The Importance of Social Media Club

Social Media Club (SMC) is a rapidly growing group that brings together professionals of all shapes, sizes and industries. SMC has organized chapters in over 150 cities around the world made up of thousands upon thousands of individuals, as indicated by their Twitter following of over 62,000.

When probing through reasons why SMC was created, I came upon the following language that really struck me:

"We are more than just USERS, we are the reason the tools exist – we are the people who communicate our thoughts and ideas near and far. Join us and let’s shape the future together!"

SMC isn't simply about networking, though that is a big aspect. The group is about shaping the future of communication, getting thought leaders together to think of the next wave of inspiration and connecting the dots for all those that primarily operate on a multitude of platforms.

For me, the best thing about Social Media Club is that it allows me to put a face to a name, blog, page, account or whatever else people are using. Social media communications are a fantastic way of forging new relationships and stregthening existing ones, but its hard to break through to a truly meaningful relationship without meeting somebody in person. Social Media Clubs have made that face-to-face interaction a little bit easier by organizing regular events and turning it into group interactions rather than that awkward first encounter alone as if you were on a blind date.

I'm a member of the Charlotte, NC social media club, but I know that I can join in on any meetup in another city should I be in town while an event is being held. Its a great virtual and real community that will continue to grow as social media does.

I'm sure I'm not the only one out there that appreciates Social Media Club for what it offers. Anybody care to share?

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Making Changes and Moving On

Today is my last day at Sports Media Challenge (SMC). I've had an amazing time serving as the Director of New Media at SMC. I've been with the company for over 2.5 years and couldn't think of a better place to be in that time. The SMC team is talented and intelligent. They're a nimble group that can put together some of the best digital media campaigns I've seen.

I can't say enough about the quality of people I have worked with while at SMC. If you have any interest, they are absolutely worth following on Twitter:

@kathleenhessert
@ryanstephens
@brittanylane
@matthewgarner
@jackieadkins
@mhannahp
@lindahutch
@janeweddington
@bdoughty

Within my time at SMC I've worked to build out service offerings, bring Buzz Manager (a great online monitoring tool) to a new level and put together full scale digital media plans for fantastic clients. I'd like to think I left a positive impact on SMC and the work I've done can be continued.

Though my experience at SMC has been nothing but positive, I've been offered a great opportunity to continue my digital media work with Fleishman-Hillard. I will be working in the Carolina offices and am really excited to get started. Fleishman-Hillard has an amazing reputation for the work they do and the talent they have. I can't wait for the new challenge.

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The Saints Win the Super Bowl: Will Brands Capitalize Through Social Media?

The New Orleans Saints just won Super Bowl XLIV. They beat the Indianapolis Colts in dramatic, yet dominant fashion. Drew Brees will ultimately be immortalized in the city of New Orleans as the first QB to play in and win a Super Bowl for the team, doing it only several years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Jonathan Vilma, the defensive captain and middle linebacker for the Saints, will also be remembered as a folk hero because of his role as a leader both on the field and in the Haiti relief effort.

The story lines are great and continue well beyond these two players. Now the question is how will brands capitalize on the great stories and immense popularity of this year's Super Bowl winners. Sports Illustrated will inevitably do a special commemorative edition with matching championship hat, Disney will ask Drew Brees to visit one of its amusement parks and Wheaties will seek out at least one or maybe all of the Saints to be pictured on a new box of their cereal.

We've now seen brands use social media for their Super Bowl commercial spots, but will we see social media be used in these post victory promotions? Should we expect to see live streaming video of Drew Brees taking his son to Disney World? Will be get to see a Flickr photo album of Reggie Bush posing for the new Wheaties box? Will Sports Illustrated offer a discounted rate for their commemorative edition to their Twitter followers?

I tend to think we're not quite there yet, but we're getting close. This year saw more advertisers leaking their commercials on YouTube than ever before, more social media communications about the brands participating than ever before and more attention being paid to that online conversation than ever before.

