If there’s anything we’ve learned about social media over the last few years, it’s that most businesses aren’t doing it right, but those who “get it” are hitting home runs.

There’s no other way to say it. This infographic by our friends at GetSatisfaction brings it into perspective nicely for us.

Click to enlarge.

Via: Automotive Internet Marketing and Automotive Social Networks

The team over at MerchantCircle are going on the offensive, trying to attract local businesses to use their services to fight corporate retail stores like Wal Mart and Starbucks.

Apparently, it’s working.

The concept isn’t new but they have been able to carve a strong niche by combining social networking with standard directory-style listings to create a service that the important companies (Google and Bing) love and that consumers can utilize. With the trend of reviews and hyper-local advertising increasing in 2011, MerchantCircle is a company that we will be watching closely.

Here is their CEO Ben Smith, IV, appealing to small, local merchants by pointing out that the “big guys like Wal Mart, Home Depot, Starbucks are using the Internet to beat up the little guy.”

The message makes sense.

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Read more about Social Media Marketing on this blog.

One of the greatest strengths of the Internet is in filling the “need to belong.” It’s human nature for many to feel part of a like-minded group. Even those who are more introverted or socially inept in real life can “spread their wings” and show strength in their abilities to interact in online group settings.

This Flowtown infographic has a ton of data, but it’s worth the time. Understanding how and why we interact the way we do online can help us to better comprehend how the real world and the Internet have become interchangeable and complementary. Our actions online may not always reflect our actions in real life, but we do tend to express more of our hidden feelings and desires there.

Click to enlarge.

With so many open source variations of social media sites, there are new ones launched every day.  Most cater to a very small niche and rarely make it to 100 registered users.

Tip’d is the exception.  After its official launch last week, it has already made some amazing strides as of October 20, 2008:

• 750+ registered users
• 1000+ articles submitted
• Approaching 10,000 Tips received
• 600+ comments made

The real splash, though, is in the quality of users.  Social media powerhouses like zaibatsu, tamar, jaybol, Emit, nowsourcing, weblaunches, webaddict, 1only, coloneltribune, ritubpant, TunisianGuy, and  adrian67 have been active on the site.  Many of them came because of the endorsement of another social media powerhouse, msaleem.

With that kind of backing, there is very little doubt that this broad-niche social media site has positioned itself well for success.  Their niche?  Finance.  Could there possibly be a better time for a news site about the economy?  Here is what they have to say about themselves:

Tip’d got started because two businessmen, Andy and Jimmy, enjoyed discussing investing news with each other. They wondered: why wasn’t there a better casual, friendly, online place to share and discuss current financial ideas and news?

So they started their own community to do just that. Tip’d is a place for investors — both amateur and professional — to meet, share, discuss, comment, and vote on what’s happening on both Wall Street and Main Street.

Social News Watch will definitely be watching.  Our prediction: social media is a bull market and Tip’d is well positioned to go up in value.

Niche Social Networks have been a hot topic on this and many blogs for a few months now.  Their popularity has been increasing exponentially to the point that businesses who are normally behind on the internet are now starting to take notice and find out “what is social networking and what can it do for my business?”

It is in the wording of the question itself that the problem lies.

First, here is a brief explanation of what a social network is done Twitter-style in 140 characters or less:

Niche social networks are websites where people with shared interests can network with each other, share thoughts and ideas, contribute resources, and be a part of a virtual community where they can interact with people anywhere in the world.

Okay, it was longer than 140 characters.  Still, niche social networks are sweeping the internet and businesses are starting to take wholesale notice.  The problem is, many are approaching it wrong.  They are looking at it as “how can I get more business from it” instead of approaching it as “how can I help contribute to my industry and my customer base by offering a genuine resource, and thereby potentially increasing business as a result?”

For this example, we will look at the car business.  For the most part, social networking in the car business has failed.  Many dealers have tried to get into it by creating MySpace and Facebook pages.  Some are putting social networks on sites like Ning and GoingOn.  In almost every case, the focus is sales, plugging in the inventory, or talking about how great the dealership is.  It isn’t working.

