Pear shape

The proliferation of social media use by corporations reminds me of an old Simpsons’ episode where Homer’s brother Herb is trying to come up with an invention and Homer tells him to simply use and existing product and just add a clock to it. Many Corporations think that by just participating in social media they will reap all the rewards without giving any thought to the risks involved with hilarious results.

I’ll be looking at Harvey World Travel (HWT) and for those who have been living under a rock or don’t go to the many shopping centers scattered throughout Brisbane, HWT is a travel agency, essentially they act as a middleman between us and pretty much everything in the travel industry, plane, trains, auto mobiles, hotels, tours, cruises etc.

I chose Harvey World Travel for the company that I will be looking at in respect to risks of social media use as the travel industry I feel is very tight and cut throat. The advent of the Web 2.0 technologies combined with websites like Wotif, Traveladvisor etc. has meant that travel agencies have been one of the most impacted industries, essentially these technologies have cut out the middleman. As my friend who worked for a travel agency to me a couple of years ago “even grandma and grandpa are using the internet to book their stuff”.

While all companies face legal risks, which most are internal risks by nature, it is customer service companies that I feel are subject to a slew of external risks and are the most ill equipped to handle social media as the sheer volume of interactions means that they can't be 100% on the ball.

Loss of confidential information (Internal and External Risk) 

Dundas lawyers gave the example of LinkedIn, where employees can upload email address book inviting clients to connect, which could be construed as a breach of confidential information as they are publicising organisation’s database. This example is also valid for HWT. Another example I would like to propose is one where these types of company may show to the outside world, via a blog, twitter or facebook where their customers have been or potentially worse where they are e.g. HWT posts on Facebook, Ms Jane Doe is currently enjoying an amazing holiday in Fiji, and someone assumes that if she is away the house would be easier to burgle. While this example is far-fetched, when it comes to risk assessment you have to look at worse case scenario.

False statements and or misleading and deceptive conduct (Internal and External Risks) 

There was an instance earlier this year where Samsung paid university students to post negative comments on a competitors website for one of their new products. As harnessing collective intelligence becomes very important to companies, there is the temptation of creating false comments. While the Samsung case is of an internal nature; Samsung knowingly paid the students. There have been legal cases in Australia that put the onus of liability on the companies if they do not monitor their social media pages for false, misleading and deceptive information even if it’s from a third party. A scenario for HWT would be if they were posting on their blog and making up travel stories about how awesome HWT is or paying someone to post nice things about HWT on other web pages.

Discrimination (Internal Risk) 

I go back to my first posting where someone did not get a job because of photos they had on their Facebook page, the scenario that I propose is HWT management finds out about someone’s sexual orientation through Facebook and subsequently fires the employee. There are cases of companies not only trawling through potential employees but also current employees. This one is not far-fetched at all as it is quiet easy to make a sly remark about work on Facebook thinking that you are immune.

Reputation

Loss of reputation I think is the biggest risk and all the other risks lead to this one. Brand name and reputation is everything and while the legal risks are real, the fines that are given out aren't really that big in comparison to how big some of these companies are. But reputation and brand name can’t be bought. If you fail on the three other risks they all lead to the brand name being hurt and a quick google check will confirm that a lot of companies just don’t get social media or to what extent people will go when they have had a bad experience. And companies do care about their reputation online, just look at my first post where my girlfriend and I get to stay in a penthouse next time in Orlando because we threatened bad feedback on social media sites.

Mitigating Risks

Dundas lawyers has a comprehensive list of safeguards that range from blocking media sites at work, to monitoring, introducing a social media policy, training etc.

Some others that I can think of:

HWT you are not the best thing since sliced bread, some people really despise the company and given an outlet they will unleash, just like Dominos and McDonalds found out.

HWT don’t give into temptation and make up “testimonies”. I've become very sceptic of any comments in a comments section, I could easily go make up a dummy account and put some positive comments on this blog post… hmm…

HWT and really for any other company out there, actually research what has worked and what hasn't, and actually think why it did or didn't. It is not simply a case of adding a clock to an existing product.