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Getting a job with social media is about relationships, not content

One of my primary points on this blog and to clients is that relationship building should be a primary tenant while entering into and building out social media communications. Social media and the tools used to operate in the landscape are a means to building relationships, but that is often forgotten.

Social media presents a platform to build relationships with clients, consumers, influencers, competitors, recruits and more. The preamble to developing relationships is content. The content has to draw people in, but ultimately content won't deliver on new business or new partnerships.

There is a common phrase in the communications world, "content is king." I respectfully disagree with that adage no matter how entrenched it is in our industries mindset. Content is clearly important, but relationships are much more important. The time it takes to produce an abundance of content can be better spent developing meaningful relationships with people attracted to slightly more sparse content.

I know this to be true with brands and businesses, but it might be even more true when marketing oneself on the job market. Content alone may initially attract a would be employer, but he or she won't stick around long if their isn't a line of communication opened and harvested. Experts say that over 75% of jobs are filled when the employer has a personal connection of some kind to the applicant. Social media can be your tool to developing that personal connection, but content won't do it for you. A relationship has to be built in order for you to leave a lasting, meaningful impression on a person.

This means you have to cultivate conversations, reply to comments on a post, respond to @replies on Twitter, send a message back to people on LinkedIn or whatever other platform you use.

In the ever-growing world of social media, the way to get noticed will increasingly be going above and beyond in building relationships. It will be an exception to the rule when a person is noticed and benefits greatly just from their content.

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A Love Poem To My Google Reader

With Valentines Day right around the corner, I thought I would get into the spirit. I sat down to think about the things I love the most with respect to social media, and sure enough Google Reader popped into my head. With that said, here is a love poem to my Google Reader:


Google Reader, Google Reader you begin my work day

You inform me, guide me and keep me in tune in every single way.

I can keep adding to you and you never get upset,

You send me to dozens of sites without breaking a sweat.

With you, it's not just listening and reading,

I can use your trends, notes and recommendations in a meeting.

Sure there are other readers out there,

But none come close to your ease or care.

I feel like you know me in every single way,

How else would you always know what to say?

Some might argue that I've created the list, so I shouldn't credit you,

But to them I say "My Google Readers thinks, loves, and feels too."

So just to summarize, I'll be loyal to you because you're the best,

But if a superior tool comes by I'll probably switch, just being honest.

Lets face it, you're great and helpful but really just a tool.

I'm always going to go with what helps me most because I ain't nobody's fool.

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The Seven Best Social Media Blogs Going Into 2010

There are number of very good blogs across the blogosphere that discuss social media in a variety of ways. The following seven blogs have done a particularly good job of talking about the ins and outs of social media throughout the last year and have brought real, unique insight to their readers. I expect big things out of these bloggers over the next year.

The Brand Builder Blog

The Brand Builder Blog is an amazing resource for marketers, especially if looking into ROI and how it relates to social media. Olivier Blanchard, the voice behind The Brand Build Blog is a leader in the conversation about ROI, which becomes immediately obvious after reading one of his posts or watching one of his videos. What I really enjoy about Olivier is that he isn't afraid to call out the snake oil marketers who call themselves "social media gurus" and offer misguided notions of ROI.

Social Media Explorer

Jason Falls writes Social Media Explorer and does a great job of educating his readers about the newest trends in social media. Jason is always in the know when it comes to the important social media technologies and the important figures across the industry. The best part of Social Media Explorer is that when a reader comments on a post he/she is more than likely going to get a response from Jason. He truly embraces the social aspect of social media and makes sure his readers get his attention.

Logic + Emotion

This is a blog that had tremendous insight into the social media landscape. Logic + Emotion is David Armano's personal blog. David is a great teacher and incorporates some of the better social media visuals you can find. My favorite part of the blog is David's willingness to share his personal story and business evolution. Over the last few months, readers have been taken through the journey from Dachis Group to Edelman, but all while learning about social media.

