Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Advertising Viral marketing'

This thesis constitutes one of the first investigations that lie at the intersection of social influence propagation, viral marketing, and social advertising. The objective of this thesis is to take the algorithmic aspects of viral marketing out of the lab, and further enhance these aspects to account for the real world social advertisement models, by drawing on the viral marketing literature to study social influence aware ad allocation for social advertising. To this end, we take a first step towards enabling social influence online analytics in support of viral marketing decision making, and propose efficient influence indexing framework that can accurately answer topic-aware viral marketing queries with milliseconds response time. We then initiate investigation in the area of social advertising through the viral marketing lens, aligned with real world social advertisement models, and introduce two fundamental optimization problems, regarding the allocation of ads to social network users under social influence. We devise greedy approximation algorithms with provable approximation guarantees for the novel problems introduced. We also develop scalable versions of our approximation algorithms by leveraging the notion of reverse reachability sampling on social graphs, and experimentally confirm that our algorithms are scalable and deliver high quality solutions.
Aquesta tesi constitueix una de les primeres investigacions en la intersecció entre propagació d'influència social, màrqueting viral i publicitat social. L'objectiu d'aquesta tesi és treure els aspectes algorítmics de màrqueting viral fora del laboratori, i millorar-los per tenir en compte els models de publicitat del món real en xarxes socials, fent ús de la literatura del màrqueting viral per estudiar l'assignació d'anuncis basada en la influència social per a la publicitat en xarxes socials. Amb aquesta finalitat, hem pres un primer pas cap al desenvolupament de anàlisi d'influència social en línia que ajudin en la presa de decisions en el màrqueting viral, i proposem un marc per a la indexació eficient d'influència que pugui respondre amb precisió a les consultes de màrqueting viral orientades a temes específics amb temps de resposta de mil·lisegons. A continuació, comencem una investigació en l'àrea de la publicitat social a través de la lent del màrqueting viral, en línia amb models de publicitat del món real, i introduïm dos nous problemes d'optimització pel que fa a l'assignació d'anuncis als usuaris de la xarxa social sota la influència social, amb garanties d'aproximació demostrables. També desenvolupem una versió escalable dels nostres algoritmes d'aproximació aprofitant la noció de presa de mostres d'accessibilitat inversa en grafs socials, i confirmem experimentalment que els nostres algoritmes són escalables i ofereixen solucions d'alta qualitat.
Esta tesis constituye una de las primeras investigaciones en la intersección entre propagación de influencia social, marketing viral y publicidad social. El objetivo es sacar los aspectos algorítmicos de marketing viral fuera del laboratorio, y mejorarlos para tener en cuenta los modelos de publicidad del mundo real en redes sociales, haciendo uso de la literatura de marketing viral para estudiar asignación de anuncios basada en la influencia social. Con este fin, tomamos un primer paso hacia el desarrollo de análisis de influencia social en línea que ayuden en la toma de decisiones en el marketing viral, y proponemos un marco para la indexación eficiente de influencia que pueda responder con precisión a las consultas de marketing viral orientadas a temas específicos con tiempo de respuesta de milisegundos. A continuación, iniciamos una investigación en el área de la publicidad social a través de la lente del marketing viral, en línea con modelos de publicidad del mundo real, e introducimos dos nuevos problemas de optimización respecto a la asignación de anuncios a los usuarios de la red social bajo la influencia social, con garantías de aproximación demostrables. También desarrollamos una versión escalable de nuestros algoritmos de aproximación aprovechando la noción de toma de muestras de accesibilidad inversa en grafos sociales, y confirmamos experimentalmente que nuestros algoritmos son escalables y ofrecen soluciones de alta calidad.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2007.
Title from electronic title page (viewed Dec. 18, 2007). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication." Discipline: Journalism and Mass Communication; Department/School: Journalism and Mass Communication, School of.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 15, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on August 14, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.

