MediaVision Blog » Lauren Potgieter

Online Petitions – Do you know where to sign on the dotted line?

Lauren Potgieter — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 07:47:57 +0000

Online petitions aren’t something that everyone is entirely active in but most are aware of. Many of us receive a constant stream of emails asking us to save this or stop and prevent that and most of the time, these online petition requests end up in our dusty spam folder, never to be read again. On the other side of the spectrum lies the over-petitioner – the person that clicks and signs everything in sight, hoping that their contribution will make a difference in the world. Online petitions are a somewhat grey area with some enthusiasts believing that their click is making a difference and others believing that all online petitions are a sham and that no affect comes from these causes. Do online petitions make a difference or are you signing your life away for nothing?

Take Twitition. Created by Twitter, Twitition lets you create your own Twitition and get others involved in your cause. This however, can be cause for concern as any Twitter user can create a false petition and scam others into signing or even donating to a fake charity or organisation. All you need to do is create a Twitition title and cause description and you are good to go. Let me say that I am going out on a limb here, but how many of you think that some, just some people take advantage of this Twitition? It is unfortunate that Twititions are not used for worthy causes but rather used for “causes” such as “Get Justin Bieber to come to our city/town/daughters sweet 16th”.

Online petitions aren’t all for the wrong reasons, though. As we watch our mailbox at home empty and our email inbox fill up, there still are some online petitions worthy of signing and these petitions aim to bring change to an issue that lacks it. Some petitions are actually creating awareness and yes, others that are a spammy waste of time. What you need to do is know where to find these online petitions. When you want to sign a petition, do some research and do not be fooled by the pictures of kittens and puppies. Make sure that the petition that you are signing is connected to a registered agency or organisation and do your homework.

Experts suggest that you watch out for email petitions especially because in many cases, these online petitions are scams. Always check out the email address as well as the site and make sure to do some research into the petitions cause before you sign. For every legit petition, there are thousands that are scams and once you know this, you will be able to sift out the waste from the treasures and find a petition worth signing.

Do you sign online petitions? Which online petitions do you trust and continue to support?

Online Petitions – Do you know where to sign on the dotted line?

Are we being too hard on Google’s attempt at social media?

Lauren Potgieter — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:00:13 +0000

It is kind of difficult not to follow what Google is doing these days. As I have said before, they pretty much have their finger in every pie but the one pie that they just cannot seem to get a slice of is social media. There is no doubt that Google’s social media involvement is present as we have seen various Google innovations that have integrated the act of social media into their strategy in order to engage even further and jump on that social media band wagon that all of us are clambering onto. But what are Google trying to achieve? Are they trying to be something that they are not or are we just giving them a hard time and predicting any social media innovations that they create as dead in the water, therefore indirectly creating the failure?

It seems that everyone is announcing that Google’s attempt at social media is a complete flop and there are numerous articles that have been written in the past few days about how Google just isn’t social. As we wait for confirmation of the auspicious Google Me, we continue to watch Google buy up everything that they can get their hands on relating to social media, and many of us are beginning to wonder if after all of their social media lack of success – will they go ahead with such a project?

So, can Google go social or is it just a waste of their time to think that can integrate themselves into a market where they do not belong, or rather – are not welcome.

It seems as if the next move that Google has in terms of social media engagement is their real time search implementation. This search function will allow users to search instant result, those of which are always being changed and updated on social media networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

A recent article said that Google should be a provider of services that feed social media rather than try and become a social media site themselves. This is true in terms of what Google offers as it will easily be able to provide searchers with more social media options but does this mean it must neglect the opportunity to try and maintain a primary social media presence in a world that is social media mad?

It seems that no matter how hard we are on Google, the consensus remains: Google have tried social media and it is just not their forte. This does not mean that Google cannot get close to the pie by helping the pie survive, but can it have a piece? Maybe not.

Do you feel that Google is just not cut out for social media or do you believe that they will get there, and when they do, they will do so in true Google style?

Are we being too hard on Google’s attempt at social media?

