Saturday 21 September 2013

Issue 7: INCENTIVE—FIRST STEP TO INVOLVEMENT



It’s all about me.
"The world revolves around me. Me, me, me. My favorite person: Me. I don't want email from you. I don't want junk mail from you. I want me-mail."- These words of marketer/writer Seth Godin highlight what we all want from our online activity. Pressed for time, overwhelmed by offers, we seek out sites that support us, networks that nourish our needs
"There are so many offers that incentives are required to drive engagement," says keynote PR speaker Patrick Schwerdtfeger.

Commenters on the last blog post shared the incentives that drive them to social media.


Being a creative content producer VitaminCplus acknowledges that the "compelling reason" for returning to a site is the "need to get something out of it"; for her, it’s the opportunity to be creative. She’s not alone. Many media consumers and users are creating their own media content – just as you are doing by commenting on this blog. According to media scholar Axel Bruns, media users should now be referred to as  ‘produsers’.

Bridging physical distances   For  Ianina, Donny and Lee, social media sites offer the chance to maintain relationships with close connections who live far away.  Sociologist Barry Wellman discovered as far back as 1997, even before the advent of social media, that online communities were offering links for family members and friends living far apart.

Offering emotional support Wellman found that virtual communities were also offering generalised emotional support ("a slightly larger form of human embrace, a meta-embrace", in the words of one of his interviewees). Commenter Lee agrees: "On a spiritual level :) I feel FB can also be used to reach out to others in need." 

What do you think?

More about …
Seth Godin on Me me me! http://www.fastcompany.com/events/realtime/miami/blog/godin.html

Patrick Schwerdtfeger’s advice on creating incentives via social media at  http://www.prweb.com/releases/social-media/incentives/prweb10564929.htm

Axel Bruns on produsers:  http://produsage.org/node/67
 

Barry Wellman on virtual communities :
http://groups.chass.utoronto.ca/netlab/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Net-Surfers-Dont-Ride-Alone-Virtual-Community-as-Community.pdf

Example of a  supportive virtual community, listed in my August 22 post: http://themiscarriageblog.blogspot.com.au/2009/02/other-type-of-two-week-wait.html