eBiz Tomorrow by Chris Salazar

Just recently, I talked about a social networking site that is used to remember those who have passed away.  And today, I stumbled upon another similar site used to archive MySpace profiles of individuals who have died.  MyDeathSpace “is an archival site, containing news articles, online obituaries, and other publicly available information…[and] to pay your respects and tributes to the recently deceased MySpace.com members via [their] comment system.”

Is it just me or has social networking taken a sudden turn to the dark side?  Sure does look like it!

For some reason this site gives me 404 messages, but its a good idea to keep a lookout…who knows what it will become!  I can see it now:  business advertising funeral services, online flower companies getting involved, and even churches offering their services too!

Lots of potential!

Let’s face it, the crazy years of going to house parties and dancing until I drop to overly loud music are over. Now, I find myself in more mellow, business-like situations–drinking some iced tea with some appetizers and talking about business and world news.

My generation does not like newspapers nor do we really like to watch the boring news. Not because they’re boring, but its just old. Old people do that. Us “young” kids rely heavily on today’s tech, namely the internet and cell phones. This is what we want:

• Instant gratification
• Fast, easy, accessible information when/where we want it
• Clear, clean, crisp information
• Fun, interesting, and up to date info right when we need it

Which is how my cell phone saved me at a get together this weekend…

More often than not, I find myself waiting for someone or just checking the latest news on my cell.  Verizon’s unlimited internet access has really benefited me…I know find myself up to date with what’s going on in the world, not just in tech, but in all sorts of things.

Now that I’ve started to spend more time with professionals, I found that I needed to stay up to date with current news so I can connect with them in conversations.  Otherwise, I just get pushed aside.  My cell phone has made it so much easier and fun!

Ive discovered a fun, fast, and easy way for me to stay up to date.  I can do this whenever I want and practically anywhere.  It practically saved me at my recent get-together and I know ill refer to it often.  Better yet, it’s made me become a more well-rounded professional.

Fast, accessible, and relevant information is all I want…it’s not that hard, but companies still fail–Facebook hasn’t though. 

Jason Calacanis has a lot of harsh feelings towards Facebook! He’s really missed the point of Facebook, its about online communication, aggregating widgets that mean something to you, poking each other, and writing on 10 million walls a day. If you’re not up for this, then Facebook is NOT for you.

He almost seems anti-social! He doesn’t want to see what movies I like and recommend, he doesn’t care about comments/messages you send him, and he doesn’t care about joining groups (even if they are for good causes). He argues that we aren’t going to save anything with creating a group…which is wrong! That’s only the first step and social networking is making it easier to get people around the world involved with the same mission.

Most likely, he’s just fed up with social networking in general…since there’s so much news out there, especially on techmeme. But, that’s what feed readers are for…filter out all the redundant stuff.

All of the reasons Jason hates facebook are all of the reasons why I like it! Why is this? Is it a generation gap? What’s going on here?

Time will answer these questions, but here’s my prediction:

Facebook will change how we receive news (especially on mobile devices). Facebook will become the next feedreader…it will become a one-stop shop for everyone! Finally, it will surpass MySpace as the most valuable social networking site in the WWW.

WORD OF ADVICE: Jason, you can remove those widgets from your facebook so you don’t see what movies they recommend…it might help!

UNRELATED NOTE: He is also a 5th degree black belt in TKD…Jason I do TKD as well. Let’s chat sometime!

Others who are joining the conversation:

• Robert Scoble
• Rexblog.com
• A VC
• The Messaging Times

Disclaimer:  My good friend Michael Sykora sent me the link to this article.  Ironically, we are part of the younger generation, but he sent it through Yahoo Mail.  But, I’ll tell you why later…keep reading.

Yes, email is for old people!  Why though?  Not because its prehistoric (laugh), but rather times have changed.  The new (younger) generations revert to other forms of communication in place of the rather old email apps.  Some say the future of email can be found in MySpace and Facebook, while others say its text message, but truth is it will always be changing.  Today its text, tomorrow its MySpace, next month its Virtual IM.  It’s difficult to keep up…but it shouldn’t be.

