The Future of Social Networking

0. Introduction.

Almost three years ago, I started the Appleseed Project as a way to start experimenting with the idea of distributed social networking. Armed with enough hubris and naivete to think I could build it alone, I coded and coded until I got to the point I am now: With a project that stands at around 75% complete, it functions as a sort of proof-of-concept for distributed social networking in general. I've learned a lot, however, about the technological hurdles and impact that a truly open and distributed social networking platform could provide.

I'm writing this as a way to present my ideas and what I've learned in the hopes that an open and distributed solution becomes the direction that social networking takes. Although I would be happiest to see Appleseed succeed, I'd be excited to see any open and distributed social networking solution be adopted and replace the walled gardens that currently dot the internet landscape.

1. The Problem With Walled Gardens.

The current crop of social networking sites (Myspace, Friendster, Facebook, etc) all operate as "walled gardens", where content is exclusive to the site, and most importantly, the sites provide very little interaction with the outside internet. A user on Myspace has no way to interact with a user on Facebook, despite the design of the internet having historically favored the concept of interaction between internet locations. There is no technological reason for why a user on Myspace wouldn't be able to add a user on Friendster or Facebook to their friends list. At the very least, there is no reason why the same Myspace user couldn't send a message to that same Facebook or Friendster user.

While building Appleseed, I realized just how simple it was to get two "nodes" to communicate. It became a matter of a simple behind-the-scenes request which returned a small XML file. It became apparent to me that the reason that we don't have communication between social networking sites had nothing to do with technological constrants, and was a purely economic decision on the part of existing sites. Almost all major social networking sites business models are centered on having the largest userbase possible, and user lock-in is a major part of that. By restricting your ability to interact with outside sites, they also restrict your ability to choose another site and still maintain your relationships and ability to contact your friends.

The whole situation we're in makes no sense in the context of the way the internet was meant to operate. Concentrating user bases into centralized locations and locking them in seems more like the early 90's and the way Compuserve, AOL, and the like attempted to use walled gardens to monopolize the internet. The natural evolution is an open, distributed standard. A sort of SMTP for social networking, which allows any node to fully connect to any other node. Would people put up with an email address at gmail.com which could only email other gmail.com users? Of course not, and the same standard should be applied to social networking.

2. Why "glue" doesn't work.

One of the solutions proposed is to use aggregation services which act as "glue" to hold together the current systems. This is a fundamentally flawed solution, because it ultimately relies on no single standard for communication between sites. Site A, B, and C might work with the aggregation service, but brand new Site D will require that the aggregation service supports their system. And what happens when sites change their format? The result becomes a constant process of modifying and extending the aggregation service when new sites and formats arise.

Oddly enough, when it comes to making sense of multiple walled gardens, the best we've come up with is to glue them together and hope it holds. But this is hardly a solution, and really shouldn't be advocated by those who want to see social networking properly evolve.

3. The Distributed Solution.

The solution is actually pretty simple. Especially considering things like OpenID already solve the problem of distributed logins. A user has a home node, which provides them with a social networking address, much like an email address. I'm currently 'michael.chisari(@)appleseedproject.org'. This also becomes their OpenID identity, and allows them to log in to other Appleseed (and potentially any OpenID site) nodes. Communication between sites exists as a simple http request from one node to another. Friend requests, messaging, all types of interaction between users becomes easily distributed while functioning seamlessly as far as the end user is concerned.

The result is that instead of having one Myspace or one Friendster, each with millions of users on it, we have thousands of sites which range from a few dozen to hundreds of thousands of users. Except they all exist in a network of nodes which communicate between each other.

The importance of distributed social networking can be outlined in the advantage that the user gains: Freedom to choose between any compatible node without losing access to their contacts.

4. Privacy And Trust In A Socially Networked World.

It's a whole new ball game when you're dealing with a distributed social networking model. No longer provided the protection of a walled garden, it's important to think of the system from the ground up in terms of "Privacy" and "Trust."

Privacy means that the home node of a user should never give out any information that isn't explicitly stated to be publicly available. Because nodes are querying other nodes about information about users, the assumption is always on the side of privacy, lacking any further data otherwise. Although you cannot achieve full privacy in a socially networked world, most social networks today function as unlocked glass houses, providing very few, if any, privacy options for the user. In a world that is increasingly socially networked, where social networks will very likely include one's boss, parents, landlord, and more, it's important to be able to provide strong mechanisms for restricting access. Tthe user should have as much granular control over who in their immediate network can see what as practically possible.

Trust is the concept of utilizing social networks to determine relationships with strangers, much like in the real world. If you sit alone in a public place, and a stranger comes up and begins talking to you, you have very little trust between you and that person. However, if you sit with a good friend, and that good friend introduces you to that same stranger, a trust relationship has been established. Social networking must recognize this basic aspect of human social interaction, and find strong and intuitive methods for implementing it on a software level. This not only can help with the random friend requests that many on MySpace get, but also can help to eliminate spam, and even possible provide for a social network where everyone can participate as safely as real life, using their trust networks to evaluate new relationships.

5. Technological Hurdles And Considerations.

Most importantly, it must be stated that social networking works best when the concerns of the users are considered to be greater than the concerns of the developers. Many open source social networking solutions break too much from the current social networking convention in what may be interesting technologically, but can be off-putting to users who have grown accustomed to sites such as MySpace. Being at the birth of a new paradigm provides a lot of opportunities to experiment technologically, but when this is done without usability kept in mind, or when it solves a problem that only really exists for the developer, it serves as a deterrent to building a large userbase, which is the only real purpose of social networking.

