This is a Great Video

It's totally worth taking a few minutes out of your day to watch the video below.

Produced by Canadian company SelfBankMobile (a unique approach to mobile-based banking might I add), this montage entitled "The Future of Technology" is a detailed summary of emerging technology and projections on future growth - all laid over a brilliant music bed from Fatboy Slim.

Check it out:




So did they miss anything? What do you think the technology landscape will look like in 2014 and in 2019 and in 2024?

Wake Up Jessi Hempel! Web 2.0 Isn't About a Revenue Model Just Yet

Dear Jessi Hempel of Fortune Magazine:

With all due respect to your achievements and ability to write thought provoking content for one of the largest and most respected business publications today, I feel that you've completely missed the point with your recent article, Web 2.0 is so over. Welcome to Web 3.0.

To me, your article demonstrates a clear lack of clear understanding as to the purpose and relevancy of Web 2.0. While I agree with your perspective on the lag of profitable revenue models related to social media companies such as MySpace and Facebook, here's how I would challenge your perspective:

Have You Shown Up to the Party, Jessi?
First and foremost, I always find it interesting to read articles on social media platforms produced by technology experts who have not yet engaged in the social media universe.

Please correct me if I'm mistaken, but a quick search for your name on search.twitter.com shows me that you have not yet created a Twitter profile. Not one single Tweet!?! How then may I ask is it that you feel compelled to offer your opinions on something you obviously have not taken the time to really understand?

Likewise, running a search on Facebook produces the same results. Again, you have no presence, at least none that is visible to the broader network. While it may be your preference to keep profile private, I would argue that doing such limits your understand of the full functionality and capabilities that the platform delivers.

To your defense, I did find your profile in my extended network on MySpace, which is connecting you to a whopping 76 other users. Really? That's all?

And what about Jessi on LinkedIn? I've found you there too, boasting 141 connections and with no relevant content on your professional track record, no recommendations regarding your work, no history - frankly, there's nothing there at all. This is not to say that it doesn't exist. I am certain that you are a sharp, able journalist who has achieved great success in your career. You've simply chosen to not show up to the social media cocktail party.

My point is this: Being a trained journalist, you should know better. How can you begin to offer your readers a perspective on something that you, by your own choice, have not invested the time to fully understand?

Web 2.0 is Not Necessarily About a Revenue Model
In the article, you site and abridged version of Tim O'Reilly's 2004 coining the term "Web 2.0". I would ask you then: What in his statement or definition makes mention of any focus on directly relating the web as a platform to a profitable revenue model?

This online social phenomenon is about a shift in the way we as humans connect and communicate with each other. It's the idea of using the web as a platform in an infinite number of ways to reach more audiences, create new opportunities and change the way we as professionals, consumers, and organizations interact. More traditional communication tools are now forced to take a back seat to the Web. I would even project that the more traditional mediums may someday fade into the history books to sit along side tools like the telegraph and Morse Code.

Further, Web 2.0 is still in it's infancy. There is not a right or wrong approach - there are only different ideas and trial and error at this stage of the game.

Because of Web 2.0, We Now Have More Access Than Ever Before
So why on earth do Web 2.0 companies need to go public? I will argue that a result of this new mindset of viewing the web as a platform, the reach and access it delivers significantly reduces the need for companies to grow via IPO. It's typical that a successful IPO also brings with it a certain loss of control over the strategic direction of a company. Process and operations can often grind to a halt while management spends valuable time seeking stock holder approval, rather than focusing on driving innovation and efficiency. Is this what has happened with YouTube? Maybe and maybe not?

I believe that the dawn of Web 2.0 has spawned a change in what determines a successful business model. Old stogy organizations that depended on hierarchy and huge overhead (some of which are now approaching Washington with open hands and begging for bail out dollars, might I add) are being replaced with organizations that operate lean, and focus on speed and agility in a dynamic market place. The old models simply cannot keep up.

In your article, you state: "MySpace's projected $600 million revenue in 2008 falls far short of parent News Corp.'s (NWS, Fortune 500) billion-dollar sales target for the site." That is absolutely true. But I challenge you to find a business that in one year, can produce $600 million dollars of annual revenue with a staff of roughly 300 employees.

