Prior to internet, consumers could only give feedback or request service on purchased products in person, over the phone, or by snail mail. Due to the annoying and sometimes tedious process, consumers would simply not call in a complaint or express their satisfaction at all. Companies would miss out on important feedback, and consumers would put up with unsatisfactory services or products. 

With the existence of social media, consumers are now able to connect to businesses instantaneously. This makes it very easy for consumers to express their views on a product or service. It also makes it more comfortable – announcing your view to the world wide web and nobody in particular is actually quite a bit easier than having to tell somebody over the phone or in person that their product sucks. This relates to the “social media triage” we learned in class: If a consumer is unhappy, it is important to “take reasonable action to fix the issue and let customer know action has been taken”.

I have personally experienced great customer service via Twitter – My Optik TV was down so I tweeted about it, and in a few minutes, the Telus Support team tweeted me back, offering me reassurance that they were on the case. What surprised me however, was that Shaw Cable also tweeted me telling me that their TV service was NOT down and that I should think about switching.

Monitoring the web for feedback from customers is key for businesses in order for them to fix what they are doing wrong, continue what they are doing right, and maintaining a relationship with the customer after the sale. Thanks to social media, consumers can expect a higher level or service and increasingly better products faster.

China’s Alibaba has been hitting headlines for launching publicly in the US. One of Alibaba’s main businesses is called Taobao, a super-hybrid between Amazon and eBay – and it is glorious.  It’s where my mother buys imported dog food for our pet poodle, it’s where I buy designer boots straight from the manufacturer…in fact, my family (they live in Shanghai) receives an average of 4-5 packages from Taobao shopping a week. My Aunt and Uncle run a Taobao store, and sell Thermos products from out of their garage. They started their business a few months ago, and are already selling hundreds of Thermos mugs a week.

Here are a few reasons why Taobao is amazing:

• It literally has everything. 
  Every single product that exists under the sun can be found on this thing. It sells everything from authentic and fake Rolexes to seafood to human cadavers.
  

  First page of first results for “Celine”

• Prices are generally very low.
  Lots of wholesalers and manufacturers sell products straight to the consumer from their factories, thereby cutting out all the costs of renting and running a storefront.
  

  The price of the first mouse on the list (19CNY) is just over $3 Canadian.

• It’s user friendly.
  Alibaba has two other offerings that integrate seamlessly into Taobao:
  1. AliWangWang, a built-in instant messaging system that connects consumers with the owners and service reps of each store to discuss any and all questions they may have at any time.
  

  Each blue icon is an online customer service rep. There are categories for pre-sale, post-sale, and complaints.

  2. AliPay, a service similar to Paypal..but way better. It allows users to make e-commerce and brick-and-mortar payments, wire money to friends domestically and internationally, pay for bills, invest in stocks..and it all fits into one app.

• It’s ridiculously fast.
  The Chinese courier system is efficient. Most shipping we have here in Canada takes 7-10 business days. Packages in China take anywhere from a few hours to 3 days to arrive, depending on how far the sender is. The cost? If it isn’t free, then it will probably cost less than $5.

If I could only shop in one place for the rest of my life, Taobao would win hands down. It will be very interesting to see how Taobao will grow in the future – my hope is that it expands to North America, and that North America ups it’s shipping game to keep up.

This week, everybody has been talking about Ello, a brand new social network that has been dubbed the “anti-Facebok”. It differentiates itself as being simple, ad free, and “does not sell data about you to third parties”. Since it is in public beta stage, memberships are by invite only. Naturally, I requested my invitation as soon as I heard about it – I needed to know what the fuss was about! After a few days of waiting, I have still yet to receive my invitation, so I can’t comment on the usability of the site. However, I’ve done some snooping around and here’s what I can say about what I’ve seen:

• It’s looks clean.
  There are no ads in the site, which takes away the clutter. There are simple and clean lines, and it’s easy on the eyes. It reminds me a lot of Tumblr, without the customization.
• Everybody on their “featured” list is super artsy.
  From what I’ve seen, the main users of Ello so far are hipsters and artists who post a lot of abstract art or design-related images. In the very least, the images they post are of high quality photography or original-looking artwork. There may be a chance that Ello becomes a popular micro social network for artists and designers.

Verdict: I don’t really like it. Apart from the whole no-ads thing, I don’t think there is enough differentiation on Ello that sets it apart from other social networks. Ello has gained a lot of attention because it has challenged Facebook, but I feel as if most of the people who requested an invitation are curious and in it for the hype. It is the first wave of the next wave of social networks that may eventually bring down Facebook, but Facebook will not be stepping down from its throne anytime soon.