Transparency vs Secrecy: Social Media & the Fashion Industry

For almost 100 years,the fashion industry has run on the basis of secret construction and planning of lines,displaying at a runway,then pitching to buyers. However with the new social media culture the fashion industry is feeling the pressure to adapt to the changing times.

With all the new channels of communication opened up by social media tools such as facebook and twitter, I can just as easily communicate with designer Betsey Johnson as a buyer for Nordstroms can. The pressure is growing to jump into the social media pool as a way to advertise as well, especially as the sales of magazines are declining (a reported 47%, according to Forbes).

Some designers have seen the huge benefits of being involved in the social media scene, and have started to change their marketing,and advertising tactics. Designer Tory Burch partnered with the fashion site Polyvore, and ran a contest asking fans to create artwork using pictures from her new line. Also fashion label Exuve has begun asking customers to vote on clothes and designs, bringing the customer into the fashion process from beginning to end.

There are also designers that worry that too much transparent communication could lead to the stealing of ideas. With no secrecy, everyone would know about Zac Posen's new watercolor dresses,and allow another designer to make similar garments.

Is this a step in the right direction? Should designers,and fashion labels minimize communication with buyers, and instead focus their attention on twitter relationships with the consumer? Or should we continue to trust our department stores to pick the relevant clothes for us, I mean, it has been working for years..

2nd Time Is The Charm

Last semester I took Gee's social media class, this is where I was first introduced to twitter. Although I completed the assignment, I still wasn't totally sold on the idea. I understood the concept and the draw to it, but I didn't really see my place in the whole network.

Now,my second time around I am finally feeling comfortable in the twittersphere. Not only am I following the people Gee recommended but I am also following some other interesting people and celebrities. A majority of the people I follow and actually read their tweets,are those tied to the fashion industry in some way. Both Betsey Johnson and Diane Von Furstenburg (two of my favorite designers) have twitter accounts. I love seeing what their up to, and I especially get excited when they use twitpic, and show where they are, or what they are currently working on.

Besides the people I follow for pure enjoyment, I also follow those who focus specifically on internships and the job market. I am working on getting an internship for second semester and all the tweets about openings and applications has really been great.

Finally I feel comfortable posting and take part in the social media forum. I've learned from the posts that I enjoy reading, about how to post and write in ways that will be informational and entertaining for my followers. I will continue to work on my presence on twitter, and hopefully gain even more understanding and knowledge as my tweets continue.

About Me cont..

What is your favorite food?

I love pasta with spicy sauces

What foods do you dislike?

Although I will eat tomatoes, I'm not the biggest fan

What ethnic food do you like and dislike?

India food is great, curry is amazing

I also like Mexican and Chinese

What is your favorite chip flavor?

just plain ruffles potato chips

What is your favorite sandwich?

cracked pepper turkey with gouda cheese and dijon mustard

What is your favorite drink?

skim milk and diet dr.pepper

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

Culvers chocolate custard

What’s your favorite salad dressing?

honey mustard and balsamic

Plain, buttered or salted popcorn?

butter and salt

What’s your favorite pie?

not a big pie person, but I'll eat a fudge brownie any day

What’s your favorite fast food place?

Culvers

Which Harry Potter characters are you?

Um,not applicable

What was the last film you saw at the cinema?

The Proposal

What is your favorite TV show?

Will and Grace,Law and Order

Last book you read.

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

What picture is on your computer wallpaper?

a picture I took of the landscape in Toledo Spain

What is your ring tone?

I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas

What are three favorite songs on your iPod?

this is a tough question,I can't pick just three

Do you have a Facebook page?

yes

Do you have a Twitter account?

yes, AnnaDrews,follow me

Do you have a blog?

yes

Where would you retire to?

Seattle,beautiful mountains and beaches

If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?

Barcelona,the culture and the ocean...amazing

Would you ever bungee jump? Skydive?

