Vegas Erin’s Weblog

With millions of young adults on social networking sites, it is only natural that marketers and promoters are following. And it should come as no surprise that our lively Sin City is taking a huge stake in social networking. It seems like every club in Vegas has dozens of promoters and DJs, and each one of them has a MySpace or Facebook account dedicated to try and attract people to their venue. In Las Vegas the use of MySpace for promoting nightclubs is undeniable, but is it effective? Facebook is a newer phenomenon to the Las Vegas nightlife scene, which begs the question, which is a better tool for club promoters, Facebook or MySpace?

As a local in Las Vegas, I connect with many club promoters on MySpace and Facebook. It seems like everyday there is a new friend request from a promoter at Tryst, Pure, Prive, The Bank, it’s endless. I reached out to a few local promoters to get there opinions on how social networking has effected their business and aided the growth of this lucrative profession.

Mike Nagar uses MySpace to bring in tourists and locals to TAO and TAO Beach located at The Venetian. Nagar believes social networking sites can be a great tool when used properly. “I’ve spent the last 2 years figuring out a successful formula, and have taught it to the TAO promotions team that I manage. Ever since I have ran this team and implemented the trial and error findings that I have discovered, our team’s numbers have tripled since this time last year.”

Nagar has been with TAO since November 2006 and now currently serves as the assistant director of promotions. He currently has over 8,000 friends on MySpace, and that number continues to grow each day. “MySpace since the beginning is a networking dream if you know the ins and outs of the whole site. Most Vegas promoters have to go out on the Strip the day of to find clientele for that night. I get mine days or even weeks beforehand by sitting behind a computer or answering my phone.”

When asked to compare MySpace and Facebook he remarked, “Neither one should really be compared to each other because the original focus of each site is different. MySpace was built to be one huge billboard. Facebook was built for you to be more personal. For quantity purposes, MySpace is better. In order to build that quality relationship with your clientele, Facebook is definitely better.”

This then led to the next question, what is it that makes Facebook a better quality tool for promoters? Enter Will Ramadan a.k.a. DK Knowledge. Ramadan is a Canadian born DJ who travels the globe performing, but spends a majority of his time now in Las Vegas.

Ramadan is an avid Facebook user and one part of the admin and creator team of Facebook’s group, “Vegas baby, Vegas!!! The Party Guide.” “The key is to apply yourself intelligently and make it so people will want to reach you. A good example of this is the Vegas club guide I created with Steven last summer. I am from Canada, where Facebook was already far more dominant than MySpace, and I was shocked to see that very few people in the Vegas even knew about it. I saw the growth potential, and with my Facebook expertise and Steven’s job as promotions director for Pure, I knew we had a winning combo.”

As for MySpace, Ramadan says that despite having over 10,000 friends, Facebook is definitely more effective for his business. “The fact that I can separate friends into different groups is very powerful for me since I have a large fan base across the continent. It is much easier for me to target people for relevant events and therefore make my message far more effective. I also find it is more quality versus quantity. It is easier for me to stay in touch with people on here and I can reach fans much more effective through my groups than I can through MySpace.”

Las Vegas is definitely having a more intense presence on Facebook. A search in Facebook groups for the key phrase “Las Vegas” turned up over 500 different groups. It appears that Facebook is an undeniably better quality tool for connections in the Las Vegas nightlife scene, however, there is no denying that with over 18,000 friends between only two Las Vegas promoters, MySpace has staying power into the future.

In a town where new nightclubs pop up seemingly every month, it is the club promoters tireless job to bring in clientele, locals and tourists every night to their venue. With social networking tools at their side, this cycle will continue to grow and prosper into the foreseeable future. It will only be time that will determine which will prevail as the premier promoter platform, MySpace or Facebook.

Interesting story. Last month during our Q & A portion of the National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) in Fullerton, Calif., a very prominent ad executive told us, “mobile is a really small part of this (social networking).” I can only laugh. Today I attended Editor & Publisher and Mediaweek Interactive Media Conference & Tradshow at the Rio in Las Vegas. Perhaps that judge should have attended the breakout session, “When Will We Take Mobile Seriously?”.