Marketing Pilgrim

Though not all posts are about social media, many of the posts at Marketing Pilgrim either focus on or have elements of social media. The stories often stretch beyond to all internet marketing and advertising. The market insights and trends that are discussed on Marketing Pilgrim are unparalleled. I can always count on them to keep me informed of the demographic information for various platforms.

PR 2.0

Brian Solis, the voice of PR 2.0 and principle at FutureWorks does an amazing job at providing readers with real wisdom about the social media landscape and how it applies to marketing or PR. Its clear after reading one of Brian's posts that he has amazingly experience and knowledge of the industry. He can speak about small business, large brands, b2b, b2c and much more. The best part about the blog is its willingness to predict the future trends of social media. Brian isn't afraid to go out on a limb and state what he believes is the wave of the future.

Instigator Blog

You'll find more than just discussion about social media at the Instigator Blog. Ben Yoskovitz talks about start-ups, general business and of coarse social media. He is always on top of the newest technologies and practices.

Britopian

Michael Brito is one of the more experience social media professionals out there. He has an impressive resume and brings that experience to his posting. What I enjoy most about Britopian is the ability to not only discuss social media technologies, but the culture of social media and digital marketing.

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How did Twitter grow so quickly?

Twitter has been on a meteoric rise since it's public inception in 2006. The minds behind Twitter, Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams and Biz Stone, created a social media product that capitalized on the growing world of quick conversations and link sharing across the web.

From February 2008 to February 2009 Twitter grew 1382% according to Nielsen. Tech Crunch then reported that Twitter returned 58.4 million visitors in September, 2009, many of which came from abroad.

Twitter successfully incorporated components of other growing social media tools, like social networking from Facebook and link sharing from Digg. Maybe most importantly was Twitter's ability to easily operate the social tool though mobile devices. The mobile nature of Twitter caught on quickly, with multiple mobile applications being created for users on different networks and with different types of phones. Though the tool itself was exciting and new, Twitter didn't take off until celebrities moved onto the platform.

With the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Shaquille O'Neal and of coarse Barack Obama, Twitter shot into the mainstream of America. CNN and Ashton Kutcher even had a race to see which account could procure one million followers first. Twitter has been integrated into other media platforms, even making its way into full-length segments on the late night television shows of Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien.

It was estimated that over half a million new user accounts were created in the two days following Oprah's announcement that she was joining the micro-blogging platform. This was an increase from the 5,000-10,000 new account created every day prior to that.

There is no question that Twitter created a fantastic tool that appeals to the current culture of communications, but I sincerely doubt it would be as popular as it is today in such a short period had it not been for celebrity involvement.

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Social Media in an Impoverished Mexican Town

I just returned from a vacation in a Akumal, Mexico. Akumal is a small town about one hour south of Cancun that survives almost entirely on eco-tourism. It is a place of great scenic beauty, but tremendous societal shortcomings. The picturesque beaches, caves, rain forests and tropical fish can be overshadowed at times by the meager shacks, lack of sanitary water and high frequency of crime. This was most noticeable on the only main road between Akumal and Cancun. It was on this road that I passed one tourist destination after another all behind great walls that mirror the magnitude of Fenway's "Green Monster" and are designed to keep out the "dangerous locals." Tourists are reminded that there is danger by the teams of security guards armed with semi-automatic machine guns.

Maybe it was because I was re-reading "Groundswell" or maybe it was because I was curious about the digital capacity of a place that had such a sharp contrast bewteen beauty and squalor, but I asked some of the locals about their use of social media. I wasn't surprised to hear that social media is not a commonly used technology in Akumal. When I said the word "Facebook" to a group of four guys it was returned with two confused looks, one indifferent response and one "oooh Facebook, ci." I inquired what that meant and found out that the lone guy in the group that knew Facebook wasn't a member, but had seen adds where brands communicated that they were on the social media platform. They were more concerned about buying their groceries, fixing their palm roofs or paying for a new bicycle tire (their primary method of transporation) than the computer or mobile technological devices it would take to operate social media. There also wasn't much need to connect with the outside world. In Akumal, most communications happen face-to-face and there isn't much need to communicate with people that you wouldn't see in person.

