Terminology Update - Embedding the Social Layer
Friday, September 3rd, 2010Om Malik wrote a nice post yesterday about Apple’s new music information sharing service, Ping. Here is the link. Check out Om’s comments about Ping if you want to learn more about this new platform. It is pretty cool. But I have a slightly different focus for this post.
Ping, and Om’s comments about Ping bring out that step by step it is becoming conventional wisdom that people like to connect on the web about things — not just connect. It follows then that Facebook and Twitter will not monopolize social networking the way Google has monopolized search. Instead, all serious web platforms over time will develop social aspects. Facebook and Twitter will prosper as facilitators. Just listen to Om, “you need to embed the social layer”. Got it?
Bottom line - Thinking about websites as stand alone things is getting very old very fast. The web is not a thing filled up with content. It is not like a book or a movie. It is a process that we are just starting to learn how to use. And what is the engine driving that process? I would argue that it is story telling. The web enables us to connect with more stories and share better stories. To do that well, we need (among other things) a better grasp of character development. Huh? Sure, just ask the guys who developed Angry Birds. Here is a link to an interview where they explain how they developed the game and why it is so popular.
So, Mr. Small Business Guy, is your web presence telling a story?
FOLLOW - Hmmm … does Tom Peters read my blog? He (or perhaps someone for him) just tweeted that “Storytelling is powerful. That’s why Tom argues to turn your brand into a story. TLBT Video #38: http://is.gd/eT3s8 ^.