Based on the optional readings for Class 10 prep, I have come to understand that relationships between the Canadian Government and First Nations is strained and not as peaceful as I previously thought.

The articles talk about how companies are trying to establish deals/agreements to build facilities in First Nation Territories but are facing difficulties from the First Nation Government as well as different parts of the Canadian Government. It seems to me that this is a good example of external factors affecting a business strategy or plan. For example, in this article it says that Taseko Mines Ltd. is facing problems from both the First Nation as well as the government.

Applying the PEST analysis, this is an example of political factors affecting the company’s plan negatively. The Tsilhqot’in people have declared the area where the mining would take place as a tribal park, hindering the plans of Taseko. The federal government in canada has also rejected Taseko’s proposal to build a mine in the area. This laws and legislations have made a dent in Taseko’s business plans.Furthermore, this plan was considered controversial so a social aspect would have come into play. How the public feels about this plan and how it could potentially affect the environment and lives of the First Nation people have been discussed extensively and I believe the discussion is not in favour of Taseko. The public opinion of Taseko’s project is not anything to scoff at as it has the potentially to permanently shut down the whole proceedings as well as any future projects that are similar.

This issue is not anything new to me. While I am not Canadian, I am from Malaysia where we have many aboriginals who have faced exploitation from the government in the past. Laws and legislations back in Malaysia are not as strict as Canada and while this makes it easier for companies to proceed with their business plans, it is sad to say they do sometimes force aboriginals out of their own land.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Unilateral+park+declared+Tsilhqot+includes+Prosperity+mine/10192766/story.html

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/background-the-indian-act-1.1056988

If we were to ask an individual between the age of 13-40 on what their favourite social media platform would be, we would get many different answers. Examples would be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Pinterest and many others. It is not anything new when I say that businesses have been and still are using social media to market their products all over the world to all sorts of customers. This sort of marketing is extremely powerful, as we live in a world where everyone is connected through the internet and social media but things might be evolving and marketers might soon have to change their strategies when it comes to Social Media Marketing.

What prompted me to write this blog post was this article I came across, stating that Facebook is no longer an effective way to market their products. The article then goes on to list the top social media platforms used and Facebook is the most popular. What is interesting is many marketers believe that their posts on Facebook don’t really make a difference and I would have to agree based on my personal use of Facebook. I went on and read another article on how Instagram was the new upcoming platform to market on again I would have to agree as many people do use Instagram and it also creates a certain link with consumers that Facebook just can’t.

All these articles made me think “what about other social media platforms? What about YouTube?”. I was very interested as YouTube is one of my main social media platforms and it is different from Facebook and Instagram. YouTube users or “Youtubers” create content for many reasons, be it to entertain others, educate, or even just to share their experiences with the world. What made me think further was Youtubers make money! They receive monthly pay based on their channels standing, number of views from their videos and ads that are displayed before and during their videos. This made me think, is Youtube an effective platform to market products? I think yes!

Now, the ads that are displayed before and during videos are just like any ads on the radio or TV. The marketing strategy I am talking about is partnering up with famous Youtubers like Tyler Oakley, The Holy Trinity ( Mamrie Hart, Hannah Hart and Grace Helbig), RoosterTeeth, and many others. These Youtubers have millions of subscribers, and many of them are highly influenced by their idols. Companies like Naturebox, Audible.com, Squarespace and many others have partnered with these Youtubers and successfully marketed their products to millions of people. Even huge companies like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Netflix have all taken advantage of YouTube’s popularity and its large community.

However, it is not as easy as writing up a contract and presenting them to Youtubers to sign a deal. Youtubers are content creators first and businesswomen/men second. Most Youtubers will not partner with a company if they do not share the same values as that particular Youtuber and each Youtuber is unique so creating a generic contract for each of them will not work. Many Youtubers will also not partner with a company if they do not believe that the company is of high quality as they have worked extremely hard to establish their own brand. A good video explaining this is this interview of Tyler Oakley. However, as hard as it is to come to an understanding between company and Youtubers, when a deal is formed, companies gain an enthusiastic, entertaining and dynamic form of marketing. It is not just an ad or a celebrity sponsorship any longer. This form of marketing is personal and forms a deep connection between company, Youtuber and customer. The company is no longer this “corporation that is trying to sell us products” but is considered part of the YouTube community.

I find it very interesting that many companies have realised the potential of YouTube and are moving into the platform. It believe it will and has already been a huge game changer in social media marketing.

http://mashable.com/2014/04/29/instagram-marketers-friend/

http://mashable.com/2014/05/21/facebook-not-effective-marketing/

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/using-youtube-your-business

http://video.pbs.org/video/2365181484/

This is a response to Julia Tan’s blog post on Microsoft buying Mojang.

I agree with Julia that Microsoft made a very lucrative and smart move when they decided to buy Mojang. As Julia has stated, Mojang created Minecraft, a highly popular game in the gaming industry. Minecraft is known to be vastly flexible, it is not just a game where everything is set in stone. Rather, as a player, Minecraft allows you to create games within the game. Normally, games will have a story that the player will follow, however in Minecraft, there is no real story. The moment you enter the game, you are transported to a vast open world with no indication of what to do next. It is up to the player how they would like to play the game.

I think that Microsoft made a really good decision in buying Mojang. Not only do they get the rights to the game, they also get the rights and patents of all their merchandise, such as toys and collectibles. They now also have all the jurisdiction on Minecraft content and this is a huge asset. Minecraft is a very unique game when it comes to fans. Like I have said before, Minecraft allows the player to do many things in many creative ways. The fans of the game have evolved from mere users into content creators. There are many YouTube channels where players of Minecraft film themselves playing and creating new games, and many other users work behind the scenes to add new unofficial content to the game (known as “mods”). For example, there is the popular YouTube channel Roosterteeth and it’s subchannel LetsPlay that create highly popular content on YouTube, one of them being Minecraft videos. There are also channels such as BajanCanadian and TheSyndicateProject that create extremely successful Minecraft content.

Before Mojang was bought, content creators did not have to worry about using the game to gain money by posting videos on YouTube. Now, since Microsoft has bought Mojang, technically all these content that these fans have produced could be put under Microsoft’s jurisdiction, depending on how Microsoft approaches this issue. Of course there is backlash from the Minecraft community, who think that this will prohibit Minecraft content creators from creating any new content. It will be interesting to see how Microsoft will handle this problem.

It is also interesting to note that Microsoft had already partnered with Mojang several times before buying them. In Minecraft, you are able to change your appearance or “skin” and there are presets available for users who do not want to create their own skin. One of these packs of skins come from Halo, a immensely popular game created by Microsoft themselves. It would make sense for them to buy Mojang as there is a lot of Microsoft content associated with the game. It was even originally created only for the PC and Xbox consoles, only later being ported to the PlayStation.

Personally, I am interested in Microsoft’s expansion into the gaming industry. This could mean further development into the game or it could be just an offshoot one time deal to secure a highly popular game so that competitors do not acquire it. All in all, I agree with Julia’s opinion and I also believe that this will benifit Microsoft greatly.