This isn't a grand revelation, nor will it affect marketers in any way. Brands aren't marketing their products to people that can't afford them. This revelation did give me pause to ask "why am I so wrapped up in a technology that only a small percentage of the world can truly use the way it is meant to be used?" Sometimes, in the world of business we move so quickly that we don't stop to think about the big picture. I think it is important to put some perspective in what we do and think about if the people in a place like Akumal, Mexico care about the tasks we devote 50 plus hours a week to.

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Social Media Wallflowers

Dictionary.com has the following definitions for "wallflower:"

1. a person who, because of shyness, unpopularity, or lack of a partner, remains at the side at a party or dance.

2. any person, organization, etc., that remains on or has been forced to the sidelines of any activity: The firm was a wallflower in this year's bidding for government contracts.

We've all seen a wallflower at a party who's just a little too shy to interact with other people. They eventually muster up the courage to talk to somebody, they are approached by an individual who rescues them or they eventually leave the party while having had zero interactions.

Do wallflowers exist in the social media world, either individuals or brands? Can a social media wallflower survive?

In my experience, wallflowers absolutely exist in social media. I have seen a number of individuals on various platforms that produce their own content and want to become a prominent member of a community, but don't know how to begin. They wonder who they should talk to, how they should approach them, what language they should use. Those questions and many more keep people from reaching out and joining the party.

It is also my experience that individuals become social media wallflowers by almost by accident, while many brands are wallflowers by their own volition. Many brands decide it is better for their communication strategy to simply listen to online conversation about them, but not partake in any way.

Do you have any stories about social media wallflowers, either individuals or brands?

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Social Media Adoption in B2B Companies

I just published a post on one of my company blogs about the adoption of social media by B2B companies. Feel free to check it out over at the Buzz Manager Blog.

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Social media influence vs. traditional media influence

It is widely believed that traditional media--radio, TV, newspapers, magazines--shape our conceptions of reality. The content discussed on news programs, advertisements and opinion articles can all influence our conclusions about society.

There have been a number of studies arguing that the media control doesn't necessarily influence our daily decisions, but it does shape our overall perceptions about society and culture. This includes studies by Eibach, Libby and Gilovich in 2003, Iyengar and Kinder in 1987, Gerbner, Gross, Morgan and Signorelli in 1986 and many more.

If you think about it, traditional media can't help but influence our perceptions of reality. Even if every media outlets on all platforms was completely objective they would still influence what people thought about by deciding which stories to discuss and publish.

I bring all of this up to make a point. As social media grows, traditional media's influence over people will continue to wain. The public now has a mass platform of communication where they can dictate the content and the direction of opinion. This is no more apparent than it is when you consider that Iran protests were the second most discussed topic by influential Twitter users in 2009.

We often say social media puts power back into the hands of the consumers, but social media goes beyond the consumer/brand relationship. Social media puts the power of perception and reality into every individual that wants to take the time to evaluate it.

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Happy New Year!

Happy new year everybody! It has been a great decade all around and especially for the growth of social media. We've seen blogs grow exponentially, social networks come into their own, online video and photo sharing sites explode, mobile technology being invented and much, much more.

Have a great time tonight, but beware those texting hands. Try not to use Twitter or Facebook unless you are of sound mind. There are always great examples of what not to do while drinking on textsfromlastnight.com.

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Are people less obedient when using social media?

Stanley Milgram conducted a social psychology experiment about obedience to authority. The experiment aptly came to be known as the "Milgram Experiment." It began as in inquiry into conformity, but turned into much more.