Further, MySpace now boasts network volume of more than 185 Million users world wide, with an average growth rate of 230 Million users daily. Would you disagree that when Tom Anderson and Chris Dewolfe do figure out a more profitable revenue model (and I believe they will), will they not have a clear marketing advantage as a result of their network's sheer volume?

And further, Web 2.0 is much more vast than the two social platforms you so eloquently mention in your article. What about the influx of personal and company blogs in the past 5 years? What affect on the market place do you believe that has had? What about Wikipedia and it's growing relevance as a research tool populated by the people, for the people? What about social bookmarking sites like Digg and Technorati? Do you use photo sharing sites like Flickr and Shutterfly? How many Niche Networks do you hold profiles on? And what are your perspectives on Open Source application development?

I'm curious, and believe that your readers have a right to know your thoughts on the broader perspective of Web 2.0...

What do You Define as Web 3.0?
And finally, not once in your article do you ever take a stab at really offering an opinion as to what the concept of Web 3.0 really is (which is also being called the Semantic Web) .

The truth is that it is all merely speculation at this point. No one really knows what this will entail and how Web 3.0 will shake out. There's no time line and there is certainly no set date as to when and if this the transition from 2.0 to 3.0 will actually happen. All we know to date is that the programming languages and technology that will make this concept a reality "have yet to be implemented or realized."

Again Jessi, I mean you absolutely no disrespect in posting this on Chasing Change, and I welcome you to comment in your defense so that my readers will have an unbiased perspective.

We all welcome your articles and I've found many positive comments on Twitter related to your writing. But in the future, I would caution you to fully investigate what you plan to write about and make sure you cover all the bases.

Respectfully,

Nate Riggs
Social Media Strategist

Got Your Mojo?

One of the best things about working in search marketing is that the office environment is saturated by other of early adopters.

More heads cover more ground, and the result is that you end up with a click of people who collectively know an application, website or gadget that helps with just about anything you might need.

That's how I learned about Mojo, a grand slam of a file sharing application developed by Deusty Designs.

Watch this:



Mojo is Genius
This sharp little application brings back the music sharing nostalgia of the late 90's when the original Napster was in it's prime. With full visibility to your friends' shared iTunes libraries, the program plugs itself into your iTunes and delivers fast and seamless functionality.

Installation is simple, and there is little to no configuration needed. The default setting allows you to connect with other shared iTunes libraries that live on your server. Unfortunately, this is a killer if you're company doesn't allow that type of sharing at work. However, if you do have the luxury of file sharing in the office, Mojo really does run quietly in the background while you go about your daily list of tasks.

Making Money
If you want to venture outside of your local network for music downloads, you'll need to upgrade to a pay for play license. This seems to be a smart revenue model in my opinion. Stellar performance by the free version makes the upgraded product absolutely worth paying for.

The cost for Mojo Pro is nominal with the highest number of user licenses available at $26.95. However, what you get for the price is not well detailed on the site.

You can find a screen cast on subscriptions here, but I think that Deutsy could be more clear as to whether this is an annual fee, monthly charge, or a one-time license fee.

I bring this up because as a raving fan who would like to purchase the upgrade, this lack of description has caused a delay in my purchase. I'm willing to bet there are other potential buyers caught in the same dilemma. Bummer for me and for Mojo.

Feature Wish List

1. More Social Access. More detail is needed that outlines the social networking aspect of Mojo and allows you to connect with users outside your network through their Deutsy.com email address. So how do you find other Mojo users in the first place? A possible opportunity for enhancement then, lies in providing paid users visibility to other paid Mojo subscribers. One idea might be to create a Facebook page or group, and allow a catalog of users to be built virally.
   
   
2. Stay Logged On. We have three users in the office today and more on the way soon. Actually, this application is spreading like the flu at PTMS. The only annoying catch is that in order to rip from shared libraries, that user needs to manually activate Mojo on their machine, whether or not their iTunes library is already being shared. It would be nice if Mojo had a setting that would enable automatic start up when iTunes was shared.
   
   
3. Downloading iTunes Purchases. When downloading, you'll notice certain shared songs or albums that appear in bright red font. As far as I can tell, Mojo will not touch any files that have been directly downloaded. While I'm guessing this is for legal reasons, negotiating some type of arrangement with iTunes to allow this functionality (even if it was provided at an additional cost to each user) would be icing on the Mojo cake.
   

