Chapter 9: Social Buzz and Viral Phenomena: Part A

Web 2.0 and Social Media for Business 2nd Edition

Roger McHaney, Kansas State University

Time and Geography IndependenceWeb 2.0 has enabled crowd behavior to become independent of time and geographic location. Their manifestation can be vastly different and can be triggered by social media.

Examples of social media enabling crowd behavior

Egypt’s 2011 Tahrir Square Revolution against former president Hosni Mubarak relied heavily on Facebook pages maintained by a rotating staff of twenty during the uprising (BBC News, 2011)

2011 London Riots where four days of looting and rioting moved across the U.K. Made possible by rioters' use of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter (Rutledge, 2011)

K-State Flash Mob Rave

Flash Mobs

YouTube Video

Virtual Crowds and Business

People can be separated in time and space, or belong to multiple crowds simultaneously through use of social media such as Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon and Reddit.

Social Media: Multiple Functions

• Someone may belong to communities organized with social media tools

• Same tools may result in crowd-inspired “waves” that move through these communities at incredible rates

• Waves lack leadership or common purpose

• Often referred to as viral• Enormous Business Implications

Social Media Tools • Twitter, StumbleUpon,

Reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest, Foursquare and others create an infrastructure conducive to social buzz

• Tools such as Social Mention, Mention, WhosTalkin, and Klout help businesses track social buzz

• Big players: Facebook and LinkedIn

Instagram• Popular social media

application featuring photo and video sharing

• Launched in October, 2010 • Facebook acquired Instagram

for one billion dollars in April, 2012

• “…will remain an independently branded standalone app separate from Facebook, but the services will increase their ties to each other.” Facebook

Instagram Facts

By August of 2013, over 130 million active users were uploading over 45 million photos a day. Provides over one billion photo and video views per day. Offers a series of digital filters and enables users to share media on a variety of sites such as Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and Tumblr. Primary platforms focus on mobile devices such as the iPhone, iPad, and Android-based camera phones.

Instagram Basics

Enables users to upload and filter photographs and videos and share within Instagram or on other social media venues

Each Instagram user has a profile

Instagram offers

camera functions and photo

filters

Primary Features of Instagram

Business Uses of Instagram

Provides a place to connect with new customers and raise product or service awareness. Resonates with both traditional business models, and non-profit organizations

Instagram and Non-Profits

Instagram and its community-oriented focus has been used extensively by non-profit organizations.

Instagram Becoming Popular in Business

Example Business Uses of Instagram

15 Showcasing products – A business can develop a portfolio of new and existing products that can be viewed by existing and potential customers.

Providing Mini Demos – Video clips or photos can be used to illustrate the way products or services work.

Introducing Staff Members – Informal photos of staff members can be posted to provide a sense of connection and personality for a firm.

Event Spotlights – Special events can be documented with photo or video streams.

New Releases – New release photos for products, services, or facilities can be posted.

Instagram Success

Kelly Lux (2011) from Syracuse University summarizes why so many people are becoming Instagram fans. She says: “Education is our shared humanity. This is my favorite part of Instagram. Getting a glimpse into the everyday lives of people who I’ll never meet, who live in completely different cultures than I do. What I’ve found is not so much how different we are, but how alike we all are.”

End ofChapter 9 Part A

Web 2.0 and Social Media for Business 2nd Edition

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Slides Prepared by Professor Roger McHaney Kansas State UniversityTwitter: @mchaneyBlog: http://mchaney.comEmail : mchaney@ksu.edu