example image of a custom graphic (note: the photo and message in the middle normally will be covered by the Twitter feed and sidebar; it would only appear when users direct message [DM] from the site).

Grannelle on Twitter

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Several factors must be considered when creating a custom background (the following suggestions and instructions are based on the use of Adobe® Photoshop and presume familiarity; if needed, the reader is referred to the Adobe® Photoshop Tutorials Website).

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Size
There are two sides of the background which can be customized; right and left (note: the entire background will be one image). By keeping the graphic content of the right side width at 210 pixels (2.917 inches), and the left at 217 pixels (3.014 inches), all branding elements should fit within these two distances from the edges; height should be kept at 809 pixels (11.236 inches). The entire customized Twitter background graphic should be 1439 pixels (19.986 inches) width by 809 pixels (11.236 inches) height. As this is a Web document, resolution should be 72 pixels/inch. The resultant branding message will then be visible in both the “new” Twitter interface as well as the current version. While the space above the feed could conceivably be utilized in the overall creation of the graphic, this could prove problematic. Nevertheless, adventurous designers may wish to toy with this concept.

Background color
The option available that can be used to match the customized background color. It can be found in the Twitter navbar (located at the top of the site) by accessing Settings > Design > Change design colors. When the Change design colors option is accessed, and background, text, links, etc., are chosen, a color selector is provided for the user. In the selector is a dialog box wherein a hexadecimal value can be entered. This value is easily determined in Photoshop, and by matching the values no difference will be detected between the customized background and that supplied via the Twitter interface, as inequalities in coverage may occur.

Sidebar color
By matching the sidebar color to that of the background color (process described above), the information provided by Twitter in the sidebar section, e.g. name, number of tweets, following, followers, et al., will appear to float freely (note: by using a white background color [hex value = #ffffff], the feed itself will float; selecting both background and sidebar colors as white will eliminate page bordering altogether – this is how the Grannelle Twitter site has been fashioned [when employing this method, the sidebar border {appears as a delineation between the feed and the sidebar} can be eliminated by changing the color value to white also, if desired]).

Text and Graphics
All data such as hypertext, phone numbers, etc., are part of the total graphic. They cannot be accessed, copied, or pasted. However, by providing matching information accessible from the sidebar, such as that supplied for the Bio and Web headings (found in the uppermost portion of the sidebar), constancy can be achieved. Repetition of use of the profile picture is also helpful for uniformity. Twitter text and link colors can be selected from the Change design colors preferences to accent those in the customized background, though care should be taken to use contrasting hues. Bear in mind that users experiencing color vision deficiency (color blindness) may encounter difficulty in distinguishing certain color selections.

Total File Size and Format
The total size of the file must be smaller than 800k. GIF, JPEG (JPG), and PNG file formats are acceptable.

While the customized Twitter background graphic can be tiled (repeated across the page), it is not suggested for this method.

Using Photoshop, simply create a document with the aforementioned measurements, building content for the left and right sides of the graphic and choosing background color. Include text information, pictures, and other desired images and illustrations. Adopting a consistently matching background color, create a new document, again with previously described dimensions. Copy and paste the left and right (merged) images onto the appropriate sides of the image. Save the final product. The finished background can be uploaded in the Design section, Change background image, following the same procedure as formerly instructed.

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By playing with and trying out these ideas, users can have a polished and professional Twitter site!

Use Of The Social Campaign In Career Advancement

There is no off position on the genius switch.
-David Letterman

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With many recruiters currently utilizing Social Media for talent pools, incorporating one’s social campaign (defined as the collective of an individual’s social graph (network), social stream (content), and SNS membership[s], the social profile) into career path efforts seems sensible. When the professional efforts expended in online communities are totaled, they can reflect an insightful picture of candidacy for employment and career advancement.

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Obviously, one would want to avoid that content irrelevant to the job search, e.g. personal correspondence and participation in non-professional SM activities. Still, referencing an industry related blog, optimized LinkedIn profile, and appropriate Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ posts can be an original approach; helpful when the competition for desirable positions is ambitious. A robust social campaign could be the deciding factor, especially when defining skill sets and documenting experience. It is easy enough to simply state perspicacity, and something else altogether to provide tangible proof.

Use of personal Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ social streams would be counterproductive. Personal brand building should reflect one’s empiricism. Developing and maintaining SNS accounts, i.e. separate Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ profiles (Klout scores for these memberships should also be chronicled and included), for purely professional pursuits is therefore advised. Taking the application process to the next level by creating a multi-layered presentation, e.g. PowerPoint, with frames containing hyperlinks to said accounts may also be helpful.

Brand consistency should be maintained across the social campaign. Homogeneity of not only profile information, but constancy of substance and subject matter adherence are methodologies suggested additionally. The job candidate’s product is themselves. Therefore, developing product branding is an important consideration.

Transparency is also recommended. At some point misrepresentations will be obviated. Being adroit is a necessity in career advancement, but adulterating knowledge bases by distorting claimed abilities will invariably yield failure.

Engagement will ideally demonstrate preferable and worthwhile ability in team participation and leadership, command of subject apprehension, and willingness to collaborate with others in relevant interactions. The raison d’être of effort should be kept in mind when intercommunicating on SNS developed for social campaigns used for career advancement.

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With contention for job opportunities at a premium, being able to distinguish oneself is beneficial and desirable. Use of the social campaign in career advancement may aid in differentiating and characterizing the successful candidate, especially when employed as an adjunct to demonstrated techniques in achieving vocational pursuits.