Mobile is here to stay. The impressive panel of speakers included Brian Colbert, Director of Mobile Advertising Sales for ESPN, Alice Kim, Senior Vice President, Digital Distribution & Partner Relations for MTV Networks and Rama Sadasivan, Director, Business Development for Wall Street Journal Online. The discussion was moderated by Mike Shields, Senior Editor of Mediaweek. The fourth scheduled speaker, Laura Marriott, President of the Mobile Marketing Association was not present.

The speakers spoke of the resistance to mobile platforms and the obstacles that are present when considering such a diverse and multifaceted medium. The panel spoke about how to advertise on mobiles and that currently it is still a difficult media buy because the content has to be specifically tailored to the mobile platform.

Brian Colbert from ESPN openly admitted, “ESPN hasn’t used TV enough to push mobile.” He went on to explain that ESPN is taking appropriate steps to make that happen. “American Idol is the classic example of how to integrate television and mobile.” Colbert said that currently they are using a long term plan for mobile, spending about 90 percent of their time educating about mobile advertising and 10 percent selling it. He predicts by 2010 that mobile advertising will be more mainstream. ESPN is partnering with Nielson Ratings to produce a cross reference of ratings including TV, Web and mobile for media buyers. Initial findings are expected in 45-60 days.

“Mobile is a great tool for sports because it is instant. We don’t want to TiVo a game, we want it real time,” Colbert said. Sports is definitely an arena that will feed off of the mobile platform. ESPN is most successful with SportsCenter, and now they are working on mobile for that as well. ScoreCenter is currently being developed. It will be a 10 minute version of SportsCenter made exclusively for the mobile platform.

Alice Kim of MTV was very passionate about mobile and spoke about how MTV is using this platform to their advantage. “Mobile is a great communication tool for our younger demographic…(they) want to submit data and receive it on the spot.” MTV Networks is actively creating video content and gaming content and receiving positive feedback from consumers.

All panelists agreed that the iPhone was a huge consumer breakthrough. It was the first personal mobile browsing device that consumers accepted. The consensus was that mobile still has a little while before consumers fully embrace it. Kim said, “(It is similar to the) evolution of online. It took awhile for it to take off because there are so many factors to consider.” Mobile definitely has more hurdles to jump, but there is no question it will.

The panelists suggested that we accept mobile for all that it is and all that it will become. Mobile is the future, and the sooner we begin to adapt and learn about it, the better off we will be. I have continued to be perplexed at how an advertising executive could ask my NSAC team why we chose to focus so heavily on mobile in our campaign. I only hope that word of this “mobile” thing reaches him, before he looses clients, or his job.

I recently returned from the Southern California regionals of the National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC). My fellow classmates and I represented UNLV for the first time at this level and spent months working with AIM and AIM Social Media products. The assignment was to create a full campaign to promote AIM, increase AIM brand awareness, grow trial and usage, and bridge the gap between AIM and AIM Social Media products. The campaign included advertising, promotions, public relations, marketing and product development. In short, A LOT of work.

Our campaign was “Get in the AIM Game,” a fun and young approach feeding off the already established appeal of AIM. We heavily focused on the mobile capabilities of AIM and the target market (18-24 year olds) obsession with mobile devices. I am unbelievably proud of the product we created and believe it would have been the perfect campaign to bridge the gap of AIM users to AIM Social Media (AIM’s version of MySpace).

The competition put us up against many well known Southern California universities. We were suppose to be judged by the client (AOL) and industry professionals. Unfortunately the AOL judge wasn’t present and were judged by agency people, who, in our opinion, were not aware of the full scope of AIM and its users. I don’t feel that this made for a fair competition. Retrospectively, it was still an amazing experience. Social networking is such an incredible phenomenon that AIM is trying to once again get back in the game (see the reference here!).

It was an incredible experience to see how social networking is evolving and how many different ways it can be interpreted. I only hope that one day AOL will give us (and the other 8 teams) our 20 minutes, maybe then AIM can get back in the game!

