Facebook Census
Web Strategy by Jeremiah
I admit it, this post actually creeped me out a little bit--it's so easy to forget just how much information we are putting online about ourselves. Jeremiah Owyang rightly points out that Facebook knows more about its users than the government does. Marketers would love to get their hands on such demographic information, and it's all there for the taking. He notes this is actually something of a generational difference, with the younger among us more likely to share more info. "The interesting thing is that all of this content was self-submitted, and while marketers are hungrily trying to give away sweepstakes and prizes to get you to register, joiners (what Forrester calls those who use social networks) opt in much of this data and more. Marketers must froth at this opportunity."

Social Media Real Estate
Micropersuasion
Which is more valuable, "renting" social media space to hold discussions, perhaps on a forum like Twitter or Facebook, or "owning" your own real estate and building your own community? Steve Rubel poses this question, noting the pros and cons of each and ultimately settling on renting as the better option--for now. "Running a blog on your own domain (even if you use a hosted provider like TypePad, as I do) carries with it lots of perks. I can remodel pretty much any way I want as long as I follow proper blog protocols. I can track my returns - Google Juice, subscribers, comments, traffic, leads, press quotes, etc. TypePad really doesn't realize the same kind of benefits that I do personally by writing this blog. Then again, it has downsides too. Namely, Twitter has community built right in."

Why Engage?
Conversation Agent
Most social media evangelists stress the importance and value of a brand or company engaging with customers online, but this is one of the more thoughtful arguments I've seen to back it up. Valeria Maltoni highlights some of the best reasons to either start up a company blog or at least start interacting with customers on community message boards or other online channels. "Why online? Everyone is online. Online is easy to spot, track and measure. It boggles my mind why more companies are not listening and acting.While many of your customers may not participate (see Forrester's ladder), you can be sure that the results of your actions will become a permanent digital record for when they will search for services like yours. You want to make those impressions good."