I thought it would be much easier to write something for this blog but I was wrong. After paying alot of attention when I could not decide on what to write, I decided to take a break.
Taking a break for me means getting on Facebook. So I got on Facebook and started browsing through my friends’ pages and I suddenly noticed some advertisements on the right side of the page. I got an idea to write my blog for this week, and decided to write about advertisements on Facebook. I looked online and found some articles which I thought were interesting. I came across an interesting article named “Can social networks make money?” Even before reading this article I had a personal opinion that Facebook advertisements do not capture its user’s attention. I myself do not pay attention to the advertisements on Facebook and just out of curiosity asked few of my friends if they do. They all answered no!
After reading the article, my opinion about advertisements not making money on Facebook was correct. The article mentions that with increasing number of users on social networks like Facebook and Myspace, marketers thought that it would be great idea to capture the attention of alot of customers. I was surprised to read that US advertisers will spend $755 million on MySpace and $265 million on Facebook this year.
Like the article mentioned, I do not think marketers on Facebook with their advertisement are capturing the attention of its users. Facebook has a lot of young generation users and they are not interested in looking at the ads displayed. I also agree with the article that not all the members on Facebook are active users. If people like me, who are regular users of Facebook, do not pay attention to the ads, how will the ads capture those who are not regular users?
I believe the reason we don’t pay attention to the ads on Facebook is because our main goal is to stay connected with friends. Speaking of my experience itself, I hardly pay attention to the ads. Even after noticing the ads, I do not remember clicking on the ads a single time. I do not think these advertisements are actually needed on Facebook. I will rather pay attention to ads on Yahoo.com or any other search engine than Facebook. The reason is because when you are on other websites such as Yahoo.com, you tend to look at news, games, gossip or ads. The reasons you get on those websites are because you want to be informed with new things. But with social networks, the focus of its users is mainly toward socializing with friends.
Like I said ads on Facebook don’t work but I also believe that if right kinds of ads are displayed on Facebook it might make a difference. An interesting thing I read was about Pizza Hut launching an application on Facebook so that the users can order pizza without leaving the Facebook website. I think this is a great way for Pizza Hut to advertise their pizza. The reason I think they might be successful is because pizza is something alot of young generation consume. I think depending on the right product for right people is really important. With majority of users on Facebook being the young generation, it is likely that a Pizza Hut application will work. Many a times, me and my friends order pizza online because we find it easy and quick.
Another way to attract its users, Pizza Hut does other promotions like drawing $50 gift cards if you order pizza online. I think that’s a great way to attract anyone who likes pizza.
Looking at Facebook currently, I see three ads being displayed. One is about a website where you can display your art. The other is about fitness and third is about an online degree course. None of these interest me, but if I had seen stuff like get pizza for $5 or save $5 on cosmetics etc I might have taken some interest. Displaying ads on Facebook is just not enough. Until the word is completely out that “xyz’s” application is on Facebook, they should advertise it on their official website. This means that if Pizza Hut is going to launch an application on Facebook, they should not just advertise it on Facebook but on their actual website pizzahut.com. Because alot of Pizza Hut consumers are going to their official website to order the pizza and if they see the Facebook advertisement on the official website, it’s more likely they will remember.
I think it was really interesting to read about the new emerging way of advertisement. I believe Social networks like Facebook and Myspace can be profitable on advertisement only if they research and advertise the right products.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Paradox of Choice
After listening to the Barry Schwartz's podcast I began to realize that we battle with making choices regularly in our every day life. Whether it's going to class, going out with friends, shopping or eating, we battle with choices all the time.
There were arguments where I agree with Barry Schwarz, but there were also moments where I felt maybe that's not true. I agree that more choices make us confused. There are so many options we have and we don’t know what to choose. But I feel the choices are given for people's comfort. I am a kind of a person who would spend the time to pick out a product that I feel will be best for me. I don't feel that if I pick something which doesn’t suits me later on will make me blame myself. It[s something I thought would work for me; I will not blame myself for it but rather take it as a bad experience. After that experience I know what is not right for me. With choices given I can always go back and choose something different, compared to if I have limited options I have to live with what is being offered. For example, I use a different face cleanser than my sister or my friends do. Why? Because all of us have different skin. My sister uses the same brand, Oil of Olay, but buys it for dry skin. I buy it for oily skin. If I use her cleanser it makes my skin even oilier and makes me look horrible. Now with choices given, we both are happy with the way our skin looks and we are satisfied with the product. If there was only one face cleanser, it would have only made those people happy whose skin type it worked best for. Another example can be Tylenol for pain relief. If you have any kind of muscle pain you take the Tylenol. But if you get allergies, flu, or cough, you buy the Tylenol that is specifically designed to cure your specific symptoms. That is why I think choices are great.
