Facebook making more meaningful discussion on products: Study

Washington: A recent study has revealed that Facebook and similar social networking channels might be leading consumers to discuss more interesting products by giving them more time to think and express their views.

The authors of the Journal of Consumer Research have found out that more interesting products and brands are discussed than mundane products in online communication. Wharton School authors of the University of Pennsylvania, Jonah Berger and Raghuram Iyengar, said that written conversations tend to have longer gaps, whereas oral communication tends to be instantaneous. New technologies have dramatically changed how the people communicate. Instead of talking face-to-face or over the phone, consumers can now e-mail, text, tweet, or message back and forth on Facebook. In oral communication, consumers talk about whatever is top-of-mind, but written communication gives them the opportunity to select more interesting things to say. Meanwhile, written communication gives consumers more time to construct and refine what they say. ANI