Pros and Cons of Big Data

As big data becomes a bigger and bigger part of the internet, we cannot help but wonder the impact that it will have on advertising, from both a consumer and agency standpoint. The issue of privacy and net neutrality also have become a heated topic that even has Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg talking. Today he released a statement expressing his frustration with the government’s lack of urgency when it comes to surveillance reform. He stated that he and his colleagues at Facebook work hard to keep their users’ information private and believes that the government should be just as concerned with protecting its citizens against the dangers of the open web. I found it to be interesting that Zuckerberg is so against big data when Facebook is filled with targeted ads that can only be made possible by big data. Another interesting article that I read explored the other side of big data and spoke about the advertising industry’s feelings towards it. Most of these agencies are for the use of big data because they all them to target ads to the right people, at the right time and to the right devices. In this article by Katy Bachman, it is explained that big data is being collected in a non-obtrusive way. Yes, the data is being collected but it is nothing that you couldn’t learn about a person yourself if you looked through their browser history. People are afraid that big data will “spy” on them and find out extremely personal information, which will then be used to hurt them. Obviously, no one wants to be taken advantage of, and that is not the advertisers’ intentions. The article explains that big data and surveillance does not seek out individuals, but demographics. It wants to know search patterns and what kind of audiences are responding to and purchasing goods and services. A clip with Jeff Kelly, Principle Research Contributor at Wikibon, explains the pros and cons of big data and its role in the advertising world very well in his interview for SiliconANGLE. He starts by talking about the Publicis/ Omnicom merger and why it happened. Advertising companies have to grow in size and power to compete with digital based advertising, such as  Google and Facebook. They need to deliver advertising with new methods because the traditional form of advertising is changing rapidly with the increased use of digital media. Big data allows advertising groups to figure out the best way, place, time and demographic to place ads and helps them to understand their consumers.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThH2dkoXM1U

 

References

 

Bachman, K. (2014, March 13). Advertising community head to the white house to talk big data and    privacy. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/advertising-community-heads-white-house-talk-big-data-and-privacy-156273

Bachman, K. (2014, March 13). Zuckerberg says u.s. government is a threat to the internet. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/zuckerberg-says-us-government-threat-internet-156288

How big datas will ad us the future of targeted advertising. (2013, july 30). SiliconABGLE. [Video podcast]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThH2dkoXM1U

 

Bringing Products to Life with Blippar

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Today, several articles were written about Blippar creating a new app for Google Glass that will allow users to have augmented reality experiences with products and print pages. I found this to be really interesting after doing research for my group project on augmented reality. I was curious as to how the app would work and what it could do for brands.

Blippar is a successful start up company that creates augmented reality apps for smartphones. They have been very successful so far. Basically, the app user is able to find a product or print page that is Blippar compatible, fill their screen with the image, and the image comes to life, giving animation and information to the user that would otherwise be unknown. Some brands that are already Blippar compatible are Heinz and Coca-Cola. The technology is currently being used to find more information out about products, but it could be used for so much more with its introduction to Google Glass. In an article from Quartz, Rachel Feltman notes that the popular entertainment tool of augmented reality can serve educational purposes. During her interview with Ambarish Mitra, CEO and co-founder of Blippar, he mentions the example of being at the natural history museum and using the app to see more information about the exhibits or using the technology for medical implications.

We already know that Augmented Reality and Blippar are amazing and innovative pieces of technology, but what makes them even better is that they are now available on Google Glass, which will eliminate the smart phone that creates a barrier between user and AR. With the glasses, the user will have a seamless experience with Augmented Reality, able to view any type of information at their disposal with full integration.

Even though the technology is brilliant, Google Glass augmented reality is very much so a niche market. Google glasses are not set to hit main stream outlets until next year, but Blippar and other versions of augmented reality applications will be ready when the product is opened up to the mainstream market.

As of now, many brands are using Blippar to connect to their viewers via their smart phones. They are launching augmented reality campaigns, releasing secret information and sales, sneak previews of new collections and so on. While most of Blippar’s clients are large brands, they do not plan on bombarding people with advertising messages. The messages will not pop out at people using Google Glass or provide distraction. Users can choose to use the app by saying ‘ok, glass’, and then they will be able to view whatever it is that interests them. In the future, the company would like Blippar to become a platform for users to create their own content, like a Wikipedia for Google Glass. Personally, I am skeptical of this service. We all know how skewed information can be on the internet, so it seems risky to allow anyone to writing anything on an augmented reality platform. The product is very intriguing but only time will tell how well it plays out in the market after Google Glass becomes a more mainstream part of society.

