Well, that’s the million dollar question, isn’t it.
We’ve found that each technology has it’s own strengths and proponents. What they all have in common is the portability of information. Almost all of the information can be posted on your or other’s websites.
Here are our insights:
h4. FaceBook
FaceBooks’ current audience targets people of all ages. Currently there are millions of users. Members are called friends, and you make contact with and accept people into your friendship. Each profile item has a privacy setting which you can control. FaceBook has a lot of potential within its demographic groups.
Features include:
* groups where anyone can form and join any group.
* area for video
* area for images which can be commercial purpose
* the wall – ongoing short blog postings of your friends
* applications – small programs that give added functionality
* birthday is required, although you don’t have to display it
* news feed
* calendar, shared and personal
* mobile integration
h4. Twitter
Twitter has a more narrow following, but is widely growing. Twitter targets people who are interested in the “moments between email and phone calls.” Members are called Followers and Following. You follow someone through out the day and others can follow you.
We’ve found Twitter’s strength is in its immediate feedback. You want an opinion on something, post only 150 words (the maximum post size) and five minutes later, you have several Tweets about it. Very simple setup and minimal profile information.
h4. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a professional networking tool. LinkedIn is great for professional associations; there are groups of alumni, legitimate associations, and registered organizations. Your profile consists of your job, job experience, a few interests, one photo and a list of reasons to contact you. Much less time intensive to get started.
h4. YouTube
YouTube is a novel idea to collect all of those videos that people can now easily record and share them with the world. Everyone enjoys YouTube as it is entertaining and a quick way to see video on any subject. YouTube videos are public domain. On YouTube you create channels or topics and post videos to support.
h4. Flickr
Flickr is a photo sharing tool. All Flickr photos are public domain and you cannot use it for commercial purposes. However, it has good image handling and portability, so if copyright issues are not a concern, Flickr is a good way to manage your images and promote your activities. Flickr also supports comments, topics and photo sharing, so your promotion can grow.
h4. Wiki
A wiki’s strength lies in the collective knowledge of a group. Wiki’s are idea for company manuals, department regulations and other shared company procedures. If you’d give out a handbook, you could make a wiki instead.
h4. Forum
Frequently a forum is used for technical support on products and is supported by staff members to help users troubleshoot issues. Requires many new and repeat users to be successful. Everyone’s input is weighted the same, although there is usually one authoritative voice (the owner) depending on the subject matter. A forum serves as an excellent resource to new associates who encounter similar issues or questions as others in the past.
h4. Blogs
Blogs deserve a spot not as web 2 technology (its been around for a long time), but because blogs are at the heart of your social communication. Often companies have a corporate website, but services and specialties don’t change that often. What changes is the energy, ideas and approaches ideas within the company. A blog is an going, frequently updated communication tool to let your customer base know what your doing. It is the anchor to your satellite outposts.