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Vega, I totally agree about the Avon and Tupperware parties as a tool to sell your friends. Though there is nothing ethically wrong with inviting a friend to an event they might have true interest in, it can get a little iffy when you are the one profiting off of their attendance. I sometimes wonder if certain salesmen/women use different wording for different types of acquaintances as a means to erase this sense of ethical misuse of connections. For example, when I share promotions or special events with friends through social networks such as Facebook etc, I'll often use different wording than I would for more blanketed audiences to sort of acknowledge why I'm sharing this info. I think in these situations it's important to always be professional as you are representing the company that employs you, but I think that there is a way to speak

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That is a very good point about the tupperware and Avon. Honestly, I was so engrossed in the technological aspect I did not think of that. This continues to be a part of today as many people continue to sell products such as LipSense and Lularoe. It makes you feel inclined to purchase or have a party when you are connected to distributors, especially if that person is a family member or friend that you want to help out. These companies have this in mind and hope for people to branch out to their networks to make sure the product is successful.

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Lacerta- Yes it does feel invasive. As much as I don't like it, I have found some pretty neat items to purchase that are associated with my profile (isn't that their goal, of course?) I still get a lot of advertisements for wedding items, even though I have been married for almost 4 years. It can be very annoying!

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I must agree with my classmates, it is invasive to have targeted advertisements linked to my social media and retail websites. While I do acknowledge that it is convenient to have advertisements tailored to my personal taste, I think it is inappropriate how it’s obtained. That being said, I do agree that social media is a very efficient method for businesses to market their products and services to consumers. As well as for consumers to be able to seek out businesses for their personal interests. It would be nice if we as social network users chose what type of businesses got our search information. An example is that I search one time for a baby gift for my sister-in-law and then my Facebook and Instagram think I am the one having a baby and I can’t escape out of baby items advertisements for weeks. But when I search to buy a curling iron, I end up seeing many more adds for different curling irons and find an even better curling iron than my initial product search. This has happened to me multiple times and I commonly find the best deal on the item that I discover with these advertisements.

I also agree that a dislike button could take a turn for the worst. While living in a small town in northern Maine, the gossip, opinions and news gets around faster than you know. For an example, I’ve seen the situation before that when one person in the community had an experience that was not up to their expectation at one of the few local restaurants in town and then their reputation was then put down greatly by the negative post that was made and shared on Facebook. A dislike button is the next level and could display a negative reputation and sway their possible customers to choose to go else where.

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It's interesting to me that even though social media has been around before our age and time, we still jump to social media as Facebook and other platforms we as individuals use everyday. This could be our culture, or just the generation we are in! I know that my mind went to those, but we are so engulfed in the digital age that it is hard not to think in terms of social media and those platforms.

I agree that the dislike button could create negative connotations for people and businesses, especially small businesses in small towns, like Maine. If too many people use the dislike, or make negative comments on a feed, it could greatly rift the business and cause it to fail. Also, depending on which celebrity tries to endorse your brand that could make or break it.

The Facebook and website ads could be good or bad, depending on your audience and how well it works. The search engine ads see what you have previously looked for and show them when you're on Facebook, a search engine and even Amazon. Is this process meddling in our lives or helping create business on social media-which most people nowadays use in one form or another. I know, as a college student it is extremely hard not to use Internet or social media within your work. It's funny-I remember my first year in college we barely used Google Docs, and had to learn how to use it. Over the years the student's coming into college have learned Google Docs and media in high school and know how to use these things.

In a different scenario, I see those ads when I am on a search engine, Amazon and also on MSN when I am looking at the news. Most of it are things that I have bought on Amazon. I have bought something from those ads that I see. These ads and social media are just "new" ways for us to communicate as humans-and businesses are using the ads to spread their business.

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Within the last decade, the internet has had such a significant impact on the world. Today, it is not only the internet that is constantly impacting our lives, it is social media as well. Social media is considered the new way of communicating.