Once upon a time, job connections and business deals began with face-to-face interaction. Your reputation was secured and defined by your actions and word of mouth. Today’s world is much more complex than this. The phenomenon of social networking is redefining the way we connect and relate to one another. Social networking allows people a forum to express themselves and connect with family and friends. This is the beauty of social networking. What is often lost on this generation, is that your social networking pages will contribute to the way employers, professors and colleagues view you.

Social networking is now so normal, that people rarely realize that when you post your life online, the whole world can watch, the good, the bad and the ugly. Employers are now screening applicants through their online history, not just resumes. It is being reported almost everywhere that employers are looking into personal history on these social networking sites and search engines. UK’s The Independent reported that “62 percent of British employers are now checking Facebook, MySpace and Bebo pages of some applicants….reasons given by employers included concerns about excessive alcohol abuse, ethics and job discrespect.”

So how do we defend our reputations against prying employers? Is it fair that employers judge us on our college Spring Break romp years after the fact? Fear not, job-seekers. A new service has been created to combat all of the negative things about you on the internet. ReputationDefender.com is a service that searches the internet and reports back in a monthly report what is lurking on the web about you. For only $9.95 a month, you will have monthly reports sent to you detailing everything about you found on social networking sites, blogs, and even YouTube and Flickr. If you find something damaging, the service will “destroy” this information for only $29.95 an item. That dream job may not be out of your reach!

Once you land that perfect job, where is the line regarding privacy? What information is fair game in a lawsuit, workman’s compensation claim or sexual harassment?  California law student Zack Frost thinks that it is only a matter of time before your online history is standard in court. “When you enter the professional world, it is important to assess what you are saying by having these pages up. If you choose to keep your pages open, be sure to take the proper steps to keep your information as private as possible.” When it comes to legal cases, Frost believes it is entirely legal for the court to view your sites as evidence. “In court we are charged to bring to light any evidence that can get to the truth, many times this will include information you have online.”

There are many opinions on what is ethical to look at in regards to your employment, but it seems the employers and lawyers are moving with the times. Remember that once you post something online it is going to be around and available for a long time. Your reputation personally and professionally is always going to be put into question, so make sure you think about this the next time you post pictures and comments on your pages!

Users of MySpace and Facebook will openly admit that the two platforms offer different types of amusements. MySpace usually has people surfing through friends profiles, pictures and recent song choices. Facebook offers its users a forum to meet, relate and exchange based on location, favorite things, likes and often dislikes. It seems like everyday a new group pops up and we are running to join them. But why are they so appealing?

The group function on Facebook offers people a place to define themselves as individuals while belonging to a group of shared interest.  A look on to this users page reveals many things about me. I am a group member of I Love Going to College in Las Vegas, UNLV Greenspun School of Journalism, Dwight Schrute: A Man of Infinite Knowledge, Addicted to Entourage, Nothing Gets My Room Clean Faster Than a Paper Due in the Morning, and a personal favorite, Bitch Please…I’m from NORTHERN California. It is easy to determine from these choices where I live, where I came from, my favorite TV shows, and that at moments I can be a bit of a procrastinator! Just looking at the groups a person belongs to can categorize them and give on-lookers a better understanding of who they are.

I predict the group function on Facebook will be what the music function was on MySpace; a moth to a flame effect of sorts. The groups range on Facebook from business, common interest, entertainment and arts, geography, internet and technology, just for fun, sports and recreation, student groups, activities, politics and hobbies. There is an area of interest for everyone of every age. On these groups people are able to connect with people who have the same interest, a function that MySpace completely lacks. Facebook offers people a place to meet without having to be someones friend. This allows a more effective and easier way to network. Kudos Facebook!

As another school year is coming to a close, many graduates are setting out to find their first job. Preparing for the professional world includes resumes, cover letters and practicing interview questions. This generation now has another consideration that demands attention and thought, what do I do with my MySpace and Facebook pages?

Most college students use these sites to connect with friends, tag pictures of their crazy Spring Break romps and make weekend plans. As we graduate and move into the professional world is it time to trade in MySpace and Facebook for Linkdin? This decision must be made individually, but here are some key questions to consider as you grow beyond college and your early twenties:

Who can see these pages? Are your profiles private? If not, they should be.

