I've been getting a lot of requests for friends on various social networks lately. You probably have been too - there seems to be an explosion of interest lately, particularly on Twitter.
I'm generally encouraged by this, as it means that the space is continuing to grow, rather than to wane like some short-lived fad. But at the same time, it can make life a little more complex or cluttered if you're not ready to deal with it.
As such, I thought this might be a good time for me to share how I think about my social networks and how I consider friend requests in each. I've linked to my profile in each, if you'd care to connect with me on them.
Facebook
Ah, Facebook. One of the most visible and recognized brands in the social networking space, where "friend" is a verb. For me, Facebook is a combination of business and social contacts.
I'll immediately accept a friendship request if I know you or follow you on another network. But that's not to say I'm exclusive in my friending. If we don't know each other, just introduce yourself and - most importantly - give me some context as to how you know me.
LinkedIn
I use LinkedIn as my professional social network. Like the old three-ring binders of business cards that I kept, LinkedIn is my real-time virtual collection of business cards.
As you can imagine, my requirements for LinkedIn are a bit more stringent. If you'd like to connect with me on LinkedIn, we should have met or at least have had some meaningful interaction. I'll also accept introductions via people I know.
Twitter
Twitter is probably the loosest of all of my networks. I generally like connecting with more people there because I enjoy the exchange of ideas, links and quick personal interaction that it allows.
While there are some people who add absolutely everyone back, I can't keep up with the pace and consider some of them spammy. Since there have been a good number of new followers, I'm having trouble adding some back. If you follow me and I haven't followed you back, don't take it personally. Just get my attention by sending me an "@" message and I'll be sure to add you back. It's as simple as that.
I hope this post was a helpful insight about how I consider friend requests in each network. I'd be interested to know how you handle your own connections on your various social networks. Please leave a comment and educate me.
Image courtesy of coldtaxi
Saturday, May 03, 2008
How I Think About My Social Networks
Saturday, April 19, 2008
My Social Media Birthday
A number of bloggers write entries about the anniversary of their blogs, or note some milestone achievement. But this post is a little different. Keeping in what I suppose you've come to know me for, this is more personal.
Yesterday was my birthday. Now, I'm not someone who makes a big deal out of his day (a former colleague used to celebrate his "birthday month," to stretch out the fun), but I'm not one to shy away from admitting when I have one, either.
But this year, I have more of a reason to celebrate. It's because of you - my community, my social network. This is the first birthday I've had since I've truly been an active and recognized member of the social media field, so when I have my birthday listed on my Facebook profile, it should have been no surprise that many people would come out of the woodwork to wish me a happy birthday via Twitter, Facebook, emails and direct messages.
I tried to respond to everyone personally, but it was tough to keep up with. I apologize if I missed you. But I'd like to publicly thank everyone here by pulling an Amanda Gravel - a very savvy and community-minded acknowledgment that you mean a great deal to me and that you should try to connect to each other, if you aren't already connected.
To wit, here are the Twitter handles of everyone who reached out to me today. Start following!
Thanks to: @ldpodcast, @DougH, @jljohansen, @gradontripp, @SavvyAuntie, @charlierobinson, @kolsen29, @arunrajagopal, @ModaMags, @Pistachio, @adelemcalear, @WasatchGirl, @jackhodgson, @MaThurrell, @davidberkowitz, @Armano, @jaffejuice, @MattDickman, @KyleFlaherty, @jtnt, @EdenSpodek, @asimpson, @pamelump, @kimhaynes, @KristaNeher, @danieljohnsonjr, @ChrisShouse, @swhitley, @melgallant, @krislynch, @nathantwright, @shey, @kristiewells, @saulcolt, @JasonFalls, @eileen53, @jackvinson, @tarable, @SheilaS, @changstein, @Kristin_Gorski, @lizstrauss, @jstorerj, @susanreynolds, @darrylohrt, @Exsec2u, @hardaway, @nickhuhn, @mousewords, @chrisbrogan, @sMoRTY71, @TobyDiva, @GeoffLiving, @mdy, @BeckyMcCray, @TDefren, @gracepiano, @BryanPerson, @jjtoothman, @sass, @Dayngr, @CathleenRitt, @misterboh, @drewmclellan, @jeffglasson, @danschawbel, @BrianReich, @davedelaney, @davidjhinson, @alvinfoo
Thank you all for making it a truly happy birthday!