Milgram wondered what would happen if he had participants administer what they thought was a real electric shock to an actor (confederate) pretending to be shocked and be in excrutiating pain. The actor had to answer questions, when right nothing would happen, but when wrong he would be shocked. With each wrong answer the shock would get worse. The participants started by delivering 15-volt shocks. The fake voltage eventually increased to a maximum of 450 volts.

If the participant expressed any reservations about shocking another human being and causing them pain the session was abruptly ended. The actor screamed louder with each new shock, pleaded with the participant to stop and even said he had a heart condition and felt like he was dying.

Amazingly enough, 62.5% of participants delivered the maximum shock possible. People felt pressure from the psychologist in the room with them, as well as a sense of duty to their role, to finish the experiment despite causing potentially serious harm to another human being.

Would the results be different had participants been responding through social media rather than face-to-face contact?

I truly believe that had the participant been deciding to administer a shock or not through social media that percentage of 62.5% would be significantly lower. Social media channels give individuals a stronger sense of authority and less pressure to remain obedient to a situation or role. There is certainly still a sense of groupthink, riot mentality and all the other scary social phenomenons, but people feel more empowered to share their true opinions with the shield of social media.

What do you think?

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What it takes to get a job in social media

I don't purport to know what every company is looking for in a social media, emerging media or new media expert, but I do know what I am looking for when evaluating resumes that arrive on my desk.

Obviously knowledge of the tools and platforms is important. Since tools like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Ning, Vimeo, discussion boards, blogs and all the rest will be central to the work, having a base of knowledge makes a candidate much more appealing. In addition, knowing things like how to analyze the analytics of a blog, evaluate the content value for a Facebook fan page, create a Ning group, review keyword conversions and more would set a candidate apart from others who know the very basics of online media.

Even more important to the job than knowledge of the tools is an understanding of people, relationships and market tendencies. There is a real aspect of social sciences to new media that needs to be applied with every decision. Demonstrating a comprehension of market and individual behavior on social media platforms puts a candidate on a pedstal for me.

In my mind, this understanding of social nature and new media culture is much harder to learn than the functional side of the tools and is therefore more valued.

Ultimately, when I'm sifting through resumes and cover letters I'm looking a basic understanding of new media tools, but I'm really looking for experience that tells me that candidate can develop relationships with online influencers, understand what drives a response and predict the outcome of a campaign or specific message.

There are obviously a number of other factors like adding to the office culture, work habits, ability to communicate effectively, writing skills, analytical mind and more. These are very important variables to finding the right candidate, but the quality of work that can be produced is usually the first thing I think about.

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My wedding is keeping me from social media

I got engaged a couple months ago. I had been dating my then girlfriend for over six years and knew that it was the right time, right place and absolutely right girl. What I didn't fully grasp was how much time and energy planning the wedding would take.

With the time it takes to select a band, narrow down catering options, pick invitations and all the other components I have to cut time spent elsewhere. For me it was a difficult, but also simple choice.

I wasn't going to be able to cut time from work. Social media growth and brand adoption of social media strategies means more work. I can't cut time with family, dogs and friends because they are simply too important to me. I don't want to cut exercise time because it is important for me to be healthy and I have a marathon scheduled for several weeks from now.

This ultimately means that I have to reduce the amount of time I spend with my personal social networks. I spend less time tweeting, on Facebook, writing blog posts, joining in on discussion boards and posting video/photos.

It got me thinking what additional things happen in people's lives would keep them from participating in online communities as much as they would like? Are other people willing to sacrifice time spent doing other activities for the sake of social media?

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Issues with starting social media in a reluctant company

I spoke with a client this morning who is the primary advocate for building a corporate social media presence and the only one with any authority in his department. The conversation about strategy and execution turned into an airing of greivances and frustrations with the corporate infrastructure.

This client is a true believer in creating a corporate blog or blog network that can promote thought leadership, share white papers, engage potential consumers and really just generate conversation.

