Business
Business Buzz: Oversaturation of Facebook groups

PHUKET: One of the great benefits of Facebook is that due to the sheer number of people using it, it has become a marketer’s dream to easily and cheaply connect with potential customers and to market products and services with great results.
But has it now reached the point of over-saturation?
A classic case in point is the use of online groups and fan pages as platforms for real estate and classified ads here in Phuket. I spent an hour or two just searching for different items and options, and was amazed at what I found.
There are now about 34 groups and six pages just for Phuket Classifieds. These groups range from having as little as 476 members, to the most popular site having almost 19,500 members. For those that can remember, there used to be just one expat buy and sell group in Phuket, and because of that it was very efficient because all of the buyers and sellers ended up in the same place.
Now that many people have started their own group, it has diluted the overall usefulness, as people now have to waste time posting or searching in numerous groups to find anything.
Even more saturated is the Phuket real estate scene. I stopped counting after a while, as page after page, and group after group, was returned in my search request. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of these sites, and people have even created normal profiles under real estate names, which adds even more to the oversupply.
For the early birds and trend setters, this was a very successful form of marketing, but what has happened now is the lazy, unoriginal marketers and latecomers have decided that they should set up their own groups, in effect diluting the whole sector’s communications. I am guessing that the theory was that by being in control of a group, marketers thought they would get more exposure, but the reality is that this had an overall negative impact for all involved, both buyers and sellers.
So what does this actually mean in real terms?
Quite simply, as a seller you are now just part of a huge amount of noise. For the average person, this has become annoying, so Facebook searches have certainly lost appeal. People looking for classifieds or real estate now have to work much harder to get the quality answers that they are seeking.
So, in reality, a lot of customers have changed to different search methodologies, or resigned themselves to the fact that they must search through more groups than ever before. If you are careful with how you phrase your search enquiry, you can also do some qualified searches to get rid of a lot of the rubbish.
From a business perspective, this has meant that to stand out you now really need to be different and know what you are doing. The days of the easy post and quick returns are over, so more technique and marketing finesse is required.
I guess the interesting question will be what Facebook will do about it. Given that it now means businesses may be forced to spend money on Facebook ads to stand out, the likely answer is nothing. However, given that they want to be the premier search platform, they may have something up their sleeve to keep users happy and engaged.
Simon Wetherell is a social media expert and lawyer. He trains businesses and individuals on how to profit from the social media industry. For more information: PhuketOnlineMarketingSchool.com or call 095-085 3355.
— Simon Wetherell
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Business
Governments & old media versus social media – who will win? | VIDEO

We look at the recent changes made by the Australian and Indian governments to except control over the world’s biggest social media platforms. India has issued strict new rules for Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms just weeks after the Indian government attempted to pressure Twitter to take down social media accounts it deemed, well, anti social. There is now an open battle between the rise of social media platforms and the governments and ‘old’ media that have been able to maintain a certain level of control over the ‘message’ for the last century. Who will win?
The rules require any social media company to create three roles within India… a “compliance officer” who ensures they follow local laws; a “grievance officer” who addresses complaints from Indian social media users; and a “contact person” who can actually be contacted by lawyers and other aggrieved Indian parties… 24/7.
The democratisation of the news model, with social media as its catalyst, will continue to baffle traditional media and governments who used to enjoy a level of control over what stories get told. The battles of Google and Facebook, with the governments of India and Australia will be followed in plenty of other countries as well.
At the root of all discussions will be the difference between what governments THINK social media is all about and the reality about how quickly the media landscape has changed. You’ll get to read about it first, on a social media platform… probably on the screen you’re watching this news story right now.
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Business
The social media giants in battle with ‘old’ media and world governments | VIDEO

“The rules signal greater willingness by countries around the world to rein in big tech firms such as Google, Facebook and Twitter that the governments fear have become too powerful with little accountability.”
India has issued strict new rules for Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms just weeks after the Indian government attempted to pressure Twitter to take down social media accounts it deemed, well, anti social.
The rules require any social media company to create three roles within India… a “compliance officer” who ensures they follow local laws; a “grievance officer” who addresses complaints from Indian social media users; and a “contact person” who can actually be contacted by lawyers and other aggrieved Indian parties… 24/7.
The companies are also being made to publish a compliance report each month with details about how many complaints they’ve received and the action they took.
They’ll also be required to remove ‘some’ types of content including “full or partial nudity,” any “sexual act” or “impersonations including morphed images”
The democratisation of the news model, with social media as its catalyst, will continue to baffle traditional media and governments who used to enjoy a level of control over what stories get told.
The battles of Google and Facebook, with the governments of India and Australia will be followed in plenty of other countries as well.
At the root of all discussions will be the difference between what governments THINK social media is all about and the reality about how quickly the media landscape has changed. You’ll get to read about it first, on a social media platform… probably on the screen you’re watching this news story right now.
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Business
Turbulence ahead for Thailand’s aviation industry | VIDEO

When the airlines, in particular, were asking the government to put their hands in their pockets for some relief funding in August last year, it was genuinely thought that international tourists would be coming back for the high season in December and January. At the very least local tourists and expats would head back to the skies over the traditional holiday break. And surely the Chinese would be back for Chinese New Year?
As we know now, none of that happened. A resurge in cases started just south of Bangkok on December 20 last year, just before Christmas, kicking off another round of restrictions, pretty much killing off any possibility of a high season ‘bump’ for the tourist industry. Airlines slashed flights from their schedule, and hotels, which had dusted off their reception desks for the surge of tourists, shut their doors again.
Domestically, the hotel business saw 6 million room nights in the government’s latest stimulus campaign fully redeemed. But the air ticket quota of 2 million seats still has over 1.3 million seats unused. Local tourists mostly skipped flights and opted for destinations within driving distance of their homes.
As for international tourism… well that still seems months or years away, even now.
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