Seth Godin on Social Networking

So many times we hear that social networking is a great way to market online. And of course there have been a ton of ebooks and videos giving advice on which social networking sites are best, how to create your profile and how to get people to join your network.

Now over the last couple of months Facebook and Twitter have seemed to top the list of social sites recommended for online marketing. And of course these 2 networking sites have had a lot of their own news lately too like the Twitter hijacking and the Facebook acquisitions and new services trials.

Then today I read 2 articles, “What if Twitter Folds?” and “Twitter Disillusionment Inevitable”. Now while these articles were aimed at Twitter I think they could be expanded to include other social networking sites. I say this because of a conversation I’d had with my youngest daughter a few weeks ago when she expressed her disillusionment with Facebook because of the advertising.

You see, my daughter is like most of the social networkers of the world and is not into online marketing. Like millions of other social networkers she has joined 1 or 2 networking sites to actually network with her friends and colleagues. She uses her networking groups as a way to stay informed of what her friends are doing and to keep them informed about what’s going on in her life.

And isn’t that what social networking is all about? It’s about sharing information with those who have a common interest. It’s about helping each other. And it’s about learning more about those people and becoming online friends.

Now if you take a look at the right margin you’ll see I’ve joined a few social networking sites. And if you investigate further you’ll see that the number of my friends and followers is small compared to the internet marketing gurus.

Now you might think that I would be ashamed to have such a small number of people in my networking groups but I’m not. I’m not trying to make friends with every person online. I don’t have the time.

In fact, I’m actually proud of my Twitter Friend-Follower Ratio. Not because I have massive numbers but because those who follow me know I don’t automatically follow them. Instead, I see who follows me and only follow them if we share a common interest and they share quality information. That way I can actually read what my friends post on Twitter.

As for my friends on Facebook, some are online marketing friends and some are off-line personal friends. And again, because they are people that I’m interested in knowing about I read what they share too.

Sure we would all love to have a large social networking group however that’s not the reason to start or join a group. Social networking is about getting to know people and building trust through interactions.

Don’t you agree?

To Your Success,
Susan

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