A lot of things have been running through my mind this week but what I want to talk about is a combination of Brian Solis’ excellent piece earlier this week on sociology, technology and social media. And Facebook.
As Solis points out, different generations communicate differently. Still, the younger generations have been connecting to each other via social networks for quite some time. While there are plenty of people who think they’re too old to participate, there are just as many who are turning to their children to teach them how to ‘friend’ someone and create a profile.
Technology is just that, technology, but our relationships serve as the foundation. Whether it’s traditional or new media, we need to constantly be reminded that we’re reaching people and not audiences. And that brings me to Facebook. Geoff posted earlier this week on Beware of the Facebook Frenzy, the media circus surrounding Facebook these days.
Solis points out in a different post, ‘Facebook is the Online Hub for Connected Professionals,’ that the social network is a place for you to build and maintain relationships with key contacts and friends and also present your online business persona. I have a Facebook profile, a few friends, professional and personal, belong to a few groups, update my status, and frequently write on my friend’s wall.
It makes me nervous combining the professional and personal contacts in one place. Not that it would be a problem, I would just like to keep them separate, which is why LinkedIn appeals to me, but Facebook is more fun.
Solis had an interesting top 10 list of whether to target people through social or traditional media that is worth checking out. Personally, the idea of pitching on Facebook or writing a press release on somebody’s wall is something I don’t know if I could do. But it goes to show where this is all headed and the speed at which it’s getting there.
Some say Facebook is the Future. It’s definitely a phenomena right now and one that only seems to be getting bigger.
Sorry, Geoff and Brian. I’m not buying stock in Facebook just yet.
The initial whiz-bang of the APIs stunned everyone, but we won’t know anything about the impact until everything settles down somewhat. Frankly, I’m a little tried of logging on and having two or three new Applications staring me in the face, because someone is inviting me to share.
I’ll expand my rationale on Now is Gone. See you on Tuesday!
Actually, for clarity’s sake, Michele Capots, our senior AE for PR, wrote this. My post on Tuesday was “Beware of Facebook Frenzy,” and I threw out a yellow flag on applications.
My apologies to you and Michelle.
My red flag waves Tuesday.
LOL> Looking forward to it!
More red flags are needed fro Facebook; it reminds me of that old movie they used to show in highschool … The Wave.
So I look forward to it too.