Will Facebook, Google be around 5-10 years from now?

I came across an article a while ago, about whether or not Facebook will be around in a few years from now. The opinion of the article was - most likely, no. In fact, it would be wrong to say just Facebook will not be around, the write-up actually referred to Google, Facebook and several other websites we're hooked-to. The reason - not because they are not popular, or because they are going bankrupt. The reason was quite simple - they cannot adapt. Just like MySpace went out (though it still exists), so will Facebook!

Remember the time you jumped to Yahoo or Lycos or Alta Vista everytime you wanted to search for something? And how many of you had email ids on every website that popped up?

How many of you remember ICQ? Do you remember your number? I don't! Though I do know a few friends who do. How about your Hi5 account? How often do you visit that? They all still exist, but few ever visit such sites. We just changed our minds and started using things which were easier to use! In more techie terms we shifted from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0

When I look back, I used all of these platforms. But I was never able to stay hooked to one! The whole idea of using the internet is to make life simpler - so when a newer (and simpler) site comes up, I switch, as do many others! When I realised that all my friends were shifting to Facebook, I did it too! Though I have often wondered why?

I have seen this shift very often -- MySpace to Facebook, Orkut to Hi5 and then to Facebook, and then off late, people often choose between Twitter and Facebook. I'm guessing its because we all have one reason for using social networks - to keep in touch with people. So if people shift, so do we. But that begs the question, why do they start shifting? The 'whys' can be answered by psychology, and although I wish I was an expert at it, I'm not.

Coming back to the topic, the reason why Facebook and Google may not be around in a few years from now, is because the companies cannot adapt as quickly as we do. If we have started using our phones more than our computers, it is in Facebook's and Google's interest to ensure they have mobile versions of the site. But not just mobile versions. It's the whole experience of using the site that needs to be translated to a mobile platform.

On a personal note, I sort of agree - Google Search may be mobile friendly, but not the other Google products - I mean, how many 'Google' products do you have on your phone/tablet? Even for all the Android users, do you use Google Goggles or Google Earth or Google Latitude?

But then again, can you imagine having to send 'friend requests' to all your friend again? Or starting to get used to a new platform altogether? - Not that Facebook hasn't trained us for it, with all their changes to the way you use your profile, there is no doubt, we're all experts at getting used to new social networks in a giffy - We love Pinterest don't we?

But as of now, thinking of a world without Facebook and Google although tough, is not impossible! 

A simple example that I thought of when reading the article was - Whatsapp. We all use Whatsapp, but did it occur to anyone that you can use G-Talk, Skype or any other such messenger across all platforms?  Or was it because there is no G-Talk for iPhone? and no Skype for Blackberry? I guess that is exactly what the articles means by it will lose out!

Now imagine if tomorrow Whatsapp launches a profile option allowing you to share status updates with your friends? Oh wait, it already does that right? You can share statuses, create groups, share pictures, videos, etc - you just can't share it with everyone without 'chatting' with them! But if they do bring such features in, would you start using those instead of Facebook? 

A special campaign for NOAH

I have been trying to think of a special campaign for my 'buzz campaign'! Personally for me, NOAH has turned into more than just a buzz campaign. It is something that I have believed in for a long time, but was just not able to bring it to 'life'! Now that I am 2 weeks into the campaign, I have managed to bring about a 100 fans to the page! But now I need to think about ways to increase this number.

People may say that with time and through word-of-mouth the name will spread and people will realise the use of the campaign. However, I have decided that since I am learning digital marketing, I will use some of those techniques to build on NOAH as a brand! By New Year, the aim is to get 1000 fans on Facebook.

Think I can do it?

I am sure I can! Yesterday, I spent about an hour on the page, and got around 22 fans! Now I know that is not enough, but I think it's a start!

But just getting likes on the page is not enough. I need to push people to actually post stuff and interact with the page. Which to my joy is actually happening! There are new posts that are shared by those who like the page. This also means that through mere engagement, people will start spreading the word.

The idea behind NOAH is to build a non-commercial, non-regional network linking people worldwide but for a specific cause--helping animals. What better way to do this than use platforms that link people already--like Facebook and Twitter?

A Tweet is NOT Just a Status Update!

I have been thinking about the various things that people do with social media. Since I myself have started getting onto several social network sites, I realized the uses of each are different!

My biggest misconception is finally getting cleared! Twitter is not just about status updates. It is more about conversations and discussions. I know many people who read this might think, she just posted to days ago about 'Getting the Hang of Twitter', and now she says she has understood it?!

To be honest I knew the basics... Hashtags, using the '@' symbol, sending messages, etc. I just didn't know how to use it when I don't have any friends on twitter (on a personal basis)? I used to do it for the company I worked for (although for a short time).

So then I just shifted my focus, from only friends to friends plus work!

My earlier perception was that twitter is mostly used only by people who have a lot of friends (who are on twitter) and by film stars and journalists! Why? Because most of my friends were not on twitter! These perceptions have changed thanks to some friends from my Digital Marketing program. I also always believed that social networking should only be used to connect to friends. That has been put into perspective.

Social media sites may have started out aiming at connecting (or re-connecting) friends, but they have come a long way since. People now have personal and professional accounts or some simply use different media to communicate with different people.

Personally, I have started enjoying tweeting! The only part I still need to start liking in twitter is shortening the URL. Even though twitter is supposed to shorten URLs posted in tweets, I don't think it always does!

Getting the Hang of Twitter

A few years back, when twitter hit India, I thought it was just another networking site--like Facebook and Orkut (Google's first attempt at social media). But then I joined it anyway. Why? Cause of all the hype created by the Bollywood stars, the news industry, etc. I realised that there are a lot of things that I can gather from twitter rather than anywhere else. But soon I lost interest in it. My account just stayed with some 20 odd followers, and with just 2-3 tweets from me!

Last year, I started using my twitter account to promote the twitter account for the company I worked in. Since I had part responsibility in maintaining my company's twitter account, I needed to learn about twitter. So I followed some companies/people talking about Social Media, only to realise that I really enjoyed tweeting (for my company). But personally, I never understood the use of twitter. I always thought it to be more of a corporate tool, for companies to make brief announcements!

When I decided to get into social media marketing, I knew I had to understand twitter in-depth! Sadly, I have still not got a hang of it. I am still quite clueless of how to increase twitter followers for just a regular person!

When you are a star or a company, you tend to get followers, whether you like it or not! but how do you get followers by tweeting about your daily life? Is anyone really interested in what I am doing personally (since I am not yet a big personality)?

I have always had my doubts. This being said, we have repeatedly been told in class that since we are in the field of digital marketing, we must be on all the channels out there! And I couldn't agree more...

So to change my way of doing things, and to get used to twitter, I have decided to use twitter regularly from now. My tweets at start may be quite ridiculous, but I'm sure I will get the hang of it soon! But till then, I will not post anything directly to my Facebook Account! Everything will happen via my twitter account.

So here goes At least a month (if not more) of no Facebook posts! Twitter twitter twitter...