There’s a saying, “technology changes, people don’t.” Yet, when we consider the impact of technology on our daily lives, some very interesting observations surface… A pen now feels awkward to hold and as such, our penmanship is deteriorating. It’s now common to sit at a dinner table with family and friends where some are actively communicating with others, listening to music or gaming via mobile devices. We are redefining the perception, boundaries and thresholds for privacy as we once knew…
REPORT: Facebook and the New Age of Privacy
It’s said that opposites attract. However, in social media, it’s quite the opposite. The idea of privacy and publicity are in fact at odds with one another. And at the heart of the matter, one social network is caught in the crossfire of sharing information and TMI (too much information). The line that separates privacy and openness remains undefined as it continues to shift as individuals learn important life lessons about the benefits and risks of living in public. As…
Video: From Social Graphs to Interest Graphs
In the next installment of discussions exploring the state and future of social media, Chris Beck, founder of 26dottwo (@26dottwo) and I review how relationships online are evolving from social networks to social “nicheworks” or contextual networks. In social media, how we connect with one another reflects our interests as well as our contacts. We’re adapting our definition of relationships to now also include a new, thinner layer of “relations” in order to refine our online experience as well as…
Influencing the Influencer
The competition for attention is focused on social networks as brands vie for awareness and consideration. Establishing a presence in Facebook and Twitter is as necessary as it is trivial. In the great social land grab, many organizations are missing true opportunities to connect with the fifth P of the marketing mix, people. It’s less about communicating with those individuals who are already following you online and more about those who aren’t. To excel in social media, engagement has its…
Tweet This! Twitter Pushes Its Own Button
It’s no longer a matter of answering the micro riddle, “to tweet or not to tweet.” Twitter helps you simply Tweet everything that moves you. While this capability has existed through third-party services over the years, Twitter is rolling out a dedicated function to harness the power of the “interest graphs” that you weave. Not only can you share links with those who follow you, Twitter is extending its “Suggestions for You” feature to assist in the curation of your…
Please Repeat: Influence is not Popularity
…and popularity is not influence. In social media, influence has taken center stage. With the spotlight perfectly fixed on the “me” in social media, a large shadow is now cast over the “we” that defines the social web. As individuals begin to realize the possibilities and benefits that surface as a result of building connected social graphs, a very public exploration to find the balance between influence and popularity unfolds. What’s clear in this chapter of the ever-evolving Web is…
Influence is Bliss: The Gender Divide of Influence on Twitter
Influence is a controversial topic and its measurement and definition are increasingly scrutinized as social media democratizes one’s ability to earn stature and prominence in new online societies. There’s a clear delineation between influence and popularity and it’s important to understand that in social networks, influence is not derived by the quantity of followers, friends, clicks, or “likes.” Nor is it discernible by the frequency of which one participates in their respective communities. While these serve as indicators of influence,…
Email Marketing Goes Social: Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook
Email, we love to hate it, yet we hate to love it. For better or for worse, we are tethered to our inbox and continue to send messages and respond to those individuals and organizations to which we’re tied or vested. Over the years, I’ve labeled email as the world’s largest untapped social network and even though many services attempted to socialize the inbox over the years, email, for the large part, remains regressive. For the time being, brands and…
Twitter Helps You Expand Your Social Nicheworks
Social networks are propelled by the connections, conversations, and gestures between active netizens. The success and vitality of each network is rooted in its capacity to expand social graphs and nurture communication and shared experiences. As such, Twitter announced a new feature to help you discover who to follow. The new “Suggestions for You” service is simple, but powerful. It not only introduces you to like-minded people, it empowers you to more effectively curate your connections and as such, your…
Facebook Connects 500 Million People: Defines a New Era of Digital Society
On July 22nd 2010, Facebook officially announced that it had surpassed 500 million users around the world. This significant achievement represents a significant milestone for Zuckerberg and Co. as well as for social networking and more importantly for global societies overall. To celebrate this achievement, Facebook released Facebook Stories, a new service to spotlight user stories from around the world and the impact Facebook has had on their lives. In Mark Zuckerberg’s words, “We’re launching a new application called Facebook…
