Read this and
watch this:
Part One
Facebook is huge. How far did you think it would go when it was first created?
Part 2
Bebo CarDomain Facebook MySpace Flickr LinkedIn Friendster IMVU Ruckus Yelp Virb
All social networking sites, of different types naturally. I, personally, don’t have any need for this many different social networks. My uses of SNsites are primarily: business, music, and college. I assign one site to each of my uses. The reason I do this is because I feel that a site which focuses on a particular niche is much better at informing me of what I want to know in that niche. It is never good in any situation for one to spread themselves over many networks, in effect thinning their usability.
A recently promoted social networking site, Virb, which I was made aware of while perusing a piece by Brian Oberkirch, [His article really inspired this entire post, Cheers Brian!] combines opinion, pictures, as well as music into their platform. In effect putting the uses of Flickr, Last.FM, and Facebook into one unique platform. The only target worthwhile for them would be the newest generation of internet users. This is so because most of today’s internet users are already on a couple social networks where all of their friends frequent and of which are relevant to their interests. Why would I move over to Virb from my 4 main SNsites when everyone I know and care about are on the 4 main SNsites? It is not logistically sound to move myself and all of my acquaintences over to a new portal.
I wonder, How many people are willing to switch their networks? It is similar to getting a haircut, generally once you find someone who takes good care of your hair you stick with them. My 4 SNsites take good care of my social networking needs and I will stick with them. There are those sites however which have taken a seat on the back burner to make way for the mainstreamers MySpace and Facebook. These back burner sites, LiveJournal- Xanga-, were beginners in the social networking realm but were put away because of a younger generation of users’ grapple of new media. What is it about MySpace and Facebook that were so revolutionary? EASY! Their platform integrated ways to display and SHARE information.
People love to display themselves. They love to show off. Hence, the "MySpace TOP 8" and "MySpace pics". People love to share items with their friends, coworkers, and even strangers. "Facebook’s View Friends" feature, "Facebook’s Share a Link" feature, as well as many more. These networking sites saw a solution and optimized it for usability. What more can be optimized? Optimization will come. Soon enough MySpace and Facebook will become extinct as a result of technology advancements. Look at the Apple TV, a new piece of technology which some think will revolutionize the way we watch television. Instead of waiting for programs to come on or instead of recording them via DVR, we can browse iTunes and other Apple compatible outlets for the shows/movies we want to see. I expect soon enough an advance in networking usability. I do wonder what it could/will be.
When I think about the content of our economy today, I think of Neverland- Peter Pan and TinkerBell flying through the air. I know, it is quite a far out thought but bear with me here. Neverland, a world created by the imagination and ideas of children, is all too similar to where our world is heading.
I am referring to how we make money, how we develop business, how we meet with each other, how we get work done, how we buy music, how we learn, how we communicate, how we live. Yes, that’s right. Virtually. Intuitively. Imaginatively. A world built on imagination where the exchange of ideas is completely and utterly virtual. How cool is that? Interestingly enough, our entire idea of time and space has "been given a run for its money". We can be anywhere and everywhere in mere milliseconds. Science-fiction is becoming more and more reality. Take a look at Star Trek, communication via video and audio displayed on a screen. Teleportation to distances far reaching, i.e. conference calls, virtual business, etc. Now look at Star Wars, communication via holographic projections which are slowly making their way into our world beginning with projection TV’s [now a display of the past] and moving onto 3D projection.
The onset of social media as a prime conduit for the transfer of ideas intensifies innovation. As time and space become things of the past, I would argue that reality is no longer a graspable concept. What is real? What constitutes something being real? Is it merely a physical presence? An observable action? Space is no longer a relevant idea now that I can sit at home in New York, talk with a friend in California, all while completing a job in Ohio. Time is becoming more irrelevant as standing on line for tickets has gone out the window. Christmas shopping hell is now a breeze through paradise. What more need do we have for time? We have all the time in the world to get things done. Time is exponentially reduced each and every day. What is artificial? What is real? Potentially, nothing.
