Majority of teens who belong to Generation Z are not allowed by law to handle a car. And among the ones who were born in between the years 1992-2010, some are not even able to manage the seatbelts. All this does not point to the fact that they are not aware and are making opinions about the brands and their products. Among five children, this year almost four are available on social networks, half of the teens shop mostly on internet and in U.S. 96% of the teens aged between 12-17 will at least use internet once a month.
The most troublesome generation of current history is Generation Z. Unlike generations before them, who used to wait for the ideas, teens of Generations Z even before they pass the elementary school become tastemakers. Modern media has knock down all hurdles of communication about the brands and the products they make. If you are able to write, what you can do is to share it with others and sharing is what Generation Z is all about.
Take the example of Silly Bands which makes the rubber bands of animal shapes used as bracelets. It is also a low-priced brand. The trend became popular at first in the children of nine-ten years but it didn’t take much time that it became famous among the fashion models who even wore them during their modeling and Moms during their social meetings.
What steps can be taken to mix with it and particularly gain the attention of this fast forward generation to have their undivided support? Below mentioned are three things that the companies can practice to make the Generation Z satisfied.
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1. Generation Z is Not Brand Loyal
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If the companies expect loyalty and faithfulness from Generation Z merely in the marketing campaigns and the image of the brand, they are mistaken badly and their efforts will go in vain. All this doesn’t matter at all to the Generation Z. What matters is actually the product and not the marketing of the product.
For example, recently in the past four-five years, when you walked down the hallways of high schools of Generation Y, you could still find the admired girls dressed in Abercrombie & Fitch or some peppy girls in the clothes similar to American Eagles and Gothic girls in the Hot Topic. But that’s not what you observe in Generation Z teens. When you peek through their schools hallway you can always see some girl wearing the shoes just like Jessica Alba's in TMZ, some sweater which is hand-made and from Etsy or a tank from the target. So, Generation Z basically disapproves “badge brands.”
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2. The Age of the Curator
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With their huge modification of iPods, the people of Generation Y condensed the coins of music to one song from the whole album. Following the footsteps Generation Z is exactly doing the same thing with any and everything they buy. And what you get in the end in their reading, watching and wearing —are their very own made version of world.
There isn’t any running away from the Generation Z. They are the guardians of tremendous potential, who plan and share each and everything from books to watching movies and ultimately they will do the same about plans of health care, home renovations and cars. You can also take an example to the two movies released in summer of the year 2009. One of them is Year one and the other is Paranormal Activity. Year one was starred by Michael Cera and Jack Black, and its marketing was principally: “Hey, it’s the guy from Juno and Jack Black. You’re just going to love it.” The other one, Paranormal Activity, just went on building up the heights of success after every film festival and finally it was on the loose in 13 towns with colleges. After that the supporters in various other places were asked to make their choice on where should the movie go next. Ultimately it was released nationally, and while having a shooting budget of merely $15,000, it amassed a business of grossing $193 million and was listed among the most money-making movies of all times. On the other hand, Year One had awful reviews on its first appearance and it made merely $62 million which hardly recovered the costs of its production. Value of production and platform from which it comes holds no meanings to Generation Z. They have their own merit to judge every product and its contents.
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3. Enhance and Enable Curation
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What does the Generation Z bother about? Sharing and finding best things in the whole world. They are not merely customers, they are guardians. Not only do they find out different brands and their products but they also assess them with unbiased objectivity, observing them thoroughly and then sharing the results with everyone. If you delight a member of Generation Z with some peculiar service or a product you have earned yourself a very big support. Consequently, the dealers need to simplify what Generation Z consumers like. It has never been straightforward to express your views online whether it is the likes of Facebook, tweets of twitter or some Polyvore expression of brand collages.
Never smother any discussion, nor try to control the chat about what your products are — encourage it. The bad will come along with good but whenever it does, it shall be genuine. This simplicity will ultimately aid in long term accomplishments of the brand. In any case, encouraging the “open brand” culture will bring about well informed and extra zealous curators.
Facebook Features
What social networks including Facebook require is a registration and the making of your own personal profile. The only obligation to connect to Facebook, is a working and genuine email address. Once the user has signed up he or she can further join various school, regional or international networks. School networks require valid email address of school. On Facebook, the user can also search for a friend or anyone and see their photographs but what has already programmed is that they can just see the photos and profiles of users included in their network.
