a groovyweb by isman tanuri

When Jason Parker wrote to ask if he could use an academic work of mine for his Social Media appreciation class at the University of Chicago Graham School of General Studies, I was thrilled. It also dawned upon me that social media is certainly worth all that time and effort.

How did Jason, Adjunct Professor at University of Chicago and Planning Director at Leo Burnett and quite possibly on the exact opposite of the world, discover ‘Role of Social Media in Contemporary Marketing’, an ‘obscure’ literature review I had completed only last September?

Social media.

And how did I make that happen?

Social media.

I had sowed ample digital opportunities where Jason and others could have found this piece of work. And this is how I did it.

Slideshare & Scribd

I had shared this literature review (an extract from the full Final Year Professional Project I had to accomplish for undergrad studies) on Slideshare and Scribd since last September.

Here are the stats, so far:

996 views + 100 downloads on Slideshare

667 views + 115 downloads on Scribd

Impressive numbers, I guess, for a ‘non-viral’ academic work.

So why did I choose to publish and share my work online? Am I not afraid of it being plagiarised or copied?

The answer is ‘No’. If it isn’t for the openness and the acts of mutual sharing all over the Internet, we’d still be visiting libraries every day, painfully looking for stored manuscripts and hidden knowledge. Or my work would still be languishing in my hard drive, waiting to be ‘nostalgically re-discovered’ a few years down the road. (Technologically, there are restrictions in place on both Slideshare and Scribd to protect your work.)

Jason Parker does it too. See Jason’s slide deck for his first class lecture on Slideshare.

Also, as many people increasingly continue to come online and partake in digital citizenship, I am one who believes that digital personal branding has an increased importance in today’s society and it is the ‘invisible edge’ that is needed to move ahead of the pack. Be it in social circles or, most certainly, for professional opportunities.

Sharing your interests and expertise on social media is one way to do this.

Blog It

I had also blogged about this literature review earlier. I am certain the format of the study (literature review), combined with the timely relevance of the subject matter, had provided enough search engine optimisation (SEO) for my initial blog post to be found. In fact Google searches on ‘literature review social media’ and ‘role of social media in contemporary marketing’ brought up my blog and literature review pretty high on the list. As they say ‘Content is Always King’.

Jason Parker does it too. You can follow Jason on his Social Media Class blog as he updates his class on a regular basis, the social media-way.

Others have also found my work. To date, I have received emails from two current students of Northumbria University in the UK asking for my full project (which I have refused for obvious reasons, it is about effort and interaction, guys). However, I had provided enough ideas and direction for them to accomplish their undergrad tasks.

I have also connected with Susan Schwendener, a fellow communications practitioner, from Jason’s class. The possibilities are endless on social media.

What Price is Social Media Sharing?

I really hope Jason’s certificate program class ‘Insights and Opportunities in Social Media’ had enjoyed reading the literature review distributed during their Week 1 class. Gives me the chills.

So what did I ask for in return for sharing my intellectual property?

What else but an endorsement in social media currency!

Jason kindly provided me with a LinkedIn endorsement that is viewable by my current and future prospective employers as well as my peers. The permanency and transparency of this and my other LinkedIn endorsements ensures that my professional profile, accomplishments and body of work is as truthful as I present it to be.

Read more about leveraging on LinkedIn for bloggers at Online Media Gazette or how to use LinkedIn to your professional and commercial advantage (via NateRiggs.com)

Acknowledgements

To Jason Parker for extending the opportunity to share what I’ve gained.

And to Erik Yek, my undergrad tutor at the Marketing Institute of Singapore, for the guidance and patience.

Here again is the literature review ‘Role of Social Media in Contemporary Marketing’. You may wish to download the PDF for later viewing or scroll through the presentation below.

Tell me what you think in the comments?

Here is something different on this blog. My experiences, thoughts and learning over the last week.

#BarCampSG4

Last Saturday (21 Nov), I attended BarCamp Singapore 4, organised by Preetam Rai and Kelvin Quee. Sponsored and held at IDA Singapore (also co-sponsored by Yahoo! SG and Hackerspace.SG), BarCamp was open to all. This being my first attendance at a BarCamp, I was not too sure what to expect although I had some ideas, having read some accounts on previous BarCamps.

What is BarCamp? Read on Wikipedia.