Stop trying to catch up and instead figure out why things are changing so fast.  I admit, I use email just for work too, and revert to text messaging instead.  1000 text messages isn’t enough for me, I need unlimited texts.  Why though? It’s because things today are FAST paced, I can’t take the time to open up my computer and send an email asking “what are we doing tonight?”  A simple text is easier, faster, quicker, and more efficient.

MySpace and Facebook take time too, but everyone is on it!  Which means, I constantly get emails/messages from each and a reply is just a click away.  Plus they both have handy mobile alerts letting me know when someone has messaged me…does Yahoo?  Not sure, if they do, they haven’t done a good job marketing it.  Cell phones and social networking are key to today’s lifestyle, which brings me to my next point:  stop creating one-offs, instead create something that links everything together!

Here’s how you can keep up with us:

• build something that aggregates everything into one (myspace, facebook, email, news, etc) - one giant feedreader
• make it interactive and fun - engage us, we get bored easily
• make it accessible from mobile devices - we’re using our phones already, why not join us
• make it easy

Here’s what I only use email for:

• Business related messages - hence why my friend sent me this article through yahoo and not on facebook/myspace
• To talk with professional people who are not part of my “social” circle (people from work, ex bosses, family friends)
• Older people who don’t get it  *wink*  *smile* (just those who dont have myspace/facebook or a texting plan)

I’m excited to be part of this time when things are changing so fast.  The way we receive information is different from how it was 20 years ago, and it will continue to change.  I love it!

For some reason I never thought I would hear the words “passed away” or “death” and social media in the same sentence. Ha, I was wrong! It turns out, social media is not just for the living, but also for those who have died.

Respectance, a social networking site that keeps the memories alive, has found a way to help loved ones who have lost someone. What’s the most difficult thing about losing someone? Is remembering all the GREAT things you did together. Here’s your chance to keep the memories alive!

You can explore tributes, photos, members, videos…all kinds of stuff…

According to Venture Beat, they just received$1.5 million in funding! I’m completely down for using this as a way to keep photos and tributes, but to browse other people who have died…I’m not too sure. Although some have said it might make it easier to heal…it might be a little freaky at the same time!

Other interesting opinions about Respectance:

• Some call it emo-social media
• Mashable is a fan of the social network for the dead
• Blognation says this is for people to “heal and share memories of their loved ones, while finding others with similar experiences“

A good idea? YES, definitely. But, how will it withstand? Who knows. But, what do you think?

Social Media has taken the world by storm, especially with the myspace and facebook phenomenons. But these are companies that were made to thrive in Social Media. Knowing this, how have the traditional companies (who’ve been around for years) been impacted? What’s their future in social media?

The graph below illustrates how often each brand is “mentioned” in some of the top social mediums…

(source)

Of course, Google, Yahoo, Apple and Microsoft are really no surprise. These brands are predominately mentioned in the blogosphere and on delicious. Yet, what’s most surprising? What’s most notable? Here’s my take:

Canon: YouTube drives most of the conversation for Canon, which is expected with around 42,000 search results. Although most of these are irrelevant, new product demos like this one, instructional videos, and canon interviews, really benefit the Canon’s brand. From brand awareness to bad press, users utilize YouTube to 1) show off their new camera, 2) give advice to others on how to take care of a camera, 3) or general talk about overall experiences.

What should Canon do? It’s definitely been noted that Canon can thrive in the blogosphere by using social media to their benefit (other users have already started: canon blog, user#1 blog, and user#2 blog). But, where’s Canon’s corporate blog?

A corporate blog will help Canon:

• Embrace the thriving social media culture that has already begun
• Strengthen their brand presence + build trust
• Acknowledge and join the “new” community
• See first hand how their rate amongst users

Amazon.com: Looks like delicious is the leader for all Amazon.com mentions in social media. With 170,000 mentions its easy to see why, as the majority of the listings are coupons/deal offers.

Notably, the first search result is S3 (online storage). What’s going to happen with the online storage industry? It will become cheaper…cheaper to store information, cheaper to use information, and cheaper to view information.

Jeremiah suggested that users will be paid to upload data…not in cash though.