Social Media Etiquette – Don’t forget to say Please and Thank You

Lauren Potgieter — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:32:10 +0000

If you ever had a mother that was slightly obsessed with manners (which my mother definitely was) there is no doubt that you have been taught a certain degree of etiquette. From saying please and thank you to not putting your elbows on the table, etiquette is expected and respected in a vast majority of social circles. Just as we exercise etiquette amongst our friends and family, so should we exercise a degree of etiquette with our social media strategy as a part of our brand. Do you bring politeness and etiquette into your social media brand strategy or do you prefer to turn your nose up at the need for manners?

According to those in the know, one of the most imperative aspects of social media etiquette is to keep it clean. From what we have seen over the past few years, word of mouth is stronger than ever and in order to keep your own reputation squeaky clean, it is important that you do unto others, as they say. If you get attacked by another brand or another brand is doing something that you do not approve of, make your voice heard but do not lower yourself to their level and get your hands just as dirty.

Also, make sure you deal with any complaints or negative references to your brand in the same way that you would do so “in real life”. Meaning that if that particular person came into your office or shop and complained, how would you deal with it? I doubt that you would verbally abuse them back, even if you were the Grinch personified. If you get a verbally abusive tweet or wall post, do your best to reply to the rant as your brand but also use a personal voice, showing that you are not replying in a spam type of way, but as a person that is willing to help and who wants to know why that customer is so mad or disappointed.

And finally, give back in moderation with what you take. Conversation is not a mere monologue where you speak and speak but do not listen, and the public do in fact want to hear what your brand or service has to say whilst having their own say at the same time. If they can see the spark of conversation, they will begin to interact. If you can, share your own information as well as the information of others you respect, as it is just polite.

It seems that when it comes to social media, the buzzword “interaction” continues to remain. But in addition to that, another word that pops up in social media conversation (another buzzword, by the way) is “consideration”. Just as you would not go snooping through your customers bag or knock on their door at 3am in the morning, make sure you exercise a degree of consideration and give credit where credit is needed as it can be easy to forget that you are dealing with people and not just usernames and profile pictures.

You will realise that these pointers are simple as well as obvious, but many of us tend to forget where “we” end and “our brand” begins. And finally, do not forget your please and thank you’s, otherwise your mother will be highly disappointed

Social Media Etiquette – Don’t forget to say Please and Thank You

Do QR codes encourage brand interaction?

Lauren Potgieter — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:06:25 +0000

If any of you have seen an image online or in a magazine or newspaper that looks like something that is a mix between those optical illusion posters that you used to have stuck to your wall when you were little and an alternative version of Pacman then this rather strange image you are witnessing is no secret code but rather a QR code. The QR (Quick Response) code is making its mark (literally) as a way for brands to entice the public to access their information and ultimately visit their site.

Basically, you take a picture with your smart phone (your iPhone or Blackberry) and your phone will read a code, therefore giving you access to a weblink and content. QR codes are not new and have actually been around since 1994 but only recently have been used for more social media based interaction and are made by using a QR code generator and downloading the QR code image. According to Wikipedia, they are used to store information received from magazines, signs and business cards and were originally designed for car manufacturing tracking, but it seems that QR codes have turned over a new digital leaf.

Recently, a billboard in New York raised eyebrows with its bigger and better combination of social media and the QR code. The red and white billboard was for Calvin Klein Jeans – a brand that is widely known for its racy billboards normally featuring half naked women and men posing draped over each other. The billboard merely had a QR code image on it with the words “get it uncensored”. Those in the QR code know could snap a picture of the billboard and this would link them to a Youtube clip. Many were disappointed in the clip itself but nevertheless, the concept was a great one for customer interaction.

Other instances of companies or brands using QR code are artists such as Fabrice De Nola who integrated QR codes into his artwork and the Pet Shop Boys who used a QR code to reveal their album artwork. Other artists have also integrated QR coding into their installations such as the Design Exchange in Toronto, which produced a series of QR coded wallpaper.

