Let Us Know What You Think. Comment After You Read The Post
“Simply fantastic Jeffrey!"
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Steve Jobs 1955-2011
And then there’s me.
As much as I like to portray myself as a Social Media enthusiast, an out-of-box thinker, I recently succumbed to the very thing I rail against…the status quo of the stale mind.
My writing partner, Courtney, has been predicting for months that the next trend in Social Media would be pay-for-Social Media. He states adamantly that privacy concerns will open up a whole new business model for Social. He believes that Social Media users would pay a small monthly fee to have absolute control over how their personal information is disseminated, if at all. I listened to him, smiled politely and then made sure he wasn’t on any medication. I mean who would pay for what’s free? That’s crazy! Next thing he’ll be babbling about subscriber television or subscriber radio. Insanity!
I made sure the walls of my box were firmly in place then went about my daily business.
Last week he sent me a link to Unthink.com. Unthink markets itself as the Occupy Facebook movement. They even have an app that the subscriber can use to transfer photos and info straight off their Facebook page. Unthink offers two separate Social Media services. The first allows the subscriber to choose a corporate sponsor for their home page and charges no fees. The second option allows the subscriber to pay $2 a year with no corporate sponsor. Both options give the subscriber total control of their privacy; they won’t be marketed to, spammed, nor will their private information be auctioned off to the highest corporate bidder.
Innovative. Forward thinking. Unique.
I spent the next 10 minutes analyzing and arguing all the reasons why Unthink will never work and why no thinking person would ever pay for what’s already free.
Except Facebook is not free. The Facebook user is not the customer. The Facebook user is the product. Their personal information is the grease that allows Facebook to exist. The corporate marketers who pay actual American dollars are the true Facebook customers.
Of course Courtney had to point that out to me…again.
No one will ever pay for television.
No one will ever pay for radio.
Nothing will ever take the place of Friendster.
Nothing will ever take the place of MySpace.
Nothing will ever take the place of Facebook.
Until someone thinks outside the box and invents a new model the Social Media consumer actually values more. Is Unthink that model? We’ll see.
Thank you Steven Jobs. Lesson learned. I will not try to fit Social Media inside my imaginary box. I will use Social Media to push the boundaries of marketing, sales, business and life!
I’m going to go polish my square hole.
And burn my box while I’m at it.
With more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Toni Jacaruso maintains deep insight and broad expertise in sales, marketing and revenue management. Toni has served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Dimension Development, a top management company in the United States. In this role, she was responsible for direct sales, marketing and revenue management for over 40 hotels nationwide including Hilton (Hilton full-service, Hilton Garden Inn, Embassy Suites, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Hampton Inns); Marriott (Residence Inn, Courtyard and Fairfield); Starwood (Sheraton Four Points); and Intercontinental Hotel Group (Holiday Inns). During her tenure as Regional Director at Hilton Hotel Corporation, Toni also provided consulting services to hotels, management companies and owners in the areas of pricing, revenue generation, extended-stay segment development, product and service quality enhancement, and financial cost controls. Toni works closely with marketing, training, quality assurance, design and construction, and finance departments to develop corporate standards. She is also actively involved in building positive franchise relations. Toni holds an MBA in Hospitality and Tourism management, graduating Summa Cum Laude and a BA in Management.
PDF 
