Social media is ubiquitous in American culture, but how is this trend reflected in the Hispanic market? Research has shown that Internet access, personal behavior, and culture all determine the likelihood of individual participation in social media. The first two categories can be studied with clear demographics, technographics, and data. When it comes to rich and diverse Hispanic culture, however, there are nuances that need to be taken into account for each initiative.

Can I bum a straw?
If you are reaching out to a Hispanic audience, the first factor to consider is language. Every dialect (some countries have many) has unique slang and colloquialisms. In Colombia, pitillo is “straw”, but translates to “cigarette” in Spain. When marketing to the general Hispanic market, Business Spanish is the standard used by multi-national corporations and translators because it is void of slang and regional nuances to reach the broadest audience.

Niche markets within the Hispanic market.
In contrast to the general Hispanic market, social media allows marketers to target specific nationalities withing the Hispanic community when appropriate. Let’s say there is a soccer game between Mexico and the U.S. teams and you want to promote your services while the city’s enormous Mexican population is energized about the game. In this case, you can safely approach them with a nationalized marketing message that is more colloquial. Such niche messaging would give you more credibility, helping better connect with the fans.

The bilingual generation gap.
Communispace, a company that specializes in private, online communities, recently released research about Hispanic engagement in social networks. The study reports that they are very active in online forums, contributing almost six posts a week, more than similar English-language communities. Second-generation Hispanics are less likely to participate in Spanish-only forums, perhaps feeling more comfortable in bilingual or English environments. These Hispanic-Americans typically are better at speaking Spanish than writing it therefore your communication strategy should be tuned to such cultural insights.

By SEAN WOOD, Founder of Freeworld Media

It is with great anticipation and excitement that I will be attending the 2009 TEDGlobal conference in Oxford, England from July 21st-24th.

I am humbled by the opportunity to interact with people from around the globe and discuss ideas that will shape our world.  During the next few weeks, I will use this blog to talk about the TEDGlobal speakers and events and what it will mean for Freeworld Media. The ideas gathered in Oxford will be brought back to Atlanta and implemented for the benefit of Freeworld clients.

In TED’s words, “It will feature four days of provocative talks, relevant discussions, technological boldness and amazing performances that will take us beyond the obvious. The program is designed to explore and make visible “The Substance of Things Not Seen” — this year’s theme.”

In this recent TED@State presentation, Clay Shirky talks about the transformed media landscape. We are in the midst of an amazing technology-based revolution and Mr. Shirky outlines the future of communications with exquisite clarity.

More speakers and details on the TEDGlobal 2009 program page >>

Foreverism is the term used to describe the trend of products and services that are never completed – things that go on forever. According to Trendwatching.com, this new trend is being driven by technology and social media because it allows people to stay connected and interact with others on an ongoing basis.

Facebook is an example of foreverism because profiles can essentially live forever in cyberspace and will never expire or loose its connection with other people. Because people can now constantly connect with others, there also is a trend in continuous conversations, tracking, and following. For example, twitter is a real-time way to track online activity which is continuously being updated without a defined end.

Because of the trend in Foreverism, there have been new changes in consumer behavior in that there is now a continuous converation. Now, cosumers are expecting a two-way dialog with their brands whereas before brands could push out messages and not expect a response from the public. With Foreverism, brands have to pay attention to what consumers say and how they respond to their product.

EXAMPLES:
Now that brands are expected to have a two-way continuous dialog, some companies are leveraging the idea of foreverism and social media to build a ongoing relationship with their customers. One example is how Starwood Hotels now hosts a blog called TheLobby.com where it has a person responding to people’s questions and comments in real-time.

Large companies also are creating new positions to meet the demands of the continuous conversation such as Chief Blogger and Director of Digital Care. It is in this way that brands can have everlasting relationships with their customers.

Another change in consumer behavior is the idea of Continuous Beta, where products are continuously being updated or changed due to the response of the consumer market. In this way the process is the product. Wikipedia is an example of this trend because it is contstantly being changed and updated. In this case, information is the product and it is created by the process of continuous beta. Products are also being designed modularly to incorporate this trend.

As of June 1st, 2009 Bing is Microsoft’s newest search engine.  Bing is essentially a reincarnation of Windows Live Search with better features. Many people are wondering, now that Bing is out is it better than Google? In this article I will run three different search queries in both Bing and Google and show off their results to see how they matched up. I would also like to take time at the end to bring up interesting differences between both search engines.

For the first test I want to see how well both search engines can find a song I’m looking for by only inputting words from the song.  So I decided to try out artists K’naan’s popular song “Wavin’ Flag”. In the search bar I tried “a song with lyrics a “Wavin flag”. For Google’s results it brought up the song immediately.  The first link provided lyrics for the song and the second link was the music video for the song on YouTube.  Bing’s results were about the same with links to the lyrics, a link to a YouTube video of the song, and other links were related to the search. The first round ended in a tie. Both provided links that were useful to what the user might have been searching for.