If a dealership (or any other business) really wants to participate in Web 2.0 by offering a social network for their client base they need to take it a step further.  Here are some pointers:

• Keep it Local, Publish Global – A good niche social network for a car dealer will be centered around their community but offer tools, articles, videos, and photos that can appeal to anyone.  Why?  Keeping it local has obvious advantages, but you want anyone who comes to the network to be able to gain something from it.  The more people involved, the more content there will be.  Fresh content, even from people out of the market area, can keep the locals coming back for more.
• Offer Resources and Fun, not Sales Pitches – People might be interested in the nice trade-in that came in last week or the 0% financing that the manufacturer just released.  Might.  They will almost definitely be interested in things that pertain to them whether they are buying a car or not.  Humorous stories, videos, and photos arre crowd pleasers.  Tips on car maintenance, buying advice, and local auto clubs can keep them coming back.  Features on local events and charities touch the community in different ways.  The sky’s the limit, but keep it centered on benefits, not sales.
• Avoid MySpace and Facebook – This goes against what many recommend, but here is why. Both Facebook and MySpace are antiquated formats that get spammed a lot and are, in general, unattractive.  People who use these networks regularly are used to them, but new users trying to join your network will probably be unimpressed.
• Promote it with Customers – Someone buys a car.  Why have them on your social network?  You want them there because they will give the best content.  People who are happy with a purchase may be willing to tell the world about it.  We know the ones who want to complain will find a venue, so why not give a place for positive statements?  Give them the URL and encourage them to join.

Any of these examples apply to other businesses, not just the automotive industry.  Translate them to your business and you have a chance to really tap into areas of the internet where you aren’t currently present.

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Read more social news stories here.

Strange. It’s one of those things that pops up and you think, “was there really nothing like this before?”

That is what comes to mind when you look at the Social Media Social Network at Social News Central.  It is a simple Ning site, but it has started off very strong.  With 160 members joining since its recent creation and a member list that boasts “heavy hitters” from social media websites like Digg, StumbleUpon, Propeller, and Mixx, Social News Central promises growth and a world of potential.

The network itself has several features.  There is “open source blogging” in which members can post their own blog posts to the primary blog.  Images can be submitted as well.

Groups can be created and joined, with many of the social media sites already represented.  StumbleUpon has the highest current membership with 60 members as of this post.  If it involves social news, you can find it here.  If you can’t find it, you can start it.  That’s the real beauty of the network.

“Go there to vote, come here to hang out”.  That’s the tagline for the network, and in its simplicity it speaks volumes.  If you ever wanted to discuss ideas, talk with people who are involved with the same (or different) social media sites that you frequent, or if you just wanted to socialize with SM users from across the Web 2.0 spectrum, SNC is the place to go.

Read more about social media sites like this one at the homepage for Social News Blogs or visit some of the sites we recommend.

Social Media Marketing isn’t new. 2008 is simply the year that it emerges as THE thing to do if you want your business, charity, or blog to be “in” instead of “out”.

With companies that aren’t traditionally forward thinking in their marketing techniques, such as Ford Motor Company and Starbucks, making a push to enter social media marketing, it is clear that both big and small business are starting to take notice. Even local businesses are approaching anyone knowledgeable they can find on the subject to help them.

Below are some of the social media initiatives and trends from 2007 that tell of things to come in 2008. First, there are ways to create a web presence that goes beyond building a website or a blog. Then there are ways to drive traffic through social media to these websites.

First, Build Something for People to See…

Social Media Press Release

Ford’s Web 2.0 advertising for their 2008 Ford Focus made some waves in 2007. Not only did they create and market a completely different type of hype-up page that could appeal to and be spread virally by social media members and social networkers, they also branched out with the subdomain media.ford.com.

People can join the network and interact with each other, learn more about Ford products, and share what they find through an easy interface. MyMedia.Ford is the network, and while far from perfect, it is definitely ahead of the curve compared to other automotive manufacturers.

<Expect Ford to expand and other manufacturers to imitate and innovate in 2008. Combining different principals of Web 2.0 will prove to be brilliant. The advantage — appeal to a broader range of people, whether they are the Facebook/MySpace social networking types or the Digg/Reddit social media types. Links throughout to tag on del.icio.us, so no, the social bookmarkers weren’t left out. It’s a social smorgasbord.

Facebooking and MySpacing

It isn’t just for teens and techies. Social networks are getting groups from all around the internet. Facebook has popular groups for Victoria Secrets and Reebok, while MySpace boasts Bombay Clothing and Urban Outfitters.

Both Facebook and MySpace need to (and are, I’m sure) make changes to appeal more to business, not just through advertising, but also through networking. Even though neither format is strong enough yet for significant benefit for business, it isn’t stopping the businesses from flooding in to figure out some way to get their words out.