Balancing this consideration with the technological problems that distributed social networking creates can be very difficult. For instance, the issue of spam messages, while easily guarded against from within a walled garden with active administration, becomes a much more difficult task during decentralization. One of the solutions that Appleseed has used is a simplified version of the IM2000 protocol (www.im2000.org), which is a sender-stores system, as opposed to the receiver-stores system of SMTP. This provides the most important protection against spam: Accountability. In order to send a message, your node must maintain it's existence and identity on the internet until the message is "read" (downloaded). Without going too far into this idea, the balance between this system and the previous concern of usability is that users will be reluctant to adopt this new system unless it feels incredibly similar to a standard email application.

Other hurdles include scaling outward (as opposed to upwards, like current walled gardens do), and how to perform searches in such a distributed environment. Maintaining that distributed system, from a development and API standpoint, is probably the most difficult task. Error checking for downed nodes, allowing for variable speeds in response times, etc., all become huge issues, and unlike a walled garden, a social networking node cannot control anything outside of it's own server. Fortunately, these are issues inherent in the distributed nature of the internet, and have been solved in varying degrees plenty of times before. The issue is simply to apply those solutions in the best manner possible.

6. Conclusion.

Eventually, Myspace and Facebook, no matter what fancy features they may add, will seem as archaic as Compuserve and Prodigy do now. The acceptance of a distributed social networking model is, as the internet has shown, an inevitability. All proprietary walled gardens have given way to distributed models, and social networking is the next frontier. And just like open, distributed protocols before it, social networking requires an open API in order to function properly. Since many walled gardens are based on amassing as many users as possible, in order to maximize ad revenue, adopting a distributed model goes against their business plan. Therefore, it's up to the open source community to come up with a real distributed social networking solution.

Michael Chisari
appleseed.sourceforge.net

10 Tips For Successful Facebook Marketing

There are a ton of social media websites that you can participate in today like Linked In and Friendster, and they all have their good and bad. The best way to choose a community to participate in is to look at the people who have already joined. For me, Facebook is quite possibly the best sites for networking personally and professionally. I also use Linked In and Myspace. Of all the social networks, Facebook is the best place when it comes to all around marketing and networking.

I have been using Facebook for the past two years, and it is an attractive tool for marketing to add to your marketing strategy. Following are ten ways you can use Facebook to introduce new people to your for FREE!

1. Make a Top-Notch Profile: This is absolutely the FIRST thing that you must do to make an impact on Facebook . Think of your Facebook profile as part of your branding. A effective profile will include a photo of you. Don't use the one of you at a Christmas party, unless that's what your selling. Make sure your new Facebook profile is complete. You should include your contact information, your web address (this is so important), education, work experience and your personal interests. A complete profile is the only way to go.

2. Add Friends: This is what makes Facebook a great platform - the ability to make friends, build relationships and foster them. The more relationships you build, the more worthwhile your marketing efforts will be. You can use Facebook's own tools to find friends that are already on Facebook. Once you add your friends, you can search for kindred spirits. Make their acquaintance, become their friend, build a relationship. One cool feature on Facebook is that you can see friends of your friends. This will help you build a extensive network in no time.

3. Join Facebook Groups: You can join groups within Facebook that are associated with what you do. There are groups for wealth building, coaches, and experts of all kinds. Almost every supposable type of professional service provider has some type of an online group. I belong to several groups on Facebook and have made hundreds of new contacts this way.

4. Create your Own Facebook Group: Can't find a group that really makes sense? Create your own! You can add members, publish articles, carry on discussions, and probably build some long lasting relationships. And even if you find great group to belong to, start your own. This gives you the opportunity to be the trendsetter!

5. Syndicate your Blog Using RSS: You can syndicate your own blog on your Facebook profile page. This inherently means that every time you make a post, it will automatically show up on your profile page. More Exposure = More Readers = More Leads = More Business. And the bonus is the back links to your site. I syndicate headlines from three blogs on Facebook.

6. Comment on Other Peoples Profiles: Are you a fan or devotee of someone's work? Reach out to them on Facebook! Many of my business acquaintances check their Facebook messages more regularly than their email. They are also more likely to respond to Facebook messages. Don't feel comfortable sending a message to someone you don't know? Don't worry! Leave them a "just saying hi!" or "I enjoy your work!" blurb on their wall. All profiles come with "virtual walls" where friends and acquaintances can leave messages. The more messages you leave on your friend's Facebook profiles the more exposure you get!

7. List your Events: Launching a New Service? Create an events page and invite all your friends and acquaintances. You can even see who RSVPed and get feedback from your guests. Marketing doesn't get much simpler (or cheaper!) than this.

8. Send Virtual Gifts: Want to show your appreciation for someone? Send them a virtual gift. You can choose from a bouquet of flowers to a potted plant that actually sits on the your friends profile and grows over time (plus hundreds of others). With all the 3rd party applications for gift giving available, what are you waiting for. This is a proven way to build long lasting relationships!

9. Use Some Cool Apps: Facebook has literally tons of applications that were built just for the site. Gaming, music, movie trivia and more. When you use an application, you get to invite your friends to use these interesting little applications (Apps). So just like number 8 above, this allows you another way to stay in touch with your Facebook friends. Again, this helps you build long lasting relationships.

10. Create a Community: Perhaps Facebook's greatest benefit is that it lets you to build a community. It provides you a group of people who are perpetually connected to you, and they are open to hearing what you have to say. Write on people's walls, give them feedback, and introduce them to each other. Start building your brand and leveraging Facebook for business building!

Facebook is a great place to introduce yourself to a ton of new people who may also become customers and/or clients. Just keep one thing in mind: don't get too carried away and spend all your time there. Facebook is a tool, part of your marketing strategy. Use the tips above, use them wisely and have a little fun at the same time.
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Lennie Appelquist is the Owner of FreeMarket Media Group. FreeMarket Media Group is dedicated to helping individuals and small businesses generate leads, convert those leads in customers/clients and build a web presence that works for them. We can show you how to make your online business profitable.

Are Social Networks Responsible for Teen Suicides?

Within the past year, the area surrounding town of Bridgend in Wales has been rocked with no less than 14 young people taking their own lives. In the past days, two more suicides of young people living in the area have been reported.

