So Facebook celebrates its fifth birthday today – and it’s the second most popular site in the UK trailing only Google. So what might be the significance? Well Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t sold out – yet. All credit to him you might say but is this because no one has yet built a model to truly commercialise social media beyond display advertising? And even that appears to be a poisoned chalice with the huge over-supply of inventory driving down cost and making most publishers glum. Particularly those based in the offline world who are only just coming to terms with making content available for free online.

Well it would appear that one of the early web myths that eyeballs mean dollars is not strictly true. Critical mass and reach remain key but its how you measure the quality of the engagement with your consumers and value any kind of return from advertisers that are critical in the online world.

So whilst as quoted by one journalist in the broadsheet press this weekend, you see a great number of people in pubs but not much publicity, the same may be true for social media online. Understanding the environment and how you engage and can become part of conversations and storytelling – without barging in and interrupting interrupting – will be key to those looking to influence.

And rather than thinking this an anomoly the same is probably true for mobile where there is another medium still scratching around for a commercial advertising model. It too is a personal medium. Gatecrash at your peril.

0 Comment   |   Posted in Uncategorized February 04, 2009