IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: Microsoft

  • Are You Getting Scroogled?

    Beginning March 1st, Google will be implementing a new privacy policy which will affect all of its products/services offered in order to gain a better perspective of their consumers and give them a more personalized experience. With the new privacy policy, Google will be able to gain more access to personal information by pulling material from all Google-operated services/products, such as E-mail, and using that information to create personalized advertisements to the user. This idea is similar to the one discussed in our earlier blog post titled “Not to Burst Your Bubble….”. With a better understanding of their users, Google will better be able to sell advertising, which in fact, is a main source of revenue for the company. Also, advertisers will be willing to spend more money with Google, if Google is bringing them more customers.

    This privacy policy change has certainly upset a number of people, but it might be safe to say none like Microsoft, a competitor of Google’s. Within recent weeks, Microsoft has released a number of advertisements via print and YouTube blatantly attacking Google and its new privacy policy. With the headline, “Have you Been Scroogled?”, and the advertisements tearing the privacy policy to shreds, it’s hard for one to not compare these advertising campaigns to those of the presidential elections.  It is unclear what the purpose of the advertisement is until the very last couple of seconds in which the Microsoft Outlook logo is revealed. There is even a website dedicated to the campaign. Upon visiting, the user is given the option to sign a petition against Google and the option to try Microsoft Outlook. The irony behind this whole situation is prevalent in several ways. First, Microsoft is placing these anti-Google advertisements on YouTube. Second, when searching for “Microsoft anti-Google ads” through the Google search engine, the websites provided where splattered with banner/marginal ads for Microsoft. When performing this same search through Bing (a search engine owned by Microsoft), the websites provided had shown ads sponsored by Google. This pattern resembles the concept of a “strange loop” within the Coordinated Management of Meaning theory. According to Littlejohn (1999, in Theories of Human Communication), these occur when “the rules of interpretation change from one point in the loop to another, causing a paradox, or strange loop, in which each contexts disconfirms the other”.

    http://www.scroogled.com/

    As of now, a little less than 10,000 people have signed the petition, which is only a small fraction of the G-mail users, and the YouTube advertisement have received far more “dislikes” than “likes”. Maybe this strategy isn’t as successful as Microsoft had hoped it would be. With Google being the most popular search engine, it is going to take more than that to persuade its users to up and switch to Microsoft. What does this say about Microsoft as a company? Will this be the new advertising technique of the future? Will we no longer see companies like Coke and Pepsi beating around the bush but rather taking deliberate stabs at one another? Only time will tell, but it will be interesting to see where the rest of Microsoft’s campaigning takes us.

    Callie Fenlon

  • MLK Day, President’s Day….Data Privacy Day?

    On January 28, 2010, Microsoft sponsored Data Privacy Day and left us thinking—who knew we would ever honor privacy of online photos and blogs with a “day”? In Washington DC, Microsoft held its 4th annual panel discussion entitled “Think Privacy?  Your reputation is ON the LINE” to empower consumers to take control of their online reputations.  Since social networks and blogging are becoming a bigger part of a person’s daily life, it is no surprise that it has a correlated effect on their jobs. Is this fair? Depends on who you ask.

    Microsoft conducted a survey in December 2009 that presented data showing how online reputations effect job applicants.  70% of Human Resource workers in the US admit to denying job applicants a position due to their online behavior. In close comparisons 60% of web surfers acknowledge that their online “life” may affect their careers. Astonishingly of the 60% only 15% take consideration for their careers (or possible careers) when posting information.

    Many companies have formal policies for checking online reputational data and, in the United States, male recruiters are more likely to perform the check.  These recruiters also search deeper than most consumers are aware. Despite the fact that all online information is not true, recruiters feel all information is valid.  Recruiters also report that they tell applicants when online information plays a role in the company’s decision; however candidates claim not to hear this.

    One key thing to remember is not all information on the internet can harm you.  In fact, 86% of recruiters admitted that good online reputations have positive effects on the candidate’s chances of being hired. Needless to say, people need to become more aware of what the put on social networks and blog sites. This is not to say do not use these sites, just use them with caution because companies are looking!

    Danielle Murray