What is Social Media, according to Google:

These are the results for “define social media”..(these definitions may vary with time)

• A category of sites that is based on user participation and user-generated content. They include social networking sites like LinkedIn or Facebook, social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us, social news sites like Digg or Reddit, and other sites that are centered on user interaction.
• The term social media describes media that is posed by the user and can take many different forms. Some types of social media are forums, message boards, blogs, wikis and podcasts. Social media applications include Google, Facebook and YouTube.
• Software tools that allow groups to generate content and engage in peer-to-peer conversations and exchange of content (examples are YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, MySpace etc)

You’ll notice, as you read through each definition, that you’re receiving explanations by examples.
Social Media not new, it’s a buzz term by marketers. It has existed for numerous years.

In fact, the first email ever sent, the first website ever created, the microblogging tools we use, commenting, and every other form of interaction with people on a global scale or in your backyard by way of the internet, has been by the use of what is referred to as Social Media today.

What is Social Media, according to Wikipedia:

Social media is the use of electronic and Internet tools for the purpose of sharing and discussing information and experiences with other human beings. The term most often refers to activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio.
This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and “building” of shared meaning among communities, as people share their stories and experiences.

What is Social Media, according to other ndividuals:

You say, “Certainly the well known authors have provided clear definitions.”

Let’s take a look:

Robert Scoble says, “Compare it to what’s come before.”

Chris Heuer says, “Social Media is redefining how we relate to each other as humans and how we as humans relate to the organizations that serve us. While it is commonly represented by blogs, podcasts, vlogs, wikis, user generated content and social networks, it is not about those specific things as much as it is about what happens around and because of those things.”

Mark Dykeman says, “Social media are the means for any person to:  publish digital creative content; provide and obtain real-time feedback via on-line discussions, commentary, and evaluations; and incorporate changes or corrections to the original content.”

What is Social Media Really?

Social Media is a verb. An action term. Not a noun.

“Media” is and always has been the singular form of “Medium” which means storage and transmission tools used to store and deliver information or data.

Add the word “Social” and it means you & I interacting, communicating, exchanging information..SOCIALIZING.

That being said, the simple and understandable definition of Social Media is..(drumroll please)

“The use of internet platforms and tools which enable interaction and communication between users.”

Kimberly Bock
http://www.articlesbase.com/smo-articles/what-is-social-media-717482.html

It is better to inspect the tape media before it is loaded into standalone tape drive or autoloader. Inspection of the tape media may not be possible every time, therefore the media must be inspected when the background of tape media is not known, tape cartridge is dropped, failure of tape drive as soon as the tape is inserted or if the drive fails periodically/repeatedly. Checking the condition of the data tape cartridge and verification of the tape leaders that they are not damaged or torn can help to avoid repeated tape drive failures. Checking the tape media takes only few moments and hence makes sure uninterrupted data backup process.

Tape technology of DLT (digital linear tape) has mechanism of “latch leader” in which the drive is engaged onto the leader of tape cartridge and then the media is pulled into the tape drive. If the tape cartridge drops and the cartridge leader damages, then sometimes there are chances that the tape drive may cause fatal or load errors so the tape drive might need replacement. Cartridge leader is the major and core element in the DLT tape drive’s functionality. Just open the door of the DLT tape cartridge for checking the cartridge leader that it is damaged or not. Door of the DLT tape cartridge is spring loaded and it can be opened by releasing it gently. There are “reel locks” in inner side of DLT cartridge. When DLT tape is not inserted into drive, spinning or moving of “media spool” is prevented by these “reel locks”. If the tape is dropped accidentally, then it might damage the reel locks of DLT cartridge.

The tape media should be cast off if is has misplaced cartridge leader because of failure of reel locks. Another easy method for reel lock’s verification that they are in good condition is to gently shake the tape media, and incase there is a rattling sound from the cartridge replace the cartridge. Other checking area of the DLT tape cartridge is the “cartridge hub”. The hub should be properly spring loaded and correctly seated inside the tape cartridge. The media hub should return properly to its seated position after it is pressed gently. If it does not reside properly to its seated position or if the leader and the loop are not visible any more, then the tape should be discarded. DLT tapes whose leader loops are snapped must also be replaced. Most of the times seeing the tear or snap in tape cartridge’s leader is difficult. So another easy method to see the tear is checking the leader’s tension with the help of ballpoint pen. Do not use pencil for checking.

