The Social Web is maturing at a blurring pace, packing thousands of years of behavioral and social evolution into the span of ten years or less. Social Media has amplified our individual voices and introduced an infrastructure that connects us contextually across a myriad of social networks. We’re conditioned to participate and engage genuinely and transparently in order to foster meaningful conversations and ultimately relationships.
Twitter continues to defy all those who question its relevance. Exploding from 6 million visitors at the beginning of the year, ComScore released its latest numbers that portray an almost vertical ascent through the end of February 2009, hitting an astonishing 10 million worldwide.
Last year, Stowe Boyd and I, in development with Christopher Peri, introduced MicroPR, an online service for Twitter that connects reporters, bloggers, event organizers, authors, among others, to PR representatives when they need help sourcing content or connecting with experts in Twitter time. To date, MicroPR is followed by over 5,000 communications and marketing professionals.
MicroPR extends a tweet beyond the existing followers of the person asking for help to include those following the decicated PR channel. It amplifies the Tweet to improve the quality of responses.
It’s not news that newspaper revenue derived from advertising and subscriptions is rapidly eroding. While Madison Avenue worries about the recession and its impact on advertising in general, numbers recently published by the Newspaper Association of America indicate online advertising only continues to rise.
Perhaps most interesting is the impending intersection between the decline of a 200 year old institution and a new medium competing for the same precious ad dollars for only the last 15 years. According to this chart, the collision could occur as soon as the end of next year.
My good friend, Frank Gruber is one of the hardest working bloggers and new media professionals I know. By day, he’s a product strategist for AOL in the social networking group. His focus is on lifestreaming products, including AIM, Bebo and SocialThing. Frank Gruber is also a well known blogger focused on sharing his Web product expertise and analysis on Web 2.0, social media and emerging technologies in articles and videos online.
I recently visited the gorgeous San Francisco offices of Loic Le Meur and Seesmic to discuss his company’s roadmap, photography, how to build online communities, as well as my new book with Deirdre Breakenridge ,”Putting the Public Back in Public Relations.”
Loic suggested that we spend a few minutes discussing the book on camera to share with the Loic.tv community. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse – after all, Tim Ferriss had occupied the same chair moments before I arrived.
Part Two of my recent visit to the gorgeous San Francisco offices of Loic Le Meur and Seesmic.
Loic and I spent some valuable time together that proved both refreshing and invigorating. We discussed digital photography, innovation at Seesmic, public relations and social marketing, and brand building in the era of the Social Web.
The conversation evolved into a deeper discussion that tackled the subject of online community building. Loic wanted to capture and share the experience on Loic.tv, so we moved to his video studio to continue the dialogue on camera.
The Conversation Prism by Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas
The Conversation Prism debuted in August 2008 to provide a visual representation of the true expansiveness of the Social Web and the conversations that define it. In this short time span, over one million people have crossed its path.
When Jesse Thomas of JESS3 and I initially mapped “the conversation,” we recognized that the act of categorizing social networks within a visually rich graphic would be momentary at best, demanding endless iterations in order to accurately document evolving and shifting online conversations as well as the communities that promote them.
Paul Gillin at Blogworld Expo
I’ve rigorously followed Paul Gillin over the years. Gillin is a long-time technology journalist who’s worked almost exclusively online since 1999. He was founding editor-in-chief of TechTarget, which was one of the most successful new media entities to debut on the Web. Before that, he served as editor-in-chief and executive editor of the technology weekly Computerworld for 15 years. In 2007, Gillin released The New Influencers and in 2008 he released Secrets of Social Media Marketing.
Special thanks to Adam Singer for this inspirational slideshow, “Inspirational Quotes Remixed.”
Adam included a quote from my post, “The Social Revolution is Our Industrial Revolution…”
Evolution is evolution – and it’s happened before us and will continue after we’re gone. But, what’s taking place now is much more than change for the sake of change. The socialization of content creation, consumption and participation, is hastening the metamorphosis that transforms everyday people into participants of a powerful and valuable media literate society.
Brian Solis is principal at Altimeter Group, a research firm focused on disruptive technology. A digital analyst, sociologist, and futurist, Solis has studied and influenced the effects of emerging technology on business, marketing, and culture. Solis is also globally recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders and published authors in new media. His new book, What's the Future of Business (WTF), explores the landscape of connected consumerism and how business and customer relationships unfold and flourish in four distinct moments of truth. His previous book, The End of Business as Usual, explores the emergence of Generation-C, a new generation of customers and employees and how businesses must adapt to reach them. Prior to End of Business, Solis released Engage, which is regarded as the industry reference guide for businesses to market, sell and service in the social web.
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