Assignment #3: Orbit Gum (Leslie Garay)

For this assignment I have decided to evaluate a social media page: the Facebook page for Orbit Gum. After evaluating this page, I concluded that it does an average job of social media marketing. While it does generate new content flow and allows a customer service “portal” to feature communication with the users, the Orbit Gum Facebook page lacks in giving out free items (premiums), fostering participation from the users, and encouraging user-generating content.

First of all, the page does a good job of uploading new content flow rather frequently. All their posts are within only a few days apart from each other. They post a several entertaining (funny), colorful, quality photo images of their product, which many (as much as 15,000) people “like.” These images frequently include the “Orbit Girl,” a very pretty blonde woman who advertises the gum. This is quite a “good” marketing trick, as people are drawn to her. One user explicitly writes, “I only liked this page for the Orbit Girl.” Moreover, the whole page is to be read as something that not company is advertising, but rather as the Orbit Girl is herself constantly updating. Each post is “hers;” it is written in her perspective. This is effective in that it lures people in, creating a sense of having some kind of relationship/friendship with her. She is the one communicating with the customers, and sometimes the users “respond” to her. Plus, there is room on Facebook for the customers to post their thoughts on the product. Some clearly write that they “love” Orbit Gum, while others have written complaints and concerns about the product—to which Orbit Gum does respond to with contact information outside the Facebook page.

On the other hand, the Orbit Gum Facebook falters in other elements. Firstly, the site does not offer premiums at all, giving customers less incentive to like their product or visit the page. Secondly, there is minimum participation involving the users. I could not find any surveys, games, or events/venues hosted by Orbit Gum. This is very detrimental for the page because while it may attract the attention of some users, I feel like it is only for a moment. The lack of participation and premiums will bring those customers back. Furthermore, while there is user-generated content (mostly photos submitted by the users posing with the product), they are not invited to necessarily. They post at their own will. It is a good sign that these users are posting without invitation, but it would perhaps be a much more engaging experience if Orbit Gum hosted competitions or other events involving this aspect of social media marketing.

Assignment #3: Marvel (Brian Chan)

I'm doing an evaluation of Marvel's Facebook page. In case the reader doesn't know, Marvel is a media company responsible for comics and comic book movies such as Spiderman, Thor and X-men. They should not be mistaken with Marvell which makes semi-conductors.

After perusing Marvel's Facebook page, I have come to the conclusion that they are not doing a very effective job of social media marketing. Although the content flow is great, they frequently make posts about upcoming movies and comics, they do not engage their followers. User-generated content is mostly in the form of comments and a few cos-play (people dressing up as comic book characters). It would be wonderful if they had a Facebook app, where you can shoot some villains or rescue a damsel in distress. There is somewhat of a customer service portal where people can poll their favorite comic books characters. But only for positive stuff. There is a little participation such as an iOS app were you can learn how to draw your own superhero on a tablet. There are no premiums. It is mostly "come buy this" or "go to this Marvel themed attraction".

There are suspiciously very few negative comments on the page. Negative, but constructive criticism on a Facebook page doesn't detract from it but enhances it. These comments make the site look more genuine. Despite their efforts, a few trolls have gotten pass the screens. One person said "Howard the duck" was what they envisioned as the scariest Marvel villain. That is hilarious since Howard is a large, anthropomorphic duck, but is no way associated with Marvel.

In terms of improvement, I would recommend Marvel make their page more interactive. (This may be limited as Facebook doesn't currently have very many avenues for that). However, they could still conduct more polls and give away free stuff, or sponsor "real-life" competitions to generate excitement for upcoming movies. Their Facebook page is also very cluttered. I also dislike the old-fashioned drawn comics. They
should focus on posting content from their product lines that are generating the most revenue. For example, the characters from the actual movies.  They should also stop posting Disney-related stuff of the page, because although Disney now owns Marvel, they cater to very different audiences.

I looked at a couple other Marvel Facebook-related pages and it feels like their strategy on Facebook is divided. It seems as if they're not sure where to concentrate their money. A more united approach may be to their benefit. For instance, I would design the Marvel Facebook page as a portal to their franchises and develop the franchise pages as "hooks" with lots of interactions and some carefully dispersed premiums.

