Internet: Too Much Free Speech?

August 20, 2009September 9, 2009Stacey Rynders

Yesterday brought the news that Google was being forced by a Manhattan Supreme Court Justice to reveal the identity of an anonymous blogger, who was “talking trash,” about Canadian-born model Liskula Cohen on a blog called Skanks in NYC. The blog has since been taken down, but the samples I’ve seen of the copy were truly pure trash… upped by the ante of anonymity.

In the many discussions about the role of the Internet on how we as a society receive our news, there has been much discussion about accountability and reliability. As a communications strategist, I’ve talked to many clients about the need to be more aggressive about negative online commentary about their business. The Internet has changed the rules because it makes it so easy to publish anything – true or false.

In the case of Liskula Cohen, she argued that she should have the right to sue the blogger for defamation, because the blog posts undermined her credibility and made it more difficult to get jobs. I can see this as viable. Hollywood seems to run scared at the first sign at a little controversy. Note how Michael Phelps was dropped so quickly for possibly smoking marijuana.

The larger question, however, is how accountable should bloggers be? Frankly, I have to admit to being biased. I’m trained in journalism from the University of Missouri of Columbia where entire classes are dedicated to libel and slander. One wrong fact in a news story and your grade dropped a letter – this includes a wrong phone number. So, while I like the Internet’s ability to share so much information and to bring the world to your fingertips, I admit that I’m not so fond of the anger- or hate-motivated speech that happens on the Internet.

Where is the line? And how can it be adequately enforced? Share your thoughts!

Facebook- 8th largest country!

June 14, 2009September 9, 2009Stacey Rynders

When it comes to social media marketing, I constantly hear clients say, “I just don’t get it. Who has time?”

Now, I admit that I came to social media with the same attitude, and for a long time, I ignored social media too because, like my clients, my days were crazy full with other details that didn’t include telling everyone about the minutia of my day. My days aren’t any less busy, but I have spent some time with twitter and facebook and other social media sites so that I could figure out what it was all about. I was converted in less than a week. Turns out that twitter and facebook provide a lot more info than I first expected.

Think of it this way. Social media is like word-of-mouth on speed. The viral element makes information spread at rapid-fire pace and has the potential to quickly deliver a message.

In a recent Fast Company article by Lon Safko, this bit of information provided a more tangible account of the potential of Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook has more than 150 million members with more than 80 billion page views each month. Facebook is represented in 170 countries & territories, every continent, even Antarctica, and is available in 35 different languages. More than 1 in 5 people who access the Internet visit Facebook. If Facebook were it’s own country, it would be the eighth most populated country in the world, just ahead of Japan, Russia, & Nigeria.

… MySpace, on the other hand, has more than 76 million users in the U.S. and 120 million people worldwide with an average age of 26 years old. 88.1% of its members are between 18 and 55 years old and the 35 to 54 year old demographic is at 32%.

…And finally, LinkedIn is used as a professional directory and has more than 27 million users with an average household income over $110,000. The gender distribution weighs heavily toward males at 65% and 35% Female with an average age of 41 years old.

There’s no ignoring these numbers.

Gender & Social Media Use

May 20, 2009Stacey Rynders

The Collective Thoughts blog writer Ryan provided an interesting supposition on his observations of the gender differences in the use of social media. Perhaps the most intriguing element for me is that the assertion is that women tend to discover the usefulness of social media and more adeptly integrate it into their lives instead of focusing on the DIGG voting competitions. Why do I think this is interesting? Well, it applies to me. My favorite thing about Twitter is not what other people are doing, but that it can be a constant news feed. I’m connected to favorite bloggers, favorite publications and industry-related posters (hence how I found the Collective Thoughts blog).

Whether you disagree or agree, I’m curious how you use social media … and whether or not you agree with Ryan’s admittedly “generalized” assertions on social media. Frankly, I think he’s onto something when it comes to considering the gender differences when strategizing your social media marketing plan.

Here’s a teaser clip:
“I think women put more emphasis, focus and time into their social media browsing than men. Men seem to be very ADHD with social media, jumping from news story to story, whereas I’ve noticed women take slow time and incorporate what they read more into their daily life and lifestyle planning.”
Loren Baker, Search Engine Journal

A great thing about social media marketing is that you literally get a first-rate, hands-on education in human anthropology. You learn what moves people. You learn what people want. You learn how to tug at heartstrings and drive emotions to their limit. You learn how different groups of people respond to different types of content. It’s simultaneously liberating and disillusioning to discover how predictable groups of people behave.

Read the entire article “Gender Differences in Social Media Participation.”