ROI is as popular an acronym in social media as OMG or LOL are in TXTING. No matter how much you believe in social media, the reality is that management needs to know, what’s the ROI of Tweets in “the” Twitter or Likes in “that” Facebook thing that all the kids are talking about? Kidding aside, the future of social media within your organization and the value your customers experience in their networks of relevance is in your hands. No…
Why I Don’t Like Your Brand on Facebook
Guest post by Andrew Blakeley. Follow him on Twitter (for exclusive deals and offers!) I recently undertook a simple Facebook experiment, inspired by a brief Monday morning rant from my boss: “This morning my yoghurt told me to find it on Facebook. It didn’t tell me why, it just told me to find it. Why on Earth would I want to find a yoghurt on Facebook? It’s a yoghurt!” He was right, of course. As social networks slowly become the…
The Bank of Facebook: How will Facebook interact in the global economy?
What follows is a guest post by Venessa Miemis…I’ve asked her to share insights from a developing research project she’s currently leading, The Future of Facebook Project. I recently took part in the project as I believe this discussion is more relevant than we currently imagine. There has been much speculation recently about the role Facebook Credits could play in becoming a global virtual currency, and even the possibility of Facebook becoming a bank. In many ways, it already is…
Malcolm Gladwell, Your Slip is Showing
Solidarity Time is always limited, but in these historic times, I wished to add perspective in the hopes of moving this important conversation in a productive direction. Malcolm Gladwell continues his march toward dissension with his latest installment in the New Yorker about social media vs. social activism. Honestly, Gladwell is more than welcome to share his thoughts as it is a democratized information economy after all. I do find it alarming however, that he is wielding his influence through…
New Media and the Future of Business
I was recently interviewed by Israel’s BuzzInNews about new media and business. The conversation was translated from Hebrew to English, to share with you here as well. The discussion explores the evolution of social media in business from attention economics to B2B to ROI and concluding with a discussion of the brewing cold war between Google and Facebook. As an expert on New Media, could you provide an insight to what the difference is between New Media and Social Media?…
Best of 2010: Getting to Know Your Friends, Fans and Followers
In 2010, we were introduced to the important distinctions between monitoring and listening. At the same time, we observed an emerging dichotomy between the social graph (your personal and professional connections) and the interest graph (those who share common interests, goals, and concerns). For business strategists, publishers, and marketers, windows into the world of customers and influencers were finally jarred open to reveal the people who define online markets. In 2011, we will place greater emphasis on listening as a…
Best of 2010: We the People
There’s an old saying that I think about more and more as I study technology and its impact on behavior…technology changes, people don’t. But nowadays, I’m not so sure. I think technology is indeed changing and us along with it. Whether it’s through social networks or digital lifestyle products such as iPhones and Kindles, we are adapting and perhaps evolving as a result. Through social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare, we are learning to live our lives online,…
Introducing Your Friends, Fans and Followers
Social Media is among many things, our gateway to discovery and interconnection. While social networking may seem trivial, truth is that we get out of it what we put into it. But this goes beyond the time and energy we spend on day-to-day participation. Our investment in social media earns its largest dividends when intent and purpose meet personification and engagement. We are defined by what we share and who we know and in the world of business, media, and…
Google and the Rise of Facebook
In 2007 I said that Facebook would be the home page for your personal brand. Now it seems that Facebook is officially setting out to become your homepage period. The other day I logged into Facebook and noticed a new message at the top of the screen. I was presented with a simple way to make Facebook my homepage so that I could see “what’s happening with friends as soon as I opened my browser.” And, I’m not the only…
The First Amendment of Social Media: Freedom of Tweet
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of expression from government interference. While it is within our right to say what we think without fear of prosecution from our Government, freedom of expression in social networks however, is something altogether different. In the court of public opinion, your words can and will be used against you. But what works against us, also works for us. While the egosystem is seemingly rife with unintelligible chatter, it is, in and…