There are two primary issues within his company:

• Time constraints


• Executive support

He wants to include other experts in his company in the blogging process. He would love to see guest posts, comments and proliferation of messaging by his valued team members. Unfortunately, they all claim a lack of time as to why they don't want to contribute in any way. He is having a very difficult time convincing them that social media is beneficial for the promotion of the company services, as well as the individual's expertise. These people want immediate rewards, which he can't deliver yet because there isn't enough traffic.

The other issue is a lack of executive support. This client thinks that the experts would be more likely to participate if the other executives pushed them to do so and were vocal about the value of social media.

These are both real issues that people face while trying to start a social media endeavor in a company that has been otherwise reluctant to undetake one. Often times a truly compelling argument isn't enough because people want immediate dividends. Unfortunately if you are out alone on a limb, you may have to stay there until you can deliver the slightest of measuable, positive results. Don't give up on the compelling argument idea though. There are great case studies and results out there for all industries so look for proof of concept before taking on a company.

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Breaking Down Technorati's 'State of the Blogosphere'

This year Technorati has rolled out their "State of the Blogosphere" in a five-part series. They'll be posting one part every day throughout this week. Thus far, they have posted "Who Are the Bloggers?" and "The What and Why of Blogging."

These two parts alone have a host of information to digest, critically analyze and apply to your social media knowledge. In an effort to highlight the most important stuff, I'll be breaking down the info and asking a few questions along the way.

Methodology:

Technorati collected data from Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates who conducted a survey of 2,828 bloggers nationwide. They also gathered data from 11,000 active Lijit publishers (bloggers using the Lijit search widget) and 2.5 million blogs connected by link to these Ligit bloggers. This data collection method is somewhat biased because it takes a certain type of blogger to decide to download a Lijit widget. It becomes immediately less likely that casual bloggers or bloggers who see no value in Lijit can contribute their input to the survey. The correction for this of adding blogs who are linked to Lijit users helps a fair amount but still isn't an entirely valid and random representation of the blogoshpere.

Realisticially, it would be an enormous undertaking to get a representative and random sampling of blogs so I can't complain too much about their choice of blogs.

Major Points:

1. The state of the blogosphere is strong

2. There are 4 types of bloggers

• Hobbyists: 72%- This group blogs for fun and don't make any money from blogging
• Part-Timers: 15%- They blog to supplement their income, but don't use blogging as a full-time job
• Self Employeds: 9%- People who blog full-time for their company or organization
• Pros: 4%- Also listed as blogging full-time for their company or organization, but apparently don't blog as many hours per week

3. Bloggers are educated and in good standing financially:

• 1/3 of respondents has a household income of over $75K
• 75% of bloggers have a college degrees
• 40% have graduate degrees

4. People who have worked in traditional media are migrating towards blogs. 35% of all respondents have worked within the traditional media as a writer, reporter, producer or something else

5. Bloggers are beginning to use mobile devices to blog, but it is still not a common practice:

6. There is a significant increase in professional blogging. This means blogging for the purpose of gaining income, business connections and increased revenue is on the rise.

7. Blogging has been beneficial to individuals careers and work goals. 58% of respondents said they are better-known in their industry solely because of the blog.

8. The volume of blogging is on the rise. 57% said they plan to blog even more moving forward, which included 74% of 18-24 year olds.

My Observations:

1. The growing number of "professional" bloggers is changing the face of blogging as we have known it for the last 10 years. Technorati asserted that only 36% of of professional bloggers discuss the political and social implications of their topics. The topical and neutral stances of professional bloggers have created a trend of less emotional, opinionated posts, which is what blogging was founded upon. I'm a professional in the social media world so I understand the idea of professional blogging, but I would hate to lose the passion and opinions that blogging is synonymous with.

