Customer Generated Media in iPhone - Coursework Example

Customer Generated Media in iPhone Statement of Research Objective of the Observations The research objective is to study the online views regarding the iPhone by its consumers across various websites. Structured Commentary It is evident that the customers have various views regarding the iPhone from Apple. Mouthshut.com This consisted of 69 reviews for the content titled Apple iPhone Review. The blog writer submitted negative review for the iPhone with respect to its Indian market. The review mentioned the problem of functionality of the phone in extreme weather conditions and problems faced by the blog writer for the service facility of the product in India. This article received 69 comments. These comments were positive as well as negative. Most of the consumers expressed their views regarding over promises of the Apple Company in its promotions and mismatch of the functionality with those promises. Battery problems, problems with availability of the product for the prospective buyers and many others were mentioned by the consumers. CNET.com This platform provides various technological information and updates regarding products and services. All the pros and cons of the product have been discussed in the blog. There were 792 comments for these phones. The pros of the mobile were great appearance, status symbol and cons were poor battery life, lack of quality and additional equipments and gadgets, Blog.topsevenreviews.com Eleven responses were generated for the article appeared on this website. The article was titled as Apple’s Phone 4 will trounce its Ipad? Some of the respondents on this website were talking out of the discussed threads whereas others were interested in talking and sharing about their product. One customer had posted “Hi all, im really happy  i just got my new IPhone 4G for free. I didn’t think it would work but it pulled through. I followed the steps and i couldnt be more happy. just thought ide share it!” Wired.com This article consists of the speech of CEO of Apple Inc Steve Bob. Most of the comments out of more than 300 were negative. “It's live in that it's updated every minute or two, as the keynote happens. But since you posted your comment before the keynote actually started, you may have missed that, since nothing was happening then.” Some respondents mentioned range of problems like cordless ports resulting in failure, lack of newness, problems in video conferencing and others. Appletoolbox.com Article provided all the pros and cons of the overall processes. There were six comments posted that included positive as well as negative contents. Conclusion All the information available on various websites included different aspect of product and its features that can help a marketing team to reevaluate its marketing mix strategies and others. References http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/apple-iphone-8gb-at/4505-6452_7-32309245.html accessed on 16 November 2010 http://reviews.cnet.com/iphone-atlas/ accessed on 16 November 2010 http://blog.topsevenreviews.com/apples-iphone-4-will-trounce-its-ipad.html accessed on 16 November 2010 http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/06/live-blog-apples-iphone-centric-wwdc-2010/ accessed on 16 November 2010 http://appletoolbox.com/2010/07/which-free-iphone-4-case-should-you-choose/ accessed on 16 November 2010 http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Apple-iPhone-rqrplslqum-1 accessed on 16 November 2010 Observations Sheets SAMPLE OBSERVATION SHEET (with Researcher Notes) Name of Website or Forum : http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/apple-iphone-8gb-at/4505-6452_7-32309245.html http://reviews.cnet.com/iphone-atlas/ http://blog.topsevenreviews.com/apples-iphone-4-will-trounce-its-ipad.html http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/06/live-blog-apples-iphone-centric-wwdc-2010/ http://appletoolbox.com/2010/07/which-free-iphone-4-case-should-you-choose/ http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Apple-iPhone-rqrplslqum-1 Date of Access:13th November 2010 to 17th November 2010 Time Started: 6am GMT Time Completed: 9pm GMT Tick elements present on this Website/ Forum/ Bulletin Board/Blog. Registration Page yes___ Customer Interests or Preferences Page yes___ Customised Home Page yes___ Customer Feedback Form yes___ Customer Reviews yes___ Customer Comments or Chat yes___ Online Bulletin Board yes___ msn messenger option no___ Offline Link no___ Additional choices available yes __ (Please specify) …………………………………………………………………….. ___ …………………………………………………………………….. ___ …………………………………………………………………….. ___ …………………………………………………………………….. ___ How long is this Forum/ Bulletin Board running? These are still running. Main Aim or Objective of Forum? Review the iPhone and share experiences Is the Board managed by an organization or company? All the websites linked was associated with some organizations. Organisations like Mouthshut.com is purely consumer feedback based organisation whereas other consisted official website of Apple Inc, online IT magazines and others. Is the forum independently developed and run? yes What is my first impression of the discussion board/forum? All the forums were managed appropriately. The languages used by consumers were free from foul language and slangs. Consumers had shared various experiences and expectations. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… What are key themes that feature in posted threads There were different themes related top the product looks, functionality and other attributes. What topics/view/ themes generate debate? Customers discussed their views on the product looks, display and functionality as well as some customers seek responses for their curiosity like information regarding store and wanted more views of the other customers. How long are the threads/ How many participants/What is the usual duration of the topic items? The minimum thread was zero and the highest was 792 on the CNET,com for the Apple iPhone. How is the Board managed or policed? (AWebmaster or Facilitator?) Yes, all the blogs has moderator and in order to post a message, registered users as well as the guest had to submit the message which was screened by the moderator for its content. Any offensive content was stopped at that level. Any information on contributors? Consumers were from diverse fields and knowledge regarding the product as well as competitors’ products. ……………… General Behaviour of Contributors? Most of the reviews indicated that customers want to primarily seek more information to make product choice or want to share their experience as a owner of the product. Other comments or important points that are observed Researcher Notes These are my researcher notes following at least three visits to the website/ forum. Bulletin board/blog/chatroom and ideas on what to improve upon regarding the observations for the purpose of further research. Note areas I will browse in greater depth in the following visit. Thus far, I have observed …………………………………………………………………………………………. Are there any other criteria I will use when observing the next website or forum? How does the data form these observations improve my understanding of the topic / throw light on specific aspects of the topic/give insights into customer perceptions on the topic? Read More