Assignment #3: Wendy's (Cory Mohn)

For this assignment I analyzed the Wendy’s facebook page.

I do think this commercial page is doing an effective job of social media marketing. Their posts are very entertaining and they respond to all posts and comments. While they do not really advertise or give away free things in order to attract users, the posts are humorous enough to garner attention. The only sort of advertisements of winning “free stuff” was a post where users could click the link and enter a code for a free Southwest Airlines flight (seems like they are affiliated with Southwest and use their Facebook to give them shout outs). They do advertise their products with clever humor, for example, a post advertising their lemonade had the caption, “we still serve all-natural lemonade, in case you’re tired of things that taste like pumpkin.” Wendy’s is successful because the posts are relevant to the season and cultural trends – in this case, they are knowledgeable that pumpkin-flavored drinks are popular in the fall.

Besides the posts advertising their products, they do post short movies. The latest series of short films are titled, “Wendy’s Pretzel Pub Chicken Love Stories” and so far have two episodes. This humorous melodrama advertises their latest product – chicken sandwich with pretzel bread. As I mentioned before, Wendy’s has a strong dialogue with their users and use Facebook as a customer service “portal”. When I browsed through the various posts and their comments, I noticed that Wendy’s responded to every single comment – they thanked the comments who praised them, and as for the complaints, they commented back with an email to which they could make a formal complaint to. There was even a post that praised Wendy’s for saving their fathers life when his heart stopped in the drive-thru and the Wendy’s employees came to the rescue (maybe he should lay off Wendy’s?). Wendy’s does post regularly – they limit themselves to one post a day; as I mentioned, it is usually a picture of their product and a clever caption. They respond regularly to all comments, as well.  

Assignment #3: Converse (Alicia Fong)

Converse, a clothing and shoe company, has a Facebook page that showcases their merchandise and events the company is involved in. Converse utilizes many advertising strategies we discussed in class, such as premiums, or free merchandise. One such premium was the “In Case of Emergency” campaign the company advertised, in which they had put red shoe boxes in hidden locations throughout the UK. The boxes contained a pair of Converse’s winter boots that can be taken and worn- essentially a free pair of shoes. Converse is also really active participation wise, specifically by combining the Converse brand with music. Converse has many free concerts advertised on their Facebook page that anybody can attend all throughout the United States. They also held photography contests for users to post pictures of their Converse on the page and rewarded the winner with free downloads of new music by bands associated with the company. Converse also has high user-generated content, and Converse-wearers can post pictures of their customized Converse under posts titled “101 things to write on your Converse” and if they take pictures of themselves simply wearing the shoes. As for customer service “portal”, Converse often poses questions about their products to the public in order to receive feedback on the page. The content flow of the page is high, and many of the users post comments of the product, post pictures of themselves wearing Converse, or simply leave posts about the shoes.

I believe that the company is doing a highly effective job of social media marketing because they are very active in terms of interaction with the consumers. All of the advertising they do with free concerts and giveaways ensures that users will continuously return to the page to check for new content. The same can be said for the photos on the page; by allowing the users to post pictures of themselves with the merchandise, they are using the consumers to advertise their own products and spread the word through users’ own social media outlets as well as the company’s. Overall, Converse has a very positive feedback from many users. Converse social media marketing is very effective because they ultimately reach out to consumers and keep them wanting more.

Assignment #2: Foul-Mouthed Hacker Hijacks Baby's Monitor (Ryan Puglisi)

This article outlines how a family was harassed when a hacker was able to gain access to their baby monitor. Once he gained access, he was able to find out the child’s name by swiveling the webcam; he then started to harass the child. The family discovered the actions of the hacker when they heard a strange voice coming from their child’s room. Once the family discovered tampering the hacker directed his harassment toward them as well. In order to stop the onslaught, the family’s only choice was to cease using the baby monitor. Fortunately, the daughter was deaf and had her cochlear implant removed while sleeping, so she didn’t hear the hacker’s offensive tirade.