References

Abbate, G. (2011). Pear [Image]. Retrieved August 24, 2013, from http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6473968111_f5ca81d15e_o_d.jpg
Anne, G. (2008). Homer talking alarm clock (front) [Image]. Retrived August 24, 2013, from http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3066/2745274172_1dab4ff565_b_d.jpg
Dundas Lawyers. (2011, August 19). Do organisations need social media policies? [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.dundaslawyers.com.au/do-organisations-need-social-media-policies/
Dundas Lawyers. (2011, August 24). Legal risks of social networking for business [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.dundaslawyers.com.au/legal-risks-of-social-networking-for-business/
Isabel, L. (2010). Clock-Making [Image]. Retrieved August 28, 2013, from http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1329/4726327159_cdd0a79f4f_b_d.jpg

Microsoft Xbox One Value Levers

Xbox One

For this week's Blog I’ll be looking at social technological value levers for Microsoft, in particular the minor debacle that is the Microsoft Xbox One. Microsoft like any successful technological company uses social technology to add value to many of its organizational functions, Product development, Operations and distribution, marketing and sales pop up as no brainers. What I want to focus on though is Customer service and how social technology helps to smooth over customer angst.

A bit of background though. The Xbox one is the successor to the hugely popular Xbox 360. It has been closer to a decade since the Xbox 360 was released so the new model has been highly anticipated. On announcement for the Xbox One it was stated that it required a constant internet connection to play disc-based games, so too bad if you don’t have broadband, and there were restrictions on lending and selling games second hand they could only resold through authorized dealers, can only be lent once, there was a “list” you had to be on and could only play it for 30 days before functionality seized.

The gamer angst was intense to say the least; gaming websites were inundated with negative comments towards the Xbox One.

Even Sony got in on the act. (Marketing and sales function, levers 5 and possibly 6. Use social technologies for marketing communication and interaction, Generate and foster leads. But most importantly lever 11 making light hearted fun of a rival company)

(O.K. there is no lever 11 but there should be!)

Fast forward two months of constant internet (social media) negativity, Don Mattrick former president of Microsoft's interactive entertainment unit, posted a blog on the Microsoft Xbox website, recanting the draconian measures to resell and lend games and also dropping the constant internet connection requirement. Only need it once on setting up the system, still one too many if you ask me.

“I have heard directly from many of you, read your commentsand listened to your feedback” (Mattrick, 2013)

The gamer angst was subsidised by providing customer care (Lever 8) from monitoring the fallout of the Xbox One announcement via social technology (The marketing and sales function, levers 4 and 5, Derive customer insights, use social technologies for marketing communication/interaction). 

While using the blog may have not totally defused the situation at least I feel there was a genuine attempt at connecting with the potential customer base. I think this was a smart move by Mattrick as it also showed that a big company like Microsoft will listen to it’s customers to improve its products and will change if there is a large enough outcry. 

Why their research before hand failed to forecast this outcry (Lever 4 – Derive customer insights) is the million dollar question. Especially as level 4 is tied with the product development function.

Ultimately I believe that people power will be one of the enduring legacies of social technology, from toppling regimes.

To Xbox gamers being able to buy second hand games.

References

EmotionFaces. (2012). Blond boy Crying [Image]. Retrieved August 17, 2013, from http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7180/6926482211_d9dc05e40c_b_d.jpg
Ferreiro, J. D. (2013). Don Mattrick [Image]. Retrieved August 17, 2013, from http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5532/9183874929_8029ffa3e0_b_d.jpg
GAME Online. (2011). Gears of War 3 - Midnight Launch [Image]. Retrieved August 18, 2013, from http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6035/6353843921_e6916dfa71_b_d.jpg
Globovision. (2011). Las excentricidades de Aisha Gadafi, hija del lider libio [Image] Retrived August 18, 2013, from http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6078/6080358327_f229b6f1a7_m_d.jpg
Mattrick, D. (2013, June 19). Your Feedback Matters - Update on Xbox One [Web log post]. Retrived from http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/update
McKinsey Global Institute. (2012). The social economy: Unlocking value and productivity through social technologies [Research Report]. Retrieved August 10, 2013, from http://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/dotcom/Insights%20and%20pubs/MGI/Research/Technology%20and%20Innovation/The%20social%20economy/MGI_The_social_economy_Full_report.ashx
Playstation. (2013, Jun 10). Official Playstation Used Game Instructional Video [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/kWSIFh8lCaA
The Chronicles of X. (2013). Microsoft XBOX One Retail Box [Image] Retrieved August 17, 2013, from http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7376/9073247822_e82accf228_b_d.jpg

Numero Deux (The second post)

This week I read pages 1 to 13 of "The social economy:unlocking value and productivity through social technologies – McKinsey GlobalInstitute, 2012."

