Social Networks, Not Just For Kids Anymore | WebProNews

From the outset Facebook was a bit more grownup than MySpace, which has been, at least according to Internet legend, the teen realm. But as of the end of 2008, grownups have pretty much raided all of the social networks.

Recently, one teen I know lamented that his friends at school preferred Facebook. “MySpace is better,” he said. “They let you customize your page and there aren’t as many old people there.”

He’s trying to lead a movement, but if and when he returns to MySpace he may be in for a surprise. According to Pew Internet and American Life, the number of adults using social networks has quadrupled since 2005.

And that means there are more adults using social networks than teens these days. Though 65 percent of teens are populating online networks compared to only 35 percent of adults, the number of people in the world over 18 is obviously much larger.

Don’t get those supposedly stuffy grownups wrong, though. They really take the “social” part of social networking seriously. Pew says adults use social networks primarily for personal reasons, like connecting with people they already know, and reserve business networking for where it belongs: at sites like LinkedIn.

Fortunately for the teens concerned about adult saturation, the bulk of grown up social networkers skew younger: 75 percent of the those ages 18-24 are networking, compared to just seven percent of those over 65.

But don’t expect that to last forever. Says one Kentucky-to-Atlanta transplant I know who has not yet embraced the online social network: “A friend of my parents died and, aside from the posting in the local paper, the family only sent out word via Facebook. And I’m like, is this the way it’s going to be? The only way I’m going to know if somebody dies is if I’m on Facebook?”

via Social Networks, Not Just For Kids Anymore | WebProNews.

Social Media Predictions For 2009 | Social Media Explorer

Anyone in Social Media marketing for clients or businesses using social media should check out this list of social media predictions 2009 – Thanks Mr Jason Falls !!!

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Community and collaboration are wonderful things.

Fourteen great minds on social media have shared thoughts on what 2009 may have in store for us. Here’s some of what they’re thinking:

* “Although it is now cheaper to launch an initiative leveraging Web 2.0 technology – it requires qualified and passionate people to make them successful.” – David Armano

* “You may not always start the year as a leader, but you can certainly finish it that way.” – Rohit Bhargava

* “Intimacy touches emotion; emotion powers conversation.” – Pete Blackshaw

* “Doors are going to close all over the social web. Why? Because the money didn’t come the way people thought it would.” – Chris Brogan

* “The tipping point has not only *not* been reached, but could still tilt *away* from Social Media.” – Todd Defren

* “There’s a lot of fixing that needs to be done.” – Jason Falls

* “Dwindling budgets suddenly make low-cost social media look like the pretty girl at the ball.” – Ann Handley

* “We’re going to develop a set of better metrics to help guide, direct and validate ‘commitment’.” – Joseph Jaffe

* “The movement is rooted in a desire to have quality, not quantity, as people cocoon in the face of the economic crisis.” – Charlene Li

* “After a pre-qualifying wrestling match…” – Ben McConnell

* “These will be cumulative events and interactions that will build brand loyalty for the companies that pay attention to them.” – Scott Monty

* “The recession will force revenue results out of social technologies.” – Jeremiah Owyang

* “Companies that focus on earning love will thrive during hard times, and kick ass when good times return.” – Andy Sernovitz

* “Suddenly, being Facebook friends with your mom will seem less ridiculous than following 4,000 strangers on Twitter.” – Greg Verdino

Read more:

via Social Media Predictions For 2009 | Social Media Explorer.

new startup: virtual social networking – itsReal

What is MyWobile?

MyWobile is a unique social networking tool that literally brings the virtual world closer to reality. In Traditional Social Networking Websites, users do not interact on a personal level because contact is strictly limited to just plain text and a few uploaded pictures. Additionally, your friends may not always be online and waiting for your messages whenever you logon to your favorite social networking sites.

more: http://www.mywobile.com/

Twelve Ways to Sell Social Media to Your Boss | chrisbrogan.com

Twelve Ways to Sell Social Media to Your Boss

1. Social media tools like blogging, social networks, and social bookmarking are more effective in reaching the millions online than a traditional website.

2. Blogging can act as a way to reduce customer service calls (if there’s helpful how-to information on the blog).

3. Cost of implementing a blog is free or cheap. No more than $100 for a year of hosting. And most software is free. (There are some benefits from professional blogging software, but for most people, free is plenty fine).

4. Social networks are now used frequently by your customers, your prospects, and your competitors. Connect with people, learn their business needs, and respond more simply and flexibly.

5. Social media provides robust tools for listening, ranging in price from free to inexpensive, to reasonably expensive. Even the free tools help an organization find out who’s talking about them, so they can choose to respond.

6. First steps can be simple, like establishing a blogger relations process to go along with your press relations process. You might find bloggers who will want updates on your space, and even this is a good first step.

7. Internally, social media tools can be used to help with status information, training, project collaboration. Most tools like blogs, twitter-clones like identi.ca, etc can be set up internally instead of used on the public web, for more privacy.

8. Building an online social media component to most marketing and PR efforts ensures a better reach for the media created, and potentially better tracking through clicks and other metrics captured online versus in traditional media (like TV, newsprint, magazines, radio).

9. Blogging helps a business differentiate and establish a thought leadership position.

10. Using social network sites helps in customer prospecting, HR background checks, product marketing, and community awareness.

11. Building a social network group (either on someone else’s platform or around your primary site) encourages customer retention (a huge metric for lots of companies).

12. Another way to help is to find other companies or organizations, either in your vertical, or similar, and present information on how they’ve used social media.

Twelve Ways to Sell Social Media to Your Boss | chrisbrogan.com.

Which Social Media Service? | socialutions

Which Social Media Service? | socialutions

There are 48,500,000 listing on Google when you type in “Social Media Services“. There are 36,100,000 listing when you type in “Social Media Business Services.

A review of the listing only five pages deep reveals “advertising, ad placement and design services” are the dominant services. It appears as though the majority of the service providers think “social media” is about ad placement, click through, ad analytics and fundamentally the offerings are applying old tricks to new media. One thing is clear, there is a huge market of suppliers offering to help companies enter the world of social media. The problem is some may start you off on the wrong road.

Read More: Which Social Media Service? | socialutions

HypoCol & Web 2.0 – in the News – Singapore’s Digital Life 220108 -itsReal

web 2.0 platforms are ideal for companies that have limited budgets…