The second test I searched for “Rick Roll”. Many of you are probably familiar with the phenomenon known as being “Rick Roll’d”.  If you aren’t, go ahead and type in either search engine “Rick Roll” and click the first link that comes up. Google’s results came back with the first link being a video to YouTube, the second one a Wiki of “Rickrolling”, and the third link took you to the official site.  Bing’s results were identical with the only difference being that Google had a YouTube video in the first result.  The second round goes to Google. Having a link to the YouTube video as a first result might be more interesting or beneficial for people are who searching for this specific item.

The third and final test I thought I’d have some fun and see what results both search engines give if I search for Apple.  The results for this came out different. Both had Apples official site listed as the first result.   After the first result each search engine provided different results. Google had results on News about Apple, a link specifically to the Apple Store, and map of locations of Apple stores in Atlanta. Bing’s results included a link to Quicktime, Macs, and then a category specific to Apple downloads, jobs, and reviews.  The final round goes to Google. Google won this round because it provided much more useful content to users. The store, locations, and news is essential for users searching for all Apple related content.

One last thing I want to mention before my final thoughts is the design and features.  Bing’s homepage has a little more life to it compared to Google’s. Each day Bing’s homepage has a unique picture that you can hover over to see interesting facts about the picture.  In the search results section you can see related searches in a side bar to the left of what you are searching.  Also in the sidebar you can see your search history . Google’s home page and results page are very simple. Google does have related search items but it is located on the bottom. Having those related search terms to the left of the search results might be nicer to help the flow of thinking and searching for users.

So after researching, using both Google and Bing, and running tests, Google was the obvious winner. However, Google and Bing are completely different search engines tailored to different tastes.  They contain features and content that might be useful to one person over another. One important idea I want people to keep in mind is competition is nice. While Google is a great company and a provider of many useful applications, competition will drive them to make better products and improve on their search engine with the existence of Bing.

ATLANTA, Georgia – June 11, 2009 – Freeworld Media, Inc., the Atlanta-based social media company, named Kevin Olson as Chief Financial Officer reporting to Freeworld Founder and CEO Sean Wood.

Kevin is a partner with B2B CFO®, the leading national firm serving the needs of emerging, growth-stage and mid-market companies. A CPA/MBA with more than twenty-five years of accounting, finance, and general management accomplishments. His broad experience includes consulting services and software-as-a-service industries, and he has provided management to organizations at all stages from private early stage start-up, to mid-market growth and publicly traded growth.

“Social media has become an increasingly critical piece of organizational communication and marketing programs,” said Wood. “Kevin’s unique skill set will bring Freeworld Media a strategic growth plan to scale operations as we continue to build value-driven online communities for our clients.”

“My number one priority is to free Sean’s time to focus on the growing social media market and the dynamics that seem to change daily,” said Olson. “My focus will be on the company’s business strategy and provide a clear path through each stage of its growth.”

“This company has phenomenal potential – from the creative and strategic thinkers, to the design and execution of each project they build,” added Olson. “I’m excited to be part of the team that truly is changing the way business is done.”

Olson began his business career in Big-8 public accounting working first for Price Waterhouse and later for Coopers & Lybrand on both the audit and tax staffs. His background includes manufacturing, construction and real estate development, working in companies of various sizes as Controller and CFO. Olson received his Bachelors in Business Administration from the University of Iowa, and his MBA from Duke University.

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About Freeworld Media, Inc.

Freeworld Media creates next-generation, social media marketing that helps international clients develop lasting impressions for their consumers. Founded in 2004, Freeworld Media is a team of media experts dedicated to a select group of high-profile clients and non-profit organizations. With the challenge of reaching people in the new marketplace, Freeworld Media’s fresh approach to corporate and foundation communications picks up where traditional marketing agencies left off.

Recognized for being fast, reliable and customer focused, Freeworld Media provides a fresh perspective and understanding of emerging online media. To learn more about Freeworld Media’s streamlined, focused approach please visit www.freeworldmedia.com.

Freeworld media is proud to announce the 2009 Social Media Interns!  Please join me in welcoming Beth Penland, Carolyn Chinchilla, and Marc Epstein.

By studying the fundamentals of social media, researching the emerging trends, and meeting other rising stars in the field, the FWM interns will gain a greater understanding about messaging, analytics and advanced strategies for corporate communications in a downturn economy.

Look for new Freeworld blog content this summer as Beth, Carolyn, and Marc research emerging web applications and learn how social media marketing can be applied to meet business objectives.