The Social Media War - Why They Fight

There’s a world war going on right now, and most people aren’t even aware of it. That’s because no shots are being fired, aircraft bombing cities or politicians making speeches about it.  This war is taking place in the trenches of social media.

Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and a host of other sites are in a battle. Unlike countries that are at war seeking to secure more territory, in this war the prize is you and me. Or perhaps a more accurate description is that we are the commodity that is being fought over. Yes, just like corn, soybeans and pork bellies, we are the commodity that is being sought after to be sold to the highest bidders.

We are sort of like those pigs that are now pork bellies who weeks earlier were thinking about how nice it was for someone to provide them with all the food they could possibility ever want, and all they had to do was eat and sleep. Lucky for us, being slaughtered isn’t in our future. We are much more valuable alive.

Businesses want to know what you are buying, where you are going and even what you are thinking, and are willing to pay big bucks for access to that information.  Fortunately for them, billions of people around the world are more than happy to provide that information free of charge. (Just imagine if we could all charge and actually receive a penny for every post on our social media sites.)

So the next time you log into your favorite social media site, here are a couple of facts you might want to keep in mind:

• Businesses are the customer for the site, while you are just a commodity.
• Any changes made to the site are to benefit the site’s customers and not you.
• All the information you post is available to anyone in the world who is willing to pay for it.

Keeping these three facts in mind might change how you use your social media accounts. But then again, I’m sure if the pigs knew where they were headed, they would have just kept eating anyway.

Ken

Comparing Social Media Tools

Recently, one of our clients wanted to get our counsel on how they should join the social media ecosystem. After telling them about the new ways for them to connect with their audiences and share their messages, we created an appropriate strategy based on their resources, audiences and goals. Not every social media tool or network is right for every client, and we want to make sure that we match them up appropriately.

I have created a chart to help with determining the best social media network or tool to use for your audience with information on Facebook, LinkedIn, NING, Twitter, Four Square, YouTube and Flickr. Obviously there are tons more out there, but these sites come up most frequently in client conversations. At a quick glance, you can see what popular social networking sites are, audience demographics, how individuals use the site, how companies use the site, what the site is best for and some general comments.

I hope this helps other people out there as they explore social media tools and networking sites to include in their social media plan.

~ Nicole



Click on the image for a larger view.