Social Network Portability Has Arrived

Posted on October 31, 2007 by Thomas Purves

Google has launched it’s Open API for Social Networks. It’s about time someone did this.

This explains why the goog wanted so badly a piece of facebook. And why Microsoft would pay at any wacky valuation for FB to keep it out of teh google. Facebook is the singular major social network not participating in google’s new scheme.

At the same time though, it cuts out at the knees the fundamental (would be) game-changing advantage of the facebook platform: the idea that someone should be able to build a social app or someone should be able to use a social app without the redundancy of setting up a new profile page, another buddy list, another messaging and comment system etc. (not to mention the viral adoption and network effect advantages that have made some facebook apps the most rapidly adopted software apps ever).

Meanwhile at long last, Google combats microsoft with it’s own operating system… a social operating system for the new web.

neat.

see also recently: Albert Lai’s great deck on Web 2.5, 3.0 and social operating systems
Jevon’s insightful post on Startup North: Delusions of Facebook – Should you be a Facebook Startup?

Posted in Archive, facebook, google, socialos | 4 Comments

Social Network Optimization is the new SEO/SEM

Posted on October 26, 2007 by Thomas Purves

Or, how to buy friends and influence people:

“need someone with knowledge on how to post and title youtube videos and digg articles in a compelling manner… will be paid bonuses for results (ie getting on the first page of Digg, getting lots of viewers, comments, channel subscribers etc) in Youtube” –NYCraigslist Posting
 
“We need someone with experience in adding friends via Friendblaster Pro or other similar applications to Myspace company profiles… We could pay by the friends. Say fixed amounts for every 500 friends. This is a lucrative position and would be long term. We already have a number of clients lined up.” –NYCraigslist Posting
 
“We are looking for active Facebook users with lots of friends in their network. Since we are building a highly social app, it would be expected that you share it with your friends network…For current college students this could turn into a longer term campus rep position. “ –NYCraigslist Posting

 
The sharks are moving in. Buy your social network distribution now, while the kids are going cheap.
 
File under social graft. [tmJay Goldman]

 
thanks to M for the keen eyes and amazement.

Posted in Archive, facebook, marketing, myspace, sno, socialgraft, socialmedia | 4 Comments

Brand Awesomeness

Posted on October 25, 2007 by Thomas Purves

Chris Matthews of Specialized has a great idea brewing about why Brand Awesomeness is the new brand awareness.

I’m not a big fan of “branding” in it’s classic sense. It seems to be relied upon too often as a crutch to support marketing efforts that don’t have a clear message, strategy, and direction. “Oh, this is more of a branding ad/email/website/billboard”…I’ve heard and read that often. In a world of connected customers, cheaper ‘no-name’ brands of high quality, and a whole lot of other marketing noise out there, does this really make any sense anymore? Or has it become a way to justify a poor marketing execution that merely follows tradition?

And so Chris introduces this idea of brand awesomeness. I’m sure you could think of a few brands right off the top your head that have high brand awesomeness. Let’s call this “unaided brand awesomeness”.

How are you tracking the aided and unaided awesomeness of your brand?

As Chris points out, in a world increasingly dominated by (inter!)-connected and increasingly advertising-jaded consumers, what matters for Brands is being part of the stories that consumers tell each other while the old one-to-many broadcast paradigm of Brand and PR building fades inexorably into the sea of background noise and filtered-out information overload.

Link: Designing Brand Awesomeness

ps. there’s a rumour Chris may be back in town to speak at our venerable alma mater sometime in the new year. Keep a lookout.

Posted in Archive, awesomeness, brand, brandawesomeness, branding, marketing, pr, socialmedia | Leave a comment