The Rise of Social Commerce: It's a Good Thing.....

Over the last few years, like a large percent of the population, I too have become immersed in social commerce and that is why I can relate to chapter five of Qualman’s Socialnomics. People want to feel like they belong, have a sense of community, and social media gives them that. This sense of belonging now plays into every aspect of social media, especially what products we buy and services we choose to use. 

I love using peer recommendations to make choosing my purchases easier and maintain the best cost and obtain the best quality. That’s why peer recommendations, be they from Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, etc., are great, by making social commerce a painless, time saving way to choose products that fit your life. A painless process for the consumer, however, may not be painless for companies who produce what consumers see as inferior products. Companies who can’t meet social commerce standards  through peer and community recommendations reviewed positively among the social media community of selling superior quality products and all in a timely manner at low cost will find their life span very short. The good thing about this is that in your search for products and services will not only be at the tip of your fingers but it makes it very easy to choose from the cream of the product crop. Who doesn’t want quality?

Where is this social commerce revolution going to lead us?  I see it leading to growth in employment in on-line order processing, with headsets, desks, and warehouses where products are promptly packaged and shipped by those efficient in expediting. Shipping companies and mail carriers will benefit too, by transferring all those purchases to the consumer. Hummm, can the environment benefit too? No more driving all over town days in row searching for products and services. 

Social commerce is pretty awesome. I think social commerce will continue to grow with the help of peer recommendations within the social media community. It’s a good thing……… ;-)

Social Media Mental Meltdown

 As we know social media can be a very useful tool.  Overall it helps bring people together and to get messages out to mass audiences very quickly. Company’s can communicate brand awareness to the masses. We can keep in touch with family members half way across the world.  We can share photo albums from special life moments.  All of these are very useful gains from social media.

But social media can also cause a lot of stress! “Social Media Anxiety Disorder” yeah, it exists.  But that is an entirely differently blog.  As I run through my Facebook newsfeed I noticed there seems to be two majority groups of “Facebookers”.  Just as there are in life you have the negative people and the positive people. With Facebook being a mainstream means of social media communication it seems that these groups have also taken their issues to social media.  There are a few people who always try to project the most positive aspects of their life, while never mentioning the negative.  But then you have the people who constantly seem to complain constantly about their bad day at work or their health issues.

 

The “positives” are at the trendiest restaurants, they are going to the most talked about concert, or they are always traveling.  I believe even this can have a few negative effects.  I think that some people post these “positive” things in order to create some sort of an image of how they want people to perceive them.  Or even the person that they want to be.  They may not actually always being eating at the swankiest restaurant but they will check in every chance they can, while omitting the times they are at fast food joints.  This person may feel obligated to maintain this image they have created over a long period of time which could lead to “social media stress” The chapter pointed out that “people are best off being comfortable in their own skin and not pretending to be anything that they aren’t”.   But I think that social media can create more of a false profile.  This fake image doesn’t have to be as extreme as the Catfishing phenomenon we have recently seen.  But even someone you knew in high school yet haven’t seen in years can create this entirely new self of how they want to be seen by posting certain parts while omitting others.  I imagine maintaining this image must be exhausting.  I am sure that some people may even feel the need to live up to the profile in person.

Another negative aspect of the constant “positive life” posting can lead to the “Keeping up with the Jones’” effect. As followers and friends read these constant check-ins and statuses they may feel that these extraordinary things are the norm. I will go through my feed and see so many people my age buying a brand new car, traveling to exotic places, having babies, getting married, and at times I wonder if I am where I am supposed to be? Everyone seems so successful.  I think part of what contributes to this stress is that it isn’t just one person that is posting these items but many.  I also believe that when over a period of time people see these types of post then they too begin posting similar types of updates.  This effect of constant “one-upping” and social media showiness is spreading.

Yet another stress factor of social media is judgment. Some people lead their social media lives as an open book.  They post about every aspect of their lives and they say what is on their mind.  Whether we want (or need) to hear it.  When posting photos, check-in at exotic places, or opinionated (often political) statuses people leave themselves open for judgment.  Judgment leads to negative feedback and reactions.

Overall social media has brought a lot of positive change to us.  Bu as the book pointed out “you cannot deny that social media has forever changed the way in which we live”.

A Caring Opinion.

In chapter-5, “I care more about what my neighbor thinks than what Google does”,  Socialnomics author Erik Qaulman discusses the growing popularity of social media and its links to consumer decision making. 

