Social speculation – what’s next?

To many, the Big Four ‘channels’ in general social marketing are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and MySpace.

Most of us working in social media agree that MySpace has already gone (long, so long, ago…like, 8 months ago!) the way of the dinosaur, just as with Second Life (which has seen a slight resurgence, but, really people, let’s focus on reality) and before that, Friendster, among many others. And that focus is what the new numbers support – MySpace’s percentage of social networking site traffic dropped 55%, from 66.8 to 30.3%, in the last year.

MySpace, smartly, has decided to restructure its focus from social networking to gaming. Social media is all about targeting niche markets and MySpace’s decision reflects that on a broad scale.

Facebook’s traffic, on the other hand, is multiplying like bunnies, from 19.9 to to 58.6% of all social media site traffic in the last year. Add to that the fact that one in four web site views are driven by Facebook, and you have yourself a monster of an opportunity to target niche markets and create great WOM grassroots communications.

Twitter is showing a lull in growth, leveling off at about 20 million users per month. Likely because people and businesses are still struggling with finding the time to tweet and the time to figure out what the return on their Twitter efforts is – and what they want it to be. It’s hard to reach your goal if you don’t have one, and for some, Twitter might be the wrong tool period.

LinkedIn has snuck up to 50 million users, with the ranks of the unemployed flocking to the service to take advantage of their networks. Businesses are also taking advantage of their LinkedIn connections to find suppliers, partners, and employees, as well as take advantage of the mountains of information helpful group members and experts are willing to share.

But all this info on numbers and growth and usage rates and traffic can only lead one to wonder – what’s next? Will services like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn continue to grow and evolve – and how? Where’s the big new idea that will take social media to the next level? Will it come from Facebook or will a stealth competitor emerge from the electronic ether?

It remains to be seen, but I can’t wait to see it!

Let’s go shopping!

The news is that social media will drive holiday shopping. How, you ask? Well, through Word-of-Mouth marketing and peer influence, I answer.

As reported by my favorite social media news reporters, MediaPost, “The study, from Oneupweb, compared holiday traffic trends over the last two years at the top-ranking e-tailers, social sites and review sites against the latest user trends, and found that while search engines have typically been the leading driver to retail sites, ’social media is influencing search behavior and affecting the purchases a consumer makes.’“

The facts are that people are out there talking about products – sharing recommendations and criticisms and great deals – and social media sites like Facebook are driving traffic to retail sites like you wouldn’t believe.

A couple of examples:

• The other day I got an email from Herbivore, a great Portland, OR, shop for vegan goods, highlighting new vegan laptop bags from a company called Espe. I know a lot of people who prefer non-leather goods, and the bags were very stylish indeed, so I popped a quick note on Facebook noting their availability. The post got a few “likes” and this comment from a friend in Sacramento “Awwgeeez- curiosity made me check out the Herbivore clothing site and I just spent $130 buckeroos! At least I’ll have some stylish stuff for winter : )”

• A few nights ago I made a purchase on Zappos.com – sigh, I heart you Zappos! – and was literally overjoyed when, after I hit the place order button, a page appeared asking if I wanted to post what I bought to my Facebook page. Seriously? Yes, I do! Because all the ladies I know will drool over the lovely shoes that I got the last pair of. Hah!

With the recent knowledge that links posted to Facebook are driving more traffic to retail sites than straight internet searches, NOW would be the time for retailers to make sure they are monitoring, and taking advantage of, the conversations about holiday (or any time of the year, for that matter) shopping online.

To round it all out – consumers don’t just want their favorite brands and retailers online and using social media, they EXPECT it.

 

The answer really IS blowing in the wind!

I just came across this company called Taproot Web Hosting in Portland, OR., which advertises “people-focused, planet conscious” web hosting.

I never thought about “green” web hosting but the more I read about the CO2 levels emitted by servers…the more I think I may be switching over soon. From the Taproot Web Hosting site:

“According to a recent study by McKinsey & Company, data centers are slated to overtake the aviation industry by the year 2020 as a top greenhouse gas pollutant. 1 single medium-sized webserver can emit as much CO2 over the course of a year as an SUV that gets 15mpg.

The best way to have a healthy, green web presence is to use a green web host that is directly powered by clean energy. Taproot is one such host, and this effectively erases the carbon footprint of our web servers, making carbon-neutral hosting possible, without the greenwashing of carbon offset certificates.”

Just wanted to share – any idea that helps reduce greenhouse gases and helps clean our poor, sick planet up is an idea I can get behind!