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This is brilliant marketing. Happy Friday!

Thanks to Ad Pitch Blog for making me aware of this awesome campaign!

Why Do You Use Social Media?

In December of 2010, I finished my senior thesis. My thesis paper looked at the uses and gratifications of user-generated content.

There are several reasons people use UGC (basically synonymous with “social media“), and they’re always changing. Knowing these uses and gratifications help in determining the success of a UGC platform, and in social media marketing.

When I was writing my paper, I found six main uses and gratifications of social media; two reasons for producing content, two for consuming content, and two for interacting/participating.

The two main reasons for consumer creation of content were self-expression and professional development.

For content consumption, the two reasons were entertainment and information.

And the two main reasons consumers interact (comment, rate, etc.) were social interaction and community development.

It’s been over a year since I wrote that paper, and social media is changing as fast as ever. The uses are changing too.

Now, I’m interested to hear what reasons you have for using social media. Why did you post your latest status update? Why did you comment on that YouTube video?

Let’s do a brainstorm of reasons we use social media!

Related articles

• A New Way to Look at UGC and Social Media (Important Information) (mediumjoe.wordpress.com)
• Using pinterest to market your business – some do’s and don’ts (premierlinedirect.co.uk)
• Social Media: Consumers want vs. what Consumers really want (kiaspridenprose.wordpress.com)

Blog Buffet: March 16th, 2012

Blog Buffet is the part of Medium Joe where I list a few of my favorite blog posts from the week. I only select posts of the highest quality!

If you’d like to be updated on these links as soon as I find them, Like Medium Joe on Facebook!

Twitter, the Startup that Wouldn’t Die @ Bloomberg Businessweek

Everything Your Employees Need to Know About Social Media @ Mashable

The ’118′: The Modern Elevator Pitch @ Success

Facebook’s 6-Point Plan for Building Brands in the Social Media Age @ Mashable

In Age of Pinterest, Instagram, Marketers Need an Image Strategy @ AdAge Digital

How to Defeat the Social Media Skeptics in Your Company @ Mashable

Do you know of an article or blog that would be suitable for Blog Buffet? Drop me a line: mediumjoeblog@gmail.com

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• Blog Buffet: Februany 24th, 2012 (mediumjoe.wordpress.com)

Will Facebook Be Around in Ten Years? (POLL)

Blog Buffet: March 2nd, 2012

Blog Buffet is a part of Medium Joe where I list a few of my favorite blog posts. I only select posts of the highest quality so all can enjoy!

Ashamed to Not Know @ Seth’s Blog

P&G Finds Orange Ads Work Better on Facebook @ AdAge Digital

The Power of the Social Consumer (Infograph) @ Mashable Business

Apple’s First Marketing Guru on Why ’1984′ is Overrated @ AdAge Digital

The History of Marketing (Infograph) @ The Marketing Engineer

What is Content Marketing? @ AdAge Digital

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What Pinterest Should and Shouldn’t Do Next

With some hard work and creative promotion, Pinterest could gain 300 million users in the next year or two.

I’ve come up with a list of some things I think Pinterest should and shouldn’t do. First, they should:

• continuously fine-tune the site. They’ve already done a good job on this one by banning nudity and by allowing copyright-holders to block their content from being “pinned” (this will cut down on lawsuits against Pinterest).
• add the “log in with Facebook/Twitter/Google+” option, and get rid of the “request an invite” requirement. Users don’t like extra steps, and often won’t bother.
• focus on strengthening their current audience, women.
• create a sports-cars-babes oriented version of Pinterest (Manterest?) as to not clutter the current, female-oriented Pinterest. Once again, keep the number of steps to finding great content at a minimum.

Pinterest shouldn’t:

• make any unnecessary, drastic changes to the site. The site is hugely popular the way it is. Making any drastic change is going to be a risk. Changes will become less risky as more people start using Pinterest.
• market to men. I mentioned this kind of thing in the “should” section already, but I’m bringing it up again because it’s very important.

Related articles

• [SLIDESHARE] Down and dirty guide to Pinterest for business (heidi-miller.com)
• Should You Use Pinterest for Your Business? (flybluekite.com)
• Flickr Is Fighting Copyright Theft On Pinterest (businessinsider.com)

Blog Buffet: Februany 24th, 2012

Blog Buffet is a part of Medium Joe where I list a few of my favorite blog posts. I only select posts of the highest quality so all can enjoy!

NBA Fans to Decide Dunk Contest via Twitter in Most Connected All-Star Weekend Yet @ Mashable Social Media

If the NBA keeps up the good work, they’ll be the next NFL!

How a Tweet Turned Into Kellogg’s New Cereal @ Advertising Age

Facebook behind budget on Q1 ad revenue, sources say @ Venture Beat Social

How the Top 100 Brands Are Using Google+ @ Lonely Brand Blog

The 11 Commandments of Writing and Creativity @ Olivia Johnston

Social Media Communities: Digital Potemkin Villages? @ Nones Notes

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Medium Joe TV, Episode 1: Social Media Quick Tip

Blog Buffet: Februany 17th, 2012

Blog Buffet is a part of Medium Joe where I list a few of my favorite blog posts. I only select posts of the highest quality so all can enjoy! Click the title to read the article, and click the author’s name for his/her website.

You’ll Download Physical Objects Sooner Than You Think by Sam Laird @ Mashable Tech

 

Jennifer Hudson’s Whitney Huston Tribute So Moving People Stopped Tweeting by Zharmer Hardimon @ Ad Age Digital

Ads Must Reach for Content that Aspires to Bigger Ideas by Jon Steinberg @ Ad Age Digital

Spout and Scout by Seth Godin

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Joins Pinterest by Stan Schroeder @ Mashable Social Media

Sports and Social Media [INFOGRAPH] by Laura Gainor @ GMR Marketing Blog

March Madness Online Will Cost Non-Cable Subscribers a One-Time Fee by Brian Steinberg @ Ad Age MediaWorks

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Microsoft’s New Social App, msnNOW, Isn’t What it Could Be

I’m usually good at predicting the success or failure of a new social media website, but with Microsoft‘s new msnNOW, I’m not so sure. MsnNOW is a cool way to get news and information based on what is being talked about on the web. It analyses Bing searches and social media updates to find what news is most popular. Then, it puts all of the trends on the front page.

Unfortunately – and, this may be NOW‘s downfall – it seems like nobody on the interent wants to talk about actual news. The website is currently a heap of celebrity gossip and other fluff stories: “Kobe caught smooching his ex,” “Twitter tells Chris Brown to RIP,” and “Model unsure who she’s dating.”

The genius behind msnNOW is pretty much the same ingenuity that’s behind Pinterest. It digs through all of the boring content, and presents the user with the content everyone else seems to enjoy. If you read my article about Pinterest, you know I predict that it could grow to be as popular as Facebook. Unlike msnNOW, Pinterest isn’t overloaded with useless celebrity news.

The other problem I have with the site is that it’s a part of MSN instead of Bing. That was a weird and not-so-smart move. Why not make it now.bing.com? Then, it could be clumped in with all the expensive marketing Bing is doing, and Bing would be even more about what’s hot. NOW could have been the fresh addition Bing needs.

Despite its potential, I don’t think NOW will be a huge success. If the content was stronger and the site was part of Bing, the chances of success would be much higher.

Related articles

• Revolving door: Club Bing out, msnNOW in (sorta) (liveside.net)
• MSN Launches msnNOW to Keep You in the Know (socialmediaportal.com)
• msnNOW (socialmediaportal.com)