Social media has helped individuals and companies in numerous ways—from communicating with family members who live across the country to developing advertisements on popular websites. Social media has impacted sales of thousands of different companies’ in a positive way, due to all of the advertisements and sponsored partnerships with multiple celebrities and social media influencers. I know from personal experience that some of my favorite celebrities have reviewed different products and have led me to purchase it to try for myself. In my opinion, this is how businesses should interact with their consumers—having a well-liked celebrity represent their company/ brand. Having a specific person promote products can change the amount of sales dramatically.

I agree with my classmates—having a dislike button on social media can be controversial for not only businesses, but individuals as well. I also think that a company’s customer service has a lot to do with their rate of sales. For example, if a consumer visits a specific store and the associates’ way of helping them is to give them a “1-800” number to call, the individual may not return to the store. Being in the “internet era,” people tend to be lazy, so having to call a toll-free number is not very good customer service. Customer service and quality products is what keeps people coming back.

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Oh boy, I am really going to reveal my age with this response but feel I just need to do it. First of all, one of the things that I want to say is that "Using" or "Selling" your friends as Rushkoff declares in his writing "Program or be Programmed" has really been going on for many , many years, long before the use of social media on a smaller scale of course.  I think "selling your friends" was happening years ago when women sold Avon and Tupperware and had parties and invited their "friends". Of course the friends would come and buy something and then the host would get more free merchandise. If one of those friends present would sign up to have a party of their own then the host would get even more free merchandise. To tell you the truth, I always felt obliged to go to these parties because after all, my friend asked me and needed me to attend so she could have a "successful sale". Today Mary Kay is a good example of this. I think the difference today is that social media sites, such as Facebook, have latched on to more information than most of us think they should have about us. Every time we post or share a bit about ourselves or our friends and family, social media sites basically suck that information up and figure out how best to use it to get us to buy something or support something. A few months ago an ad came up on Facebook which was trying to sell me a coffee mug with a map of the world printed on it and it had a heart in Maine linked to a heart in another country. My oldest daughter had just moved to that country. I was a bit shocked that the site "knew" that info so quickly and had a company already advertising to me. At the time it felt like a bit of a personal invasion of privacy. As it was pointed out by another person in this class, the skin and wrinkle cream ads are annoying even though in my case,  it is rightly targeted to me. Often times social media doesn't get it right.The quote from Rushkoff that "Friendship.....doesn't mean that the people in our lives can be understood as commodities to be collected and counted" made me remember that so many times throughout history friends have been doing this to their friends. Maybe the difference now is that we no longer have control over it when social media is involved. Marketing is happening all around us for sure from billboards to where they place the food in grocery stores. Online marketing has proven to be very useful to businesses so will continue I am sure.
In my opinion, social media has opened the door to many things, some good and some bad, but it is here to stay and we need to continue to strive to use it appropriately. It was interesting to hear the interview with Tracy O'Clair from the firm TOC Media, for her it made all the sense in the world for businesses to use social media to advance sales in their businesses yet she stressed that she kept her personal posts and professional posts separate. Obviously social media sites use both. I think as time goes on people will learn how to use the internet more and more to their advantage both in the business world and in their personal world.  Hopefully it will benefit both.

