"Everyone Likes to be a Hero (HARO)"

Reading: "Tour de Source" Facebook Fairtytales


Let me start with addressing "first things first", first. I mean of course first things are first, as a civilized and cultured people we don't start with second things. For the same reason dessert is served last at every meal.

So second things second, I like this book Facebook Fairytales. In itself the book has some similarities to social media. It is easy to read in a start and stop manner, and I found it filling the lull between classes and the other things I do in my day. The only issue I could find is that I had trouble finding the t.o.c when I switched chapters, it's almost camouflaged or something, but that's just me.

On to the actual story of Peter and HARO. Peter addressed an issue I never knew existed due to my lack of insight into the news world, and turned it into a success when he initially never intended to. Peter really was the link between two social networks, his reporter friends and his clients from Geek Factory. Luckily for Peter his rolodex was so sought after that he eliminated himself and chose Facebook as his replacement. Peter should feel good in knowing that even Facebook couldn't replace him as he needed to  give his group its own website.

In my opinion the things that really made HARO successful versus ProfNet and other competitors was the identity Peter brought to the website. Peter managed to maintain the personal feel and authenticity that he exuded when he was doing the connecting. That authenticity kept people on board as they switched from the Facebook group to the site. Users can sense the identity of the services and products they use and HARO certainly has it. They only send out three emails a day, recommend donations to charities versus themselves, and they ask the users to remain authentic themselves when they respond in order to keep the service useful. The one thing HARO did that showed me their identity remained was how Peter signed off with "Blue skies". All of these things I am sure were lacking in ProfNet, I mean even their name sounds cold, corporate, and revenue focused. So great job Peter you and your company represent the many good things about social media.

Before you leave think about all of the social media related websites and services out there. What makes them succeed like HARO? and I'm not looking for network effects, switching costs, etc.

Peace, Love, and Social Media

Zero Degrees of Separation

Reading: World of Connections

It seems that once upon a time complete strangers being connected by ONLY 6 other people was a big deal. Now I feel like we are getting really close to having no degrees of separation. Today if I chose too I could make a very reasonable effort to contact a celebrity, or with even more ease I could connect to a complete stranger. While the connectivity and socialization of the internet is fascinating, I think that solving these high valued companies' cash flow issues is an even better chore to take up.

So here comes my idea to solve Twitter's income problems. My thought involves combining twitter, 4Square, and the fastest growing internet company ever, Groupon. I'm sure few of you have heard of Groupon, but it is a company that sells coupons for local shops, restaurants, and attractions online and it splits what people pay for the coupon with the restaurant. A restaurant may offer a coupon for $2 burgers when they are usually $6, and when Groupon sells a coupon they take a cut of the $2.The customer's are only charged for the coupons when a certain amount of them are sold, giving the restaurant or shop a new customer following who in the long run will cover the short term loss they take on the coupons.

My idea would be to funnel these coupons through 4Square and announce their purchase on Twitter. This way people see the coupons right when they could use them, and by announcing them on Twitter the group buying necessary to activate the coupons would take place rapidly. In terms of profits I would think 4Square and Twitter could take a cut of what the restaurant and Groupon make on each purchase. Also I think that imbedding a credit card payment button right on whatever program runs this service would make it really easy to use. Finally, I think it would be easy to get people to use this as mobile payment via smartphones becomes more and more prevalent.

In all I'd like to know what everyone thought about me tackling a problem addressed in the article, versus just discussing it? Also if you have any comments on my solution, or your own it would be awesome to hear them.

Peace, Love, and Social Media.

WikiWorld: How wikiPedia is the Same Old Encyclopedia, but Different

Reading: All the News that's Fit to Print Out

What a crazy article. I mean it touches on so many wild things that have been and are going on. I never thought of Wikipedia being involved in the digital vs. paper news fight, but here it is as a reliable near streaming news source. I also can hardly believe this crazy society that Wikipedia has created where friend, enemies, and factions have formed so solidly. So what I intend to do is talk about how everything that happens around Wikipedia happens in the real world, but only different.

To start Wikipedia is an encyclopedia. Just like any one papered edition Wikipedia has editors, stories, and sourced data. On the other hand these editors work for free and have limited academic knowledge. The stories are alive! Meaning that they are never set in stone, and many are constantly developing as events transpire. Just as the stories are live, so are the data which fuels these stories. In a regular encyclopedia stories aren't really dead, but more hibernating between editions. But who wants to spend the money every few years for a ton of books and a little new information?

In the same way academia has a societal hierarchy so does Wikipedia, but their's is different. Wikipedia has an internal promotion system based upon a contributor's prominence in the community. There is no power struggle in the community, only a sense of humility and duty. In my opinion if academia could throw off their enormous egos based on degrees from schools that many Wikipedia contributors will eventually get, then Wikipedia and academia could make something incredibly useful and relevant.

I said I was amazed that Wikipedia is now a news source, and I shouldn't be surprised as regular encyclopedias are news sources also. Only Wikipedia is faster as it is sponsored by interest, unpaid workers who have a dedication to a product instead of a lagging, paid obligation to a few books.

Overall I think this article about Wikipedia has increased my appreciation for it immensely. My favorite part had to be about the vandalism. I really liked the kind of comical good-guy bad-guy mentality when they mentioned "Willy on Wheels" who would place "on wheels" beside thousands of article headlines.

Also as a final question: Do you think Wikipedia could be on the way out even though it has only started to realize its news potential?

You tell me your thoughts, I'll tell you mine.

(9/10)

Thinking Outside the Box with Collective Intelligence

When it comes to problem solving and innovation I have always thought "thinking outside the box" was the best way to proceed. After reading into decision 2.0 I find the beauty in it to be that no one person must think outside of their own box, but rather they must rely on everyone else's diverse background to create an entirely new and unique box for them to think in. I find that group collaboration is definitely a great way to tackle obstacles in the world, yet I find groups to have certain limitations in their goals and make up.

In order to be even more effective I think that groups should focus on improving an existing idea, product, etc. instead of trying to develop something new. I believe that groups are better suited towards fixing, improving, or adapting something that exists already instead of creating something new because people's expertise can be focused. If a group were asked to develop something new even with some objective, their immense knowledge would be as unwieldy as their numbers. When it comes to development a select few should initiate the project then throw it to the group for continuous rounds of refining and redevelopment.

In terms of the people that make up groups I imagine two groups: those who knowingly participate and those who do so unknowingly. The group that knowingly participates is described in the decision 2.0 article and consist of those who intentionally join to solve a problem. The second group I imagine are those who contribute data with their actions to the servers of companies they patronize. These people give companies their thoughts and wants without ever opening their mouths or clicking a mouse. All they have to do is buy the things they need or want and the patterns emerge. I find this second group contributes data to companies that lead them to their most important actions and changes. The data these people offer give insights into the future and into the things that they do not presently need, but cannot live without once they have them.

Well thats all for my first blog, I feel it is only appropriate for the comments of the group to determine my future writing style, length, etc.

(7/10)

Welcome

Blogs are passe, but I'm swinging for the fences with this one. Please watch as Soc. Media and I duke it out as we progress into the future.