Michael Messina’s posterous

What a great visualization of the progression of media distribution, from traditional (1.0) to social (2.0) and a hybrid (1.5).

I really think this is a nice combination of clarity and creativity. And these images help to tell the story for you.

Kudos to designdamage (Eric Tsai) on flickr.

This is a really nice looking publication that covers a ton of information about social media and how large organizations like the Red Cross can use across their organization and local chapters. Well done!

Social media is here to stay," says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "Online social networks are more than just a fad among the younger generation. They've become an integral part of our personal and professional lives. They're an effective way to keep in touch with people, connect with friends and family, and network with colleagues. Social media will also transform marketing as we know it. They're powerful communication tools, and are becoming an essential part of successful marketing strategies.

According to this study, 43% of the online community uses social networks. My biased statement is that number sounds a little low, but according to PEW Internet & American Life Project (PEW), it could be a little high or we've seen a huge boom in folks trying out social networking since January 2009.

PEW reported that 35% of the online population used social networking sites in January 2009: http://www.pewinternet.org/Infographics/Generational-differences-in-online-activities.aspx

Right now, I'm searching, digging, far and near for any definitions, visualizations, expressions, opinions of social media.

My primary audience is someone that may use social media but doesn't even know it. Or someone that "doesn't have time for it" or doesn't care to have time for it. Or better said, I'm really investigating ways to bring social media down to earth.

Right now the idea called web 2.0, social media, whatever you want to call it... it's on a pedestal, as it should be. You may have heard that it is a fundamental shift in the way we communicate - it is. You may have heard that it is changing the way we do business - it is. You may have heard that it is a social revolution - it is. And you just may have even heard that it's a fad - it's not.

But here's a key point for me with the new participatory web - it is much easier for an individual to launch themselves full-throttle into the social media opportunities with very little barriers, and dirt cheap.

Like anything else, when you start adding groups of people... it gets sticky. The bigger the group, the stickier it gets. So what do we do? How can we get people to get it? Talk about the million dollar question. Ask me tomorrow, and I may have a different answer. But today my answer is that you can't, you cannot make people "get it" that fall into one of the primary audience categories I listed above.

Hear me out. Now there are some gifted folks out there who can articulate what social media means in myriad of ways to just about anyone. Those geniuses, the books, the conferences - all good! But until they actually do it for themselves, they will never truly "get it." They will just be impostors in a new world of communication where transparency is currency.

Enter the presentation, "Social Media is..." a conversation. And you know what? If you had to pick one word, just one word, I'm pretty sure many in the field would agree - social media is a conversation. Take away the "social media candy," take away the technologies - what do you have? People. People talking to other people. People expressing themselves to the world, to other people, to groups, to organizations...

And how are they expressing themselves? For every person that has a distinct personality and specific interest, there is a unique place and way for that person to communicate what they are passionate about. And it's their preference how they want to do that and what online tools make sense for them.

Does it really matter which platform, whether it is this blog software or that one? Microblogs or full-out blogs? Photos or videos? For organizations, marketers, strategists - yes, to some degree it does matter and for varying reasons.

But in general, for your everyday person just trying to figure out their own version of the definition of social media, I really don't think it matters all that much. So going back to the conversation analogy... if you are expressing yourself online in our days, whether through comments, posts, photos, videos - WHATEVER! And you are exchanging information with people, discussing, you know having a conversation.... then you know what social media is.... to you. So if social media is a conversation, then it just might be one things that means something different to everyone?

I was curious to compare web traffic of emerging microblogging sites (Alexa), from popular microblogs Posterous, Tumblr, and twitpic to emerging microblogs like whrrl.com and tweetphoto.

Of course Posterous and Tumblr are a little more "bloggy" but if people are going to twitpic and commenting more, how much does it matter which service you use? It gets more complicated as the organization and goals get bigger. If you are an individual - why not test them all out?

Marta Kagan is the s**t. Now how do we get stuffy business folk to get past the f**k in your presentation? Ah, those are probably the folks that won't pay attention anyway... never mind. This presentation needs to go beyond viral, which is... I don't know but you need to watch and share the f**king thing!

Disclaimer: Every once in a while I will recycle this, because it is that powerful and that necessary.

We see that trust has a specific role in selection of brands. In fact, cost is only a marginally more important factor in determining product choices (53%) than trust in a brand (45%). Past personal experiences (94%) and peer recommendation (79%) are twice as powerful as advertising in determining trust in a brand.

by Richard Edelman: The New Stakeholder Society

1. Newsletters create Loyalty

2. Newsletters Develop Relationships and Trust

3. Newsletters Drive Page Views/Traffic

4. Newsletters are Familiar

5. Newsletters Build a Core Community and Enhance Reader Engagement

6. Newsletters can Track and Target Groups of Readers

7. Newsletters help build Momentum

8. Newsletters Open Up Possibilities for Monetization