1. Social Media Is it really necessary?
What happens in Vegas no longer stays in Vegas… its on YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook…

2. What is social media?
A category of sites that is based on user participation and user-generated content.
They include social networking sites like LinkedIn or Facebook, social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us, social news sites like Digg, and other sites that are centered on user interaction.
The result is = an overload of information…
24 of the 25 largest newspapers are experiencing record declines in circulation because we no longer search for the news, the news finds us.

3. Types of modern social media
Chat services for corporate use
Instant messaging – MSN, AOL, Gchat
Social networks
Dating sites
Forums
Classmates.com
Facebook
Blogs/Microblogs
Twitter
Wordpress -

4. Phreaking – send tones through the phone lines to get free long-distance
BBC (Bulletin Board System – DOS) mostly used for illicit, illegal, or other shady purposes
1990 the world wide wide became publicly available
1999 – Napster – music file sharing; blogger – suddenly everyone could share anything with the world that they felt necessary
2001 – Wikipedia – 15 million articles and is available in 272 languages
2003 – Facebook – Started at Harvard university… now has over 400 million users
2003 – LinkedIn – now has 65 million users
2006 – Twitter, microblog – whatever you post can only be 140 characters, now has over 100 million users

5. The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females

6. The fastest growing segment for social media in general is the 45-54 yr old group

7. How social networking can be positive
An efficient (and cost-effective) way to tell your story
Explain what your organization does
People want to be a part of something good
Collaboration, education, encouragement
Build and maintain relationships

8. How social networking can be negative
Uncontrolled and permanent over-exposure
Identity Theft
Malware, Crimeware, Trojan viruses
Complexity
Exposure to criminals – robmenow.com

9. Robmenow.com - Geotagging

10. Success Stories Coke on Facebook Kogi Korean BBQ on Twitter
3.3 million fans, the 2nd most popular page
Managed by fans – not by Coca Cola
Kogi Korean BBQ on Twitter
Before: 4 employees, sold 30 lbs of meat/day
After: 60 employees, sells 1,000 lbs of meat/day
Dell on Twitter
Surpassed $3 million in sales
@DellOutlet –refurbished computers

11. 8 reasons for you (or your business) to utilize social media
Branding
Lead generation
Targeting demographics
Market research
Events/promotions
SEO
Customer service
Recommendations
1 - 25% of search results for the World’s Top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content – that’s huge
4 - 80% of companies use LinkedIn as a primary tool to find or research employees
6 - The #2 largest search engine in the world is YouTube
8 - 34% of bloggers post opinions about products & brands

13. Thank you! Questions?? Maria Norberg President Rotaract of La Crosse
308 Main Street
La Crosse, WI 54601