Inside one's own profile, the users can list the history of their education and work, put notes, share albums, personal details, interests and converse with other users on ‘‘the wall.’’ There is section of news feed in which the posts on walls done by others, changes in profiles made by other users, addition or deletion of photos and other people becoming friends is also mentioned. ‘‘Tagging’’ a photo enables those particular photographs to show in profiles of other people who are tagged. Privacy features are also provided by the facebook. It is optional and can be used by the user to limit the access of other users to their profile. These facilitate the users to choose what they want others to see and what not. The information in these sites of social networking like Facebook is mediated public site, which is the technology to gather people publically. Mediated public has various unique features including the audience which does not show itself, ability to search, ability to copy and perseverance.
The ‘‘conversations’’ which are done can be recorded, tempered with and can be seen by anyone else too. The photographs and the comments given on these networks can stay the identity of the people even if they change altogether. Moreover, when people comment on these sites they usually refer to the audience who generally accepts that particular belief. What they don’t comprehend is that the audience comprises of all people including those who do not share the same belief and those who have some kind of authority on them.
And those people can have totally opposite views from whatever has been said and accepted socially. The profiles on Facebook basically depict a culture and they can lead to misconception which is partly because of the invisible audience. What the students think is totally normal among themselves and other school fellows can be apprehended completely different by the parents, employers or the school teachers. The feature to restrict your audience by using privacy settings is a very important element of Facebook. Nonetheless, this ability cannot make us understand about how this information can be used, either good or bad. A very few people take the advantage and use those privacy features available on the social networking sites.
Facebook a social networking community is not only used by students but by other people too like University president or etc. An extensive criticism was made on a photo of University president that was uploaded by one of the student on Facebook.
Students have faced privacy and safety issues on their accounts including some illegal and disreputable acts. There have been incidents of harassment and hunting and students have faced issue of accepting strangers to come in their lives. This is particularly done by putting on personal information on the facebook accounts by the students. Moreover, another new activity has been published on these social networking websites. This is distinguished by the classic name, address and phone number. Lots of discussions are being made on this forum and revelation of photographs, political views, sexual orientation which opens the doors for strangers to enter into the lives of each other.
Complication of the scenario is multiplied when it is viewed that the members of the person regard their expressions as a means of seeking out information and might use this information. The students need to consider an important point that this social site is used by their employers, law enforcement officials, and administrators and they may seek information which is not included in their resumes and are not covered as their background profile. However, students regard this assumption and judgment wrong that information which is extracted by the outsiders through the comments, photographs being uploaded on Facebook in unreasonable. A point is made that the faculty members, administrators etc should not view the postings made by the students as it generally done their group mates and friends.
Theoretical Importance of Connectedness
Social behavior underlies the various principles of motivation to identify the need of the connectedness of human beings. Social psychology gives importance to the motivational principles for enhancing the connections among individuals. Moreover, these connections are taken as a feeling of attachment and strong bonding between the people. This connectedness is more precisely considered to bring element of positivity and boosting the emotional level and focusing on the need of remaining in touch with their relations. Various researches which are conducted previously show that the social presence and awareness about each other are related to connectedness. This concept of “connectedness” is shown by its relationship with the two important features that are “social presence” and “awareness”. It is argued by Rettie that most significant among them is connectedness as it leads to communication and developing of the technology used for communication. The major distinguishing factor between connectedness and social presence is that communication in connectedness is instant and does takes long as it becomes available to all the members who are online at that time and it does not necessarily needs a direct exchange of messages.
RELATED WORK ON MICRO-BLOGGING AND INSTANT MESSAGING USAGE
There have been very less identification about the socio-technical developments and scientific research which figures out the phenomena of social networking websites and the micro blogs available on web pages with the increasing population. Hence, it has been observed that researches have not focused on analysis of network structures along with how these web sites can be used as a marketing tool and help in running campaigns during political elections. The main purpose of this research is to come up with the understanding and knowhow of the new communication modes like micro blogging and how the behavior of people have changed for making communications and interacting between them. Moreover, the research also focuses on the information that is being shared on social networking sites like Facebook through asynchronous communication tools.
It has been observed that there is an increase in the intimacy level in social networking platform which means that sharing and providing other to see, friends and family or even other unknown individuals, your personal and private information online. A social networking platform can support a reasonable interaction and conversation with different individuals that have common interest and/or probably met somewhere before. Through these platforms there had been increased percentage that a person can find and interact with an individual.