Deep in to each article about this growing trend are often paragraphs mentioning each lost teenager were part of the Bebo social network, and knew each other. This, coupled with the geographical location, has lead to fears of a suicide pact, or secret organisation where members take their own life for fame.

The story is distressing to many that have never even been to Wales, but for those interested in social media, the Bebo angle, plus the fame aspect, is a trend that I do not believe should be ignored.

I have always been of the opinion that it is the person using the tool, not the tool itself, that is the issue - akin to the phrase "Guns don't kill people, people kill people". I am still of this view, vehemently, and so would argue against anyone Bebo, if indeed it's offerings have been used in any way in this tragedy. Certainly in this tragic case, you cannot argue this is a widespread phenomenon.

Many reports of the British press have mentioned eulogy websites for those that have died, some suggesting their social network profiles of kind messages of sympathy are part of the young people's motivation for suicide. That either dedicated sites, or existing profile pages, are filled with messages that maybe they feel haven't been given whilst alive. A permanent memory of them - fame.

Some would say, especially right-wing press here in Britain, that social networks (or the entire internet) needs policing, and monitoring. They will howl that any tool used in freedom by young people will poison them. Even if the only evidence for such measures is extremely rare cases such as this.

I cannot agree with them, maybe you do? Maybe the fact that most social networking applications are used by a young, vulnerable, impressionable demographic urges you to consider its true merits, taking in to account possible downsides.

Please leave your thoughts in the comments. I would also like to extend my heart-felt sympathies to all those involved in these tragic and unfair circumstances.

Matt Harwood
mattharwood.co.uk

Yahoo Officially Rejects Microsoft Offer

As expected, Yahoo has officially rejected Microsoft’s $44.6 billion bid to acquire the company. In a brief press release issued this morning, Yahoo writes

“After careful evaluation, the Board believes that Microsoft’s proposal substantially undervalues Yahoo! including our global brand, large worldwide audience, significant recent investments in advertising platforms and future growth prospects, free cash flow and earnings potential, as well as our substantial unconsolidated investments. The Board of Directors is continually evaluating all of its strategic options in the context of the rapidly evolving industry environment and we remain committed to pursuing initiatives that maximize value for all stockholders.”

So, essentially Yahoo wants more money. But, let’s not forget that the public markets “substantially undervalued” Yahoo quite a bit more than Microsoft – shares were trading sub-$20 prior to the Microsoft bid (they are hovering around $29/share this morning).

As others have noted, this feels mostly like a negotiating tactic by Yahoo. They’ve bought more time to consider less likely alternatives such as a Google partnership or AOL merger, but in the end, it’s looking increasingly unlikely that there is another bidder that’s going to better Microsoft’s offer - other than Microsoft of course.

Social Networks Still Growing Strong

Stats to be released tomorrow by comScore show that traffic to most of the top social networking sites is continuing to increase in the US, although the amount of time users spend on such sites is leveling off. For example, while MySpace is showing 11.6% year-to-year growth in unique visitors and Facebook is up 78.6%, the amount of time the average user spends on each site is down 10.4% and up just 1.1%, respectively. Further, the average time spent on Bebo is off 63.6%, though the US is only a small part of that social network’s user base.

Looking closer at the engagement metrics, it’s notable that MySpace users still spend the most time on the site versus users of other social networks. In January, the average visitor spent 203.9 minutes on the site (a 13.7% month-to-month increase), while the average Facebook visitor was logged on for 172.1 minutes (a 1.6% month-to-month increase, but notably down from a high of 199.9 minutes per visitor in February ’07).

The decline in minutes per user on Facebook certainly adds more credence to the theory that interest in applications is starting to fall off. Meanwhile, a few Facebook-like additions such as a friend news feed and improved photo galleries seem to be keeping users on MySpace as the top social network prepares to launch its own developer platform to users next month.

A few other notable numbers from the report:

* YouTube unique visitors more than doubled in the past year, to 61.3 million visitors in January. Page views were up 277%.
* Flickr unique visitors were up 88.5% to nearly 14 million. Page views were up 266% year-over-year to 340 million in January.
* Yahoo 360 unique visitors plunged 53.4% to 2.2 million. Page views were down 54.6% to 52 million.
* Unique visitors to Facebook fell 2.3% from December. They are essentially flat since August (33.7 million, versus 33.8 million for January).

Clearly, YouTube is benefiting from being acquired by Google and integrated into search results, while Flickr is continuing to grow under the Yahoo umbrella. As for Yahoo 360, its demise probably doesn’t come as a huge surprise given Yahoo’s ever-shifting social networking strategy.

mashable.com

Seven Essential Steps Required to Launch and Grow a Successful Social Network (6-7)

Seven Essential Steps Required to Launch and Grow a Successful Social Network (3-5)

6. Determine Rules and Enforce Them.

Determining the terms and conditions for a site sets the tone for participation. Enforcing those rules has a direct impact on who joins and who abandons the site. To protect yourself, have Rules of Conduct in place from day one, explaining the provisions for policy enforcement and the repercussions for violating the policies. And most importantly, follow through and enforce your rules of conduct. Failing to enforce the policy will alienate rule-abiding members, changing the personality of your network and jeopardizing your business goals.

For example, for one popular social network, terms and conditions stated that the site was to be used by those 18 years and over. Initially, the site was used by adults. However, if a member reported an underage user, no action was taken, and soon the site was dominated by teenagers. No adults wanted to use the site. The goals for the online community were never met.

You must also set workflow rules prior to launch. Workflow refers to the business rules that determine how content is filtered, when it goes live, and when it gets pulled. For an enterprise social network, determining workflow practices can be challenging. Various departments (e.g., marketing, creative, legal) often have varying perspectives, which must be resolved before launch.

