Twisting the news – 30th edition

Good Monday morning. Yes, Monday again, and you should you need any motivation to start a new week, here it is: Vilakazi Street in Soweto, Johannesburg is the only street in the world which can claim the title of having had 2 Nobel Peace Prize winners as residents; The late ex President Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Soweto used to be a South African township during the Apartheid Era (when non-white population was sent to live outside cities).

Now, let’s talk some business. The Volkswagen Scandal is not fading, nor close to an end: Volkswagen is quoting a German privacy law, refusing to cooperate in the US lawsuit, facing a $20 billion fine for damages. 

When Volkswagen met the power of the Internet

It is big, appalling, scary and horrid: the Volkswagen scandal. It is scary for both the consumer and the Volkswagen company. I’ve said it numerous times before: in the 21st century, a national state is no longer the policy maker. I’ve been counter argued. I’ve heard that still, in a contemporary democracy, a state has the power to create the conditions for a free market. Sorry guys, no. That is so last century. It’s the world and the companies now. It’s the consumer versus the company. Had this happened 20 or 30 years ago it wouldn’t had been such a big deal, leaving aside the importance of the environmental issues in 2015.

If you somehow live in a void bubble where nothing reaches you, I’ll summarize the Volkswagen scandal. The International Council on Clean Transportation wanted to study emissions from 3 diesel cars: Vw Jetta, Vw Passat and BMWX5.  VW failed the test, Nox emissions were 15-35 higher than the standard. Accusations were not explicit but the report was self-sufficient. Then, it was revealed that Volkswagen had previously installed a software to cheat the tests. Volkswagen American apparently tried to shut the scandal, sending letters to the car owners in California asking to bring them in for a software upgrade. Instead, the whole thing blew and since then, it does not seem to stop. Vw has since admitted the cheat affects 11m cars.

Bringing Banking to Social Media

 2015 : 7 years have passed from the economic crisis of 2008. The millennial generation is rising and becoming the main buyer. Banks have been shattered by the crisis of 2008, not only economically, but also in terms of image. Banks need rehabilitation. Banks needs rebranding and also positioning in front of their new main target: millennials. Will banks make it in the sharing economy, will banks be able to attach strings to a generation that showed they hate them?

I’m a millenial. Most of my friends are millenials and we do not like banks. Sure, we carry and deal with credit cards, but most of us, if given the choice would never consider a loan. Morever, we’re educating ourselves into the sharing economy. Uber wants to make owning a car despicable.

Measuring Emotions in the World of Big Data

I’ve spent the last two days at Internet & Mobile World, a local event dealing with online and mobile trends from a marketing, business and IT perspective. There are some major trends and debates right now, things we’re all dealing with. Today I will address one of them: Big Data. We’re collecting, monitoring and measuring everything, in order to figure out later what we’re going to do what that data. The same happens for Facebook, Google and all the major online social networks. Ask me, none of the big players in this market has yet found a way to use data at its full potential.

Another problem appears: Big Data is not enough. By measuring online behavior you will not necessarily know what consumers actually want or need. Measuring and tracking tools will not keep track of irony, self irony, display consumerism and other things humans do. The example given by one of the speakers was that his children were hitting the like button of a page just because it was considered outdated and not trendy anymore so they were making an anti-statement. That was an ironical “like”, although metrics might tell you that your brand suddenly became popular. Solution: you must go beyond that, use additional methods in order to measure the “honesty” of your consumers. Top that with the ongoing concern about privacy and the rise of anonymity on the internet and you’re gonna think we’re a bit lost at the moment. 

Internet.org

Today is about Facebook again. Today Facebook announced a new app: Internet.org. Internet.org was first announced as Facebook’s plan to deliver internet to third world countries and isolated territories. Back then it was about drones. Drones were to be used as satellites offering internet to secluded areas with no access to information. However, the plan changed. Internet.org became an app that makes the internet accesible to more people. It will be first launched in Zambia. It offers free access to health, employment and local information and, of course, Facebook (AccuWeather, Airtel, EZeLibrary, Facebook, Facts for Life, Google Search, Go Zambia jobs, Kokoliko, MAMA, Mesenger, Wikipedia, WRAPP and ZAmbia uReport are the places where free online access is granted. This is how it looks like.

China threatens Facebook

With a population of  1.3 billion people, accounting for  almost 20% of world inhabitants, China is a huge market. Also the fastest growing major economy, world’s second largest economy, almost ready to become world’s leading economy, the world’s main manufacturer, world’s second importer. That’s why big companies place their big bets on China. Attracted by China’s huge potential as a consumer market, many companies forget the particularities of the Chinese market. 

Facebook, loneliness and virtual reality

There is this video going viral on Facebook about how social networks actually affect our social life, or creates loneliness giving the apparent feeling of socializing.

Some years ago, quite many, judging by the way things have evolved, I made some research on communication via instant messanging services, it was the age of Yahoo Messenger. The conclusion would now be predictible but in those days it was a bit surprising: instant messaging wasn’t making our lives easier, but harder. Istant messanging is disrupting our communication and not making it easier as it would be thought. 

Facebook, Google, making money.

source:  Business Management Degrees

This is how Facebook makes its money. Among the top advertisers on Facebook: Google. Google is using Facebook ads to promote its Chrome browser. Well, that’s a sign Facebook is working, even for Google.

Facebook, 10 years

Mapping facebook pairs of friends. Illustration: Paul Butler

10 years of Facebook.  Quite unprecedented, especially considering those who said Facebook is going to be just another Myspace, Hi5, or similar. Currently Facebook has 1.23 billion monthly users. 2 years ago Facebook reached 1 billion users and it kept growing, despite popular beliefs that 1 billion was a max. 757m users log on daily, Facebook claims. 556 m access Facebook via their mobile device. More than 380 m people like Facebook’s official page. Facebook doubled its price of share since May 2012, reaching 61,48$.

February 4, 2014. Facebook’s birthday, Facebook is now 10 years old. Facebook has a gift for you: A Look Back, a video made from your x years of activity on Facebook. It shows how great your life is, especially on Facebook. Everybody’s been sharing it.

Don’t on social media, case study: Orange Romania

I kept writing about the use of social media in marketing, how great it can be if you use it wisely, how social media will be the next mass media, the future of social media and some other social media issues. While I was writing them it seemed like I’m mostly explaining common sense, I’ve been using, studying and marketing on social media since 2008. After some time it seems common sense that a business should have a social presence and it should engage its consumers in a conversation, different from old marketing in accordance to the company’s image. There are some case studies in which social media can become customer care, more efficient than the old fashioned call center. However, sometimes, something happens and I realize, no, it is not common sense, and even big companies need to be reminded what social media is all about. So, I’ll tell you a story about my experience as a customer and consumer of a brand with a marketing background. I usually don’t like to give names but I’ll use this post as a complaint letter and some free advice to the company as well.

My never ending story with Orange Romania Last week I decided I needed a new phone. I’ve been an Orange Romania customer since I first got a phone, which is probably for the last 12 years. It should traceable, and I’m pretty sure Orange Romania can check the birth date of my phone number, although there was no Orange Romania back then, it was called Dialog . I might be what they call a loyal customer.