Effectiveness of Keek Social Media Application - Research Paper Example

Keek one of the recent Social Media Applications Doing research about the new social media available “Keek” 1. Introduction This project is an assessment of the effectiveness of new social media application “Keek” in influencing people’s lives particularly in absorbing new ideas and making decisions. An internet-based social media application, Keek allows users to create 36-seconds videos and quickly share their videos via webcam, iPhone or Android, get feedback, and comment on other videos. Users can also choose to share their videos publicly or privately with friends via “Private keeks”. Like Twitter, Keek has a “Follow” button users can use to keep track of people that interest them. Users can also “Subscribe” to a fellow user and be alerted of their recent activities in Keek. This social media application keeps track and record engagement patterns and different topics that interest people and allow content management via an easy to use dashboard (Keeks, 2013, About page). Keek features include Keekmail, My stream, My Stats, Top 100, Kred, @mentions, and “Sharing”, a tool that enable Keek users to post their videos in other social network such as Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. The following section discusses Keek as a rapidly expanding social media application and its effectiveness in influencing people’s thoughts and decisions. 2. Keek and its Influence on People Keek is quickly becoming a top social networking application and according to Miranda McCurlie, Keek’s media officer, it recently climbed to number one spot in social media ranking in the Middle East and spreading rapidly across Europe, South American, and Africa. Keek is attracting about 200,000 new user everyday and receiving about 4 million video uploads a month. Moreover, these videos are being watched and shared by over 500 million people while recent statistics suggest that about 200,000 of these videos were being shared to Twitter daily (PR Newswire, 2013, p.1). By analysis, the ability of Keek to increase user engagement through creation on 36-seconds video online is what makes Keek different from other application. Its considerably fast and easy to use video sharing makes it more attractive particularly to those who want to share their daily activities with friends. However, although social media is undoubtedly powerful in affecting other people, its influence should not be measured by sheer volume of users or followers but it ability to persuade people to take action (Lovett, 2011:173). Similarly, the extent of social media influence is not measured from technology standpoint but ability to create voluntary action among followers. These actions include clicking on a link, changing user opinion on a certain topic, and persuading people to purchase a product (Breakenridge, 2012:2). In other words, Keek influence should be measured by the volume of activities such uploading user-generated videos, exchange of messages, adding friends, and following other users. However, Keek executive and founder Isaac Raichyk seems more technical about Keek’s influence on people as his statement in online article “Keek is ranking number one for a reason....users like that our app is extremely fast, fun, and easy to use.....we are obsessed with speed” appears from technology standpoint. Moreover, the article praising the success of Keek even mentioned “upgrades” in infrastructure and the volume of content and shared made Keek in demand (PR Newswire, 2013, p.1). It is therefore clear that the Keek’s strategy in attracting people and encouraging voluntary actions is through technological attraction rather than creating a network of people interested in content, relationship, and socialisation. Evaluating Keek’s performance as a social media application influencing people’s lives requires a deeper understanding of how Keek followers actually interact and voluntary create and share their videos. In visiting and signing-up with Keek, one would notice that it only requires minimal information from user and in their “Most Viewed” page, there is nothing there but short videos of people from different walks of life. Comments are very minimal and the website appears entirely intended for watching videos rather than influencing ideas, opinion, and life of people. In the “Top 100” videos for instance, videos of celebrities often on top because they received million of views and followed by more than a million followers. Keek’s influence on people seems indirect and made by other people who wants to influence other users. For instance, although Keek is attracting through technology, participation, and online collaboration, its impact is limited to voluntary sharing of content. The actual influence is coming from the users themselves who by interaction and content sharing exchange ideas. Analysis of Keek’s social influence suggests that it is patronized by millions of people because of individual media preference or choice. The social presence theory for instance, predict which media people will use of certain types of interaction (Lievrouw & Livingstone (2005:119) which in this case is 36-seconds video in social networking environment. There is actually a number of theoretical frameworks associated with social media but according to Patrut & Patrut (2013:383), the most important of them are those that directly tackle the qualities of social media and the activities being done in them. For instance, theories of participation and collaboration directly link user generated content to frequent use of social media. Similarly, theories of social production, peer-evaluation, convergence, open source, and others are directly link to engagement which is the most active form of participation. Content is often considered that most important part of interactive experience as it helps develop attitudes, make decisions, and take actions (Marcus, 2011:584). Social media on the other hand makes this content easier to publish and