Tatango is undergoing beta testing for their text service at the moment. We are taking part and it seems to be going very well. A plus. Have to wait and see what happens.
Also, had a meeting with Bushwick Impact yesterday and they are excited about the project. We are still working on how to best reimburse the participants but it looks like preemptive efforts are going to be the way to go aka pay for each month at the beginning.
I chose to discuss “How to Build Viral Buzz with ‘Revolutionary’ Web 2.0 Community”, a case study. This brief article explores a case study of German airline Germanwings’ marketing efforts using a Web 2.0 community. The airline created a virtual community that was designed to increase users’ engagement with the Brand and was designed to be propagated via email and virally.
The idea behind a virtual community that ties back to a brand is not particularly innovative but Germanwings’ success was in engaging users for so long (average of 9.5 minutes) and empowering them to spread the message while not overburdening their efforts in reaching more people.
There are several lessons here for social marketing initiatives. First, Germanwings’ efforts had no content or purpose other than increase sales. However, by thinking about attributes for their brand that resonated with their audience they transcended the commercial aspect behind their efforts. Non-profits groups or corporations then should also think of their projects’ attributes that will create and strengthen ties with their audience. I immediately thought of the Facebook team that’s working with Global Potential. There’s immense value in engaging an audience who will receive the messages and emotionally tie with the organization.
Secondly, another thing that was critical to the campaign was Germanwings’ success at retaining users at the site and encouraging them to move on to purchase a flight. The lesson for non-profits is to engage users with their stories and engage them to act on whatever the organization needs them to do: donate, spread the word, etc.
Social, viral marketing can benefit from users that are so engaged with the brand that they will become ambassadors of the brand/project.
There were a number of articles relating to the cultural implications of expanding media that were informative and/or problematic but given my groups SMS project a discussion of Everyday Contexts of Camera Phone Use: Steps Toward Technosocial Ethnographic Frameworks by Daisuke Okabe and Mizuko Ito seemed most relevant. The purpose of this study was to observe and report on camera phone usage in Tokyo, Japan. Here, we will summarize the impetus, methodology, and findings of the study; then assess flaws in the theoretical framework that include large logical leaps that stem from a very small sample size but also a tendency to view new media (specifically cell tech) as an acceleration of old media rather than a paradigm shift (which they acknowledge).
Seeing that this study was published in 2005 and the rapid development of the technology render the statistics used to justify the study unremarkable to us, let’s just say that skyrocketing data transferring via mobile and the increasing number of camera phones on the market in Tokyo suggested that social usage was worth a gander.
The design and methodology concern a small litmus test of user’s high and low order motives. Two high school students, eight college students, two housewives with children, and three professionals participated in the study. They submitted their last ten photos taken on the their phones and then had a discussion with the academics regarding how they treat each photo. The academic concern is how are these used in a public way: shared with all, some, or fully private. And why.
As for the findings, Okabe and Ito discuss cell photos as a private, semi-private, even journalistic (neta), or a good omen (omamori). For each concept they have an example- pics taken for oneself, or images of the sea for luck/inspiration, teacher mishaps as info sharing etc… Given this isn’t a full academic assessment, let me just say that they have an example to alleviate the constraints of each option but don’t show ones that do not fit this model (or don’t seemingly pervert some social etiquette), which would be fine if the models they wish to examine weren’t present in almost the exact same form in earlier media. There is very little that is new about people’s behavioral interaction with camera phones compared with digital cameras or diaries- in this article. The private-space-in-public aspect of camera phones represent one aspect untouched in the article. Documented, reproducible voyeurism seems a vital development that accompanies camera phones but vacant (for the most part) from other media. They approach this when discussing neta but are too vague. News sharing, while important and broadly socially significant, is a less functionally significant shift through mediums than a re-organization of collecting and sharing (or not sharing) formerly un-documentable scenarios. Be they illicit, explicit, or harmless. We have probably all been photographed on the subway numerous times- what happened to those images?
Also, acceleration is a by-product, or goal, of new technology but academically it is less interesting to examine than new or unintended interactions. Yes one can privately hold a pic without sharing but one can also engage film or pen and paper the same way. Rather, what seems more interesting is how are people using pictures as a substitute for written/voiced language. When does one choose a pic or a text or phone call? Can or does one engage in prolonged interactions via photo?
So, I think has be a long form way of saying that the article’s conceit isn’t thorough enough. To prove that would take a study on my part but the kind of neat, comfortable interactions and conclusions suggest that the scope was too small or the participant selection was skewed. They are just too nice.
We have been able to make progress with Tatango.com- we are confident that we will be able to develop a program that meets BI’s needs with them. Tatango is just launching so we will be a longer term project.