The exponential expansion of social media outlets as a tool to influence customer buying is profound.  Purchasing advice once taken from highly trained sales people acting in their own self-interest or that of their company is no very limited to real estate and car buying.  Even these two areas are highly influenced by the opinions of social media and they must adjust their tactics to remain relevant as they grasp their final breaths.

 

Qualman points out that today, especially among “Gen Y’rs” and younger, social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are the go-to source for information on making not only decisions on products purchases, but also service purchases to include health care.  Peer input is now nearly instantaneous and allows for the immediate feedback of many versus a few. 

With immediate feedback being served as the Soup de Jour, advertisers, software / application developers and service providers struggle to remain relevant.  Companies once considered on the forefront of product movement and advertising can easily find themselves the next pets.com sock puppet.   Personally, I think back in my time and reflect on the dog-eat-dog world of retail sales.  I remember a child every small town having a Sears and Roebuck Store and Montgomery Wards.  Both were historically set in their ways; catalog sales drove business, and hit-or-miss sales staff closed on the big money sales.  It worked well for both for over a hundred years, now one is extinct and the other on the verge.   MySpace fell to Facebook because they refused to change.  Businesses that are not willing to leverage the moment will inevitably become the Sock-puppet laughing stock of a future generation. 

Show Me Yours and I'll Show You Mine Society?

   Reading Chapter Five I Care More about What My Neighbor Thinks Than What Google Thinks really hit home the concept of transparency in the social media age. I had never considered the idea that some of my contacts may be making purchasing decisions based upon reviews or status updates that I have posted. Maybe I never considered the thought because I don't typically brag about new items that I've bought, and therein lies my problem with this chapter.
   Much of Qualman's argument relies on bloggers, Facebookers, Twitter users, etc freely sharing every single moment of their lives. I mean seriously, I have never seen any of my friends post about an awesome new car seat that they just bought, but this is the backbone of his theory. Agreed, there are some who use social media simply to brag about their lives (see Chapter Three Social Media = Braggadocian Behavior) but I have found that most people, or at least the ones I socialize with, simply write about the stresses of their workday or what they plan on making for dinner. Would a friend bragging about a great new car, tablet, or video game influence my decisions when it comes time to buy these items? Not really. I would probably read what they had said, but wouldn't base my decision solely on their experiences because everyone is different and may not have the same requirements that I'm looking for in a product. A perfect example of this is cars-I know several people who have recently bought a new Subaru and love them. Yes, yes, I understand that they get great gas mileage, go well in the snow, and look sporty (to you, anyway), but I happen to think that they look generic and are ugly. So really, it doesn't matter what features are included or incentives are thrown my way because I would never be caught dead in one of these vehicles. What's fun and sporty to some is ugly and boring to others.

    Further on in the chapter the author discusses people using social media to post medical questions and seek advice. This is beyond stupid and dangerous. As a medical professional I can tell you that each and every person is different and will experience unique signs/symptoms. Never in a million years would I trust advice typed onto Yahoo answers as reliable simply because someone swears that they know what they're talking about.
    The only part of Qualman's chapter that I agreed with is the possible marketing switch with e-readers. As a user of a kindle, I don't think that I would find it annoying to suddenly find hyperlinks within texts. Referring to Bangladesh and being able to locate it on a map with the touch of a finger might be incredibly helpful. I know while reading The DaVinci Code it would have been really nice to be able to visualize the locations mentioned throughout the story. 
   I understand what the author was trying to prove when writing this chapter, that social media sites are becoming more relevant that word of mouth adverstising, but I completely disagree with his basis for this theory. In order for his ideal to work, social media users must be willing to divulge every detail of their lives and put it out there for all to see. Maybe I'm strange, but the more I learn about social media, the more introverted I become.

Don't Post With Emotion! Death of Social Schizophrenia

So chapter 6 has a very strong title to it "Death of Social Schizophrenia".  

Not only is Death a harsh word but referring to a mental disorder like Schizophrenia to social media is out there.  I do get the point that two personalities  one that is outside of work and one that is work professional is disappearing because social media provides live, realtime information all the time!

I chapter 6 two other topics stood out.  Being who you are verse being well rounded watch what you post on Social Media and at all costs,  don't post with emotion.