Therefore the conclusion about the discussion of checking the tape cartridge is that they should be checked to see if there are any signs of cracks, damage or tear to the casing of the tape cartridge. Make sure that there are no screws missing and that the DLT tapes are intact. The door locks must be spring loaded and should be in proper working condition. The switch of “write protect” should be movable but make sure that when it is set to a specific position, it remains in that position. Cartridge leader of the DLT data tape needs to be checked with ballpoint pen and it should remain intact. The “hub” needs to be spring loaded and it must be centered in the DLT tape cartridge. Make sure that the Digital linear tape cartridge has no labels on it besides the label slot. Gently vibrate the DLT tape to check whether there is any kind of rattles. If there are any rattles, then the tape cartridge must be disposed off.

For more details and online orders, please visit, ‘tape4backup.com’

Tape4backup
http://www.articlesbase.com/hardware-articles/media-inspection-of-dlt-tape-cartridge-720849.html

A lot of people are confused by the term “social media marketing” and believe that it is only advertising on a social networking site, where networks monitor what users are doing and place ads next to them, hoping they will get a click. However, social media marketing is actually about different kinds of collaborations between people and finding ways that individual fans of a particular brand product or even a company can endorse it themselves on various social media sites like MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and others.

Social media marketing differs from industrial media marketing in that industrial media generally uses very expensive tools requiring a great deal of financial capital to publish its information, where as social media marketing uses fairly inexpensive tools that enables anyone anywhere to publish or access information. Both social media and industrial media have the capability to reach a small audience of one or two, or large audiences of millions. However, the time lag is generally much longer between a communications from industrial media as compared to social media when responses can be instantaneous. In addition, there are currently few, if any, limitations on social media such as on pages or hours. The audiences are encouraged to be active participants, to add comments, or blog or even edit articles or stories, as they deem necessary.

Social media optimization, or SMO, uses methods that generate publicity through social media and online community websites. There are many different types of technologies and applications for social media like blogs, vlogs, wikis, emails, podcasts, instant messaging and many more. Two of the most popular reference services are Google and Wikipedia. You can share photos at Flickr, videos at YouTube, personal music at Last.fm, microblog on Jaiku and Twitter. Besides the now universally known Facebook and MySpace, you can also go social networking on Avatars United, Youmeo and Second Life (social network via virtual reality).

Experts insist that social media is here to stay. Companies are now recognizing the need to be more involved in social media marketing, because it is through these channels that they can hear most quickly and honestly what consumers need and want. Businesses are learning that they now no longer wield absolute control over the behavior and buying decisions of their consumers. By paying attention, for instance, to a pro- or anti- product blog from a consumer, marketers have access to open customer discussions they never had before and then, in turn, open their own dialogue to be able to drive the needed change quickly.

Social media marketing opens up a world of fast-flowing creative experimentation where an idea can be tested online in the morning and by afternoon there is a response. Social media techniques should be combined into the marketing mix to optimize the places where the impact can be maximized. The key element in successful social media marketing is to be swift but make sure to drive change in proactive way rather than being reactive.

SEO Sapien
http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/understanding-social-media-marketing-702141.html

As budgets are drying up entrepreneurs are turning, yet again, to technology, social media comes to the rescue. Words such as YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn would have been considered typos not too recently have become part of our corporate success dictionary. Social media offers companies inexpensive ways to improve their customer service, ramp up their customer service, learn more about their market, reduce their expenses, and more.

Improve your customer service

Having a conversation with your customers through social media is a new business skill. In an effort to improve its public image, Dell has made a conscious effort to connect with its customers through various social media channels such as blogs, forums, and various third-party websites. Dell had to appreciate that customers talked about their products online, and the company was forced to become part of the conversation. With a little help from their social media friend Dell managed to make improvements to its Latitude laptop. Note: It was a Dell laptop that exploded into flames at a conference in Japan.

Social media is the great equalizer as the story of Jeff Jarvis, an unhappy Dell customer, shows. Jarvis took on this giant of a company using his own blog. He managed to create awareness about customer concerns that had reached an international audience. Initially, Dell had ignored the blog voicing Jarvis’ concerns until his blog became the outlet for public conversation of customer issues. His blog, the BuzzMachine, has become the focus of Dell’s mistakes, poor customer service and flawed products.