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/14/tech/web/hacked-baby-monitor/index.html

Unless this man is truly atypical and regularly invades homes to harass children in his day-to-day activities, his actions outlined in the article are an apt portrayal of the online disinhibition effect (a very toxic inhibition)—acting online in a manner that a person would not otherwise do in the real-world. Specifically, the hacker is demonstrating dissociative anonymity. The hacker, which the family describes to have had a “European or British accent,” could have been acting on people thousands of miles away, who have no possible connection or apparent way of tracking the hacker’s identity. Thus, the hacker felt completely separated from his actions upon the family. For all we know, this man could have been a preschool teacher or a Member of British parliament who gets his kicks on the weekend anonymously harassing babies.  Any restraint his superego imposed on his real life actions were not in play when he shouted expletives at a baby. The motivation for this invasion of privacy and harassment seems to be simple ‘blind catharsis.’

Assignment #2: My Catfish Confession (Michelle Chen)

Catfish, Melissa Henderson (20)

For years Melissa Henderson slipped into her alter-persona, Abby Johnson.  Abby was a fake persona—taken from a Myspace photo of a petite, skinny, blond, teen girl from Ohio.  Abby became getaway for Melissa.  Abby was a person Melissa wanted to be.  For Melissa, being Abby was freeing.

But Melissa was committing a crime. The crime is deception. Deception by Fraud. She wasn’t Abby, but used Abby to get close to Jarrod Musselwhite.  Melissa played with Jarrod’s feelings as they talked on Facebook and on the phone.  Melissa withheld truth from Jarrod making him think she was Abby when she really wasn’t (and Abby isn’t real). 

But why would she do this to a boy she liked?

Link: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/relationship-advice/my-catfish-confession

Dr. John Suler would say Melissa was disinhibited from acting like this, because of invisibility coupled with dissociative imagination. The anonymity of the internet allowed Melissa to become Abby. The invisibility of the internet gave Melissa the courage to become Abby, because she did not have to worry about others seeing past the computer screen.  The dissociative imagination comes into play when the internet provides her the ability to separate her online actions from her in-person lifestyle and identity.  Through the internet, Melissa can feel less vulnerable about being Abby, because whatever she says or does cannot be directly linked to the rest of her lives. In a sense, Melissa compartmentalized Abby into a being a part of her without acknowledging that she needs to be accountable to her actions as the fake Abby.  For a time as Melissa catfished Jarrod, Melissa couldn’t own up to the fact that she wasn’t Abby and the one Jarrod liked was Abby.

But when she had to face the truth that she is, in fact, not Abby and that she cannot continue catfishing Jarrod, Melissa was forced to be responsible for her actions.  She deleted Abby off Facebook, off Myspace, and off cyberspace.  She broke the news to Jarod and there is no more separation between her online person and her offline person.  Likewise, Melissa is no longer disinhibited from her behavior online as she now learned to own up to her actions and realized that she doesn’t need Abby to be liked—her personality as Melissa is enough.  She knows now that she does not have to escape to Abby when problems offline occur.

However, Melissa is not just the criminal, but also a victim.  She, herself, was victim to her own catfishing and lies.  This piece is not meant to blame Melissa for her actions. I am just trying to explain her actions—stating the facts, not intending to hurt anyone. 

Assignment #2: “Caroline Criado-Perez: ‘Twitter has enabled people to behave in a way they wouldn’t face to face’” (Leslie Garay)

Caroline Criado-Perez is a feminist campaigner who was threatened with rape, violence, and death via Twitter, the online social networking service. These threats came after Criado-Perez caused controversy fighting “with the Bank of England to reinstate a woman on the bank of an English banknote” after it was announced that the only other woman on an English banknote was to be replaced by a man (Winston Churchill). That would cause all the banknotes to be represented by “an all-male, all-white lineup on the English banknotes.” Therefore, Criado-Perez, opposing that motion, sued the bank with the 2010 Equality Act backing her up, not expecting that she would receive such violent threats over her protests on Twitter soon after. As she continues to receive such threats, as of now two people have been arrested for their criminal behavior online.

