The Value of Social Networking

Jay Deragon

Social Networking Strategist

or, how I almost know a lot of people who I could benefit from knowing

Agenda

• What is Social Networking?

• Why should I get involved in Social Networking?

• How do I get involved?

• Where do I get involved?

• What should I be aware of?

• What are the benefits of using social networks?

What Is Social Networking?

• It Involves relationships defined as:  An extended group of people with similar interests or concerns who interact and remain in informal contact for mutual assistance or support. A logical or natural association between two or more things: connection, correlation, interconnection, interdependence, interrelationship, link, linkage, relation, tie-in.

• It Involves building “Social Capital”.

What Is Social Capital?

• Social capital is a core concept in business, economics, organizational behavior, political science, and sociology, defined as the advantage created by a person's location in a structure of relationships. It explains how some people gain more success in a particular setting through their superior connections to other people.

• Relationships of all sorts create “Social Capital.”

Social Networks as Science: Social Capital

• Bridging capital is when you connect separate networks

• Bonding capital is when you are central to a network

• In 2006 64% of U.S Business Professionals used on line social networks for business and personal reasons.

The Science of Social NetworksErdős and Renyi (1959)

Each of usare individuals

Random Connections

CollectiveConnections

Some of usknow each other

3,628,500 +

Collectively3rd Degree

Who you know1st Degree

Who they know2nd degree

You

589 223,400 +

We are all only six degrees away from the entire population

Six Degrees of Separation

John Guare wrote a play called Six Degrees of Separation, based on this concept.

Milgram (1967)

“Everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people. Six degrees of separation. Between us and everybody else on this planet. The president of the United States. A gondolier in Venice… It’s not just the big names. It’s anyone. A native in a rain forest. A Tierra del Fuegan. An Eskimo. I am bound to everyone on this planet by a trail of six people…”

Power Laws of Networking

“The rich get richer!”

Power-law distribution of node distribution arises if

– Number of nodes grow– Edges are added in proportion to

the number of edges a node already has.

Additional variable fitness coefficient allows for some nodes to grow faster than others.

Albert and Barabasi (1999)

“Map of the Internet” poster

Social Networks as Science:

• Sociologist Robert Putnam claims that United States citizens no longer know or trust their neighbors and thus communities have lost their social capital

• When did we start to lose it?--after the second world war

• What media technology came into wide-spread use after the second world war?

Key Points

• New media technologies usually reinforce existing social networks or even work to isolate people.

• (BUT) When new media technologies facilitate new social networks, they simultaneously challenge existing social, political, and economic relationships.

Your World is changing dramatically!

Social Networks Connect Users into Communities of Trust (or interests)

Web 2.0 Will Mean Changes for Marketers• More users are connecting to each

other and content through networked, peer-driven activities & content

– Linkedin now has service referrals as part of their package

• API’s and Content syndication will lead to more machine generated connections

– “Non-compliant” content won’t fit into the flow as readily

• Web 2.0 is truly two-way– Marketers need to be very willing to “listen”

and receive more than broadcast

• User-generated content may be more valuable to users than yours

• Adoption and ROI will drive investments in online advertising

– Investment in blog marketing increased by 28% in 2005

Users Who Are Using Web 2.0 Apps are Highly Engaged, Active and Attractive to Marketers

Key Points 1. When technologies connect or separate

people, they become media.2. Technologies embody social, political, cultural,

economic and philosophical ideas and relationships.

3. When a medium is new, it is often used to simulate old media.

4. New media do not replace old media, they displace them.

5. People make media and then media make people.

Why Should I Get Involved?

• Business is about people

• People are the greatest influence

• If you want to improve your world, expand it

• How many here use email? What would you do without it? The same rule applies to social networking

• Have fun and stay involved with people

What sites should I join?

Or not join?

Network Category of Interest(Examples)

• Aggregators: Linkedin, Facebook, Xing, Ecademy etc. etc..

• Geographic: “Link to” sites: Chicago, Charlotte, Nashville, New York etc. etc..

• Industry : Wireless Factors, Wine & Spirits, Motor Sports, Entrepreneurs etc. etc..

• Topical: Politics, Meet Up, Investments, etc etc..

How Do I Get Involved?

• Define your interest (Personal & Business)

• Find a network that matches your interest

• Learn how to use the tools

• Start with those you know and connect

• Find those they know and connect

• Create value for your network

• Build your “personal brand”

What are the features & functions of a network?

• Connect with like minded individuals• Video’s and images• Receive News and Events• Engage in group discussions around multiple

or specific topics• Post request to your community• Publish your own newsletters to a community• Lots more……….

What are the benefits of networking?

• Learning from Others

• Finding Opportunities

• Business Development

• Sales & Marketing

• New Relationships (Personal & Business)

• Reach & Richness

• Saving time vs. Wasting time

What Should I Beware Of?

• Where you join and what you post is your “brand”

• Privacy concerns• Spam• Cost: Direct & Indirect• Who should you connect with and why?• What do you want from networking?

Be careful for what you wish for

What All this Means

Whatever, whomever and where ever you have an interest in you can find it

or create it in a social network.

Now do you understand why so many kids spend so much time in MySpace?

Social Networking Perspective

On Line Social Networking is a disruptive technology!

Your world is connected and changing before your eyes!

Are you prepared?Are you connected?