Larry King Live

Larry King Live

Yesterday evening I was watching Larry King Live - the program was mostly about Twitter. Kutcher and Sean Combs were both on the show - during the past few days Ashton Kutcher and Larry King (representing the old fashioned media) had had a challenge to see who could get to 1 million followers on Twitter first - Ashton won.

When it comes to social networks, it is of course not about how many followers or "friends" you have in your network, it is about the quality of your network in the first place. Not "Collecting" but "Connecting" as Marion always says.

Communication is a difficult activity, and has always been. Just look at the number of misunderstandings resulting from bad communication or worse, NO communication. At least it used to be more or less clear - you wrote a letter or you called someone if you needed to share some information - the rules for communication were understood. And if you weren't sure, you could even follow a course about how to treat each other, how to speak to someone or write to them etc. With the rise of new media, there are no standards anymore and you see a complete mix of styles and forms. Another complication is that there are about three different generations communicated via the internet.

The first of these three generations is the youngest one - who grew up with the various communication methods now possible. They have developed a whole new style, with a language that is more phonetic then anything else. Then we have the other extreme - the 55+ generation who realises mostly that they have to keep up with the developments on the internet and do so conscientiously - and then there is the generation in between, they are the ones that struggle, they haven't grown up working with the internet and are too busy with their careers to really spend the time learning it.

Next to the generic social networks such as Facebook or My Space - mostly used by all sorts of communication with peers at whichever age group you are in - there is LinkedIn, which is used as a kind of professional address book, very successful with recruiters and people looking for work. In that area it definitely fills a need. And then there is Twitter of course - an incredible phenomenon used by people of all ages, all ranks and levels. Tweeting is used for private matters, but also increasingly to pass on business information such as interesting web sites, new software and even during business seminars, you will find more and more people sending tweets during the session to their friends.

Next to these - there is a big future for the so called niche networks - in particular professional networks for entrepreneurs/business people - like E.Factor, www.efactor.com. Next to the generic communication which you will find here with messages, chat etc. there are a lot of specific resources that can help entrepreneurs build or expand their business - such as the business directory, fundraising, mentoring or saving costs. Every company has to develop a strategy regarding social networks - and build an online presence carefully - it will be a key factor for every company out there to ensure its survival.
There will be a big increase in these type of social communities in the next few years.

When it comes to communication - I strongly believe that personal contact is absolutely vital. Social networks offer a great place to find new contacts, but when it comes to it, it is always about the personal connection - the trust that people need in order to do business together.

The greatest danger I see with all the communities - is that there is no time for a useful conversation or good book. Everything tends to be short and quick, and it has an addictive character. You have to judge how you use your valuable time in a meaningful way. I used to laugh at the tourists who "did" Europe in 5 days - they only saw Europe through the lens of their camera and then went home to look at the pictures instead of enjoying each and every moment, and tasting the cities they visited. The same is true with Twitter - if you use it well, it can be a powerful tool that connects various generations. the question is - what's next?

Keep meeting people - face to face, the old fashioned way - it is the surest way of building a valuable network.
adrie@efactor.com, or at twitter,@ adriereinders
 

2 Comments

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• Irthe Schurink | Apr 19, 2009 06:44 AM

  And what a contest this was…..congrats to Ashton! A star performer anyway :-)
  
  So indeed……from connected customers to connected marketeers > from brand image to Brand Personality > from designing conversations to joining conversations - allowing interactive communications to help us grow our business and reputation, if we use the Social Media tools in a beneficial way.
  I agree that Brand Marketing is the foundation for companies to set their social media strategy, inclusive a web-care team. Choose your social platforms and your communications in line with your own Brand values and brand personality, to make sure you sent out a consistent message on Brand Experience and allowing target consumers to join your sub-community.
  Consumers these days want to talk to companies – so move from designing your conversations to Joining your conversations (as part of Social Media) with your own Brand ambassadors, and if needed – Brand advocates out there as well. Do try to connect consumers to your Brand through Social Media in a positive way: Dorito’s – Youtube Crash the Super Bowl / my Starbucks Idea campaign /Adidas group network opened few days ago/ and of course the E-factor: allowing us to connect and interact.
  
  By creating your own Brand Marketing web-care team, you also avoid other staff-members to go out there, to represent your company in their own way, which is sometimes not wished for. Join the platforms professionally with bonding activities to generate positive brand & product exposure, increase traffic, reduce marketing expenses and to find new business partners. Redefine your Brand vision & mission, your values & personality, your promise and core concept and only then get involved. Social media is so dynamic – understand that by only designing your conversations you miss the interaction – better Join the conversations well and better not underestimate your end-consumers – they are you and me and can pick up on commercial sales activities for example straight away, which could lead to other conversations then you originally intended. Stick to some etiquettes maybe? Group dynamics can have big impacts, even if started by one or two…… Just look at the contest you are referring to; which was a very positive Social Media campaign, also for CNN! Anybody remembers KFC on Youtube some years ago with staff-members showing rats in the kitchen? Make sure your team is fully aware of your Brand Values and treat them accordingly if you want to avoid the same situation….Behind scenes should sometimes stay behind scenes – and not something you want to be shown in public before you got to the solution…… I am curious what Philips will do now that one of their team members hit the front page of local newspapers, showing a rather rude text to our lovely Princess Maxima – the apple of the mass eye……. I bet there are some comments right now on the web. Only suggesting that on Social Media the best Brand ambassadors you can have, are the people you work with, make sure you allow them to sent out your Brand Values well when joining the dynamic social interactions.
  
  Personally I’d keep an eye on Stephanie Frasco, a true expert in the field of Social Media, together with the E-factor: sharing and adding wisdom through connectivity.
  Thank you!
  
  Wishing you good business,
  
  

• christi pemberton | Apr 23, 2009 08:59 PM

  It is very easy to get a lot of people following you, especially if you are a current big star among the teens and twenty somethings. It is a whole other game when it comes to the quality of the followers. Ashton Kusher should win if it is all about getting the numbers. He is a big star among those who are very savvy with the power of the social media...of course. Larry King, having a mountain of quality and experience, is a much older man with a following who are probably the age of the parents of the Kusher followers (most likely).
  
  On Twitter, you do get some quality posts, of course more of them are about someone eating a ham sandwich today. With any other social networks, with the exception of Xing.com and Efactor.com, (and even on facebook), it is a bit of a challenge to weed out the followers who are not really adding value to the conversation. Again, Twitter will have a lot of people (as it was intended) to talk about what they ate that day or pondering thoughts. I do that too once in awhile. I have been very proactive in selecting very carefully who I follow by reading their profiles and taking a look at their site, but that does not always work. With Efactor.com and other sites with a similar purpose, you will find people who are specifically there to grow networks and business.
  
  For me personally, I want to join a network where I can really get down to "talking turkey" about doing business, creating partnerships, and making things happen in a global market.

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