Here’s your weekly recap of recent Social Media News.
Google Wave waves goodbye. In a blog post last week, Google announced that it will no longer continue to develop Google Wave as a standalone product, citing low user adoption. Instead, Google will utilize some of Wave’s functionality in other projects and maintain some features as open-source code. The ill-fated online collaboration tool was extraordinarily innovative, however many users were at a loss for trying to find practical uses for the technology and how to integrate it into everyday life. This blogger was an early adopter of Wave and an outspoken supporter, however even I found the tool to be worthless when majority of my social contacts were not Wavers themselves. Google Wave had a lot of potential, but with so many existing technologies that allow users to share and collaborate already ingrained into our normal web habits (like email and social networks), there was never a strong enough need for Wave. Further, Wave was not an easy tool to adopt quickly: many users faced a large learning curve in understanding Wave’s functionality, and limited Wave invites at its launch presented a barrier to entry that may have stunted adoption from the onset.
Warm and friendly wins in social. Researchers from Relational Capital Group have studied the science behind making brands more people-friendly and offers strategic insight for social media. Chris Malone writes in a recent Ad Age article about his team’s psychological study in perception and brand loyalty, and offers three actionable customer service strategies for social media. For more tips on how to connect with your audience in a warm and friendly manner, also check out 5 Ways to Build Your Blog’s Voice from ProBlogger.
MySpace just won’t die. One month after its profile redesign, MySpace is rolling out a new homepage to provide users with more utility and better access to MySpace’s best features. The former social media giant is focused on growing its user network, which includes luring back users that haven’t signed in for years, and specifically targeting 13-34 year olds. The homepage redesign is available to some users in beta, and will be rolling out across all users by August 16. The most important addition to the homepage is the new MySpace Stream, which functions much like the Facebook News Feed providing a feed of friends’ activities, media content, and events. Screenshots are available from Mashable.
Social Media: Strategy
What Are Social Media Good For? Putting a Face to a Brand - AdAge
5 Ways to Build Your Blog’s Voice - ProBlogger
What Facebook Questions Means for Marketers - Ignite
Looking Online to Verify Word-of-Mouth Recommendations - Brandweek
Hot or Not: E-mail Marketing vs. Social-Media Marketing - AdAge
Social Media: Consumer Electronics
RIM’s rumored ‘BlackPad’ tablet due in November? - Yahoo! News
The Dell Streak Shows The CE World How To Be Relevant In An iDevice World - CrunchGear
Social Media: Location-Based Services
HOW TO: Visualize All Your Foursquare Check-ins - Mashable
Facebook’s Foursquare competitor is imminent - cnet
Groupon + Foursquare = GroupTabs, Group Deals for Check-Ins - RWW
Digital Advertising
Google Rolls Location-Based Mobile Display Ads - Brandweek
Facebook, AOL quietly talking online ad hookup - New York Post
Twitter API to Get Ads Inserted, Revenue to be Shared With Developers - RWW
Internet Trends
MySpace to revamp site in aim to simplify - Yahoo! News
MySpace Launches a Revamped User Homepage [EXCLUSIVE] - Mashable
74% of Social Media Users Expect Cries for Help to Be Answered Within an Hour - RWW
Google & Verizon Propose Enforceable Net Neutrality - RWW
RIP Google Wave - Mashable
Twitter Still Grew 109 Percent In June, Fueled By Global Visitors – TechCrunch