Overall though, I highly recommend Mojo to anyone who uses iTunes. In one week, I'm up six gigs of shared music and, as I sit listening to Ella Fitzgerald and Louie Armstrong chime through "I've got My Love To Keep Me Warm", I couldn't be happier with the results.

Look next week for an email interview with Deutsy Designs President and Mojo creator Luke Steffan. Luke's been kind enough to offer to share his thoughts on next steps in the development road map for Mojo.

Will There Be a Dot Com Bust 2.0?

The question of a potential dot com bust 2.0 has been on my mind for some time. Today you can't throw a stone without hitting some type of new niche social network or start up SaaS.

An example would be Artie Isaac's SpeakerSite. This network recently launched and already almost 700 members who have bought into a platform to connect speakers with audiences at events.

And if you're so inclined, you can do even visit Ning and start your own niche community without too much trouble at all.

Anyone can build groups on LinkedIn and Facebook and Twitter. We can start blogs on any topic we choose. And what's more? There's enough people on the web today that you can find readers who will be interested in just about any fancy you choose to write on.

All this is too cool. But I wonder - will web 2.0 come crashing down similar to the dot com bust almost a decade ago?

In a conversation this week with @DanHarris, a tenured technology guru, I posed the question: So do you think we'll see a dot com bust 2.0?

Dan didn't think so and commented that a major component in the dot com bust of the 90's was related to a lack of infrastructure to support the boom. There simply was just not enough bandwidth to keep up the exponential growth of start web companies and the high demand drove the cost of starting up through the roof. The risk associated with failure was high and extremely costly.

Today we've become much wiser and have more resources available at a fraction of the cost. Failure happens every day, and then new concepts are born again, and the ball keeps rolling.

But Seth Godin writes an interesting perspective, warning us that the internet is almost full. And by almost full he means that we are so bombarded by so many messages online - from social networks to blogs to email et. al. - that in a sense we, as consumers of the content are full.

This Happend to TV
How many times do you watch a commercial during your favorite tv show, and not two minutes after the spot has aired, you can't seem to remember the brand or product that the ad was pushing?

We've been bombarded by so many messages over the years via traditional media like television, print and radio that, while these outlets can still be effective means of persuasion when integrated as part of a larger strategy, a huge majority of the messages just don't stick. We stare at the box, glazed over as the content bounces off of our face.

But will history repeat itself? Will the social web (and the web in general for that matter) follow the same pattern of over saturation. Maybe we're already there or getting close. It's tough to keep up with all your favorite blogs. Just keeping tabs on your facebook friends can take hours, even if you only have a few hundred connections.

What do you think?

Worst case scenario: If there were to be a dot com bust 2.0, what would it look like? Would it be challenges with the technology or our ability to consume the messages it delivers?


Photo Credit: mathewingram.com/work

Social Media Strategy: A Business Development Perspective

Over a cup of Starbucks with @heycrane this morning, we landed on the subject of discussing different methods that sales and business development gurus can employ on various forms of social media to connect with more people and subsequently, more opportunities to someday sell their stuff.

Sure, not everyone sells products or services. But Just about everyone sells something - ideas, their personal brand, their knowledge and experience, etc.

There are so many platforms and tactics and strategies that will help generate more relationships online. But will business transactions actually happen via social media? Probably not. That was never the intention of web 2.0 IMHO.

This confusion regarding the objectives of the social media universe may be one of the reasons that a fair amount of C-level executives have trouble buying into social networking as a viable alternative to the more traditional approach of "smile and dial" cold calling. In reality, closing business happens in face to face or voice to voice interactions, not online.

C-Levels who are weary of social media applications in business should consider the amount of time and resources that can be saved by having their sales force approach prospects on platforms where the prospects have "opted in" and are receptive to the messages coming their way. Older mediums, like phone and email for example, deliver messages to end users without the garnering their permission. It makes sense then that the mediums that are not in a sense permission-based, would yield lower conversion rates.

You might try this
Here is a snapshot of one approach I use that has allowed me to capitalize on the reach and and available data present on social platforms. Is this the only way to do it? Heck no. But does it help open doorways to relationship selling? Absolutely!