The emergence of niche social networks should end up being the fix that local and even national businesses are looking for to engage their direct audience. They are popping up left and right, are easy to market online and off, and as more new users swarm to Facebook and MySpace, more older users are leaving, looking for something more personal and less obscene.

Viral Social Marketing

Starbucks has never really gotten into advertising their products heavily until 2007. They didn’t need to. When the word Starbucks became synonymous with quality coffee in the 90′s, the buzz fueled unprecedented growth. Now, with more competition and rising costs, the old business model still works, but why not pump it up with some viral marketing.

Their Cheer Chain was extremely innovative and successful, with over 30,000 chains created already. Relatively inexpensive advertising perpetuated by users with a competitive edge to it — what better way to get the word out and expand on their monumental branding. Social media marketing is not just about selling something. Sometimes, the branding alone is enough to make sales happen down the road.

When you have the clout that Starbucks have, you have the luxury of being able to focus on such things. Still, businesses do not have to be mega-global empires to learn from this. Any time you can get your customer base to spread the word and get your logo out in front of the masses, you’ve accomplished something. Perhaps more importantly, it’s dirt cheap.

Twitter and Flickr and YouTube, oh my!

Social media marketing doesn’t have to require long development and planning. Some businesses have recognized that micro-blogging and media submissions are enough for a boost to get more of the word out. With Google’s Universal Search starting to take wings and show up on the search engine results pages in the form of images and videos, this is more important now than ever before.

Companies like Radio Shack and Bowflex have done a little on YouTube, while EBTM T-Shirts and Chumby are active with using Flickr for marketing. Then there’s Tiger Direct, who has created a mini-empire by promoting on YouTube in bulk.

Micro-blogging platform Twitter needs only two words to prove its effectiveness: Amazon and Apple. Though both have modest follower numbers, you can always bank on these two knowing what they’re doing with new and innovative marketing techniques. Businesses large and small would do well to follow their lead on internet marketing matters.

Second, Get People there to See it…

Promoting Social Media through Social Media

Possibly the most important trend for 2008 is the use of social media to promote other social media. A perfect example recently happened for one girl trying to win a contest. Kina Grannis put a video about Digg on YouTube, had it submitted to Digg, and watched as it flew onto the front page and up the Top in All Categories section.

It has had over 250K views in 10 days, not including the knockoffs and resubmits.

Sometimes, taking events on social media websites and turning them into news for social media websites works well.

“The true gems in the social media arena are folks that not only find good User Generated Content (UGC), but create it as well. Interviewing a top banned Digger and interviewing the Mixx founder were great sources of content for us.” – Brian Wallace, NowSourcing

Any good social media marketing piece should make its rounds. That part is clear. But in these tough-to-find cases, the social media became the social media story. The results — a likely victory for a singer and a nice couple of bursts of targeted traffic for a pair of social media blogs.

StumbleIt! the Right Way at the Right Time

Every day, many people see a spike in their traffic that they hadn’t seen before. They check their web analytics and see StumbleUpon.com as their top referrer by far. If the content is high quality and they are lucky enough to get a few good reviews and some thumbs up, there’s a potential for this traffic to continue for a few days.

If they get lots of good reviews and lots of thumbs up, the traffic could continue for months.

At some point, these website owners go to SU, create an account, and stumble every page of their website. At this point, they’ve nearly ruined their chances of getting any real traffic from SU, and they don’t know why.

StumbleUpon is an incredible traffic driver, but the algorithm is designed to not be used for spam marketing. First, the more prolific stumblers are the ones who drive traffic, not the ones who just created an account. It takes time and sincere stumbling, discovering, befriending, and activity to build the kind of account that can shut down servers the way Digg can. Second, repeated discovery or stumbling of the same website by one user will result in turning your stumbles into worthless window-dressing on the review page.

If you have time, Stumble earnestly. Create an account, discovery quality content, make friends, and enjoy. You can stumble the occasional page from your website, but for the most part, it’s better to just let people know where your website is by posting it on your profile and hope they discover your pages for you. If your stuff is good, it will get traffic. If not, you might get a burst, but it will die quickly.

Digg, Reddit, Propeller, Mixx, Newsvine, and Everyone Else

As with StumbleUpon, you have to have something high-quality that people want to see for the social news websites to be able to work for you. Whether it’s a new and innovative service, an interesting article or blog post, a funny picture, or a great video, you have to have something that compels social media users to vote it up or it’s a mostly worthless submission. Of course, it helps with search engine optimization, but this is about driving social media traffic.