Företag inom modebranschen står i dag inför en ökande konkurrenssituation. På grund av globaliseringen och interaktionen mellan kunder över internet, är konsumenterna idag mer medvetna än tidigare. Den största faktorn bakom den nya medvetenheten är den generation av unga människor som växt upp i en digitaliserad värld, benämnd som Generation Y. Företag får kämpa för att få konsumenternas uppmärksamhet och situationen beskrivs som ett marknadsföringskrig. Många marknadsförare misslyckas med att nå fram till konsumenterna med traditionella marknadsföringsverktyg som; reklam, PR, direktmarknadsföring och personlig försäljning. För att få uppmärksamhet av kunderna, undkomma det pågående mediebruset och differentiera sig på marknaden, tvingas företag att bli mer kreativa och aggressiva i sin marknadsföring. Vissa av de här kreativa aktiviteterna är kända som okonventionell marknadsföring. Ämnet är brett, men några av de viktigaste aspekterna är gerilla, viral och stealth marknadsföring. Gerilla marknadsföring är allmänt känt som okonventionella sätt att få företagens ord ut på gatorna. I gerilla marknadsföring ses allt som en reklambakgrund. Viral marknadsföring är känt som onlineversionen av word-of-mouth marknadsföring. Sociala medier som Facebook och bloggar, gör att informationsutbytet mellan användare går snabbt. Stealth marknadsföring är ett sätt att marknadsföra där avsändaren är okänd för kunderna. Vi ställer oss frågande till om det verkligen är så enkelt för ett företag att, med hjälp av okonventionell marknadsföring, skapa uppmärksamhet hos konsumenter. Det har lett oss in på vår frågeställning, som är att undersöka vad okonventionell marknadsföring har för påverkan, samt vilka attityder och beteenden metoden kan generera hos Generation Y. Vi har även valt att studera hur svenska moderelaterade företag på bästa vis kan använda sig av okonventionella marknadsföringsmetoder. Vi kom fram till följande resultat: Konsumenter uppfattar den här typen av marknadsföring som mer påtaglig och interagerande, jämförelsevis med traditionella medier. Faktorer som påverkar effekten av metoderna är konsumentens tidigare upplevelser och referenser. Då konsumenten från början hade en positiv eller en negativ attityd gentemot företaget, förstärktes attityden efter en okonventionell kampanj. Det var särskilt tydligt när det handlade om stealth marknadsföring. Viral marknadsföring kan vara mer lämplig för Generation Y, jämförelsevis med andra generationer, eftersom de generellt sett har mer internetvana. Okonventionell marknadsföring skapar starkare attityder och ger upphov till mer word-of-mouth, jämfört med traditionell marknadsföring. Det finns dock en risk att okonventionell marknadsföring inte leder till ett positivt köpbeteende hos konsumenten. Därför bör okonventionella kampanjer kompletteras med en mer säljdriven marknadskanal. Det innefattar dock inte modebloggar, eftersom att den kanalen räknas som mer säljfokuserad. Undersökningen visar att modereklamen ofta betraktas som traditionell och ointressant. Företagen kan då använda de här typerna av marknadsföringsmetoder för att differentiera sig från sina konkurrenter. Två faktorer är av stor betydelse i genomförandet av dessa strategier; kunskap om sin målgrupp och att ha en samstämmande image och kommunikation. Då ett företags kommunikation inte överensstämmer med hur konsumenten förväntar sig, kan det skada företaget. Vi kom även till slutsatsen att just gerilla är särskilt lämpligt för att sprida kunskap om nya eller små företag. Det är även lättare för små och trendiga företag att implementera de här metoderna, då det ofta förväntas av deras målgrupp att deras marknadskommunikation skall vara innovativ.