YES

If you were a crayon, what color would you be?

fuchsia

ADPR 4600: About Me

What’s your full name? Annamarie Murphy Andrews Were you named after anyone? my grandmother Do you have a nickname? If yes, what is it? Anna What’s your astrological sign? scorpio Are you a morning person or a night owl? night owl Do you wish on stars? no,but I still enjoy looking at them Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? I don't often wear shoes with laces,I live in ballet flats Do you have tattoos ? no,my mother would kill me What do you do most often when you are bored? watch dance videos on youtube,or take a nap Donkey or Elephant or Neither? donkey What makes you angry? people that talk on their cell phones while checking out in a store, I work retail and it drives me CRAZY What did you do last night? worked on new dance choreography,made dinner,went to bed early What frightens you? bugs,not having a job How many keys are on your key ring? three What do you do to relax? listen to jack johnson,online "window shop" Do you believe in superstitions? no,but I wouldn't go around breaking mirrors Have you attended a church or religious event outside of your own? yes,a close friend of my is Jewish and I have accompanied her several events Name a foreign language that you know. I studied spanish in highschool,and took a month long trip to Spain,since college though,I have gotten quite out of practice Name three things most people don’t know about you. 1. I love skim milk,and could drink it with every meal. 2. When I was little I was determined that I would go to Oxford University 3. I love to dance,and often wish my life was a musical so everyone would break out in song and dance at random times Do you have any siblings? I have three sisters, my eldest sister Megan is 25, my sister Elizabeth is 24, and the baby of the family Glenna is 17 Who is your best friend in high school? Nicole was by best friend in high school, and although we both went to different colleges,we are still close and visit each other often Do/did you have any pets? I have a yorkshire terrier named Mille who is one, and the biggest little ball of energy Cat person or dog person? dog,for sure Who is the last person you talked to on the phone? my friend Susan What states have you been to? Washington Maryland Boston New York Florida Hawaii South Carolina....all of the midwest What countries have you been to? Spain,Dominican Republic,Jamaica In how many states have you lived? just one, Wisconsin When is the last time did you take a train? I took the train from Madrid to Barcelona in the summer of '06 What is your favorite food? What foods do you dislike? What ethnic food do you like and dislike? What is your favorite chip flavor? What is your favorite sandwich? What is your favorite drink? What is your favorite ice cream flavor? What’s your favorite salad dressing? Plain, buttered or salted popcorn? What’s your favorite pie? What’s your favorite fast food place? Media Which Harry Potter characters are you? What was the last film you saw at the cinema? What is your favorite TV show? Last book you read. What picture is on your computer wallpaper? What is your ring tone? What are three favorite songs on your iPod? Do you have a Facebook page? Do you have a Twitter account? Do you have a blog? Wishes Where would you retire to? The beach If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Would you ever bungee jump? Skydive? YES If you were a crayon, what color would you be? fuchsia I'd love to have hash browns every morning, but usually it is just a bowl of cherrios What is your favorite food? I love pasta in spicy sauces What foods do you dislike? What ethnic food do you like and dislike? What is your favorite chip flavor? What is your favorite sandwich? What is your favorite drink? What is your favorite ice cream flavor? What’s your favorite salad dressing? Plain, buttered or salted popcorn? What’s your favorite pie? What’s your favorite fast food place? Media Which Harry Potter characters are you? What was the last film you saw at the cinema? What is your favorite TV show? Last book you read. What picture is on your computer wallpaper? What is your ring tone? What are three favorite songs on your iPod? Do you have a Facebook page? Do you have a Twitter account? Do you have a blog? Wishes Where would you retire to? The beach If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Would you ever bungee jump? Skydive? If you were a crayon, what color would you be? What is your favorite food? What foods do you dislike? What ethnic food do you like and dislike? What is your favorite chip flavor? What is your favorite sandwich? What is your favorite drink? What is your favorite ice cream flavor? What’s your favorite salad dressing? Plain, buttered or salted popcorn? What’s your favorite pie? What’s your favorite fast food place? Media Which Harry Potter characters are you? What was the last film you saw at the cinema? What is your favorite TV show? Last book you read. What picture is on your computer wallpaper? What is your ring tone? What are three favorite songs on your iPod? Do you have a Facebook page? Do you have a Twitter account? Do you have a blog? Wishes Where would you retire to? The beach If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Would you ever bungee jump? Skydive? If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I'd love to have hash browns every morning, but usually its a bowl of cherrios or rice crispies What is your favorite food? I love pasta with spicy sauces What foods do you dislike? I will eat tomatoes, but I'm not the biggest fan What ethnic food do you like and dislike? I love Indian food,curry is amazing I also love Mexican and Chinese What is your favorite chip flavor? I like plain ruffles potato chips What is your favorite sandwich? Cracked pepper turkey with gouda cheese and dijon mustard,so good What is your favorite drink? skim milk and diet dr.pepper What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Culvers chocolate custard What’s your favorite salad dressing? honey mustard or balsamic Plain, buttered or salted popcorn? if I'm at the movies I go all out with the butter and salt What’s your favorite pie? I am not a big pie person,and choose a fudge brownie any day What’s your favorite fast food place? Culvers or Chipotle Which Harry Potter characters are you? Um, not applicable What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Proposal with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds What is your favorite TV show? Will and Grace, Law and Order Last book you read. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan What picture is on your computer wallpaper? What is your ring tone? What are three favorite songs on your iPod? Do you have a Facebook page? Do you have a Twitter account? Do you have a blog? Wishes Where would you retire to? The beach If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Would you ever bungee jump? Skydive? If you were a crayon, what color would you be? In how many states have you lived? When is the last time did you take a train? Food What do you like to eat for breakfast? What is your favorite food? What foods do you dislike? What ethnic food do you like and dislike? What is your favorite chip flavor? What is your favorite sandwich? What is your favorite drink? What is your favorite ice cream flavor? What’s your favorite salad dressing? Plain, buttered or salted popcorn? What’s your favorite pie? What’s your favorite fast food place? Media Which Harry Potter characters are you? What was the last film you saw at the cinema? What is your favorite TV show? Last book you read. What picture is on your computer wallpaper? What is your ring tone? What are three favorite songs on your iPod? Do you have a Facebook page? Do you have a Twitter account? Do you have a blog? Wishes Where would you retire to? The beach If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Would you ever bungee jump? Skydive? If you were a crayon, what color would you be?