2. Technorati tried to play to the dichotomy between traditional and social media with survey questions lke "are blogs better written then traditional media?" Bloggers didn't fall into the trap. Based on Technorati's data, bloggers were resistant to the notion that trditional media is either failing or decreasing it's content quality. Its important that a mutual respect remains present between the two parties because as each day passes the lines become more blurred.

3. Technorati found that "30% of those who are blogging less say it's because they are devoting more time to microblogging and social networks." In other words, bloggers are writing less because they are networking and having fun on sites like Twitter and Facebook. This is a very important trend. Does this mean that blogging is on the decline? Are other platforms rising up to destroy the blogosphere? I'm pretty sure the answer is "No." Other platforms are actually being tied into the blogosphere to help promote individual blogs. Twitter and Facebook updates are riddled with links to blog posts. Still, the next wave of technology could make blogging a pastime much in the way of chat rooms.

Technorati has been struggling to regain some of the prominence it once had. This report provides great data for all those marketers and social media junkies out there, but is it enough to bring Technorati to the top again? I guess we will have to wait and see what the next three parts of the report have to say.

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Social Media Doesn't Respond to Dow Breaking 10,000

The Dow industrials closed above 10,000 for the first time in over a year today, yet there was very little recognition of that milestone by the social media community.

Passing the 10,000 benchmark after being below 7,000 just seven months ago didn't make Twitter's trending topics, the most Digged stories or top blog stories in Google Blog searches.

Why didn't this make any of the lists of top stories in social media? Is this a sign that people aren't aware, are apathetic, don't believe this is significant or something else entirely?

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Social Media Manifesto

A spectre is changing communication as we know it. All the powers of old media have migrated to the social media because Generation X, Generation Y and Baby Boomers continue to push forward with social media innovations and ardor.

Is there still opposition to the social media revolution or is it accepted that the new communication channel will continue to evolve into the heavily favored method of human interaction? How is social media being used and how will it be used in the future?

This post will illustrate the growing power of social media and the likelihood of this trend to continue.

Size of Social Media:

Top Social Networking Platform:

• Facebook had over 370 million visitors in the last month
  

• Over 160 billion page views

Top Social Bookmarking Platform:

• Digg had over 23 million visitors in the last month
  


• Over 410 million page views

Top Microblogging Platform:

• Twitter had over 66 million visitors in the last month
  


• Over 4 billion page views

Over 184 million blogs have been created worldwide, while 346 million people read blogs worldwide.

The particularly interesting thing is that all of these technologies have continued their growth in recent years. This doesn't mean that a single technology can't die because it can. Myspace was once the largest social networking tools, but the creation of other options has led to a decline in popularity and traffic. When one technology falls another one rises. Out of the slightly burning embers of Myspace grew Facebook. Out of the ashes of chat rooms grew social networks, discussion boards and blogs.

Research, innovations in technology, business trends and the zeitgeist all indicate that social media's size and power will remain on the incline.

Why is Social Media Appealing?

There are a plethora of reasons social media has grown in rapid fashion over the last decade, but most importantly it is because each individual can have a unique experience depending on their habits, strengths and interests.

A user can be extremely active or they can barely participate. It is the users choice whether to be a member of a Ning group, a discussion board, have a Facebook profile, start a Youtube channel or any other number of things. Users can decide whether or not they simple want to view content or whether they want to participant in the creation of content. Users can chose how they want to be known both visually and with respect to their personality. They can alter their user interface as well as their method of communication.

More importantly than all of the use based choices is the ability to become affiliated with whatever community is desired. A user can become a part of a political discussion board, a Boston Red Sox blog, an accountant's Twitter stream, or a single mother's photo sharing community.

In social media, a user is free to affiliate themselves with whomever they wish, whether like minded or not. It is this freedom of expression and acceptance into groups that makes social media so appealing to people. The rules of proximity and status levels dictating personal relationships are thrown out the window with the advent of social media.

Social media can be the digital embodiment of the "American Dream." Anybody can start a blog, work diligently and become a pseudo celebrity/financial success.