The blogosphere doesn’t create the problems it simply brings them to light, and it makes it possible for business to address the issues at hand. Now, the CEOs of companies don’t have to take customer service managers word for it, they can learn about customer issues directly from the source. Some might argue that somehow this is a bad thing. On the contrary, with social media, companies and consumers can realize problems that need to be addressed. Customer engagement through social media could only hurt a company in the long run that is not interested in positive change. Instead of creating a problem social media brings a new level of efficiency to the corporate world.

Do more research

Market research is no longer a luxury only large companies can afford. Social media is the market research alternative for small and mid-size businesses that don’t have money to burn. Especially in a recession, market research is an essential part of a winning corporate strategy. Using social media, companies can carry out their own market research, and the best part is that it’s free.

Search for the topic of your choice on StumbleUpon and learn what people say. One of the greatest aspects of StumbleUpon is that marketers can easily find websites related to their market that they would never find on their own. Businesses can use this website to get instant feedback. The community is continually engaged providing constant opinion that result in a better product. A company might be developing new packaging for a product and get instant criticism from the online community. Something that might have taken weeks and months using traditional methods can be done in a matter of days or even hours. This method is not only fast, but it is also free.

LinkedIn, the social media outlet for grownups, is a rich and dynamic database, which can be searched, mined, and yield insightful and useful information to you and your business. Through its “Answers” feature LinkedIn serves as a valuable market research tool because it enables users to ask questions on virtually any topic, and expect to get answers quickly from the community. Executives can ask questions about products, services, trends, or any topic that might be useful to gain a better insight into their market. You can use the search feature to find people by industry, job title, company, or geographical location. The search results include vital corporate information.

Twitter, a micro blogging service, with its millions of users, offers a world of market intelligence for your business. Twitter is the killer app for marketers that are dying to become the fly on the wall as they are given the opportunity to listen in on public conversations about their market, social issues, products, services, or industry trends. Twitter provides near-real time intelligence on virtually any market.

Should StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, Twitter, or other social media applications going to be your only source of market research? Of course not, but social media offers an abundance of honest conversation from which business can gather a wide range of vital information.

George Meszaros
http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/fighting-recession-with-social-media-part-1-701976.html

One the most important indicators of the state of health of Americans today may be the ever increasing rate of overweight and obese children. The Institute of Medicine has found that one-third of American children are either obese or at risk for obesity. The Center of Disease Control has found that, since 1980, the proportion of overweight children ages 6-11 has doubled and the number of overweight adolescents has tripled.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the increase in childhood obesity represents and unprecedented burden on children’s health. “If we don’t deal with children, this could be the first generation that will live sicker and die younger than its parents,” states Dr. James S. Marks, senior vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which recently announced an unprecedented effort to reverse childhood obesity epidemic by 2015.

Obesity or being overweight is not only harmful to the self-esteem and mental health of youngsters in a society that places such high value on thinness, but there are serious physical health concerns as well. According to Dr. Melissa A. Kalt, Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, overweight kids are set up for premature health risks such as Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and even poor behavior in school like inattentiveness, disruptiveness, truancy, and low grade scores.

Some of the environmental factors that are thought to contribute to obesity are: over consumption of fast food, simple carbohydrates, soda, or other high calorie, high fat foods; larger and larger portion sizes; lack of exercise and/or more sedentary lifestyles; under consumption of whole foods, fruits and vegetables. However, what may be underlying all of these factors or at the very least exacerbating the issue is children and media.

Facts:

According to the Task Force on Media and Childhood Obesity of the Federal Communications Commission, children today spend many hours each day watching television and are influenced by the programming and advertising they see.

The Kaiser Family Foundation states that young children cannot distinguish between programming content and advertising.

The U.S. Congress, Children’s Television Act of 1990 reports, by the time the average child is 18 years hold, he or she has spent between 10,000 and 15,000 hours watching television and has been exposed to more than 200,000 commercials.

