Laura Halsch & Qui Diaz
SOCIAL
NETWORK
SMACKDOWN
June 22, 2007
An Online Community Is …
• “A group of people that primarily or initially
communicate or interact via the Internet, rather than
face to face”
• Listserv, bulletin boards, message boards, chat
rooms, media-sharing sites, consumer review/sales,
social bookmarking, social networks
• eBay, Craigslist, Amazon.com, Epinions,
Del.icio.us, Wikipedia, DIGG . . .
Some History
• Where did online communities come from?
– Shift from information gathering to relationship
building online
– Steps taken (the well, message boards, listserves,
AOL)
• Built on foundations of social interaction
– Participation in a group
– Membership in a community with common
interests/goals/etc.
– Trust
A Social Network Is . . .
• Equitably facilitated (user-to-user contact, not just
response)
• Focused on identity & relationships, not just
topic (profile)
• An opportunity for image management
Why should you pay attention?
• 61% of people trust other people like themselves
when forming an opinion about a company.
• Marketing is dependant on listening to those people
and engaging them in promotion and development.
• Online communities provide a place to do just that.
– “focus groups” of consumers
Conversation Map
(Laura Halsch)
(Qui Diaz)
VS
USERS
• Launched in 2004
• 20,284,357 members
• 15,000 new members a
day
• Up 14.8% in the past
month, 88.3% in the
past year.
• Users in MA, NY, RI, and
CT, NJ are the heaviest
users of the site
* compete.com
• Launched in 2004
• 167 million registered
members
• 208,000 new members
a day
• 57% of Social
Networking Market
Share
• “86.5% of members
are 18+”
AUDIENCE
Facebook –
Mostly college students
MySpace –
No one really knows for
sure, but . . .
The Smackdown …
FUNCTIONALITY
Facebook
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Profiles
Friends
Messaging
Photo/video
“Wall”
Events
• Feeds
• Applications
• Cuter
MySpace
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Profiles
Friends
Messaging
Photo/videos
Comments
Events
Blog
Music
Bulletins
Groups
“STICKINESS”
Facebook
Conversation Map
Over 71% of early
“power users” were
using Facebook in
May 2007, and
visiting the site an
average of 27 times
a month.
MySpace
Nearly 2/3rds of
early MySpace
“power users” were
using MySpace in
May 2007, and
visiting the site an
average of 30 times
a month.
CONNECTIVITY
Facebook
Conversation Map
• Feeds
• Online to offline
activities
• Group
membership/updates
• Invitations
• Marketplace
• Toolbar thing
MySpace
 Blogs/feeds
 Online to offline
activities
 Group
membership/updates
 Invitations
THE FUTURE
• On May 27, Facebook
announced their new
platform which allows
users to add third party
applications (widgets)
into their profiles.
• There are currently 900
applications available
for categories like
business, food/drink,
politics, travel, music,
and videos.
• This is an opportunity
for brands to get
involved.
* compete.com
THE FUTURE
• Entrenched users –
are they reachable
& actionable?
• Niche networks on
the rise
• Innovation waning
Users: Facebook
“Facebook Hammers MySpace on Almost All
Key Features”
Mashable, June 2007
With regards to
• Design
• Media
• Community
• Ease of Use . . .
+1 for MySpace for “usefulness”
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
• The arena is growing
– Social networks are getting bigger (MySpace)
– Gaining in numbers/popularity/membership
– Mainstream within popular sites (USA Today)
• The arena is increasingly segmented
– Niche groups forming (Flubies)
– Corporations and brands becoming involved (Mini
Cooper)
Top 20 Social Networks
(Ranked by Attention, April 2007, Compete.com)
Where we are now
From:
xkcd
webncomics
THE WORKING PROFESSIONAL
LinkedIn
PartnerUp
Visible Path
Monster.com
LinkedIn.com
Create your own network of
direct & indirect professional
connections
Traffic: 1.2 million unique
visitors/month
Links: 322,000
Members: Over 11million members in
150 industries
Free
(Paid accounts = more tools to reach
people outside your network)
OPR
LinkedIn for Good
• “Find potential clients, service
providers, subject experts, and
partners who come
recommended
• Be found for business
opportunities
• Search for great jobs
• Discover inside connections that
can help you land jobs and
close deals
• Post and distribute job listings
• Find high-quality passive
candidates
• Get introduced to other
professionals through the
people you know”
THE SOCIALLY
CONSCIOUS /
ADVOCACYORIENTED
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Omidyar.net
Idealist.org
Care2
Treehugger
Care2.com
“the largest online
community for people who
want to make a difference”
Traffic: 745,854 unique visitors/month
Links: 276,000
Members: 7,300,000 +
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Groups
Petitions
Donation portal
News network
e-cards
Photos
Personal email and web page
THE DATING SCENE
Match.com
eHarmony
J Date
Chemistry.com, PerfectMatch.com, True.com . . .
Friendster, Orkut, Bebo, FaceParty, Facebook, MySpace . . .
MOMS
Club Mom
iVillage Connect
Parents Connect
Mothers Click
BlogHer
Parent Center/
Baby Center
Cafe Mom
Cafe Mom
Launched in November 2006,
this is an online community
created specifically for moms.
