Evolving social media

I'm getting into the evolution of social media and its influence, driven partly by research for the book, and partly through trying to understand what (if any) social media I should be using to engage Influencer50's market.

Following on from emerging measurement criteria, Eric Kintz points us to Peter Kim at Forrester, who has suggested a model of personas that we adopt when using various social media. I don't think the model s complete or static but it's a good start to understanding how folk use social media, now and in the future.

What's interesting is that much of the debate seems to exist in a post-LinkedIn world. Am I right in sensing that the social media gurus see LinkedIn as passe? Is FaceBook its successor?

It's always refreshing to talk to "real" people doing what I'd call proper jobs. Selling stuff, making stuff, marketing stuff*, etc. They use LinkedIn all the time, and will continue to use it because of the investment they put into it. They are not nearly as fashion-conscious when it comes to social media as social media commentators are. As always, the "gurus" have to show the way, but the majority is just fine with the status quo.


*Disclaimer: describing marketing as a proper job is highly subjective. Read this to see whether your marketing career qualifies as "proper" (registration required).