In the information technology age, less is more and those who are clicking away on their camera receiving various QR codes feel that this mode of communication is a great interactive tool for brands who do not want to say too much initially but let their customer base be lead to their site via their mobile device. Those who decide to use QR codes for their brand must however make sure that their websites and the link that they offer are mobile friendly as if they are not, this will only make customers frustrated.

Here is an example of how toy manufacturer Lego used QR codes to entice customers to their site.

Do QR codes encourage brand interaction?

Are your social media monitoring tools giving you the information you need?

Lauren Potgieter — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:22:19 +0000

For some of us, the end of the month means an overall check and analysis of our sites with our trusty analytics tools in hand in order to see what our website is doing right as well as where we are falling short in certain aspects. By understanding and using these tools we can see where traffic is up as well as what we need to work on in order to attract people to our website and hopefully purchase our product or service. Social media is now an integrated and significant component of brand awareness but many are frustrated with the fact that you cannot monitor your social media traffic as such as much as monitor your social media interest and impact.

There have been numerous articles that I have stumbled upon recently that have been dedicated to the art of social media monitoring and measurement, but what exactly do these tools and applications achieve? They are undoubtedly needed and provide us with analysis of a more brand awareness type insight, but do they transfer into analysis of traffic and effect?

Social media monitoring is imperative as simply implementing social media and not knowing what or why it is or is not working will not let one know what social media direction you are going in and everyone needs direction, right? There are numerous social media monitoring and measurement tools and these will help you see if your social media efforts are impacting the social media scope, which, with so many other integrating social media into their marketing plans, is more important than you think.

Yes, it is great to see how many people “like” your page or how many followers your brand is obtaining on social media networks but how can we see these like and followers turn into purchases and sale of our products and services and will we ever be able to measure social media in this way or will we have to settle with measuring social media only in terms of interest, effect and impact?

Don’t get me wrong, I will be the first one to agree with the fact that companies need a social media presence in order to keep up with the times and I feel that social media has a significant and strong impact but how can we measure this impact in terms of traffic and sales?

It seems that some of us seem to be asking the wrong question. We should be asking ourselves – what do we expect from social media at the end of the day? A perfect little summary is that social will lead to search and search will therefore lead to sales. What do you expect from your social media presence on the web? Are you getting what you expect to receive?

Are your social media monitoring tools giving you the information you need?

The Great Trending Topic Debate

Lauren Potgieter — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:43:34 +0000

I never really glance to the right of my screen on Twitter to take a quick look at what Twitters trending topics are as I am much more interested in what articles my peers and influencers are tweeting and I feel that if I want information on Inception or Lindsay Lohan I will look at an online review guide or a gossip column. I must admit, some days when I do glance over at the trending topics, I am baffled that I do not know what some of them are about

Indeed there is a need that is being served by having trending topics and it does reflect on the mantra of giving the public what they want and letting them air their views on world topics, politics and celebrities. (I use these three examples because they seem to stand out the most for me)

Trending topics are great for those who require general news in a short, to the point form and who are not fans of reading entire articles about their favourite celebs or politicians and just wan snippet information. But twitters trending topics cannot be used as a news source or a search engine as trends like the Justin Bieber phenomenon show that topic and people that not always featured in the news can be featured on Twitters trending topics.

Justin Bieber is one of the most controversial trending topics owing to the fact that he was trending “too much” Twitter then updated its algorithm and all of a sudden, Justin Bieber was no longer. But then popped up Dustin Jieber and other variations showing that no matter how much Twitter tries to control trending topics, celebrities like Justin Bieber or Jeeber or Dieber will win.

Some feel that Twitter’s trending topics need to be more elite and that not every second issue that is slightly popular finds itself on the trending topics list. Twitters trending topics are not really world opinion owing to factors such as time zone as what is trending in the beginning in the day is highly influenced by a certain part of the world and what is trending at the end of the day will have other influences.

Many feel that the trending topics are no longer relevant on Twitter, but isn’t it the public that makes topics relevant? Topics are only popular if the masses are talking about them, and how many twitter trending topics pop up at your dinner table every night?