Start on Twitter
Micro blogging in itself delivers speed and efficiency to the basic concepts of networking - actually, I believe that is it one of the MOST effective ways to network. I use the cocktail party analogy. Picture the Twitterverse as an online networking event that is open 24/7 and free for all to attend. You can come and leave the room as you wish, and you have the ability to make your party or circle of conversation as large or as small as you like.

I'm becoming a proponent of the balanced follower vs following dynamic, i.e. an equal ratio of followers to people you follow portrays a certain sense of street credibility. Follow too many people, and you appear desperate or not fully engaged. Follow too few, and you may appear lofty or disinterested in what others have to say.

Either way, Micro blogging in general creates visibility and access to other people with lightning speed. For the sales and business development professional, not everyone you follow will be in a buying cycle at the time you connect with them, but the technology will automate the delivery of their information and may someday alert you to potential opportunities as they become relevant to the user on the other end.

Tip: So many people get caught up on the technology itself, that we sometimes forget the basic rules of networking:

• Don't be pushy. People will ask you for advice when they need it.
  
• Offer to give, give, give and someday you might just receive something back. But don't go in expecting to receive anything.
  
• Be legit and honest and ask questions. People will tune you out if push your ideas too hard. Rather, blog about your ideas and then invite the Twitterverse to read if their interested.
  
• Be a connector - listen to what people REALLY need and try to connect them with someone who can deliver it to them, even if it's not your product or service.
  
• Talk about more than just what your selling. Take down your guard. Show people who you really are. This means talking about more than just work and careers and objectives.
  

Transitioning the relationship to a profile-based platform
What Twitter does not deliver is very in depth information on the individual. That's done on purpose. Yes, there are limited user profiles available, and reading peoples Tweets can help frame up background and situations, but more relevant background data can be found robust profile-based networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and the barrage of niche networks out there.

How many of you ever collected baseball cards when you were a kid? Platforms with robust profile functions are really the same concept. As on baseball cards, these networks provide the stats. The difference is that these stats provide a valuable lens into who the other user is, their background, their personality and interests, how they communicate with contacts and friends, etc. Social media has made it possible to learn more than just a batting average so make use of the data that's there. What's more? The data comes straight from the user themselves and can be regularly updated. Keeping tabs on RSS feeds makes it painless to keep tabs on all of this intelligence as the new information comes in. TweetDeck helps as well.

All that said, social media professionals will need to make a gut feeling call as to when it is appropriate to suggest connecting on other networks.

Tip: Having dialog with a potential prospect on Twitter? Suggest that you connect with them elsewhere so you can learn more about each other. Ask them what networks they prefer and how they use them. It's likely that if they are on Twitter, they started out on social media on another platform.

Now take it offline
I strongly believe that social media will never replace a handshake. The platforms are merely tools that deliver more efficient ways to gather information and connect people to people.

Tip: The savviest of sellers will recognize when it is time to take the conversations offline and create face-to-face or phone dialog. Social media creates the opportunity to open those doors, but cyberspace will never replace having a cup of coffee and bouncing ideas of a real human being.

So there you have it. This is just one approach to playing the social media game that I've been using.

What are you doing to find success on social media? Are you willing to share it on Chasing Change?


Photo Credit: www.emailbookclub.com

Niche Networks: Long Tail 2.0?

First - a sincere apology to all my readers for the silence in the past month. Some changes in my personal life and really fortunate times for my company have kept me pretty busy and away from delivering new content to ChasingChange. I'll be working to keep updates as regular as possible. Thanks for your patience!

And now for the fun stuff...

How many of you have heard the buzz term "lurker" or "stalker". Social media blogger, Shel Israel, has a very interesting perspective on this topic, offering his concept of "The Amplification Factor". Rather than using the term lurker, Shel calls these users "listeners". I dig that - it's much friendlier. Whatever you choose to call them, these users tend to observe dialog, and rarely make the jump to participate.

But wearing my agency hat, here's my issue with this audience - if my objective as a marketer is to modify the behavior of target audiences, it seems that this lack of engagement from the listeners would result in my messages missing the mark or not resulting in any subsequent action. Right?

But can MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn - all boasting millions of profiles - really provide metrics on user engagement? As a marketer, will reaching an audience of less engaged users on behemoth networks still get me the maximum return on my SMM budget dollars? Hmmm...