A survey was conducted on the subject of blogs. Blogs are an online or electronic journal maintained by a person and the person that maintains the journal is call blogger. There have been many survey conducted to find the main reason behind practices of novel communication style and the motivation behind adoption. Few surveys conducted in order to try and segment the users of blogs according to the information that they share and the characteristics that they show on a known micro-blogging platform. In contracts, an information seeker is one who follows each post regularly but they do not give any personal or private information in short time intervals. The group which is found to e the largest if categorized according to amount of information shared are the daily chatters. Daily chatters post messages and information daily. There is some facts that shows us that almost 13% of the information shared and the message posted have URL. There have also some researches, in addition to the structure of the messages posted, that analysis the emotional feeling that is related to different messages types. Another for of online information share is instant messages which had gained reputation in recent past. The buddy list of an instant messenger helped in increase in awareness of individual to see whether a person is available or not in a peer network. In addition to this there are many scholars that consider that monitoring this kind of information is to create and maintain the feeling of social connection with other individuals. Effect emotional effects of information shared and individual posts on instant messages had also been analyzed.
Various literatures are available related to the concept of social capital which is defined in different ways in accordance to different fields. One of the definitions of social capital is that it is the summation of all the resources which include both actual and virtual which can help a group or an individual by having a durable institutionalized relationship, based on integrity and honesty, of mutual recognition and acquaintance. There are many studies that have researched on the reasons, effects and cause of social capital. The other definition considers the social capital as a positive and beneficial effect of communication and interaction between different individuals in a virtual environment or a social network and is the reason why it is research that often by different individuals.
We can find difference in the possible link between a e-mail and social network site but few of there function may seen overlapping. E-mail provides us with communicating both formal as well as informal ways and also supports regular or on-off contact between different individuals or/and correspondents.
Internet use by university undergraduates suggest that equilibrium is yet to be reached.
As far as social networking sites are concerned they mostly requires a network to be created or the users must incorporate in a network that already exist to communicate and interact with each other. Most of the networks on a social site are social or personal in nature so is the information that they exchange and share. The difference exists but both email and social network site have their importance so they both should coexist. A research was conducted in relation to the use of internet by an undergraduate university student which suggested that equilibrium in the use of both is to be achieved.
The users have been adopting various types of technologies for the purpose of communication with each other. The reason behind using different forms rather then using one medium is very much unclear. The question that arises here is that what kinds of needs are being fulfilled through each of the medium. Previously we have compared satisfaction that is obtained through Facebook and from the use of instant messaging.
Understanding Uses and
Gratifications in Social Media
According to recent and different statistical facts the uses of social media have very widely spread in society and it is penetrating in a high rate. By reviewing few literatures we can identify that there are two significant trends.
First of that trend is that a users tens to use wide variety of tools for the purpose of communication rather that embrace a single social media form. Through this trend we can understand that one social media doesn’t replaces other rather they become a bundle of social media that are use for both online and offline communication. Second trend show us that the used like to use new types of tools and adopts them for the purpose of communication.
As discussed earlier the use of a social network sites have become common and is widespread. According to Pew more then 55% of teen living in America have a Facebook or a MySpace profile, both of them are the most acceptable and used SNSs in North America. This fact suggests us that use and adoption of a technology have a social trend. A social network starts gaining popularity and has a very high penetration and is also used daily and after a period it started diminishing as other form of media starts gaining popularity. Taking a n example of instant messaging (IM), it use have been decreasing due to increase in use of SNSs as a medium of communication. IM is not completely replaced by SNSs but have become a secondary way of communication.
According to the two trends, it is put forward that that every social media has its own prejudice. This can be in terms of different communication ways that it provides its users with and also the social importance. Each kind of media ha sits own requirements of exclusive communication, therefore its users cannot consider any two forms of media as complete substitutes. To determine the uses of the computer mediated communications, a study has been presented to show how different needs of different users are being satisfied. This study has been obtained with the help of facebook with that which is collected from IM and the gratifications that are offered, some comparative study is conducted. This will assist us in knowing the relation between two types of social media. Not only this, but it will also help us to identify the possible reasons of the users of using both technologies at the same time. Apart from this, other issues that include literature regarding the students of the university, increase use of facebook and disclosing one’s personal details there, will also be discussed.
With the help of uses and gratifications (U&G) theory, which was developed to study the traditional media, like televisions and the newspapers, can help us to know the reasons of using media by individuals and how it has been successful to satisfy their needs. Frameworks to the new, modern media have been applied by the recent studies.