The Great Trending Topic Debate

The relationship between augmented reality and social media

Lauren Potgieter — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 10:57:44 +0000

Once thought of as a time waster for young tech savvy and gaming enthusiasts, augmented reality and social media have now been placed in the same bucket of ideas, and this is no coincidence. Augmented reality (using technology to potray a different visual environment)is nothing new and brands are using augmented reality to bring their customers closer to their brand and as we have said before, brand engagement is on the up and up. The question is, can all brands use augmented reality to provide the public with engaging activities that will make them remember what they are eating, wearing or using?

A brand which is using augmented reality for social media, viral interactivity and brand awareness is American ice cream company Ben and Jerry’s. The brand offers a nifty little iPhone app which lets you explore the lid of a Ben and Jerry’s tub like you never have before. Hold your iPhone over the B&J lid and once the lid is detected, a world of wonder explodes onto your screen, giving you a tour of that particular flavour as well as a sneak peak into the Ben and Jerry brand. The app is fun and silly but no doubt ice cream eaters all over the globe will be looking more closely at their lids while they enjoy their ice cream treat in the future. Here is a rundown of the app.

Another brand that is using augmented reality is Tissot – a popular Swiss watch brand that is pushing the boundaries of augmented reality and letting you pick and choose your favourite watch by means of a simple downloadable app. Basically, you place the Tissot wrist band given to you in stores onto your wrist and show your wrist band to the camera, select a model and there we go – an image of the watch you select appears on your arm, letting you shop from your very own home. You can also click on the watch itself to see what other functions are available. Their catchphrase reads – Experience the Tissot Touch Collection in 3D at your own wrist. Below is a visual explanation of the augmented reality used.

Natural tracking or real time image tracking links the static from the flowing and as we all know, humans enjoy having a break from reality, owing to how much time we spend away from it. Using augmented reality in conjunction with social media is a great way to bring interactivity to your customer without them having to search for it themselves. It is possible for all brands that offer a product to be able to integrate augmented reality into their marketing, and if approached properly, can being in an extra element of virtual reality to their brands.

The relationship between augmented reality and social media

Is a Twitter analytics package worthy of your time and money?

Lauren Potgieter — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:43:59 +0000

So if you haven’t already heard, Twitter has recently bought over and now has the rights to their very own web analytics company, Smallthought Systems. Through this, it is likely that Twitter will soon offer their own analytics service and this recent business move has brought the issue of Twitter analytics to the forefront.

There has been an ongoing debate as to whether acquiring a Twitter analytics package or system is worth it as many feel that free tools and general knowledge will let you do your own analytics for free. There is however a few Twitter analytics packages that will help you track as well as store and save all your related Twitter information under one roof.

I quite like Tweetmeme analytics. Basically, they track all of the links that get posted on twitter daily and through your Tweetmeme’s recourses, you can see what’s hot and what’s not as well as what stories are making waves. The data that Twitter collects and what you see in your Tweetmeme package is not only for trending topics though, Tweetmeme analytics also uses this information to find out how exactly those particular stories became as influential as they did. Tweetmeme analytics can also see who clicked on the “hot” topics on Twitter as well as who retweeted them. A highlight of this package to me is the retweet section where you can see exactly how your particular story spread as well as how influential your retweeters are.

Tweetmeme works pretty much like other analytics packages, so just as you cross reference keywords with rankings and other influences like you do in Google analytics, so does Tweetmeme analytics need a fair amount of lateral thinking. This package is only one of many that offer Twitter analytics as well as Twitter trends. Another great tool is Trendistic, which kind of like Google insights for your Twitter account. Type in a keyword and Trendistic will give you a graph as to how popular the topic is as well as a list of real time Twitter results.

I think that this using a Twitter analytics service will prove fruitful for individuals who rely on Twitter as their social media gateway to their customers and fans and for those who need additional analytics information as to how their social networking is succeeding or failing. Many are arguing that Twitter analytics is a waste of money as there are numerous free tools which can give you the same results but all know that you can never have too many resources, can you?