BarCamp is Crowdsourcing

Just like the concept of crowdsourcing in social media, most of the topics of the day were suggested by the attendees (pasted on IDA’s wall as shown on photo to the right), then voted by attendees and eventually presented by the attendees. Anyone was free to present on any topic they fancied (technology, social media, creative arts, culture and social sciences) and there were really off-the-wall submissions including ‘How to Present Difficult Concepts to Lesser Beings’ by Coleman Yee (which I thoroughly enjoyed) and one that I rued I missed: Adrianna Tan’s ‘How to Hack Your Own Travel Channel Life’ (thank God for Slideshare). All in all, I enjoyed the sessions I attended, the learning and the impromptu discussions.

Read the rest of this entry »

Updated 13/11: This post also appears as a guest blog post on Penn Olson.

I was recently reading an early chapter of Al and Laura Ries’ ‘The Origin of Brands’ and was struck by this concept:

The world’s best and long-lasting brands were typically created by a divergence from an existing product category and that these brands continue to survive not because of their ‘share of market’ but for being first in the mind of consumers.

Consider these examples of divergence and its disregard for market size of the day:

• What was the size of the cola market the day Coca Cola was launched?
• What was the market size of Mac users when Apple launched their Apple I system?
• How about the size of the personal computer market the day Microsoft launched their MS-DOS platform?
• And when McDonald first introduced the fast-food hamburger to the American public, what was the size of the fast-food market?

The answer to these questions: Zero.

However, these brands have proven they have what it takes to survive and prosper all these years. So, why is this possible?
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Conversations. Being social is about being conversant. In all of its forms, be it business discussions, friendly discourses or family chats, it follows a certain, two-way norm: a question, an answer, then repeat. A question, an answer, then repeat. An almost cyclical activity, but really valuable in facilitating the exchange of information and sentiments between two or more parties. Conversations can build passion or bring us to tears. Which is pretty much the foundation of many great social communication strategies. So, let me ask this, why then do brands on social media ignore the conversation?

Writer’s note: I approached this as a balanced study and I will highlight both questionable and best practices. Sometimes I do wonder though, what if the designated ‘social media person’ in the company goes on vacation leave? I’ve noticed this happening before where conversations totally dropped off the radar. Hence my belief that social media is a shared responsibility of an enlightened open organisation. Anyone and everyone can speak and will speak. More on this in posts to come.

Starbucks Singapore’s Facebook page leaves many questions unanswered. Like literally.

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Talk about itself. All the time. David Meerman Scott has something to say about this.

Writer’s Note: Hundred Trees is a condominium development in Singapore. Hundred Trees is on Twitter and Facebook. Please note that I have personally seen @hundredtrees reply to tweets previously (if you don’t see any in their current timeline). Credit to @hundredtrees for being social when it mattered.

So what should brands do instead?
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The importance of online branding is, without doubt, equally applicable for both businesses and individuals. With increased emphasis on branding through digital marketing efforts and social media engagement these days, the need for reputation management and preservation becomes critical. One wrong move or erratic online behavour may spell public relations disaster, brand damage or, worse, the loss of customer/community trust (trust creates loyalty). The following is a case study on Monster.com.sg (or perhaps an “authorised agent”) that highlights an online practice that is both unconventional and inappropriate on many counts.

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Recently I was asked this question ‘Tell me why Wisma Atria should have a Twitter account’. Wisma Atria is a major mall on Orchard Road, Singapore that has pretty much reinvented itself with a facade change and cool-factor repositioning. A quick check shows that Wisma Atria is already on Twitter although I can’t be sure if that is indeed Wisma’s or a Twitter-squatter. Looks derelict to me (with 4 dubious followers) and 0 tweets.

There are many things that a business can achieve on Twitter and on social media in general, including close interaction with customers, shouting out ads, news and discounts, content distribution and much more. Brand reputation management is also a real possibility if Twitter is set up to alert.

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This literature review was written as part of my final project for the BA (Hons) Marketing Management program I had attended. I personally thought it was a lot of fun getting this together, especially enjoyed the tons of reading. A lot of insights and new ideas were formed during the process of writing this. See if you enjoy it too. Do leave a comment if you don’t :)

You may wish to download the PDF for later viewing.

Update Dec 1 ‘09: I received an overall Distinction grade for the Final Year Project, of which this Literature Review is a major component.