Corina’s Concerns Be lowly wise, think only what concerns thee and thy being.– John Milton, Paradise Lost

This morning, I discovered this article in the New York Times dealing with digital intimacy, or otherwise put, the effect of all the social networking tools upon interpersonal relations. A couple of interesting ideas:

- when people of sites like Facebook experienced the constant, up-to-the-minute updates on what their “friends” were doing, they became hooked, although initially they though that they didn’t need or wouldn’t be interested in such updates. In fact, they were developing “ambient awareness”. To quote:

“Social scientists have a name for this sort of incessant online contact. They call it “ambient awareness.” It is, they say, very much like being physically near someone and picking up on his mood through the little things he does — body language, sighs, stray comments — out of the corner of your eye.”

- people become more gregarious online

- Thde question of whether people who use FB, and Twitter and similar tools increase their Dunbar number (i.e the maximum number of social connections – currently estimated to tail off at around 150 people), and the corresponding answer that the strength of these online networks is in “weak ties” loose acquaintances who were lost in pre-internet days.

I think the article is a must read. And, irony of ironies, I found it on Facebook. Through a link posted by a friend.

Posted under Reading Pack

Readers of my former blog are undoubtedly aware that I’ve devoted some virtual ink to the subject of companies and the new tools of the online world, mostly in the form of being aware of what customers are saying on these new communication platforms. A recent study from Cone. Inc., revealing that 93% of Americans want companies to have a presence on social media sites, has lead me to consider how companies can interact with their customers on the social media sites. Consider this:

- 60% of the US population interacts regularly with companies on a social media site
- 43% say that the social networks should be used to address consumer issues
- 33% of younger consumers (18-34) and those with household incomes over
$75,000 believe that companies should try to market to them through
social networks

These, of course, are US-centric figures, and without a similar research on the Romanian market it is hard to determine whether Romanians feel the same, but given that the emergence of social media as a major tool for communication, especially among the younger generation, is a global phenomenon, taking your company to Facebook and its ilk is a step worth considering.

My company is on Facebook, and Twitter, and there are several things my admittedly short experience with this medium has taught me:

1. Think “fit” – social networking platforms offer a limited range of options for company pages, and you need to be sure that the company can interact with its consumers in a way that is consistent with its brand, even while limited by the pre-defined categories made available by the site.

2. Allot time – web 2.0 is interactive, but ephemeral. User are seeking something new. They are online because they want to keep up to to date with what is happening with their friends or network. If they have become your online friend, or fans, they expect the same behavior from the company as from their “people” network: regular updates, and a feeling of being in touch. So allot time to the upkeep of your company or product page. You may need to create apps or widgets, send regular updates to the network, add photos. The good news is that things that are too small to post on your website, such as a 20 person event in one of your stores, are fine for social network platform. Announcements that are not “earth-shaking” enough for a press release are just fine for Twitter and so on.

3. Merge, mash, feed – The main differentiator of Web 2.0 is the ability of its multiple facets to be intergrated with each other. A twitter badge on your blog, an RSS feed on your FB page, a squidoo lens on your business give a broader view of who the company or product is, and what they are about, and they help you always keep connected, but cut down on the time you need to spend to do so.

Finally, the one caveat: be ethical. Don’t push the company at all costs, and don’t intrude. Don’t add people at random, just because you want them to hear your message. They won’t.

Posted under PRealities