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/aug/04/caroline-criado-perez-twitter-rape-threats

In her interview with the news writer, Criado-Perez states: “What social media has done is enable people to behave in a way they wouldn’t face to face. There’s a feeling that they are anonymous and people can’t find them, and there’s also research into how people need to see a face in order to feel empathy, and if you don’t have that then you feel that you can fire off this sort of stuff.” That “stuff” includes the violent threats that Criado-Perez faces. But what could cause such behavior to be so explicit? Is it really all because they are against Criado-Perez’s stance?

Criado-Perez was on the right track in her aforementioned statement: in John Suler’s article, “The Online Disinhibition Effect,” Suler specifically goes into one of the answers: disassociative anonymity. Behind the anonymity that Twitter can provide, the people that threatened Criado-Perez are able to separate their actions (or words) online from their real-life “in-person lifestyle and identity.” With that veil, they do not feel so scared about acting out against her because in this online territory they cannot be traced back so easily. It does not matter if they hurt Criado-Perez because their real names are not attached to their actions (or words), so “they do not have to own their behavior by acknowledging it within the full context of an integrated online/offline identity.” In other words, these people who are threatening Criado-Perez feel that what they are doing could not possibly affect them or “be directly linked to their rest of their lives.”   

Assignment #2: Worcester Man Ordered to Prison for Child Porn. Wrote of Plans to Eat his Victims (Theresa Chan)

Geoffrey Portway was sentenced to 27 years in a federal prison for the distribution and possession of child pornography and solicitation to commit a crime. Portway, a 40-year-old computer programmer, had discussed his plans in internet chat rooms to kidnap, rape, kill, cook, and eat young children in a sound-proof dungeon he had built in the basement of his Worcester home. When authorities raided his home, they discovered 20,000 files of child pornography, the dungeon and tools he would use to perpetrate the crimes (including a child-sized coffin and metal cage, butchering kits, castration tools, freezers, and scalpels), and Internet conversations between Portway and another man who had been asked to kidnap a child for Portway. Portway’s defense argued that he was a man with “issues” who only engaged in fantasy role-playing on the Internet.

Link: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/09/17/worcester-man-who-wanted-cannibalize-children-sentenced-years-federal-prison/aAPi2vRJ9E5tbwU1Ku7maN/story.html

It’s very clear that Portway had some “mental issues” and used the Internet as a way to act out more intensely his criminal desires. Suler’s “online disinhibition effect” comes into play in this story as Portway’s lawyer argued that “disinhibition” was what motivated him to commit the crime (whether or not we actually buy his defense is irrelevant). Dissociative anonymity is clearly one of the reasons why Portway became disinhibited while online, but I believe that the most likely cause for disinhibition in this case is dissociative imagination. Portway created this fantasy world that existed in another space. His lawyer told the judge that Portway had no intentions of actually killing and cannibalizing children; the dungeon was all a prop, and all his fantasies were imagined in the privacy of his own home. He had dissociated his online self and fantasies from offline reality.  Portway would argue that while online, he would play out his fantasies of eating children and sometimes that extended to role-playing at home, but he never actually acted on it in reality. Of course, when you’re using the Internet to solicit the kidnapping of a child and detailing your plans to torture and eat that child, that makes a poor defense. 

Assignment #2: Teens Arrested for Cyberstalking after Threatening Violence Against Juvenile on Twitter (Brian Chan)

In this virtual crime, two female teenagers have been arresting for cyber bullying another girl. Specifically, these two teens were threatening to assault and/or possibly kill their classmate. Originally these three teenagers were friends but had a falling out, when the boyfriend of one of the perpetrators expressed interest in the victim. Threats continued against the girl even when she moved away to another district. Things took a turn for the worse when they started to target the victim’s younger sister.

Link: http://www.ketknbc.com/news/crimewatch/teens-arrested-for-cyberstalking-after-threatening

I believe this particular online crime was motivated by “disinhibition on the internet” mainly Dissociative Anonymity. The defendants felt like they had a cloak of anonymity to do whatever they wanted. They didn’t feel like their online crimes would ever have real word consequences such as a misdemeanor and/or felony and jail time. Suler calls this type of disinhibition “toxic disinhibition”. Without real world interactions, these teens felt free to do whatever they wanted. In this case, it was to explore their darker personalities and say things they wouldn’t have done so to the victim face-to-face. 