I love this episode of The Simpsons! One of my favorites.
Ok all. That is my other worldly post of the month. I have loved science fiction my entire life. While letting my mind wander during my lunch break at school today, I looked up old sci-fi stories and current science and tech articles. Sparks began to fly in my head as the neurons bounced off of each other in a bevy of realization and thought. We all need to let go of reality sometimes. Music is my outflow. Try it. Check out my LastFM weekly favorites.
We crabs in a barrel, you ain’t gettin out until I do first
And that’s why the guns burst
Whatever happened to strenght in numbers?
Some of the greatest minds on the planet are among us
But so many start on strugglin’ and never get saved
Man, Martin must be turnin’ in his grave
Like remind my soul – Akrobatik, Remind My Soul
"Some of the greatest minds on the planet are among us" So true. So very true.
The struggle for power is still ripe in many people. They yearn for the almighty dollar and would do almost anything to attain it. It is true that because of the struggle for power, violence towards other humans was born. Before the notion of violence was ever thought of, we used weapons to hunt for food to sustain our livelihood. Weapons were a tool for living, not a tool for killing. Akrobatik captures this in his inspirational lyrics, the pursuit of peace was lost as an agenda. Taking it back is key. Now with knowledge and community as the forefront of this battle. He says, "Martin must be turnin’ in his grave". Alluding to the peace keeper who tragically departed from this world before his vision was fully realized.
The community is here. We are gathering together, sharing information and ideas on a global scale. The key is in the content. Now that content is being generated by more and more people we can see a multitude of minds coming together to foster knowledge and progress. Blogging is the latest realization of this. Blogging is uniting the greatest thinkers in the world underneath their own unique umbrellas. Each niche is breaking the boundaries between the professional and the layman. Status is taking a bow and making way for content.
I am glad and fortunate to be able to share my ideas and notions with the world. What with the internet being such a perversely global agenda, we can decide its future as well as our own.
Marketing campaigns are never-ever going to be fully effective. That is why many marketers constantly look to that which can optimize their campaign. There are also any number of methods and techniques and areas to focus on.
The customer comes first! Many a department store have adopted this slogan. Are they really helping themselves by telling the customer that they are the most important aspect of the selling and buying process? I think not! The customer already knows that they are in your store to buy something, otherwise they wouldn’t be there. However, a huge population have adopted the online shopping experience as their primary buying medium. My former boss and I were talking about Christmas and birthday shopping for our families. He came right out and said that he does all of his shopping online. One reason he said was so that he didn’t have to deal with the shopping environment, i.e. weather and other shoppers. The next reason was that he could get all the gifts by surfing to different websites rather than going store to store trying to find the perfect gift. Is he lazy? Maybe. Or is he being a smart shopper just like millions of other consumers? 
image courtesy of Timeinc.net
If we, as marketers, are to focus on customers as primary in our campaigns we would see an unpredictable rise and fall in our numbers because of the diversity of customers. Why don’t we let the customers help us out? Focus on those that talk. The Ravers. George Silverman hits the nail right on the head in identifying that primary group, ravers, which will spread our message like wildfire among their friends. And we all know that friends value the opinions of their friends over anything a fully knowledgeable company will say about itself. The ravers are able to liven up our sales.
Next type of person, the Expert. Those who are experts in a given genre. The car-guy, the handbag-girl, the computer guru. These people will be the first to buy up your products and give them a whirl. If you treat these people with the utmost respect and maybe even go out on a limb for them, you could expect huge ROI. Their friends know they are the knowledgeable one and will value the experts opinion. Because, well, they are the EXPERT.
So, ravers– experts– and finally those that are Connectors. A person who has their nose in many, many, many circles of friends. These people KNOW people. A connector may have hundreds, thousands in their network. The connector crosses platforms and spans oceans of types of people. I guess they are similar to the raver. But, I would argue that a raver sticks to their circle while a connector breeches circles, squares, and octagons of people. Finding these people are key to making a brand global in the sense that all types of people would enjoy it depending on their situation.
This 3-person method is explored in depth within Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point