With the emergence of the Internet, comes a dramatic shift in the way we approach advertising. Since Netscape, a majority of the world’s trading regions have adopted the web browser technology extremely fast. This was an absolute foreshadowing to how integral the Internet would be for our society.
As stated before, with the Internet comes a significant change in reaching an audience. With traditional technologies such as television, newspaper, outdoor, and radio, advertisers have implemented a one-way promotional communication in any mass media. Contrary to tradition, the Internet is a new playground in which advertisers can easily change the one-way dynamic into a two-way communication system. With the newly emerged Social Media technology in particular, advertisers can play upon mechanics of usability to their advantage. Social media is all about user-generated content. Users interact with one another by posting photos, videos, and opinions and get immediate feedback from other users. Most users admit to viewing others’ Internet contributions. Advertisers can ultimately jump into the action and blend right into the community. Twitter is a perfect example. I may Tweet, “Just got home from Texas Roadhouse with my family, it was delicious.” Many people can see my public Tweet, which means the official Texas Roadhouse Twitter can, too. They may immediately respond to my tweet, “Glad you enjoyed it! Next time, try the new 1.5lb Monster Steak!” In terms of usability, this is perfect because I already know how to use Twitter, I know its affordances, and I know its limitations. Texas Roadhouse’s only challenge is to be able to respond to me in a witty and professional way.
These new advertisers are obtaining the opinions and feedback of consumers like they could not previously obtain so easily and quickly. Yes, there have been ways that advertisers would ask consumers to mail a letter with feedback, but that would require a consumer to actually go out of their way to do that if they were feeling particularly strong about an issue. With today’s technology, advertisers can simply search “Texas Roadhouse” into a search box on Twitter and see peoples’ feedback, even if it’s non-direct. In this case, it’s better to receive information surreptitiously because advertisers can see the true feelings and opinions about their products and services– both negative and positive.
Interactive Advertising 