Social Networking

Recently, I was invited by the Sheraton Group to hear a talk about their new concept to keep their business guests ‘connected’- It’s called link@Sheraton. Basically they are reconstructing all their lobbies so they will be social areas. Internet and wireless access will be one of the main features of the new lobby areas. Though all of that was interesting to me, the main draw was tech guru, futurist and brand consultant Noah Brier who spoke about how to use social networking sites to enhance your business’ marketing strategy. I.E.- Facebook (Join our hiphongkong group!), Twitter (A site where you update people about what you’re doing and share interesting links. Follow me on twitter.) , Dopplr (A site for frequent travelers where you can get tips from other people and connect with them during your travels) and Tumblr (a re-blogging site)

Noah started a monthly coffee morning with other brand consultants, futurists and IT gurus and now this coffee morning called ‘LIKEMIND’ is all over the US. Would anyone be interested in starting a networking group like this here in Hong Kong? Please leave your comment below.

Noah made a few very important points about using social networking sites:

-ONLINE CONNECTIONS GO OFFLINE. People say that people who spend their lives in front of the computer never make face to face connections with the people they meet in cyberspace. This is simply untrue. I e-meet people all the time and some of those people have become close friends or valuable connections.

-CONTENT IS THE BEST DRIVER OF INTERACTION. – If your website, blog, facebook or twitter updates have interesting, funny and relevant content, people will log on. If the content quality is subpar, it doesn’t matter how much you pay google to put you at the top of the search engine.

-THE ROI (return on investment) OF SOCIAL NETWORKING IS NOT NECESSARILY MONEY. Some people gain fame, notoriety or recognition from social networking. Some make contacts, foster relationships and have their opinions heard or endorsed. Some make their businesses better through constructive feedback from others. The benefits of social networking are multifold.

-THE ERA OF THE PERSONAL BRAND IS UPON US AND ON THE WEB IT’S COOL TO BE YOURSELF. The web has reinvented ways in which people communicate. In traditional journalism, no personal opinions were interjected unless it was editorial. These days everything is personal and editorial. It’s ok to express your opinions and be yourself on the internet. In some oblique way, hiphongkong is an expression of this city as viewed through my eyes and my experiences- hence it can be seen as a ‘personal brand’

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