I saw The Social Network over fall break and found it very interesting. I wondered how, if at all, it would alter the public's perception of both co-founder Mark Zuckerberg as well as Facebook as a social media tool. As they say, any publicity is good publicity. The most influential result of this movie is that it got people talking about Facebook as a brand. It gave users and non-users alike a more personal understanding of how the company was founded.
Mashable.com published an article analyzing data compiled by YouGov BrandIndex about the effect The Social Network has had on Facebook as a brand. Zuckerberg was presented in a fairly unflattering light in the movie - betraying his best friend, "stealing" the idea for Facebook, etc. I questioned whether this portrayal would leave people with a bad taste in their mouth and in turn influence them to make another social media site their main networking tool. However, I highly doubt this will end up being the case.
YouGov BrandIndex asked people: "Do you have a general positive feeling about the brand." The resulting chart shows a start date of September 16th, 2010 and an end date of October 6th, 2010. The greatest negative impact was among adults ages 50 and older. I don't think this is surprising as this age group generally doesn't use Facebook or necessarily understand its' relevance as a social media and networking tool.
The impression among adults 18 to 34 more than doubled between the start and end dates. This age group had the most notable shift in perception of Facebook. This is also the group that is most active in utilizing social media tools so I don't think the results are surprising. I think having a better understanding of the history of Facebook led to a greater respect for the brand and the hard work put in to creating such an expansive social media site.
I think the media buzz surrounding this film has sparked discussions (both positive and negative) in most demographic groups. It helped Facebook become a more prominent topic in every day conversations and I think Zuckerberg should be thankful for the free publicity.
I completely agree with the "any publicity is good publicity" mentality with the movie. I think Zuckerberg was painted in a bad light, but almost in a light that most appeals to college aged kids. Most college aged kids can relate or enjoy the swift condescending nature of Zuckerberg in the movie. This is why I believe you see the drop in the older facebook users, particularly the ones with college aged students who act like little Zuckerbergs. I think the movie just adds to the phenomenon of Facebook.
ReplyDeleteWhen seeing the trailor for this movie I thought it made perfect sense in building the brand as well as making some extra cash off user and non users of facebook. Facebook is extremely popular and creators of this movie took is popularity and turned it into easy cash. I don't think the movie was intended for extending the brand, but only to make money. In regards to Zuckerberg being portrayed as a betrayer...it's a film and I don't think that the facebook community will frown upon him from what they discovered from the movie.
ReplyDeleteSpencer R.