Uses and Gratifications Theory
Mass media was viewed by the mass communication of the early theories (e.g., the hypodermic needle theory) as having an instant and identical influence on the perceived users, making them unable to form opinions of their own (McQuail & Windahl, 1993). This was because of the consistent that force its users to trust and become homogenous. In addition they caused its audience to have a little will power to deny its influence. This goal directedness of the member of its audience is what differentiates U&G from the early theories of communications:
The theory focuses on the fact that what is the behavior of the people with the media relatively to what pressure it has on its users. By considering the audience as using the media to fulfill their needs, the basics for investigative gratifications that are obtained through media are placed. An example can be of the audience member that wants to escape. There are particular media that are available that could gratify the need in a suitable way. A lot of research that has been carried out in the past on U&G has its focus on the television and other different customary media. With extensive acceptance of the modern media, like the virtual worlds, SNSs and IM, a vital research from the perspective is rising.
The purpose of this research is to ascertain those motivational factors that influence the individuals to shift on new media from the traditional media and what gratifications are provided by them. Interactivity is the key characteristic of new media that differentiates it with the traditional media as the people are now able to respond to communication partner or source. Prosumer, which means that the user has to power to control distribution and production of content, has emerged in new media as the distinction between producer and consumer is blurred. The gratifications that are provided to new media user comparatively to those of conventional media can be seen in the fact that in new media the audience member are in a better position to have control of the content and how it is being used.
A research was conducted to anlayse the usage pattern of Facebook, which showed that new relationships are not developed on Facebook, rather the main purpose behind using Facebook was to remain in touch with offline contacts. 2,000 students were inquired about their purpose of using Facebook. The results revealed that students used the website for social searching (visiting the profiles of offline contacts), which is quite opposite to social browsing (forming new relationships). According to many students they were using Facebook just to maintain contact with their old friends, like students from high school.
Nevertheless, one will not deny the fact that Facebook is used for both purposes i.e. for maintaining contact with class mates and high school acquaintance (social capital is being maintained), and nourishing close relationships that are preexistent (bonding social capital). With respect to the bonding social capital, if the users want to keep sight on the activities of friends, wishing birthdays once receiving notification, etc, then Facebook is a low-maintenance way to do so since minimum efforts are required on behalf of the user. With respect to the maintenance of social capital, users can carry on with their weak ties by using Facebook, for instance, new and valuable resources and information can be provided by the high school acquaintances. To summarize, the function of sociability is well served by Facebook since the users are now able to remain in contact with all the offline people either living far or near.
Motivations for Joining Facebook
U&G differentiates between gratification sought and gratification attained. Gratification sought, which also sometimes mean ‘motives’ or ‘needs’, refer to the satisfaction that is expected by the audience to be derived from an instrument before actually interacting with it. Gratification attained, on the other hand is the satisfaction which is actually derived through the usage of a specific instrument or channel. There is a difference between the gratification attained and the gratification sought and thus the gap between both calculates the level of satisfaction and dissatisfaction that is experienced by individuals from their use of a specific channel.
When the gratification attains exceeds the satisfaction sought of an instrument or channel, it results in repeated usage by the consumers and also a means of predicting their habits. If the channel or instrument does not provide the satisfaction that is expected of it then this will result in diminishing usage and eventual stoppage which will depict the audience’s disappointment. The audience will then try to find out another channel that is able to give them the gratification that fulfills their expectation. It is important to comprehend the difference between both the types of gratifications in order to recognize how the numerous types of channels are used by different individuals, what is expected of them and what is the gratification that is actually derived out of the various products.
The change and creation of media habits as well as the importance of media and its part in the lives of individuals can be defined by the research carried. Focus has been placed on attained gratification by most research of U&G tradition and research to examine the reason of starting using a different new channel has been greatly ignored. Some of the only researches that stressed on gratification attained that could be found in the review of the SNS literature while no research could be found that investigated the reason of joining new medium. What is important is to find the reasons that result into adoption and this could be obtained by examining the reasons for joining an SNS.
Questions about the kind of gratification that were expected to be derived out of the channel by the users before the actual use and if there was one similar or numerous motives for most individuals to adopt its usage need to be answered. Many of the research questions can not be answered correctly and debates can not end conclusively because social media are a fast paced goal. As it is not possible to project self in one perfect way on social networking sites or to place a hyperlink on a website. Below are some of the examples that are recurring in researches:
• Close, strong, personal social online relationships are likely to be also close, strong, personal social offline relationships.
• People who are likely to communicate and interact more online will also communicate more offline.
• There always be only few close friends and the majority would be weak.
• A difference is always likely to exist between what individuals actually do and what they say they do according to the examination relating to privacy worries on social network sites.
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