encouraging user-generated content often result to sense of community for followers (Close, 2012:120). Keek is experiencing similar effects as evidenced by millions of users eager to publish their own content. Moreover, Keek appears intensifying this effect by encouraging users to follow other users and bring in some more friends by linking a Keek user account to Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, and others. Navigating around the Keek’s website will make user feel like Facebook without the App Centre, advertisements, and lengthy messages from users suggesting that Keek is intending to attract people through user-generated videos. Although indirectly as mentioned earlier, Keek’s influence on people’s decision and ideas is in the way it was set up. For instance, only registered users can access Keek’s website thus anyone who heard about Keek and curious about automatically becomes a member upon registration. The “dashboard” provided in Keek seems designed not only to share videos or contents but to meet people and add friends. To make it more interesting, Keek added a somewhat irresistible “Find new people to follow” complete with age brackets, country of residence, gender, attitude and qualities (Funny, inspiring, cool, brilliant, talented, and others). Keek as a social media application make use of curiosity to influence more users rather than riding on the dynamics of mass interaction. For instance, according to Beck (2008:32), increase in the number of members will not result in an equal increase in the amount of user-generated content thus there is no need to prioritise mass interaction. Moreover, people in online communities have various reasons and motivations in becoming a member and some of them are there to obtain information or support, provide others with information, interacting with people with similar interest, making business, or plain curious (Beck, 2008:32). In a report from Medicaster (2013:1), Keek is processing around 4 million user-generated videos, 75 million visits, and one billion page views a month. Note the ratio between the number of visits, page views, and user-generated video is small suggesting the users and visitors do not necessarily become members and share their video. According to Chambers (2013:2), as part of the transition to a more transparent society people turned their social curiosity towards those who are members of a social network. People are social being who are easily drawn to this type of connection because of natural curiosity about relationships particularly those that they know (Chan, 2011:4). Clearly, the influence of Keek’s in people’s lives is limited to the extent of motivation and the reason why people join and participate in Keek’s activities. Note the number of visit and pages view does not necessarily translate to influence as there is a strong possibility that social curiosity and other motivations bring people to Keek. By analysis, the influence of Keek is limited to those who voluntary share their content, add friends, and follow other members. The question however, is how Keek actually influences people’s behaviour, decision, and ideas when its role in this online community is a mere platform and a place to interact. Note that Keek’s CEO as discussed earlier that users like their app because it’s extremely fast, enjoyable, and user-friendly. There was no mention of anything related to social networking or building a community online. Is Keek’s users (the active ones) are entirely motivated by a fast app or the need to socialise? In measuring Keek’s social influence let us discuss the case of “Renren”, the Chinese counterpart of Facebook. According to Ramzan et al. (2013:38), this social networking website has around 150 million active users who generate content and make friends. Here, the click action of users is interpreted as manifestation of influence while the number of clicks indicates the strength of influence. The findings from this study suggest that users have different influence power to their friends while contents have different impact or attraction to users. If Keek’s social influence is measured this way then its influence is considerably high as one billion page views a month is a lot of clicks. Like Renren, Keek’s is influencing people social networking behaviour and in fact intensifying social curiosity and natural human tendencies to socialise. Keek alters people decisions in terms of relationship and participation in an online community. It influence ideas in the sense that users share contents that eventually change perception of other users about certain things or acquire ideas they can use in daily lives. It is important to note that active users of Keek probably login more than once a day and upload videos regularly. Celebrity users are the most influential as they have millions of followers while their videos are often in demand and being viewed a million times. Here, the motivations of celebrities are undoubtedly different from regular users and most probably, it is more on the business side than friendship. Keek is then the medium for these celebrities and platform that help celebrities reach and influence more people. Keek help alter people’s ideas through these celebrities and other users who are uploading interesting content. 3. Conclusion This research investigated Keek influence on people particularly in making decisions and absorbing new ideas. As a new social media application, Keek is undoubtedly influential in bringing people together in one online community. It also plays an important role in persuading people to create and share the content by making their apps powerful but easy to use. Through celebrities and other creative users, Keek facilitates absorption of new ideas and in some circumstances alters people’s decision. Keek influence is indirect and unlike other social media application, Keek is moving towards technology enhancement rather activities to influence people. Moreover, the user-generated content encouraged participation and collaboration and therefore influential in intensifying socialisation while the opportunity to see videos created and uploaded by other people build up social curiosity. Keek therefore is an effective and influential social media app that is capable of altering user decisions and imparting new ideas. 