Submitting your own content is fine as long as it is done sparingly. Still, having someone with some clout find your story and submit it is always best. Many of the top users are flooded with requests to submit things for people. Keep in mind — if it’s crap, it’s crap, and having Mr BabyMan on Digg, TechnologyExpert on Propeller, or QGYH2 on Reddit do the submitting will not get it to the front page if it’s crap.

Best techniques – either spend time, make friends, build up a strong profile on the social media websites, and succeed that way, or just hire a social media marketing company who knows what they are doing. The best of the best have made connections with strong submitters. In some cases, they’ve gone so far as to contract or even hire them. Services claiming to get you on 200 social bookmarking and social media websites for a fee are usually not the best. Services who have a firm grasp of social media marketing are the ones that will make themselves (and you) stand out in 2008.

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Social media marketing is here to stay (at least in internet terms, which means a couple of years or more). Businesses, charities, blogs, and individuals with a message or a product should take advantage of this, as it can be extremely cost effective and fun. You’ll touch people that you probably weren’t touching before. There are many pitfalls and a high chance of failure, as very few understand the concept and even fewer have the ability to practice it, but if you can market through social media properly, you have the potential to reap tremendous rewards.

Special thanks to resources with research that helped: 110 Ways Retailers are Using Social Media Marketing and Get Ready to Get Social in 2008, plus others who offered ideas and advice.

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Learn more about social media at the Social News Watch homepage. We take Web 2.0 News seriously.

On the internet, change is part of the definition. In social media, changes are happening literally by the minute. 2008 promises to show humungous growth and an incredible amount of change for major and minor social media websites.

Certain things will be universal as the websites below grow. Some were acquired, some will be acquired in the future, but one thing that we have seen and that we will continue to see is a lack of a shake-up based upon the acquisitions. When a larger company buys a smaller company in the “real world”, there are normally big changes made right from the start. These changes rarely result in mass exodus of employees (unless done by design) nor does it yield a major drop in consumers.

The participatory nature of social media and social networks requires that changes happen slowly and any changes in the beginning must be subtle. Unlike in the real world, a change from one social website to another is quick and easy. Had eBay started throwing their results pages on StumbleUpon, many would have left. Reddit is virtually unaffected by being acquired by Wired, just as Newsvine has seen no change since MSNBC scooped them up. Expect this trend to continue.

Newsvine – Marketing Changes

The MSNBC acquisition will not change much for Newsvine from a useability perspective. What we will see more than with any of the other social media websites is marketing that hits all fronts. Newsvine was the “pet project” for someone who recognized that it was a low-risk acquisition that, if handled properly, could turn into a home run.

The interface is more geared to help people transition from traditional news websites to social news. It’s citizen journalism that offers the quality in writing of professional journalism without making the less educated user feel alienated. Social media with a smile! By the end of the year, expect Newsvine to triple in membership and double in traffic, due in large part to MSNBC taking its mass of resources to get the word out.

StumbleUpon – Monetization Changes

The eBay purchase terrified many users. They waited, and when nothing happened, many put it to the back of their mind that there was even a purchase. Did it really happen, or was it a rumor that never came through?

It did happen, and executives at eBay (other than the ones on the campaign trail) are brainstorming ways to make money from it. Tying it into eBay in any way is out of the question. Many will bail out the second they stumble a couple of “Buy it Now” filled pages. Still, there is an angle, and someone knows it, but nobody is talking yet.

We will see SU blossom as more and more features make the user-experience so strong, people will continue to tell their real world friends about it. It’s fun. For 2008, the fun will be monetized. Currently, buying stumble traffic is working to some extent, but advertisers are realizing that the traffic quality is low. They don’t buy. One idea on the table is to utilize user data to offer targeted advertising while stumbling and when not. They will learn from Facebook Beacon and offer a better service in 2008.

Digg – Sellability Changes

Will it be sold? Who will buy it? Are we in the groomed product stage, or are recent indications of an upcoming improved interface part of the master plan to increase traffic, pageviews, and perceived value?

Expect major changes to Digg on an evolutionary level. It has the luxury of a large base of users who are so entrenched in it, they will welcome changes that improve the site and deal with changes that don’t (at least that’s the hope). The changes have been rolling out pretty constantly over the last few months, but it should be miniscule compared to the changes that are coming. Advertising will change, as will how pages are delivered. Nofollow attribute is also coming, as the huge base of users do not care whether there is any search engine optimization value in the links and Digg no longer needs the SEO submissions and traffic to maintain huge status.

