I can admit it - I geek out over statistics. I pour over my Google Analytics reports, and I ogle Omniture. I also get a little gooshy over seeing compete.com come out with statistics for social networks as a whole… oh, and my hands down guilty pleasure has got to be all of those Twitter statistics measurement APIs floating about like Twitter Grader and Twinfluence. I can’t help it, deep down, I am a dork.

Compete.com recently released their January 2009 statistics for traffic ranks to the various social networks.

I find this endlessly fascinating. Look at Twitter’s skyrocketing hurtle from 22nd place to Top 3. I’m still, and always, surprised that Classmates.com and MyYearBook.com are in 7th and 8th places respectively - I’d always used FaceBook for random connections with classmates I wasn’t friends with then really, and am not now either.

The one thing that is missing from this data, and the thing that would make it of more use is where this traffic is coming from. While these are global sites, the stats only pull from US browser information, and so sites like Orkut and Bebo, whose users are primarily come from continents other than North America, get the short end of the stick with these numbers. 

Like Caroline McCarthy from CNet said, "Still, statistics are like tequila shots. Always take ‘em with a few grains of salt and a slice of lime, and be warned that they may give you headaches." [source] That said, and while I agree with Caroline 100%, I do still love me some tequila.

[image source: Compete]

And becomes more useful!

LinkedIn has always been a great business-focused social network. I’ve managed to get some great connections and contracts through LinkedIn.

And now, there are more ways to interact with your network and community.

The new LinkedIn applications let you interact in a bigger, better way with your network. Options include:

Work collaboratively with your network:

Share information and keep up to date with your network:

Present yourself and your work in new ways:

Gain key insights that will make you more effective:

So, how are you going to use the new LinkedIn applications?

This evening was Vancouver’s monthly Third Tuesday, where Mhairi Petrovic, the founder of Out Smarts, explained how to sell social marketing to the traditional marketing decision makers. Raul (aka Hummingbird 604) live-blogged the event.

The information was fantastic, and I thought it needed a wider audience. The full post from Raul is here, but the salient points are below.

Some of the primary objections to social media that traditional marketers have to social media include: 

1) “We already use social media” Complete misconception -  having a website or a facebook page is not participating in social media.  

2) Perceived as a tool for only the younger set. This is a misconception. Yes, MySpace was adopted by young music lovers. The over 35 demographic is the fastest growing sector of the users of Internet. Social networks for professionals are the fastest growing social media segment. 

3) Social media does not apply to me. Technorati and its State of the Blogosphere report stated that they have 133 million blogs in 36 countries. 100 million people on MySpace, 140 million people on Facebook, 20 million photos on Flickr. You have to join in the conversation, before you get left behind.

4) Social media as simply a fad. It’s got no long term/staying power. The case of Friendster is commonly cited as the example of social media being a fad. This is only one case, but the first blog is dated 1982 so it’s not a flash in the pan. If you don’t start using these new technologies NOW you, and more importantly, your business, risk getting left behind.

5) The need for transparency and the fear of losing control of your brand. Those that need to control every press release and make sure that what is being said meets the party line think that social media is too risky. Business owners who think that participation in social media makes you vulnerable and means that you lose control of your brand need to learn this is not the case. Participating in social media means that you actually get more control than you may have had previously - you can respond to any negative comments and move the discussion to your corporate blog.

6) The need for privacy. LinkedIn and Facebook have privacy settings. Set appropriate limits both in terms of who to add and what information you put out there. You control the content. Don’t put EVERYTHING if you feel that it may infringe on your privacy. Use these tools appropriately, understand that you’re in control, and limit your risk by using these technologies in the right way.

7) “Social Media is just fluff.”  People say that Facebook is just fluff - all those zombies and bunnies and garden patches! But the sheer volume of people using it, shows that there is relevance in it. There is a lot of fluff in TV but that doesn’t stop companies from spending billions in advertisements in these media. Your company can benefit from social media if you implement the tools appropriately.

“I don’t have time for social media”  This excuse allows people to negate doing something that they have to do. You can’t afford not to at least consider what your competition is doing with social media and to find out what you can do with social media. You can reach your customers more effectively through social media and by building community. Overall, a social media campaign costs less than a traditional campaign. You may need to hire someone to help you navigate the social media waters and to do it correctly, but that cost will only be a positive investment. 

9) “The only professional way of doing it is the traditional way.” Social media tends to be seen as either “for, or by amateurs”. Social media strategists are considered snake oil salesmen still. Social media is NOT only for amateurs, it’s not an appropriate comment at all. For people who only do traditional marketing, they should transfer the budget for those projects to social media for one month to see how it effects it.