4. References Beck T, (2008), Web 2.0: User-Generated Content in Online Communities: A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation of its Determinants, Diplomica Verlag, Germany Breakenridge D, (2012), Social Media and Public Relations: Eight New Practices for the PR Professional, FT Press, UK Chambers D, (2013), Social Media and Personal Relationships: Online Intimacies and Networked Friendship, Palgrave MacMillan, UK Chan L, (2011), Social Media Marketing for Digital Photographers, John Wiley & Sons, US Close A, (2012), Online Consumer Behaviour: Theory and Research in Social Media, Routledge, UK Keek, (2013), About Keek, available online at http://www.keek.com/about Lievrouw L. & Livingstone S, (2005), Handbook of New Media: Student Edition, SAGE, UK Lovett J, (2011), Social Media Metrics Secrets, John Wiley & Sons, US MediaCaster, (2013), Keek Raises 18 Million to Support More User Generated Video Content, available online at http://www.mediacastermagazine.com/news/keek-raises-18-million-to-support-more-user-generated-video-content/1002009093/ Marcus A, (2011), Design, User Experience, and Usability, Springer, Germany Patrut M. & Patrut B, (2013), Social Media in Higher Education: Teaching in Web 2.0, Idea Group, US PR Newswire (2013), Keek Becomes Top Social Networking App in UK, Australia, and Canada: Massive Growth in User Generated Content and Sharing Results in Top App Store Rankings Worldwide, available online at http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/keek-becomes-top-social-networking-app-in-uk-australia-and-canada-197835181.html Ramzan N, Zwol R, Seok J, & Cluver K, (2013), Social Media Retrieval, Springer, Germany Read More

However, Keek executive and founder Isaac Raichyk seems more technical about Keek’s influence on people as his statement in online article “Keek is ranking number one for a reason....users like that our app is extremely fast, fun, and easy to use.....we are obsessed with speed” appears from technology standpoint. Moreover, the article praising the success of Keek even mentioned “upgrades” in infrastructure and the volume of content and shared made Keek in demand (PR Newswire, 2013, p.1). It is therefore clear that the Keek’s strategy in attracting people and encouraging voluntary actions is through technological attraction rather than creating a network of people interested in content, relationship, and socialisation. Evaluating Keek’s performance as a social media application influencing people’s lives requires a deeper understanding of how Keek followers actually interact and voluntary create and share their videos. In visiting and signing-up with Keek, one would notice that it only requires minimal information from user and in their “Most Viewed” page, there is nothing there but short videos of people from different walks of life. Comments are very minimal and the website appears entirely intended for watching videos rather than influencing ideas, opinion, and life of people. In the “Top 100” videos for instance, videos of celebrities often on top because they received million of views and followed by more than a million followers. Keek’s influence on people seems indirect and made by other people who wants to influence other users. For instance, although Keek is attracting through technology, participation, and online collaboration, its impact is limited to voluntary sharing of content. The actual influence is coming from the users themselves who by interaction and content sharing exchange ideas. Analysis of Keek’s social influence suggests that it is patronized by millions of people because of individual media preference or choice. The social presence theory for instance, predict which media people will use of certain types of interaction (Lievrouw & Livingstone (2005:119) which in this case is 36-seconds video in social networking environment. There is actually a number of theoretical frameworks associated with social media but according to Patrut & Patrut (2013:383), the most important of them are those that directly tackle the qualities of social media and the activities being done in them. For instance, theories of participation and collaboration directly link user generated content to frequent use of social media. Similarly, theories of social production, peer-evaluation, convergence, open source, and others are directly link to engagement which is the most active form of participation. Content is often considered that most important part of interactive experience as it helps develop attitudes, make decisions, and take actions (Marcus, 2011:584). Social media on the other hand makes this content easier to publish and encouraging user-generated content often result to sense of community for followers (Close, 2012:120). Keek is experiencing similar effects as evidenced by millions of users eager to publish their own content. Moreover, Keek appears intensifying this effect by encouraging users to follow other users and bring in some more friends by linking a Keek user account to Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, and others. Navigating around the Keek’s website will make user feel like Facebook without the App Centre, advertisements, and lengthy messages from users suggesting that Keek is intending to attract people through user-generated videos. Although indirectly as mentioned earlier, Keek’s influence on people’s decision and ideas is in the way it was set up. For instance, only registered users can access Keek’s website thus anyone who heard about Keek and curious about automatically becomes a member upon registration. The “dashboard” provided in Keek seems designed not only to share videos or contents but to meet people and add friends. Read More