A Few Social Media Websites To Keep An Eye On For 2011
Oh how we all love the social media/networking websites for they have made communication with anyone possible. Since social media can really give us, the small business owner, the upper hand over some of our big brand competitors I have listed a few social media websites that I feel we should all keep an eye on for the year of 2011.
Ustream
Video is everywhere on the web and you may or may not be looking to use video yourself, but you can’t deny the impact it’s having for both those that produce the video and those that watch them as well. Even though when you think of videos on the web the first platform that probably comes to mind is going to be YouTube, the video platforms to watch for 2011 is going to be your live streaming video websites like Ustream (my favorite). Could Ustream over take YouTube? Well probably not because if live streaming video takes off I’m sure YouTube will implement it as well. Not to mention that YouTube is the second most popular search engine so it is kind of an impossible feat. The reason I find live streaming interesting is because of the direct interactions you can have with your audience. We love to get instant feedback and that is possible with a live streaming website like Ustream. Also for the use of Q&A sessions that more and more people are implementing in some shape or form on the web.
Forumspring.me
Yeah so I know forums may not be the sexiest thing on the web, but forumspring.me is going to change that perception. Having the ability to seek out experts in a certain field and ask their advice is going to be a huge advantage for those who use it. They also have plugins that you place on your blog. When you can show that people are asking you a question about your industry, you show just how much of a go to expert you are!
Bizsugar
Uniting business professionals with content, wish I would have thought of that, but this is exactly what bizsugar is doing and doing it well. Forming connections with others by letting them get to know you first with content you provide. Facilitating the connections through votes and comments. I have connected with some truly awesome content providers and business minds on this website.
Foursquare
Unfortunately, I have to admit that I am now starting to use Foursquare instead of Gowalla, but it will be a slow transition for me. I was pushing hard for Gowalla to dominate this space, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. However, Foursquare has an even bigger competitor now with Facebook Place coming onto the scene. Even though I do like the idea of becoming mayor of a place I visit often I don’t know how they will be able to hold the edge of Facebook.
Dailybooth
How many of us love pictures? I know I do and mainly because it tells us a lot about the personality of a person which we all love to see since we are living through the human side of business. Pictures have been one of the driving successes to Facebook in their early days being able to post and tag photos of your friends and Dailybooth has leveraged this to build a social media website that is all pictures! With these pictures that are posted you have the ability to share your thoughts by commenting on them. I am still waiting for the website to transition from the younger teenage type of crowd to a much more all ages welcome website, kind of like what Facebook had to do. Businesses have a lot of opportunity here to develop a community and show their faces behind their business and by using Dailybooth to post pictures you can definitely accomplish this.
Facebook, yes Facebook again!
So I have mentioned them this whole time and I have to one more time to close out this blog entry. What isn’t Facebook doing? They seem to have a hand in everything and that trend is only going to continue. We have seen how quick they are to adjust by implementing elements to Facebook like Facebook Place feature. Not to mention the creation for the Facebook business page, which is a must have piece to developing a web presence for your business. I have always thought when Facebook added the business or fan page part they stole some of the thunder away from the business professional networking website Linkedin, but that is just my personal opinion.
Your Thoughts?
What are some social media websites that you are keeping your eye on for 2011?
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