Match.com to Screen for Sexual Predators

Match.com has announced that they are going to begin screening all of their users against the national sex offender registry.  The reason for this new cause is because they are being sued after a woman claims she was raped by a man she met on their site.  The woman claims that the man raped her on the second date, but the man is pleading not guilty because he says it was consensual.  

I find it interesting that Match.com has agreed to start implementing this process, but they seem very nonchalant about the case and even hesitant to screen users.  The article on Mashable.com said, "although the site’s officials still don’t think that screening is the best option to prevent cases such as this one.  We want to stress that while these checks may help in certain instances, they remain highly flawed, and it is critical that this effort does not provide a false sense of security to our members."  It seems as though they are making excuses for future incidents.  As if they are saying, "We will implement this process, but if it happens again it's not our fault because we're doing what you wanted."  

I understand that Match.com wants it's users to understand that screening won't prevent everything that could ever happen.  However, I feel that screening users will make those who were hesitant to join before comfortable with joining, and even make current users feel more comfortable.  It could even increase their traffic on their website and usage - which is beneficial for Match.com.

My question is: do you think it's a good idea for dating sites to screen their users?  And although we understand it might not prevent all incidents, would it make you more comfortable about joining a dating site knowing they screen for sexual predators?

Viral Video

A few months ago I received an email from my dad and the title had something to do with "You have to watch this video!"  I'm not to into the Youtube craze and rarely watch many videos online so I put it off for a while.  Well, finally the other day I was emptying out my Inbox and saw the email so I decided to finally open it up and watch the video.  Along with the link came an article discussing these twin babies having their own conversation in their own language.  In the video it is clear that these two toddlers are discussing something in their own "baby talk" language.  They giggle at each other and give hand signals just like an adult would do to interact during a typical conversation.

My thoughts after watching this video, and now while taking our Social Media Marketing class, is how often do we or our close family members participate in viral marketing or making videos go viral and not even realize it?  Many people have a bad connotation associated with the word "marketing" or "advertising" and claim not to fall for the "scams" laid out by these people.  However, when they forward emails containing videos associated with a brand or product they are doing exactly what marketers wanted to happen with that video.  I just find it interesting that marketing has such a bad rep when millions of people participate in it daily without even knowing it.

ABC News: Viral Video

Facebook Places

For those of you who have an iPhone I'm sure you have the Facebook App.  Well today Facebook updated their Iphone App with some changes made to Facebook Places.  Now instead of just checking in to where you are at you can actually check into events or check in to what you are doing at certain place.  You can check into parties so that people can see who's there and check into events like trivia at restaurants.  The other new feature is viewing a map and all of the people who have checked in around you show up on the map.  Apparently, there are some issues with the map feature and certain events showing up in the middle of the ocean, but those will be fixed in time.

But think about how beneficial this can be for marketers to see, not only everyone who was potentially invited to an event but also see who actually showed up.  This will give them age ranges, interests, and other useful information for marketers to more accurately define their target market.  I think Facebook has the upper-hand on the new fad of "checking in."  Most people use Facebook anyways making checking in very convenient as opposed to having a separate account with something like FourSquare.  Although you don't get the perks from Facebook Places like you do with FourSquare, checking in on Facebook does let all of your friends know what you are doing and where you are.

The question comes to mind after reading more about the details of Facebook Places: "are we giving marketers too much information and making it too easy for them to "sucker" consumers into making purchases?"

Wheat Thins Rewarding Its Tweeting Customers

I went to the movie this past weekend and one of the commercials beforehand was one that many of you I'm sure you have already seen on TV or somewhere else.  It's basically just the Wheat Thins Company rewarding it's consumers for giving it publicity.  @CHRISMACHO is the one who tweeted about them and said, "Had a hunch today would be good but didn't think it would be THIS good....Wheat Thins is now following me on Twitter." Then Wheat Thins shows up and shows him the traveling billboard that says, "Follow @CHRISMACHO on Twitter. He's awesome."

I found it interesting how companies are actually showing their presence on Twitter and giving back to their customers who give them publicity.  Wheat Thins realizes how much "free" publicity they get when their customers tweet about them and are trying to give back and get them more followers as well.  I just thought it was interesting how companies were beginning to take advantage of social media sites and maybe are starting to see the real benefits of using social networks.  As we have said before, social media as a marketing tool is a great and nearly free way of getting publicity for your business.  Although some of the publicity might be negative most customers talk about their good experiences and a lot of people like to see some negative reviews just to see the company has some flaws and it doesn't seem like the reviews are put on by the company to make themselves sound good.