Assignment #2: FBI Shuts Alleged Online Drug Marketplace, Silk Road (Cory Mohn)

“Silk Road”, a website which allows users to anonymously purchase illegal drugs and criminal services, was shut down, along with the arrest of the creator and owner of the website – Ross Ulbricht.  The site has been running for about five years now and has provided the service of shipping drugs to countries all around the world. It is estimated that the site has 900,000 users and sold drugs through the use of the virtual currency called bitcoin. While it has been discovered that the site was established and operated out of San Francisco, the FBI has tracked his digital footprint in various Internet cafes using a variety of methods to conceal his identity and location of servers, etc. The net gain of transactions found on the site is 9.5 million bitcoin, which is equal to an approximate 1.2 billion dollars. The site has been under surveillance since 2011 when there was attention given to the correlation between digital currency and this site.

Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/02/us-crime-silkroad-raid-idUSBRE9910TR20131002

In terms of this case, Dissociative anonymity played a role in disinhibiting Ulbricht. This is the simple fact that being anonymous on the Internet gave Ulbricht the protection and security he needed to run this drug marketplace. The whole concept of the site is based off of dissociative anonymity because it is anonymous for the users, as well. Both Ulbricht and the users felt secure and free to exchange drugs and criminal activities in anonymous space, where such dealings is difficult and dangerous in public settings, and the real world in general. This website is a “safe space” for people to engage in illicit transactions, not to mention being connected to a network of people that they may otherwise not have connections with if they were not apart of the site.

Another disinhibiting effect that Ulbricht took on was Invisibility – he was known on the site under the pseudonym of “Dread Pirate Roberts”. This disinhibiting effect of taking on a new identity adds to the notion of dissociative anonymity because he was able to partake, and run a website, in which illicit activities were taking place in. Had he identified his real name on the site, anonymity would be broken and the FBI, along with users, would have a much easier way to find Ulbricht; and the whole point of the website was to be anonymous so that he could conceal his entire identity.

Even asynchronicity could be applied to this situation; that is – the site connected a vast network of users to drugs that probably did not have access to in their immediate locations. This website allowed users to engage in transactions that they may not feel comfortable making in person. Making an educated guess, buying heroin or meth on the streets would be a scary and dangerous situation – police can catch you, not to mention scary drug dealers might steal your money, etc. – the site allowed users to speak and participate in activities that which they may not actually do in real life. Likewise for Ulbricht, it would be extremely difficult to run such an operation “under the radar” on the streets. Doing so on this website allowed him to engage and talk with individuals that which he may not have been comfortable in doing in real life. 

Assignment #2: End of Silk Road for Drug Users as FBI Shuts Down Illicit Website (Alicia Fong)

“End of “Silk Road”- The FBI has shut down the alleged online marketplace known as Silk Road. Silk Road is an anonymous Internet marketplace for illegal drugs and criminal activities like murder for hire. Silk Road was used by several thousands of drug dealers to sell hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs. The site has been running since 2011, with more than 900,000 registered users. The site used the digital currency Bitcoin. The owner of the site used computers at Internet cafes and other public places in order to hide the location of its servers and identities of the administrators.

Link: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-silk-road-bitcoin-20131003,0,7857459.story?page=1

The owner of the website was Ross William Ulbricht, a 29-year-old former physics student from San Francisco. After graduation, he adopted an “anti-government” attitude and the Internet allowed him to attempt his goals to “end "coercion and aggression" by creating "a world without the systemic use of force."” In Ulbricht’s case, disinhibition allowed him to carry out a virtual crime. John Suler discusses several different forms, and I believe dissociative anonymity and invisibility apply to this particular case, as well as minimization of status. Dissociative anonymity allows for a disconnect from the consequences of the virtual transactions because of the anonymity the Internet provides. Invisibility because all transactions took place over the Internet, and all under avatars. And finally, minimization of status because on Ulbricht’s website, everyone was equal. They paid to have something done; it was a business transaction whether it was drug trafficking or murder for hire. The disinhibition brought on by the Internet made the Silk Road a “safe” place for illegal transactions to take place.