L'objectiu principal d'aquesta tesi doctoral és detectar si existeixen claus creatives comunes en els vídeos publicitaris virals que constitueixin un detonant per al seu contagi entre els usuaris de les xarxes socials digitals. S'inicia amb un estudi diagnòstic de la literatura existent sobre el tema per aclarir conceptes, resoldre confusions terminològiques i distingir diferències entre el màrqueting viral, la publicitat viral o la publicitat boca a orella, entre d’altres. A continuació, s'estudia un marc conceptual reticular, en el qual es connecten els fonaments del màrqueting, de la comunicació, de la creativitat publicitària i de les xarxes socials per esbossar dos possibles models teòrics del màrqueting viral. D'aquesta manera, es concreten diversos nivells taxonòmics i de definició del concepte. Per dur a terme l'estudi empíric, l'autora proposa un constructe analític que permeti la triangulació dels indicadors bàsics següents: drivers creatius, soques virals i ambigüitat dels continguts. L'anàlisi -bivariant i multivariant- de 651 vídeos publicitaris virals ha permès constatar que els continguts basats en el driver de l'emoció, explicats amb recursos de la soca retòrica clàssica publicitària (o conceptual), són els que mostren una major prevalença i relació significativa. L'ambigüitat està present en gairebé la meitat de la mostra analitzada, per la qual cosa es conclou que es tracta d'una condició suficient, però no necessària, per detonar un procés publicitari viral.
El objetivo principal de esta tesis doctoral es detectar si existen claves creativas comunes en los vídeos publicitarios virales que constituyan un detonante para su contagio entre los usuarios de las redes sociales digitales. Se inicia con un estudio diagnóstico de la literatura existente sobre el tema para clarificar conceptos, resolver confusiones terminológicas y distinguir diferencias entre el marketing viral, la publicidad viral o la publicidad boca a oreja, entre otros. A continuación, se estudia un marco conceptual reticular, en el que se conectan los fundamentos del marketing, de la comunicación, de la creatividad publicitaria y de las redes sociales para esbozar dos posibles modelos teóricos del marketing viral. De esta forma, se concretan varios niveles taxonómicos y de definición del concepto. Para llevar a cabo el estudio empírico, la autora propone un constructo analítico que permita la triangulación de los siguientes indicadores básicos: drivers creativos, cepas virales y ambigüedad de los contenidos. El análisis -bivariante y multivariante- de 651 vídeos publicitarios virales ha permitido constatar que los contenidos basados en el driver de la emoción, explicados con recursos de la cepa retórica clásica publicitaria (o conceptual), son los que muestran una mayor prevalencia y relación significativa. La ambigüedad está presente en casi la mitad de la muestra analizada, por lo que se concluye que se trata de una condición suficiente, pero no necesaria, para desencadenar un proceso publicitario viral.
The aim of this thesis is to test out the existence of common creative key factors in the viral advertising videos that constitute a catalyst for their transmission between users of digital social networks. It all starts up with a diagnostic study of the existent literature about the subject in order to clarify concepts, solve terminological misunderstandings and distinguish between viral marketing, viral advertising or word-of-mouth advertising from a wide range of others. Furthermore, a reticular framework is studied, in which the basics of marketing, communication, advertising creativity and social networks are connected between them to sketch two possible theoretical models of viral marketing. In this way, many taxonomical levels and the definition of concept are concreted. To carry out the empirical study, the author proposes an analytical construct that allows the triangulation of the following basic indicators: creative drivers, viral strains and the ambiguity of the contents. The analysis -bivariate and multivariate- of 651 viral advertising videos has been prone to prove that the contents based on the driver of the emotion, explained with the resources of the advertising (or conceptual) rhetoric strain, are the ones that show a major prevalence and significant relation. The presence of ambiguity is almost in half of the analyzed sample, so we arrive to the conclusion that it is a sufficient condition, but not necessary to unleash a viral advertising process.

