AudiencScapes

By Myriam Benlamlih
MENA Project Manager, InterMedia

While my colleague and I were in Istanbul for field observation, we met the owner of a small ice cream shop in the Old City. Nurettin’s kiosk was very simple and no more than two square meters in size, consisting mainly of his ice cream fridge. We soon got chatting and as we were leaving, he handed me his business card. While glancing at it, I noticed something very surprising: his business card had the address to a Gmail account and his very own Facebook page.

He insisted that we check out his page, so I did. He only had 93 friends –most of whom are Turkish, although some are also from as far as Japan- but what is important here is that the owner of a small informal business has access to potentially thousands of people worldwide, at his fingertips.

I was unable to check what exactly was on Nurettin’s Facebook page (I don’t read Turkish), but, I can only imagine all the ways Nurettin could use Facebook to promote his business! He could use it to keep his friends informed of price reductions or promotional offers, upcoming ice-cream shows, and all kinds of other initiatives which should keep at least some of his friends coming back to visit (I know when I go back to Istanbul, I’ll go say hello). I doubt Nurettin would have imagined such communication capabilities just a few years ago!