So we all know by now that Google is trying to make inroads into the social networking craze with Google Wave.  We also know that, feature-wise, it’s not really anything to shake a stick at…yet. Luckily for Google, it’s still in the developmental phase and that means that they’ve got a great opportunity to listen to users’ feedback and make adjustments accordingly. It seems they’re doing just that by adding a whole bunch of new, and very cool, extensions.

It’s not that Google wave didn’t have any extensions before. Far from it, but they were kind of limited. Sure you could send out a bunch of increasingly silly polls, but what else could you do? Not much. Now you’ve got about 15 or so extensions to choose from. You can ‘like’ things that others post on their page; similar to what’s possible in FaceBook. Sudoku addicts can even get their daily fix using Wave Sudoku.  That’s great news for those who spend their lives on social networks, but how is this important for SEO? Just think advertising.

Google already has an effective advertising system through AdSense. Imagine if those capabilities could be meshed with could become one of the biggest social networks…if it’s handled right. All Google really needs to do is listen to their users, and take note of some of the complaints that other networks have had to deal with. So far so good.

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Could there possibly be anyone who isn’t aware of how powerful a tool social marketing is? It’s highly doubtful. The one problem that most social networking sites face though is that it’s up to the marketer to target their own audience. That’s not to say that there isn’t some level of targeting, but it’s been more by interest than anything else. There’s nothing wrong with that. Obviously the people who are most likely to be interested in what you have to offer and the ones you need to reach. However, it’s sometimes helpful to be able to target ads by detailed geographical location.

FaceBook is heeding the call and, in a move designed to enhance its local advertising program, it is now offering advertisers the opportunity to target audiences in a hugely expanded number of cities around the world. This may not be of any interest to those who offer online services since these can be accessed from anywhere. It’s good news though for those with small businesses which handle physical products. Why should FaceBook do this? Local ads are a big part of their revenue system so why not improve on it. As of this point they are not releasing a full list of the new cities they’ve added but you can always check it out to see if yours is one if them.

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Well, it’s official. Google is getting in on the social media craze. Is there anything that Google isn’t a part of yet? Hey, I’m not complaining. I, like most people I’m sure,  use their services for just about everything, whether it’s for their analytics code or AdSense income. I was wondering though if anyone here has had a chance to check out Google Buzz yet. What do you think?

I’m a big fan of using social networking to market your site and I love the exposure that FaceBook can give you when it comes to your target audience. I don’t mind admitting that I thought it was just a flash in the pan when it first came out. Misplaced loyalty to MySpace, I know. Well I’m amongst the converted now. It’s given a big boost in traffic. Not anything spectacular, mind you, but I say that more visitors is always a good thing.

It will be interesting to see just what Google comes up with. Practically everything they’ve put out has been a hit, although I don’t like their messaging service much, but that’s just me. It makes sense that they would want their own social marketing site too. I’m thinking that the big thing will be in terms of target audiences. They already offer targeted ads through AdSense. Maybe they’ll integrate that into the service. It would be great to have one place where you can do everything.

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Family relationships have been very popular on Facebook. Not only are its family-oriented applications such the “We’re Related” application one of the most used. Families also constitute the majority of the Facebook population. But recently, these numbers have gone down.

With this, the social network decided to give families a tribute through its new family group feature. This allows users to create groups of their families so that they can easily interact with each other. It is not really entirely different only that a group can be created that is exclusive only to family members.

This is done all because of the recent drop in users from 1.2 million to only 770,000. Facebook is losing numbers and it has to do something to counteract what is happening. Our guess is that people are using Facebook less because of the recent news about selling information to advertisers. Because information have become less private and the trust of users have gone down, people are less likely to disclose personal information about themselves especially that of their families. This new feature is for the goal of encouraging families to participate in the said social network.

However, this is bothering. It is evident that there are a lots of applications for families and having a separate feature for them is just nonsense. Or is it?

