Best of 2010: Getting to Know Your Friends, Fans and Followers

In 2010, we were introduced to the important distinctions between monitoring and listening. At the same time, we observed an emerging dichotomy between the social graph (your personal and professional connections) and the interest graph (those who share common interests, goals, and concerns). For business strategists, publishers, and marketers, windows into the world of customers and influencers were finally jarred open to reveal the people who define online markets.

In 2011, we will place greater emphasis on listening as a tool not just for engagement opportunities, but to introduce touchpoints for learning and adaptation. Research plays a tremendous role in the evolution of business. Through analysis, businesses can identify insights necessary to earn relevance now and over time. In 2011 and beyond, social media’s critical path is paved by R.R.S. (Relevance. Resonance. Significance.)

As each year passes, we learn a bit more about the meaning of social networking and why people flock to Twitter, like Facebook, blog and curate, and check-in to locales. And this year especially, we were given an opportunity to meet our friends, fans, and followers (The 3F’s) through demographics, psychographics, and behaviorgraphics. As digital anthropologists, sociologists, and ethnographers, reading between the lines of conversations opens our eyes to better understand what moves people to connect and share. Doing so, reveals where, when, and how to engage in ways that introduce value to foster communities and affinity, attract customers, and earn loyalty.

It’s real-time vs. right time/right place…

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