Meg Kerr

"Social media is like teen sex. Everyone wants to do it. No one know how. And when it's finally done there is surprise its' not better." Avinash Kausik, Digital Marketing Evangelist for Google.

This week's speaker was Meg Kerr, Social Media Integration Manager at Mosaic Experiential Marketing. Before climbing the ladder at Mosaic, she studied Media, Information & Technoculture at the University of Western Ontario, and Broadcast Journalism at Fanshawe College. Check her out on LinkedIn, or follow her on Twitter @meg_kerr.

This was a really cool presentation, and much different from that others we've had this year. Definitely interesting to hear from a 'social media expert', a term Meg finds funny since social media has only really been relevant in the past five years. Needless to say it's a very important part of any company's marketing strategy now, and there are new jobs being created every day to accommodate this need.

Smirnoff is one of the brands that Meg works on. This one must be fun. Among other things, Meg's team is responsible for posting on Facebook. Important to only post if you have interesting or relevant things to say.

This video has some pretty interesting facts and puts the importance of social media in perspective. Take for instance the fact that 1 in 5 divorces are blamed on facebook!

FOUR SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS

Stolen from Cora's Blog from last years class. This is a busy time of year;)

Trend One: Real time and smartphones changes everything

Meg explained how technology allows anyone to share and search for information in real time and from anywhere. It has changed how we get information. It’s traditional word of mouth, but on steroids. Nearly half of Canadians own a smartphone and web traffic on smartphones in Canada grew 193% in the past year. By 2013, mobile phones will overtake personal computers.

An example of real time news is the Tiger Woods scandal. @breakingnews on Twitter was the first outlet to break the story. People are starting to use Twitter for news since they get it quicker. However, there is an issue on speed versus accuracy.


This site helps you wipe out your social media accounts. FAQ: What shall I do after I've killed myself with the web2.0 suicide machine?

Try calling some friends, take a walk in a park or buy a bottle of wine and start enjoying your real life again. Some Social Suiciders reported that their lives has improved by an approximate average of 25%. Don't worry, if you feel empty right after you committed suicide. This is a normal reaction which will slowly fade away within the first 24-72 hours.

Trend Two: Location based

The increase of GPS enabled smartphones is a driving force behind the rise in popularity of location based services – they would not exist without this technology. An example of this service is Foursquare, which works by checking you into locations from your phone. Your Foursquare friends are pinged when you check into a location. You can get points for checking into different locations, can unlock badges, and even be named “Mayor” if you’re checked into a location more than anymore else. Friends can find out when you went into a restaurant and give you tips, such as to order the nachos or to leave because of bad service. Facebook has now followed suit and introduced Check Ins. Will be interesting to see how this affects Foursquare.

Good advice: Don't post about your vacation while on vacation.

Trend Three: Privacy

In order to attract users, the sites must restrict information:
Twitter is the least private and is nearly completely open
You can read anyone’s tweets, whether following them or not
Tweets are indexed in Google
People often link their Foursquare to their Twitter account, which can show the whole entire world where you are in real time
A site the helps you be aware of the safety of location based services is pleaserobme.com. In this website you can search Toronto and find out people who are not in their homes because of their tweets. This website gives awareness to be selective to where you post your Foursquare and who your friends are on the site. The main point is to never link Foursquare to your Twitter.

Trend Four: Social media gets less social

Meg explained how first and second generations of social networking portals were about opening up to the world. However, the third generation is about closing it again. For example, exclusive niche networks are becoming more popular. Examples include Blue Chip Expert where you have to submit a resume and be selected to become a member. Another example is A Private Club which is a social networking website that is for popular and successful New Yorkers. The top seven countries that use Facebook are actually declining in overall number of users. The novelty of first and second-generation social networking websites is dying off.

Damn, Deer Tick is awesome and I didn't even know they were in town. From Meg's Twitter.