It’s probable users will receive cash returns, but highly unlikely; instead, users will receive “credits.” Towards what? Social Media tools..like widgets/gifts for facebook, discount coupons to companies like Amazon, or even promotions (free one month web hosting, etc). To say users will be paid to upload data is not false…its misleading. Especially since no premium will be paid and its likely companies will use it as another marketing/sales gimmick to get people using the “made” money towards something else.

My questions is: how will companies validate that the info you enter is correct?

Disney: Like Canon, YouTube drives a lot of the online conversation for Disney. However, it may not be as beneficial.

Disadvantages of YouTube:

• Copyright issues - you can’t stop it
• The Disney audience is children…they shouldn’t be on YouTube
• Can’t control users (parody videos, porn Disney, etc)

Advantages of YouTube:

• Free viral marketing - things spread fast
• It’s easy and accessible
• Generates hype, interest, and creativity

YouTube isn’t a bad thing for Disney, but by all means they should not rely on it. Instead take this as a sign that Disney is in the Top 10 of all online mentions along with eBay, Google, and Microsoft. That’s a big deal…and there’s a tremendous amount of potential for social media. From blogs to virtual 2.0 worlds…users want it thats a given…and the stats just reaffirms that.

All in all, this is an excellent report on how brands are influenced by social media alone. It’s amazing actually, since most of social media costs very little (if not free), compared to traditional advertising and marketing. What will these companies do? Time will tell, but it will not be a smart move to ignore the “new” internet.

Picture taken from the Community Next Viral Conference in Sunnyvale (thanks to Jeremiah’s flickr). By the way…I had trouble finding the address to this place!

Got a chance to meet some new friends and learn a few things about viral marketing as well considering MySpace, RockYou, PBWiki + others gave some good advice. I wonder who won the iPhone…their task was to find the 5 people at the conference who were infected! I asked Jeremiah if he was infected, he said no, so I gave up!

Jason Feffer, user #4 to sign up for MySpace and one of the originators, provided a good recap of the history of viral marketing. He insists that MySpace is a great example of a successful viral campaign and he’s right.

One of his main points is to control your brand and become a utility. MySpace had several opportunities cross their path before they hit the big time, but they picked them wisely. For example, MySpace was approached with an opportunity to market their company in front of a thousand plus crowd in Las Vegas for free, but they turned it down! Why? B/c they dont want their name associated with other parties/events/services that is not hosted by them. Which makes sense, but if they did take that opportunity, where would MySpace be now? Probably as successful!

He used the word “infected” a lot! Even went so far to say that bad WOM brings in new users because it infects them! AND…WOM spreads faster when you’ve got a bad product…hm, maybe thats the way to go. Release a bad product, then BAM, release the new/good product.

Jia and Ben from RockYou had some interesting thoughts about widgets. They’re focused on self express widgets for individuals. This is important because the users keep the viral moving. More interesting, they introduced 3 simple words: simple, easy, and utility…or what I like to call SEU. I’ll explore the implications of this a bit more soon.

These are just some highlights of what I learned, more will come later. Overall, this conference was enjoyable and Im looking forward to future events. Whats next?

Social media, or Social Business has really been on my mind lately. Not because its a hot topic now-a-days, or because its buzzy…but I don’t feel like Businesses (overall) are really benefiting for the “social” side. Don’t get me wrong, becoming a social business can help, but it takes more work than just launching a blog/forum.  This post will first define terms like society, talk about common themes, and provide some incite on how to start a successful program.

First, let’s take a look at some key terms: Society, Social, Networking, and Business. (I’m trying to figure out how these can compliment each other) …I got these definitions from Dictionary.com (which uses the American Heritage Dictionary too):

• Society: a body of individuals living as members of a community
• Social: living together or enjoying life in communities or organized groups
• Networking: a supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest
• Business: the occupation, work, or trade in which a person is engaged

All of these definitions involve people - like you - which make up society, networking, and business. This is not new information and does not come at a surprise, but in a lot of businesses today there’s still some missing links. Several other pieces to the puzzle must come together to successfully intertwine business and community.