Once research study documents that obesity in children increases the more hours they watch television. (Crespo, 2001)

Another research study shows that children who watch more than three ours of television a day are 50 percent more likely to be obese than kids who watch fewer than two hours. (Tremblay, 2003)

Another researcher reports that children who use a lot of media have a lower activity level which is linked to a higher rate of obesity (Vandewater, 2004)

According to the 2004 report “The Role of Media in Childhood Obesity” by the Kaiser Family Foundation, “during the same period in which childhood obesity has increased so dramatically, there has also been an explosion in media targeted to children: TV shows and videos, specialized cable networks, video games, computer activities and Internet Web sites.” And “much of the media targeted to children is laden with elaborate advertising campaigns, many of which promote foods such as candy, soda, and snacks.”

The Advertising Coalition reports that $10-$15 billion is spent annually on kids’ food advertising.

One study documented approximately 11 food commercials per hour during children’s Saturday morning television programming, estimating that the average child viewer may be exposed to one food commercial every 5 minutes (Kotz, 1994)

Another study found that children’s food choices were significantly impacted by which ads they saw, i.e. either an ad for fruit or an ad for candy (Gorn, 1982)

Other researchers found that for each additional hour of television viewed per day, daily servings of fruits and vegetables decreased among adolescents possibly due to television advertising (Boynton-Jarret, R, 2003)
…

While many researchers and studies are still establishing the role of media in child obesity and overweight issues, (the direct link between advertising and obesity has not been officially established), the advertisers certainly know that TV ads can influence children’s and family consumer choices. For example, fast food outlets alone spend $3 billion in television ads targeted to children. And according to “Advertising, Marketing and the Media: Improving Messages from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, food and beverage advertisers collectively spend $10 billion to $12 billion a year to reach children and youth.

So, what’s a parent to do to counteract unhealthy advertisements and the big dollars behind them? Here a few pointers on helping children be more healthy and fit:

First, educate them on the factors contributing to being overweight or obese:

1. Too much “fat foods” (fast foods, simple carbs, soda, energy drinks, cereal etc.)
2. Larger than life portion sizes
3. Not enough movement or exercise
4. Not enough whole foods (fruits, vegetables, whole wheat bread, whole grains etc.)

Second, reduce poor food choices in the home. Refuse to buy the sodas and sugar cereals or insist that these only be indulged in after a healthy meal.

Third, make whole food choices easy for them to prepare (i.e. pre washed, cut up fruits and veggies; oatmeal; smoothies; whole wheat bread; pre-cooked healthy snacks/meals like cubed chicken breast, string cheese, hard-boiled eggs, in single serving size containers. Make it tasty and easy (see green smoothie recipe below).

Fourth, encourage them to exercise (i.e. refuse to drive them to school; sign them up for sports; play with them outdoors; get a dog and go for daily walks). Make it fun.

Fifth, limit television hours per day. And teach them how they can mute the commercials or “tevo” the show and fast forward through the commercials.

And finally, teach them that being fit and healthy means eating healthy foods and exercising, in direct contrast to how television shows and advertisements portray super skinny people eating chips and drinking soda, it’s just not true. And educate them on the fact that advertisers make their money by portraying beautiful people eating junk food.

EASY, YUMMY recipe for “green smoothies”:
Give Your Kids a Great Dose of Fresh, Raw Servings of Fruits and Vegetables
(shhhhh, tastes so good, your kids won’t even know there is spinach in there!)

1. Put about 2 cups water in the blender
2. Add a few handfuls of spinach or kale or chard, blend until smooth
3. Add fruit, 1-2 bananas and 1-2 C frozen blueberries or mixed berries or fruit etc.
4. If you must, add a small amount of sweetener of choice.
5. Smoothie will be purple and yummy and you’d never know there were healthy greens hiding in the mix, ENJOY!