My Experience in the Twittersphere

So I have to admit, my first week on Twitter was anything but productive. Every time I went to tweet, I kept thinking to myself "who on earth cares what I'm doing?" I then decided that maybe I should observe for a bit, and see what other people were tweeting, and what was deemed acceptable. Come my 2nd and 3rd week on Twitter I started to get the hang of it. For me, the tweets that I most enjoyed making and reading, where not the updates on what people were doing, but something cool they had found. Whether it was a new website, or an article about something social media related, even youtube videos.
When I first started on Twitter the only people I was following were the other students in my social media class, as well as people that Gee recommended. By the end though, I started finding some of my friends, and other interesting people to follow. I think this made me more involved in Twitter as well.
The one thing I didn't like, were the people that tweeted too much. I felt like every 2 seconds they had a new update, most of which to me seemed unnecessary. I think if something is truly interesting, go for it, tweet. But an update every 3 seconds is a little excessive.
There are two people that I really liked following. One was telie (Tennatte Elie). I felt like her posts were always fun to read. I liked being able to see what she was working on, and then be able to read it in the Sentinel a few days later. I think it's really neat that sometimes she asks her followers for advice or help on a piece shes working on. I also liked following askelf (E.L.F. Cosmetics). They always had tweets about makeup tips, or new products they are working on. I'm into makeup, fashion, and such, so I really liked reading what they were up to.
For the future, I think Twitter will be a great way for me to stay up to date about social media news, and see what some leaders in the field are doing (mashable,augieray etc.) Also when I hopefully end up doing PR for a fashion design company, Twitter will be the perfect way to stay in touch with customers and clients, informing them about the business, as well as monitoring attitudes towards the company.
In the end, I had about 30 tweets, and 15@ replies. I finally feel comfortable in the Twittersphere, and plan on keeping up with it.

Twitter as a Threat to Justice?

It's a common known fact that jurors taking part in a case are forbidden to discuss any information relating to a trial outside of the courtroom.Not with family, friends,not with anyone. Now however, with the popular emergence of social networking sites jurors are slipping, and discussing cases on sites like Twitter and Facebook.
As of March 17th, two verdicts in US trials are being appealed because jurors made comments about the trials on these sites.
Comments ranged from giving away the date of a court decision, and even tweeting about how much money a company was going to have to pay it's investors.
Is the legal world ready to face the new challenges that social networking sites pose? How can jurors stay from being predisposed to a certain verdict.
In the world we live in with instant communication and information, the court system could struggle in keeping trials speedy, but mostly fair.
What do you think the courts should do? Is there anyway to prevent jurors from using the wide range of social media sites during a trial?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7948845.stm

LinkedIn Popularity Grows, as Economy Declines

In the March 2nd issues of Advertising Age, I found an interesting article about the increasing popularity of LinkedIn. As unemployment rates are expected to continue to grow (to at least 9%) involvement with LinkedIn is seeing a serious increase. Two weeks ago the site hit 36 million members,and the site is growing with a rate of one member per second.People are hoping to reconnect with former colleagues and business contacts as a ways to search for leads for jobs.

