03/01/08

Blogging, the wonder child of the Web 2.0 juggernaut, seems to be changing. And the biggest reason for that, as I see it, is the new kid on the block: microblogging. And by that I’m mainly talking about that quick-post, sound-bite, here’s-what-I’m-thinking-or-doing-right-now phenomenon called Twitter.  (There are others of this ilk, too, like Jaiku and Pownce, but Twitter seems to have sucked most of the oxygen away from them since it launched only a year ago.) I blogged about the momentum of Twitter recently on my other blog, here. Then I also did this post about a new site with a lot of buzz that drafts off of Twitter’s popularity to a large extent, called Friendfeed.

The best blog post I’ve read on Twitter is this one from Jeff Jarvis at BuzzMachine. Read the comments, too—the impact of microblogging on PR is something you may be surprised to learn.  And I just caught an interesting post on how a blogger, having only discovered FriendFeed, is now longing to understand how it can help him manage his time—specifically, his blog. (That’s because the fuel of blogs is time. Like oil, there’s a finite amount of it.  Ever think about that?) Here’s his post: Wish I could run my blog with FriendFeed.

So, just what is microblogging doing to blogging? That’s what I’m wondering. What do you think?  Are bloggers now moving away from doing longer posts— where thinking, writing, maybe some research is actually a requirement—as opposed to just blurting something out?  I mean, how much time can a blogger spend, even if he/she tries, in planning a measly 140-character “Tweet,” as Twitter posts are so playfully called. (Yes, “Tweet” is already to “microblog post” what Levi’s is to jeans, Kleenex is to tissues, and Xerox is to copies.) I hardly know a blogger who isn’t Twittering like a maniac these days.

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02/24/08

A few weeks ago, the popular Web 2.0 blog Mashable started a poll with the question, “Are you suffering from social networking fatigue?” Get this: last I checked, 73% have replied yes. And this is a site essentially devoted to the social networking movement! In fact, it was the first major blog I know of that tried to morph itself into a social network. (Yes, it’s one of many networks I’ve joined in the past year.) Well, I guess I admire Mashable’s honesty, anyway, for seemingly bringing into question its own future by running such a poll.... :-)

Yes, a bit of the bloom seems off the rose lately. The media began giving us an almost continuous barrage during January about how social networking was losing some of its luster—which of course those same media had built up, incessantly, in the first place.  Okay, that’s what the media seems to do....maybe you’ve noticed?

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12/26/07

It’s time for new year’s predictions, and I’ve decided I’m just going to offer up one big one. Here it is:

In 2008, people will widely acknowledge and accept the notion of “relationship capital.”

One way that will play out specifically, I predict, is that, this time next year, we’ll be talking about how social networking really got traction at work—in the enterprise, as well as continuing to gain adoption in many small businesses.  I really believe that the tool of social networking will come to be seen as having its own form of currency—relationship capital—which can enable that tool to achieve real benefits, real ROI, in advancing business objectives.

So, yes, friends—“relationship capital” should definitely be on your buzzword watch list in 2008!  And there’s a similar term I like as well: “social capital.” I was at an Ignite event in San Francisco a couple of months ago and heard an impassioned presentation by Tara Hunt that she called “Forget Venture Capital, Raise Social Capital!” I thought it was great—very fitting in its context for Web 2.0 startups, but even more so now, I think, in the broader business world as we move into 2008. The thing I like about Social Capital is this: the more you give it away, the more you get back in return.

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12/12/07

Okay, social networks for pets are nothing new (just Google that term). But here’s a cute twist. Are you a dog owner or dog lover? And maybe an art lover, too? I don’t own a dog myself, but one of the coolest new sites I’ve seen lately is Mog-Dog.com, a new online business created right here in the Twin Cites. It was founded by a colleague I used to work with and his wife, and they’re both accomplished graphic designers (which you can tell!) Mod-Dog is not a social network per se, but talk about a way to involve a community, and to do it in such a visual, fun way! Come on, dogs need their own note cards and Christmas cards—didn’t you know that? Okay, okay, their owners need them. But how fun! (And you could always have Fido sign with a paw print.) Not only cards, but you dog lovers can now decorate your pad with a high-quality modern art print of your very own breed.

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12/04/07

UPDATE (12/19/07): One last update on this story, then I’ve had enough. Forbes ran a piece this week entitled How Silicon Valley Says ‘Sorry’—in which it concludes “apologizing pays.” Well, despite the fact that, according to an Edelman PR survey it cites that found technology ranked at the top of a list of “most trusted” industries, ahead of businesses like banking, telecommunications, and healthcare, I still say Facebook waited too long for this apology—and that the firm lost valuable reputation points in doing so.

UPDATE (12/14/07): The Wall Street Journal ran a great commentary piece on this topic.  Here’s how the IAB Smart Brief summarized it: ”Facebook Dustup Shows the Market Works - When Facebook tried to roll out an advertising service that included news feeds of member e-commerce activity, users revolted and the company changed its policy. IAB President-CEO Randall Rothenberg writes in a Wall Street Journal commentary, ‘The Facebook imbroglio is an almost-perfect representation of the power of the Internet to mobilize people to change the Web for the better.’ Rothenberg argues that the Facebook example also makes the case against government regulation of online marketing, since market forces have a self-correcting effect.” And here’s another look at this controversy, this one from the Knowledge@Wharton Marketing site: Who Owns You? Finding a Balance Between Online Privacy and Targeted Advertising.

UPDATE (12/5/07): Zuckerberg Admits to Failure (NY Times)

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ORIGINAL POST (12/4/07): For a company that’s flying so high, you’d sure think they could run their PR better. With the rapidly building negative story about Facebook’s Beacon program for advertisers, the lack of any statement from the company’s chief executive is becoming more and more painfully obvious. Overnight, top blogger Robert Scoble called the company out on this glaring problem, and I totally agree with him. Now is not the time to be silent.

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