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The Social Graph Remains Elusive
November 1st, 2007 by StephenPosted in Brainstorming, Communication, Facebook |
Welcome back! It's good to see you again. Please note that I am now publishing all new material at my hub site: StephenPSmith.com
There is an interesting article at Ad Age Digital about Facebook and how advertisers and marketers are using the service to leverage the social graph:
[Facebook could have]…a new cultural role for the mass online social network that recasts what has been mainly a time waster as a useful and efficient communications tool for business and personal use. It’s a vision that requires its users to take its conventions very, very seriously…
It is the last part of that quote that I find most interesting. “Taking conventions seriously” can be a tricky thing among the free spirits that inhabit the Web 2.0 universe. In fact, there are very few conventions, and new iterations are being run every day, as Facebook users (and non-users) work to grasp the new tools and connections that Web 2.0 provides.
The real question is about what the future may hold for Facebook, is it a “game-changer”, or a precursor to a better virtual model of real life connections?
What is at stake is not only the difference between a Facebook that’s an interesting online media company and one that’s a game-changer, but also the real, long-term value of online social networks to marketers, especially when you consider that an accurate modeling of interpersonal relationships on a large scale could be the key to unlocking the mysteries of word-of-mouth and understanding how consumers influence each other in a detailed way.
How do you use Facebook? If you don’t, why not? Leave a Comment and let’s discuss what the future may hold. How do you think that Facebook can change the game?
If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/5luc33. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen
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November 2nd, 2007 at 4:06 pm
I’d love to know the modern adoption to experience cycle. I did not get on the Facebook train. Why? I didn’t see the benefit. I’m saturated in online tools that do near all the connectivity I need without that much noise. Personally I have a blog, photo, and text burble feeds that I send out. Metadata sites about where I participate. Professional portals that generate very little noise but offer a nice way to connect. Lastly the classic email and an address book.
I participate in so many resources but Facebook just didn’t capture my interest. It has other people I know, just like Myspace, or Orkut, Livejournal, etc.. but I don’t really need that outlet yet.
I think you’re on to it when you look at it as a study of relationships and social dynamics. Facebook is not the killer app. It is a precursor.
I have no real idea what the real killer app will be. With all of this new easy to study dynamism I think it’s farther off than closer. I see a lot of permutations in the future like it has been in the past.
We have a lot to learn, and time to digest it. It’ll be neat (and sometimes scary) to watch it unfold.
-a
November 3rd, 2007 at 11:02 am
It is exciting watching all of this unfold, and since I am in the middle of this crazy move to Maine, I have become very much aware of just how connected I had become. That is kinda scary in itself.
I will be very happy when I have my internets back, and can get plugged in again!!