In a nutshell it’s a report trying to quantify the value that social technologies can add to a business.  From the report there are two main areas that I think where social technologies add value; collaboration and engagement.

Collaboration: Social technologies not only allow collaboration internally but can also include external collaboration. E.g. A wiki that is updated and used by internal staff. A competition run on Facebook to decide what new ice cream flavour to have next. The reason why these tools work is because of the ease and speed provided by the internet.

Engagement: Again both externally and internally engaging stakeholders. E.g. both previous examples could also be considered engaging. The internet is once again the facilitator for these technologies.

Collaboration and engagement are not new ideas, and the internet itself is not relatively new. But I think that the reason why social technologies are really taking off now is the mainstream acceptance of using the internet. There is no longer a stigma associated with being internet savvy au contraire you are considered something of a luddite if you are not on Facebook spamming memes or Twittering away your every thought.

Now I love a good meme just like anyone out there but there are a myriad of web 2.0 tools that can assist in personal productivity. However much like the home gym you might have tucked away at home, if you don’t learn about it and actually use it you won’t get the best benefits out the new tools. So the trick is to find something that you will actually use.

Dropbox - It simply allows you to upload and access your files from anywhere that has internet access. While there are many tools similar to this one such as Google Drive, Microsoft Skydrive etc. They all work on the same principal. I am old enough to remember carrying floppy disks around, so this type of tool is a godsend. And I love the auto syncing feature. When I was recently in the USA my memory card on my phone got corrupted (we were in Vegas it was close to 50c and I had GPS, 4g and wifi hot spot going) I thought I had lost the photos that I had taken on the phone but when I got home I checked my dropbox folder and there were my photos! While I do still carry a usb stick with me more out of habit and because im old school, with Dropbox I know I have my important documents there and can access them pretty much anytime I want from just about anywhere I go.

RSS – This tool alerts you to new content from your favourite websites (as long as they have RSS set up). I have a daily ritual, like most people I’m guessing, where I will hit about 5-10 websites when I wake up in the morning. With this tool I really only have to see the feed to see if there is anything worth reading and it also keeps me up to date during the day. It more or less works like the news ticker at the bottom of the morning shows. There are a few other tools that take this type utility to another level such as flipboard, stumbleupon, currents, where the GUI and presentation is slicker but ultimately they all do a similar type of job, a personal news ticker.

There are many more tools out there and I only touched the surface, the important part is that, while social technologies go beyond just Facebook and Twitter, you need to find the ones that will fit with your lifestyle. One thing I took away from the report was how heavily underdeveloped social technologies are and I can’t wait to see what different tools are developed in the future.

References:

Brettman1 (n.d.). Don't Worry, We'll Give You a Headstart [Image]. Retrieved August 11, 2013, from http://cheezburger.com/7711855360
McKinsey Global Institute. (2012). The social economy: Unlocking value and productivity through social technologies [Research Report]. Retrieved August 10, 2013, from http://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/dotcom/Insights%20and%20pubs/MGI/Research/Technology%20and%20Innovation/The%20social%20economy/MGI_The_social_economy_Full_report.ashx
mrg5_tv (2010). RSS MRG5.COM [Image]. Retrieved August 11, 2013, from http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4116/4922597755_3459bf3100_o_d.png
SunPharma. (2008). Teamwork [Image]. Retrieved August 11, 2013, from http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5325/7045056109_585ebfe60c_o_d.jpg
Tiengo, E. (2012). Dropbox - sharebox [Image]. Retrieved August 11, 2013, from http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8154/7698511058_d7bf7700b8_o_d.jpg

First Post!