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Listening to the video's had my head turning a mile a minute. I was able to understand firsthand what they mean by using the right social media avenue for the product. I don't have Facebook or Twitter, I use Snapchat, Instagram, e-mail on yahoo and Pinterest. I have noticed that "Sponsored" posts have popped up in my Insta feed, Annoying. I see that Snap has stories posted in a separate area where I don't have to look at them if I don't want too, this I don't mind. I get add's on my yahoo main page and junk emails based on sites that I browsed, also annoying-especially ad's for Botox and wrinkle creams since I am not of that age yet. I think they need to pay more attention to their "target" and narrow it down better as mentioned in one of the interviews.  I don't mind some ad's that tend to "follow me" after I've left the site that I was browsing them on, like amazon ad's on the side and in pop ups when I am doing research for a paper. It tends to remind me of the shoes that I really want to buy but don't-spot on use and targeting done here. lol. I've also noticed, and can't help but think they are related, is all the "permissions" that you have to give when downloading an app. Like a picture framing app-it needs access to your contacts or it wont let you download it....the two aren't related in any way that I'd use but it's a ploy for them to get me to "sell my friends" when that isn't my intention at all, much like the games with coins it mentions. I get that advertisers and businesses have to market to make money, and they've found these avenues to be greatly successful. But where I am not a business owner or trying to sell things it makes it annoying to use these sites where I basically feel targeted for the companies to get my information and the information of my friends in exchange to use their site-although there really is nothing "free" in the world and this proves it again. I appreciate the businesses that have created a proper targets and offer deals, but those that have that 18-60 age and don't narrow it down are more frustrating for me, the consumer, and I'm more or less going to remember your business and it's products but I wont be speaking highly of them since I was overburdened with ad's. Overall, I think Rushoff is right-CONTACT is King. And you can find these connections between people and their people, and their people's people very easily...they are EVERYWHERE. People (most anyways) naturally are meeting others on a daily basis and forming new connections, sharing interests and spending time together...this connection automatically builds a connection for a product that the people use, and free of charge to the seller. None the less, as annoying and invading that I think this avenue of communication can be it is simply amazing. The things that can be accomplished seem almost immeasurable and unlimited.

As a reflection on another students post, I think the option of a "dislike" button could come into play in several ways. I think settings on our browser should be more detailed so we can cut these ad's and pop-ups down even more than we can do now. I think websites should have an "unsubscribe" button so that we don't have to see their ad's if we don't want too. I also think the unsubscribe in emails needs to be worked on. I'm tired of getting emails DAILY from a place that I visited ONCE and had to give my email to. I try to say "no thanks" when asked for my email but most sites have gotten smart and require(*) this so nicely now. Urrrr.  And after selecting unsubscribe, I feel as though I am "sold" to other sites and I end up with similar products from another seller in my inbox. I don't want to be sold! At least let me pick! Stop putting this in the fine print.

Ans peakign of fine print, another student mentioned the Term's of agreement that we all just click through. I'm guilty. And that is where I am giving a lot of these permissions to be "sold" and to "sell my friends", but they don't offer a "click here to not be sold" button that also lets you proceed so what do I do? Use the site or App and think "my friends have done it already so they've sold me" or go without? I tend to agree to the terms and deal with the consequences, but this doesn't mean I like it, I just feel as though I am trapped and there is no middle road.

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Social media connections influence heavily what is purchased by most people because they want what is popular. I’ve seen lots of different ads on my social media throughout the years that are supposed to be suggested to what I shop for. It is also prevalent that people who are popular on social media and platforms such as YouTube push their products onto their audience. There are also those people who sell products through social media like beauty products. This is more of an annoyance to me because I am not the target audience.

I do not agree with the fact that businesses are allowed to buy the data that we search because it gives them too much personal information, and insight into what I shop for. That being said, I do not mind suggestions on things when I shop. Sometimes I see things I didn’t know existed that would be helpful. Businesses are really powerful as it is, it is not ideal that most of social media is littered with ads, and data being paid for. I think when the businesses are running promotions or have funny media accounts like Wendy’s then it is okay for them to be subtly advertising. They also have some good customer support on social media.

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Thanks for sharing this message, Hap.  I think it's an interesting contention to make that online advertising is most annoying when it mis-guesses what products you'd buy. Would it be fair to say that, as a result, the best social media advertising is the social media advertising based on the MOST thorough surveillance of your activity?

Best, Prof. Cook

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Hi!  There's nothing turned off to prevent you from replying to other posts -- you just can't edit others' posts (I can because I'm an administrator).  To respond, just start a new post and refer in the text to another person's posts.

P.S. What's your name?
Best,
Prof. Cook
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I  honestly think it's eerily creepy to have advertisements linked to my browsing history on social media. As a mom, I will often see advertisements of baby products I had viewed or temporarily added to my cart on another website. Although I understand how this works, and the angle that advertising businesses are working from, I don't approve of this.