Is a Twitter analytics package worthy of your time and money?

Google Caffeine: A shot in the arm for business owners and searchers alike?

Lauren Potgieter — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 09:07:22 +0000

Ok, so finally Google Caffeine is up and at ‘em and in the few days there has been numerous posts on the effect that Google Caffeine will have on search. We know what Google Caffeine will mean for consumers, but what will it mean for the other side of the coin, SEO’s who produce content for individuals who require their current information to be as up to date as possible?

Basically, the most obvious benefit that will affect consumers, SEO’s and content owners is that documents will be able to be found seconds after they have been crawled. Google Caffeine is now offering a real time indexing system which is said to be “fresher” than ever before.

In a world where we want what we want and want it now, Google Caffeine will let this happen by giving us content that is more “now” and less “then.” Pushing indexing closer to real time results makes it possible for consumers to find what they want as well as SEO’s to produce what consumers are looking for. As searchers begin to expect more and more from Google results when looking for specific information, Google Caffeine will bring more relevant and instant content forward, making it easier to find something that is new.

What Google Caffeine does is that it also makes all content and not just more popular content searchable, which puts many businesses on a level playing field. This means that constant updating of site information needs to be done more thoroughly in order to keep up with those sites that will dedicate themselves to updating information constantly.

So, for SEO’s it means that instant results will return other results and businesses are able to see what works as well as what doesn’t, and can change that and have it indexed and searchable in no time.

Google Caffeine will definitely make business owners more aware of online content and there will most likely be more time spent on updating and constantly changing content because as easily as it will be written and loaded, it will now be indexed and searchable.

Here is the full explanation from the man himself:

Google Caffeine: A shot in the arm for business owners and searchers alike?

The Google Doodle: entertaining users since 1998

Lauren Potgieter — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:56:11 +0000

I do not know if I am in the minority here, but I really enjoy seeing the different types of Google Doodles that are regularly placed on the Google home page. It does not matter to me that most of the time you cannot see the Google logo itself as we all know it’s Google, and I am sure that many of us learn a little something new when we scroll over the Google Doodle, interested to see what that particular Google Doodle means.

The first Google Doodle was shown to users in 1998. The Doodle, which depicted the Burning Man logo behind the second O of the Google logo, was placed there for a particular reason – as a type of notification to users that if, for any reason, the server would crash – that users would know that Larry Page and Sergey Brin would not be able to correct the problem until they were back from the annual festival. Since then, the Google Doodle remained, and over the past twelve years there have been thousands of Google Doodles for users entertainment and informational purposes.

The Google Doodle is pretty and interesting to look at, but it also serves a purpose. If you click on the logo itself, you will be taken to a list of results pertaining to that result, letting you find out more about that particular topic. Google Doodles celebrate various topics such a famous peoples birthdays, certain public holidays, days of commemoration and the history of some of our most popular brands that we know and love.

One of the most popular Google Doodle inceptions was the Pac Man Google Doodle that was on the Google home page on the 21st of May this year to celebrate 30 of its launch. As much as users thoroughly enjoyed this incredibly interactive Doodle where you could play the Pac Man game on the Google logo, it also distracted many users and was said to gobble up nearly five million hours of work time. The day that the Pac Man Doodle was placed on Google, time spent on the page went up and so did the amount of searches, but not as much as they thought. They believe that this was owing to the fact that many did not know that you could play the game on the logo but merely look at it.

There are a variety of Google Doodle competitions which you can enter in order to have your Google Doodle on the home page for the day and this competition is open to any age. Recently, a third grader won one of the Doodle 4 Google competitions and received prize money which would be contributed to her university scholarship.

The Google Doodle does not serve a functional purpose, but is rather there is the form of recognition and remembrance. Sometimes thoughtful, other times entertaining, a Google Doodle makes a nice change to the Google image that we see every day. Below are three of my favourite Google Doodles – what are yours?

The Google Doodle: entertaining users since 1998