One step forward for hilarious viral videos…. two steps back for businesses.

In a recent post on Pandodaily, David Holmes spoke of the recent changes to Facebook and how that impacted various stakeholders, one being Facebook users and the other publishers and pages that use the site as an advertising strategy. In the post, Holmes mentioned “that it might be time to find a business model that doesn’t rely on Facebook traffic” as many publishers reacted negatively to the new feature on Facebook that allows users to unfollow certain pages or people.

 

As a Facebook user, I love the feature as I do not have to view things that I simply do not want to see. From a business prospective however, this feature is detrimental to business’ as the money, time and knowledge invested into their Facebook ads and pages do not receive much attention. Despite this, I do not believe that Facebook should remove the feature in order to please publishers as it ruins the purpose of the site. The site was formed to connect individuals, and if, for example, I don’t want to connect with someone or see a certain commercial, that should be my decision. I do believe, however, that this feature should inspire companies to come up with more innovative ideas that attract the public. Facebook is a great platform for connecting and sharing ideas and topics. If companies are able to create content that is fresh and innovative, it would surely blow up on Facebook!

 

Works Cited: http://pando.com/2014/11/07/with-facebooks-newest-feature-journalists-have-no-one-to-blame-for-clickbait-but-readers/

What’s next Netflix?

 

In fellow classmate Peter Lee’s blog, he emphasizes that the expansion for Netflix into film production and distribution will be considered an extremely significant “pain killer” for customers as it alleviates the pain and inconvenience associated with watching films in theatre. He also mentions how movie theatres will be something of the past.

Truthfully speaking, I love attending movies and I’m sure a lot of people do too because why else would it be such a popular date spot? I love sharing a special moment with others in the theatre when something hilarious or heart wrenching happens during a movie.

However, as a broke university student, I find myself in the confines of my room binge-watching Netflix rather than spending a nice evening at the theatre. For less than ten dollars a month, I can watch unlimited movies. That doesn’t sound too bad, right? Although I disagree with Peter’s “pain killer” argument, I do believe that movie theatres will soon be something of the past. With the  increase dependency on technology, people have been used to the lack of real human interaction and therefore will not prioritize the movie theatre experience. In addition, with living standards constantly improving, the costs associated with attending a movie will rise as employees will have to be paid higher wages. Although Netflix prices will probably rise as well due to expansion, it will still be more reasonable to consumers as they get more BANG for their buck!

Works Cited: http://money.cnn.com/2014/09/29/media/netflix-crouching-tiger-movie-deal/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Why do we need social enterprise?

” If  the United Nations was fully funded why would we need the Arc Initiative or social enterprise”?

Although the United Nations is continuously working towards ending poverty through their many efforts, it simply is not in enough. The problems faced in the world are too large to be dealt with by one corporation or individual alone. The issue of poverty has many aspects that cannot all be understood and addressed by a single corporation. With that being said, the simultaneous use of social enterprise and United Nations will help solve these problems better as where one fails to create a long term solution, another can find a sustainable method. For example, in a UBC news article, Arielle Uwonkunda spoke of how the simple solution of funding businesses did little to help Rwanda as individuals did not have the knowledge to sustain and develop the business. Instead she believed that the Arc Initiative would be able to provide individuals with knowledge that would be useful to development businesses and help improve the lives of Rwandan citizens.  Personally, I believe that initiatives and companies that find innovative ways to solve problems are of great value. It allows individuals and communities to gain useful information and work hark to improve their lives. It gives individuals the opportunity to create a sustainable life.

One-for-one. Homes for all!

In Class 15, we discussed Michael Porter’s thoughts regarding reinventing capitalism through shared value.  What immediately came to mine was World Housing, a real estate company that follows Tom Shoes’ one-for-one business model.  In short, the company provides quality homes for those living in landfill communities across the world for every home it sells. Thus far, World Housing has been able to provide 53 homes in Phnom Penh and plans to 30,000 people by 2020.

An average garbage dump community before being developed before World Housing construction

 

The aspect that attracted me to World Housing was the requirements that needed to be met in order to be gifted with a home. According to the World housing website, families must have parents working full time, students enrolled in school and must act as a role model to the community.  The guidelines imposed by World Housing ensures that the positive social impact is sustainable. By setting certain requirements, World Housing gives individuals the opportunity to improve their lives as they are required to maintain certain living standards. This motivates individuals to continue working hard rather than being unproductive and relying on World Housing to provided everything the families need. World Housing’s business model helps families improve their present life and their futures.

Works Cited: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/02/18/vancouver-real-estate-world-housing-one-for-one_n_4811222.html

Say Goodbye to “I’m lovin’ it”

In my fellow classmate  Sahir Shivji’s blog he discusses the ineffectiveness of McDonald’s new ad campaign that is to launch in 2015. Sahir expresses his disapproval of this campaign by stating the slogan “Lovin’ Beats Hatin'” is based a current trend that will soon become irrelevant thus making the campaign irrelevant as well.

 

Although I appreciate McDonald’s effort to “spread happiness in the face of Internet hate,” I agree with Sahir in stating that the campaign shows McDonald’s Marketing department’s lack of effort. The company is jumping onto the bandwagon of the popular trend of saying no to “haters” in attempt to attract customers and increase sales as reports show that sales have dropped in Europe and the United States. In my opinion, this campaign will be ineffective as it has no relation to the McDonald’s brand and customer perception of the company.  McDonald’s is known for being fast, affordable and (somewhat) delicious which is why “I’m Lovin’ it” was a suitable slogan for the company. I mean, why wouldn’t you love food that is quick, cheap and delicious! “Lovin’ Beats Hatin,'” however has no relation to the company and is obviously a desperate (and lazy) attempt to increase sales. If McDonald’s wants to improve sales, it must come up with a fresh and innovative idea that reflects their company.

Works Cited:
http://blogs.wsj.com/cmo/2014/10/27/mcdonalds-preps-new-ad-push-trip-to-super-bowl-sources/
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/239088

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