Your Face May Appear in a Google Ad Soon

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Google is following Facebook's footsteps in using its users for advertisement purposes without compensating them. The company announced that users' names, profile pictures, and endorsements may appear on
reviews, advertisements and other commercial contexts under a new terms of service. According to Google, "shared endorsements" help people "save time" and improve results. Recommendations from people that users already know is relevant and useful. Users may now think twice before they press the +1 button on endorsements of products and services. Otherwise, their face may appear on others' Google + accounts. The organization does give users the ability to opt out of the program and is targeting adults over 18. However, how many people will actually be aware of this and make the change to their settings?  

Based on the comments of the article, it seems as though the public has mixed feelings about this recent news. While some people simply do not care that their faces will appear on future advertisements, others are disgruntled that they are not being compensated by Google. Of course, there are those strongly feel that this is an infringement of privacy. What are your thoughts on this matter? Do you feel taken advantage of?

Instagram Will Bring Advertisements in the Near Future

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Instagram is a hugely popular free photo and video sharing service that has become widely downloaded by users in the past several years. The organization recently announced that they will be serving ads to their users in the near future. They will be taking a subtle approach by delivering the advertisements in small numbers and in the form of photos and videos from a handful of brands that are already members of the Instagram community. Their objective is to make the ads feel as natural as possible so that it will not mar the user experience. Users will have the option to hide ads that they do not like and even provide feedback. As of now, the ads will be limited to users only in the United States. Instagram's reason for introducing advertisements is to build a sustainable business that will be able to support and prepare for the large future plans of the organization.

Is it inevitable for all large social media sites and applications to use advertisements in order to financially sustain themselves while continuing to offer free services? Even the social media giant Facebook was once without advertisements. Once the free site started growing exponentially in users and advanced in applications and programs, they implemented an aggressive advertisement plan to increase revenues. If that is the case, even though the ads may be annoying to some degree and is not a user-favorite, isn't it worth it for users to deal with them in order for them to continue enjoying free services with new and upgraded features?  

Facebook to Show Users Less Unwanted Ads in Newsfeed

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This recent news article talks about the decision that Facebook made to change their advertisement policy in order to contain fewer advertisements for products and services that users are not interested in. Facebook stated that "When deciding which ad to show to which groups of people, we are placing emphasis on feedback we receive from people about ads, including how often people report or hid an ad". The world's No. 1 online social network has been trying to make ads more prominent without receiving backlash from its users. However, it has started taking over more space on users' main newsfeeds. Nate Elliot from Forrester Research said Facebook needs to keep weight-loss and teeth whitening ads in the less intrusive, right-hand side of the web page while reserving the space within users' newsfeed for higher quality ads. The company did not elaborate on the details of the change, but users can expect to see some changes in the distribution of advertisements.

Advertisements generate roughly 85% of Facebook's revenues, so it must have meant that the organization was facing quite a bit of resistance and complaints from users in order for them to make this decision. As important as revenue from advertisements are, the user experience is even more important. In order to continue growing the the network of users and avoid backlash from individuals who feel that their private space is invaded, social networks need to be strategic and careful not to cross the line when it comes to advertisement. It will be interesting to see which approach Facebook takes to re-vamp their advertisement policy and whether it will change the types of organizations that advertise with them.

Facebook Partners with FOX Sports

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As football season comes into full swing, I am constantly reminded of how it has become such a large, popular part of the American culture. Although I am not a personal fan, it seems like once fall rolls around each year, football is all I read about on social media sites and hear about during conversations with friends, colleagues, and family members. It is no wonder that Facebook and FOX Sports engaged in a 6-month partnership during football season to bring polls, real time conversations, and viewer questions to enhance the telecast of games. According to the article, around 30 million Facebook users generated over 60-million NFL related interactions during the league's opening week. FOX Sports will take advantage of the high volume of activity on Facebook by using their data in a number of different ways to provide supplemental real-time social analysis to its live broadcasts, including the new FOX Sports 1 network. This is not the first time that a partnership of this nature has formed. In May, ESPN partnered with Twitter to promote television shows over the social networking site.

