The future of social networking lies not in general-purpose networks like Facebook and MySpace, and not in niche social networks that cater to very specific groups, but in common interests networks like Blip.fm and Goodreads. I really think this is where the growth will occur as people burn out on the more generic networks.

In case you’re not familiar with Blip.fm and Goodreads, I’ll briefly describe each one. Blip.fm is a social network that allows users to be DJs. Blip has an extensive, although not quite as complete as I’d like, library of songs in many genres. Once you sign up to be a Blip.fm DJ, you can then do a quick search for a song you like, preview it (which is a strange term to apply to audio), and then Blip it, which means that it will post to both Blip.fm’s timeline, and optionally to Twitter. You can include a note, and a link to the song is automatically inserted.

Blip.fm mirrors many of the social networking functions found elsewhere, but adapts them to music sharing. Users may add favorite DJs, add songs to their playlists, send props (compliments to other DJs for particular songs), and share songs through a multitude of social networks.

I use Blip.fm as a streaming radio station. I connect my MacBook audio out to my home entertainment system, and listen to what is essentially a user-controlled radio station with no playlists, no format, and no commercials. Almost daily, I hear new artists that I like, and unlike the radio in my car, I can actually see the artist and title for every song on blip, and with a single click buy the MP3. (Unlike Pandora, Blip.fm doesn’t limit the number of songs I can skip either.)

My other favorite common interest social network is Goodreads, a network where users share with a list of selected friends books they’ve read and are currently reading. Like Blip.fm does for music, Goodreads adapts social networking functionality to books and reading. Good reads users can write book reviews, make book recommendations, and even report how far along they are in a particular book.

So why do these represent the future of social networking? As the novelty of being able to share status updates wears off — in other words once people get over the thrill of knowing that their friend is microwaving a slice of pizza or needs a cup of coffee — they will need more to engage them online.

By combining the social features of social networking, with a broadly targeted common interest to stimulate discussion, these networks show us what a successful model looks like.

Tags: blip, blip.fm, books, future of social networking, goodreads, music

One of the toughest things about social media is measuring its effectiveness. What may be harder still is measuring the effect of not being involved in social media, and being unaware of negative buzz about your company — or being aware of it and deciding to do nothing about it.

I chatted about this today with Paul Philp, VP Product Development for dna13, and I suggested the term “brand shrinkage” to describe the difficult to measure but very real effect of unchecked consumer dissent.

In the retail industry, shrinkage is the percentage of inventory that breaks, is spoiled, is stolen by employees, or that simply vanishes. For many retail businesses, a few percentage points of shrinkage are considered an acceptable cost of doing business. It’s a strange concept really, having a business problem with a significant and measurable impact, and instead of dealing with it, choosing to write it off as acceptable.

But the same thing is happening to companies that ignore what’s being said about them on social networks and other online forums. They are experiencing brand shrinkage — a decline in the value of their brand — and choosing to “write it off” by not participating.

It’s common to see people “slamming” service companies in particular. Telecoms companies get it all the time, as do IT companies and the airlines are a constant source of aggravation to consumers. And it’s a mistake to say, “people are prone to complain, we can’t respond to every disgruntled troublemaker with a blog or a Twitter account.” Because the business costs of failing to respond are very real. Because, for consumers, the next step in these conversations is to change providers, a process made highly efficient by their network of online friends ready to suggest an alternate provider. I don’t think it’s constructive to mention company names here, but I have SEEN this happening. It’s a real business cost. It’s a real risk of deciding not to “do” social media.

To see what people are saying about your company, or a company you do business with, do a Twitter search on the company name, or search on “worst customer service” to see a list of favorite targets. Also, check out Get Satisfaction.

Is brand shrinkage, and the resultant loss to reputation and revenue, something that should be considered an acceptable cost of doing business? And if the cost of mitigating the risk is simply to monitor a few search engines and a few social networks, and respond to negative buzz when appropriate, why wouldn’t you? From a traditional cost/benefits analysis, failure to participate in these discussions at some level simply does not make sense.

Tags: brand shrinkage, social media, business costs, business benefits, risk, get satisfaction, twitter

I’ll be giving a keynote Oct. 15 at the Executing Social Media Conference in Atlanta. The organizers have put together a couple of great promotions and a contest:

Register at http://www.communitelligence.com/psps/psitem.cfm?psid=221 and use the promo code esm08300 for $300 off regular conference admission.

To save even more, there’s a 2-for-1 registration offer which allows two people to register for the price of one.  Purchase online and put the 2nd person’s information in the Ship To field of the registration form.

And last but not least, you can win one of two free tickets they’re giving away by entering the Executing Social Media Atlanta contest at http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/survey.zgi?p=WEB228B2MXGDUG

Entrants need to answer this question by Thursday, Sept 9: In 300 words or less, what tactics would you use to introduce one of the following social media tools into an existing, conservative organization? (Blogs, wikis, RSS, podcasting, online video or social networking).

Tags: Executing Social Media, Atlanta, Conference, Discount, Promo

The UK Prime Minister’s office does a really nice job with social media and sets an example others can learn from. I discovered what they are doing first through their Twitter account, @DowningStreet. Everything here is done right.

The Twitter home page features a clean design, and clearly identifies the account as “the official twitter channel for the Prime Minister’s Office.” The web site link goes to the prime minister’s web site, at a .gov.uk domain.

The Twitter stream includes official news, comings and goings at Number 10, and personal notes.

The design of Number10.gov.uk is extremely up to date and easy to navigate, and makes good use of social media without throwing in too many features, feeds and services, sticking to the basics of Flickr, YouTube and Twitter.

All in all, they’ve done a nice job demonstrating that even the “highest office in the land” can participate in social media.

Tags: UK, prime minister, number 10 downing street, twitter, downingstreet