The aim with this study was to answer the question “What components in Nike’s viral ads on Youtube trigger emotions?”. The data was collected through a qualitative and descriptive research approach and the method was a combination of a poetic film analysis and Ducoffe’s Model of Advertising Value. The model includes three components that were to be analyzed: informativeness, entertainment and irritation. The video ads were analyzed together with the comments posted. The comments were seen as electronic word of mouth and they were analyzed in order to understand if the viewer felt positive or negative emotions towards the ads. The findings showed that Ducoffe’s Model of Advertising Value was applicable on social media networks such as Youtube. Informativeness and entertainment were the most important components triggering emotions. Since marketing events nowadays are digitalized, it is important to adapt previous models and research to new platforms.

Background:               Thanks to digitalization, the current generation Y is constantly exposed to advertising and information, blurring boundaries that can lead to a “buzz”, process more and more common online due to the possibility to publicly respond.   Purpose:          The aim is to understand the processes leading to a possible influence of consumer perception via negative online word-of-mouth and advertisements deemed controversial.   Method:          As an exploratory study, this paper conducted qualitative interviews with a group of students in which they will react to two cases of viral, controversial advertisement.    Conclusion:                The results show that there is indeed a relation between being exposed to negative online word-of-mouth: controversy and interpretation of the content influence the customer’s opinion.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see what implications the new communication channel of Covert Virals has on acknowledged communication strategies and whether or not these strategies are still viable within Covert Virals.   Background: The term Covert Viral has been given to pieces of advertisement, spread through the medium of electronic word of mouth over social networks, which are designed to look user made. With the defense mechanisms towards traditional advertisements in mind, and the extensive growth of the social networks, it is of high interest to understand how traditional branding strategies work in this new communication channel.  Method: To answer our research questions, and thereby conclude our purpose, we have used quantitative data which was collected through the use of non-random sampling. This was analyzed within the SPSS statistics software, using both descriptive and inferential statistics.  Conclusion: The implications this communication channel brings to traditional branding strategies has been divided into two categories, Brand Awareness strategy implications, and Brand Attitude strategy implications. Within Brand Awareness strategies it was found that Covert Virals were unfit to execute brand recall strategies. However, Brand recognition strategies were found to still apply, with a possible negative backlash of advertising for a competitor‟s brand. Within Brand Attitude Strategies, we found that a new restriction has been placed on the traditional strategies. This restriction is the obligatory use of emotional branding. Furthermore, this emotional branding must be constructed in such a way so that it caters to both the viral intent of the advertisement, and the branding intent.
Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att fasställa vilken inverkan den nya kommunikationskanalen Covert Virals har på existerande teorier gällande varumärkeskommunikation och om dessa teorier är tillämpliga på Covert Virals.  Bakgrund: Covert Virals är en term för reklam som har spridit sig via så kallad elektronisk „mun till mun‟ -marknadsföring via sociala nätverk där upphovsmannen framställs som icke företagsrelaterad. På grund av svårigheter att nå kunder via traditionell  marknadsföring och den omfattande tillväxten inom sociala nätverk på senare år, är det av största vikt att förstå hur företag ska marknadsföra sig genom denna nya kommunikationskanal.  Metod: För att uppfylla vårt syfte har vi använt oss av en kvantitativ undersökning som har samlats in genom ett icke slumpmässigt  urval. Svaren analyserades både med hjälp av trendanalys och beskrivande statistik genom mjukvaran SPSS Statistics.  Slutsats: Utfallen av undersökningen är uppdelade i medvetenhet om, respektive attityd till, varumärket. Covert Virals är inte lämpliga för att öka tittarnas förmåga att erinra sig ett varumärke, men fungerar väl för att skapa igenkännelse av varumärket. Det finns en risk att de positiva effekterna av en covert viral tillkommer konkurrenter i lika stor eller större utsträckning som det egna varumärket. När det gäller attityd till ett varumärke så har studien visat att det finns en ny begränsning i det att en Covert Viral måste använda sig av känsloladdade budskap. Detta känsloladdade budskap måste dels skapa en stark vilja att vidarebefordra meddelandet samt förmedla den känslan marknadsföraren vill associera med varumärket.

