Book Chat - Chapters 6 and 7

One of the things that continues to fascinate me in my study of social media is people's behavior.  In some ways it seems that people are sometimes more consistent because we see them through social media.  At other times, it seems that people behave differently because of social media.  I think it's also interesting, then, to think about how companies are adjusting marketing strategies without always knowing which direction people are moving when it comes to disclosing more or less because of social media.

Here are your questions for Chapters 6 and 7:
1. What do you think of the concept of Social Schizophrenia?  Where do you see evidence of it?
2. Chapter 6 gives several examples of companies and teams that have mandated access or place restrictions on how employees and team members can post or what can be said.  How far is too far on the part of these companies?  What should be the balance between personal freedom and brand respresentation?
3. Social Schizophrenia occurs in companies too.  Why do businesses have such difficulty with the "one message"?
4. What made the Fantasy Football Today different in format?  What about the way the show was monetized, how was that a departure from the traditional structure?  Why did it work where the CNET show did not?
5.  Why was the Super Fan sweepstakes such an effective campaign?

Book Chat - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 has an interesting premise - do we care more about what our neighbor thinks?  I know I don't make day to day decisions based on Google, and I bet I would be surprised how many "other people" factors impact my day to day decision making.  Here are the questions for Chapter 5:

1. Do you think people feel compelled to give back as in the TripAdvisor and car seat examples?
2. How does your knowledge of your friends, enhance your understanding of their recommendation and thus your purchase decision?
3. If you are an early adopter, how might you see social media differently than someone who is not an early adopter?
4. Why is it increasingly more important for companies to make great products rather than great advertising?
5. Clearly e-books have changed the publishing landscape forever.  How does the social element of digital books enhance both the author and reader experiences?