Page 301 - Electronic Commerce

Chapter 6

After seeing the success of social media in political networking, many retailers
embraced these tools as a way to engage Web site visitors who might not be ready to buy
from the site, but were interested in the products or services offered. Marketing and
supply chain managers also saw the benefits of these social networking activities in
enhancing their B2B relationships. Many companies that sell to other businesses include
blogs and microblogs as part of their online presence to give customers a forum for
discussing uses and technical specifications of the company’s products or services.
CNN was a pioneer in including information from blogs and microblogs in its
276 television newscasts. Other broadcasters and newspapers now incorporate social media in
their Web sites, broadcasts, and print publications. Small-town newspapers often depend
on readers to contribute information about community issues and events. Newspapers of
all sizes would rather run a blog with reader contributions tied into microblogs and social
media than pay reporters to write stories about events or issues that would interest only a
small segment of their readership. By inviting information and opinion contributions,
newspapers are finding they can reach younger readers who did not grow up reading print
newspapers. This trend toward having readers help write their own news is called
participatory journalism.
In addition to running a blog that is part of an existing activity (such as a political
campaign, charitable organization, university, retail business, or newspaper), blogs can
become a business in themselves if they can generate financial support through fees or
advertising. Jake Dobkins writes about New York City on the blog site Gothamist. Instead
of drawing a salary from a newspaper as a food and entertainment reporter, he blogs
about the latest in New York nightlife. Advertising revenue has been sufficient to support
Dobkins and the site’s cofounder, Jen Chung. Now with a staff of bloggers, editors, and ad
salespeople, these entrepreneurs have expanded to nine cities in four countries. Michael
Arrington began blogging in 2005 about new online business startups. Again, instead of
writing a column for a business magazine, he decided to put his research and reporting
talents into his own business, which today is operating as TechCrunch, a successful
advertising-supported Web site.

Location-Aware Mobile Social Networks
Later in this chapter, you will learn about the worldwide growth in the use of mobile
devices for connecting to the Internet. Having a traveling Internet connection opens up
many possibilities for social media that integrates with a user’s specific location, especially
as that location changes over time. Many mobile devices can transmit (with the user’s
permission) their locations to Web sites, which can use that location information to
provide customized advertising or other services. These services are called location-aware
services.
In 2013, about 30 percent of social media users tagged their posts with location
information and 75 percent of mobile device owners obtained directions or other location-
based information using those devices. Although Foursquare is the leading location-based

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