Photo courtesy of LaughingSquid
Friday, January 25, 2008
Facebook in 40 Years
I know there are lots of folks who are getting fed up with Facebook and all of the unwanted notifications, applications, etc. that are coming through. Will it stand the test of time? If it does, here's what Facebook will look like in 40 years.
This was just too funny to pass up. Enjoy some Friday Fun.
Click image to enlargeFrom John Cow via Angela Penny on Twitter.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Facebook's Beacon Gets a Little Brighter
Modest doubt is call’d
The beacon of the wise, the tent that searches
To the bottom of the worst.- William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, Act ii Sc. 2
If you've missed the whole Facebook Beacon dustup, here's a quick recap of what went wrong. Boiled down, it goes like this: the new program Facebook is running shows the details in your news stream of your purchases with any of the 22 or so Facebook partners who are part of the Beacon program (Overstock.com, Fandango, Zappos, etc.), so your Facebook network knows what you've been doing.Kind of creepy, right? Well, the public first reacted with modest doubt, then became vehement over what can only be described as a huge lapse in judgment by Facebook. At first, Facebook gave only passing mention that your details would be shown, then the gradually released more information - but the problem was, there was no way to opt out (or in, for that matter).
To their credit, Facebook has listened.
The New York Times did a great job illustrating the Evolution of Facebook's Beacon. Visually, the evolution looks like this:
The latest update is that the two-day deadline on replying is gone. Now, if you don't respond, you're assumed to have opted out. But this is not a blanket opt-out, just an opt out on a particular transaction.Update: Facebook has changed the requirements so that you can opt in or out of each partner program. Hat-tip to Jeremiah for that one.
Is this enough? Has Facebook saved itself with this evolution, or do they need to go further? I'd argue that they at least need to do a little more research or bring someone on board who understands the user experience when designing notifications. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Social Media Takeaways #3
This is a busy week - coming off of the great Boston Web Community dinner, courtesy of EMC, where I got to see some of my favorite new media folks (Jeremiah Owyang, Chris Brogan, Laura Fitton, John Wall, Sarah Wurrey, Steve Garfield, Dan Schawbel, Peter Kim, Yianni Garcia, Julia Roy) and meet new ones (Jeff Glasson, Christine Perkett, Amanda Gravel). In addition, I'm gearing up for PodCamp Boston 2, where I'll be speaking.
But that doesn't mean there wasn't still a bit of time for a few Social Media Takeaways:
My Apple Is a Lemon
No, this isn't David Armano's way of trying to score some free bling for his blog (like some other people we know). It turns out this is David's 2nd Macbook Pro that's given him inexplicable trouble, so he decided to write about it.
- SMT: Uh-oh. Apple should be concerned. First they fired 800 employees for taking a $100 voucher on their free iPhones, now they've got a prominent blogger who's pissed off. I hope they're listening. But I like what Matt Dickman had to say on twitter: @Armano: I bet Dell responds before Apple does ;-)
It's not a good week to be a customer. Seth Godin and the Ad-Vocate both opine that the customer is not always right and call for certain customers to be fired. I like Seth's rejoinder to the phrase "the customer's always right": when they're wrong, they're not your customer any more.
- SMT: Listen up. Get to know your customers well, through whatever space they inhabit. Find out what they're saying about you and join the conversation if you can. But realize when you'll never convert them and know when to let go.
Fa¢ebook
At this point, Facebook is steering clear of Google and instead opting for the cold hard cash from our friends at Micro$oft - a cool $278 million, to be exact. This amount, a 1.6% stake in Facebook, entitles the software behemoth to be the exclusive U.S. and international advertiser with the social network through 2011.