There was another interesting point made in the podcast was that the more choices we have the easier it is to regret. With so many choices given we are less satisfied if what we buy turns out to be something we maybe don’t like. I do feel it is true to an extent but it depends on how you look at it. For example, if you want to go buy a digital camera, they come in many brands with many different features. Now how do you decide what you want? I think a lot more people these days read reviews or talk to the people who already have used the product before making a purchase. I think reading reviews online or talking to people who can give you a good advice will make it easier for you to decide if it’s really something you want. My friend recently bought a digital camera. Even though she knows a lot about technology she read the reviews, spoke to other people for advice and then decided what she wanted. She is happy with the choice she made and she loves taking pictures with that camera.
As we are moving ahead in this world, each day brings a new choice because the market has something new and better to offer the next day. Barry Schwarz used a great example of jeans in the podcast. I am going to use the same example to describe my experience shopping for jeans. I used to have a tough time picking a pair of jeans that fit me good, or the style I wanted. There was always something I did not like. I was too picky. With all the choice I have now, I can find almost a perfect jeans for me. There is a wide variety of style, new sizing options; if you preferred a specific kind of brand they are offering more choices as well. My biggest issue was with sizing. If, for example, a pair of jeans is designed a certain way, it will not fit me perfect. But now with all the choices I have, I can pick something that just not fits me well but also gives me a chance to try new things. By trying new things that look good on me gives me an opportunity to be someone who I want to be. I choose the way I want to look rather then looking similar with everyone else.
This was a really interesting podcast. I really enjoyed listening to what all he had to say. His points mentioned were great about how choices make people miserable. But there is not really a right answer. I fell its how you look at it, and I think choices are great!
There were arguments where I agree with Barry Schwarz, but there were also moments where I felt maybe that's not true. I agree that more choices make us confused. There are so many options we have and we don’t know what to choose. But I feel the choices are given for people's comfort. I am a kind of a person who would spend the time to pick out a product that I feel will be best for me. I don't feel that if I pick something which doesn’t suits me later on will make me blame myself. It[s something I thought would work for me; I will not blame myself for it but rather take it as a bad experience. After that experience I know what is not right for me. With choices given I can always go back and choose something different, compared to if I have limited options I have to live with what is being offered. For example, I use a different face cleanser than my sister or my friends do. Why? Because all of us have different skin. My sister uses the same brand, Oil of Olay, but buys it for dry skin. I buy it for oily skin. If I use her cleanser it makes my skin even oilier and makes me look horrible. Now with choices given, we both are happy with the way our skin looks and we are satisfied with the product. If there was only one face cleanser, it would have only made those people happy whose skin type it worked best for. Another example can be Tylenol for pain relief. If you have any kind of muscle pain you take the Tylenol. But if you get allergies, flu, or cough, you buy the Tylenol that is specifically designed to cure your specific symptoms. That is why I think choices are great.
There was another interesting point made in the podcast was that the more choices we have the easier it is to regret. With so many choices given we are less satisfied if what we buy turns out to be something we maybe don’t like. I do feel it is true to an extent but it depends on how you look at it. For example, if you want to go buy a digital camera, they come in many brands with many different features. Now how do you decide what you want? I think a lot more people these days read reviews or talk to the people who already have used the product before making a purchase. I think reading reviews online or talking to people who can give you a good advice will make it easier for you to decide if it’s really something you want. My friend recently bought a digital camera. Even though she knows a lot about technology she read the reviews, spoke to other people for advice and then decided what she wanted. She is happy with the choice she made and she loves taking pictures with that camera.
As we are moving ahead in this world, each day brings a new choice because the market has something new and better to offer the next day. Barry Schwarz used a great example of jeans in the podcast. I am going to use the same example to describe my experience shopping for jeans. I used to have a tough time picking a pair of jeans that fit me good, or the style I wanted. There was always something I did not like. I was too picky. With all the choice I have now, I can find almost a perfect jeans for me. There is a wide variety of style, new sizing options; if you preferred a specific kind of brand they are offering more choices as well. My biggest issue was with sizing. If, for example, a pair of jeans is designed a certain way, it will not fit me perfect. But now with all the choices I have, I can pick something that just not fits me well but also gives me a chance to try new things. By trying new things that look good on me gives me an opportunity to be someone who I want to be. I choose the way I want to look rather then looking similar with everyone else.
This was a really interesting podcast. I really enjoyed listening to what all he had to say. His points mentioned were great about how choices make people miserable. But there is not really a right answer. I fell its how you look at it, and I think choices are great!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Generation Y
It was interesting to read the article “Generation Y” and to listen to the podcast on "The Myspace Generation." After reading the article and listening to the podcast, I realized that I agreed to most of the qualities which were mentioned and I believe are very true to the Generation Y.
