Web 2.0 Can Be Dangerous...

Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, December 17, 2007:

Summary:
AJAX, rich Internet UIs, mashups, communities, and user-generated content often add more complexity than they're worth. They also divert design resources and prove (once again) that what's hyped is rarely what's most profitable.

... dangerous for your profits, that is. If you focus on over-hyped technology developments, you risk diverting resources from the high-ROI design issues that really matter to your users — and to your profits.

This is the start of an interesting post from Jacob Nielsen, a leading expert in usability. He provides some sound advice on the use of Web 2.0 features in web sites and some warnings on overuse and losing sight of the purpose of the web site.

Q1. How can social networking contribute to the "bottom line" of profitability?
Q2. Why is Facebook the "Iron Chef" of internet?
Q3. What is wrong with an "advertising funded model for business"?

The Kids Have IT!

Media and Communications in Australian Families 2007:
The Australian Media and Communications Authority released a major report of an in-depth study of children’s use of electronic media and the way parents mediate that use.

"The Media and Communications in Australian Families 2007 report surveyed a representative sample of 751 family households with children aged between 8 and 17 to gauge media use in the home, how young people divide their leisure time and how parents view their children’s use of media and communications technologies. The report also includes a review of academic research about the influences of media and communications activities on children."

"The report found that in relation to the families surveyed:

• Most families with children aged 8 to 17 have three or more televisions in their home and three or more mobile phones. Almost every family home has a computer (98 per cent) and DVD player (97 per cent).
• Nine-in-ten family homes with children have the internet, and 76 per cent of these homes have broadband compared to just seven per cent in 1995. More than three-quarters of family homes have a games console.
• Almost all parents with children aged 8 to 17 see the internet as beneficial for their children, mainly as providing learning or educational opportunities. Similarly, four-fifths of these parents see benefits in their child’s use of a mobile phone, particularly for safety and security.
• Families say electronic media and communications activities take up around half of young people's total discretionary time – a proportion that has not changed since 1995. Children themselves demonstrate a balanced attitude to the use of electronic media and communications. When given a preference, young people often prefer to do non-media activities and socialise with other people."

ACMA media release 148/2007

Media and Communications in Australian Families 2007

ACMA Presentation

Similar survey from USA
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/230/report_display.asp

Q1. Have we reached saturation point?
Q2. How does this affect consumer behaviour?
Q3. What are possible ethical issues?

The Machine is Us/ing Us

This video was made over a year ago. This and the other videos are from Kansas State University, Digital Ethnography course. (Check out other videos and the web site as well)
http://mediatedcultures.net/ksudigg/

Does it still make sense? Did it ever make sense? What is the message here?

Enterprise 2.0?? Corporate Virtual Worlds??

Taking residence in virtual worlds

Mahesh Sharma | December 04, 2007 The Australian

BUSINESSES are discovering real-world things to do with Web 2.0 interactive technology, such as the virtual world, Second Life.

"...Westpac is assessing whether to use Second Life technology across its operations. About a month ago the bank finished testing Second Life for training induction....'We saw it as a way of getting information out without the flying, driving and time-consuming travel to a central location.'"

"... most of Deloitte's work in Web 2.0 involves Facebook, which it has been using for the past 18 months...Facebook took off through individuals and social networking at a rate we've never seen before because of digital media...Organisations can't stop it from happening, so it's more how to participate in this rather than how to control it...the value in social networking is using it to increase engagement with the 13,000 Deloitte employees that are members of Facebook globally."

"...wine producer DeBortoli ... is employing collaborative and web-based technology without specifically labelling these as web 2.0....We use hosted Google applications, online spreadsheets, online documents and email."

1. What are the benefits?

2. What is the link to marketing?

3. Is this just more hype?

Just another bubble video

Music 2.0??

Reading music in the digital realm

"The futures of the record industry and music education lie in the technologies, communities and value systems of the internet, writes Paul Draper | The Australian November 28, 2007

FROM MySpace to YouTube, Flickr and Last.FM, an online participatory culture is transforming value systems and creating new pathways for autonomous innovation. In this so-called Web 2.0 phenomenon, social networks continue to define the information society and redefine music career opportunities.

The idea of the record industry once conjured a picture of a Fordist production chain of artists, promoters, record company managers and sound engineers operating complex equipment in impressive recording studios.

In the 21st century, however, such workflow is increasingly devolved to independent musicians with portable digital systems, home recording studios and online networks. This includes composing, recording, filming, direct merchandising, concert tour promotions, engaging with fan bases and other communities of practice via resources such as blogs, podcasts, and digital music download stores.

Music 2.0 is the new digital musicianship and technological imagination for the 21st century."

1. Is 'cyberspace' the new toilet wall?

2. How is 'the romanticised '70s style, star-driven model of the record company' changing?

3. Why did 'Radiohead release their new album online with a donation value to be decided by their audiences'?

www29.griffith.edu.au/radioimersd

http://www.iorpheus.com/

Oh My God!!!!

She's gotta have it

The Age November 15, 2007

Katie Cincotta looks at why girl power is driving the gadget revolution.

Please read the full article by following the link in the title. Some excerpts:

"THERE'S a reason handbags are big enough to fit two kids, a dog and the kitchen sink. And it's not because Nicole Richie and her tanorexic cohorts prance about Hollywood with their expensive uber bags."

"International fashion labels Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci are only too happy to embrace the trend with the release of fashionista mobiles. Dolce & Gabbana hooked up with Motorola, Giorgio Armani with Samsung, Julien MacDonald with Sony Ericsson and Prada recently jumped into bed with LG to conceive the sophisticated new KE850 mobile."

"So it seems that the fairer sex is indeed going gaga for gadgets, happy to skip the season's cult shoes - Yves Saint Laurent's tortuous 15cm "Tribute" heels - in favour of gadgets that fit snugly in the palm.

Then again, if you're a true she-geek, you could buy the $730 killer heels (which should probably come with a free trip to the podiatrist), use your mobile to film yourself strutting in them to your iTunes, then post it on YouTube for the world to ogle.

Narcissism, after all, is the new black."

1. What is the change in consumer behaviour discussed here?

2. What is the relationship between product and content?

3. Is there really a difference between and male and female consumer behaviour in this domain?

Marketing segmentation through social media

From Paul Gillin's blog - Social Media and the Open Enterprise

Please go to Paul's blog to read the full post.

Then go to the Umbria web site.

"For an apparel maker, Umbria analyzed postings to blogs and social networks to identify the following segments:

Fit Finders (39% of the population), Self Expressives (19%), Bargain Seekers (17%), Label Whores (11%) , Style Gurus (8%) and Dissenters (6%).

Here’s an example of segment characteristics: Fit Finders are Generation Xers looking for appropriate jeans for their changing physiques. . Low-waisted jeans aren't working for them any more, but “old person jeans” aren't appealing either. Plus-sized Fit Finders are looking for fashion-forward styles rather than shapeless designs.

Self Expressives want control. They want to distress their own jeans, design clothing reconstructed from jeans and add personal style to jeans through patches and embroiders.

Style Gurus are looking to be unique. They're looking for authenticity and real inspiration. "Some men are actually starting to become interested in wearing women's jeans because they view them as more stylish," he said. These insights emerged from online conversations."

1. How accurate or useful do you think this segmentation is?
2. Can the results be skewed or manipulated?
3. What are the ethical and privacy issues?