- SMT: A $15 billion valuation for Facebook? What-ever. If the ad revenue can continue to stream in - and with Facebook's ability to target different demographics, it's an attractive site for advertisers - then perhaps it's not totaly off-base. But with today's fickle youth, I wonder if Facebook isn't going to be old school before 2008 is out. The only hope is continuing to get the more mature generations involved. And I wouldn't rule out additional funding for Facebook from other sources...
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Life After Life After the 30-Second Spot
A couple of weeks ago, I was in New York to participate in a press conference for Firebrand, one of our clients at crayon.
I'm not going to spend a lot of time talking about the features of Firebrand, as they've been covered by Joe and Greg, among others. Before I tell you about the event, here's a thumbnail sketch of Firebrand. Essentially, Firebrand offers Web, TV and mobile viewing of top-notch television commercials, but with a twist that sets it apart from other online video properties: they're all-commercials, all the time; and the site allows you to actually participate in contests, giveaways and offers from the very brands that you're watching.
While it may seem counterintuitive that crayon, the company whose founder bemoans the tired old 30-second spot, was involved, there was a method to our madness. You see, in this case, the ads are not interruptions of the feature program: they are the feature program. Commercials as content. And we can support entertainment and engagement.
Now let me tell you a little bit about the event itself.
Firebrand planned a press conference for September 25, during Advertising Week - perfect timing, as lots of industry people would be in town and journalists would be in the mood to talk about marketing & advertising. Held at the Paley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television and Radio), it was the perfect spot for debuting a brand that is multimedia in nature.
In addition to a nod to the past and present, Firebrand also looked to the future, by virtue of the invitation list. There were probably about 75 people in attendance in the hall - mostly traditional journalists - and I was impressed with the turnout. But here's the interesting part: I was one of a handful of bloggers who were there as well (many more were invited, but unable to attend). When you consider that Firebrand's target audience is Millennials, having the news break on blogs is a natural move.
The bloggers - who were treated the same as the traditional press - were given press kits, including glossies and a traditional press release, as well as links to the social media news release for the event. The SMNR had links to pages on YouTube, Flickr and del.icio.us and even a Facebook group. Based on what I've seen from some prominent bloggers, the SMNR was widely used, as video links and quotes continue to pop up everywhere. And the Facebook group has already garnered over 500 members.
All this, and the site doesn't even go live until October 22! Not bad. Stay tuned for the beta release...
Friday, October 05, 2007
New Feature: Social Media Takeaways
I get a lot of industry news in my RSS reader and my inbox. You probably do, too. Typically I parse through it with a eye for what would be interesting to share with you here.
Lately, there have been some great examples of Top 10 or Top 5 lists of what's going on in social media, which I'm enjoying following.
But rather than acting as an aggregator, my goal in posting newsy tidbits is to give you a bit of commentary and perspective on each item as it relates to social media, marketing, PR and advertising. I call them Social Media Takeaways (SMT). I hope you'll find it helpful.
Online Advertising Up 27%
According the IAB and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, $10 billion was spent in the first 6 months of the year. Making up 41% of this was search, which is an increase over last year (via Just an Online Minute)
- SMT: With search becoming increasingly important, now's the time to consider how a corporate blog might fit into your search strategy. With timely and relevant posts, your content is indexed and searched so that additional traffic can be brought to your company's site. Blogging is a natural for SEO.
The MySpace Crowd Migrates to Facebook
ComScore notes that Facebook attracted 69.3 million users in August, 33% more than in June. Visitors to MySpace declined 7.4% to 105.7 million. There are a number of reasons for the defection to Facebook, including more privacy, more functionality, less spam (you get bacn instead) and a cleaner look (via Bloomberg)
- SMT: While there is a huge influx in Facebook traffic and we're seeing a boom in the resulting business uses of Facebook, don't count MySpace out yet. Steve Ballmer may think Facebook is just a fad, but you need to assess your marketing goals against where your audience is. And if they like sharing music on MySpace, then MySpace is still relevant for them. The bottom line is you should be aware of trends, demographics and new developments to make the most of them.
And that's all for this installment of Social Media Takeaways. What do you think of this new feature? Should I continue it? Do you have any news or insights that you can share from the past week?