10) “Show me the money. Where is the ROI (Return On Investment)”. There is a dearth of information (publicly available - what has been the return on investment in social media?). Wal-Mart episode - got bad marketing. Mazda did a similar thing. Despite their huge presence, they still had to lay off people and cut off costs. Social media-based marketing is not the end and be all, but it is a component that you can use in your marketing arsenal. Traditional marketing campaigns are even harder to measure in terms of ROI.

Mhairi’s main and central example on huge ROI for using social media - a UK company “ WigglyWigglers” that engaged in a great social media campaign. This is a gardening company. They have a podcast, YouTube channel, a blog, a newsletter and they use them actively to share information on the worms for gardening. The result: they now have over 40,000 podcast subscribers, 43,000 newsletter subscribers, more than 800 friends on Facebook, customers in New Zealand and North America, they’ve improved their Google Page Rank massively, online sales 50% of their total sales, and they’ve done this all with a 97% reduction in their advertising costs. That really proves the ROI on these technologies.

The bottom line is that traditional marketers can no longer ignore the benefits of social media. All the results attest to the fact that traditional, old-school marketers need to learn some of these tools, and harnessing these tools can only benefit you. 

Today’s post is another brilliant guest post from Buzz Bishop.

Even if you have no grasp whatsoever of the concepts of social media and how they can work for you, you’re one step ahead.  You’re here.  You’re trying.  You’re learning.

Your audience, on the other hand, are miles behind even you.  Which is why you have time.

Mainstream media is skewered for dumbing down the news.  Unfortunately we have to, we’re broadcasting, not narrowcasting and to catch that cume, you’ve got to dumb it down.

The internet can preach to a niche, or chase that long tail because their are economies to be found in those areas, but when it comes to MSM, you just have to cast the biggest net to scoop the most fish, regardless of size, shape, colour or texture.

Yes, a lot of people are using Twitter, or Facebook, or FriendFeed or LinkedIn, but even more have no idea what you’re talking about.  They’ll catch up, eventually, but this is your chance to better bait the hook.

You’re here, you’re trying to learn about the tools to better communicate and interact with your audience. 

When you use new media tools effectively, the early adopters will follow and they will start the chorus and spread your message.  It will take a while to trickle down, and while it won’t trickle all the way through, you will get enough of a bump to make it worth the effort.

You’ve just got to make that effort.  And you have, you’re here reading BuzzNetworker.

Buzz Bishop is a radio host with 95Crave and tech columnist with 24hrs.  He’s a new media advocate constantly rallying against old media traditions to bring them into the new media world.

BWE, as it’s affectionately known in my circle, is coming up in September. Together, with Kristen King, a fellow b5 blogger, I entered a contest to win airfare to Vegas and hotel so we could attend BWE.

There was international coordination, crude Photoshop images, an “argument” “break ins” and a subsequent “make up”. It was complicated and required some serious skype conversations to get it all organized.

To even show you these, I have to give you a bit of explanation. See, Ed is the b5 mascot. He’s our social director and various other things. Ed’s the man. Ed’s also the man-equin.

Part of the contest was to tell the b5 Toronto crew what you would do to get a girlfriend for Ed. Kristen professed her love,

I told her she was going to ruin her marriage.

It went on from there.

and on.

and on.

and on. and on. and still further.

And then, a guy came in and usurped us. He made this amazing video at the mall, and I don’t know how he even managed to film in store, but he did. Whatever, dude beat us out.  (but seriously, congratulations Jon. This really did rock)

So now, I have a full conference pass for BWE, but I need to find me a sponsor to cover airfare and hotel. Are you, or do you know, a company interested in sending a prolific blogger to BlogWorldExpo? Someone who will produce stellar images, excellent video content, Twitter almost nonstop and blog about it? All "brought to you by…"?

If you think this might be you, or you know someone who’s alley this might be right up, let me know. You can find me here, here, here, here, or here or call me at 604-837-6748.

While Colleen is covering Third Tuesday in Vancouver and live blogging it on MapleLeaf 2.0, I said I’d chip in and post here for her in trade …

The latest Nielsen net data are out today and everyone is buzzing about Facebook’s 10% decline over March and general lack of growth:

• Bubble Alert: Facebook Traffic Declines 10% in April
• Nielsen: MySpace, Club Penguin growth static, LinkedIn soaring | The Social - CNET News.com
• Month-To-Month Facebook Traffic Falls By Ten Percent | WebProNews

The other part of the story is LinkedIn, it grew almost 400% since last year:

But now Nielsen charts a second drop: It says Facebook’s U.S. uniques dropped 10% decline from March to April, dropping form 24.94 million to 22.48 million. Time to stick a fork in Mark Zuckerberg and co? Not necessarily: ComScore shows a marginal increase in U.S. uniques over the same time frame: It says Facebook’s traffic perked up — just barely — from 35.51 million to 35.65 million. Who’s right? You’ve got us: But at some point Facebook will have reached a saturation point in the U.S., so we won’t be shocked if and when the numbers do flatten out for good. Which is why the company’s real focus going forward is two-fold: Growing outside the U.S., and trying to turn some of that enormous global traffic into real money.—Is Facebook On The Way Down? Depends On Who You Ask - Silicon Alley Insider

Facebook might be on everyone’s mind, but it’s LinkedIn’s huge rise that I think is the bigger story here.  Because it isn’t now about Facebook or LinkedIn, it’s about the acceptance of social networking in the mainstream.

I’m a well-known Facebook curmudgeon.  I’m there, but I don’t go often.  I don’t see a lot of value there.  I’m on LinkedIn too (LinkedIn: Tris Hussey) and have been for a long time.  Now, I don’t get a heck of a lot of value there either, but I’m also not being tossed pizzas, given Flaming Moe’s, or being bitten by vampires.

The question is then, why is Facebook on the decline and LinkedIn on the upswing?

I think because people are now used to this idea of social networking (in no small part thanks to Facebook) and with folks adding LinkedIn to other social media profiles like FriendFeed people see an option.

A business focused option, a professional option, something that could add value in the future (getting a job or finding a contact needed for business).

What I see is that social networking is now, dare I say, accepted in the larger business community.  And because it is accepted (again a nod is required to Facebook) and shows value, people are starting to flock to it.

The final question will be … what will LinkedIn do now?

Image courtesy of Nielsen

Site: LinkedIn

Members: 10 million+

Features:

-you can import your contacts via webmail or other contact programs such as Outlook and Act
-ability to send messages, post job openings, review resumes
-ability to ask a question where other users are able to reply, here is a sample question that was posted on my network the other day:

What are your recommendations for starting a college recruiting program?

I’m going to be involved in setting up a college recruiting program and would like your help. I am seeking tips, war stories and recommended reading-both online and offline. Anyone you would recommend as a person to talk to about this would also be appreciated.

I am going to primarily be recruiting software engineers, marketing and sales professionals, and a handful of people for other roles. I am looking for college students from top computer science and engineering schools, though I am sure that I will find great people at others as well.

I am not looking to recruit anyone through posting this

Thanks in advance for your help!

-another great feature is an introduction feature where you ask one of your contacts to introduce you to one of theirs, which is allows you to network and meet other professionals.

Review:

I don’t want to dig too deep into LinkedIn, I believe that fellow b5media.com blogger Scott Allen does an excellent job of it on his blog linkedintelligence.com. I would like to take a couple of seconds to talk about my first impressions of the site.

LinkedIn is a different animal when compared to the other sites that I examine here. At first I was pretty sour on LinkedIn because it was different, I didn’t see the potential it truly had because I was trying to compare it to the other social networking sites that I have been using and writing about.

While LinkedIn can’t be used in the same way that MySpace, Tagworld, Bebo, and other social networking sites can be used, it still is a valuable tool to network within the business community. It is a great way to find people that may be able to help you with your business, to find different people with expertise areas different from your own, or to even find old school mates that might be valuable tools to regain contact with.

With 10 million users and growing LinkedIn is viewed as the professionals social network, and I have taken the time out to get on it and expand my profile. The site has stringent anti-spam policies and is designed to make sure you build your network through people that you know and through recommendations of friends, which is a feature that I like as it reigns in the possibility of abuse.

LinkedIn is a solid site that is worth spending a couple of minutes on setting up a profile and checking to see what friends, classmates, or business associates are on there.

To view my LinkedIn profile, click here.

Technorati Tags: LinkedIn, review, linkedintelligence, social networking, business networking

LinkedIn is one of the sites I have on tap for review. It is a very different type of social networking site when compared to myspace, friendster, or facebook.

LinkedIn is all about business: recruiting, sales, investment. It’s not
exactly a marketplace or a job site but rather a community of more than
8 million people who rely on one another to get things done.

Companies such as Google and Microsoft have used LinkeIn to recruit some of their employees.

This is another valuable site to build a profile on but in a different fashion than myspace or the others. It isn’t going to drive traffic or sell a product for you necessarily but it is a good way to meet other people in your field or other fields that may want to swap services with you.

With over 8 million people on LinkedIn including many venture capitalists and major players in the tech industry it is a site that you can’t afford not to be on as a businessperson.

To read the complete article about LinkedIn: Click Here

Technorati Tags: LinkedIn, Social Networking, Business