Jonathan Kochis

Sometimes I find interesting things on the interwebs, sometimes I find them in my head. They all exist together here.

Why the Niche Will Prevail in LBS

Speaking about Facebook for business at PodCamp London a couple of weeks ago I rounded out my talk by explaining why I thought the social networking giant's entry into the location game means trouble for smaller players like Foursquare and Gowalla.

With a user base exceeding 450 million I was of the impression that Facebook could really bring the appeal of LBS (location-based services) to the masses (and therefore to more marketers).  It still might, but I'm not convinced.

Taking a closer look at why I enjoy Foursquare has caused me to change my thoughts around Facebook and LBS.

When I look at the people I'm connected with on Foursquare I see a set who are early adopters, key influencers, and ardent supports of the things they find valuable.  To brands such as Pepsi, Ford, and General Motors this demographic has a strong appeal and offers a compelling reason to focus on niche communities as opposed to Facebook.  Personally, I enjoy the gaming and achievement aspect of Foursquare and welcome it as a respite from legions of Farmville updates and ridiculous copy-and-paste status updates.

From a mobile perspective the lean focus of Foursquare allows me to very quickly find nearby tips without navigating through pictures, status updates, chats, wall posts, events, and groups.  Gowalla is great for following a guided tour using nothing more than a mobile device, something that has recently been recognized and adopted by organizations such as National Geographic and The Washington Post.

I'm a firm believer in the notion that 'riches are in niches' and quite frankly Facebook doesn't occupy a niche, at least not when it comes to LBS (or social networks in general for that matter).

How not to follow the bitter example of Nestle | Bristol24-7

It’s worth also mentioning that Nestlé shares dropped significantly during the first six hours of this event. How’s that for ROI on social media – and not the kind any business wants to replicate.

Threatening to delete amended Nestle logos? Deleting comments posted on the Nestle fan page? Sarcastic comments by the Nestle social media coordinators on Facebook? Whomever is behind the Nestle Facebook fan page is extending the failure of a company to social media. Pro tip: don't follow this example. Ever.

Comcast and the Personal Approach to Social - SxSW 2010

via vimeo.com

In my opinion Comcast has it figured out. Frank Eliason uses a touching personal story to make a great point about why it's so important to represent businesses on social networks with real people. Hiding behind a logo and generic bio is contrary to the reason social networks exist...to allow real people to connect with others they know or are interested in.

Michigan's Million-Dollar Facebook Mistake

The state of Michigan is currently building a custom social network called the Michigan College Access Portal, at a cost of $1.5 million, to help students looking to transition from high school to college and beyond.

One point five million dollars of public funds. To build a Facebook knock-off.

via ohmygov.com

What ever happened to meeting your audience where they already exist online? I think this initiative is going to be a painful waste of $1.5M for the State of Michigan and its taxpayers.

Study: Ages of social network users

via royal.pingdom.com

The average age of social network users always makes for interesting discussion. This study by Pingdom and others conducted by the Pew Research Centre make it quite clear that those in the 35-44 bracket use social networks the most. Even the average age of Bebo users, the youngest of all, is over 28.