Assignment #2: Craigslist Crime Isn't All Cyber Crime (Yesenia Escobar)

In “Craigslist Crime Isn’t All Cyber Crime” by Paul Muschick readers are exposed to recent cases of a new form of crime that is being facilitated by the well known website, Craigslist. Since the formation of the website scammers have been utilizing it by fooling people into transferring money to their bank accounts in return for cars that do not exist or renting apartments for leases they have no control over. However, the fooling has gone beyond the possible cash thefts that occur online and the shame that the people who are being scammed might feel is incomparable to the new crime that is being committed. Robberies are now being aided. People are lured with exceptional prices on phones and other items but once they set to meet the crooks they are robbed for everything they are carrying. Muschich says, “last April a man was robbed of $400 at gunpoint in Bangor when he was lured into a park after dark to supposedly look at an iPhone for sale on Craigslist” (Muschick, 2013). Fraud on Craigslist has become far too common however this new extent on the crime that is being committed has really placed into perspective just how far some people will go in order to scam others for money and goods.

Link: http://articles.mcall.com/2013-01-30/news/mc-craigslist-robberies-watchdog-20130130_1_craigslist-crime-cyber-crime-series-of-recent-robberies

In order to really analyze this phenomenon and have some sort of understanding as to why scammers find it so easy to do this to people I will utilize John Suler’s “The Online Disinhibition Effect.” Suler categorizes several of the behaviors displayed online which might make it easier for a person do be dishonest, act out or self disclose. The first category analyzed in his article is “dissociative anonymity” which evaluates the way in which users have the ability to utilize another person’s identity or flat out hide their own. In the Craigslist cases reported above, this form of disinhibition might have been the main proponent in the reason why the crooks found it so easy to rob the people they were scamming. Without any traces of who these people are, what their names are, or where they live. The people were easily robbed and had very small chance of gaining justice for the crime.

Assignment #2: Feds Say They've Arrested 'Dread Pirate Roberts,' Shut Down His Black Market 'The Silk Road' (Giselle Beltran)

29 year-old investment advisor, Ross W. Ulbricht, was arrested on Tuesday (Oct. 1^st) for creating and hosting an online black market, known as Silk Road website most commonly used for the buying and selling of illegal drugs. More commonly known as the infamous, Captain “Dread Pirate Roberts”, Ulbricht reached an economical gain of approximately $3.6 million worth Bitcoin currency and reached a worth $1.2 billion in transactions, which was ultimately seized by the FBI. Among the distribution of illegal drugs such as LSD, cocaine, heroine, etc., the website also offered illegal services such as hiring “hitmen” and hacking services for fraud purposes. Ulbricht was charged with several counts, including narcotics trafficking, laundering money and computer hacking conspiracies.

Link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2013/10/02/feds-shut-down-silk-road-owner-known-as-dread-pirate-roberts-arrested/

After reading John Suler’s, “The Online Disinhibition Effect”, it can be concluded that Ulbricht’s crime was motivated by the disinhibition of dissasociative anonymity. Ulbricht’s use of his online identity, “Dread Pirate Roberts”, allowed him to create a person outside of his personal and professional life. His well-known identity as a Pennsylvania State University graduate and an overall intellectual, smart and well-presented man made room for the ability to be an anonymous count online and was easily hidden since his online actions were not an impression of how he carried his personal and professional self. According to Suler, the use of a pseudonym, or fake name, gives people the “opportunity to separate their actions online from their in-person lifestyle and identity” and thus, creating a disassociating of their online behavior to that of their offline lifestyle. According to an online news blog, Ulbricht was caught due to his own “carelessness”, after he unintentionally revealed his real identity on a website used to ask online questions. It can be argued that because Ulbricht had been the mastermind behind the Silk Road “drug empire” for nearly two years, he had become so well acquainted to what he was doing and dissociated due to his well-used anonymity, his simple mistake led to his arrest.