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"Social media can do some extraordinary things, from distributing messages from Mars to raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity.  But could social media campaigns also encourage us to buy more cars?\nFord is hoping it might: the company has given 100 web addicts a Ford Fiesta for 6 months and has asked them to post honest feedback to Twitter, blogs, YouTube, Flickr and Facebook.  \nThe \"Fiesta Movement\" is trying to change the perception of Ford among 20-somethings, writes Wired today.  The 100 drivers were selected from 4,000 applicants...and in what sounds a little like an automotive beta-test, Ford is also set to provide 100,000 pre-launch test drives to those interested.\nThe accounts are already live on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube.\nOn balance, it seems like a positive move for auto companies to try social media, and the answer to the initial question is almost certainly a \"yes\": just as Monty Python increased DVD sales by 23X after the launch of their YouTube channel, and BlendTec sold 5x as many blenders by the same means, not to mention Dell's claim last year that it had produced $1 million in revenue through Twitter, social media has an influence on what we buy.  It might not make us buy more cars, but it will likely sway which brands we feel a connection to.  \nAnd yet the audience should keep a healthy level of skepticism: after all, this is marketing.  Ford isn't trying to hide the fact that it has let a group of young people borrow its cars, but that will surely affect the tone of the content produced.  \nIn the the era of user-generated content, being an informed and skeptical consumer of media is as important as being a skilled creator. \n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2009/04/19/can-social-media-make-us-buy-more-cars/>