Sorting out the pieces of today’s Social Media pie.

What is social media? It’s often hard to really pinpoint because it’s such a moving target. Many defining aspects of social media are evolving. It’s hard to know what this landscape will look like 2, 3 or 5 years from now. How many of the sites that we relied on in 2000 are still around today? Will the social sites and technologies we use today find better rates of success? It’s hard to know. What will social media become? What of today’s social movement will endure?


Instead of talking about social networking in terms of the sites and technologies we use today, it may be more meaningful to define social media by the activities and purposes that drive our involvement. To get our collective heads around the different needs and problems that drive today’s usage, let’s place our social needs into 4 distinct groups: Content, Community, Distribution and Management.



1.) Personal Content:

Defined as: The noise I make. The moments I experience. The content I create.

Enabled by:
Personal Websites
Social, Career & other Community Profiles
Blogs

* Photos
* Video / Audio
* Media Hosting Services

2.) Community:

Defined as: My individual and group connections. The people who make up my world.

Enabled by:
Online Communities
Social Networks (Relationship Managers / Social Graphs)
The Harnessing of Collective Intelligence

* Recommendation Engines
* Social Book-marking
* Reputation Systems
* User Reviews/Opinions
* Social Commerce
* Crowd Sourcing
* Wiki

3.) Data Distribution

Defined as: How I share and receive information. My information pipelines.

Enabled by:
RSS
File Sharing / Peer-to-Peer
Mobile Media

* Podcasts
* Location Based Media
* Location-Based Services

Messaging

* Instant Messaging
* Internet Forums & Message Boards
* Chat Rooms
* Micro Blogging

Search
Lifestreaming
Content Aggregators
Widgets

4.) Relationship & Data Management

Defined as: How I control it all.

Enabled by:
Password, Identity & Authentication Management
OpenID
DataPortability
Timeline, Event & News Management
Relationship Management
Media/Content Management

When you look at these 4 social needs categories and compare them with today's offerings it seems clear that the "management" piece has some growing up to do. As online social management matures it will have a big effect on existing social technologies, new product development and our real social lives.

Many of today’s new social offerings serve very specific social needs. These are more widgets that robust services. Enabling users to build networks of social components is one of the promises of Web 2.0. Will the success of these stand-alone services and the addition of OpenID and Data Portability deliver a more meaningful and reliable experience than a central social networking hub like a MySpace or FaceBook? Or will new central hubs for social relationships and media that better address all 4 needs categories emerge?

How Can We Help Brands Become More Social?

Every week a new article attempts to redefine what social media means for brand advertisers. This communicates, accurately I think, that the advertising and media industries are still working to understand how they can best help their clients capitalize on the new social media opportunity.

Are brands being approached correctly on this subject. Does the term "advertising" even belong in this conversation? I beginning to wonder if discussing ad campaigns in the context of social networking isn't muddying the waters completely. Can a company succeed with a social presence without assembling the assets to function as a social company? The resources and talent needed to succeed socially have less to do with traditional advertising and marketing, and more to do with customer service and public relations.

Wikipedia defines PR as "the practice of managing the flow of information between an organization and its publics." Customer Service is defined as "the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase." These are the brand attributes that make companies social. These activities are grounded in listening to the customer and the market in order to address the needs and concerns of the customer and market. These departments are skilled at deciphering changes in customer perception and market environment, and know the importance of response. They are trained in the art of conversation. Ironically, just as most businesses have given up on idea of Customer Relationship Management (CRM), the ultimate CRM facilitator may well exist in Social Media. CRM, according to Wikipedia, is "a multifaceted process, mediated by a set of information technologies that focuses on creating two-way exchanges with customers so that firms have an intimate knowledge of their needs, wants, and buying patterns. ...CRM is intended to help companies understand, as well as anticipate, the needs of current and potential customers."

Advertising doesn't know how to listen. It only knows how to talk. So talking with advertising people about social communities is like telling an accounting department how you can increase sales. Sure, you can run traditional ad campaigns within social settings, but the real opportunities being advanced are not advertising... but communication opportunities. This misalignment between the goals of marketing decision makers and opportunities being offered is why many companies are moving so slowing, and acting so suspiciously of social media .

Advertising isn't going to go away, and it isn't going to change. Nor should it. Advertising, as we know it, will remain an important way to build brand and drive sales. But developing social strategies and advertising strategies are completely different vocations. I don’t believe marketing or advertising departments are where tomorrow’s corporate social initiative will reside.

In order for companies to succeed socially, they will have to restructure to become social entities. It will happen, but it will take time. Helping companies understand where their social assets lie and how to synthesize these assets to create modern CRM departments maybe the answer. These new departments would strive to manage the ear, face and personality of the business, and help the company engage socially to win. In the real world, when we represent our companies at social events we do so knowing who we are, why we are there, who we are speaking with, and what we'd like to accomplish. We know that our success requires that we engage the room in conversation and that we listen. Welcome to social media.