For example, one online community may allow all content to get posted instantly and only get reviewed if it is reported as offensive by other members. This set-up encourages the most activity, but with little filtering and moderation, a large segment of the audience may be turned off and seek another community. Another online community concerned about brand image may filter every comment before it goes live. This opposite approach does provide pure content but inhibits the flow of expression and opinions commonly sought in a social network. The challenge is to achieve the right balance for your community, meeting the overall goals of the site and conforming to the appropriate company standards and culture.

7. Include a Post-Launch Focus in Your Marketing Plan or "If you build it, they still may not come."

A common misconception exists when it comes to social networks-because social networks grow virally and are so popular, no marketing strategy is necessary once the site is launched. Just turn on the site, send out a few invitations, and you’ve got yourself a social network. Not true.

Make sure your marketing plan includes post-launch activities. Seed the community once it is publicly available. People are more likely to join a populated site. Make sure your plan is designed to attract people who fit your ideal member profile. The first thousand members can shape the personality of the network, and even if the network is designed perfectly, appealing initially to the wrong market can jeopardize the success of your community. Some techniques include:

• Search the blogosphere for individuals who write about your topic and who may have influence and a platform for expressing their opinions.
  
• Identify a subset of your customers to approach first.
  
• Provide early members with incentives and rewards to participate, and then recruit like-minded members.
  
• Build an incentive contest for inviting the most friends, with the right profile of course.
  
• Integrate the site with other communication vehicles owned by your company. For example, if you’re a retailer, attach a flyer promoting the site to every purchase.
  
• Promote at targeted industry trade shows.
  
• Recruit celebrities for your particular niche as early adopters, and leverage their credibility and popularity.
  
• Visit other websites that may appeal to your target audience, and recruit the most active members whose ‘voices’ you like the most.

Once you’ve passed the seeding stage, the next goal is to reach critical mass—the point where your online community can sustain itself and continue to grow on its own. Recruit moderators from within the community. Pay close attention to community activity, and you will quickly notice several members who actively participate and want to see the site succeed. Recruit these users as community moderators. They can also serve as the eyes and ears of the community, providing valuable feedback. The more empowered they feel, the greater their personal stake in your success.

Developing a core group of enthusiastic users goes a long way to reaching critical mass.

A social network done right can generate value for the enterprise now and far into the future. Follow these steps and you’ll have an excellent chance of building a thriving, popular online community that will meet or exceed your goals.

cio.com.au

Seven Essential Steps Required to Launch and Grow a Successful Social Network (3-5)

Seven Essential Steps Required to Launch and Grow a Successful Social Network (1-2)

3. Develop a Budget & Schedule.

A successful budget needs to account for selecting the appropriate vendor and solution, building the framework, creating and implementing the design, marketing the site, signing up partners (if applicable), and moderating and maintaining the site. Also plan for ongoing development to keep the site fresh.

Set the project scope and timeline. Balance time-to-market requirements with building and launching an effective site. Based on market requirements, you may want to employ a "launch and learn" strategy. It may not be necessary to include all concepts in the first version. Launch the community and incorporate feedback from your users to determine site improvements. Make sure, however, you've incorporated enough functionality and design to attract and retain a thriving community.

4. Design Your Community to Achieve Its Goals.

An effective design should enable your community to meet your company's stated goals. More than just graphics and look and feel, the design needs to answer questions such as, "What features will my audience want?"; "Will we charge a membership fee?"; "Will access to some features be restricted to certain members?"; "What type of privacy options will we offer?"; "How will advertising be integrated?"; "Will content need to be reviewed before going live?"; and "How will the site layout and site-flow reflect my goals and shape behavior?"

A social network is much like a neighborhood. People naturally want to live in a place where they feel comfortable and welcomed. Your site's personality is one of the most critical factors to success. Once launched, your site will quickly develop its own personality, based on the online behavior of the early adopters, so it's important to consider your ideal member profile before you launch your community.

One design technique to shape site behavior is to create profile questions relevant to the ideal member. For example, if you are creating an online community for professional chefs, questions such as, "Who are your favorite chefs?" and "What are your favorite foods?" would more likely attract an audience of amateur cooks. However, if you included questions such as, "Where were you trained?" and "Do you own a restaurant?" you will more likely attract the intended audience. Understand what's important to your target audience, and craft profile questions accordingly.

Examples of sites designed to meet business goals:

• A global furniture conglomerate encourages customers to post photos of their favorite rooms designed with the company's furnishings. With one click, customers can easily purchase products they see in other customers' photos. And, all activity on the site earns the members points, which can be redeemed on future purchases. Site goal - improve customer loyalty and increase sales.
  
• A retail chain provides avatars (i.e., a multi-dimensional graphic of the user) to users, which can be dressed in the company's products. Users can search other avatars and, with a click of a button, purchase any article of clothing he/she may see on another avatar. The company can also release a new article of clothing to the online community exclusively, as a mechanism to test audience response. Site goal - improve customer loyalty, increase sales, and provide an opportunity for test marketing.
  

5. Choose Your Platform and Technology Wisely.

There are a wide variety of vendors and solutions from which to choose. Determine up front what's important to your organization. For example, will you be hosting the solution yourself, or are you looking for the vendor to host it for you? Are you looking for a platform on which to build the site yourself, or are you looking for a complete, out-of-the-box solution? How much of the design will you do in-house? What features are important to your target audience? Is the product extensible? In other words, are you looking to have your own developers add functionality, or will you rely on the vendor you select to enhance the site? Do you have a multi-site strategy? Can you succeed with a design and feature set similar to other sites, or do you need a complete custom design and implementation? Does it matter to you if the vendor has the right to post advertisements and market to your members, or are you looking for complete control of your site?

If this is your first social network, you may not know the answers to all of these questions, so look for a solution provider that has the experience and know-how to guide you along the way. Remember to look beyond the launch to the long-term. Launching your site is important, but look for a vendor and a solution that can support your requirements as your site grows.

