1. Chapter 9: Social Buzz and Viral Phenomena: Part A
Web 2.0 and Social
Media for Business 2nd Edition
Roger McHaney, Kansas State University

2. Time and Geography Independence
Web 2.0 has enabled crowd behavior to become independent of time
and geographic location. Their manifestation can be vastly different
and can be triggered by social media.
Examples of social media enabling crowd behavior
Egypt’s 2011 Tahrir Square Revolution against former president Hosni
Mubarak relied heavily on Facebook pages maintained by a rotating
staff of twenty during the uprising (BBC News, 2011)
2011 London Riots where four days of looting and rioting moved across
the U.K. Made possible by rioters' use of social media, such as
Facebook and Twitter (Rutledge, 2011)
K-State Flash Mob Rave

3. Flash Mobs
YouTubeVideo

4. Virtual Crowds and Business
People can be separated in time and space, or belong to
multiple crowds simultaneously through use of social media
such as Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon and Reddit.

5. Social Media: Multiple Functions
• Someone may belong to
communities organized with
social media tools
• Same tools may result in crowd-
inspired “waves” that move
through these communities at
incredible rates
• Waves lack leadership or
common purpose
• Often referred to as viral
• Enormous Business Implications

6. Social Media Tools
• Twitter, StumbleUpon,
Reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest,
Foursquare and others
create an infrastructure
conducive to social buzz
• Tools such as Social
Mention, Mention,
WhosTalkin, and Klout
help businesses track
social buzz
• Big players: Facebook
and LinkedIn

7. Instagram
• Popular social media
application featuring photo
and video sharing
• Launched in October, 2010
• Facebook acquired Instagram
for one billion dollars in April,
2012
• “…will remain an
independently branded
standalone app separate
from Facebook, but the
services will increase their ties
to each other.” Facebook

8. Instagram Facts
By August of 2013, over 130 million active users were uploading
over 45 million photos a day.
Provides over one billion photo and video views per day.
Offers a series of digital filters and enables users to share media
on a variety of sites such as Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and
Tumblr.
Primary platforms focus on mobile devices such as the iPhone,
iPad, and Android-based camera phones.

9. Instagram Basics
Enables users to
upload and filter
photographs and
videos and share
within Instagram or
on other social
media venues
Each Instagram user
has a profile

10. Instagram
offers
camera
functions
and photo
filters

11. Primary Features of Instagram

12. Business Uses of Instagram
Provides a place to connect with new customers and raise product or
service awareness. Resonates with both traditional business models, and
non-profit organizations

13. Instagram and Non-Profits
Instagram and its community-oriented
focus has been used extensively by
non-profit organizations.

14. Instagram Becoming Popular in Business

15. Example Business Uses of Instagram
15
Showcasing products – A business can develop a portfolio of new and
existing products that can be viewed by existing and potential customers.
Providing Mini Demos – Video clips or photos can be used to illustrate the
way products or services work.
Introducing Staff Members – Informal photos of staff members can be
posted to provide a sense of connection and personality for a firm.
Event Spotlights – Special events can be documented with photo or video
streams.
New Releases – New release photos for products, services, or facilities can
be posted.

16. Instagram Success
Kelly Lux (2011) from Syracuse University
summarizes why so many people are
becoming Instagram fans. She says:
“Education is our shared humanity. This is
my favorite part of Instagram. Getting a
glimpse into the everyday lives of people
who I’ll never meet, who live in completely
different cultures than I do. What I’ve
found is not so much how different we are,
but how alike we all are.”

17. End of
Chapter 9 Part A
Web 2.0 and Social
Media for Business 2nd Edition

18. Slide Media from:
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Slides Prepared by Professor Roger McHaney
Kansas State University
Twitter: @mchaney
Blog: http://mchaney.com
Email : mchaney@ksu.edu