With the emergence of Web 2.0 and the ability of internet users to co-operate, collaborate and share information with one another there has been a steep learning curve for brands who have had to adapt their behaviour when it comes to delivering messages to consumers.

Most recently, Sony’s Playstation Network (PSN) was hacked into and the personal information and in many cases credit card details of its millions of users across the globe compromised. Hacking of information is not a new phenomenon but it is the response of Sony, one of the world’s largest tech companies that has drawn criticism.

With the breach occurring between April 17 – 19, Sony waited a full week to release the details of the breach and just this morning (April 29), as a PSN user myself, I finally received an email acknowledging the issues, a full 10 days later!

The slow response and lack of information offered to users considering the seriousness of the issue will have significant ramifications on the level of trust users have for the brand. With the ability to act and inform those affected, Sony has sat on its hands and waited before informing the world and more importantly the 70m affected users of the problem.

Brands have had to learn to adapt their messaging about themselves but also the importance of the timeliness in delivery. No longer can they take time to ponder over their correspondences or media releases but are required to be upfront and honest or face potential major backlash from consumers.

Responding to negative press featuring a company cannot be met with a slow or non-existent response anymore. Brands have the ability to deliver a fast response to an issue, consumers not only want this, but have come to expect it.

It is trust and openness which consumers expect. The lack of information which was provided in any form, not just delivered through social networks which has been a significant issue and one which undermines trust in Sony as a brand.

Sony has one of the highest reputations for a brand in the world, behind only Google in a survey conducted by the Reputation Institute in 2010. This was built on over 60 years of innovation and finding solutions to consumer needs. The question is how much will an issue like this cost the company in the future?

In a world where brand reputation takes years to build, and an instant to break down, this could be one issue that seriously tarnishes the solid and trusted brand that is Sony.

Badges are becoming commonplace on social media platforms. To enhance levels of engagement, badges ‘gamify’ actions and reward users. This ‘gamification’ of experience in turn, motivates further action. But how are badges useful? Why do they work?

In an initial study, Antin & Churchill (2011) set out to answer these questions. I have briefly summarised their findings below.

Goal Setting
Challenges are an effective motivator and consuming goals is an end unto itself. Studies have shown the most effective goals are those just out of comfortable reach.

Instruction
Providing a framework for users, badges illustrate valued activities of the community.

Reputation
Badges contribute to the identity of users. They allow others to make ‘reputation assessments’ such as a particular member’s interests or expertise.

Status/Affirmation
Acting as status symbols, badges highlight achievement, acknowledging user accomplishments.

Group Identification
Shared experiences increase collaboration in online communities. Badges connect users to these shared actions, and provide ‘perceptions of similarity between an individual and the group’

In short, badges act as social agents in online communities, assisting users to navigate their virtual identity and relationships. Transferring these agents into research communities may help provide another layer of user engagement.

Since April Fool’s day has just gone, I wonder how many of you fell victim to a hoax in the online world? I know I did.

My friend, Donna, is on Facebook and has about 500 friends. She has been with her partner for about 23 years, so it was a bit of a surprise when she suddenly changed her status to “single”. I flicked her an email asking her if she was OK and what was going on….. not a thing as it turns out!

She did it as an April Fool’s joke. When she turned her mobile and computer back on about 24 hours later, she had about 20 text messages and 100 email messages, not to mention all the Facebook threads! Surprisingly, only about 1 or 2 people picked up that this could have been a hoax (admittedly I was not one of them!).

But it amazed me at how widespread her April Fool’s prank actually was. With 500 friends, that’s a lot of simultaneous pranking. Usually, you’re restricted to just one or two friends on whom you’re playing your joke. I guess social media has changed all that.

Of course, the BBC still goes down in history as pulling the greatest April Fool’s joke of all time. I wasn’t even born when this prank was pulled, but I still know about it (thanks once again to the web). The Spaghetti Tree Hoax was a 3 minute broadcast by the BBC on April Fool’s Day in 1957, on their popular current affairs program Panorama. Being a reputable program, many people fell for the story that spaghetti grows on trees and that this year was shaping up to be a bumper harvest. Many people called the BBC to ask where they could get a spaghetti tree from. If you want to watch the original broadcast, click here

Now that really was pranking on a mass scale (about 8 million households). But it took a major corporation to have the resources to do it. With social media, anyone can pull a hoax on a mass scale (people like my friend Donna). But with many of the pitfalls associated with social media the real question is, do you really want to?

And the best April Fool’s prank for 2011? It would have to be Ikea’s Hundstol Highchair. At $59, you can set a place for your dog at the table because “not only is the dog a part of the family, they are like a trial run for kids”.