Don't underestimate the importance of selecting the right technology. It is absolutely critical that the platform on which your community is built can handle the community, now and in the future. Scaling is critical, but very often your online community will experience extensive traffic as soon as it is launched. Having a site crawl to its knees will impact the success of the site and may negatively impact your business's reputation and bottom line.

Make sure you understand the technology and architecture requirements up front. The solution you select should conform to your company's technology standards so the IT organization can take advantage of a familiar architecture they know will address the scaling, integration, customization, and security requirements of your enterprise.

Seven Essential Steps Required to Launch and Grow a Successful Social Network (6-7)

Seven Essential Steps Required to Launch and Grow a Successful Social Network (1-2)

By David Ring, Sparta Social Networks

The popularity of Social Networking is growing exponentially by the day. More than just a passing fad, social networks are quickly becoming the new paradigm from which enterprises can increase revenue, drive business decisions, and affect change.

Yet launching and growing a social network can be a daunting task. With the amount of noise, and seemingly "too-good-to-be-true" claims, it's a challenge to know where to begin and what to believe.

An online community must meet time-to-market requirements while ensuring business requirements are met now and in the future. Based on more than eight years of experience solely focused on developing and supporting social networks, we have compiled a list of seven essential steps required to launch and grow a social network.

1. Determine What You Want to Accomplish. Be Specific.

Every organization would like to quickly sign up millions of members. Attracting users is a good thing, but it shouldn't be your goal. Articulate your goals in business terms-what are you trying to accomplish with the site and how will it better the enterprise. Be as specific as possible. Make sure your goals are realistic, attainable, and measurable. Determine a return on investment (ROI), and measure progress against practical, applicable metrics. Generating trend reports for number of visitors or message board posts won't cut it for an enterprise social network.

Examples of business goals include:

• Television network - Attract a younger viewing audience, improve fan loyalty, increase television ratings by 20%.
  
• Phone company - Increase sales by 20% by expanding sales pipeline to include customers' family and friends.
  
• Publishing company - Increase subscriptions and increase advertising revenue
  
• Consumer Products company - Develop a new way to shape the behavior of trendsetters in target market.
  
• Production studio - Drive audiences to specific movies and affect social change.
  

2. Determine Your Value Proposition and Target Your Audience.

Determine the value you are providing for your target audience. Answer the questions, "Why should a user visit my site and, more importantly, why will they stay?" and "What is unique about our online community?"

Establish your niche. The more targeted your audience, the greater your chance of success. By selecting a narrow segment, you have a greater chance of establishing an online community that is compelling and unique. Additionally, the more targeted you are, the more likely you will attract a passionate audience whose needs have not yet been met. The more passionate the audience, the more chance word of mouth will increase community participation.

The value your online community provides must encourage users return again and again. Initially attracting people to your site is extremely important, but the perceived value of the online community is what will keep them coming back. You may also want to include specific tactics and features to retain members.

Examples include:

• Offer the ability to interact with knowledge experts in the target niche segment.
  
• Provide access to original, exclusive content (e.g., a media company provided access to their journal articles when someone joined the community).
  
• Provide unique opportunities for members (e.g., a television conglomerate offered teenagers the opportunity to appear as high school sports commentators on local affiliates).
  
• Provide value-add services for members (e.g., an art workshop site enabled members to post artwork and receive constructive feedback).
  
• Offer the ability to interact with celebrities.
  

Seven Essential Steps Required to Launch and Grow a Successful Social Network (3-5)

Gangs Turn To Social Networking Sites To Recruit

Young people who visit social networking sites to download music and pictures glorifying criminal street gangs can unwittingly set themselves up to be recruited by those gangs, according to law enforcement officials and youth counselors.

San Mateo Police Chief Susan Manheimer, who speaks for the San Mateo County gang task force, said gang leaders are aware that kids like to socialize on sites such as MySpace and YouTube.

"We're seeing our gangs and the resurgence of some of the gang members coming back from prison looking more and more to those middle schoolers and the younger kids to recruit them," said Manheimer.

Manheimer said kids get into discussions in the comments sections of web sites, and engage in everything from vicious threats to what seems to be innocuous chit-chat.

"The type of profiling they're doing of themselves makes them prey to predators and also at odds with and challenging other gangs," said Manheimer. "So, we'll see something start on the Internet, and actually turn into an assault or a gang fight that actually results out of Internet profiling."

CBS 5 visited a movie theater in downtown Redwood City on a Friday night and found kids as young as 12 years old with gang insignia downloaded onto their phones. Some had downloaded rap songs glorifying the Norteños.

"'Til my death I'll hold my rag up high. I'll be a Norteño 'til the day I die," went the lyrics to one such song.

One 13-year old boy told CBS 5 the people who put up the pages with gang images sometimes strike up conversations with him.

"They just talk normal, like – 'What you doing? What you been up to?'" he said. "They don't pressure me, though."

Youth counselor Alejandro Vilchez says keeping kids out of gangs in real life now means teaching them to avoid becoming targets of propaganda in the virtual world.

"It's really no different than the way Hitler recruited Hitler youth with the pageantry and the uniforms and the messages of unity and sacrifice and honor," said Vilchez. "It's the same messages that you seen on these gang websites."

Vilchez advises parents to keep computers in common rooms and closely monitor websites and cell phones. And, he says parents should educate themselves about the colors and signs of the local gangs.

A YouTube spokesperson who asked to remain anonymous e-mailed CBS 5 the following statement: "YouTube does not allow videos showing dangerous or illegal acts which is clearly stated in the community guidelines on the site."

"Also, real violence on you tube is not allowed," the statement continued. "If a video shows someone getting hurt, attacked or humiliated it will be removed."

The spokesperson said YouTube does not control content, and that they rely on users to police the site and flag inappropriate material.

Youtube staff later reviews the material and removes content found to violate the community guidelines.

