Archive for Social Media

Behind the Appeal of Social Media

April 27, 2012 / MHBAdmin / No comments

By: Jennifer Miller

I have spent the semester delving into the psychology of specific advertisements and business decisions. While I have been learning a lot, I realized I have not spent much time focusing on the psychology of social media – the booming trend in businesses. So I did some research to figure out if psychologists had started looking into the elements making the trend so powerful. I came across a few articles referencing the 7 A’s of the psychology of social media and I think they are definitely worth sharing.

1. To be Acknowledged: People want to know they are being seen or even exist. This starts with their friends accepting requests or following them on twitter, tumblr, or any other form of social media.

2.  To gain Attention: People want to know they are being heard – by friends, brands, gurus, etc. Analytics shows us that people are paying attention to what we are saying on social media platforms.

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Examining the Thumbs-Up

April 26, 2012 / MHBAdmin / No comments

By: Wendy Lin

Can you count the number of times you were on Facebook today? Probably not. Everyday, people are mindlessly logging into their Facebook account every chance they get. Boredom? Hello, Facebook. Don’t want to do work? Hello, Facebook again. Don’t have time to socialize but want to see what you’re friendly are up to? Facebook, definitely. What is the magic behind this social platform that is able to suck in such a large audience and users? The deal is simple: Facebook is the new mall, the new amusement park, the new everything.

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Be Careful What You Post

April 20, 2012 / MHBAdmin / No comments

By: Alvina Ng

Welcome to the social media age, where an individual is considered strange for not having a Facebook account, where every minute of a person’s life can be tweeted instantly, and where public online Tumblr accounts have been the new “personal diaries.” We have all become very expressive on all these social networking sites because that’s what we do on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr: we connect and we share, openly and without hesitation. But what happens when we share too much?

I was fortunate enough to attend a Professional in Human Resources Association (PIHRA) District 1 meeting last October. The first half of the meeting consisted of the top 10 hot topics for the HR practitioner for 2012 (think of this as the “trending topics” for all you Twitter fans out there). One of them caught my eye in particular – social media snares.

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Online Disinhibition and Gamification

April 11, 2012 / MHBAdmin / No comments

By: Ross Delantar

Dr. John Suler of Rider University has written extensively on the topic of online behavior and has written a wonderful piece on online disinhibition. The problem with some forum sites like Yahoo Answers or community sites like Digg.com is that proper online decorum (netiquette) and useful posts are often overlooked in exchange for popularity or for the sake of “being funny.” In worse cases, users hiding behind obscure usernames troll other users with derogatory, unconstructive posts that fuel other users wanting to be correct. The internet’s mask of dissociative anonymity and invisibility contribute to the culture of reckless posting that can not only be disruptive, but can also degenerate communities with posting wars and alienate posters looking for an insightful discussion.

Recently, an article from Gigaom.com reported on solving the online anonymity problem. The article suggests that websites like Yelp.com and Huffingtonpost.com should encourage insightful posts by having the communities rate post content while maintaining engagement with gamification elements like badges, scores, and statistics. By adding a different dimension to community achievement, website owners and community administrators are able to control user-generated content by encouraging other types of behavior. For example, Huffington Post badges shy away from usual motivators such as post counts and ‘Likes.’ Rather, the badges are awarded for good behavior, such as gathering followers and flagging inappropriate comments. This shift in the motivation for achieving self-actualization within the community is what differentiates the discourse in the Huffington Post website from other news websites such as CNN.com.

On the contrary, the main argument against gamification suggests that by providing amounts of extrinsic motivation, the intrinsic motivation for promoting the desired behavior is lost. I do believe that if the reward is not offered in other environments, it is less likely that user engagement will be retained and that users will resort to what fulfills their personal vies for attention and belongingness in their community without regard to other consequences (being notorious, forum wars).

With that said, I still do think gamification can be used correctly. The unquestionable power of gamification should be harnessed appropriately. Merely adding badges and voting capabilities will not solve the issue. Rather, the solution lies in carefully studying what kinds of behavior would be most desirable for engaging online communities to help model better use for the engaging power of gamification.

For a crash course on gamification, visit Dr. Wu’s presentation on the psychological foundations of gamification in the Gamification Blog.

The Evolving Effect of Social Media on TV

April 4, 2012 / MHBAdmin / 2 comments

By: Grant Johnson

It’s clear that the Internet and social media have changed many aspects of the entertainment industry, but that influence goes beyond just the commercial-neutering appeal of DVR.  Another interesting development has given viewers the chance to express interest in shows that traditional ratings measures can’t reach.  This change in both technology and attitude has forced networks to respond.

The recent announcement that FOX show Arrested Development would be returning after an off-air absence of more than six years underscores the way in which social media and the Internet are allowing people’s voices to be heard more and more.  Not too long ago, networks relied solely on traditional Nielsen ratings of television viewership by channel to determine networks’ and series’ popularity; nothing else mattered.  But thanks to social media, such old-fashioned gauges, while still in use, have become but one of many telling indicators. Now, blogs and forums allow anyone with Internet access to share their love for a show with like-minded others.  An iPhone application allows users to ‘check in’ on Twitter and Facebook while watching a show, linking to a description of it. And such outlets are having an impact.

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