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Why I Still Believe in the Future of Facebook
.jpg) Look… I’ve read both the naysayers and the acolytes alike, and I still contend that Facebook is en route to becoming a de rigueur daily stop for just about everyone. The argument that social networks of all shapes and sizes are cropping up like Crystal Skull bootlegs on a Seoul street corner is irrelevant, because you need a place to gather with your passion niches, and Facebook’s never been so great at that. Plus, your Facebook data is going to be valuable to you in your other networks, anyway. And, contrary to CW, it doesn’t actually matter much if the kids still think it’s cool or not. Know why? Because the platform is going to become THE social dashboard for the connected set. Although the first wave of Facebook apps has been largely disappointing (seriously… Hotties for Sale?), the next generation of applications will make your Facebook profile the place where you’ll see what your friends are up to, buy tickets to events together, recommend products to each other (and make some money), even plan trips or nights out. Those status updates that some of us find entertaining (and others find narcissistic and annoying) are just the beginning. Right now, there are 10k+ “Just for Fun” applications (almost half of the 24,000 apps available. 24 THOUSAND). The next most popular category for Facebook apps is Education, at about 1,800. But I envision using apps on your Facebook page to manage/budget your finances, get your daily news feeds (which could be everything from global headlines to what your little sister did last night), and maintain your integrated social calendar. You’ll read the latest reviews (from Yelp, from your favorite film critic, whatever), you’ll plan accordingly, and maybe even take part in social action or philanthropy, all within your Facebook interaction. I’m telling my clients to keep working on Facebook applications while developing Open Social apps (more about Open Social in the near future). They’ll need both types of widgets. The concept of social networks is evolving. This is just the beginning. |
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Virtual Worlds Aren’t Just for Grownups
 If you have a child under the age of 13, you probably already know about a half-dozen virtual worlds aimed directly at kids. When my daughter was in preschool, she and I spent a lot of time on the Playhouse Disney site, and we watched as it morphed from a frames-style conventional website to a navigable land of exploration. Now that she’s 8 years old, her expectations of the virtual world user experience have matured a bit. The most insidious of the lot, and possibly the most visionary, is WebKinz, which requires you to purchase a plush toy in order to get a special code that unlocks the doors to a persistent world of cute little animals. My daughter has 30+ of these toys now, meaning she has the run of the place. She plays games to earn points that she can use to outfit her pets and their homes. The granddaddy of this virtual online creature craze is Neopets, which started out 100% virtual, but now sells its own line of toys. My daughter loves spending time “buying” crap for her online pets. Also-rans using the same model include VIP pets, Bratz, and many others. Nickelodeon has a very fun world to explore, but my absolute favorite is Poptropica. The interface is whimsical and intuitive, the characters and adventures are incredibly compelling, and even the product placement (play areas sponsored by name brands) adds value to the user experience. In one example, the kids were able to get their very own branded space suits, complete with jet packs. The good news is that, because her father is so hypersensitive to marketing, so is my daughter. Even in the midst of picking up a consumer-branded propeller cap for her character, she knew she was being delivered a message. Do yourself a favor and check it out for yourself. It's addictive AND educational. Less commercial, but almost as addictive, is Club Penguin, which my daughter used to play constantly. Her interest has waned, but investor interest in virtual worlds for kids has not. These virtual worlds are entry-level social networks for the post-Millennial set, and it’s interesting to see the varying levels of identity-exposure that are possible. All are great tools for teaching youth about internet safety before they’re old enough for Facebook pages. I once told my daughter that she would buy a plush piece of poo, if it meant online access, and she turned that comment into her own virtual world concept. She’s working on concept art and a site map, so I promised to put her spec home page online, and start lining up some development help through my company's network. Her classmates are already asking when they can join. |
Social Network Soup
 I didn’t expect to receive email spam to hit my Mashable profile so soon, though it was fun to read the messages to my friends when I received them. Here’s a choice excerpt:
The fact that this kind of stuff is already hitting an early-stage social networking service is pretty astonishing to me. In fact, the ONLY mail I’m getting on Mashable is spam. I’m not even sure why (or when) I joined the network, which made me think about how and why we choose to put at least enough info into upstart online communities to see what they have to offer. If you’re part of a passion group, you may join two or three networks to make sure you’re covered. And between Ning and KickApps and other build-your-own social network platforms, there’s no reason you can’t create your own niche network. Of course, it’s damn near mandatory to have yourself a Facebook and LinkedIn profile, at a minimum. Hell, life’s a little easier if you at least a bit of info in your Evite profile. Although there are companies than can aggregate email or updates from different sources, I haven’t encountered anything that would allow you to transfer your info from profile to profile in an effective way. But that’s not such a bad thing. It’s okay to keep the different sides of your personality compartmentalized, with overlap in more generalized networks like Facebook. After all, you may not want your professional colleagues to know about your Hello Kitty fetish. |
Don’t Spam on Me
 I’m laughing and shaking my head at the comment spam (above) I received on my very first Examiner post. This kind of thing is truly reprehensible. My company specializes in social media seeding and counter-posting. What that means is we help companies to build conversations and relationships with blogs and forums that are relevant to their marketing targets. When a blogger trashes a client, we try to steer the conversation in a more positive direction. And when a company wants exposure in influential gathering places, we seed the relevant online outlets. Before we even begin to engage social media, though, we work closely with our clients to create consistent, valid messaging. The key to success in the conversational media arena is authenticity:
Which is why I was stunned and a wee bit disgusted with the comment spam on my very first, ever, Examiner posting. I mean, do they really think their signature spam product has legs? And did they not think that a guy who’s writing about social media wouldn’t rip into their comment spam? Oh crap…maybe that’s what they wanted. I did click through to their site, and even re-posted the link in this blog posting. Did I just drive traffic to their website? What a sucker. |
Are you leveraging your social networks?
 When is the last time you updated your LinkedIn profile? How often do you tell Facebook to scrape your email address books to find contacts who’ve finally created a page? Have you registered for a Meetup group lately? Since I decided to hang out my own shingle last year, the vast majority of my company’s clients have come from my assiduous use of social networks—both online and in the meatworld. Two of our largest contracts have come from perfect timing on a LinkedIn connection invitation, and from hunting down a former coworker via Facebook. The joys of connection aren’t limited to business networking, either. I’m now in touch with former students from my days (a looong time ago) as an elementary school teacher, and I even found one of my best childhood friends. Here are four recommendations for getting more out of your online networks: 1. Sharpen up your LinkedIn profile Seriously—if you still don’t have your currently employment situation on there, along with the full glory of your newest responsibilities, you need to do that right away. And don’t forget to update the rest of your profile while you’re in there—make sure your “summary” is well-written and packed with key words, update your photo, and consider getting some recommendations from your connections. Have the system scrape all of your email address books, and be sure to weigh in on some Q&As. 2. Leverage Facebook So you have a photo up, and are starting to gather friends, but other than sending some cupcakes to people or playing Scramble, you haven’t really taken advantage of the connection possibilities. There are many ways to get more out of being on Facebook, but the easiest are to use Friend Finder to make sure your friends are current, and to take a look at your friends’ friends, and see if there’s anyone you ought to connect with. There are also several apps that’ll help you make the most of your connections. I actually used a note recently to ask for help. I’m going to be in San Francisco next Monday and Tuesday for meetings, and decided to see if I could get a few more face-to-face rendezvous in place. So I posted a note asking for help, and then tagged the friends I thought might be able to facilitate introductions. Several of them sent information about me to their contacts in the Bay Area. I’ll know in the next couple of days if anyone’s interested. 3. Join some Meetup groups, or start one of your own Whether it’s a professional gathering or just something that interests you, get online and find some interesting folks to meet and learn from. 4. Use your online communities to network in the real world If you know of an interesting networking event in your area, be sure to post info about it on your Facebook page ad your other social networks. And pay attention to events that your friends RSVP for. A really interesting event RSVP engine is Mixergy, which allows your guests to network before the event even takes place. More on that down the road. How do you leverage your online networks? Drop a comment. |
Eric Elkins
Eric Elkins has an online connection addiction. Good thing his job is harnessing social media strategies to help his clients engage consumers. Read along as Eric explores the latest developments in online community building.
Eric Elkins has an online connection addiction. Good thing his job is harnessing social media strategies to help his clients engage consumers. Read along as Eric explores the latest developments in online community building.
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