miércoles, 2 de junio de 2010

Interactive Websites can bring companies to success or complete failure?

The new social media offer companies a wide range of opportunities to promote their products and services and connecting with the customer. However, companies have been using interactive websites like Facebook and My Space as sales channels.

According to the New York Times, the first companies to jump on the bandwagon of e-commerce through social networks have done with great success. However, before embarking on the adventure, it is necessary that they have a large amount of fans in their profiles on Facebook and MySpace. For this reason, experts recommend that companies invest money in promoting their social networking pages before betting on the direct sale of products and services in these platforms.

As customers are satisfied with their products and they are stated in Facebook or MySpace, there is no problem. The conflict arises with unhappy users whose bad experiences spread in social circles at breakneck speed. To deal with criticism experts recommend that companies increase their customer services. So is the risk still manageable? And can companies afford an unsatisfied customer?

According to an article “Five Strategies to deal with unsatisfied customers” (http://www.eyesonsales.com/content/article/five_strategies_to_deal_with_an_unsatisfied_customer/ ) It is clear the steps that any company may apply to deal with an unwanted cases, but is it the same management for websites?

http://www.qas.com/customers/case-studies/saks-fifth-avenue-178.htm
http://thenationonlineng.net/web2/articles/26136/1/Unsatisfied-customers-A-danger-to-profit/Page1.html

Social Networks and Privacy Threats...

Social Networks have had an extraordinary impact on consumers, however the wider the network expanded, higher the risk it created on the invasion of privacy. From the moment the information was online, it was visible and anyone had access. This concern and criticism from consumers caused ethical problems, so Social Networks such as Facebook immediately had to react and promised the active commitment on ethical conversion.

According to an Interview made to Zuckerberg, CEO of the most popular social network (Facebook), posted on a Washington Post Colum the concerns and promised immediate action by habilitating services that offered the opportunity to deactivate information to thirds, however pleasing over 400 million people is a complex occupation, some consumers wanted privacy and for other it was irrelevant.

So is our personal information effectively secure in these social networks? Or is the solution as simple as not being part of any interactive website?

Facebook has grown rapidly, and has proved a phenomenon attracting the interest of many people and it is clear that now is to continue its evolution. Advertising is a quick way to bring security, but social networks are easy to jump obstacles that have always been insurmountable and turn them into measurable parameters and marketable. Precisely the strength of online advertising may have problems if from other sides data is realize for any reference to the specific identity of each person.

For now, what is clear is the options for user to protect their profile and determine who may or may not have access to their accounts and personal information.

References
http://www.revistadeinternet.com/Protagonistas/4084/2010/05/24/Zuckerberg-se-disculpa
http://www.e-marketingassociates.com/privacy-security.asp