Week 6 - Advertisers Face Hurdles on Social Networking Sites

So here is another article that makes you question how companies are even making any money on the internet other than selling the tangible and intangible items. This article is old (end of 2008), but I have a feeling that Facebook still has the same issues. Advertisers want to be where the people are so that the people can see their product and want to buy it. People can very easily ignore the ads, especially on Facebook. The only advertisements I have seen on Facebook that are Facebook sponsored are the banner ads on the side. There is so much information on a single Facebook page, and users know where the important information is, so people can easily block out the ads.

I thought it was humorous when the NY Times article brought up the example how an 11-month Fan page campaign P&G was doing with Tide on Facebook generated only 18 submissions. It might have had many "fans" join for a contest or something, but there were only 16 (minus the P&G submissions) or even 15, or 14 (minus The Onion's submissions) for the actual campaign. I have definitely become a fan of a particular company or brand on Facebook just because of a drawing or a free give-away. It is effortless, but if I never remember to remove my fan status I continue to get emails from that company for future promotions, etc. Maybe the Facebook presence does work after all. In that scenario, the company theoretically didn't have to pay Facebook any advertising dollars to run that promotion. It sounds like the online advertising in social networking sites might be a highly debated topic in Marketing department for years to come.

Week 6 - Why Advertising is Failing on the Internet

This article brings full circle the online business model readings we had in the previous week. Maybe this author is right and advertising will eventually fail. I don't think that was his main point, but I do agree that advertising is less effective on the internet than in other media. We discussed the online ad games (Orbitz's "Sink the Putt", etc.). Those are catchy ways to have someone interact with an advertisement, but I think it gets old after awhile and people ignore it.

With so much content out there on the internet, people are going to keep surfing the net to find the information they need, and they will avoid the ads as much as possible. The author makes a valid argument of when you go grab a snack while watching TV. It is always during the commercials unless you really don't care too much about what is on the TV at that moment. I think the most annoying ads out there are the ones that consume most of the webpage and start playing sound on your computer. No one wants that. If I wanted to watch an ad, I would have visited YouTube and found something clever, not annoying. Those ads will drive people away because it frustrates them and they most likely can find the same information or product on a different site.

Advertising might be failing on the Internet, but at some point I think we will have to pay more for enjoying the stuff we do on the web. Nothing (or not much) in life is free and it will probably catch up to us. Maybe companies will realize they don't have a great Internet business model and leave the net, until people start paying. That seems unlikely to me, but that would be an extreme case. I really see advertising sticking around on the Internet in the future, but I think we all will, if we haven't already, block the majority of it out of our consciousness.

Week 5 - Advertisers and Smartphones Article

I guess I am realizing that I am not as worried about privacy as others out there when reading these articles. The first few paragraphs sounded great to me. I think it is cool that advertisers are using all these data and marketing specifically to me. It reminds me of Amazon's recommendations. I have tried many of the recommendations Amazon gives me because others have purchased similar items and then I get to find something new. SWEET! If a smartphone can show me the local eateries based on my past purchases, page views, games, etc. and I get to try something new and different that I might love, why wouldn't I enjoy that?! Doesn't this make our lives easier and more productive?

I see the other side of it too. Humans and greed are a bad combination that always seem to surface. If someone really wants to push something even though it truly isn't in my best interests, then I am not as efficient or productive; and I feel cheated. If people use my information against me that harms me financially, emotionally, or even physically, then no one would want to sign up for it. The mobile web is very powerful, and "with great power comes great responsibility." (Spiderman, ha) But I think we will all get used to this. Sure there will be legislation surrounding smartphones and privacy, but I think the majority will find this type of advertising useful and helpful. In five years, everyone will have a smartphone (or pretty much everyone) and the mobile web with these smart Advertising "Numerati" will be able to make life better for us all ... or really get on everyone's nerves with constant advertising. :)