Comments fixed at last? Most definitely.

This article by Muhammad Saleem details some of the potential changes, and they barely scratch the surface.

Reddit – Design Changes

Will Reddit have its first major redesign in years? Will the algorithm be tweaked, submission style get changed, or functionality be improved?

The smart money is on “no”, that Old-faithful Mr. Steady will not change. The users like it the way it is. Our money is on a big, fat “YES”. For the first time, there will be a truly noticeable redesign that will be met with resistance at first, but with the tremendous loyalty that Reddit users have, they’ll get used to it and eventually love it.

Mixx – Innovative Changes

The new kid on the block has been tweaking behind the scenes since the beginning. This social media website that rose to modest prominence because of a single banned user at Digg drawing attention to it is now working their way up the ranks.

Are they a Digg-killer? There is no such thing, other than Digg itself. Still, Mixx has features that other social media sites don’t, and it’s in their nice array of stories that will be its greatest strength in 2008.

Watch as it grows to compete with Propeller, possibly even Reddit, in traffic. It has a long way to go as far as users, but the ones that are there are either in and out, here and gone, or they are the dedicated users that Reddit and Newsvine enjoy.

With a billing that says they take the best features of Digg, LinkedIn, and My Yahoo!, expect them to innovate their platform to draw in people from other realms outside of social media. More interaction, more Facebook-style community, and less Digg-cloning. They want to improve on what Digg started, not copy them.

Propeller – Partnership Changes

Is AOL going to sell Netscape? Who would buy it? Propeller, on the other hand, is ripe for a change. With all of the traditional media outlets looking into social media, someone will most likely make an offer that Propeller can’t refuse. Whether it’s a buyout or a partnership, something will attach them to someone. It could be someone within the AOL circle, but if that were the case, it probably would have happened already.

The interface itself should only see minor tweaks. They like the product they have to offer, and most of the users do as well. It’s growing faster than the larger SM sites, not as fast as Mixx, but it’s starting to secure its place as the 2nd/3rd/4th option.

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Social media was big last year, huge in 2007, and will become the same level of phenomenon that social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook enjoy. They allow for video interaction on sites like YouTube and 5min, but they have the avantage of being filtered by peers.

One more thing to remember — the niche social media sites that have been a failure so far will slowly emerge in 2008 as viable websites. Sphinn has proven that appealing to a small group of people is not a sign of doom. Sites like Hugg didn’t exactly explode in 2007, but they did offer a glimpse into what is to come in 2008.

Should be a great year.


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Learn more about social media at the Social News Watch homepage. We take social media news seriously.

MySpace, Facebook, and the other large social networks need not worry.  The small, niche social network sites that are popping up faster than poker rooms in the 90′s are not going to hurt the big boy’s bottom lines.  They’re just going to draw more people by the end of the year because of one fact.

They’re just more useful than the big sites.

The appeal that brought millions to form profiles and make friends on MySpace and Facebook will have the opposite effect in 2008 an beyond.  We built our MySpace page and started Facebooking because everyone else was doing it.  As closed social sites begin to gain in popularity, they will appeal to people because NOT everyone else is doing it.  Inclusion is easy on today’s internet.  Being part of something exclusive is becoming the new IT thing to do.

Ning and other emerging websites offer places for people to “give everyone the opportunity to create your own social networks for anything.”  Here are some of the more popular emerging themes for these closed social niche networks:

Age-Based Social Networks

There are social networks popping up for everyone from 8-year-olds to 80-year-olds.  Websites like Boomj (social network for baby boomer), Whyville (“a virtual world where boys and girls from all over the real world come to chat, play, learn, and have fun together”), and Eons (“loving life on the flipside of 50″) are making it possible for people in particular age groups to interact with each other.

The appeal here is obvious.  Age gives people an instant point of reference where they know that, no matter what else is different, they have something in common.  Exploring these websites reveals that the members seem to be more open, willing to reveal more about themselves than they would on general social networking websites.

Local Social Networks

Quick story: a friend was at a party the other day and really hit it off with a girl he met there.  They talked, laughed, drank… all was going well.  As the night drew to a close, he asked for her phone number.  She hesitated, saying that she didn’t really give her phone number out to people that she just met.  Then, she took a card out and wrote something down.

It was her MySpace page.

She said they could get to know each other better that way first.  He was disappointed, but it was better than nothing.

