The likelihood of buying a product increases when I find a review that comes along with it. I learn of a product from what I see online and on TV, their advertisements and the information in their website, but what really helps me make a decision on what is best for me are the reviews posted online.
Formal marketers will only tell us of the best features of the products, they will never tell us about their flaws. In fact, advertisements and information provided by the company will sometimes exaggerate of the product’s excellence to persuade us to buy the product. Most of the times I can’t trust this information. On the other hand, the reviews tell me the real strengths and weaknesses of the product and whether or not I’ll be able to live with them. I trust them because they are posted by people like me, consumers who have nothing to win or lose by promoting or discouraging the use of the product. Further, I trust these sources because I have a variety to choose from. There are many reviews about the same product; so, if I don’t trust one I read the next one.
Therefore I really believe what was said in the article, when they say businesses should facilitate the creation of the user generated content as it is not only free advertising and marketing research but also a way to increase trust and confidence when a consumer is about to buy a product.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Not everybody is like that....
When we watch the news we see that people in Iraq are terrorists, that Iran makes nuclear weapons and that there is genocide in Darfur. That sometimes misleads us to think that everyone in that region is mean, supports their government or are doing the wrong thing. That leads us to create a stereotype.
Not everyone in that certain country is like that. There are many people who oppose what is going on, but the media doesn’t tell us that. As I read in the article Online Activism: Media Stereotypes And The Rise Of Smart Mobs, media wants to sell, and people like stereotype, terror and death. Therefore, generally they'll tell us the bad things, but never the good or the boring ones. They'll always tell us about the terrorists but not of the people in that country who oppose it.
Blogging gives individuals the opportunity to show the world who they really are and what they really think. They tell us that even if there are bad people and bad decisions in their region, they are not part of it. In addition, it allows us to voice our opinion and help change a situation. It lets the world know that someone is opposing what is going on and it puts pressure on governments to try and make a change.
Before, it was hard to voice these opinions. It was hard to let people know what you felt and who you agreed with. The internet and blogging has really eased the process up. However, I do believe that it is not total freedom.
There are countries where people go to jail and suffer hard consequences when voicing their opposing opinions. Countries like Iran and Cuba have very limited freedom of speech and when they say what they feel, they end up in jail to set up an example to prevent other people from doing it.
Overall the internet provides more freedom than any other media to show inidivual perspectives and opposing views. But this only happens in countries where there is freedom of speech. We should really work so that this works all over the world and not only where people are allowed to talk, because in the end, every one has something to say and they should be allowed to do it.
Not everyone in that certain country is like that. There are many people who oppose what is going on, but the media doesn’t tell us that. As I read in the article Online Activism: Media Stereotypes And The Rise Of Smart Mobs, media wants to sell, and people like stereotype, terror and death. Therefore, generally they'll tell us the bad things, but never the good or the boring ones. They'll always tell us about the terrorists but not of the people in that country who oppose it.
Blogging gives individuals the opportunity to show the world who they really are and what they really think. They tell us that even if there are bad people and bad decisions in their region, they are not part of it. In addition, it allows us to voice our opinion and help change a situation. It lets the world know that someone is opposing what is going on and it puts pressure on governments to try and make a change.
Before, it was hard to voice these opinions. It was hard to let people know what you felt and who you agreed with. The internet and blogging has really eased the process up. However, I do believe that it is not total freedom.
There are countries where people go to jail and suffer hard consequences when voicing their opposing opinions. Countries like Iran and Cuba have very limited freedom of speech and when they say what they feel, they end up in jail to set up an example to prevent other people from doing it.
Overall the internet provides more freedom than any other media to show inidivual perspectives and opposing views. But this only happens in countries where there is freedom of speech. We should really work so that this works all over the world and not only where people are allowed to talk, because in the end, every one has something to say and they should be allowed to do it.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Be Careful with What You Ignore!
Online recruiting is something that may come in handy nowadays. Employers save time and effort and the process of hiring has become somewhat easier and faster. In addition, it is now faster to find people from other parts of the country, so it is a more diverse and talented workforce.
However, I believe that it also has its consequences. First of all, this is something mainly practiced in the United States; many people in other countries don’t even know of the existence of these sites. Therefore, it puts these candidates in disadvantage and it may cause recruiters to ignore talented people who could greatly contribute to the company. Not only for their talent, but for their knowledge of foreign cultures and practices. In addition, it may also cause recruiters to overlook qualities of a candidate that can only be seen personally and not through the internet.
I also believe that one of the greatest disadvantages is what Shapiro said in one of the articles, If you don’t have something that your competitors don’t have, then everyone will be looking at the same thing. In addition, like it was said in another of the articles, it also becomes a problem when you have a thousand applications to look at. It probably becomes overwhelming and recruiters will end up forgetting about the talented candidates.
Therefore, I do believe that this has its benefits but its disadvantages are greater for the time being and it may end up hurting the company for small things that can be forgotten or ignored in online recruiting.
However, I believe that it also has its consequences. First of all, this is something mainly practiced in the United States; many people in other countries don’t even know of the existence of these sites. Therefore, it puts these candidates in disadvantage and it may cause recruiters to ignore talented people who could greatly contribute to the company. Not only for their talent, but for their knowledge of foreign cultures and practices. In addition, it may also cause recruiters to overlook qualities of a candidate that can only be seen personally and not through the internet.
I also believe that one of the greatest disadvantages is what Shapiro said in one of the articles, If you don’t have something that your competitors don’t have, then everyone will be looking at the same thing. In addition, like it was said in another of the articles, it also becomes a problem when you have a thousand applications to look at. It probably becomes overwhelming and recruiters will end up forgetting about the talented candidates.
Therefore, I do believe that this has its benefits but its disadvantages are greater for the time being and it may end up hurting the company for small things that can be forgotten or ignored in online recruiting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
