With all reorganizations from past weeks (partnership Facebook & Microsoft, the new platform MySpace, Google OpenSocial) the universe of Internet communities, specifically social networks, becomes a playground very interesting for future branding communication campaigns. Why today more than before? Abundance, density, and fashion effects from social networks ask many questions for and by users. Further development from emarketers will give more relevance to these networks or on the opposite, too much teasing and promotion aimed on users could give negative effects : bored members and cannibalization of the future projects before their release.

2 major issues: Interest for these future networks / Advertising market on the social networks.
All of this great transformations created great excitement in the development of applications for social networks (third-party applications, widgets, Integrated Services partners ...) and also a great competition between the networks themselves to place leaders in their respective niches and get in millions membership. That means more and more networks to create profiles? The abundance of social networks stresses the growth of this sector, the arrival of a standard for services demonstrates maturity, we must now begin to think what will be signs of saturation of social networks that will drop this multitude of subscriptions and accordingly deflate speculation of advertising.

Google certainly did not suffer as much competition as with the breakthrough of Facebook (3.3 million users in 8 days!). This is surely one of the causes of such a ferocious attack with the standard OpenSocial proposal and the big partnership (which could be a sign of a Web 3.0 - the 3rd version represented by the universality of services, like widgets code for example). All issues of social networks seem to interest Google as never before, profits from advertising with the content pages have a direct link with Adwords advertisements. Here is a new global web order : Facebook and Microsoft on one side and the rest of the world in front to capture the windfall of users information and for sure a better placement advertisers. It will be necessary to play subtle in order that the ad market inflated with heluim did not deflate...


Let's see typology of these networks and their challenges, the OpenSocial standard does not have the same potential:

Social-Interest : Surely the model that represents the vast majority of networks, the community of interest. Whether business networks for job seeking and linking, music, personal dating or any other interest shared by a group, the social-interest gives meaning to the consolidation and networking is relevant to the members (the initial idea of social networking). In this case, the provider of the network becomes a social services provider platform and a sometimes moderator. Users and their various collaborations often generate more animation that site platform provider, as seen in the forums model (Effect very well explained in the book Wikinomics). We are witnessing in these communities auto-promotion, broadcast and spread very fast (hyperfast!), the traffic depending on the kind of interest that makes some networks highly prized by advertisers (important sites are business relations: LinkedIn, Viadeo, Elance, AgentSolo and Facebook too!). This type of service providers networks will enjoy having any effort to standardize codes for their widgets and services 2.0 (giving the use of their networks even more efficient and optimal for the users). Nothing surprisingly we find LinkedIn and Viadeo within the OpenSocial group!

Social-Buzz : The popularity of social networks has created many vocations. But as seen in the model of social-interest, a network requires a community, a community mobilizes for an interest. There are now so many concerns, serious or fun, and we have seen arrival of buzz-networks based on very original peering : the Attap collective tried around PersonalDNA (create a network around your personality testing) or Riffs ( write and share about everything: movies, music, branding, people, products in the same kind BestStuff), or Twitter who is also making a lot of noise in micro-blogging (Facebook uses the same system for its status). ) These different types of x-casting communities concentrate al lot of trends for marketers! The highlight of all these networks is to build communities quickly (if the concept works, etc.) according to the principle of two-step flow: generate a very powerful buzz in terms of marketing, and with a low-cost spread which will harvest an infinity of information to enhance the platform and create a business model. These networks are often laboratories which then becomes whether or not a model and a profitable business for the owners (ie valuing Slide in Facebook's applications).

Social-Opportunity: Here's a model in social networks which brings major changes in the rules of e-marketing. For example, Adobe has recently proposed an online version of its Adobe Premiere Express mounting video on YouTube, regardless of losing customers compared to its expensive box version of Premiere. The important thing is to get customers and their information, and moreover publishing some other brand products during the use of the online software. This is the strategy of the trial version online model supported by a network, its reputation and its people.The idea is to seize every opportunity made with a new format, a new concept and a new leader (this reminds Google and its advertising revenues shared with users incorporating its search engine in their web pages/blogs with AdSense - or long before AOL and Real Player with their strategies power-marketing for placement of their software on all new computers). Google's OpenSocial strategy is surely to generate the same attraction towards brands and developers: become a reference for all the new codes designed on the platform. With forcing to the right of full access to all the users information in its licensing contract, the Mountain View firm is positioning AdWords advertises very competitive. This bring sometimes users to be taken as hostages and the effect of social networking by natural selection becomes an obligation or a non-agreed following (see type social-following below).

Social-Following : best example is the one of Facebook. Who did not recently opened an account to not being marginalized or feel hasbeen ? The fast growth of Facebook impose its model to both actors from web : users and developpers (ie Flickr application, instant messaging on Facebook, Google mail service ...). The same as in a conventional market: challengers are trying to find the product that will reverse the ranking, but in the meantime they have no other choice than following the leader rules. This segment new models, such the one from Facebook, might make the idea of OpenSocial standard far from an absolute standard because it would decrease their rank (such the consortia battle around the DVD format: DVD + /-, HD DVD, DVD DL, BlueRay - you no longer know what kind of player to put in your living room, all of them and buy the last Die Hard in BlueRay and HD format...). The surrent situation also raises the question of whether the "conglomerate" convened by Google with its standard OpenSocial could be a strategic competitor, a complement for social networks or both relative to the business model of Facebook?

In these 3 cases, the constant is that the social effect gives chance for developers and emarketers to test their concepts. One of those who appears to have the greatest potential for the coming years is the one of widgets marketing. The widget is like the to-go box to better promote your network. Universality of networks in gadgets will create even more networking. Moreover, the convergence Internet / mobiles opens horizons, widgets become the new multiplatform publishing format. Conclusion : Google OpenSocial claims to be the standard for any development of these widgets, gadgets, applications and codes!