The diploma thesis concerns a creation of communication strategy for multimedia festival named Lumirova triska 2009. The work includes a summary of basic marketing approaches towards the communication strategy creation, description of its application, former communication analysis and an overview of the current state on the market of festivals involving advertising creation, as well as proposals for communication improvement, managing model of the event and an effectivity assessment from the economical point of view.

To paraphrase an old bromide, "you are what you consume." Consumers derive their sense of self through products, brands, performances and a host of other meaning-laden materials that they consume. The marketing literature has long recognized possessions as an extension of the self-concept. Although hundreds of studies have examined the linkage between consumption and the self, surprisingly few have examined a related phenomenon - the relationship between the self-concept and word of mouth (WOM). A handful of studies have demonstrated the use of WOM to enhance the consumer's self-image, but most extant research focuses on how the act of engaging in WOM is used to build the self-concept. To date there has not been an extensive examination of the process by which WOM transfers the meaning of a product, brand, advertisement or narrative from one consumer to another as part of identity construction. This dissertation attempts to answer the following research questions: 1. Do self-concept and identity motivate consumers to engage in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM)? 2. Is there a conceptual model to represent the effects of message characteristics, product/brand characteristics and individual personality differences on the self-enhancement value of eWOM and resulting eWOM behaviors? A conceptual model was proposed and, using an experimental research design, hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results suggest that self-concept and identity indeed motivate consumers to engage in eWOM, and a number of brand and message traits comprise eWOM's self-enhancement value. This dissertation both contributes to the theoretical understanding of eWOM and assists managers in developing marketing strategy. The use of WOM for identity construction remains an understudied area in marketing when compared to the consumption of products as self-expression. This research provides suggestions for practitioners in harnessing the potential of eWOM as a marketing strategy through message development and targeting of lucrative segments with viral campaigns.

This project describes internet marketing and its components (search engine marketing, internet advertising, internet PR, e-mail marketing etc.). It also describes the possibilities of employing internet in marketing and depicts new ways of online communication. The expenses for internet advertising are constantly growing as well as the number of internet users. The number of universities is increasing and so is the competition. That's why it's vital that they should act as a part of the market and use marketing strategies. The objective of this project is to analyse and suggest communication strategies of the Faculty of Management at the University of Economics in Prague using the knowledge acquired from the theoretical part. The practical part specifies the target group, draws up a report and chooses the way of communication. Further on, we will consider the timing of every single activity and the overall budget.

An alternate reality game, often abbreviated as ARG, is a mix between a game and a crossmedia interactive story using mainly the Internet as a platform. The game is built around the idea of teamwork among its participants. The players cooperate to solve puzzles allowing them to go forward in the story of the game. The marketing element is in different ways included in the story.

A few Alternate Reality Games such as The Beast, The Art of the H3ist and The Lost Ring have previously been launched as marketing campaigns. This bachelor thesis aims to examine the possibilities of Alternate Reality Games as an alternative marketing tool for profit-driven companies. The method includes interviewswith Swedish advertising agencies as well as individuals in the ARG business. The prototype used in the thesis is an earlier ARG named Den Dolda Sanningen, which was produced in the fall semester of 2008 as an assignment for a course at Växjö University.

Empowered by information technology, modern consumers increasingly rely upon online word-of-mouth (WOM--e.g., product reviews) to guide their purchase decisions. This dissertation investigates how WOM information is processed by consumers and its downstream consequences. First, the value of specific types of word-of-mouth information (e.g., numeric ratings, text commentary, or both) was explored for making forecast. After proposing an anchoring-and-adjustment framework for the utilization of WOM to inform consumer forecasts, I support this framework with a series of experiments. Results demonstrate that the relative forecasting advantage of different information types is a function of the extent to which consumer and reviewer have similar product-level preferences ('source-receiver similarity'). Second, I investigate the process by which dispersion--the degree to which opinions are divided for a product or service--in WOM is interpreted. Using an attribution-based approach, I argue that the effect of WOM dispersion is dependent on the perceived cause of that dispersion, which is systematically related to perceptions of preference heterogeneity in a product category. For products for which preferences are expected to vary, dispersion is likely to be attributed to the reviewers rather than the product itself, and therefore tolerated. I provide evidence for my hypotheses in a series of experiments where WOM dispersion is manipulated and respondents make choices and indicate purchase intentions.

