Pinterest . . . on Facebook

Definition . . .
Pinterest - a visual discovery tool that can be used to find ideas for projects and interests.

The current issue of the Harvard Business Review (July-August 2014) features an article entitled
"Unlock the Mysteries of Your Customer Relationships" by Jill Avery, Susan Fournier, and John Wittenbraker.  The article's introduction states, "Your customers aren't just resources to be harvested; they're individuals looking for a certain kind of relationship with your brand."

Idea in Brief . . .

The Problem:
Many consumer companies lack relational intelligence--they don't understand how many different kinds of relationships customers can have with brands, nor do they know how to reinforce or change those connections.  A person wanting to be treated like a friend, for instance, might find herself being treated as a mere party to an exchange.

The Solution . . .
Companies need to get better at capturing data that tell which relationship type--whether flings or partnerships or something else--their customers are looking for.  They then must shift customers toward relationships that advance the firm's strategic goals.  That requires understanding the unspoken rules of each type of connection.  It also means reorganizing marketing around relationships.

Case In Point . . .
Pinterest has found ways to shift users into more valuable relationship types, encouraging strangers to engage in flings with the site by positioning it as a place where people can continually discover new things.  Fleeting acquaintances are encouraged to connect with other users who have similar interests.  As users continue to expand their connections on the site, their relationships with Pinterest shift to casual acquaintances and eventually teammates.

Note: Idea in Brief was taken directly from the Harvard Business Review article.

As soon as I read the reference to relational intelligence, the article spoke my language as I have incorporated emotional intelligence, cultural intelligence and social intelligence into my course designs.  Reading about Pinterest created social-media meaning for me.  Perhaps this tool will be of interest to you, as well..  Pinterest may be found on Facebook.

Facebook is still the next best thing...

Facebook is as most know a social media website in which people can keep connected and share their daily activities.  Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and his college roommates in which was originally for Harvard Students, eventually expanded to other Ivy League schools.  It gained traction in which allowed for much more expansion.  Originally meant to connect college students based on a "network" it's now available to anyone in the world above the age of 13.

Throughout the transitions of facebook they continues to broaden their horizons in which resulted in allowing business networks and game play.  This was a huge step as it allowed many devices such as iPhones, iPads, Tablets, and so forth to access games through the Facebook interface.  By doing this it's allowed businesses like Wazala and BigCartel to provide applications as well.  This is something that continues to grow within the social media content of Facebook and helps businesses expand.

Wazala and BigCartel are both e-commerce sites.  Both with generic templates for small business owners who have product to sell.  You choose a template, adjust colors and typography, and add products.  You then would sync up a merchant account (linked to your business or personal bank account depending on how you conduct business), and start selling.

Why does this matter?  Simply, because without the constant expansion of Facebook and it's continued partnerships, businesses would never be able to sell what they do now without having large cash flow or assets.  Facebook has allowed the small business owner to market themselves properly and successfully, by allowing e-commerce sites to provide an application.  Previous start up venture would cost tens of thousands of dollars, now you need at most one hundred dollars to start an online, e-commerce business.

So go check out www.stuk1.com and https://www.facebook.com/RyanStukoneLape if you want to see how easy it is, to start with a very limited amount of funds, but see your company grow from one "like" to 4,500 plus likes.  Then go create your design, make your product, create a business page, link a facebook app such as wazala and begin your home business.  Because it all starts with an idea, thats supported by an amazing social media tool!

POST 1 EDI - WAY

Through Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and point-of-sale data sharing programs, the internet provides various cost saving opportunities to supply chains.  Although the idea of data sharing was new, businesses were able to quickly capitalize on the benefit offered through point-of-sale programs which linked their company’s production information with vendors.   This allowed manufactures to keep inventories low while reducing costs associated with carrying inventory at manufacturing, plant, and dealer locations. Wal-Mart was one of the first adapters of this process.  They were able to perfect the just-in-time (JIT) model by linking their buying processes to their outside vendor’s computers.  When stock levels became low vendors were notified immediately by the point-of-sale systems which were directly connected to the cash register scanners at different store outlets. 

Through social media channels merchants that use EDI can also promote items that they have an overabundance of stock or they sell to sites such as overstock.com to offload.

Small - Post 1: Hootsuite

The expanding world of social media has been a marketers dream and nightmare all at the same time.  With new technologies being introduced on an almost daily basis, the ability a company has to reach a larger customer base has grown exponentially.  Some of the most popular sites today such as Twitter,  Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+ and Pinterest (to name only a few) allow companies a low cost means of drumming up business.  With all these capabilities, building the client relationship means having adequate staff to manage the traffic that these social media sites will generate.  This can be an overwhelming task for any company and to its employees who are charged with the responsiblity of monitoring and responding to the buzz that is sure to be generated.  So, what's the key for any company who is looking to reduce marketing cost through utilization of the social media outlets? 

Hootsuite is the answer!  Hootsuite was founded in 2008 when a few developers wanted to create a better social media experience.  Now, they have over 9 million users around the world and are proud to be the world's most widely used social relationship platform.  Hootsuite is built to offer a user interface in the form of a dashboard and supports social network integrations for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and many other social media sites. It is through this dashboard that the user can manage multiple sites and respond to conversations at a faster pace, thus eliminating the stress of having to manage communications across multiple social media sites.

Covenient tabs isolate each social media outlet allowing the end user the ability to focus on the form of conversation and respond accordingly.  Now that's what I call working smarter, not harder!

The Assignment...

Examples of Web 2.0 technology being used for social and business application are all around us. New technologies are appearing all the time.Everyone in this course is responsible for writing 2 blog posts, with each being about 3-4 paragraphs long.

Your post should introduce the class to a new technology as well as its potential business application OR summarize and reflect upon an innovative technique using an already established Web 2.0 technology (like the Wheat Thins campaign.) You will be responsible for one of each kind.