The Prosumer

Marshall McLuhan had suggested in his writings that that with electric technology, the consumer would become a producer (McLuhan 4). Upon further reading on this subject, I found out that a word ‘prosumer’ was coined in 1980 by the futurist Alvin Toffler in his book The Third Wave — as a mix of producer and consumer.  

In today world, with Web 2.0, the role of a producer and consumer has gradually begun to blend and merge. We vaguely call this notion mass customization, in which everybody is in effect a member of a niche market, something Internet e-commerce is encouraging through cutting out the middleman between maker and buyer. We are soon becoming heavily involved in the design and manufacture of products, so they could be made to individual specification. We will soon no longer be a passive market upon which industry dumped consumer goods but a part of the creative process. We will create the demand and then ask for the supply. A simple example is Amazon.com and E-Bay. They have emerged as ecommerce leaders mainly due to its ability to construct customer relations as conversations rather than simple, one-time sales. They support exchange of information among customers; providing customers to add almost any and everything to the site for sale. 

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Marketing

The medium of language, from what is once was is longer the same. It has numerous variations in itself that each of them can be categorized. Radio, television, books and music are all based out of language. Another important adaptation of language is word-of-mouth marketing. The uniqueness of word-of-mouth marketing is that it does not always need an external push. 

              From someone saying, “Trim food is actually good today” to the other saying “Media Studies is a fun class,” word-of mouth marketing is in our lives every day. We encounter numerous advertisements from various sources and get influenced in different ways. According to Nielsen BuzzMetrics, word-of-mouth marketing is the most preferred source of information for consumers in today’s society. As mention in my previous blog, consumers like Web 2.0 as they can easily connect with similar minded customer and learn from their comments. Because of the personal nature of the communications between individuals, it is believed that product information communicated in this way has an added layer of credibility. The recommendations are generally perceived as incentive-free, unlike the obvious motivation of advertisers, who may over-promise in a bid to increase sales.

            This relatively new practice of word-of-mouth marketing attempts to inject positive "buzz" into conversations directly. To promote and manage word-of-mouth communications, marketers use publicity techniques as well as viral marketing methods to achieve desired behavioral response. To further promote their brand, some marketers pay people to go talk about their product to increase awareness in the market.  Although, marketers have always hoped to achieve positive word-of-mouth, there have been many ethical issues that have been raised.

Social Media and Business

            Since 2000, social media on the Internet has exploded. Frequently used by individuals to share information and make personal connections, social media is also used by marketing seeking alternative ways to reach their priority audiences. Companies are finding that social marketing can deliver powerful benefits. Before it just a way for marketers to sell their products, to teens and savvy adults, however now social media for B2B companies is also gaining foothold. 

            This can be explained because; the dynamics of the social media have greatly changed from the past. Users over 35 are the fastest growing demographic group on Facebook. As of January 2009, over 50% of Facebook users and 44% of MySpace users were over 35; the majority of users on micro-blog site Twitter are also above 35. This paradigm shift can also be explained by the movement from strictly personal use to a mixture of personal and professional use. Approximately 65% of all business professions use social networking, out of which 47% use it “to connect with potential clients and market their skills” and 55% “to share best practices with colleagues.” Clearly social media has not only become more main stream in the largest population, but has also become a medium that serves the business community. 

            Many buyers perceive social media as a less-biased, more objective source of information. Potential buys tend to place greater confidence in social media because it links people with similar predispositions and beliefs. Sites like Facebook with multiple uses have consumed today world. Personally I have found good advertisement on Facebook  whether sending emails, chat, upload ing picture and any where else i go. Being a marketing student, Facebook for me is one of the most interesting type of promotion. As seen below Facebook has 13 points of Marketing. Social media  today seems more indented to educate and inform rather than influencing one’s decision-making process.

"Using Social Media in the B2B Context - Harvard Business Review." Harvard Business Review             Case Studies, Articles, Books. University of Virginia. Web. 5 Nov. 2010.        

             <http://hbr.org/product/using-social-media-in-the-b2b-context/an/UV2973-PDF-ENG>.