Video of "Follow @CHRISMACHO"

LinkedIn's Popularity

Last week I blogged about why paying for LinkedIn might pay off for some people.  This week I want to talk about how popular LinkedIn is becoming and has become since it's launch in May of 2003.  LinkedIn announced that it has finally surpassed 100 million users!  It was founded in 2002 and launched in 2003, but took six years to reach 50 million users. Six years to reach 50 million users seems pretty fast, they have really seen their increase the past two years.  In October 2010 they reached 85 million users and at the beginning of this year when they decided to go public they were at 90 million users.  That is quite an increase in just 3-4 months which goes to show how popular LinkedIn is becoming and why it is so important to maintain a professional image so you can continue to build your personal brand.  In their latest research, LinkedIn has found they are adding one new member per second!!!

To celebrate this accomplishment, LinkedIn has done some research on it's users - who uses and when they use - and has published it for others to see. Some of the facts they have found are:

• LinkedIn has experienced most of it's growth internationally - 56% of it's users are outside the U.S.
• It's fastest three growing countries are: Brazil, Mexico, India, and France.
• Most users get on LinkedIn during the workday - around noon.  However, mobile usage shows around 8pm.
• 1 million users are teachers; 20% work in the service sector; 9% work in finance; and another 9% in high-tech industries.

The article really shows us a lot.  It reminds us how popular any type of social media is becoming because even though Facebook might not be the biggest thing in a few years, there are hundreds of other types of social networks that are breaking through and on the rise.  Once again, I have discussed this previously quite a bit, it is a continuous reminder of why is it so important that we maintain our LinkedIn pages and keep a professional and updated profile.  More and more employers and recruiters are adding LinkedIn to their horizon when searching for potential employees so there is no telling how many times our pages are viewed or when our experiences and education will be wanted by a hiring manager.

"LinkedIn Surpasses 100 Million Users"

Perks of Paying for LinkedIn

I found an article today titled, "10 Reasons Why You Should Upgrade Your LinkedIn Account."  Although most of us in our social media class only have a LinkedIn account because it is a course requirement, we should keep in mind that it could be potentially helping us for our future - since a majority of us are graduating in May.  And although we probably aren't to the point where we use LinkedIn enough to find it beneficial to pay for its use the article did bring up a few good points.

The first major point was about the use of InMail.  InMail is just like email but it sends messages via LinkedIn.  Studies found that InMail is actually 30% more effective than regular email because the receiver of the message immediately knows you are part of the LinkedIn community and also can view your profile instantly to find out more information about you rather than just being a name on an email.

For those who use LinkedIn a lot to recruit and find potential employers, the paid version could definitely be beneficial to them because of the search filters that are offered to paying customers.  On the free version of LinkedIn, you are very limited to who you can find and you must put a lot more effort into searching for others.  With the paid version, recruiters are offered many different types of search criteria to filter their results which keeps search times to a minimum.

Another great tool with the LinkedIn paid version is being able to see who has viewed your profile and what keywords people are searching that brings them to your page.  This allows you to edit some of your information to reach more of your targeted audience.

There were other reasons mentioned for upgrading your LinkedIn account and there is no doubt that it can be beneficial to many.  As an individual it is your job to determine if upgrading is worth it to you or if the free version is taking care of your basic needs.  All in all, LinkedIn is a powerful recruiting tool and social media tool that should not be brushed under the rug and I think it is very important that we keep them neat and professional because you never know who will look at it and see you as a potential employer.


"10 Reasons Why You Should Upgrade Your LinkedIn Account"

Facebook - Creating Relationships or Causing Breakups

All I simply had to type into Google was "social networking" and two articles just posted today popped up linking Facebook and relationships.  One of the articles was a story of personal experience of how a relationship found its ending when the boyfriend started a Facebook page.  He connected with old friends (and girlfriends), created a Farmville and became consumed with chatting, updating, and feeding his new obsession.  The relationship began to plummet because most of his free time was spent on social networks, but the relationship ultimately ended when he connected with an ex-girlfriend and decided to visit her one night when she "supposedly" kissed him first.  He claimed he didn't cheat because he didn't initiate the kiss but he knew she still liked him and still decided to go.  Obviously there are other ways that Facebook or other social networking sites can cause turmoil in relationships. Status updates that claim a significant other is doing something other than what they said they would, "incriminating" pictures, and simply messaging or chatting with others we know we shouldn't can get us all in trouble.  

The other article claims that Facebook is the cause of 1 in 5 divorces that was discovered in a survey done by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Also, out of all the other social networking sites, Facebook is the leader for online evidence causing divorce at 66%.  Although Facebook does not claim to be a dating site, there is plenty of evidence showing that Facebook is in fact used by many to meet new people and start potential relationships.  For those of us in the situation where any social network could harm our current relationship, we need to remind ourselves frequently what we are using Facebook for and keep our minds in check.  The purpose is to keep in contact, updated, and update others on our lives - not to create emotional relationships that could turn physical or turn our attention away from the one we love.

"Facebook to blame of 1 in 5 divorces in US"
"Blame Networking Sites For Your Breakup"