I do think that social media does have a place in the business world. Let's face it: a vast majority of people are on social media daily. Some people check their Facebook in the morning as someone would read the daily newspaper (guilty!) People see and recognize businesses and sales. Many businesses also work the angle of inviting people to like and share their post for a chance to win something (again, guilty!) This allows businesses to reach a network beyond the people that liked their page. It be annoying to some people, especially when you are asked to tag others, and other comment on the post, etc. Thank goodness for options to shut this off. I think in some ways this can hinder a business, however, it does pique curiosity, and get the name around.

I think Rushkoff WAS right on target. I don't like all the advertising and "spam" like posts. However, we are in control of settings of what we don't want to see. However, we are not in control of all those darn game requests? Does anyone remember the big wave of Farmville requests back in the day? I know many people were so annoyed they were ready to unfriend the people that send multiple requests to "water their crops". We need to be mindful of the influx of unwanted messages our friends receive. Sometimes we don't even realize that a game or app is doing this because we blindly agreed to the terms and conditions of "selling our friends" in exchange for playing the game and linking our profile to sign in with Facebook.

P.S. Is there something turned off so that I can't respond to other posts?

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I like bold, confident statements.  Wherever they come from.  Phoenix mentioned about social networking, "Business interactions on social media should be professional at all times."  The entire post was a great opinion, and most likely popular.  However, there are many questions that come to my mind when thinking about this week's lectures and reading classmates' posts.
Isn't social media done by people for people?  Because the word "media" is at the right of "social", do people change?  What does "professional" mean?  Do we all act "professional" at all times? Could I, or should I, argue that "professional" is getting someone to buy what I am selling?  Could that include pop-ups and pop under's?  Should I as a person agreeing to be a participant in the Internet become more aware of laws and legal matters currently going on and issues that have been established, especially in my "jurisdiction"?  Is that professional?  To do due diligence?  Why do people expect people to behave differently online?  Isn't there "bad" people offline?  Aren't there criminals offline?  Should I become more aware that "bad" people and criminals can intersect my network when online?  Should I know that many sites have Terms of Agreement that are never read, and that some sites have "Click Through" laws that mean, just by continuing to use a site, a visitor is agreeing to the rules established by the owners of the website?  Does it matter?  Will most people learn that?  Will some catastrophe have to happen on a large scale or in a person's network to have them learn that?  What responsibility do we have as people?  We agree to certain allowances on Google and wonder why isn't our privacy protected when Google knows when we need to buy more toilet paper.
I don't think we should sell our friends.  I think we should sell ourselves. Feel free to give me a thumbs up or thumbs down, like on YouTube, which, when selecting the thumbs down opinion, the "tooltip" says "I dislike this".

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Hello! I think that social media maximizes sales greatly. Sometimes I will be browsing on Amazon, and when I log into my Facebook account, there will be an advertisement on the side for an item I was previously looking at. I think that the cross over of advertisements and information maximizes sales because if I was on the fence about purchasing the item, I might finally buy it after seeing an advertisement for it multiple times on social media. I think that social media is a great platform for businesses when used correctly. Small business around Fort Kent post sales or Christmas specials on their Facebook page, which generates conversation and eventually sales. I think that posting sale items, giveaways or specials on social media allows the message to be spread further than that of an advertisement in a newspaper. I consider these interactions to be considered appropriate. Something I do not find appropriate is when a consumer posts a complaint towards the business, and the owners comment directly on that post. I think that the response to the complaint should be confidential. Perhaps commenting "Private message has been sent" shows other consumers that the business is willing to speak about private matters, even though it may be through a social media messenger.

