FYI 1: Beacon is the new Facebook feature that will let people “opt in” to share their consumer purchases with their friends in the their Facebook news feed.
FYI 2: I shop at Wal-Mart from time to time for really cheap deodorant, electronic cables etc.
After my last post, I started pondering the ramifications Beacon would have on peer pressure and consumer movements. We all have friends who are really against a certain company. Maybe because they experienced really poor customer service, had something break and didn’t keep the receipt, or maybe because they saw some new documentary film.
Right now, I have my eye on Comcast. I just don’t think huge cable/telecom companies have the consumers’ best interests in their sights. Anyways, enough ranting.
Sam left the following comment on my last post:
I wonder what this will do the adolescent community. Peer pressure is a big part of their decision making process. However, I too would be happy to see this implemented.
Great question. And, as I said before one that I’ve been thinking about, too.
Let’s take an easy target: Wal-Mart (I already disclosed my relationship above)
I had friends in college who were adamantly against Wal-Mart. I know plenty of adults who are adamantly against Wal-Mart.
It goes something like this: Wal-Mart shuts down mom & pop shops. Wal-Mart has horrible wages. Wal-Mart discriminates. Wal-Mart locks their employees in stores. Wal-Mart employs illegal workers.
Don’t worry, this post won’t turn into a “for” or “against” rant for Wal-Mart.
This post is strictly about “Will Beacon show my secret Wal-Mart purchases in my Facebook news feed for all my friends to see???” And, will Beacon change my ACTUAL relationship with Wal-Mart.
I think that Beacon will have some influence on what people do with their consumer behavior. It will hold them accountable to what they ACTUALLY do. They can’t just rant about not buying from Wal-Mart, they have to actually put their money with their mouth is and NOT buy from Wal-Mart.
It will be interesting to see how something like Beacon will affect the place where are ranting and consumer behavior intersect.
FYI 3: Facebook users will be able to curate what ACTUALLY goes into their news feed via Beacon. So, you can stop those Wal-Mart purchases from conflicting with your ranting.
FYI 4: I think that Wal-Mart is one of the greatest experiments of how a company reacts to consumer behavior/peer pressure our generation(s) has seen.