Enter the Niche Networks
In the past six months, I've been paying close attention to this evolving trend developing in the web 2.0 arena. While the market place is still heavily dominated by the giants, there has been an influx of smaller, more targeted networks that are gaining significant traction in terms of engagement. These networks deliver value in terms of specific functionality aligned with a robust social platform.

For the purpose of this article, I'm going to call these smaller, more topic focused social platforms, Niche Networks. Not sure if that's officially what they're being called these days, but then again, maybe no one's officially named them yet either!?! Who knows?

I Digress - The Long Tail and SEO
Chris Anderson's book The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More, has become fairly well know among business professionals in recent years.

In SEO world, this theory relates to the level of specificity in search phrases and terms, when consumers are searching web to find information on desired products and services.

The more generalized terms (or "head" terms) tend to draw the highest numbers of visitor traffic. For the purpose of this discussion, an example of a Head search term might be "Honda Civic". Firms like mine find that because of the generality of these search terms, a large percentage of the resulting traffic is not ready to convert into customers or leads, or even fully engage the site by going deeper into the pages.

On the flip side, long tail terms and phrases are much more specific. These may include a Internet user's geographic location, specific brands or even specialty services. An example of a long tail term might be "buy 2005 Honda Civic Columbus OH". These Long Tail terms do draw less traffic overall, but have tendency to result in high conversion rates. Why? It's not rocket science. The more specific the search term, the higher the chances are that a user will find exactly what they are looking for, and then be ready to act - or engage.

Long Tail 2.0?
So, going back to application of this concept to social media - these Niche Networks may never boast millions of users, but then again, that's not what their necessarily about. From what I can see, drilling down the focus of the platform seems to help foster real engagement and relationships within the subset of users who are all invested in the topic. It seems that this has potential to provide new opportunities to deliver relevant content, products and services to these audiences.

Finding Your Niche
I'm going to try something new. Over the next few weeks (and maybe ongoing if enough readers are interested), I'm going to examine some of these niche networks and ask for your feedback and opinions as well.

If anything, you may have the chance to be turned onto a new platform that will be targeted to your niche interests.

Stay tuned - more to come soon...

Ohio Web Leaders Diggs Into Google, Cuil and How Search is Changing

Mad props to Bill Balderaz and Amy Marshall of Webbed Marketing for their presentation this morning at the OWL breakfast seminar. I've attended two events for this recently formed group and I've left both times with new perspectives, new connections and very applicable information. If you're in the internet technology game, or even a client-side marketer who is trying to leverage online channels for your company, or simply just someone who is interested interested in emerging internet technology - these events are definitely worth your time.

Among topics covered today:

• Final negotiations for Google's pending acquisition of popular bookmarking site Digg, and how this may effect the Search industry
  
  
• The low down on the new search engine Cuil (pronounced "cool") and where it is heading
  
  
• Yahoo and MSN to potentially join forces (Bill asked, would you call that Mahoo?)
  
  
• A features profile of the newly launched Wikia Search
  
  
• Google Suggest - Google's new intelligent search feature and the potentially associated privacy issues with user profiling

I don't want to steal OWL's content so this is just a tease. If these topics look interesting, think about registering for the next OWL event to join the discussion.

But, I do have some opinions on Google and Digg potentially joining forces:

First off, this merger could be BIG. Obviously, Google's a monster dominating over 70% of daily search queries. So why would this power house have interest in purchasing a social bookmarking service?

The Business Angle
With more than 1 million registered users (and I'm one of them), Digg draws traffic from the influencers. Users take great pride in their ability to find and rate content, and then have that content validated as relevant by other users. These are the mavens and typically the early adopters of new technology as well.

The company currently operates on a skeleton crew of less than 25 employees and partners with Microsoft to generate a majority of it's current revenue. From a funding perspective, Digg has called on VC firms for a meager total of $11 million on startup capital.

Compared to LinkedIn's numbers at 310 employees and four rounds of investment funding valued at over $1 Billion , and you get the picture pretty quick. All around low baggage with a significant adoption equates to a very attractive buy for Google.

Changing the Game
Enter the Semantic Web. Personally, I don't quite think anyone fully has their head around this concept just yet, but Google merging with Digg, in my opinion, brings us one step closer to realizing the end user benefits of web 3.0.

In the past few months, so many "Semantic" Search engines have popped up. Cuil and True Knowledge Beta are just a few I've played with, and thus far have received lack luster search results.

