22 replies to this topic

[Conspicuous]

Wired has a new article today about Matt Zuckerberg and how he's turned Facebook into a monster.

I was very interested to read this little tidbit about Facebook's growth and demographics:

As for those concerns that Facebook's membership had peaked? Well, now it's signing up nearly 1 million new users a week. By the end of August there were 36 million of them. And these aren't just the tweens or college kids you might suspect; the fastest-growing segment of Facebook users is over 35, a group that represents 11 percent of all site users. Total registrations have more than quadrupled over the previous year.

Wow! That's nearly 4 million that are 35+. These are real people that don't have a curfew and don't have to worry about whether they'll get a date to the prom. The potential to tap into these networks is incredible

[Jill]

Yep, most SEOs have been signing on in droves over the past month or two.

[ScottSalwolke]

Yep, most SEOs have been signing on in droves over the past month or two.

What is the benefit for SEO? I'm signed up, but I'm not sure how it will help my business. It seems like more a way to keep in touch with people you already know?

[Jill]

What is the benefit for SEO?

None. It's not even spiderable. (Although that's about to change.)

[ScottSalwolke]

I'm sorry, I worded that wrong. Not what is the benefit from an SEO perspective, but from a business person's perspective. Is it a networking opportunity for people in SEO and if so, how?

[khuti]

Well.. you can put your web address on your profile.. so i would imagine its not the link that would help your rankings or anything as such but you get exposure.. the more people that would view your profile the more would see your link.. i mean yea you would expect its not likely to be thousands.. but if you friends see it and like it, they will tell their friends and so on. You may think all your friends already know about your site.. but what about the people you find on their that you havent seen or heard from in ages. I found loads of old friends from college and school.. so i would see that as a bonus.

just something to think about

adrian

[Jill]

Is it a networking opportunity for people in SEO and if so, how?

Yes, sure, it's a networking opp. for anyone. There are a number of SEOs getting onboard with Facebook lately. If you invite some of them to your own network, they may check out who you are, etc. It's just really about building relationships just like other online communities.

[BlueSky]

Wow! That's nearly 4 million that are 35+. These are real people that don't have a curfew and don't have to worry about whether they'll get a date to the prom. The potential to tap into these networks is incredible

The demographic is definitely changing - I do not feel that I will be mislabeled as being unable to grow up simply because I am on facebook ;-) ... it's just a great way to stay in touch with people but I still don't see how facebook or anyone makes money on it. Every now and then they shove a movie trailer into my news feed, but that is the only commercial angle I have seen so far.

I guess one could make money by creating facebook plugins. So, which plugins are currently making money?

[Conspicuous]

I guess one could make money by creating facebook plugins. So, which plugins are currently making money?

This month's Business 2.0 has an article titled "The Facebook Economy"

This is off the original topic, but the article can be found at:

money.cnn.com/2007/08/22/technology/facebook_economy.biz2/index.htm

[BlueSky]

This month's Business 2.0 has an article titled "The Facebook Economy"

This is off the original topic, but the article can be found at:

money.cnn.com/2007/08/22/technology/facebook_economy.biz2/index.htm

Thanks for posting. I have that copy of B2.0 floating around here somewhere ;-) I still do not see a clearly defined long term business model to make money. It's still evolving, I think facebook is on the right track by opening up their platform to developers. So, right now, access is limited to those with software development resources.

[Comtrad]

*Offtopic

Careful what personal info you put on there

http://www.albumoftheday.com/facebook/

[/common sense]

[Countysky]

Facebook is actually very difficult to get into and network. Unlike myspace, you can't just go out and look for people in a search, at least from my experiences, it seems that the only way to make any contacts is to search for groups then message from the groups that you join. Otherwise, you must already have someones email address to be able to contact them. If I'm wrong about this, please let me know. Facebook seems like a great resource for marketing, but I can't understand were to start.

Countysky
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Edited by Randy, 26 September 2007 - 05:29 PM.

[omahonydonnelly]

are cetain community sites 'better' than others. I only just set up on MySpace and check it out daily. Now I hear about Facebook - I'm a little behind the times here in West Cork. Is it worth the time it takes to keep up. I also have a Bebo page top keep up with a certain circle of friends. On MySpace I've only had one SEO get in touch. Am I not working it enough?

[torka]

Otherwise, you must already have someones email address to be able to contact them.

I've connected with a number of people in Facebook without knowing their e-mail addresses. I started out being friends with a couple of people I already knew. Then I looked through their friends lists, added in others that we knew in common. When those approved my requests, I looked through their friends lists to see if there was anybody else I already knew but hadn't yet connected up with. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Maybe someday I'll start sending mass friend requests to everybody I find, everywhere, but for the moment, I've never sent a request to someone I haven't already met online or in person (or both). I figure if I don't have any friends in common with them, or I don't at least know their e-mail address, then it would probably be a bit of a stretch to call them a "friend." Perhaps I take too literal an interpretation of the term "friends list." I'm just not an aggressive networker, I guess. YMMV.

are cetain community sites 'better' than others.

IMO, not intrinsically. But some are oriented toward one "community" and others are oriented toward another.

For instance, I have a MySpace page, but almost all my friends over there are artists, musicians and people I got to know through association with those artists and musicians. Every local musician I know of has a MySpace page.

My Facebook friends list, on the other hand, is full of SEO friends & acquaintances. Nary a musician on there (except my husband).

So -- IMO -- it's a matter of feeling out each community to see what sort of people generally hang out there. It's sort of like moving to a new city and trying to decide which local organizations and clubs to join. Try them out. Eventually you'll naturally gravitate toward those that feel "comfortable" for you depending on what you're looking for. No one is "better" than another, but some may be better for you.

My

--Torka

[Jill]

If I'm wrong about this, please let me know.

That's actually LinkedIn where you sort of need to know their email address.

On Facebook you can search for people by name pretty easily.