"Our community polices the site and this has proven very effective," the YouTube spokesperson wrote.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
cbs5.com

Social Network Software More Popular Than Ever

Social Networking websites can be found on every corner of the internet. Virtual communities, offering community software to help people to keep in touch with each other, have been popular since the first networking website was developed in 1995. From Classmates, LiveJournal to MySpace, social networking software is available to anyone who has access to the World Wide Web.

Online social networking began to grow in 1995, following the development of Classmates. This virtual community was designed to give members the community software tools they need in order to network with old friends they went to high school with. Classmates set the way for many other social network software providers to create web communities, to help people network with groups of people of their choice. Some popular online networking communities include:

1. MySpace
2. Blogger
3. MSN Groups

Social networking, in basic terms, is one way for a person to easily keep in touch with a group of people. With online social networking, community software is often available for any registered member of the virtual community. Most social network software will include:

1. an email box
2. a place to set up a user profile
3. instant message capabilities
4. photo sharing
5. public message sharing
6. private message sharing

These are not the only features included with some social networking software, but they are the most common features offered.

A major factor that contributes greatly to the growth of social networking online is the convenience and ease that the community software provides. It has never been easier to leave messages for a group of people, or locating people with the same interests and overall goals. Community software tools also enable picture and file sharing with ease. Private messages, as well as public messages, can be left with a few clicks of the mouse! Convenience and ease are proven factors that are aiding in the growth of online social interaction, as well as the increased use of social networking software.

The increased use of the internet is a contributing factor to the popularity growth of social network software. A great number of households have a least one personal computer, pocket computers, and cell phones with internet access as well. This is not to mention that almost every business has a website, and offer their products and services online. The popularity of the internet itself is helping the popularity growth of online social networking, as well as the software, that these virtual communities offer to their registered members.

MySpace is currently ranked the most popular website offering social networking software with membership, with over 38 million registered users who are unique. This means that MySpace has over 38 million "different" users, as opposed to having many of the same users creating different accounts. Although MySpace has come under scrutiny on many news stations, the popularity of the social networking software they offer continues to grow at a very high rate.

Blogger is another very popular social networking community with over 18 million registered unique users. Social network software on this website enables the member to publish entries in his or her "blog" as often as desired. This is only one feature included with the community software tools available with membership to this website. With an 80 percent year to year growth statistic, it is predicted that the popularity of Blogger will continue to rise.

Finally, Facbebook took the college demographic by storm, growing the site into a billion-dollar company in just a few years. The site, originally developed by a student from Harvard, catered to individual colleges. It has since expanded to high schools, and other networks, and has added many new features including classifieds, games, and a developer tools.

In recent years, social network software has begun making its way in an affordable form to the average small business or individual. These powerful and low cost solutions allow individuals to start their own social networking site, with the potential of becoming a huge success. What used to cost tens of thousands of dollars to develop in the early 2000s, now costs only a few hundred dollars, with setup being done in a matter of days. The rise of these sites run by individuals will cause a huge influx in the number of people running and accessing the various types of social networking sites out there today.

In conclusion, it is safe to say that social networking software will continue to grow in popularity. Because of the ease and convenience of community software offered by different virtual communities, many people will continue to take advantage of their use.
_________________

Ron McNeil promotes social networking software to start your own MySpace clone, FaceBook clone, and run your own community site powered by WebScribble software located at webscribble.com/products/webnetwork/index.shtml

Is Affiliate Marketing Safe For Social Networks?

Social networks, like YouTube, MySpace, and Flicker have taken the internet by storm.

One of the greatest challenges for most individuals and businesses is how to harness the enormous amount of traffic these sites are receiving and monetize it, either by growing their business through lead collection, or promoting either their own products, or affiliate products where they receive a commission.

Because of the social nature of the networking sites, the user community tends to frown upon promotion methods and many of the social network sites have included restrictions prohibiting promotion on their member pages.

However, there is one social network that is growing in popularity with business and individual internet marketers. This site is Squidoo.com, a simple concept similar to a blog, originated by author and speaker Seth Godin.

Squidoo is unique among social networks because it actually encourages members to use the site to promote products. Additionally, Mr. Godin actually recommends members to create multiple pages, called lenses, to promote anything they want.

Members of Squidoo have the option of either earning a revenue share of the revenue generated by their lens or they can donate the revenue to a charity of their choice.

Besides earning revenue through the ads shown by the Squidoo network, some members have also used some advanced html to include their own advertisements and subscription offers.

Copywriter Tiffany Dow started out on Squidoo.com just promoting her writing services. She is now considered one of the leading authorities on how to use this service to promote your services and affiliate products.

Tiffany had this to say about marketing on social networks:

“In a nutshell, Web 2.0 is centered around socialization on the ‘net, but as you probably already know, the biggest social giant site to date (MySpace), bans the practice of marketing, leaving entrepreneurs scrambling to play hide and seek with their customers without the risk of getting banned.

I started using a website called Squidoo to promote my writing services but once I realized how powerful it was, I started using it to market my own products and affiliate items - with amazing results that turned me into the Internet’s residential expert on Squidoo by accident!”

Tiffany has documented her success in a popular ebook called “Social Networking on Squidoo”. As a result of the 30 day challenge, an updated ebook is being developed, documenting the techniques used within the challenge.

Whether you are an individual, or a small business, Squidoo.com is a very powerful resource to promote your business. The ebook Tiffany created provides a blueprint to a successful promotion on Squidoo.
___________________

Kevin Davis has been marketing online for 3 years. For more information about Kevin, the services his company provides, recommended products and more, visit his blog at kevinhdavis.com.

Currently, Kevin is the leader in Tiffany Dow’s Squidoo 30 Day Challenge. You can check out his Squidoo lens at squidoo.com/internet-marketing-strategy. (February 4, 2007)

Good Night,
Kevin

Do’s and Do not’s of Professional Social Networking

Karin Dalziel

I’ll share a few do’s and do not’s I thought of- feel free to add more in the comments.