Here's the challenge with startup semantic SE's. First, they havn't nailed the technology yet. Cuil saw a huge spike in initial post launch traffic last month, only to see limited results in return visitors. Users were not impressed enough with the search results to use the service on a regular basis. Second, these concepts represent a new way of thinking about the internet as a platform. Unfortunately, the majority of us humans aren't easily open to change.

So why will the Google / Digg marriage move the semantic web progression forward? I think the answer is fairly simple. The existing critical mass of each of theses services will help to eliminate potential barriers and quickly increase wide spread adoption.

• Comfort - A significant numbers users are already familiar with Google's interface. The same goes for Digg users.
  
• Brand - Large amounts of users already have established trust in both sites
  
• Convenience - Google users are accustom to new add-ons for their personal Google homepage. Integrating Digg in the Google interface makes it easy to promote the service and for users to jump on board
  

Again, Digg has a strong foothold with the mavens. Google has a strong foot hold with - well, just about everyone. Take Diggs ability to deliver relevant peer rated content and combine it with Googles advanced ability to behaviorally targeting users' preferences, and you may have a home run.

What Does this mean for SEO's? You're guess is as good as mine, and I would love to hear your comments on this issue.

One things is for sure - as this merger unfolds, the way we search for content on the web could see some serious changes. SEO's who don't pay close attention will be left in the dust.

Triple O, The Key to Obama's Intgrated Online Success Online

Hats off and thanks to Scott Schweitzer from The Strategy Group for Media for passing along a recent Washington Post article entitled: Obama's Wide Web; From YouTube to Text Messaging, Candidate's Team Connects to Voters.

I'm always very cautious when brining up politics. But regardless of where your political affiliations lie, no one can argue that the Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign has paid significant attention to social media as a cornerstone of their strategy.

More than that, his interactive division, branded as Triple O, has done very innovative work in applying, and integrating a variety of online tactics that are new to the political arena including social networking, SEO/SEM social media marketing, SMS, affiliate groups, banner advertisements, viral video, etc. - all leading back to a well designed lead capture form placed on the hompage of his official campaign website, BarakObama.com.

To me this is a hell of an online presence. Fostering peer-to-peer communication in the political arena simply makes sense - Marshall McLuhan's ideas behind his 1967 book: The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects holds ever more true when you take into consideration how much the present day media landscape has evolved. Triple O has embraced the online medium as both a tool and message.

So whats the message of the medium? Here are some of what I take away from his approach.

• "Obama is hip and understands my generation."
  
• "Obama is a forward thinker and understands emerging technology"
• "Obama cares about what I have to say, and provides me with ways to voice my opinion"
• "Obama is on the front lines and recognizes my needs and interests"
• "Jeez, I feel like I really know this guy"

The last bullet is what I think is most important. Through use of integrated social media, Barack Obama has become more than just another politician on the television. He's made an effort to become one of the crowed. End users begin to feel a subconscious and personal affiliation to the good Senator. In my mind, that's where the true political benefits of social media are found - emotional relationship building.

A common myth is that social media only draws or younger demographics of users, savvy marketers and techno-geeks. But, the reality couldn't be farther from the truth. We know now that all audiences are online to a certain extent. One thing that stands out in the article revolves around the campaign's focus on creating presences on smaller, more targeted ethnic communities such as AsianAve.com, MiGente.com, BlackPlanet.com.

I encourage you to read through this very interesting article on your own and keep an eye on this campaign. The political arena has always had a major hand in driving new uses of media. In my opinion, we're watching a new chapter in the art of influence and communication unfold.

Tweet Tweet: Real Time Snap Shots in 140 Charecters or Less

Micro blogging has gained so much traction in 2008 among hipsters, techies and even business professionals. For anyone unfamiliar with the concept, Wikipedia defines micro blogging as this:

Micro-blogging is a form of blogging that allows users to write brief text updates (usually 140 characters) and publish them, either to be viewed by anyone or by a restricted group which can be chosen by the user. These messages can be submitted by a variety of means, including text messaging, instant messaging, email, MP3 or the web.

I've recently become an avid user of the most popular micro blogging site, Twitter. Users of this service create a very brief profile, build a network of their contacts and friends and 'follow' their feeds to receive updates on their contacts updates throughout the day.

