Social networking will cure baldness

I'm all for getting excited about the fast growth and rising popularity of social networking and fully embrace the power of new media. What I don't love is the gratuitous throwing under the bus of other media -- print and email have been popular punching bags for those who proclaim that social networking is so transformational that it will mean the end of other forms of communication.

There is no doubt that social networking is both changing and, I would argue, improving communication. Sites like Facebook provide an always-on, global, real-time, communication platform that has flattened relationships. It's less about where you live and what you do for a living and more about what groups you join and what old friendships you may choose to rekindle. There is also no doubt that the draw of social networking is broad. This week's Nielsen report, “Global Faces and Networked Places” has some great information:

- Two-thirds of the world’s Internet population visit social networking or blogging sites, accounting for almost 10% of all internet time
- Across the globe in 2008 activity in ‘Member Communities’ accounted for one in every 15 online minutes - now it accounts for one in every 11.
- The fastest growing group on Facebook is people aged 35-49 years of age (+24.1 million). From December 2007 through December 2008, Facebook added almost twice as many 50-64 year old visitors (+13.6 million) than it has added under 18 year old visitors (+7.3 million).

But, even with all of this, social networking is only a piece of the puzzle. Just having a "Facebook strategy" or a "Social Networking Committee" doesn't mean that you've figured it all out. There is a responsibility that comes with jumping into these media. A good communication program is all about relationship building and consistency. It's also about using the media available in the most effective way. Used propely, each medium in your toolkit -- print, web, email, social networks, twitter, the phone (imagine that) and in-person communication -- is powerful and can be used effectively. The challenge is to understand that and not lean too much on one to do all the heavy lifting.

Comments

[Andrew Careaga]

Yes, a social media strategy needs to be integrated into a broader communications strategy that looks at audiences, messages and media.

Social media doesn't cure baldness, but it will make you more popular with your high school classmates than you ever were in high school (or so goes my experience with Facebook over the past month).

[Andy Shaindlin]

Wait. Can we go back to this baldness thing for a second?

[Sarah Conlon Curtis]

I'm sure that Ashton Kutcher will keep his full head of hair if he beats CNN for 1M Twitter followers!