Apr
19
2010
Is Social Media becoming infectious?
Author: Stuart R. CrawfordWhen does Social Media stop being viral and start being infectious? It is happening right now.
Over the past year and a bit, many social media professionals have been sharing the importance of having a quality video done by a professional, a great blog or some sort of social media marketing message with an aim to take it viral. Taking something viral online is not easy, it takes a tremendous amount of time, effort and focus. Most of time we sit back and scratch our heads asking why it didn’t take off? The video which goes viral is something silly and has no real message behind it – how many dancing babies are shared across the Internet?
There is a shift occurring out there, many services are teaming up or putting in connectors to hook into your LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter accounts looking at farming your existing contacts to connect into their new network. What is the difference between viral and infectious? I am beginning to think that many social media services are now looking at ways to become infectious instead of viral. What do I mean?
My experience with Naymz
I will take my recent experience with Naymz. Naymz is trying real hard, in my opinion to become the next LinkedIn. The jury is still out on Namyz as another online social media service to put effort into. There are just so many of these services out there like Plaxo, Naymz and Biznik to name a few. My experience with Namyz has been a tad bit embarrassing and the reason for my blog post today. This is where the infectious mindset sets in and it was totally my fault.
I am starting to see more and more of this behaviour from the upstart social media services and those struggling for attention are heading. In this example I will focus on my experience with Naymz. With my approval (insert slap in face here) Namyz went through my entire LinkedIn contact list and emailed every single person asking them to join Naymz. Wait! I just did what?
Another area of concern is around “Connect with Facebook” and “Twitter Open Authorization”. When we grant access using these tools and services infects our online communities, what do we do next? Is my entire Friends or Follows list now open to this application who used these services to connect? What happens to my reputation online or my trusted colleagues?
When is enough, enough?
