This past year saw some dynamic changes in social media. Consider the rise of Facebook, Twitter’s increasingly strong position as the microblog network of choice, blogs’ maturation as a media form, and the continued adoption of social media by millions of Americans. Looking forward to the New Year, it’s a time of consideration, hope and aspiration.

Here are my top ten wishes for social media in 2008:

1. Discussions revolve around integrating social media into the larger media picture, rather than the legitimacy of two-way, conversational media.  The continued debate about relevancy seems passe given the sheer numbers of consumers, media outlets and businesses using social media.
2. Similarly, that social media becomes viewed as its own unique tool set for several different corporate roles as opposed to just PR or customer service.
3. Serious industry progress towards social media measurement.
4. Discussions around ideals in social media stop getting turned into black and white debates.  In reality, humans strive for ideals, but rarely attain them.  Common sense  fosters conversation about progress, instead of absolute wrongs or rights.
5. People stop validating shameless cowards that use false identities to attack others (note: no validating link).
6. Businesses who try to bend social media to their rules continue to fail miserably.
7. Past astroturfing incidents actually discourage new ones.  You could probably repeat this one every year.
8. Blogger relations evolves beyond just pitching bloggers.  The desire to force traditional media relations principles on this form just doesn’t make sense.
9. The Buzz Bin doesn’t lose its edge. Let it not be said that we sold out.
10. Apple engages in social media. Why not?

What are your social media wishes for 2008?

Earlier this week, Marketing Profs published my article on wireless internet marketing. Here’s a snippet:

So for the intelligent marketer the question must be, “Is mobile the right medium to reach my constituencies?” To make that decision, marketers have to be aware of three critical trends that focus on mobile data usage:

1. The end-user of mobile data tends to be younger. According to the Pew Internet Project, approximately one-third of all adult American internet users (34 percent) have logged onto the internet by wireless means using a laptop, PDA, or cell phone. These users are younger than traditional Internet users: 37 percent of 18-34 year-olds, while only 18 percent of the 35-49 group use wireless.²
2. A wide variety of factors—low bandwidth, hundreds of different devices, small screens, different viewing environments and standards—have prevented widespread adoption. They have forced many mobile applications to reduce visuals and rely on simple text applications.³
3. While wireless data is still in its childhood, wireless mobile social media is in its infancy. That means social applications like mobile Facebook, Jaiku, and Twitter are still very early, and unproven from a marketing standpoint.⁴

In the short term, marketers need to make sure that their constituency is mobile friendly (less than 34 years old), and that they can convey value across diverse devices on various mobile networks. If the recipe is right, then its’ time to get cooking.

The article goes into some factors to watch as mobile social media evolves. You can read the whole thing on Marketing Profs.

Yesterday on Now Is Gone, I recommended five books (in addition to the text of the same name).  Two of them were diametrically opposed books, the Cluetrain Manifesto and the Cult of the Amateur.

It’s hard to escape the influence of these two books. This video discusses the two books and includes interviews with Chris Brogan and Doug Haslam. I met Chris and Doug at the Social Media Breakfast IV in Boston. Thanks to Bryan Person for having me.

And from the book review on Now Is Gone:

You can’t market in social media environments without reading the Cluetrain Manifesto. It’s the dream of the new conversation, the heart and soul of every blogger and socially engaged individual. It understands the spirit of new media environments, and makes some pointed comments about marketing to people instead of the masses.

Yet at the same time, Cluetrain is flawed in that it represents an ideal, a beautiful one, but one that may not be obtained. Of particular relevance to marketers are the passages by Christopher Locke and Doc Searls.

This next one pained me. I really didn’t want to recommend it as Keen’s reactionary prose often reads like neo-conservative rants from Pat Buchanan. At times his hypocritical depiction of web 2.0 users as monkeys reminded me of Joseph Goebbels.

Yet this book does finally cede that web 2.0 will not go away, and that a balance will need to be struck with traditional media. That’s why I recommended Keen’s book. Because old media is not going to go away, and eventually the social media trend will level off, creating a need to integrate outreach across both forms. Somewhere between Cluetrain and Keen lies the end result. Readers who find Keen’s kvetching to be tiresome should just skip to the final chapter on solutions. I wish I had.

It turns out that though we like to make a fuss about privacy, Americans really don’t care.  In a fascinating report that comes on the heels of the Facebook Beacon quagmire, the latest Pew/Internet study, “Digital Footprints,” reveals that Americans aren’t monitoring their online identities frequently. Thus the privacy issue may be a red herring.

From the executive summary:

Internet users are becoming more aware of their digital footprint; 47% have searched for information about themselves online, up from just 22% five years ago. However, few monitor their online presence with great regularity. Just 3% of self-searchers report that they make a regular habit of it and 74% have checked up on their digital footprints only once or twice.

Ironically, Seth Godin’s words last week are now backed with hard research.  “There’s been a lot of noise about privacy over the last decade, but what most pundits miss is that most people don’t care about privacy, not at all… What people care about is being surprised.”

In the wake of Beacon, these words ring true.  We don’t want to see our information used in ways that are unexpected. Eighty-five percent of adults say it is “very important” to control who has access to their personal information (Image credit: cash_me_if_u_can).

Beacon violated these expectations, and as a result Facebook took a big hit.  But, it does mean that if expectations are clear and stated up front, consumers will allow their information to be shared freely. 

Technology marketers must be thrilled about this now proven lack of concern on privacy.  This eases the adoption of data intense applications like location based services, new semantic web technologies as well as initiatives like open identity. They keys to success for companies using identity data is to clearly communicate information usage, garner permission, and follow through on their commitments.

Hidden Treasures

The report is chock-full of fascinating data: 

• People are definitely researching each other online. Fifty three percent of adult internet users said they had looked for information connected to family, friends, romantic interests and business colleagues.
• More Gen Yers are online, but older adults have transparent online identities. Approximately 55% of online teens have created an online profile, most of which are restricted (40% visible). Adults, are at 20%, but in a more transparent way (60% visible).
• Only 28% of adults say it is “very important” to not be monitored at work.  So much for Big Brother fears.
• Interestingly enough, 68% of professional online identities monitor their image online
• There’s a great discourse on identity’s moving digital footprint as caused by Web 2.0 technologies. “..most [Internet Users]  have not experienced the sometimes messy work-in-progress norms being
  hashed out by those who are heavily invested in social media.”

Ahh, yes, the fine realities of having critical discourse through social media channels. It’ll be interesting to see how Internet users react to widespread user-generated comments about people.  Will the value of social media commentary decrease or increase?

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