Social Networking
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, July 31st, 2007
I see long tails all over the place these days. Its probably something to do with the book The Long Tail by Chris Anderson that I finished reading a while ago. A long tail market is one where the diverse needs of every consumer are met regardless of what makes them tick. I got to thinking about social networking and what happens once it goes beyond the masses. Will there eventually be social networks for every possible interest and segment of the population? Why not? the technology is there to do it and likely the demand too. I decided to do some research….
First everyone flocked to Facebook and MySpace – these are the popular “hit” services today with millions joining and interacting daily but change is afoot. I began to notice long tail applications within MS and FB such as the facebook dog club a social network for pooches (that incedentaly has over 270,ooo users) then I began to receive invites from other social networking applications aimed at niche segments such as Melcrum the social network for communicators, O’jeez the social network for entrepreneurs , and Naymz for professionals. Looking on Wikipedia for a list of social network I found 90 in categories ranging from football to gothic industrial culture.
Social networking is the perfect application to reach long tail maturity rapidly and I predict that today’s 90 social network sites will grow quickly to encompass corporate networking requirements as well as the networking needs of individuals no matter how diverse.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, July 24th, 2007
There are many reasons to be cheerful right now, it’s summer in Vancouver the sun is out and all is well with this part of the world (we’ll it is if you don’t count the municipal strike). Reasons to be cheerful indeed but these aren’t enough to justify a serious blog article are they? My warm fuzzies are thanks to developments in technology and I see these improving business processes in the near future and making my life better in general:
1. There’s finally a real alternative to cable TV in the form of Joost. Joost is a new application that allows you to watch TV shows over the Internet (sign up to try out the beta if you can). Hopefully in the near future I will be able to watch what I want when I want without being bombarded with unwanted ads.
2. My pbwiki environment just got better – they’re incorporating spreadsheet capabilities not to mention voice and IM. We use wiki technology to map out and share processes internally and to track services provided so the easier it is to communicate in different media in one application, the more streamlined our business becomes, the better the service we provide.
3. For a while now its been driving me crazy that I have multiple different logins for every social network I track. Thankfully the Facebook people have recognised my pain and incorporated Twitter so that I can have a Twitter with my Facebook friends. Its nice to see the convergence of these Web 2.0 technologies and I am hoping there will be more integration in the coming months.
Reasons to be cheerful indeed – what a wonderful world!
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, June 25th, 2007
Every-time I read a newspaper these days there seems to be an article in there about Social Networking. Most of these talk about MySpace or Facebook in the personal context (keeping in touch with family, catching up with old friends etc) but few touch on the business implications of these new media technologies. I was pleased then to read last weeks post by One Degree – Move Over, Corporate Blogs – Make Way for Corporate Social Networks. The article discusses the collaborative aspects of these technologies and their business potential giving a great example from Specialised whose MySpace/Facebookesque page allows bikers to share stories/photos etc whilst further entrenching Specialised customer loyalty.
Social networking applications not only provide the opportunity for businesses to build loyalty, they also offer a great forum to attract new customers as witnessed in my recent lunch at Inifinity Dining here in Vancouver. I went to Infinity because the owner, Alex Rotherham, befriended me on MySpace and I was interested to find out more about their on-line efforts to develop business.
Alex told me that a whopping 75% of new business coming to the restaurant results from their on-line efforts and that they are using the MySpace application to really develop a true network of clients that they can promote events and new menus to. He found that Facebook didn’t offer the same functionality to truly reach the right network. Given that Alex, like any new proprietor, is operating on a shoestring – social networking has allowed him to easily spread the word with very little cash outlay.
“The key to MySpace marketing is having as many friends (in your targeted segment) as possible and that takes time”, said Alex in between greeting guests.
Every business new or established should seriously consider the value of social network and new media marketing not only because its more likely to hit the mark than traditional mass marketing efforts but it also costs less – way less.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, May 03rd, 2007
I’ve been exploring Second Life recently to find out if it really has any potential as a marketing vehicle and I have to say, I can’t fathom what all the fuss is about.
Firstly, it took a new computer to actually have the capacity required to run the damn thing and secondly even with a souped up super computer I still find it slow, sporadic and painful to manoeuvre through.
I managed to graduate from the orientation island quite easily and was set free in the Second Life world. The look and feel is pretty cool but so far there seems to be no one out there. Nobody at the church I came upon (even although it was Sunday!), no-one at Club Wildebeast the crazy dance place and no-one at the Second Life Telus store (where are you Sparkle Dale? – where’s the phone for my avatar?).
The most disappointing Second Life aspect of all is that beyond the cool images and environment, Second Life is senseless and by that I mean: you can’t feel, smell, hear etc. Each time I visit I come away with the feeling I have just been wasting my time……
I’ll be keeping a close eye on Second Life but right now the barriers to entry and the time wasted lead me to deduce that it will be a while before Second Life can be considered as a viable medium for effective marketing. And by then the fad crowds may have moved on to the next big thing – or maybe they have already.
It seems I am not the only one with this sentiment read this post from Darren Barefoot for more.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, May 01st, 2007
Here are some great sites that are currently using new media technologies to expand their reach:
http://www.hawaii-aloha.com – uses regular blog posts to provide useful tips and suggestions to help subsribers plan a trip to Hawaii. They also use podcast technology HawaiiVacationConnection to allow vacationers to listen to regular commentaries on hawaii vacation experiences. Its great way to add value for holiday makers and set themselves apart from the competition.
Another great example of companies using new media technologies is Honey Dew Day Spa here in Vancouver which uses the MySpace social networking platform as a forum to promote their spa services. They network and extend their reach by adding MySpace friends in the Vancouver area who meet their typical spa client demographic. That’s how they found me and next time I am thinking about pampering myself, I am going to go there and find out just how successful their MySpace strategy is whilst I am at it.
