Public Spere?? A posh word for a lot of people gossiping. Many scholars have looked into the Public Sphere, what it means, who is in it, can we profit from it? Freedom of speech and democratic societies is something that people have fought for in the past. Although controlled greatly by political correctness many people feel it is their right to say what they want, public spheres have been around for sometime now. The digital public sphere, could be classed by some as relatively new media where people are brought together through something they find interesting and feel should be discussed amongst others, perhaps debated, some scholars describe this as an extension of the public sphere rather than a different phenomenon.
Facebook and Twitter the hype of the moment. I myself cant go a day without going on facebook, the same goes for many of my friends. Primarily a way of communicating, however the introduction of pages to ‘like’ sparks interests from indiciduals that create discussions and creates a platform for a public sphere. An interesting view is purposed by Zeynep Tufekci (2010)[1]. She views facebook as a quasi-public sphere, where things private are made public.
I believe that a public sphere can be highly beneficial to marketing professionals. Many would agree that the most influential marketing tool is essentially word of mouth: It is free after all. Therefore by using a public spheres a buzz can be created about absolutely anything at all… Combine this with a PR stunt and bobs your uncle you’ve gone viral in seconds.. Bravo!! Creating a buzz on twitter could be an example of this.
On the contrary, have a bad product or service and people are very much inclined to discuss this negatively online. People are much more likely to discuss something bad that happens to them as the emotion linked to this is uncomfortable for them and they will feel as though they have been treated unfairly. So it is much harder to get something good said online, but if a company is good and as it were ‘does as it says on the tin’ for a lack of words then there should be no reason for negative comments.
Bearing this in mind, many companies are reluctant to draw attention to their products or services, as they are worried about the repercussions [2]. I say throw caution to the wind! The people and companies that are most successful and well known are the ones that take risks: Take Richard Branson and the succession of Virgin, if he never took the risks he did he wouldn’t have been mentioned in this blog…I bet he feels lucky!!
No comments:
Post a Comment