Social media networks and their characteristics

Social Network

Try to remember the billboards on your commute to work or school. How many do you think there are? Explain why you remembered any of them. Next time you are on that route, note how many billboards there actually are. Are they effective?

There are approximately over a dozen billboards that line the freeway I take to work and then on to school. I recall this many due to so many being for new and used car dealerships along a major side street. There are also several for car-related services including insurance and a few for fast food outlets along the freeway as well. It is easy to recall the automotive ones as a few have actual automobiles perched atop the billboard sign to make them very memorable. One of the food billboards has a steaming hamburger with actual steam coming out o the billboard to accentuate the freshness of the food. There are also a few for a local Mexican restaurant that ahs much more colorful pictures on it compared to other billboards. The effectiveness of these billboards is a result of their unique ness and highly differentiated nature relative to other visual stimuli in the environment (Donthu, 1994).

On a recent morning, every billboard was counted on the way to work. There were 38 including those painted on the side of buildings and a few that were illuminated with moving panels. These weren't as noticeable as the larger billboards that had cars attached to them, or the one for Geico with the gecko lizard that was nearly two stories tall along the freeway. It is apparent from the comparison of these billboards how advertisers seek to differentiate through the use of size, location, distance and overall placement in high traffic areas. The many unnoticeable ones were below line of sight for many drivers, and must have been less expensive to use. The larger and most pronounced ones most likely had a very high price and it appears a few of the car dealerships have actually purchased the billboards for use.

Part 2 -- You've been asked to create a new social media networking site. What would you name the site and what would you suggest to make it better than existing sites.

In creating a new social networking site I would concentrate on the one aspect missing from so many today, and that is trust. Facebook is a mess because it allows anyone you "friend" to place anything on your home page or profile. Social networks have become more full of sarcastic, mean comments over time, making them an aspect of many peoples' lives they would rather not have. I would design a social network that would be more oriented towards building up others and helping them grow personally and professionally.