Traffic: 421,108 unique visitors/month
Links: 2,532 links in
Members: Thousands of Moms
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Profiles
Public Message boards
Private Messaging
Journals
Photo sharing
Groups
Status Messaging
THE FAITHFUL
• SmartChristian
• IslamicTube
• Buddhist
Gateway
• Zaadz
• Beliefnet
• ldsplanet
Beliefnet.com
“The largest spiritual web site
helping you find your
spiritual path.”
Traffic: 2 million unique visitors/month
Links: 97,700
Members: Majority of faiths represented
Boards and groups
• Discussion & Dialogue groups
• Prayer circles
• Memorials (online
tributes/commemorations)
• Birth announcements
• Wedding albums & vows
• Religious events & misc.
celebrations
• Comfort & support
• Blogs, news, videos, resources
MULTI-CULTI
Quepasa.com
MyGrito
Black Planet
Asiantown.net
Black Planet
“A groundbreaking online
community for African
Americans. We enable
members to cultivate
meaningful personal and
professional relationships
…”
Traffic: 1 million unique visitors/month
Links: 2,532 links in
Members: Black Community (18- 44)
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Profiles
Public Message boards
Private Messaging
Groups/Events
Photos/Videos
Professional Groups
Dating
Polls
News aggregator
THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY
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The Student Doctor Network
Sermo
Medscape
WebMD
iVillage
Revolution Health
Sermo
“The fastest Growing
community created for
physicians, by physicians.”
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Traffic: less than 2,000 visitors per month
Links: 2,532 links in
Members: Medical Professionals
Posts and Comments
Rating
Groups by Field
Conversations
Anonymous Membership
POLITICSExamples
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Party Builder
YouTube
TownHall.com
Meet Up/Upcoming
Facebook/Myspace
TuGrito 2008
John Edwards 08
Party Builder
Launched in November
2006, this is an online
community created
specifically for moms.
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Traffic: 115,418 unique visitors/month
Links: 21,792 links in
Members: Democrats
Profiles
Groups
Events
Campaigns
Fundraising
Blogs
Letters
It’s really about RELATIONSHIPS
How do you want to engage with
others and where?
Boxing = poor metaphor for the
purpose of social networks
That is Conversation
. . . until youMap
realize the competitive
advantage of engaging in conversational
marketing.
• Facebook (Laura)
v.s.
• MySpace (Qui)
R U READY TO RUMBLE?
GET IN THE GAME
• Join 2 social networks
TODAY
• Make your profile
compelling
• Connect with others
be your best
true self
How can you get more involved?
• Listen
– Know your audience: what matters to them
– Determine influencers (volume, discussion,
affiliation …)
FLUBLOGIA & FLUBIES
Tracking the online pandemic flu community
Weekly monitoring of:
• 20 blogs
• 6 message boards
• 1 wiki
How can you get more involved?
• Engage (online or offline)
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Invite influencers to participate offline
Respond to comments/questions online
Revise products/initiatives based on feedback
Aggregate to amplify
The Humane
Society of
the United
States
www.myspace.com/thehumanesociety
How can you get more involved?
• Advertise/Sponsor
– Look for opportunities
– Brand existing conversations
– Host conversations/forums
NHLBI and Blog Her
Blogher is a network of
highly connected women
bloggers who cover a
variety of topics.
•77% of the Network's readers visit the blogs at
least weekly, and two thirds of those visit daily.
• 93% of the Network's readers are "certain to
return" to the sites
How can you get more involved?
• Create your own
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Clear call to action
Focused incentive
Clear timeline
Amex, Omidyar, Trader Joe’s …
Don’t get in their way
American Express:
The Members Project
Timeline:
5.15 – 8.7
Incentive:
American Express donates $1 for every card
member that registers
Community Building:
Card members submit project ideas –
proposals for spending the $5 million to “help
the world”
Card members read, discuss and rate
proposals within the community site and
eventually vote on the winner.
“Our Money. Your Ideas. Your Decision.”
Brand:
Card members are “passionate, creative
people,” and American Express is able to
create a community around the card and the
people who use them.
Toyota Hybrid
Incentive: Hybrid owners are proud of their cars and want to talk about it.
Community Building: Toyota gave them a place to do it. Toyota Hybrid owners
log in to connect with other owners from across the country.
Each owner’s reasons for buying the hybird are posted to and scroll through the
site.
Brand: Hybrid owners already feel a strong affinity for their cars. Toyota
created a place for them to express it.
The site tracks numbers of owners and which cars they own.
MORE EXAMPLES
OF BIG BRANDS
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Dell
RedBull
Wendy’s
Aquafina
Honda Element
Verizon
CRITERIA FOR INFLUENCE
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Traffic
Number of inbound links
Number of Members
Breadth (groups/forums)
Number & quality of
comments
• Street cred – what are
external sources saying?
Additional
Resources
• Wikipedia (“List of
Social Networks”)
• Mashable
• danah boyd
(danah.org)
• Compete.com
• 360°Digital Influence
Questions? Concerns?
And Remember . . .
"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” (Muhammad Ali)
"It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I just
beat people up.” (Muhammad Ali)
"There's more to boxing than hitting. There's not getting hit, for
instance.“ (George Foreman)