Even with the helpfulness of LinkedIn, it seems to me that there are still more people looking for jobs than jobs available. Its hard to say that the increased members of LinkedIn will reflect in more jobs being found. I think that regardless of LinkedIn, and other job sites like YahooHotJobs and TheLadders, jobs will continue to be hard to come by. It will take a turn around in the economy to return the job market to a more healthy status. Until then it comes down to differentiating your self, and making employers see your personal characteristics that make you stand out.

MAKING MONEY IN SOCIAL MEDIA

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/offerpal-media-raises-15-million-to-peddle-in-game-ads/?scp=1&sq=social%20media&st=cse

I found an intriguing article on the New York Times website about how a company called Offerpal Media is working to connect other company's with avatar-like games to get their advertisements out.

Game site owners realized that using normal banner advertisements wasn't working to pay for their site because their users weren't willing to click away from their game to view outside advertisements. This is where Offerpal Media came in. They take companies like Blockbuster and Gap and create quick surveys or sign-ups to get users to look at an advertisement, but then reward them by giving them in-game currency. This way consumers are responding to advertisements, as well as being continued users of the game.

I think that it is crazy to see how many new business and jobs are being created out of the social media world. They are occupations that people wouldn't normally think up, but are becoming lucrative ways to make money. Can you imagine if it was your job to check up on how many avatars had taken a survey so you know how much money needed to be paid from the advertiser to the game site owner. Its funny, but someone out there is doing it.

MY MOM HAS A FACEBOOK ?!?

So it finally happened this week.....my Mom got a Facebook. I had no warning. Went to my home page to look at my friend requests, and there was my Mother's face staring back at me. Needless to say I was a little freaked out. But I think this is a great example of how the social media age demographic is changing. My mom is 56 and just decided to get a Facebook. But her reasons for doing so were different then say some one between the ages of 17-21. My Mom got it to stay in touch with me and other three sisters that no longer live at home. Where as the younger generation uses Facebook to make new connections, and also keep in touch with those that live farther away.

I think now that age demographic is changing on Facebook it should be a sign that other social media tools will be pulling from an older generation too. Think back to the chapter in Groundswell that we read about the Alpha Mom. She is a person who is "kidcentric" and determined to find "mommy excellence". Some what like my Mom, this Alpha Moms are getting comfortable using technology, and want to take it to use for the benefit of themselves and their children.
So now as I get used to have wall posts from my Mom (of course with perfect grammar and punctuation), I will just look at it as an opportunity to see the growth of social media out of its original target market.

GROUNDSWELL STATISTICS

http://www.forrester.com/Groundswell/profile_tool.html

Female--Creators:

U.S. =22%
Japan=34%
Europe=13%

It doesn't surprise me that Japan has the highest percentage of creators. It has always seemed to me that Asia is constantly ahead of the curve when it comes to technology and their relationship with it. I expected though, that the difference between the United States and Japan would be greater. As for Europe, their percentage of female creators is below both the U.S. and Japan. I wondered why this is. I think it could depend on who they polled, what areas of Europe and so on. I assumed that Europe would have equal participation with the United States.

55+ --Inactives:

U.S.=38%
U.K.=67%

When it comes to the older generation, the U.S. has a much lower percentage of those that do not take part in social media. It seems to me that in the U.S. in general there are just more people using the Internet and making it part of the their everyday life. By looking at the numbers for the U.K. it appears that after the age of 40, the percentage of those inactive increases at a greater rate. This could be because these people are starting to leave the work force and have less of a need for constant connection, or maybe they just don't see the importance and possibilities of social media.

FACEBOOK ADS WORTH THE MONEY?

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/12/facebooks-brand-advertising-success-story-a-failure

So in searching for a topic to blog about, because my own social media life is not too interesting, I found this article that reminded me about the conversation we had in class about the Aids resource center.
The story is about the how Proctor and Gamble (creators of products like crest toothpaste etc.) are ending their advertising campaign with Facebook. The article went into detail about the crest white strips campaign that was on Facebook in 2006. Facebook called it a success, but looking into the outcomes it seems less than worthy of the title.
Just like the Aids resource center, becoming a "fan" of something on Facebook, is not going to get continued participation and interest. It is a one time click, whose link then gets lost amid the bumper stickers and wall posts on your page.

I think that P&G, who has a marketing budget of over $300 million, made the right choice in dropping Facebook. I think that looking into another type of social media would be their best bet. They need to have a legitimate two way conversation with their consumers. I think Twitter might be a good fit. It would allow P&G to make short posts about new products, promotions etc., and then allow for feedback and comments from consumers. It would be a step up from Facebook which really was nothing more than a widget in terms of participation.