Jeremiah Owyang, of Forester Research, says their research indicates “a majority of teens in North America are using social networks, in fact more than 2/3rds are active monthly users, and about 1/5th are daily users." He goes on to say, "We’re all aware of the stories of how teens are using these tools to communicate as their primary forms above phone, and even email.”
It's no surprise to hear that universities are attempting to understand social networking applications such as Facebook, and how they might be leveraged to better understand the student population. Two words: “Good luck.”
Forrester research defines Social Computing as: “A social structure in which technology puts power in communities, not institutions.” Owyang says this is also true for social networks.
I am betting that most Facebook users consider their social network to be part of their private lives. I am not sure that students would be eager to have institutions conducting some sort of behavioral science experiment aimed at providing the institution with a much-needed clue. Community is about engaging people, not watching them from a safe distance like zoologist Marlin Perkins did in old TV episodes of Wild Kingdom. I am not saying universities are incapable of engaging the student community; I am saying that they may not realize how much work they have cut out for themselves. Engagement means living in the application and establishing individual relationships, not conducting research or other activities that may be perceived as eavesdropping.
Students' expectations of Facebook being their private space may be a bit naïve, of course. Corporations are eavesdropping. BBC News reported that brand advisory and marketing company 1000heads monitors conversations on behalf of big brand clients on Facebook and other websites. Facebook has been open about its plans to capitalize on its popularity by creating one of the most powerful advertising tools available. Facebook will use the information members have submitted about themselves to allow advertisers to target particular social groups. Facebook will act as a proxy and send relevant ads directly to that targeted market.
Universities are in a better position to leverage social networking for genuine relationship buidling rather than for marketing and revenue opportunities. Universities are natural communities with a favorable environment for organic growth of social networks. Transforming campus directories into a social networking application would be a great place to start. Add classlists and calendaring, links to advising networks, the libraries, and other student services, and you might have an application worth living in.
It's no surprise to hear that universities are attempting to understand social networking applications such as Facebook, and how they might be leveraged to better understand the student population. Two words: “Good luck.”
Forrester research defines Social Computing as: “A social structure in which technology puts power in communities, not institutions.” Owyang says this is also true for social networks.
I am betting that most Facebook users consider their social network to be part of their private lives. I am not sure that students would be eager to have institutions conducting some sort of behavioral science experiment aimed at providing the institution with a much-needed clue. Community is about engaging people, not watching them from a safe distance like zoologist Marlin Perkins did in old TV episodes of Wild Kingdom. I am not saying universities are incapable of engaging the student community; I am saying that they may not realize how much work they have cut out for themselves. Engagement means living in the application and establishing individual relationships, not conducting research or other activities that may be perceived as eavesdropping.
Students' expectations of Facebook being their private space may be a bit naïve, of course. Corporations are eavesdropping. BBC News reported that brand advisory and marketing company 1000heads monitors conversations on behalf of big brand clients on Facebook and other websites. Facebook has been open about its plans to capitalize on its popularity by creating one of the most powerful advertising tools available. Facebook will use the information members have submitted about themselves to allow advertisers to target particular social groups. Facebook will act as a proxy and send relevant ads directly to that targeted market.
Universities are in a better position to leverage social networking for genuine relationship buidling rather than for marketing and revenue opportunities. Universities are natural communities with a favorable environment for organic growth of social networks. Transforming campus directories into a social networking application would be a great place to start. Add classlists and calendaring, links to advising networks, the libraries, and other student services, and you might have an application worth living in.
The Satisfaction team posted video from the "Customer Service Is the New Marketing Summit." The video below is of a panel moderated by Brian Oberkirch. The panel includes:
Again, thanks go out to Like it Matters for being the aggregator for these vids.
- Patti Roll, Director of Community Marketing and e-Commerce, Timbuk2
- Tara Hunt, Founder, Citizen Agency
- Gina Bianchini, CEO, Ning
- Matt Mullenweg, Founder, Automatic and Wordpress
Again, thanks go out to Like it Matters for being the aggregator for these vids.
The video below is from the recent "Customer Service is the New Marketing Summit." Heather Champ (Flickr), Ross Mayfield(Rackspace), Pretap Prenumalli (Google) and Frederick Mendler (Rackspace) discuss scaling customer support. These companies use ticket systems to manage customer support -- like we do in many departments at UW -- and they also use the power of "community."
I originally found this video on Brian Oberkirch's blog. If you are interested learning more about customer service, social networking, social media, and new marketing, I encourage you to check out "Like it Matters".
I originally found this video on Brian Oberkirch's blog. If you are interested learning more about customer service, social networking, social media, and new marketing, I encourage you to check out "Like it Matters".