Social Media is also appealing to brands and businesses. It presents a new method of communication for brands. Social media:

• Is a platform that is significantly lower in cost than traditional marketing and public relations platforms


• Gives brands greater power of messaging control


• Allows for interactivity with consumers and potential clients, which can increase brand advocacy


• Provides near real-time metrics for top-line understanding of ROI

Pitfalls of Social Media

To truly immerse oneself in social media is to engage in a shift of paradigm and lifestyle. Social media requires focus, intelligence, innovation and above all else simply being present on a regular basis.

The positive aspects of social media like interactivity, networking and community building come with certain time requirements. If you want to become a prominent figure in a large social media network, it requires an immense amount of time. Not only that, but the hours dedicated must be dispersed throughout the day in an effort to respond to people around the world.

In addition to the time commitments, there are certain privacy concerns that arise when asserting oneself in the social media landscape. More and more technologies offer status updates, photo sharing, video sharing, live streaming video and 24 hour connection through mobile devices. These advances in technology can make it seem as though Big Brother is watching or we are living in an Orwellian reality.

Not only do thoughts, images and locations become public but they remain public. Social media tools are highly advanced at archiving their content. This is done both for the user experience and to provide metrics proving the value of the tool. The potential issue with these archiving systems is that what a user says publicly now remains public forever. User's opinions may change, they may be caught in a photo that they wish not be shown or any other number of of examples, but ultimately the universal archival of content can pose real problems for some users.

The Future of Social Media

If nothing else, social media has proved to be unpredictable. The ability to truly predict what technologies become popular, what videos become viral and how much people will value the ability to share their opinion in a public forum is difficult to determine. A few trends have emerged that should continue based on human nature and social media culture:

• Social media will become more manageable. There is already a trend to combine multiple social media platforms in a single interface like Tweetdeck or Google Wave, but the variety of platforms means a need for an all-inclusive management system.


• Brands and marketers will continue to find ways to automate their social media communications initiatives. Whether consumers agree with this tactic or not, developers will create tools that they can sell to businesses, who will in turn use them to streamline the outreach process.


• Business and organizations will implement more restrictions. Social media policies are a highly discussed topic amongst anybody dealing with brand reputation. There are a number of social media policies in place and made public. This will undoubtedly continue as social media evolves.


• There will be an increase in group and community development. Social media users are now finding that a path to social media happiness or success can be best achieved by uniting with others. Groups like SB Nation, eMarketing association and wefollow tags are prime examples of people uniting to bolster their own efforts while connecting with interested/interesting people.
  
  

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Be comfortable talking about the uncomfortable

The relationships you build in social media follow some of the same basic principles your in-person relationships adhere to. You should communicate regularly and effectively, show interest and share parts of your personality if you want to make a true connection.

Many people have a very difficult time discussing less than positive things about themselves with anybody, let alone acquaintances that they've never met face-to-face. It is difficult for people who are proud of their lives to share the negative aspects such as the possibility of losing a job, health issues or relationship troubles. More often than not, it is the people who you share these details with that become your closest relationships and your biggest supporters.

The same is true in social media. Addressing negative aspects of your brand with interested people with breed brand advocacy in the long run. People will respect you for being open and honest about potential faults in your services, business model, communication strategy or anything else.

If you work for a large corporation or brand, I know there will be a great deal of pushback from the conservative members of the organization, the legal team and traditional processes that have been in place for years. Hiding the negative is a thing of the past though. If there is a small issue that won't bring down the brand, I would strongly suggest admitting to it, addressing it with your interested consumers/key audiences and moving forward with them at your side.

A prime example of a brand making a minor mistake, hearing about it from consumers, addressing it publicly, gaining respect for doing so and moving forward with more brand advocates is ESPN. Earlier this year, ESPN released their new social media policy, which received a great deal of negative attention from social media users. ESPN listened and rather than sweeping it under the rug they responded on air.

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