The beginning of 2010 has already shown us a lot of exciting potential for the social world, including Apple’s iPad and Super Bowl XLIV ad campaigns’ interaction in social media. But what we’re most intrigued with are two recent articles from Caroline McCarthy and Joe Marchese. Both articles discuss the emergence and dispersion of noteworthy media content (you know, the stuff people actually care about) through social media and the role of monetization.
Mindgruve believes this: RSS and traditional news sources in their current form are a dying breed, while entertainment and “valuable” content are getting easier to share. People are also spending more and more time on social networks, but rather than seeing a constant stream of mostly random, rarely significant tweets and Facebook updates, meaningful content – content that is shared by friends you trust – will rise to the top (it’s already a top driver of news media traffic). The remaining issue: money is key to making this work.
Offering consistently valuable content is a huge step forward for the digital world, but how do you do it without spamming your audience? We believe it should be done strategically, creatively and with respect for the users.
So, why focus on money and friends as it pertains to social media content? Simple. The two go hand-in-hand. If your friend suggests a story on the most recent Haiti relief efforts, you’re more likely to read it and share it again with your network. In time, as you spend increasing attention to specific outlets like Facebook, the less time you want to spend outside of it searching for content, resulting in a willingness to pay for the links that your connections suggest or you subscribe to. Content producers are more than excited by this prospect. Their goal now is to make content as easy as possible to share, while installing simple profit centers in which you can fund more content.
Of course, some people would prefer to keep their social networks cost-free. Invading “personal” space with requests to buy, buy, buy will likely cause revolt among certain audiences. Everyone has seen the Facebook backlashes and we wouldn’t be surprised if some individuals who are bombarded with media content dig their heels into the sand and say, “Enough!”
Ultimately, getting socially-attuned people to become early-adopters of the social media, media frenzy means taking careful steps not to overwhelm, while also providing a perfect balance of consumer cost analysis with content desire. It will be different for every single content provider (and each one is truly different) and a lot of fun to perfect.