What image do I give off? Are all of your pictures from parties or nightclubs? If so, what does this show about your life, your morals and your goals?

If my grandparents or parents saw this, would they be proud of me?

Are my comments inappropriate?

Do I have too much personal information available? NEVER a good idea.

If my current or future employer saw this, what would they think? Do you portray the image they represent?

It is crucial that we realize that social networking sites can be damaging to your professional life. You don’t have to cancel everything, just begin to think twice about what you say and do online. Privacy is truly a thing of the past. Crazy nights may come and go, but what is online is available forever! Think twice future grads!

Like most young adults, I had a MySpace long before I had a Facebook account. I was invited to join Facebook by a girl I went to school with in Paris last summer. Ashley, a student in Michigan, started a group for those of us attending the International Studies Abroad program in Paris and invited everyone to join. I reluctantly joined, as I had no friends on there.
I met all of my future classmates on our “ISA Paris Summer Abroad 2007” group. It was an incredible experience. We were able to introduce ourselves, talk about class schedules, travel plans and concerns, and where to find some of the random art supplies we needed. I bonded with a girl Alex from Brooklyn who shared my same schedule and living arrangement. As my time spent on Facebook began to grow, my time spent on MySpace dwindled. Facebook provided me an outlet to connect with people who were sharing the same experience as I was.
Almost a year after my summer abroad, Facebook is still the main form of communication between all of my friends I made while studying in Paris. My best friends from Paris and I talk every week through a “thread” on Facebook. Threads allow all of us to have a continuous and private conversation. Facebook is our cyber meeting place.

The groups on Facebook provide a platform for people to meet, discuss and spend time. Unlike MySpace, it seems that Facebook has created a forum that connects users, not just by being friends, but by interests, colleges, and cities. As Facebook continues to grow and become more popular, MySpace users will continue to follow the masses to Facebook. That is, until the next wave of social networking is created.

It is no secret that Myspace and Facebook can take up a considerable amount of one’s day, but it seems that as these sites are becoming more advanced, people are picking social networking over television. According to a recent Australian study of 18-24 year olds, this market is choosing networking over television.

“The UK research showed 45 per cent of all 18-24 users said they would rather spend a spare 15 minutes on a social networking site instead of in front of the TV, reading, talking on their mobile or playing video games.” (http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,26278,23278095-5007185,00.html)

This begs the question, what do social networking sites offer that television can’t? Perhaps it is because sites like Myspace and Facebook are customized to what the individual wants. It is your friends and your interests, in short it’s all about you. The recent writers strike in Hollywood has halted production on most TV shows for almost three months. But, is this a valid reason for the shift in attention from Hollywood entertainment to personal entertainment?

The writers strike isn’t helping, but the addiction to Myspace and Facebook has been growing for years. Even entertainers, nightclubs, restaurants, and businesses seem to have been pulled in by the allure of social networking. Advertising on these sites seems to be the smartest way to reach this target market.

Soon enough, cost efficient viral marketing on social networking sites will be more productive than purchasing a million dollar spot on TV shows like American Idol or events like the Super Bowl. If this trend continues it will begin to be seen in advertising dollars spent and values of advertising will shift. What will social networking cause next?

After conducting a focus group and surveying over 150 20-somethings across the country, I discovered that the definition of social networking is so loose, that many people don’t even realize how “in it” they are.

Social networking began with AOL instant messaging, or AIM in May of 1997. The progress since has been staggering with the rise of social networking sites, blogging, text messaging, emailing and even twittering. Eighty percent surveyed did not associate instant or text messaging with social networking. Social networking IS NOT just Myspace and Facebook!

As the social networking phenomenon continues, technological advances will continue to redefine and expand the ways we connect and what it means to network.

Social networking is an ever-evolving phenomenon. Social networking encompasses traditional and non-traditional forms of networking.

This blog will focus on the non-traditional/technologically savvy ways of social networking; this will include email, blogging, instant messaging, text messaging, social networking sites, and even twittering. These applications allow a new generation of networkers many new ways to connect and for many different purposes; connecting with friends and family, business networking, dating, and provides a sense of community for its participants.