It seems that Facebook have found family networks valuable. In fact, family advertising is one of the most powerful viral advertising out there. It is also a nice tool for referral. A lot of people who just joined a particular social network will quickly inform their family members and ask them to join as well. So with this feature, it will not only be a couple of members. Now it can be the entire family.

Although the idea is somewhat hopeful, family oriented individuals have started registering just to avail the new feature. it had really triggered the interests on mothers. However, the young people are not really as enthusiastic.

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Online privacy is now becoming a major concern to Web surfers. With the proliferation of websites asking personal user’s information, no one in the online world can claim that his or her life is completely private. But what can online marketers do? Their goal is not really to intervene with their customers’ privacy. Their goal is only to get in touch with their customers personally.

When Burst Media conducted a survey regarding online privacy, it was no surprise that there is a concern about it in the majority. The young respondents have a concern with privacy but not as much as the older people do. After all, the older people have more social circles than the young ones.

This is where social networks such as Facebook comes in. When the social network started claim on all the information in its site, its users began to fret. Does the mere use of Facebook gives it the freedom to give out the information of their users? I think that is not the case. There is no other person who can give up their own privacy but themselves. Privacy, after all, is a right.

Luckily, Facebook decided to reassess its terms and guidelines. That is after the noise of protests it created with its users. But this alone is a sign that people are not so willing to give up their private information online.

But as Burst Media found out, the sharing of personal information on social networks is just one part of the issue. There are other ways on how a person’s privacy can be violated online. There is also the tracking studies which a lot of websites like to do. They do this primarily to study Web surfers’ behavior. However, what they don’t know is that they are intervening with the surfing experience of other people without them knowing. That, in itself, is unethical.

I would also like to add that status-updating websites can also violate privacy. Sites like Twitter is good because it lets a person share his life with the online world. However, it also tells people what they are doing, when they are doing it and how they are doing it. In other sites like BrightKite, the current location of a person is revealed. This is somewhat threatening to the person’s privacy.

I guess in the end it’s all about how you protect yourself. Stanton McCandlish in his blog post entitled “EFF’s Top 12 Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy” provides some ways on how you can protect yourself. We can’t really stop ourselves from using social networking sites or status updating websites like Twitter. At the same time, we can’t control the advertisers and researchers from taking our information. However, the information we disclose to the online world is still based on our choice.

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We all know that the social media bubble is at its peak, Facebook is one of the most successful social networking sites ever and it has got a vast pool of celebrities using it. Since the sites launch it has grown to become a type of necessity in world culture. Most people that use the site are very active users and they obsessively check there profiles every day as well as browsing there friend’s profiles.

Twitter on the other hand is a simple micro blogging site where users can update there status bars and allow there followers to hear there shouts. The site is relatively new, but has recently had a lot of media coverage due to the rise in celebrity stars using the service.

It is rumored that Facebook offered Twitter over five hundred million dollars in Facebook stock for the site, but Twitter turned it down. But could this end up being a serious mistake made at there end?

A lot of people (mainly Facebook users) do not really understand the need for a service such as Twitter, as Facebook has its own status update section. What is more intriguing though, is the news that Facebook have opened up there API for the status bar section. Which is ultimately what in fact made Twitter the site that it currently is. There is currently a lot of talk about Facebook killing Twitter. So let’s take a quick glance at the reasons why Twitter may or may not last.

Social networking sites are just like search engines, one of the most important facts is how the site is built. Plenty of social networking sites do not stand the test of time simply because there technologies are not advanced enough.

An example of what I am trying to say is to turn our attention to Google. Google simply revolutionarised search with there technology. This is why over the past decade they have shrugged off any rival search engine and will continue to do so unless someone invents a better way of search. The site cannot be cloned or copied because it is just too advanced.

Ok social networking is not exactly the same, each site offers something different but it’s the same core principle, the reason that Facebook will be around for a long time is because it is very hard to duplicate and they have created a solid platform with a great business model in mind.