A set limit of 140 characters or less for any given message, forces users to keep their messages, or 'Tweets' to a short and manageable length. Users have the ability to target their Tweets towards any of their followers, both on the public forum and via private messages.

So, is micro blogging really viable as a business communication tool? In my opinion, absolutely! Here are a few of the benefits that I have reaped since opening my Twitter account:

Real Time Snap Shots Professionals have busy days. That's a given. Micro blogging allows followers to continuously capture snap shots of your contacts' daily activities .

And because of the manageable nature of of the message length, updates can be sent and read in a matter of seconds. As compared to the amount of time it takes to update a traditional blog post, or even reach out to a contact via email, this concept becomes a very attractive options to the 'movers and shakers'.

Manageable Reading
On the side of the readers, micro blogging allows users to consume small amounts of relevant information, including links to other websites, articles, blogs, et al., without the need for a significant time investment. I've personally found that while I have to consciously block out time every day to read up on my favorite online information sources, I keep my Twitter page open all day long, checking it a few times per hour for updates.

Open Dialog
One thing that has stood out to me occurs every morning when I log on to Twitter for the first time of the day. Users typically announce their log on to the network with a good morning message. Other users typically reply to the greeting welcoming them into the day's discussion.

Open dialog between large networks of people continues throughout the day, and the benefits become evident.

Here's a case example. Yesterday I was scheduled to attend a meeting for a start up technology company I am working on. I was going to be a few minutes late, and no one was answering their cell phones. From my iPhone, I used the Twiterlator Mobile application to access my account, and Tweet my current location and estimated time of arrival. All of my group members all responded immediately, which saved me the embarrassment of an explanation.

All in all, I see a long and vast future for micro-blogging applications. Twitter is one of the first to gain significant adoption, but as always, other similar types of networks will appear in the coming months.

And finally - would you like to follow me on Twitter?

What Social Networks Accomplish

In a recent email, my uncle stated that he was unsure exactly what social networks accomplished.

While this is a much larger debate, here are a few ideas on why I believe these networks are valuable. Feel free to agree, disagree or share your own ideas:

Data Portability
Have you ever changed mobiles or computers, and lost contact information in the process? A significant advantage of social networks, both personal and business, is data portability. By maintaining your information via the web, you reap the benefit of centralized platform accessible from anywhere.

Reasons to Connect
In both business and personal settings, almost all social networks provide updates on your contacts activities. When someone makes changes to their profile, makes a new connection, even asks or a question, you will be alerted. This automated intelligence can be help provide legitimate reasons to reach out to any given contact.

User Generated Intelligence
In a few simple clicks through a profile in your network, you can learn about your connections work history, who you know in common, where they went to school, what level of degree they have, their accomplishments, and on and on. What's more, this data is updated by them - not a third party.

As adoption of any network becomes more wide-spread, the overall value increases. As your own personal network grows, you'll see an increase in the data and opportunities that are delivered.

On the flip side of that, without some type of control system in place, network value can also be lost. MySpace is a good case study to follow on that. I guess it's just human nature to create pandemonium if we're left with no rules.

For a fairly comprehensive list the social networks, click here.

On Viral Marketing

My Uncle Jurgen, a prominent, super-savvy and retired business executive living in California, just joined my network on LinkeIn.

Here's what's interesting to me. I'd wanted to reach out to him for months now, but was a little apprehensive. We don't see that side of the family all that often. As a matter of fact, the last time we were in the same room was during my great-grandfather's funeral, a few years ago. (Salute, Grossopa!)

Sure - I could have asked others in my immediate family for his email address or phone number. But once I was notified on LinkedIn that he had joined the 20 million other business professionals using the network, I suddenly had a relevant reason to make contact. The awkwardness of the situation disappeared via web 2.0.

In the email thread we traded, Uncle Jurgen ended with this:

I am not really sure what these networks accomplish, so I have been leery of joining, but when relatives and friends ask...

A Powerful Statement

When the message comes from an individual you know and trust, the fear, uncertainty and doubt surrounding the request, (in this case - the adoption of a new technology) is removed.

This premise is the corner stone of viral marketing. By receiving the message from a family member, my Uncle, after long consideration, changed his behavior and created a LinkedIn profile. The messenger, not the message itself, mattered most.