Social Networking

One of the interesting questions hanging around the social software/media world is when and how (even if) businesses (especially large ones) are going to embrace these new technologies. In the past, I've done research on business adoption of social media and discussed it among past podcasts (Ynema Mangum of BMC is a notable one) but my next interviewee provides a whole new level of insight.

For this podcast I was lucky enough to sneak into the packed schedule of Ted Rheingold, the founder of Dogster and Catster, two online communities built around people's passions for their pets. The networks have grown dramatically since they were founded in 2004 and now feature over 1.5 million pictures of 300,000 different pets.

LinkedIn, the leading business social networking site, has quietly become a force in industry with ~10 million users. Not a week goes by that I don't get an invite to connect or a question/request through it. For my next podcast interview, I was lucky enough to talk with Eric Ly, the former VP of Desktop Products at LinkedIn (you can check out his LinkedIn page).

Marketing with widgets is receiving a lot of attention these days. From MyBlogLog to Feedburner to Yahoo's Widget Gallery to Fox Interactive's new Spring Widgets Platform, every company is looking to use this new technology concept to add value for their users, market themselves on the cheap and build competitive advantage online.

Social networking sites have always left me a little disappointed because I hate how I'm locked into their site to do anything. For my 92nd podcast, I chatted with an entrepreneur who is trying to take our social networks out of their sites and into our lives. Jim Young is the CEO of Jambo Networks, a company that uses WiFi PDAs, laptops, and cellphones to match users nearby.

Jim shared the story of Jambo, how the technology works (it's very cool), their business strategy and more.

Check it out

Developing online communities is an incredibly complex challenge with a high risk/reward ratio. They can create incredibly loyal customers or they can wreck brands if they spin out of control. For my 90th podcast interview, I had the honor of chatting with Tamara Littleton of eModeration, a leading community and interaction moderation company.

Tamara and I talked about what eModeration actually does, the tools/approaches they use, the evolution of community monitoring, consumer generated media and more.

Enjoy!

I love the vibe of Silicon Valley. The companies, hype, money, ideas, people and more give it an incredible aura. Bob Karr has started Link Silicon Valley to track the flows and connections of companies, people and resources within the valley.

Bob was nice enough to chat with me about LinkSV, its value proposition, its partners, the challenges and advantages of growing an information business, the current Silicon Valley environment and more.

I love great entrepreneurial ideas and Jordan Mitchell has one. His new company, Others Online, is a "free toolbar that shows you people relevant to your Web browsing and other interests, on every page you visit."

The tool bar displays common interests (based on self-tagging), relevant personal pages (blog, myspace profile, etc.) and online status. Plus it allows you to connect via IM or email.

It's sort of like a social networking site without the site part. Pretty sweet.

ocial networking is a huge trend online perhaps best examplified by Myspace, Facebook and LinkedIn. But buried in the buzz about those hot companies is the fascinating science of social network analysis.

For the 20th podcast interview, I connected with Chris Carfi of Cerado.

I first ran across Chris's blog when he published his original Social Customer Manifesto.