Twitter on the other hand has none of this, although the site is great for connecting with people in the same niche, it has got nothing to keep a user there. I see twitter as a passing phase in the networking industry. That come this time next year will be saturated with clones. Heck! we are already starting to see the clones popping up left right and centre, simply because the site is too easy to replicate, it just has not got too much thought behind it, one of the main reasons that Digg is losing popularity is because it has just become over saturated with copycats and people are just getting fed up. Have you ever seen a copycat of Google? A search engine that is able to deliver such accurate results? Twitter just saw what other people have done and (Facebook status bar) and increased it a notch, I don’t know if Facebook status bar will wipe Twitter out, but Twitter will probably end up picking there own fate.

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Google has recently introduced the Beta version of their Friend Connect. This service will enable the non-technical website owners to improve their websites with various social features. The visitors could log in to this using the credentials with Google, OpenID or Yahoo. The service has announced to get support for their integration with the famous Twitter network.

One could log in to the friend connected sites with the help of their Twitter details. They can look for their buddies, if they are members of this Google service. if any user want to invite friends, they can create a tweet with the gadget of those members and mention the address of this new site. When the invitation is sent, the followers of Twitter can click the link and reach the next page. If you want to accept this invitation, you can replace your Friend Connect profile using the Twitter one.

Twitter is working with both Facebook and Google. Twitter is not ready to take sides. Twitter is popular as a micro blogging service. This will help users to be informed of the various events. The news from this service covers a wide area, including tracking of jailed journalists to recording movements of unborn babies.

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Your profile is the starting point of your existence on Facebook; Anyone who would like to know you better opens this window; Obviously that makes it a great place to sell your products. Your profile is the landing page for a visitor; its the first thing that he/she will encounter, so its crucial to optimize it to sell your stuff!
Fortunately, the profile page is one of the very few areas where Facebook gives you some degree of control. Be it the design of the page, or the amount of information you can reveal/hide, customization is possible. Take advantage of Facebook’s components such as Work Info, Personal Info, Photos, etc to express your passion for any brand, product or even a cause and tell/sell your story to the entire world!

Most people underestimate the power of social networking; specifically its power to generate an immense number of page views. When you are trying to market something online, page views are all that matter. Make your profile tell a story; the more attractive your story sounds, the more people are going to want to know about you and what you have to say. Develop pages, launched sometime last year with the sole purpose of allowing businesses of varying kinds to effortlessly establish their brand presence on Facebook, is the last step in providing you a complete Facebook presence.
It seems like the Associated Press wants to establish set of rules for the online use of their content, and they have reported that they will be holding a meeting with bloggers, specifically, with Robert Cox, who is the president of the Media Bloggers Association. According to AP, this is the beginning of an effort to create standards regarding the online use of its stories by bloggers which would protect its content without discouraging legitimate quoting by bloggers.

Quite understandable, as bloggers grab for free the news that other newspapers and sources pay to get hold of. But what AP seems to be overlooking is the fact that most bloggers will credit the original source by providing a link back to it, and in the process, giving more credibility and power to AP as a permanent online news reference. Guess the people at AP are a little slow on the uptake! Stay tuned for updates!

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AOL has today stated they have purchased social media site Bebo. So what does this mean for AOL’s future – well we believe it is a great buy for AOL as it gives them a very strong launching pad to compete with Myspace, Hi5, and facebook, it is going to be very interesting as to what AOL will do with Bebo.

Bebo claims to have over 40 million registered users wordwide and with AOL’s takeover it is expected to rise very fast as they plan to expand globally as they are already one of the top players in the UK abit about bebo taken from the takeover statement below

Bebo, founded by Michael and Xochi Birch, is the world’s leading global social media network. Building on the notion of traditional social networking websites, Bebo combines community, self-expression and entertainment to enable its users to consume, create, discover and share professional and user-generated content through the Bebo website. Bebo has 11.4m unique users in the UK and a total membership of more than 40 million worldwide. Bebo also ranks as the UK’s most engaging social network with users spending an average of 33 minutes on the site per usage day

So in all conclusions this has been a great buy for AOL as they are firmly establishing themselves in the social market. Although a hefty price tag the conclusion is that its very much worth it

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