Don’t Be an Idiot on the Internet

Every morning I spend some time before class scrolling through huffingtonpost.com and most of the time I end up reading a few articles and then signing off. This morning a crazy headline caught my eye, it read “Cadaver Selfie: Alabama High School Student Posts Photo With Dead Body To Instagram.” This was posted yesterday morning. My first reaction was disgust. How could someone actually think that it was okay to do something so disrespectful?
It really got me thinking, does the millennial generation really not know what is and is not appropriate behavior on the internet, or at all? Are we not being taught how to the proper media etiquette? Granted, I don’t think most parents think about telling their children not to post pictures of cadavers while using instagram, but maybe they thought their kids had enough common sense.
News articles like these worry me because it shows just how insensitive people are becoming when it comes to the use of social media. We have no barriers. And while we have all probably written a post or put up a picture that would have been better off left private, stories like these really do show us that some people have no common sense or ethics when it comes to using social media. I think that lots of young adults and teens need to learn that even though social media allows us to sit behind a screen; we still need to be ethical in our decision making.
Perhaps internet etiquette needs to become a part of the high school curriculum. Or maybe parents need to more closely monitor what their children are posting on social media, where the whole world can see them and judge their actions. These are all questions that the generations before us never had to face, but it is our responsibility to come up with some answers. Even though this story was shocking and upsetting, I am hoping that it is just outrageous enough to really make people think about how they can be more respectful and ethical when using social media.

Cadaver selfie: Alabama high school student posts photo with dead body to instagram. (2014, February 06). Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/06/cadaver-selfie-alabama-dead-body-instagram_n_4737833.html

Facebook Launches Paper App

On February 3^rd, Facebook will launch their new Paper app. It will be the first app to be released by Facebook’s Creative Labs department, who are working on several more apps that will launch at later dates.

The app is described as “distraction-free” by Mat Smith on engadget.com. The article states that Facebook will be competing with Flipboard and Newsstand as a news and image heavy application. The app will allow users to see their friends’ stories as news articles, as well as actual news from various credible publications. The app will also have themes to help users find articles that they are most interested in. Swiping makes it easy for users to flip through articles quickly and see pictures and videos related to the stories.

Even though the content will be more or less the same, its presentation will be drastically different. From Paper’s new video we can see that articles are swiped from side to side, and not scrolled through. They are also very image heavy. White icons hover above images which allow you to share, comment, etc. Just like the old Facebook. According to readwrite.com,  Dan Rowinski stated in his article that Facebook’s Creative Labs are attempting to wipe away the clutter that Facebook has become. Users will be able to customize the content that they wish to see, rather than be bombarded with random viral videos and stories that do not interest them. (Rowinski, 2014)

This app seems like it will make Facebook much more enjoyable and easier to navigate. However, I do wonder if this will end up replacing Facebook or if it will just be used to enhance the social network as an experience. The launch of this new app leads me to believe that Facebook is in need of a makeover to satisfy younger generations who have turned to other social media such as Instagram or Vine because of their simple structures and lack of clutter, advertisements, and stories.

 

 

See how the app works here!

 

 

Rowinski, D. (2014, January 30). Facebook wants to recreate your news feed with a beautiful  news app. Retrieved from       http://readwrite.com/2014/01/30/facebook-paper-app-attempts-to-reimagine-how-you-read-the-news

Smith, M. (2014, January 30). Facebook announces paper: A ‘distraction-free’ news reading app for ios. Retrieved from    http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/30/facebook-paper-news-app/

 

Digital Culture?

Is new media shaping our culture? What is fair game and what isn’t? Those are definitely questions we should all be asking ourselves in the digital age we are living in. This has been discussed in the media semi-recently when a comedian live tweeted a breakup of a couple from his apartment rooftop.

 

In an article, Tweeting Private Conversations #DirtyLaundry, by Paulina Haselhorst, she said, “But despite Ayer’s conviction that his tweets were innocent, there’s something that just doesn’t feel right about publishing personal conversations, especially ones that are not our own” (2014). Haselhorst has a nice moral opinion stated there, but honestly, can we really hold ourselves to this? Public is public. These people could have easily held this conversation in their apartment, but chose to go to the roof and then, upon getting up there, proceeded to carry on this conversation despite another person being up there.

 

Is it wrong to tweet this? The couple had every opportunity to not have this in public despite Haselhorst’s statement that “some compassion is in order…” (2014). I believe that when someone knowingly throws common sense and/or tact out the window then they are fair game for someone else who chooses not to show compassion. Is it really fair to tweet, blog, or YouTube someone who got pulled over because of a DUI? A case could be made that they, too, deserve compassion because it was a screw up and it’s not our drama, but it’s still getting reported through these mediums anyway. This is the culture we live in today and just going out your door every morning you see people constantly with ear buds in or reading their phones, tablets, laptops, etc. It’s to be expected that new media is everywhere!