(Go for a green smoothie over a soda! Children who drink just one soft drink a day are 60 percent more likely to become obese, according to a 2001 study by Harvard University and Boston Children’s Hospital.)
…

Sources:

Boynton-Jarret, R, et al, (2003) Impact of Television Viewing Patterna on Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among Adolescents, Pediatrics 112(2003)6:1321-1326

Crespo, Carlos J. et al, (2001), Television Watching, Energy Intake, and Obesity in U.S. Children, Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 155, 360-365

Eating Habits of Infants and Children Affect Health and Performance. HealthLink Medical College of Wisconsin. http://www.healthlink.mcw.edu/article/1031002925.html

Federal Communications Commission: Task Force on Media and Childhood Obesity. http://www.fcc.gov/obesity/

Gorn, G, et al, Behavioral Evidence of the Effects of televised Food Messages on Children, Journal of Consumer Research 9 (1982): 200-205

Kotz, K. et al, (1994), Food Advertisements during Children’s Saturday Morning Television Programming: Are They Consistent with Dietary Recommendations?” Journal of the American Dietic Association 94(1994)11:1296-1300

National Institute on Media and the Family: Media Use And Obesity Among Children. http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_tvandobchild.shtml

Tremblay, M.S. et al, (2003), Is the Canadian child obesity epidemic related to physical inactivity? International Journal of Obesity, 27, 1100-1105

The Role of Media in Childhood Obesity: This Kaiser Family Foundation issue brief that reviews more than 40 studies on the role of media in the nation’s dramatically increasing rates of childhood obesity explores what researchers do and do not know about the role media plays in childhood obesity. It also outlines media-related policy options that have been proposed to help address childhood

U.S.News article “Childhood Obesity Epidemic a Long-Term Challenge” http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/healthday/070920/childhood-obesity-epidemic-a-long-term-challenge.htm

Jessica Rampton
http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/how-media-drives-obesity-in-children-and-simple-counter-tactics-682774.html

Whether or not reporters want to admit it, everyone has an opinion. It is true that, for a long time, reporters were required to cover both sides of a story equally. Unfortunately, at least in the United States, that is no longer the case. President Bill Clinton repealed the law that instructed all television and newspaper reporters to give equal time and space to both sides of an issue. Ever since then it seems that most people have been up in arms about the bias of the mainstream media.

What makes this especially interesting is that the anti-bias chatter comes from both sides of the media fence. Conservatives growl about a media that is biased toward liberalism and the Liberals are quick to point out that most media outlets are owned and operated by companies and individuals who contribute heavily to conservative causes. What we at Mediamicroblog want to know is this: can’t media be biased in both directions?

A study done a number of years ago showed that many people, when they turned off the sound of their television sets, could tell which side of an issue a reporter favored by watching that reporter’s body language as he or she told the story. The edges of the reporter’s mouth would turn up when they agreed and frown lines would appear when they disagreed with the issue they were covering. The study took a look at some famous news reporters who were known for staking their reputations on simply reporting the news without personal bias or sway.

So why not just let the media be biased? Some would argue that when media outlets are allowed to show their bias (like Fox News), the facts get lost in the shuffle of pointing fingers and stories often get truncated in favor of personal rhetoric. Another reason that media outlets should not be biased is that by allowing bias to seep into a reporter’s style or language, the viewer (reader) of a report won’t be given the opportunity to make a fully informed decision about what they are reading. Many people, whether or not they would like to admit it, are swayed by the opinions of the reporters they trust.

Still there are some media outlets that insist some bias can be a good thing. It is the bias that allows a reporter to really dig into a story. It is the bias that keeps viewers watching and buying papers. Some executives offer up this opinion: As long as a news organization is up front about their bias, what is the harm? Simply watch the stations you agree with and avoid the ones you don’t.

Anymore, there are few media outlets that are truly unbiased. Advertisers and surveys play into the content of media coverage more than the viewers would like to think and if the advertisers aren’t happy and the viewing polls are down, you can be sure that the media outlets are going to start dancing around until they find a tactic people respond to. How else is Fox News so popular?

For more information on news coverage, visit http://www.newsmicroblog.com and http://www.mediamicroblog.com.

John Parks
http://www.articlesbase.com/news-and-society-articles/is-the-media-biased-684553.html

Quando os DG’s – Directores Gerais – dizem “ Quero Marketing Viral” ou “Precisamos de desenvolver contactos usando Social Media”, o que é que eles efectivamente querem dizer? Marketing barato sem budget? Ou estarão apenas a lançar umas “buzz-words” só porque estiveram recentemente numa conferência, ouviram alguém falar disso e acharam “engraçadas” as expressões ? Ou será apenas porque está na moda?