Do: Learn how each social network works. There are different ways to use each service, and it is likely you won’t use all of the features on any of them. For instance, I am not very active in groups on Flickr, but I always look at my contacts’ photos, comment where appropriate, and monitor my conversations. (Flickr makes this easy!)

Don’t: Use networks to spam people. Individualized messages are great, form letter sounding messages are not so great.

Do: Choose the networks that work for you. Twitter may not be your thing, and that’s fine. Find the networks that work for you and use them. (Hint: if you like Scrabble, join Facebook and challenge somebody to a Scrabulous game.)

Don’t: Join networks for the sole purpose of asking for a favor. Joining one day and then asking people if they know of any good jobs the next isn’t kosher. If you are going to use social networks, you have to be social- start early, and keep it up!

Do: Put up pictures of yourself. I use an icon for my profile pic (it is fairly distinctive) everywhere, but I also include another picture of myself if allowed. I also put my picture on my about page. People like to know who they are talking to, and it will increase the likelihood people will recognize you should you ever meet them.

Don’t: Put up potentially embarrassing pictures of yourself. I know this should go without saying, but it bears repeating. If you are already on social networks, you might want to clean up your profile a bit before you start friending professional contacts. (e.g. get rid of pictures of yourself surrounded by beer cans.) There’s always the option of maintaining a separate identity- that always seemed like a lot of work to me, but it is certainly do-able.

Do: Check your name in search engines. If you have a very common name, you might want to consider adding your middle initial or using a nick name to differentiate yourself from the other “Jane Smith’s” out there. If you do this, you have to be consistent and use it everywhere- resume, business card, website, social networks, etc. If nothing else, make sure that your name + library (or whatever industry keyword you want) brings up something about you.

Don’t: Fall for “Search Engine Optimization” offers. If you stick with a well known blogging platform (like WordPress, Blogger, Movable Type, Drupal, etc.), enable name based URL’s, and especially if you buy your own domain name, your site will already be optimized. You can increase your ranking by commenting on others’ blogs (real comments, not “mee toos”) linking from any other sites you own, and perhaps asking a few well known acquaintances to link to you, if appropriate. The absolute best thing you can do is develop content: i.e. write in your blog.

Do: Share your knowledge. Some might say that you don’t want to give everything away, but especially in the early part of your career you have to demonstrate that you have something to say before you can reasonably think of charging for your knowledge and skills.

Don’t: Become locked into your opinion. It’s perfectly OK to revisit something you wrote about before and say you changed your mind. That’s not wishy washy- that’s showing the ability to think in the face of new evidence and make an informed decision.

Do: Carry business cards with your web address at all times. I’m a student, so I don’t have professional cards- I just ordered some Moo Cards and use those. The point is to make yourself findable whether you meet someone online or off.

Don’t: Complain, gripe, be snarky, or otherwise be overly negative. I’m not saying everything has to be sunny and roses, but try to put a rational face on things and look at the bright side whenever possible. Try offering a suggestion for change or research how other institutions handle similar situations. If you’re not sure, get a second opinion or sit on a post for a day.

Do: Utilize a number of social networking sites in your “main” site. For instance, instead of uploading pictures to your private web space, put them on Flickr or another photo sharing site. You can incorporate books you are reading into your site through LibraryThing, or show the blogs you are reading using a Google Reader widget. Link back and forth to different services with wild abandon.

Do: Similar to above: Link early, link often. You might think that linking to another person’s website doesn’t really do anything, but it does. They might see that incoming link, and link back, or come visit your site.

Don’t: Limit your networking to online. OK, this probably doesn’t belong on this page, but it’s important. Try to make it to local conferences, write articles for your state library association publication, give local presentations and join mentoring programs. These are just a few examples of ways you can get involved locally. Online networking is great, but meeting someone face to face really solidifies a relationship. And dress nice when you attend the conferences- you never know when you might get an on the spot job interview or pre-interview.

Do: Use Creative Commons licensing whenever possible. You can get a license for your work here, and on some sites (like Flickr) you can set a license for the content you upload. I have most of my content under a CC By: license- which means anyone can use it, but they have to credit me. This does two things: it gives you more links back, and it just about guarantees your work will be spread more widely. If you are worried about stealing, think of it this way: If someone wants to steal your online content, they will. It’s happened to me. But some people will look for content they can use legally, and you want those people to find your content, because they are good about linking back. Besides, it’s just cool when you find one of your pictures on someone else’s blog header.

nirak.net

Business Social Networks: For the People, By the People

Niche Social Networks have been a hot topic on this and many blogs for a few months now. Their popularity has been increasing exponentially to the point that businesses who are normally behind on the internet are now starting to take notice and find out “what is social networking and what can it do for my business?”

It is in the wording of the question itself that the problem lies.

First, here is a brief explanation of what a social network is done Twitter-style in 140 characters or less:

Niche social networks are websites where people with shared interests can network with each other, share thoughts and ideas, contribute resources, and be a part of a virtual community where they can interact with people anywhere in the world.

Okay, it was longer than 140 characters. Still, niche social networks are sweeping the internet and businesses are starting to take wholesale notice. The problem is, many are approaching it wrong. They are looking at it as “how can I get more business from it” instead of approaching it as “how can I help contribute to my industry and my customer base by offering a genuine resource, and thereby potentially increasing business as a result?”

For this example, we will look at the car business. For the most part, social networking in the car business has failed. Many dealers have tried to get into it by creating MySpace and Facebook pages. Some are putting social networks on sites like Ning and GoingOn. In almost every case, the focus is sales, plugging in the inventory, or talking about how great the dealership is. It isn’t working.

If a dealership (or any other business) really wants to participate in Web 2.0 by offering a social network for their client base they need to take it a step further. Here are some pointers:

• Keep it Local, Publish Global - A good niche social network for a car dealer will be centered around their community but offer tools, articles, videos, and photos that can appeal to anyone.  Why?  Keeping it local has obvious advantages, but you want anyone who comes to the network to be able to gain something from it.  The more people involved, the more content there will be.  Fresh content, even from people out of the market area, can keep the locals coming back for more.