This partnership formed without any costs to either parties because it is a mutually beneficial endeavor. Social media sites thrive on busy conversations with many participants and organizations can use data on those conversations to target their topics and content around their audiences. In a statement given to Mashable, Justin Osofsky, VP of media partnerships and online operations for Facebook said, "Sports are inherently social and a big part of the conversations occurring on Facebook." Even for organizations that may not be traditionally "social", they can and should use social media sites to add an interactive spin to their product or service to enhance sales and production. It is a win-win situation!

Avoiding Post-Downsizing Voluntary Turnover

When an organization makes the difficult decision to downsize personnel, it is typically due to financial reasons. Even it is not necessarily due to economic hardships, without proper communication, internal and external publics often assume that it is. Naturally, survivors speculate on their personal future with the organization and wonder whether they have job stability or not. After all, if the organization decided to downsize, what is to stop them from doing another round of layoffs shortly after? The fear of being layoff victims themselves leave survivors to lose their loyalty their current employer and start looking for job stability in other organizations.

Management does not always know what is to come in the foreseeable future. In fact, it is quite possible that one round of layoffs can indeed lead to others down the road. How can employers retain employees with such uncertainty of the future? It would be unethical for employers to make false promises of stability to employees and difficult to give any definitive answers. The most effective ways that management can retain employees is to communicate any information in regards to the future of the organization honestly and frequently. Whether the news is good or bad, big or little, it is important for employees to be fully aware of what is to come so that they can appropriately plan for the future. Furthermore, organizations should invest in developing the existing employees' skills through training and seminars to increase their marketability. It shows appreciation and value to the employees, who in turn may remain loyal to the organization. The company ultimately benefits from staff development because it reduces turnover and improves skills, which leads to higher productivity.

Be a Transformational Leader

Successful management of employees is a challenging and dynamic task in any given situation. When companies go through organizational changes such as layoffs, it is especially difficult for managers to keep their employees focused and maintain productivity. Studies have shown that transformational leadership has an impact on cynicism about organizational change (CAOC). It helps to minimize resistance to change and negative emotions towards an organization during change.

So, what is transformational leadership and what does it entail? There are 6 dimensions or behaviors of TLB that are designed to help managers achieve successful leadership outcomes. The most important factor is identifying and articulating a clear vision to the employees. Regardless of whether an organization is going through change or not, it is important that employees are clear of what the company's vision is because it gives them insight on their future looks like with the organization. The second dimension is fostering the acceptance of group goals. Transformational leaders should promote cooperation among employees to encourage each other to work towards a common goal. This keeps them involved and reliant on each other to get through the change. The third behavior is the expectation of high performance from employees. Although the organization may be going through change, expecting high levels of quality and productivity builds confidence in employees and gives them a sense of accomplishment. Fourthly, transformational leaders should provide intellectual stimulation by encouraging employees to find creative ways of improving their performance. This should reduce cynicism because increased involvement helps enhance employees' perception of change. The fifth behavior, which is being a role model seems cliche but is extremely important. It is imperative for leaders to set behavioral examples that are consistent with the organization's goals and vision. This helps employees build a level of trust and commitment to the organization. Lastly, individualized support is key to transformational leadership. Employees are likely to respond to the initiatives of leaders who care about them as individuals and take the time to hear their input. Regardless of how busy each day is, it is crucial to set time aside to run pulse checks on employees in order to effectively lead them through change.

Honesty is the Best Policy

When employers make the difficult decision to conduct layoffs, it creates anxiety and tension for employees, mainly because they are unsure of their personal job security in the organization. Studies have shown that perceived threat of job loss is highly correlated with turnover intention. When employees feel that their jobs are in serious jeopardy, they inevitably start looking at other employment opportunities in which they can find stability. Feelings of uncertainty and intentions to leave the organization lead to unproductive behavior and ultimately affects business in a negative way. How can employers minimize the frenzy that goes on following the announcement of a layoff? 

Often times, employees act spontaneously based on assumptions and incorrect information from the rumor mill. If employers can engage in honest, clear communication with their employees, they can effectively diminish assumptions and eliminate unnecessary anxiety. Even when they have to deliver unfortunate news, it is beneficial to give employees a realistic idea of what is to come in the future so they can plan ahead and focus on necessary tasks. If there is no news to deliver, management should honestly state that there is no news but give a time frame of when employees can receive an update. It is important for management to create a communication schedule that consists of frequent communication to employees following the announcement of a layoff. In order to reach out to all of the employees, there should be mixed methods of communication including emails, phone calls, informational sessions, and even one-on-one meetings.