Blogs | Social Signal

Rob and I have been together for 12 years this month, but I still remember what it's like to get over a previous love. Back in the day when there was a little more turnover in my love life, I found that moving on to a new relationship wasn't enough to cure the heartache of a breakup. It wasn't until I was two breakups removed that I'd really get over a previous love and stop thinking about him altogether.

I'm wondering if the same might be true of social web sites. I've loved delicious, the social bookmarking site, for almost five years now.

Vancouver blogger and friend-of-SoSi Dr. Raul Pacheco has a post today explaining why he's been skeptical about LinkedIn, the business-focused social network. And on Twitter, he asked for suggestions "if you believe in this social network, or can give me some insight on its value".

If you've been wondering about LinkedIn, too, here's what I suggested to Raul:

I missed passing this along when it first came out, because I didn't know those nice CBC people had put it on YouTube. It's their segment on what to expect in 2010 for social media, based on an interview they did with me in their stunning new Vancouver studios.

Social Signal's 2010 Valentine is a celebration of how the Internet can help you find love and keep it alive.

Just as newspapers are scrambling to adjust to a world of blogs and YouTube, speakers are suddenly discovering they're not the only ones in the room who have a microphone. Tools like Twitter and wireless connectivity have broken the monopoly of the speech on, well, speech.

If you use Facebook, you've almost certainly noticed the ads on the right-hand side of most pages. And chances are you've also noticed the little "x" in the upper right-hand corner of each ad.

It's the "I don't like this" link (the opposite of that little thumbs-up icon under each ad), and I use it regularly. I let most Facebook ads slide, but some either offend me (usually with a gratuitously sexist photo, or a clearly misleading come-on) or are just so clearly not intended for me (thanks, but I'm not in the market for a condo) that I end up clicking - more to alert Facebook than for any other reason.

Like many people, when I heard about the disaster in Haiti, I wanted to help. And I wanted to give others a way to help, too.

Here's what I decided to do: go to a relief agency's web site, and set up a peer fundraising page (along the lines of what Convio, Blackbaud and DemocracyInAction create for their clients).

Last week, I mentioned BC Hydro's Deb LeRose, and the brilliant opening slide in her social media presentation: the one that shows a free puppy and a baby. Her point is that, like many social media presences, each is supposedly "free". But you have to look at the long-term cost, whether it's feeding your dog... clothing and educating your child... or maintaining an effective, engaging social media presence.

So what if you're not sure you're ready yet?

Ready to dive into social media, but not sure where to start? Alex and I will be teaching Fundamentals of Social Media at UBC Continuing Studies in March - a more in-depth version of the course we taught last fall. (Which, by the way, we enjoyed tremendously - thanks to everyone who took part!)