Em primeiro lugar, marketing viral e social media são técnicas. Logo há que perceber qual o objectivo, de forma a determinar qual a técnica certa a aplicar: fugas de informação controladas, rumores, negócio B2B, vendas B2C… Depois, são conceitos diferentes. Estão relacionados, mas cada um requer planeamento e recursos específicos para serem concretizados. O marketing viral pode incluir uma componente de social media. Ambos partilham o mesmo objectivo fundamental: colocar potenciais Clientes a falarem do produto!

Note-se que os programas de social media só podem ser eficientes quando há uma comunidade-alvo a atingir. Isso exige um planeamento rigoroso porque, efectivamente, não conseguiremos controlar o sentido e a direcção das conversas. A possibilidade de dirigir as conversas é pouca , mas o valor deste tipo de aproximação tem um valor tão positivo como o “boca-a-boca” de Clientes satisfeitos. Por outro lado, social media é mais eficiente nos modelos de negócio tipo B2C pois esta comunidade-alvo é composta por compradores/Clientes finais. Por isso, tornar eficiente um programa social media num modelo tipo B2B é mais desafiante porque o processo de compra é mais complexo, existindo prescritores, influenciadores, peritos, conselheiros e decisores. Raramente encontraremos todos eles na mesma comunidade-alvo, pelo que o programa de social media terá de ser endereçado de forma abrangente para ser eficiente.

Em relação ao marketing viral, este inclui esforços também de social media. Ainda que o objectivo seja o mesmo, as técnicas de marketing viral atingem um alcance mais amplo do que os programas de social media. Um exemplo extremo para obter alternativas e alcançar um vasto leque de comunidades, é o da empresa que colocou publicidade nos filtros dos mictórios públicos. Relacionado com este exemplo extremo está o conceito de marketing de guerrilha, no fundo, trata-se de fazer marketing a baixo custo. Menciono isto apenas para diferenciar do marketing viral, que pode ser conduzido também usando uma aproximação de baixo custo. No entanto, há bons programas virais que podem exigir orçamentos avultados, particularmente se forem incluídos conceitos de video e imagem.

A minha experiência de trabalho com vários DG’s , ensinou-me que entendem este tipo de comunicação como diferente da que a sua geração está habituada, pensando que o seu alvo é um tipo de público mais jovem, em que social media permite ter a grande oportunidade de conversar com futuros Clientes aos quais contam a história da marca. Por vezes, alguns DG’s não entendem como podem ter êxito ou funcionar este tipo de técnicas que potenciam conversas e partilha de ideias. No fundo, é essa a nossa função enquanto responsáveis de Marketing ou de Vendas: convencê-los que funcionam, mas isso pode ser conversa para outra altura …

Miguel Cristovao
http://www.articlesbase.com/gestão-articles/marketing-viral-e-social-media-o-que-que-os-dgs-realmente-pretendem-690294.html

Ramp up your marketing

Companies ranging small and large are increasingly turning to outside blogs, viral videos and websites such as Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed and Digg — and their tens of millions of users — to reach consumers. Instead of cringing at the idea of relinquishing control to social media outlets, smart executives realize that there is more benefit in joining the conversation than fighting it. Instead of controlling information about your brand, your social media strategy should be about engagement.

Advertising as we know it is expensive; social media is cheap. For this reason, the recession is bad news for traditional marketers, while the same environment is full of opportunities for social media marketers. Setting up a company blog or a Facebook page is significantly less expensive than traditional marketing. Even creating your own community web site can be significantly cheaper than traditional advertising campaigns.

Social media marketing is not without risk. While every company wants to generate buzz, online backlash can be vicious. Recently a Motrin commercial aimed at moms created quite a stir. You can view the ad on YouTube as did another 210,000 people. The ad makes the apparently condescending claim that carrying babies in a sling is a painful experience for moms. According to moms, the ad was wrong and they made it loud and clear through social media applications such as Twitter. Some moms found the Motrin ad outright offensive, and they were quite vocal about it. You can catch them on YouTube. Of course, the disaster doesn’t end there. It continues on a myriad of blogs, and carries on in a Facebook page dedicated to boycotting Motrin. The backlash ad on YouTube can be viewed.