The podcast speaks very well about how the Generation Y is different in many aspects from the previous generations. Most importantly, we the Generation Yers, are far more enhanced in using technology than the previous generations. As college students, the last thing we do before sleeping is use our laptop to check our e-mails, browse different websites, or to check Myspace/Facebook. I know a lot of my friends who go to bed after being on Myspace/Facebook till late in the night, tend to get on facebook the first thing in the morning. I would agree with those who believe that social networks like Facebook and Myspace are a great tool to communicate among friends. I have Facebook account and it was recommended by a lot of friends.
Initially, I thought I can live without joining Facebook, but occasionally there would be conversations about friend’s Facebook wall posts and while my friends had conversations about it, I would feel left out. So, I finally ended up joining Facebook and I am glad I did it. It keeps you connected with your friends all over the world. I feel, no matter which part of the world my friends are, I am always connected with them. Also, I believe social networks like Myspace and Facebook are great platforms for marketers to understand the present young generation and the one coming ahead. We make profiles to tell others about ourselves. We post and communicate with our friends “publicly.” Whatever we post on our friend’s wall can be viewed by everyone. You can say there are insights available for marketers on each and every Facebook page. We talk about things from what we like to what we want to see in future products. We talk about what is “cool” and the most wanted in the today’s market.
These days, it’s not only the laptop we carry, but many kinds of portable technology with us every day! I remember I started using cell phone in high school, which was a simple phone that could just be used for calling or texting purposes. In these past few years, looking just at the cell phone, we see a great amount of change in them. They are far better in features, for example, more storage, slim, and there is a wide variety of brands and kinds to fit your style. I was amazed when I first found out about the internet on cell phones. I personally like the I-Phone. I think it’s a small gadget that offers different kinds of technologies summed up in one. To begin with it’s a cell phone and furthermore you can store music, videos and browse the internet. With access to the internet you can do anything from watching movies online to playing games or even checking your e-mail. It replaces the basic needs for a computer and you can have access to it any time anywhere.
I feel it is really important for marketers to research the current trends in advertising so as to get the attention of the target market. Being a part of Generation Y, I feel this generation is always looking forward for new inventions. We are not only ready to adopt new things, but are also willing to create a demand for new inventions. If new inventions are marketed in an appealing manner, we will definitely try out the product.
The podcast speaks very well about how the Generation Y is different in many aspects from the previous generations. Most importantly, we the Generation Yers, are far more enhanced in using technology than the previous generations. As college students, the last thing we do before sleeping is use our laptop to check our e-mails, browse different websites, or to check Myspace/Facebook. I know a lot of my friends who go to bed after being on Myspace/Facebook till late in the night, tend to get on facebook the first thing in the morning. I would agree with those who believe that social networks like Facebook and Myspace are a great tool to communicate among friends. I have Facebook account and it was recommended by a lot of friends.
Initially, I thought I can live without joining Facebook, but occasionally there would be conversations about friend’s Facebook wall posts and while my friends had conversations about it, I would feel left out. So, I finally ended up joining Facebook and I am glad I did it. It keeps you connected with your friends all over the world. I feel, no matter which part of the world my friends are, I am always connected with them. Also, I believe social networks like Myspace and Facebook are great platforms for marketers to understand the present young generation and the one coming ahead. We make profiles to tell others about ourselves. We post and communicate with our friends “publicly.” Whatever we post on our friend’s wall can be viewed by everyone. You can say there are insights available for marketers on each and every Facebook page. We talk about things from what we like to what we want to see in future products. We talk about what is “cool” and the most wanted in the today’s market.
These days, it’s not only the laptop we carry, but many kinds of portable technology with us every day! I remember I started using cell phone in high school, which was a simple phone that could just be used for calling or texting purposes. In these past few years, looking just at the cell phone, we see a great amount of change in them. They are far better in features, for example, more storage, slim, and there is a wide variety of brands and kinds to fit your style. I was amazed when I first found out about the internet on cell phones. I personally like the I-Phone. I think it’s a small gadget that offers different kinds of technologies summed up in one. To begin with it’s a cell phone and furthermore you can store music, videos and browse the internet. With access to the internet you can do anything from watching movies online to playing games or even checking your e-mail. It replaces the basic needs for a computer and you can have access to it any time anywhere.
I feel it is really important for marketers to research the current trends in advertising so as to get the attention of the target market. Being a part of Generation Y, I feel this generation is always looking forward for new inventions. We are not only ready to adopt new things, but are also willing to create a demand for new inventions. If new inventions are marketed in an appealing manner, we will definitely try out the product.
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