Will you be my Facebook "friend?"

Facebook is not about nurturing friendships and connecting with people.

Facebook is about me.

Sure, people use it to stay in touch with friends, but it is actually just a socially acceptable venue to grandstand about ourselves and feed our precious egos. We boast our accomplishments, showcase our hobbies and interests, and make sure everyone knows what's on our minds at any given moment.

And the more "friends" we have, the better! Not because it means we are so lucky to have all these wonderful people in our lives, but rather because it means we have more people who are willing to listen to us talk about ourselves! And of course we all know, the higher our friend count, the more inherently awesome we really are. It doesn't matter if we actually know or like all those people. Of course, we all do these things to varying degrees, but you can't deny the underlying fact that we use Facebook to make ourselves feel good about being "me."

So what are the ramifications of this for companies who are using social media tools like Facebook in their marketing strategies?

The Economist published an article about conversational marketing and whether websites like Facebook and MySpace were going to change the world of advertising. The article mostly talks about how word of mouth advertising and the concept of marketers engaging in the conversations of their consumer are NOT new ideas. Instead, the article indicates that these strategies have been around for a very long time, but the internet has made them more powerful than ever.

What I found most interesting was a comment credited to Paul Martino, the creator of Tribe. He said that the quality of the connections made on soical networking sites is quite low. So markters who think they are utilizing these tools to spread conversational or word of mouth advertising might be in for a surprise.

I know that I have a lot of "friends" on Facebook that I don't have much of a connection to, but I accepted the request because (1) I didn't want to make the person feel bad and (2) it boosted my friend total, thus making me look more popular and feel better about myself! But when it comes down to it, there is no real connection, and I usually wind up ignoring or blocking any feeds associated with those type of people.

So my network is actually much less powerful than it appears. If corporations are expending resources to exploit our social networks, their ROI is bound to be less than they were expecting. The Economist called these networks "visual clutter about the banal doings of increasingly random people."

Time will tell, but this is defiantly something marketers should keep in mind when developing social networking advertising strategies.

btw... are we friends on Facebook yet??

It takes a village... or does it?

"Crowd Surfing" -not to be confused with "Crowdsourcing"

My high school volleyball coach used to always say, "It takes a village to win a volleyball match." (His funny way of saying we have to work as a team to succeed). The idea that collaborative efforts yield superior results is widely accepted. So why is everyone getting so upset about this idea of crowdsourcing?

The issue comes down to semantics. "Crowdsourcing" implicates that a large, overarching group is responsible for a new idea or innovation. Studies have shown, however, that while many people are blanketed in crowdsourcing, only the obsessed, vigilant experts are making meaningful contributions. The word "crowd" doesn't seem to give these experts due credit.

Are we splitting hairs here? I don't think so.

Semantics is such an important aspect of language that is commonly overlooked. So often, we use words that almost communicate what we want, and we are too lazy or complacent to come up with the best. In the end, we wind up with a weakened language and poor communication skills. Sounds pretty inefficient to me.

If "crowdsourceing" is inappropriate, then what term should we use? "Virtuoso Search" has been thrown out there by Forbes.com writer Dan Woods. I am not sure how I feel about that phrase, but it is certainly more descriptive than "crowdsourcing."

We are still in the early stages of the social media phenomenon. Now is the time to get the terminology straight. Otherwise, overtime, the social media/networking language will be twisted, confused and weak. We have enough to learn about this frontier, lets not make it more difficult by misusing words.


For more information:
NPR Adam Davidson
Open Innovation

Forbes Dan Woods
Myth of Crowdsourcing

Formal structure to informal networks?

I never thought I could read several contemporary articles about social networks and never come across the word "Facebook."

I have been proven wrong once again.

Social networks, otherwise refereed to as informal networks, are complex, integrated organizations. When thinking about social networks, often the thoughts that come to mind are far from academic. Rather, we think about dueling our long lost friends in a game of Mophia Wars, or showing off our personalities by posting our favorite musical artists.

Despite our casual perception of these networks, social networks are structured, measurable, and can be manipulated and rated from effective to destructive. Facebook, Twitter, and all of the other social networking sites we are so familiar with today are simply tools that enable our informal networks to thrive. They do not define social networking, but rather facilitate it.

According to authors like Rob Cross, Laurence Prusak, and Andrew Parker, businesses who are committed to improving their inherent social networks are much more successful than those who ignor them, or think they already have a good understanding of those networks without formally studying them. Ironically, many companies are now banning various social networking tools for fear that they are being used to spread negative information, or at best, are distractions from the real work that needs to be done.

Although these authors do not reference these tools specifically, they do claim that trying to snuff out social networking would be a terrible mistake. After all, two heads are better than one. And when those two heads come together in an organic way, where each one is utilized for what it does best, business runs better.

So how do managers and business owners make sure that their employees' are utilizing and strengthening their social networks for the overall good of the company? It is not easy, but like anything that matters, it takes a lot of consideration and work. Networks must be nourished, but not forced. Pivotal, influential people at the center of social networks often need to take on less responsibility, contrary to what seems intuitive. Team building efforts need to be a priority, and despite high levels of productivity amongst teams that work well together, long-term growth will require those teams to be shaken up from time to time.

It is fascinating how something like a social network, that seems so informal and fluid, actually has a very strong structure, and can be analyzed and improved upon. We seem to focus on the surface of social networking, but it seems that with a more in depth understanding, we can benefit much more from the phenomenon, especially in the business world.

For more information on how to improve social networks in your business, check out these articles:
"The People Who Make Organizations Go- or Stop"
"Six Myths About Informal Networks and How to Overcome Them"

Blogging Baby

Hello readers! So you are interested in learning how to blog. Me too. There is a great deal to learn, and it can be overwhelming. I feel like a baby learning to walk.

I am lucky enough to be in a class where I will be navigating the deep waters with classmates and my professor. If you are one of my classmates reading this post, good luck this semester- it is going to be a fun one! If you fell upon this blog on your own, thanks for reading and please take advantage of this opportunity to learn with us. Social media is all about making connections, so don't take this journey alone... join us!

Day 1: Create your blog! We are using blogger.com, but there are many options. Don't be shy, just do it. For a very long time, I have been contemplating the idea of creating my own blog to reach out to those interested in beauty and fashion. Up until now, I have chickened out because I was afraid of the commitment, and terrified that no one would care or read my posts. This class has inspired me to take the plunge, and I encourage you to do the same. It doesn't take much to get started, and once you have, the world is your oyster, and believe it or not, there will be people out there who will read what you have to say. Do it. Now. You are already online, aren't you??

If you are still not ready to get started, follow this blog, and you will see my progress. Trust me, I know nothing right now. But I can promise you that this blog will only contain posts written by me, and will be a record of my first learning experience in blogging.

Have you recently stated blogging? Are you an expert? I would love to hear your stories either way. We can all learn from each other!