Social networks like Tribe and GoingOn to localize their networks and give the audience places to find local focus. While MySpace and Facebook have similar interfaces, it’s impossible to separate yourself into the closed networks, as the bulk of friends and members will still be crossing over to other general areas.

Social networks with local membership and flare are becoming more and more prominent, especially with dating.  Being social with people you can never meet based upon proximity is one thing.  Having them available within your city is something completely different.  Local social networks act as that buffer zone where people can interact and get to know each other without having to meet for drinks or talk on the phone.  In 2008, there will be multiple large social networks in every major city.  Expect to start hearing radio ads and even a few television spots pop up.

Professional Social Networks

The car business, which is notoriously a year or two behind the times when it comes to the internet, has a few social networks for car dealers popping up.  The presence of Automotive Social Networks is either a sign of the end of the world or an example of how any, ANY, profession can find itself with a social network specific to its profession.

Getting advice, networking, sharing experiences — we are professionally based individuals who revolve around our jobs.  Few are willing to admit it, but it’s true.  Having a place with like-minded people makes it easier to cope sometimes.  That’s the appeal to social networks by profession.

Interest Social Networks

Forums fade.  They pop back up, then they fade again.  Slowly, they will be integrated into social networks that offer more interaction beyond the forums themselves.

Gaming, for example, has dozens of emerging social networks.  Gaming Social Networks like Great Games Experiments offer networks within the networks to allow gamers to become even more specific about their wins and conquests.

Why Now?

What makes 2008 the year that Niche Social Networks will emerge?  The answer has 2 parts:  Money and simplicity.

With the Facebook Beacon debacle and other outcries for less user data being used for marketing, it makes sense to target networks where the advertisers already know they’ve got the right audience.  Hyper-targeted marketing will continue to emerge, but for now, closed social networks make it much less controversial.

The simplicity aspect is even more important.  It is simple from every angle – simple for members to find the answers and networking they need, and simple for developers to make the sites and promote them with very little investment.  Google’s Open Social and several other applications will make it very easy for these types of networks to get started and grow.

For more information, read a previous post on this blog about Niche Social Networking.

With the increasing popularity of huge social networks like Facebook and MySpace, it’s easy to see why niche networks are entering the market and falling off almost immediately. There seems to be no room for networks that focus on a particular hobby, demographic, or profession. They are too small, therefore they will all fail.

Or will they?

Thinking forward, reading the trends, looking underneath the pseudo-obvious, it becomes clear that these small fenced-in playgrounds are the future. This article from readwriteweb.com shows an excellent example and six clear-cut reasons why niche social networks can not only survive, but also flourish in a virtual jungle dominated (currently) by the gorillas.

* * * Banners Moved in Lieu of Less Annoying Listings * * *

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Remember when banner ads were the thing? Now, most of these gorgeous, flashy, interactive banners get passed over, while simple text links generate tremendous amounts of traffic.

The same thing will happen with social networking, as long as there is a way to integrate different networks into a single posting interface. A 35-year-old firefighter named Henry is a father of 3 in Burbank, California, who enjoys hiking and running the occasional marathon. He cannot easily interact with similar people online through the big social networks. It’s possible, but the general themes of these networks interfere with the end goal of participating in his niche with people in similar situations.

In the near future, he can be a part of a firefighter network, a parenting network, a Burbank network, a hiking network, and a marathon network. With the right interface, if he finds and excellent article about physical fitness that he wants to share, he can post this article to his firefighter, hiking, and marathon networks, but not to his parenting or Burbank network. Later that day, her finds a video news clip about an upcoming 10k run in Burbank, which he can post to his Burbank and marathon network. That night, he hears about a change in the way that the schools are going to be grading students and decides to right a blog post for his Burbank and parenting networks.

That was a long, tedious example, but you get the point. With the right interface, Henry can have an orderly, simple series of social networks in which he can belong and interact. With the right interface, Henry can search for and find information that is shared by those who share in that particular interest. With the right interface, social networking can work well for Henry and those around him.

* * * Banners Moved in Lieu of Less Annoying Listings * * *

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Therefore, it all comes down to the interface. Is Google’s OpenSocial the answer? What about websites like Ning.com and GoingOn.com? Flux, the new interface created through a partnership between Viacom and Social Project (which I just signed up for — review coming soon) may be the answer or at least a step towards the answer.

No matter what, an answer will come. It’s just a matter of time.

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Be sure to read more social media tips right here.