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Wow, Yelp, FourSquare, Gowalla and now Facebook gets involved in location-based services (lbs).
I don’t like it and do not think that I will use it (outside of my initial test). Why you ask? Well here goes.
I am a member of numerous Social Networks for a reason. Facebook for my friends and to keep in touch with others acquaintances, LinkedIn for my professional relationships, Twitter to keep up with industry information…the list goes on. Now there may be overlap between my friends, my co-workers and my business friends among these channels, but in general, there are distinct reasons why I keep them separate.
FourSquare is my tightest network, meaning that I do not friend people who I do not know, or have never met. I have only “friended” 57 people. While I have 600 “friends” on Facebook, some that I have not seen since grammar school/high school, I do not see the need to allow them to see my each and every move. I have ignored requests from people who I am connected with on Facebook and on LinkedIn when they request to be friends on FourSquare.
I really wonder what the adoption rate will be on Facebook. Now if I could put specific people within my Facebook Network into a group, and only share my “Place” with those people………What do you think, Will you use Facebook Places? Which way will you go?
Over the past weeks, months and years (12 actually) I have had the benefit of being involved in Social Media and online community building. I love my job and I love the potential that many businesses have recognized during that time – brand awareness, loyalty, relationships building, research & development, competitive analysis…..the list goes on and on. But there is one continued theme that I hear from people who I communicate with because of my daily observations about the companyies that I have and currently work(ed) for:
Thanks for the heads-up
Appreciate the follow-up
Thanks for letting me know
Great feedback, appreciate you sending this on
….and different versions of all of the above.
My question is what is this position worth to a business, and how long do you think that your business can continue with this position?
Maybe it is just me, but I have seen so much confusion when people talk “Social Media” with others who are not too sure about it actually is, or even immediately pause and discredit Social Media as “online nonsense.”
* Image courtesy of www.webadvantage.net
If we were to position Community Managers as “Brand Visibility Managers” would that put things into a little more perspective? Would we then be able to get past the initial stereotypes (valid or not) that comes with the Social Media and Community Management positions? By interacting with your community and on behalf of the brand, you are increasing your brand’s visibility, and by consolidating feedback and forwarding that information to the right people, at the right time, you are also providing visibility internally that may not currently be happening.
What do you think?
Social Media Strategy, Moderation & Management Musings 