principles of internet marketing chapter 6 wikis, rss, mashups, and virtual worlds

Principles of Internet Marketing

Chapter 6Wikis, RSS, Mashups, and Virtual

Worlds

ObjectivesIn this chapter you will learn about:

•Wikis and how they harness the collaborative nature of a user community

•RSS feeds, how people use them to stay up-to-date with new content, and how an increasing number of businesses are using them to keep current and potential customers updated on company activities

•Mashups and how they give marketers a unique opportunity to present features and information pulled together from other social media tools

•Virtual worlds, how people communicate using avatars, and how marketers pursue marketing opportunities by building and promoting a virtual online presence.

Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 2

Wikis

• Wiki technology allows a Web page or site to be built by user collaboration on content– New content added– Current content linked to other pages– Incorrect content edited– Outdated content deleted


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Wikis (continued)

• Wiki technology was introduced in 1995 – WikiWikiWeb was first wiki site – Launched by technology creator Ward Cunnningham– This first Wiki site grew to 30,000 pages within 10

years, will all pages created by individual users submitting content


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Wikis (continued)

• Although Ward Cunningham invented wiki technology, it was Jimmy Wales who popularized it– Wales launched Wikipedia in 2001 – By 2008 Wikipedia had over 10 million pages– Wikipedia is visited by over 50 million people each

month


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Wikis (continued)

Figure 6-1 The home page for Wikipedia, the site that made wikis famous. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia

collaboratively developed by users


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Wikis (continued)

Figure 6-2 The category listing for Wikipedia on Wikipedia. Users can gather information or be part of developing the

content themselves


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Wikis (continued)

Figure 6-3 WikiWikiWeb - the original wiki site by Ward Cunningham


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Wikis (continued)

• Wikis lack the prominence of other, more popular social media tools– Ironic in that wikis are so communal in nature and

require group efforts in order to grow– Use of wikis is increasing among larger companies

• Internal use

– Improved collaboration among employees

– Internal policy discussion

• External use

– Campaign support

– Brand info in existing wiki sites


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RSS Feeds

• RSS is a Web feed that allows site visitors to stay up-to-date with new content as it gets posted

• RSS is widely believed to stand for “Really Simple Syndication” although that is often up for debate

• RSS can be recognized very easy by the widely distributed logo (typically bright orange, although there are variations)


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RSS Feeds (continued)

• To use RSS, visitors need to subscribe to a feed– Feeds are usually free for users to subscribe to– Subscribing simply involves clicking the RSS icon on

the site in question– Larger sites may allow users to subscribe to content

based on specific subject matter rather than the entire site

• News sites, for example, may allow users to subscribe just to sports news, local news, etc., based on their individual interests.


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Figure 6-6 BusinessWeek’s site allows users to subscribe to

RSS feeds based on the category of information they are

most interested in, and it provides links to various

readers for download


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• RSS is built using the XML programming language– Provides users with headlines, titles, or short

summaries (provided by the site developers)

• To receive feeds, users need an RSS reader– Most browsers come pre-installed with readers– Other readers are available for download (some are

free, some require payment), each with different options and capabilities

– RSS aggregators pull in and organize feed from a variety of sources into one tool


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Figure 6-7 An RSS aggregator, pulling in feeds from a large number of subscription sources


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• Marketers use RSS for a variety of reasons– Keep site visitors informed of what the company is

doing– Keep up with how their names are being used in the

media and in related blogs– Stay up to date with what competitors are doing


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Mashups

• Mashups blend together information from multiple sources into one tool, creating an entity that may be more useful than those sources might be on their own– For example, a site offering music information can

create a mashup by combining RSS-fed tour dates with Google maps to show where and when concerts will be taking place (along with directions on how to find the venue, and links to sites where tickets can be purchased)


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Mashups (continued)

Figure 6-8 The Gillette NASCAR racing site includes a mashup that shows all of the racing tracks in the US,

pinpointed on maps fed by Google, with track info


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Mashups (continued)

• Mashups help marketers create and provide something to their visitors that is unique, useful, and can’t be found on other sites– Helps increase site usefulness– Gives visitors a reason to return again in the future– Shows them as separate from their competition


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Mashups (continued)

• Due to increasing popularity of mashups, many sites have been launched to make their creation easy, and without needing to know a lot of programming– Google– Yahoo– MSN– Others


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Mashups (continued)

Figure 6-10 The home page of Microsoft’s Popfly.com gives users the tools to easily create and share

applications, including mashups


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Mashups (continued)

Figure 6-11 Once in Popfly, users can create their own mashups by connecting social media tools from various sites to develop a unique

application. Because connections are made using object-based graphic representations of tools, the need for programming is eliminated


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Mashups (continued)

Figure 6-12 The result of the mashup being created in the last image, this tool blends local news with a third party mapping program to

display traffic problems in the Seattle area


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Virtual Worlds

• Virtual worlds are similar to social networks– Far more visual– Users socialize in a graphical online environment

• Reflective of the real world or

• Reflective of a fantasy world

– Users not only socialize with others, but can explore the virtual worlds they are part of


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Virtual Worlds (continued)

• In virtual worlds, users are typically represented by avatars – Graphic icon or model – Users can typically customize the look and feel of

their avatars to make it represent them however they’d like

• Adjust hair, skin color, height

• Change clothing


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• Virtual worlds are often three dimensional and created for a couple of different purposes– Socializing

• Second Life is the most well-known virtual world

• In Second Life, users can use real money to purchase land, build houses, buy clothes for their avatars, etc.

• Companies have used Second Life to promote their brands, hold company meetings, etc.

• Due to lack of regulation by Linden Labs (Second Life developers), Second Life has lost luster due to online scam artists and aggressive sex-related content


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Figure 6-14 The inside of a home in Second Life


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Figure 6-16 A Second Life concert stage sponsored by Coca-Cola to promote their brand


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Figure 6-18 A corporate meeting being held in Second Life. Employees from around the world attend by having their avatars

sit in on the meeting


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• Virtual worlds are often three dimensional and created for a couple of different purposes (continued)– Gaming

• Gaming within virtual worlds is called MMORPG, or Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

• Players interact with one another while trying to reach goals, embark on adventures, etc.


Summary

• Wiki sites are made up of pages that are written and edited by an online community

• Users have the ability to add, edit or delete information on a wiki page, or link those pages to other relevant pages on the site

• Wikis are not as widely used as other social media tools, such as blogging, but are gaining in popularity


Summary (continued)

• RSS feeds allow site visitors to easily keep track of updates made to a site by reviewing headlines or summaries

• Users subscribe to feeds, and then read updates through an RSS reader– Readers are usually pre-installed in browsers– Other free or paid-for readers can be downloaded

• Marketers use RSS to keep consumers informed of updates, see what competitors are doing, and keep track of what the media is saying about them


Summary (continued)

• Mashups combine different tools into a single application

• Marketers use mashups to create truly unique content on their sites that competing sites don’t offer

• Due to rising popularity, many mashup creation sites are being launched, which allow users to create mashups without needing to know much if any programming


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Summary (continued)

• Virtual worlds are similar to social networks, but much more graphically-oriented

• Users are represented by avatars, which they can adjust and personalize at will

• Many virtual worlds, including well known Second Life are three-dimensional and replicate real life or a fantasy world

• Virtual worlds are used for socializing or game playing

• Brands market themselves through these worlds


principles of internet marketing chapter 6 wikis, rss, mashups, and virtual worlds

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