Why Use Social Networks?

First of all I would like to anticipate that this is a very controversial and provocative post!

I want to get your view on it....

I was wondering why people use social networks. The intent, initially, are to catch up with friends, share a piece of your life and etc. However , I think some, if not most, use the tool to really show off!! I cannot prove or support well this argument, but I have a feeling that it is true...

People show off their trips, jobs, number of friends and others. Very often it's unnecessary or strange to have your life exposed to anyone. For example, we know that one can handle 120 friendships via social networks (Laura's post)... but some really want to have 1000+ friends! As mentioned in class in the past, human being loves ranks and number of friends might be a sign of status.. to say "I am pop!" .. is it?

Recently, reading Hamish's blog, I've got to know Secret Twitter .. very interesting because it's anonymous and you can read what really goes in people's minds. Having fun and being really scared after reading some "secrets" there....

Well, if the user's goals are to show off... Twitter is THE TOOL! Because you can share whatever you're doing whenever you can.. Just to illustrate, look at the distribution of number of tweets per user per day:



So, there is one lonely soul tweeting more than 200 times a day?!?!??!? WTF!

Here is some data on Social Networks (source: eMarketer)



Finally, the unanswered question still be how much of your time would you use to tweet and why? I have no idea.

Ok, I Talk !

"Any similarities to real life.. a mere coincidence"

Pricing Strategy for Digital Music

Apple announced early January 2009 that its iTunes store will change current pricing strategy to adopt variable pricing. This decision was based on negotiations with major music labels, who believe this pricing strategy would be more profitable (to them ) and fair (to consumers). In return, iTunes will be able to sell DRM-free music.

Curious enough to know that despite the implementation of DRM, Apple increased sales through selling songs individually and at a fixed price ($0.99 USD) and became the leading online music store in the world.

The new variable pricing strategy on iTunes is a typical first-degree price discrimination where songs are valued at three price points: US $0.69, $0.99 and $1.29. Interesting that the average price point remains the same (US $0.99). So it seems to be a bet on price elasticity and higher profitability.

The major music labels say this strategy will let them sell music at a lower price. Of course, the converse is also true: selling in-demand music at a higher premium is really what the industry is after. But price differences stimulate thinking and change perceptions. Pricing definitely sends a signal. People might come to believe that "you get what you pay for". With that in mind, variable pricing would imply that the cheaper product is worse? Possibly yes.

This argument does raise another interesting point. Ultimately variable prices rely on supply and demand. It doesn't take an MBA to realize that popular tracks would increase in price and unpopular ones would decrease. But because we're not dealing in physical formats, why should higher demand mean higher cost? After all, there's no scarcity of stock for popular music sold on iTunes: in theory, it can be downloaded by an infinite number of people. Will Yield Management be the fate of digital music?

I was curious about what the financial markets thoughts were during the announcement (CEO presented the strategy around 12:30) and extracted the day trade of Apple that day. Guess what, analysts did not like the variable pricing idea. The stocks started to tumble right after Keynote speech finished.


If variable pricing is a risk, these alternatives come to my mind..

• Re-bundling: implementation of incentives for album purchases (Rhapsody does that);
• Effective Yield Management;
• Boost sales through mobile devices, such as the iPhone, via 3G networks. Mobile buyers are those that usually buy by impulse and less price sensitive, which means more profitability. The real issue in this modality is billing. People are much more comfortable with paying through a carrier, but the iTunes store provides the ideal and safe platform to buy without have a third intermediary (carrier).
  

Just to understand your view, I'd like to invite you to take the following poll..



Practical example of pricing


Did she take a Redbull before the show?!

Didn't Click ?!?!?!?

In blogs, there are a lot of sponsored links.

86.7% of visitors of blogs clicked on these links and made great business online. Don't be the last one to take advantage of it!!!

In week 6, I just remembered how I love Dilbert...

[click on the strip to zoom]

Analytics Rulez, Hammertime!

Click here and learn how to install Google Analytics..

Two Rabbits With One Shot

1) An example of Overlay Video Ad sponsored by Amazon.com. It starts at 00:10.

Overlay Ad – an ad that appears in the bottom 20% of the video window. Click action generally initiates a linear video ad spot or takes the user to a website; also commonly referred to as an Invitation Unit.

2) A response to the comment "virtually" accusing me of click FRAUD!

click here

Video killed The Radio Star, So What Comes Next?

Today, we’ve got some interesting insights from the guest speaker… and some abbreviations. So, week 2 list is…

ARPU – Average Revenue per User.

SEO – Search Engine Optimization.

WiFi - Usually referred as wireless internet, but.. is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance, founded in 1999 as WECA (Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance). The organization comprises more than 300 companies, whose products are certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance, based on the IEEE 802.11 standards (also called WLAN (Wireless LAN) and Wi-Fi). This certification warrants interoperability between different wireless devices.

SMS (or Text) – Short message service, via mobile phone.

RSS – Really Simple Syndication.

HTML – Hyper text Markup Language.

Metcalf’s Law – Translates the number of connections in a network into value for the network. With everyone connected we have: n(n-1)/2 conversations and a value of n(n-1)*$. The community value is the sum of individual values in the network.

Opt-In – the user must give permission before any use of personalized info.

Opt-Out – the user can choose not to receive any solicitation. Otherwise, his/her information (incl. e-mail) can be used or sold.

Spam – rubbish e-mails one receives.
Interesting that “Spam is a popular Monty Python sketch, first televised in 1970. In the sketch, two customers are trying to order a breakfast from a menu that includes the processed meat product in almost every dish. The term spam (in electronic communication, and general slang) is derived from this sketch”

Why I receive so much spams?

There are several reasons. One common reason is that your e-mail address was sold by a website you registered to (Opt-Out or No Restrictions), the other one is by accessing “unethical” websites (warez, crack, MP3 downloads or porn) that reads your e-mail inside local cookie files… latest browsers might protect you against it.

RFID – Radio Frequency Identification. Works by embedding a small; electronic circuit into the labeling of a package. Allows for tracking just as a FEDEX package.

Individualization allows the online world to? Be more adaptative, secure and intelligent.

Useful category breakdown of online user activity is: commerce, communications, content and search.

Do you remember those traveler reviews on Expedia website? They are an example of “Quality Cues”.

The Hidden Pixel – A method of multi-site cookie. It hides an image file in the same color of the background. Invisible to the user. Used to outsource website tracking to a firm specializing in online metrics.

Video killed the radio star, so what comes next?



If you care to help Guinea Pig fund his MBA, please visit my sponsor's website (link on the right)
:-)