I believe there is an inherent storytelling trait in all of us. Whether it be telling a joke you’ve just heard, where the best Mexican food place in Brisbane is , sharing the amazing trip you’ve just taken and bored everyone on your Facebook page by showing thousands of photos of it or simply telling someone how your day was. I believe sharing is human nature. What blogging accomplishes is that, instead of sharing your story with one, five or ten people, you can now share that story with everyone and anyone on the internet. So blogging I believe is an extension of yourself or at least it should be, as Watson (2013) eluded in his lecture:

Ultimately though the aim is to enhance my digital identity through blogging; I have been hesitant to put any type of digital identity because once you post something online it’s there forever. In the lecture we looked at how social media goes wrong, funnily enough this past weekend there was an article on news.com.au . While this misfortune happens to big corporations or highly visible people fairly often it can occur to anyone. A friend of mine works for a recruiting company, she had a candidate who got an offer for a job for a big children’s company, the offer was reneged after the company saw the candidates Facebook page which depicted her working as a promo girl. This did not really fit into the company image for obvious reasons. This just reiterates what was said in the lecture, companies will more or less troll your digital identity. Yes I am aware that most social media platforms have privacy settings, but really you are going to trust these companies that they will never be hacked and that your information will never get out? So the way that I look at it is, once you post something online just assume that anyone can see it.

This blog will chart my progress through Enterprise 2.0. Now let’s be honest I don’t have a passion for Enterprise 2.0 this is just a means to an end so if I veer off topic don’t hold it against me. I do realise that business are beginning to take a lot of notice on Web 2.0, in particular I have been however fascinated with O’reillys pattern of Web 2.0, harnessing collective intelligence. I find myself relying on collective intelligence for almost everything I do and I totally agree with the news.com.au article Bed bugs, bad service banished thanks to online trip review sites like Yelp, Tripadvisor on news.com.au. In a nutshell it states that these review web sites help people decide where the good restaurants and hotels are, there are some obvious issues basing every decision purely on collective intelligence. I have just been to USA with my girlfriend and stayed at a top 20 hotel on Tripadvisor in Orlando it was the worst hotel of our entire trip, we complained and threated to put bad feedback on every trip website we could. After having the issue escalated to their corporate office next time we are in Orlando we will be staying at their penthouse suite (We don't plan on going back to Orlando any time soon!).

I am a firm believer of "if you build it, they will come". If the blog is informative, entertaining, well written and/or funny but most importantly passionate people will read it and they will come, comment and build that community that we thrive for. Not to say I won’t spruik it on Facebook and Twitter.  But if the blog is rubbish then no one will read it, I’ll attract the trolls, I love a good argument and will feed the trolls and I’ll feature on Cracked's top 10 blog fails list. So it’s all well and good for Jason to say spruik your blog here and there but if the blog is ultimately rubbish you will essentially harm your digital identity rather than enhance it. It has been my experience that most blogs are rubbish.

"Nothing great has ever been accomplished without enthusiasm"

I love this quote and only learned about it this year but it’s brilliant and so apt for a blogging strategy as enthusiasm and passion I believe go hand in hand. The major point that I am taking away from this weeks lecture and other readings is that passion trumps everything, in my opinion those are the successful blogs. You could have the most accurate, neat, theoretically correct blog but if you don’t transcend the lcd screen you are going straight to the rubbish pile my friend.

My favourite "blog" started in the early 00s, The Boston sports guy, he then moved to ESPN to write for them and later he got his own website under the ESPN umbrella where he has other writers "blogging". Bill Simmons is not the greatest writer, his predictions are usually wrong, his analysis is sometimes flawed and technically he would be considered a columnist BUT he is passionate about what he writes and you can’t help but be caught up in it and his style of writing is pretty much like a blog.

What I love about blogs is finding that diamond in the rough, unfortunately there is a lot of rough.

References:

ESPN. (2013, Jun 24). Survive and Advance (Part 1) - 30 for 30 [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ5WD2m-H8s&feature=youtu.be&t=23m52s
Lott, C. (2012). Social Media Explained (with Donuts) [Image]. Retrieved August 5, 2013, from http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6847365223_4b5bdabf97_n.jpg
Watson, J. (2013). INB 346 Enterprise 2.0 [Lecture Slides]. Retrived from  http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-4949814-dt-content-rid-1042751_1/xid-1042751_1
Universal. (2011, May 30). If You Build It, He Will Come - Field of Dreams (1/9) Movie CLIP (1989) HD [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ay5GqJwHF8