Social media is powerful. Exceedingly powerful.
Social media is at its peak because everyday people can post anything with the slight, though very possible chance of gaining national exposure.
Organic information. No cost–for now.
Great for small businesses and entrepreneurs worldwide.
Think of all the news, sports, business, gossip, stories that break on Twitter’s real time timeline.
How many comments have you made, stories shared, moments mentioned on Facebook?
A free exchange and sharing of information, and yes, plenty of nonsense, is uncontrollable. That too, is a good thing. It’s open, it’s unchecked. Everyone who writes and has an opinion can share it. Innovation, invention come from this.
Traditionally, in each nation’s history, media has been owned by a few who shape messages, information and control access. Social media and the Internet have changed this.
Big Media Moves Into Social Media Control Mode
A reason The Marketing Square pushes the use of social media is that it’s free and has massive reach. But with the many updates and overhauls happening in social media this week there could be a change soon.
Twitter is already charging to promote Tweets. That happened in April. Formally, this week.
Move beyond the Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn comfort zone
If social media is a mystery because you don’t know how to use it, it’s time to try it.
Try: Gowalla, FourSquare, Tumblr, Stumble Upon…there are hundreds.
Moves of Note this Week That Hint at the Monetization of Social Media
- Facebook is in talks with Skype, both are free to use, for now.
- Facebook is rumored to be creating a phone.
- Facebook movie opened last Friday exposing back story in effort to gain Like status among Fans who paid $23 million to see the man behind the phenomena.
- Today, Facebook reveals its new look.
- Today, Facebook did NOT reveal its new look. Instead there were “outages” around the world from midnight Wednesday on.
- Planned? Yeah.
- Today, Facebook hosted an invite-only event to reveal ways to share information via group access.
- “It’s a simple way to stay up to date with small groups of your friends and to share things with only them in a private space,” Zuckerberg explains on the site.
- Twitter’s founder stepped down as CEO.
- Google is rumored to have an interest in buying Twitter.
- Google TV is coming (I thought Twitter TV would come first)
- Twitter launched a new look last week.
- This week, Twitter launched promotable accounts: People will not have equal standing on Twitter’s timeline.
- Now, advertisers’ Tweets will move ahead in line.
- AOL bought TechCrunch. TechCrunch is a leading blog on social media, technology and digital news site.
- Digg launched a version 4 which had so many debacle-causing issues that it shot itself in the foot. Digg is said to be going down and sits unused at the top of many digital articles where it was once a primary story promoter. Story promotion through Digg could make or break campaigns. Digg is down, but is it out?
New for Skype Fans on Android: TANGO is a new APP that allows video calls on 3G. Downloaded onto Android, made first call this morning. Try it. (Take that Facebook-Skype phone.)
Social media? It’s here to stay. But it could cost you soon, so keep looking for the next big thing. When you find it, try it and put it to work for your business.