I would always prefer myself to be well rounded any day then only utilizing my core strengths.  There is most defiantly something to be said that first impression that is authentic is much more successful then acting out a role.  When this is discussed in the marketing world,  30-second commercials or 140-charters is all that is available.  This means being the best at what you do or know is better than trying to be the best at everything.

Don't Post With Emotion!


Sharing you emotion on FB, Twitter or any other Social Media medium is a terrible thing to do.  I agree with the stance Mack Brown(Head Football Coach for Texas) did by kicking the lineman that posted a racist update to Face Book.   The term Calm Down first  or wait a day or so always works better.

It truly is an insane social media world we live in today.  "companies spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on background investigations prior to paying a young college kid millions of dollars. This progression into social media subterfuge only makes sense for them. Just like a regular employer, what they are looking for is anything that could be viewed as detrimental. In some instances they have seen drug posts and gambling items on the college player's profile."

http://library.books24x7.com.www.libproxy.wvu.edu/assetviewer.aspx?bookid=33704&chunkid=288318242&rowid=282&noteMenuToggle=0&leftMenuState=1

Hello, My name is Whitney, and I am a social schizophrenic.

"Work Whitney and Out-of-Work Whitney are completely different people"

 The way I speak and present myself at work, very much so varies to social situations outside of work. When I began reading Death of Social Schizophrenia, in chapter six of Socialnomics How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do, I was instantly intrigued. I totally agree with the notion that "most of us had at least two personas: a work persona and a nonwork persona. And many of us had several personas: social, work, family, coach, charity, and so on." 

I believe my online personas are a fairly great representative of who I am as a whole, whereas my "at work" persona is much more constricted and pleasant…as it should be. I believe this relates because at my job it is prohibited for managers of any kind to engage in activity with employees outside of work, this includes social media. The problem I ran into was my General Manager completely disregarded this rule and would constantly seek employees out on social media. Eventually this manager began to request/follow me on multiple networks and I had a really hard time deciding what to do about it. I generally like to keep my perosnall life separate from my professional life outside of general small talk. I was not afraid the manager would see something inappropriate, I just wasn't comfortable with them peering into my social life outside of work. So, I made the decision to block them. Flat out. I felt no good could come from it. As I mentioned before, my work persona is much more contrived, and I could feel that spilling over into my personal life. The book states, "Without a doubt, it is somewhat daunting to always be on one's best behavior. It is mentally taxing to have fewer avenues to blow off steam or to always maintain a perfect persona."

In this video below, Soraya Darabi discusses Multiple E-dentity disorder. She tells the audience, “I’m very different on Twitter than on Facebook, I have a professional self on LinkedIn, and a personal self on Tumblr.” I totally relate to this. For me, each social media platform is used for a different purpose. I feel as though my personality is threaded through each social media channel, showcasing different aspects of it. 

I think the idea of social schizophrenia is intriguing, but unlike the book I don't believe the transparency of new technology kills this notion. I agree with Darabi, in the aspect that I believe it does create a new challenge in blending each persona together. I keep my social networks open to the public so I know any one can access them and see what is being posted, be it my Great-aunt, manager, or stranger in the street. Therefore, the challenge is keeping each network personality consistent  with the image I present in public. 

Do you think you suffer from social media schizophrenia? Do you think displaying different aspect of your personality can be difficult to keep al of them  consistent with your public and professional life?

People Really Do Matter!

While reading Chapter 5 it made me think about my own life. The chapter talks about caring what your neighbor thinks over google. I agree with this statement. I think we know that the Internet is just a click away but we care what others think about something more. I was reading about how the couple in the book was shopping for a new vehicle and how they wanted to hear what people had to say about it. I know I do a lot of research before buying a car and want to know as much information about something before I buy it. We do this with most big purchases in our life. We even ask friends or hear by word of mouth what others think even down to the computer we buy. 

Advertisement is all around us but we want to know the truth from real everyday people. It's as if we feel the Internet is lying to us or feeding our minds with something they want us to believe. We need the assurance of the common man or woman to make us feel better about something we are interested in. 

I as a parent have been curious about the same things in life when it comes to a new large purchase. It's as if the story was about me. My wife recently has tried to convince me that a minivan would be the way to go. I told her we only have one kid and we have plenty of room between the two vehicles we own. Maybe something inside of me is telling me that if I buy a minivan that it's all down hill from there or maybe something inside of me wants a bit more of a manly vehicle. Anyways, at the end of the day we are all human and that is whom we need to hear from. We were created for human connections and still today it is something desired from us all.