 

Haselhorst also went on to say that users of Twitter can still have laughs, but should ultimately be choosy or selective about what they post to get the laughs. I don’t understand how this author can take this moral attitude without scolding all the comedians, journalists, script writers, song writers, or even everyday people who go about making a living by telling other people stories based off of something public that has happened or they experienced. Twitter isn’t the only place that this sort of exposure happens and something as little as this isn’t nearly as embarrassing as other stories that get told to thousands of people each day. All someone needs to do is to log onto YouTube and people are constantly posting videos of things people are doing. These videos can be moronic, dangerous, or heartwarming. The bottom line is that media is a major part of our culture and we are being shaped by it through its control over the population.

 

I don’t feel that we, as in the general public, should go about tweeting or sharing everything we see, but I also don’t believe we should censor everything either. While we might be disgusted at the sharing of public information, it also may serve as historical data for future generations as well. All of this is certainly up for ethical debate, but one thing remains constant and that is that new media is around us. We’re told all the time to be careful what we post, but we also know that people are watching us whether we want it or not. With access to all sorts of media at the click of a button, it’s only a matter of time before we begin to shape our culture as either socially awkward or everyone becoming “e-famous”.

Sources:

Haselhorst, P. (2014, January 08). Tweeting private conversations

Images courtesy of: 10 Of The Best Twitter Cartoons

How Nike Fuels their Advertising Campaigns

Nike, one of the leading athletic companies in the world, uses a variety of advertising campaigns to target their markets. One of which, the Nike + FuelBand campaign, is an effective and dynamic way that Nike has utilized digital advertising. Nike FuelBand is a ‘band’ or bracelet that counts your daily activities, such as calories burned, your general movement, and your daily fuel score (Nike.com). According to the Nike FuelBand Twitter, “Not only is the FuelBand a fun way to keep you active, but you can compete, collaborate, and compare your activity with each other.”

Nike kicked off this campaign through the use of the commercial Intensity #COUNTS. This ad aired on television and can also be viewed on YouTube. This ad shows how both athletes and athletic individuals can benefit from the Nike FuelBand. In the commercial, Nike utilizes storytelling. The persuasive message that everyone should purchase a Nike FuelBand is emphasized through the use of digital advertising and the incorporation of social media. 

Social media has become a powerful presence in the world of consumers. Nike targets this market by including a hashtag, #COUNTS in the advertisement. Nike also reinforces the FuelBand campaign by increasing brand exposure through Twitter, Facebook, and Vine. A specific Twitter account was created for Nike Fuel band and the hashtag #NikeFuel generates thousands of Tweets and Vine videos. This not only increases brand exposure but expands on the ‘place’ of the advertisement by reaching a broader audience. The integration of social media is a tactful idea from Nike as it is cost effective and allows the FuelBand to have increased brand presence. 

FuelBand’s digital media campaign is very integrated as it utilizes a number of platforms to advertise; furthermore, the FuelBand itself can be synced with an application available for iPads, iPhones, and iPods (Nike.com). Through this app, consumers can share their fuel scores with friends via social media websites. This gives the brand Nike further exposure and generates a source of word of mouth advertisement. This positively influences Nike’s brand identity and reinforces the positivity of the FuelBand. 

With less and less people watching Television, it is crucial for companies such as Nike to reach their audiences through a variety of platforms. In my opinion, Nike’s Intensity #COUNTS campaign is successful. This digital advertising campaign is highly effective as it uses multiple channels of communication to reinforce the FuelBand. Nike capitalizes on social media by integrating the advertisements, while also allowing FuelBand users to share their fuel scores through the exact platforms. The commercial itself evokes excitement in the audience while encouraging consumers to be motivated, be active, and purchase a FuelBand. FuelBands are for sale in local Nike stores as well as online and retail for $149 (Nike.com). 

 

 

 

 

References

“Intensity #COUNTS.” YouTube. Nike Basketball, n.d. Web. 3 Sept. 2013. 

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAwQ8MIDVs>.

 

 “Nike Fuel.” Life is a Sport. Make it count. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2013

<https://twitter.com/NikeFuel>.. 

“NIKE, Inc.” NIKE, Inc.— Inspiration and Innovation for Every Athlete in the World.. 

N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Sept. 2013. <http://nike.com/fuelband>.

“Nikefuel videos from Vine – Seenive.” Vine Web Viewer – Seenive. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Sept. 2013. 

 

<http://seenive.com/tag/nikefuel>.