Sociability and networking.

According to an article titled “Facebook an ageing practice” found in the June 9th MX, fewer people of the high school/university age group are using Facebook because their parents are now using it.
I sympathise, greatly.

After all, who wants their parents to know that they ’spent the weekend snuggling with muscles’? Who wants to know that their sibling/s ‘caught a fish with big boobs’?

This little tidbit hardly warrants discussion. Its just plain obvious.
Its ’social networking’, not ‘awkward family moments’.

Urgh. The evils of Stalkbook.

Substitution or supplement?

This article, whilst a bit extreme, brings to attention something I’ve been musing about.

“As increasing numbers of humans choose to supplement themselves with machines, it is possible that the primary clash of civilizations in the years to come will not be between East and West, but between Human and Cyborg. Those who have become addicted to the constant buzz of being connected will always face opponents who still believe that the world experienced through a screen is in some way deficient; lacking in the sublime splendor of undesigned reality.“

Cyborgs Among Us by Michah White@Adbusters

Where is the line drawn between the online and the offline? Does the online supplement the offline, or does the offline supplement the online?

Or is it as White suggests, and the online and offline will one day merge together to create new form of human?

Personally, I like the physical tangibility of products. The tactile sensation of being able to touch a book, curl up with it. To be able to try on clothes before purchase.
E-business has certainly made consumerism much more convenient for an increasingly time poor world, but there is something to be said for the traditional methods of a non-digital life …
I want to look at the face of a person and learn about them through their movement, not meticulously planned words (like these).

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I like the internet (msn, facebook). I like my mobile phone (texting). I ♥ my macbook.
But, again: Where is the line drawn between the online and the offline? Is there even a line?

Too Much Info.

I’ve discovered what an RSS feed is this week.

It’s so convenient! All I do is click ’subscribe to in Mail’, and there it is, all the posts of my favourite websites right in my mail box, waiting for me.
No need to open up countless numbers of web browsers. The problem of remembering to check said websites is over.
Just open my Mail application (not even because it’s always open anyway!) and there it is, ready to read. I’m eager to add to my list RSS feeds.

The only problem is, now I have 53 ‘new’ posts that I’m supposed to scroll through and read.

Unfortunately, I’m not time poor. I can read it if I so chose.

But the fact that it’s all there, demanding my attention puts me off.
As my blog title suggests, it’s too much information.
Being a product of today’s distracted society, my short attention span prevents me from going through it all; the mass quantity of ‘information’ is just too overwhelming.

Why post about this? The situation reminds me of an epiphany like magazine article I read awhile back about ‘too much choice’; how there is so much choice that we freeze up and can’t pick anything.
There are so many conveniences available to us now, and yet we don’t do anything with them. Perhaps that’s why: it’s too much.

I could ramble on about this, but if I do, I’ll probably forget my original point. So, I’ll end it with this:

Ah, the curse of the informed.

Plugging. or Word of Mouth.

The cynicism of today’s consumer (to a large extent due to the creation of the world wide web) makes them less receptive to conventional means of advertising. But! If they don’t listen to advertising, where on earth do they learn what to spend their money on??!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, we have it at word of mouth marketing: informal conversations concerning a product or service (Schiffman, 2008). Through trusted family and friends, and other people within their social networks, consumers learn about products they may or may not be interested in, and because of the personal relationship with this person, are much more interested in what they have to say than some random salesperson.

Personal example:
Aunt-in-law: “Your lips are really cracked.”
Me: “Yup! At least it doesn’t hurt anymore ^^”
Aunt-in-law: “Here, try this. It’ll fix it.”
Me: (sceptical) “I’ve been using {product x}. Doubt that’ll fix what {product x} can’t.”
Aunt-in-law: “This is heaps better than {product x}!”
Thus, upon the enforcement of one trial application, I found that the product was indeed, ‘heaps better than {product x}!’

That is but one of many examples of how Word of Mouth Marketing works.
Think about text messages from a friend: “MACCAS CHEESEBURGER. YUMNESS. NOW.”
Or email: “Check this movie out!
etc etc etc.
Alternatively: “OMG, I’ve tried that before! It’s shit hole.”

And so, in the spirit of my thus far marketing-/rant theme blog, I will continue on with a little bit of WOM marketing; otherwise known as plugging.

