Social networks have demonstrated practical uses both the personal and business spheres. We're always overcoming some kind of milestone. When talking about all potential uses, there comes another, quickly followed by another and another.
Our business partner, Patrick Sweeney recently presented a good example of connecting the physical and online Major League Baseball Revolutionizes Social Media Marketing. It's a great idea to share your experience of Red Sox game with your friends who are not present, on the 100th anniversary.
Check-in is an option that enables upload photos to Facebook through smart phones. Apparently, depending on demand, there was a bottleneck bandwidth; many people trying to do the same thing in the same place. Patrick suggested us to imagine a more perfect experience. Great idea, although I'm thinking that Yankee Stadium will have this type of innovative solution deployed much earlier, making the experience of baseball in New York even better than it already is. Sorry Boston!
In another example, RFID Journal recently reported that LifeSynk Ltd. is launching an RFID solution that connects the store's products as brick and mortar consumer as well as events in the online world via social media channels. When updating Facebook status about a particular product, or verify a particular store, retailers can offer these individuals special deals and discounts that are targeted to your preferences. For the events, people can like a band or music on Facebook to receive a credit for those songs on iTunes, for example. LifeSynk reports that the benefit to retailers and event organizers is to increase visibility through online social networks. We have seen similar implementations in which the benefits go beyond visibility, being able to build and achieve brand loyalty, which translates into increasing sales. That is success!
A very recent and impactful to connect the physical and online worlds example was highlighted when Facebook introduced a feature for people to register as organ donors and promote your choice on profile pages. According to BusinessWeek, the same day that the appeal of Facebook was released, 6,000 people had registered in 22 states. Typically, less than 400 people apply these same 22 states.
Companies can no longer ignore the power of social networks and the role that RFID to establish connections. Determines expansion and influence well beyond the traditional boundaries of business. People are connecting on a more frequent and deeper level and RFID can play a very important role in transforming these experiences into successes. The Internet of Things got bigger.
Source: rfid.thingmagic.com
Author of the text: Ken Lynch on June 12, 2012