What to do when your target rejects your ad? Turn to social media. Instead of rejecting the market reaction Johnson & Johnson could have used social media applications to learn about their market prior to creating and publishing the controversial ad. There could have been a Facebook page created to learn about young moms and pain. There could have been a blog inviting moms to provide video testimonials on YouTube. The lesson learned in this case is to use social media to learn about your market, or be prepared to be taught very quickly and painfully.

Reduce your expenses

Save time and money on travel and use LinkedIn to network. Instead of driving to the other end of town fighting your way through traffic use the largest business social network to build new connections and to nurture existing ones. Only attend your most valuable networking events, and transfer as much of your networking as you can to the web. LinkedIn, Plaxo, and Facebook are some of the best social networking applications.

Reduce your legal fees through a fairly new social media site called Docstoc. It is a place to find and share professional documents such as contracts, confidentiality agreements, intellectual property documents and more. Docstoc is a social community resource that enables anyone to find and share professional documents. The site provides an opportunity for individuals and organizations to share their professional documents. Documents available on Docstoc can be easily searched, previewed and downloaded for free.

Decrease your recruiting costs as you hire your employees though Craigslist, which has quietly become one of the most visited websites in cyberspace. It offers a much cheaper way to recruit online, and your company can expect excellent response rates for your job posts.

Putting it all together

Are more companies turning to social media in this economy? They should if they want to improve their marketing efficiencies, enhance their customer service experience, or develop their research techniques. Social media allows companies to engage with the customers instead of shouting about their own wonderfulness. It offers ways to business to partner with the community in an effort to develop a better product. In the end everybody wins because both the company and the consumer end up with a better product.

Virtually all companies can benefit from using social media not just to create awareness, but also to become part of the conversation. Managing your corporate reputation is impossible without social media, and ignoring it can be outright devastating. Instead if fighting against it, embrace it as it rockets your business forward as it deepens your relationship with the only reason you are in business for, your customer.

George Meszaros
http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/fighting-recession-with-social-media-part-2-701961.html

Social media is a completely different layer that has been added to the web, hence the web 2.0. Social media is becoming mainstream and in a couple years we won’t even be able to imagine a time when we couldn’t interact with all the screens and mobile content surrounding us. It is indeed a misnomer, but to suggest that the platforms that enable conversations between people and between people and brands are not viable ad opportunities is ludicrous. Social media is all about sharing and connecting. It is the use of technology combined with social interaction to create or co-create value. Twitter is just one of these web 2.0 Twitter is a perfect platform for micro blogging. Allowing you to post comments with just a few words. Ping.Fm another great tool that allows you update your post to all of your social networks at once. Social Social media provides the tools for people to collaborate and get around barriers for communication, build trust. Social Media is a collection of online tools and sites that function on the premise that people are interested in talking to and engaging with other people. The fact is that social media tools differ significantly based on culture, Internet access and online behavior. Community Community members respond quickly to request to test new tools. Community members provide reflections on their activity, which stimulates change within the group. If you use monitoring to discover a real community, perhaps one you didn’t know existed, then you’ve found a treasure trove of real opinions, reactions, reviews, etc. Social Media IS NOT SEO, but search engines DO look kindly upon blog posts/community comments/online noise. Conversation Conversations in these types of communities tend to be regulated by the needs of the community’s creator or sponsors, they are less transparent, and less valuable to the participants at hand. The ability to actually listen in on market conversations made possible by social media will drive a sea change in the market research industry, one that today’s early adopters are starting to understand. When you engage in conversations in social media it may seem overly labor-intensive compared to launching an ad campaign. These networked conversations are enabling powerful new forms of social organization and knowledge exchange to emerge. I can meet many real people and have real conversations, but it will go nowhere if we don’t connect. Relations Social media needs to be all about relationships. Which in business terms, translates to turning relationships into clients or resources. Most association executives and show producers have realized that relationship building is their greatest priority, few have tapped into the power of social media or adopted a practical plan to incorporate these solutions. Some companies will be hard pressed to understand that its more about relationships and intangible aspects of SM rather than the numbers. Social Media is not just another media. Social media is defined by the act of sharing content in and between social networks regardless of the content type….. For more information about Using Social Media to build your online business Visit: http://www.newsynergyonline.net Blog: http://www.newtrafficbuilder.com

Robert Flowers
http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/using-social-media-to-build-your-online-business-691799.html