My Take On The (social) Networking Boom

Try and think back to the first time you heard about Facebook.  The hype of this "new" social networking site swept through universities around the nation like the Black Plague, and most students were caught up in the "Facebook Fever" before they even knew what hit them.  Do you remember what Facebook version 1.0 looked like?  I know I don't, but I certainly remember the day I was forced to create a profile by my insecure and jealous ex-girlfriend!  

At the time, social networking was the cool new way for college students to communicate with their friends, post pictures of the event or party they attended, or just kill time in between classes.  My, how the times have changed.  I don't think anyone could have predicted the way in which sites like Facebook and Twitter have changed the way friends communicate, how companies do business, how brands are promoted, and how success metrics are measured.

But it's important for us to keep things in perspective here.  Although Social Networking has come a long way, there is still a long way to go.  Businesses, universities, and performers are all establishing formulas for social networking success.  We are basically in the early stages of the internet boom 2.0, except this one proves to be even bigger.  Bigger in terms of volume and in the change of business models, and a whole new industry has essentially been created because of this.

Now, I think that there are very few "experts" on social networking out there because it is still evolving, but I fully understand the growing importance for all types of organizations to make the switch over to the web 2.0 way of marketing.  Information needs to be distributed quickly and simultaneously to the masses.  It's all about sharing ideas, information, and opinions, and word-of-mouth has always been the most powerful marketing tool.  And who knows, maybe someday that phrase will be changed to word-of-tweet.