Democratizing Control of Information

In the latest chapter reading from the book, Citizen Marketers, it discusses how the blogosphere has granted the power do distribute information, among a larger group of people, at a rapid rate due to the ease and speed of many social media technologies. As I read, I tried to highlight some of the most interesting statements and I want to offer some of my thoughts on a couple topics.

First, I think it is amazing to take the ability to find an inadequacy, fix it or offer an alternative, and be able to make money. It's the classic, "if I'd have only thought of that first" mentality. The book's example is how the Trott's were able to make blogging a more user-friendly and accessible experience through creating Movable Type. For those, who are unware, the latest version has a significant number of features. One allowing individuals or groups to create a social network. The first one that comes to mind is President Barack Obama's site, which was part of his influential social media campaigning, in the last election. Putting power in the people's hands, Obama's campaign mastered this theory. Obama's site allowed his supporters to go online, host individual rallies, encourage voting, and watch election results. These were all events that were previously organized by campaign officials that were now allowed to happen at the free will of avid supporters.

The biggest challenge in blogging and spreading the word (of yourself/company) is to gain attention and followers. It helps having a strong brand, or a celebrity-esque name. Look at Twitter, and the number of people who follow large corporations, or celebrities like Shaq and Ashton Kutcher. (Follow Me here!) Also, Citizen Marketers recommends you become a "prolific linker." I'm not sure how many links per post make you prolific, but I at least try to link terms that make the most sense to the relevance of this post.

To wrap up, I know it has been mentioned to drop this book from the reading list, but I have found myself enjoying the reading in CM, the most so far.

Reading Reaction: Week 1

In the reading for this week's class, one of the most interesting sections was from the first chapter of Citizen Marketers, by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba. I was intrigued by their theory of the Four F's: Filters, Fanatics, Facilitators, and Fireworks.

As I was reading the descriptions of each type, I found myself trying to come up with examples of my own, using blogs or websites I regularly read. Here are some of the thoughts I was able to come up with. Being the motorsports and car enthusiast that I am, you might be able to guess the general theme.

1. Filters -
ilounge.com - I know this site was featured in the book, but I wanted to mention it because this site was very useful during my internship this summer. At one point I was looking into various iPod accessories with my company as a part the product development I was working on.
In addition to ilounge, I also read a filter type blog devoted to unhappy Enterprise Rent-A-Car employees. I ended up declining a position with their Internship program, in lieu of working with American Trim, where I had an AWESOME summer experience!

2. Fanatics -
The Daily Planet - I came across this blog multiple times from another NASCAR site I often read. The tagline of their blog reads "Where NASCAR fans talk TV all the time." The authors here, post commentary of coverage for almost all NASCAR events, from qualifying to post-race coverage.

3. Facilitators -
MyMonte.com & Camaroz28.com - Even before it was mentioned in the book, my first thought of a facilitator type blog would some kind of online car community. Back in High School I was a member of  MyMonte.com site with the user-name, Nvr2HotMonte. While my screen-name was cool, my activity was pretty slim on the site. Until the 2010 Camaro was released back in March, I would constantly be searching for information regarding the new model on the forum.

4. Fireworks -
Numa Numa guy (or any other viral video that has been passed my way) - I refer to the Numa Numa guy in particular because it was the first viral videos I remember watching. The book mentioned the Milk and Cereal video, and I'm sure that one shortly followed.
Over the last year, there have been a number of movies have started their promotion plans with a form of underground viral videos. The Watchmen, District 9, and countless others may begin with short clips or trailers around the web, with little or no other information creating buzz (and often questions) about the content.