Watching videos online has become an ordinary activity, which brands and advertising agencies have been progressively incorporating into their strategies through viral marketing campaigns. Furthermore, it has been verified that to induce consumers to pass-along, viral online video advertisings tend to rely on the use of increasingly provocative content. Still, few experimental researches have examined underlying processes and responses evoked by this feature. In order to fill this void, experimental research, progressed online, was conducted, in which the effects of this strong appeal in forward intentions, advertising processing, brand memorability and purchase intentions are examined. Results insinuate that online videos comprising higher levels of perceived provocation appear to stimulate a higher pass-along probability, more complex formulations of ad related emotions and feelings and better brand memorability. Moreover, it appears also to affect attitudes toward the brand. Nevertheless, limits exist to the manner in which provocation can be portrayed. This study discriminates conditions under which managers can envisage to effectively use such powerful appeal while maximizing viral marketing potential gains.
Regarder des vidéos en ligne est devenu une activité ordinaire que les marques et les agences de publicité ont progressivement intégré dans leurs stratégies à travers des campagnes de marketing viral. En outre, il a été vérifié que pour inciter les consommateurs à passer des messages, les campagnes virales en format de vidéo s'appuient sur l'utilisation d'un contenu de plus en plus provocateur. Pourtant, peu de recherches expérimentales ont examiné les processus sous-jacents et les réponses évoquées par ce contenu. Afin de combler ce vide, une recherche expérimentale a été menée en ligne, où les effets de cette forte attractivité dans les intentions de l'envoyer, les procès d'évaluation des messages, la mémorisation de la marque, et les intentions d'achat ont été examinés. Les résultats insinuent que les vidéos comprenant des niveaux plus élevés de provocation stimulent les consommateurs à les partager, ils formulent des émotions et des sentiments plus complexes et améliorent la mémorisation de la marque. De même, ces vidéos semblent influer les attitudes envers la marque. Néanmoins, il existe des limites pour la manière dont la provocation peut être représentée. Cette étude discrimine les conditions dans lesquelles les managers peuvent envisager d'utiliser efficacement un attrait si puissant, tout en maximisant les gains potentiels de commercialisation virales.
Assistir vídeos online tornou-se uma atividade comum, que diversas marcas e agências de publicidade têm vindo a incorporar nas suas estratégias de marketing em forma de campanhas de marketing viral. Além do mais, foi verificado também que, para induzir os consumidores a disseminar mensagens publicitárias, estas tendem a incluir conteúdos progressivamente mais provocantes. No entanto, poucas pesquisas experimentais têm examinado os processos subjacentes e as respostas evocadas por esta tendência. Assim sendo, para preencher esta lacuna existente na presente literatura, uma experiência on-line foi realizada, na qual foram examinados os efeitos deste forte estímulo em intenções de partilhar o conteúdo, no processamento da mensagem, na memorização da marca e nas intenções de compra. Os resultados obtidos revelam que vídeos com níveis de provocação relativamente elevados tendem a ter uma maior probabilidade de serem partilhados, evocam emoções e sentimentos mais complexos, e ajudam a memorização da marca. Além disso, parecem também afectar atitudes face à marca em questão. No entanto, existem limites na forma como a provocação deve ser representada. Este estudo discrimina condições sob as quais tais estímulos podem ser utilizados eficazmente maximizando assim potenciais ganhos provenientes das campanhas de marketing viral.

