Early on, I was one of the first analysts to explore the dynamics of the interest graph versus the social graph in social networks. Think Twitter vs. Facebook. I learned right away that interest graphs tend to share connections based on topics rather than relationships. I also found that every person possesses a series of 6-10 interest graphs that together form a social graph. Google refers to these groupings as “Circles.” The notion of manually organizing people by interests though…
4 Strategic Areas Where Facebook Must Invest Post-IPO
Mark Zuckerberg by Brian Solis Mark Zuckerberg and 900 million of his friends hit Wallstreet with America’s largest IPO and has once again made history. Facebook’s first trade was $42.05 giving the social network a valuation of ~$115 billion. In the process, Zuckerberg became the 29th-richest man in the world with another half dozen employees also becoming billionaires. It’s also estimated that U2’s Bono will make more from his investment in Facebook than in his entire 30-year music career. As…
The New Facebook: A Timeline for Personal Discovery and Storytelling
“For the first time ever in a single day we had 500 million people use Facebook” – Mark Zuckerberg For those who focus on the debate between Facebook, Google Plus and Twitter are missing the true story. Today at Facebook’s f8 developer conference we were reminded about what the story really is…you and me. No, it’s not about features, capabilities, or the number of users. We were reminded about the power of something much more important, our experiences, relationships, the…
The Human Cost of Social Connectivity
The Egyptian Revolution is a historical event for many reasons, not the least of which is the relentless dedication of human will to overcome tyranny against all odds. For those who study social networks, the revolution is also of course significant because of the role Facebook and Twitter played in the concentration of discontent and the orchestration of upheaval. For the purpose of this discussion, I would like to focus on how Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social networks continue…
The Interest Graph on Twitter is Alive: Studying Starbucks Top Followers
Social media is maturing as are the people embracing its most engaging tools and networks. Perhaps most notably, is the maturation of relationships and how we are expanding our horizons when it comes to connecting to one another. What started as the social graph, the network of people we knew and connected to in social networks, is now spawning new branches that resemble how we interact in real life. This is the era of the interest graph – the expansion…
Video: From Social Graphs to Interest Graphs
In the next installment of discussions exploring the state and future of social media, Chris Beck, founder of 26dottwo (@26dottwo) and I review how relationships online are evolving from social networks to social “nicheworks” or contextual networks. In social media, how we connect with one another reflects our interests as well as our contacts. We’re adapting our definition of relationships to now also include a new, thinner layer of “relations” in order to refine our online experience as well as…
Video: The Social Network of the Future
In part ten of a series of conversations exploring the state of social media, Chris Beck, founder of 26dottwo (@26dottwo) and I speculate on the future of social networks. Social networking as it exists today is not scalable nor is it representative of how social beings connect and engage. We are complex individuals we are defined by what we share, consume, and to whom we connect. Our social graphs are woven with the fabrics of our interests, passions, and relations….
Twitter Helps You Expand Your Social Nicheworks
Social networks are propelled by the connections, conversations, and gestures between active netizens. The success and vitality of each network is rooted in its capacity to expand social graphs and nurture communication and shared experiences. As such, Twitter announced a new feature to help you discover who to follow. The new “Suggestions for You” service is simple, but powerful. It not only introduces you to like-minded people, it empowers you to more effectively curate your connections and as such, your…
The Competition for Your Social Graph
This is the unabridged version of my current contribution to TechCrunch, “In The Fight Between Facebook And Twitter, Which One’s The Mac And Which One’s The PC?“ Source Facebook is much more than a social network. Twitter is much more than an information network or serendipity engine. Each represent a dashboard for your attention, a foundation for conversations and collaboration, and a matrix for your social graph and contextual relationships. In other words, Facebook and Twitter essentially represent the entrée…
Facebook Swims Its Way into Your Lifestream: What the Facebook news means to you
Shot at Mark Zuckerberg’s 2008 F8 keynote This week Facebook hosted a blogstar-studded event to introduce a more people-focused platform for interacting around your Facebook statusphere in “Twitter time.” Let’s review what this news means to you as a user and as a new media enthusiast. After Facebook’s failed attempt at acquiring Twitter, the company seems to be on a b-line to unite people in an online social graph while connecting them through a dynamic and rapid fire conversation and…