Thus far of the companies listed below, 3jam has declined to offer any tracking service and Pombity has said that they can send a statement with numbers used- which is an improvement but still not ideal. Am still waiting to hear from SMSGateway and have a phone conversation with Tatango. Word. There also may be a part of Twitter that will be able to help us.
Cell Phone Project
Progress Report
Description of the Project
Distributing weekly text message updates to the families serviced by an organization, within the Globalhood Potential Family, called Bushwick Impact. The organization provides services to families in the neighborhood from all different ethnic and cultural backgrounds: Puerto Rican, Indian, Haitian and Dominican, among others. The organizations services parents with children up to 8 years in the areas of childcare, literacy and orientations and referrals regarding housing and health issues.
The Organization seeks to provide updates to the families regarding activities and events at the Center. In addition, they’re interested in gathering information from the families regarding the quality of their services and if they require additional services.
Challenges
1. Costs
The organization is concerned that most of their members have pre-paid phones and will be charged up to almost a dollar per text message.
2. Technology
The organization’s online information manager does not have the capabilities to handle mobile.
Status
1. Content
Regarding content, the Organization has provided us with the calendar of events that would potentially be distributed to a core group of parents that the organization will identify that have mobile phone contracts that allow them to receive text messages without additional costs.
2. Technology
Investigating with mobile management company called 5thfinger.com and are waiting for further input, but have identified several options that might offer
services that would fulfill the organization’s needs.
3. Costs
Investigating software companies that allow sending messages from a computer, which could potentially allow for tracking and reimbursing this may work. As it is manually handled, it would require the organization to identify a volunteer that could manage it.
Bushwick Impact (BI) Mobile Updating System
After meeting with BI, we realized that discovering an adequate distribution model was/is the primary goal and difficulty. We are in the process of devising a system that reimburses the target audience for SMS updates.
2. What will be accomplished by the end of this semester?
We have come across a couple marginally okay options. If BI wants to work with these then this can be done by the end of class but maximizing participants will take time.
3. If in order to realize all the project objectives, you may need to extend the deadline, then what goals will be reached by the end of the semester and what goals will need to be extended?
The simple updates might be done by the end of the semester but we also discussed producing surveys. That is very long term.
4. What platforms has your group utilized to communicate and collaborate with each other and with the other groups? What has and hasn’t worked, and why?
Our group is pretty old school. Email, text, and face-to-face.
5. How have you been documenting and sharing project work?
Blog. Email.
6. What resources have you tapped into, to achieve your goals?
Online research and tapping into contacts with more experience.
7. What would help to realize your group’s project?
Money. Not a lot. But some.
Have been in touch with some friends at a mobile management company called 5thfinger.com
They are looking into possible options but are skeptical that there is a service that serves our particular needs. But a couple of other options have turned up:
http://www.3jam.com/index.php
http://www.xpesms.com/
http://www.pombity.com/default.aspx
They are software companies that allow you to track and send out SMS from PCs. As a more manual option for tracking and reimbursing this may work. Have to test them but hope that an option comes from 5th Finger.
Bushwick Impact serves families in the neighborhood from all different ethnic and cultural backgrounds: Puerto Rican, Indian, Haitian and Dominican, among others. The organizations services parents with children up to 8 years i the areas of childcare, literacy and orientations and referrals regarding housing and health issues.
The organization seeks serve the families they currently serve in additional areas and expand their services to other families. In addition to sharing information regarding the programs they currently offer, they hope to gather information regarding the effectiveness of their services.
Given the need to track and bill texts, a significant challenge is going to find a management system willing to take on a small project at a necessarily “generous” price. Currently, these two challenges carry all our attention.
The project, as it turns out, is not content driven but tech driven. Impact’s online info manager is Eto Software www.socialsolutions.com/. We had hoped that they might have a line on using their own information with mobile, Unfortunately, it is something they are developing and have no way to distribute their info beyond PCs.
We met Impact at their office on Central Ave. It was very constructive to sit down with them (Chloe and Cindy) and work out their needs. Their immediate desire is to have an update system for reminding current and potential partcipants of events and on-going projects that are available. Also, deadlines for applying for services. What is apparent is that they have 20-30 core families that will participate but can be expanded if the system proves useful. What also became very clear: whatever project we worked on with them would require a management system that does not charge the participants for this service. Either by reimbursing users or charging Impact from the outset.
Challenge Number One: Billing concerns. As this is the primary concern, any project will hinge on how we solve this. A significant portion of the population use pay as you go phones, which charge up to $.99 a text. This is prohibitively expensive for desired audience.
