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[zelias2004-blog]

Samsung’s blunder

Samsung’s recent blunder with the launch of the Galaxy Note 7 and the following recall has already had a huge impact on the company’s quarterly sales, Gizmodo reports. The company announced the approximate total cost of recalling the phone will be around $3 billion, and the net profit loss was nearly 17%. This is the lowest for the company in over six years! It’s not just about the money either- perhaps more importantly, the Samsung brand identity has taken a huge blow from the “exploding phone” recall, since the whole situation has been a PR disaster.

The good news is that the Samsung brand is very likely to survive, according to… Samsung. They also announced an optimistic vision of fourth quarter sales for the year, which project net gains across the board. The writer of this Gizmodo article took a rather skeptical approach to Samsung’s projections of the future after this disaster, but I think the Samsung brand will actually be just fine despite this blow to their reputation. People forget things amazingly quickly when it comes to embarrassing blunders by huge name brands. Remember the time Toyota recalled 4 million cars because they forgot to put working brakes in them? No? Exactly! Brand loyalty and the initiatives companies take to cover up their blunders make large brands almost impervious to completely ruining their brand. I mean, BP is still around after wrecking an entire gulf, so Samsung’s chance for survival is looking good. And after all, Samsung benefits from having an intensely loyal brand fanbase, which when combined with a generally apathetic consumer base ensures Samsung’s survival.

 Read the original article here:

http://gizmodo.com/samsung-lost-a-ton-of-money-due-to-exploding-galaxy-not-1788282156

Read the Tweet here:

https://twitter.com/zelias2008/status/791783498294099968

[zelias2004-blog]

Police tracking on social media

The benefits social media offers to activists are numerous and extraordinary. From organizing direct action with ease to spreading a radical message across the globe at the click of a button, social media has been an invaluable tool to those trying to change the world. All these benefits, however, come at the cost of government and police surveillance.

A recent article by ABC News covered how the Denver Police Department released documents showing they spent $30,000 on a software called Geofeedia that was used to spy on potential political dissidents during large events, like the annual marijuana rally in Denver. The article also describes how the software has been used by numerous other police departments in major cities, including Baltimore, where the software was used to track and monitor Black Lives Matter protestors following the killing of Freddy Gray.

Software like this and police departments shadily tracking protestors through social media has huge implications for the growing struggle between protestors and the police state in the US. The harsh reality is that, as valuable as social media is, it leaves an easily traceable digital footprint that puts activists and protestors in danger before they even make any real-life action. How can we organize to protest police brutality when the police might be tracking our every move online? At times, it seems the risk of surveillance is not worth it for radical political dissidents. When your political beliefs stand in direct opposition to the establishment, this establishment will do everything it can to stop you.

The article is available here:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/aclu-wary-police-social-media-tracking-tool-42626401

https://twitter.com/zelias2008/status/784176051224244225

[zelias2004-blog]

Social media hoaxes & the corporate desire to be viral

Brands using hoaxes to create publicity on social media is a risky move, and one that almost always backfires. Recently, an online betting application known as Luxbet fabricated a social media hoax where an employee by the name of Dave supposedly got fired and hijacked the company’s Twitter feed. Many posts were made from the account ridiculing the company’s practices, while attempting to make the hashtags #SaveDave and #DaveGetsFired go viral. The hashtag did indeed catch on, and the company created quite a bit of publicity for themselves. But at what cost?

 The stunt was quickly outed as a hoax (as quickly as these things go in this cynical internet era), and the reactions to it were mixed at best. While some expressed amusement over the stunt, many on Twitter voiced their negative opinions on these kinds of fabricated internet marketing schemes that companies seem to do more and more. Trust is an absolutely crucial component brands need from their customers, and these kinds of hoaxes put that completely on the line. I can see the appeal from the marketing team’s perspective, since viral campaigns can be excellent for brand reputation. But these usually happen by mere chance, because viral content is usually produced by users and regular people- not marketing teams. Some brands get lucky and a Vine or Youtube video someone made about their product goes viral. Other brands, like Luxbet, fabricate their own viral content and have it backfire on them immediately. It seems to be a needless risk many companies keep making, and Luxbet is just one more on the long list of backfired social media marketing stunts.

Read more about the incident here:

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37436916

Corresponding Tweet is here:

https://twitter.com/zelias2008/status/778981060810006528

[zelias2004-blog]

A recent hot topic on social media is NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s decision to protest racial injustices in America by refusing to stand during the national anthem at games the entire 2016-17 season. His protest has been furthered already when he was photographed wearing socks depicting pigs wearing cop uniforms. The 49ers player’s protest has been met with equal parts backlash and solidarity.

This article gives a solid synopsis of the events that have transpired thus far and the subsequent social media uproar:

http://www.salon.com/2016/08/30/colin-kaepernicks-brave-statement-his-national-anthem-protest-exemplifies-the-values-america-must-stand-for/

Kaepernick’s protest raises a lot of interesting points about politics in the context of social media marketing for a large corporation like the NFL. The most glaring is that his staunch political stances being diffused so largely across social media put the 49ers brand at certain risk. His political backers have praised his brave decision to use his elevated social platform to stand up against racial injustice in an important time in American history. Although this has likely gained heand his team a handful of new activist supporters, his actions have also come with consequences to the 49ers brand.

 Several images of a people lightning their Kaepernick jerseys on fire made rounds on social media this week, showing how upset some people are over his protest. Many NFL fans consider football to be an apolitical sport, which has lead to some anger over Kaepernick’s explicit political protest, which could potentially be damaging to the 49ers reputation.