Social phenomena have been studied extensively in small scales by social scientists. With the increasing popularity of Web 2.0 and online social networks/media, a large amount of data on social phenomena have become available. In this dissertation we study online social phenomena such as social influence in social networks in various contexts. This dissertation has two major components: 1. Identifying and characterizing online social phenomena 2. Leveraging online social phenomena for economic and commercial purposes. We begin the dissertation by developing multi-level revenue sharing schemes for viral marketing on social networks. Viral marketing leverages social influence among users of the social network. For our proposed models, we develop results on the computational complexity, individual rationality, and potential reach of employing the Shapley value as a revenue sharing scheme. Our results indicate that under the multi-level tree-based propagation model, the Shapley value is a promising scheme for revenue sharing, whereas under other models there are computational or incentive compatibility issues that remain open. We continue with another application of social influence: social advertising. Social advertising is a new paradigm that is utilized by online social networks. Social advertising is based in the premise that social influence can be leveraged to place ads more efficiently. The goal of our work is to understand how social ads can affect click-through rates in social networks. We propose a formal model for social ads in the context of display advertising. In our model, ads are shown to users one after the other. The probability of a user clicking an ad depends on the users who have clicked this ad so far. This information is presented to users as a social cue, thus the click probability is a function of this cue. We introduce the social display optimization problem: suppose an advertiser has a contract with a publisher for showing some number (say B) impressions of an ad. What strategy should the publisher use to show these ads so as to maximize the expected number of clicks? We show hardness results for this problem and in light of the general hardness results, we develop heuristic algorithms and compare them to natural baseline ones. We then study distributed content curation on the Web. In recent years readers have turned to the social web to consume content. In other words, they rely on their social network to curate content for them as opposed to the more traditional way of relying on news editors for this purpose -- this is an implicit consequence of social influence as well. We study how efficient this is for users with limited budgets of attention. We model distributed content curation as a reader-publisher game and show various results. Our results imply that in the complete information setting, when publishers maximize their utility selfishly, distributed content curation reaches an equilibrium which is efficient, that is, the social welfare is a constant factor of that under an optimal centralized curation. Next, we initiate the study of an exchange market problem without money that is a natural generalization of the well-studied kidney exchange problem. From the practical point of view, the problem is motivated by barter websites on the Internet, e.g., swap.com, and u-exchange.com. In this problem, the users of the social network wish to exchange items with each other. A mechanism specifies for each user a set of items that she gives away, and a set of items that she receives. Consider a set of agents where each agent has some items to offer, and wishes to receive some items from other agents. Each agent would like to receive as many items as possible from the items that she wishes, that is, her utility is equal to the number of items that she receives and wishes. However, she will have a large dis-utility if she gives away more items than what she receives, because she considers such a trade to be unfair. To ensure voluntary participation (also known as individual rationality), we require the mechanism to avoid this. We consider different variants of this problem: with and without a constraint on the length of the exchange cycles and show different results including their truthfulness and individual rationality. In the other main component of this thesis, we study and characterize two other social phenomena: 1. friends vs. the crowd and 2. altruism vs. reciprocity in social networks. More specifically, we study how a social network user's actions are influenced by her friends vs. the crowd's opinion. For example, in social rating websites where both ratings from friends and average ratings from everyone is available, we study how similar one's ratings are to each other. In the next part, we aim to analyze the motivations behind users' actions on online social media over an extended period of time. We look specifically at users' likes, comments and favorite markings on their friends' posts and photos. Most theories of why people exhibit prosocial behavior isolate two distinct motivations: Altruism and reciprocity. In our work, we focus on identifying the underlying motivations behind users' prosocial giving on social media. In particular, our goal is to identify if the motivation is altruism or reciprocity. For that purpose, we study two datasets of sequence of users' actions on social media: a dataset of wall posts by users of Facebook.com, and another dataset of favorite markings by users of Flickr.com. We study the sequence of users' actions in these datasets and provide several observations on patterns related to their prosocial giving behavior.