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I think Tracy O'Clair was totally spot on with her description of the many uses that social media has for businesses of any type, as well as for individuals on a personal level. I have worked in retail, hospitality, and sales for much of my life, and if there is anything that these positions have taught me, it is that marketing strategies make a huge difference in the ways that a business can benefit. An online presence is important, yes, but what is even more important is having the ability to understand what types of social media marketing work for the type of business that you are advertising. Like Tracy said, a restaurant might not find marketing success with one social media platform, but may find great success with another. It really does come down to finding the appropriate platform, and understanding your market.
I don't know if I completely agree that Rushkoff's view on social media is completely true for our world today. As Tracy said, taking advantage of personal friendships in your business isn't "selling your friends", but instead uses already concrete relationships (which often require an understanding of a person, trust, and open communication) to share their information. I think she was spot on with her example that someone who is passionate about their work and shares their passion is likely to create a positive imprint on the person they are speaking with. This friend will associate this business with their friend's passion and knowledge, thereby creating word-of-mouth marketing and a positive memory for the future. Anytime this person sees an ad or heard a TV commercial, they will associate it to their friend.
I don't consider this type of communication "selling your friends", but I do acknowledge that it exists. Lately it feels like all social media has become inundated with pyramid schemes that pray on social media connections as a source of income. I can't tell you how many old high school classmates have written to me on Facebook with the same plead to buy their product of join their "team". This, in my mind, is an inappropriate interaction on social media. True marketing appeals to an individuals likes or dislikes, which takes the bare minimum effort to understand (as we know, there are algorithms that do this for us). By emailing the same blanket message of information to all people in a social circle, it feels phony and impersonal. And the best marketing methods are the ones that make each individual customer (and potential customer) feel understood and listened to.

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I would to thank Phoenix for the "real" story about our on-line social media trends and the clever idea for the "dislike" button on Facebook.  I like how you were able to relate your experience of being overwhelmed by pop-up advertisements after you went to a specific web site just to obtain some information.  I agree that businesses  should be professional and not forget that the customers and their needs should come first, rather than the business's profit and amounts of "likes' they can obtain.  I think Mr. Rushkoff's beliefs in "Do Not Sell Your Friends" are still valid today when he said, "Friendships, both digital and incarnate (physical), do create value.  But tis doesn't mean the people in our lives can be understood as commodities to be collected and counted."  But that seems to be exactly what online businesses do in order to target more sales - through networking.
Also Phoenix, I think you should patent your "dislike" idea for Facebook or other online social media sights.  If contact is "king" like Mr. Rushkoff suggests, than let's give these billion dollar industries the royal business and tell them that we are people too and not just a dollar in their pockets.  Nice idea.

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In today’s world Social Media trends are being measured by shares, likes, followers and number of friends. All of these connections are managed to maximize sales, this is done by reviewing who has the ability to output the most information to others that maybe interested in the product or service. The concept behind this is very simplistic, but the company needs to make sure that they do their due diligence to assure whatever they are advertising applies to all the various consumer needs.
Appropriate interactions would responding to inquiries, as well as promoting participation through surveys, offering discounts for sharing the information etc. Inappropriate interactions would be not responding to those that seeking additional information, or inundating people with pop-ups, e-mails, bait and click. I have personally clicked on an item that I found to be interesting, within a few days I was so overwhelmed with the amount of pop-ups, that I received from the company, not to mention the time that it takes to find the little “x” to try to close the page. I lost complete interest in the product and have never clicked on the site again. I actually had to go in and click “hide all posts” that’s how annoying it became.
Business interactions on social media should be professional at all times. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. I have looking up bakery’s the week before Thanksgiving on social media. I decided to look at the reviews, at first the reviews were great, highly recommended and so on. As I continued reading I saw a bad review. The customer was clearly not happy with the pies that she had picked up, as they did not look anything like she was promised. I was shocked when I read the owners response instead of offering to remedy the situation or offer an apology the owner states “Perhaps Walmart pies would be a better choice for you next year!”. Wow, needless to say I never ordered from that bakery.
While social media may be great for advertising it is definitely a double-edged sword! Have you ever thought about how drastic business advertising would be on Facebook if there was a “dislike” button? Unhappy customers are more prone to voice their opinion and tell their story about why they are unhappy as opposed to happy customers. If it only took a click of a button, I feel that this would be a game changer for many business’s.
A great statement that was made by Rushkoff in the article that we read “Do Not Sell Your Friends”, “Content was never king, contact is”.