The next common denominator in the definitions above is community. Again, not a surprise, but its a bit more complicated than just community. Simply finding a community, creating tools, and expecting them to embrace it is NOT enough. If I were to start my own community, I’d take these steps:

1. Define my community, including all sub-communities and groups.
2. Live/Engage with my community - wear their clothes, eat their food, talk/eat with them, think like them, and go to their events.
3. Research what’s missing - why they need it - how they should access it
4. Welcome the community to help you build their tools - especially with (beta testing)
5. Encourage feedback - they are your customers, do what they say (but with your unique twists)
6. Reach out to the community and business world - let them know you’re out there, build trust, build relationships, build a support system, and build a community
7. Find a sponsor - someone who benefits from your tool, but has a presence in your community. Make them your success story - brag about them and they’ll brag about you

Understand that your community program is living, it’s growing each and everyday. As more and more users engage themselves, the community grows and the support system grows…but keep this focused with your company, strategy, and competition. What else is happening in your market? Incorporate that too into your program.

Be the leader, be the innovator. This is not about being first, its more than that. It’s about staying on top of competition by moving ahead of the industry and anticipating your user’s/community’s next moves. This is why living their life and knowing your customer inside and out is vital. Evolve with the users as they evolve with the world.

This is WHY businesses are not captivating and reaping the rewards of a community marketing program. Deploying tools is not enough, there’s several months worth of research and planning that need to take place before hand. It’s okay if competition rolled their stuff out, your’s will be better!

If you’ve started a community marketing program (like Jeremiah Owyang), or are currently managing one (like Mario Sundar, Robyn Tippins), please let me know how you’ve done it! I want to know from YOU, the expert!

Finally, I’m fulfilling my role as a full time web/community marketing enthusiast. In my opinion, conferences are one of the best ways to network, learn more about your industry, and figure how you can add value to your company.

Yet, I’m both excited and nervous. Nervous b/c its difficult to both soak everything in AND brand yourself. I plan on attending these events on a regular basis, mostly because its an interest of mine that happens to compliment my role at HDS, but its not all about listening to speakers; its also about being able to network with other professionals around the area.

I believe in the network of ONE - this is finding at least 2 other people who are experts in something DIFFERENT than me…this will make me valuable as I take this network from job to job.

Soon I’ll be posting some tips on how to make the best out of a conference and how to brand yourself at a conference…Until then, please check back on Saturday for my notes and pictures.

SPECIAL THANKS TO JEREMIAH - he’s awarded me with a ticket to the Community Viral Next Conference!

MySpace is the “king” of social networking and has been for quite some time. Yet, Facebook is rising with rapid speed, especially since they’ve opened up their platform to allow developers the opportunity to create cool widgets for profiles. They’re embracing their users and providing them with a great amount of control over what they have on their site.

But, not as much control as MySpace. Users can change anything and everything about their profile (fonts, colors, images, banners, etc). Now, should Facebook allow the samething?

THE social networking blog argues that Facebook should allow users the ability to customize their profiles. I doubt this is in the scope of Facebook’s strategy, otherwise, they would have already allowed it. I’d have to disagree with Linda Roeder, although I respect her for her knowledge in Social Media.

Here’s why becoming more like MySpace will HURT Facebook:

• They’ll lose users.  Plain and simple those users who left MySpace for Facebook will drop off.
• Drift too far away from their strategy.  Facebook has set out to provide a social network where people can express both professional and social likings.  Unlike MySpace, its purely popularity and social…nothing more.
• Too much customization = slow connectivity! MySpace literally got on my nerves, it was just too slow b/c of all the customizations, weird backgrounds, and tons of pictures.  Facebook doesn’t allow any type of profile customizations whatsoever.  Is this a good thing though?  Yes for the time being.
• Spamming.  I must get around 10 friend requests a day on MySpace, and 9/10 times they’re spam.  I hate this, but so far I have not had one spam friend request on facebook.

Now, some people argue that Facebook is too boring and leaves no room for customization.  Not even a font color change, but will this really hinder Facebook from becoming the next King?

I’d have to argue that font colors won’t mean anything.  It’s who evolves with their users fastest and provides the right freedom.

Facebook opened up their platform to developers to create whatever modules they want.  Since then, traffic has sky rocketed and other colleagues of mine have joined.  MySpace still hasn’t done so…I’m past trying to make my site look pretty, I looking for functionality improvements.

To me, functionality prevails over the anesthetics.  How about you?