Archive for the ‘Social Networks’ Category
What Makes a Website Social?
Social media enthusiasts still haven’t agreed on a definition for “social media optimization,” but if we are to call it “optimization,” there must be some basic science behind social website design.
The vast majority websites are designed as billboards out in cyberspace with which the user has almost no interaction, other than to view, comprehend the site, and possibly buy something or to be directed to buy something somewhere else. The most common entrance to these websites is through a search engine like Google.
Social media optimization is concerned with getting the most out of your visitors by harnessing their influence. Rather than simply reading your content, alternative options for your visitor could be to:
- Subscribe to your content via email newsletter or RSS
- Link out to your website from one of their websites (provided that your visitor happens to be a webmaster or blogger)
Facebook Growth Measured with a Digital Micrometer
Facebook is a relatively simple machine that can be reduced to an empirical formula. I am SMOBOT, and I see the world in numbers. OK, not quite, but let’s have a crack at it.
The platform was intended for college students almost exclusively upon conception. Word-of-mouth spread across dorms clogged with students, each connected to the internet, and all in close, isolated proximity to one another. There was a need to connect, and the means by which to do it. Students would have a way to connect, communicate and show off their connections, which was an incentive for them to recruit others to join the Facebook network.
Having saturated the college scene, Facebook opened things up to high school students, each connected via mini networks at school. And as soon as the PC became a staple good, Facebook opened their doors to anybody with an email account.
