Social Networks - Session 4: Q & A with Justin Smith and David Lowey

Doesn’t advertising affect the integrity of blogs?
It has become an understanding that advertising is a part of the blogging game. It is necessary for the blogs to survive.

What are blog tags?
Fluid categorization provides for multiple links to certain topics. Tags allow people to focus in on topics that are of interest to them. Tags remove the fringe dialogue that directs people to new topics.

How do companies give up control for forums to take place?
Companies often nominate a consumer moderator to moderate the forums and reward them in some facet.

Will Facebook fail now that it allows all people to join?
Facebook is communicating with audiences to let them know that their Facebook pages are not readily accessible by everyone.

What is tagging in Facebook?
Facebook users can highlight a friend in their photo and add their name, allowing them to know they are included in their photos.

How can Facebook include corporations?
Work networks are available, allowing coworkers to have a more personal relationship. There is not a huge corporate tool. Companies must be willing to give up a little control to create their work network.

Can you make things up on Linkedin?
Yes. You can make up someone to recommend you and deceive people. There are no safeguards in place.

Are all social networks subscriber based?
Generally not, the services are free. The services are cheap to build.

Have you, David or Justin, come across ethic issues in your work?
The industry is hypersensitive to the ethic concerns. We are consistently reiterating the need for transparency. You must protect yourself, while being effective. Bloggers are being paid to provide good PR for a company and are not honest about being who they are. It is the hope of the industry to weed out those that are advertorial.

Are there libel and defamation concerns with these mediums?
Communities are self-policed and work with the technology and community to week out the negative. The legislature are not keyed in on the actualities of social networking when lobbying for net neutrality. The entertainment and gossip industry are bolstered by the accessibility these networks provide.

Does these social networks redefine the issue of privacy for the generations growing up on them?
These generations are learning as they go and realizing the privacy concerns from social networks. Not all networks provide appropriate privacy controls.

How do you find out about branded campaign profiles?
Facebook is trying to protect users from advertising. There is a click-through on the bottom of the page to view campaigns.

What is the visual thesaurus (www.visualthesaurus.com)?
It shows the relationship of a word to other words and concepts

What are some other tools to research?
GoogleTrends
Memorandum.com

How do you translate social networking to impressions?
Many executives are not too concerned with volume, but with one isolated issue. Tools are available, but many times, comments from their peers will suffice. Measuring links can also provide data.

Where do you start in learning about these networks?
Look at the smallest, most comfortable networks (i.e. blog the reports or newsletter) allowing you to identify the people who know the social networks and make them resources for the organization.
Crafting a strategy is based on a company’s situation.

How do I stress the importance of using these networks?
Use your audience to solicit for market research to share with those people in management that need to know and realize the importance of such networks

How do I know what is best for my organization?
It is necessary to communicate with similar organizations and industries to find out what they have done in these instances.

Is humor an important element in these networks?
Research shows that after seeing something that was humorous you are much more likely to act immediately. Humor also reaches this target audience.

What are others ways to get your product out there?
Product placement in viral videos is becoming prevalent.
Widgets are also a good method. A non-profit site (carebadges.com) allows MySpacers to place their icon on their page for click-through. These evangelist that use these icons receive more praise as their icons are clicked.