Products currently capturing my attention:
- Lucas Papaw Ointment : Seriously healed my dried up and painfully chapping lips after ONE application. Seriously good stuff. Currently I am applying to to the huge as scan on my arm with a bit of wishful thinking. Check back in a month or so. Maybe I’ll be dancing on the roof because of it’s magical scar removal.
- The Body Shop Body Butter in Aloe. I have dry skin, and in a moment of boredom, decided to have a very expensive trial run. How lucky is it that I love this product? The Aloe one to me, has no fragrance (bonus), and on instant contact, cools and soothes. And it moisturises so well, that I STILL have soft skin when I jump into the shower 30 hours later. IT FEELS GOOD PEOPLE. BODY LOVE!
- The Body Shop Japanese Cherry Blossom EDT. I’m told it doesn’t actually smell like a Japanese Cherry Blossom, but who cares, it smells so nice anyway! Its got a soft and sweet smell, if you’re into that kind of thing.
- Pamolive Aromatherapy Shamppo and Conditioner in REVIVE. This is my favourite shampoo and conditioner of all time, based simply on smell (of roses and sandalwood apparently). Oh, it also makes my hair feel very very very very nice. But, mostly because of the smell. I am so obsessed with this shampoo and conditioner that I went to the extent of carrying the entire giant sized bottle with me on my overseas trip to China (you will also expect to see it in my luggage in Malaysia). For awhile there, I had to convert to Garnier Fructis because I couldn’t find it ANYWHERE. So, when I came across it in Priceline last week, I immediately stocked up, and for the rest of the day, lugged around 8 400mL bottles of shampoo and conditioner.
Yes. I am that obsessed.
- Jeans Wests’ Cameron Long Line Coat: A winter jacket I don’t have. I want. But, shouldn’t buy. But, probably will buy. Maybe. Stay tuned.
- Neutrogena Rapid Clear 2-in-1 Cleanser and Mask. For some reason the product I’m plugging isn’t on their website. Oh well. It’s good. 2-in-1 is perfect for lazy people like me, and as a daily cleanser, works well. Just remember to use it daily ! xD
- All pens Staedtler. Oddly enough, got into this by a friend’s recommendation. Well, I particularly like these highlighters. Slim and pretty, gets to the teeny tiny writing I print out to save paper.

Ok, I’m tired now. No more plugging tonight. Back to study. Or rather, TV.

Schiffman, L; Bednal, D; O’Cass, A; Paladino, A; Ward, S; Kanuk, L (2008) Consumer Behaviour 4th edn. Pearson Education Australia

Loyalty Clubs.

Ah, the ever so wonderful loyalty club; a database marketing system, the loyalty club collects information about consumers to better manage companies marketing relationship with them, and entices these consumers to join by offering discounts, coupons, special offers, etc.
Examples (relevant to me) are:
- Priceline Club Card
- Jeans West Reward Program
- Myer One
- Novo Shoes V.I.P
- Boost Juice Vibe Card
- Village Cinemas Movie Club
- Fly Buys
- Everyday Rewards

This list of loyalty programs to which I am subscribed obviously suggests the types of stores I regularly frequent, and to a certain extent my personality.
Each loyalty program I am signed up for records my purchase behaviour, and eventually designs me-specific emails. Take the Village one for example: every time I go to the cinemas, they scan my card to record what movie I see. At the end of the year they know what types of movies I go to see and how often I go.
Fly Buys will be able to tell you what stores I go to and what I buy.
All this data collection takes place through point of purchase scanning, surveys, questionnaires … almost anything. That little form I filled out to get a free lip gloss? The company wants to know what I think. Because realistically, that information is worth much more to them than a lip gloss.

Collectively, this information paints a pretty big picture about me as a consumer. By signing up, I am no longer a faceless consumer just buying my groceries. I am now ‘maiaki, from melbourne, single, under 25, eating a lot of chocolate and rarely buying shoes’. Using this information, and having my email address, they send me specific information about these things to encourage me to spend yet more money at the company. It helps companies like Roy Morgan put me into a value segments, to better design their marketing information to get my attention. The advent of email makes it even easier for the company to target me as a niche market.

Now, I both appreciate and hate this. It annoys me that I’m being told to spend my money here and there when I don’t want to. It’s also disturbing that some random commercial company can probably paint a better picture of me that even I can. But I appreciate it because it cuts out a lot of my information search and sends direct to my email information on only the products I want, as opposed to the clutter of millions of junk mail catalogues that I just toss out.

But that seems to be a trend of our society today. We sell ourselves for the sake of convenience.
My question: how much are you worth? A lip gloss? A holiday? What will it take for a company to get you into their bed?

—> This was bought on by a dear friend getting a free lip gloss by filling out a form, and me getting a 40% off members only voucher at Novo =) {You can perhaps look forward to an entry about my new boots..}

Decision!

Ah hah! And maiaki@wordpress has decided what to do with herself.

Thus, the wordpress blog will be filled with posts deemed ‘educated’ or ’serious’, making maiaki@lj filled with inarticulate spazzes of waning fandom and waning real life.

Why? It has come to Maiaki’s attention that she is posting more and more spazz whing-fests on lj, complaining about various things, then f-locking them (making it un-viewable to anyone not on her f-list). Now, if you are to know the real ‘maiaki’ at all, you will realise she has no propensity at all to censor things, being absolutely unable to say ‘a friend’ rather than ‘X’ did this – any use of ‘a friend’ or unhypothetical ‘x’ has been done so at great restraint and mass editing. No, when the ‘real’ Maiaki speaks about something, she speaks with a tell-all attitude.

However, that is not to say she cannot keep a secret.

Maiaki@wordpress will also have the added bonus of removing some traffic from fellow lj friends pages. (You’re welcome.)

Anyway. Declaration of and decision of new blog (under the same name) concluded.

A change of scenery …

Well, here’s to a change of scenery.

Not that I dislike maiaki@lj, it’s just sometimes nice ti have a change of scenery. Yeah.

Well, as usual, I have to head off to class now, so I suppose I’ll get to fixing this up later ey?