• Offer Resources and Fun, not Sales Pitches - People might be interested in the nice trade-in that came in last week or the 0% financing that the manufacturer just released.  Might.  They will almost definitely be interested in things that pertain to them whether they are buying a car or not.  Humorous stories, videos, and photos arre crowd pleasers.  Tips on car maintenance, buying advice, and local auto clubs can keep them coming back.  Features on local events and charities touch the community in different ways.  The sky’s the limit, but keep it centered on benefits, not sales.


• Avoid MySpace and Facebook - This goes against what many recommend, but here is why. Both Facebook and MySpace are antiquated formats that get spammed a lot and are, in general, unattractive.  People who use these networks regularly are used to them, but new users trying to join your network will probably be unimpressed.


• Promote it with Customers - Someone buys a car.  Why have them on your social network?  You want them there because they will give the best content.  People who are happy with a purchase may be willing to tell the world about it.  We know the ones who want to complain will find a venue, so why not give a place for positive statements?  Give them the URL and encourage them to join.

Any of these examples apply to other businesses, not just the automotive industry. Translate them to your business and you have a chance to really tap into areas of the internet where you aren’t currently present.

socialnewswatch.com

Entrepreneurs Think Niche With New Social Networks

BY BRIDGET CAREY
bcarey[at]MiamiHerald.com

Todd Weider hasn't done much social networking online. He had never even visited Facebook.com until two months ago.

But that didn't stop the 36-year-old entrepreneur from starting his own social network website called SplashVision.com. The Fort Lauderdale-based site has been up and running for nine months as a place for people who work and play on the water.

''I love technology and I have a lot of experience with boats,'' Weider said. So, with the help of programmers, he built a site targeting the boating industry -- a community he's been a part of all his life.

But can this new site be successful with so many other established social networks in cyberspace?

Yes -- if it can offer users something unique, industry experts say. At the Social Networking Conference last week in Miami Beach, many entrepreneurs who attended were focusing on a niche community or service to get noticed in a world dominated by online giants like Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace.

On Monday, News Corp. said its division that includes MySpace increased sales to $798 million, and operating profits are at $23 million.

Weider said he is amid a deal with a ''large media company.'' He expects to start making a profit by the end of the second quarter.

''Once you create something of value, it becomes profitable very quickly,'' Weider said.

Conference speaker Mark Brooks, editor of the Social Networking Watch, said there is a growth of smaller, more focused social networks popping up. And there's especially a need for one to target the original Facebook users -- a college-only audience.

''There is a gaping hole right now for a replacement Facebook,'' Brooks said. ``At some point, students are not going to want to hang out where their mothers are.''

Collegetonight.com is trying to be just that, but with a twist. It's more about letting your real-life college entourage know where everyone is hanging out, and incorporating mobile communication.

''It's not about being a social networking site,'' said Zachary R. Suchin, 24, chief executive of College Tonight. ``It's about a social network.''

Brooks said it's ''very difficult'' for social networks to be successful, unless it is a niche or does something very different. After all, why should someone sign up for another Facebook or MySpace if it's exactly the same?

''If you have a social network or are starting one up, it's a good idea to have an application'' on another network like Facebook, Brooks advised the audience.

Applications, which are add-on features to someone's profile, are immensely popular with Facebook users. According to comScore, 20 million Facebook users (that's 61 percent of the site's U.S. audience) have engaged with an application in November. The social network Slide.com put several applications on Facebook -- one called ''Top Friends,'' which had 6.2 million engaged viewers in November -- and those applications have increased awareness and traffic to Slide.com.

Applications are free to create and use, but advertisers are spending more to be seen within those applications and networks. Richard Jalichandra, chief executive of social media tracking site Technorati, said it is projected that in 2011, $1.1 billion will be spent on advertising on new media.

But for several niche sites, the revenue doesn't only come from ads that beckon you to punch a monkey and win an iPod. LifeAt.com creates social networks for condos and other subdivisions, which allow only residents to become members. Boca Raton-based EB Developers just paid LifeAt about $15,000 to create and manage private LifeAt social networks for three of its Florida properties.

Adam Freedman, chief technology officer at EB Developers, said the residents are slowly embracing it, with about 10 percent of the residents at each property signed up.

''This is just the perfect private social network between the people they only want to talk to,'' Freedman said.

But no matter what the target audience is, the key to success is getting people to keep coming back. Part of that means users should feel that there are benefits in coming back often, said Tim Walker, a social network analyst with Hoovers. And if they can find that benefit somewhere else, they might not care to create a profile.

A good social network ''doesn't have to beat you over the head to come back in,'' Walker said. ``I'm afraid the reality for a lot of these sites is that if you can't get someone to walk right in the first time, it's very hard to get them to come back.''

MySpace to help youth land a job

Teenagers accused of wasting their time on the internet now have a valid excuse, they're searching for a job.

Social networking website MySpace has joined up with CareerOne.com.au to create MySpace Jobs (www.myspacejobs.com.au).

Careerone hopes its move into MySpace will help young adults and school leavers looking to get a start in the job market.

"Our research shows that 68 per cent of Generation Y find it difficult to break into the employment market," News Digital Careers chief executive officer Dr Stephen Hollings said.

"Bringing the employment market to them through the MySpace partnership provides Generation Y with easy access to jobs, advice and information - all specifically tailored to their demographic."

The MySpace Jobs portal includes many of the features available on the CareerOne website, plus a number of social networking tools such as forums, Ask Us blog and an online moderation Q&A section.

A Community page (www.myspace.com/cooljobs) also lets users upload photos, post comments and meet other like-minded MySpace users who are seeking work.

© 2008 Australian Associated Press Pty Limited (AAP)