As is traditional at this time of year, we’ve been looking back over 2009 and all the enormous leaps of innovation and learning that have happened in the social media space. So if 2009 has finally galvanised the concept that online community spaces need managers, is 2010 going to be the year when the role is formalised and ranked as highly as other CRM roles? What will online communities Image by mira d’oubliette via Flickr For some of us old, creaking community managers that have been around longer than broadband, it’s slightly dizzying that the role of ‘community

Now they have continued their innovative approaches to engagement and embraced social media. The LEGO CLICK community is a great example of the hub-and-spoke model of social media engagement . This is an interesting use of social networks to drive content to a community. Image by Kaptain Kobold via Flickr LEGO is a brand that many people are very passionate about, a brand people love and we’ve written before about how they use segmentation to engage their consumer base from children to enthusiasts in an innovative way.

Social networking is becoming more important, both at the individual and institutional level. Our focus on social networks has a very different emphasis. In fact we would argue that classical networking approaches tend to undermine rather than support the value of social networks. So, social networking is For many, this provokes a negative reaction. It conjures up images of classical networking and schmoozing, driven by individuals intent upon prying business cards out of others and relentlessly expanding their contact lists, manipulatively using their contacts to

However, the market responded negatively to the social tools included within MOSS 2007. IBM, Jive) delivered social platforms that were far superior to what was delivered out-of-the-box by Microsoft. wikis and communities) filled gaps in social tooling. Burton Group OK - this is all draft - nothing is final - everything below is a work-in-progress. I

billion revenue in 2010 have a patent in social network economies particularly in user generated virtual goods – which we don’t see a lot of yet. in 2010, according to a report from Inside Network . The most interesting part of that number is that social gaming startups — which didn’t exist three years ago — will account for about $835 million Virtual goods in the USA will reach $1.6 I

In social media it is becoming clearer and clearer that the big thing for 2010 is location-based tools. Of course, there is a serious downside to location-based tools (as we saw with Please Rob Me ) and people should be aware of and sensible about any information they share in social media. Why are location-based social media tools growing? It is a truth universally acknowledged that everybody makes predictions at the end of a year about ‘the big thing for next year’. Sometimes they’re right and sometimes they’re

Social Media Week in London saw a great set of events, thinking and presentations for all things social media . Steve’s presentation is based on his experience of working with charities and not-for-profits and highlights the importance of the internal change that must take place in any organisation if they are to make the most of using social media: Social media is disruptive to an organisation . Image by nezume_you via Flickr One of my favourite presentations from the week came from an event I wasn’t able to attend:

Worth reading the complete PDF for guidance on blogs and social networking web sites . FINRA Issues Guidance to Firms, Brokers on Communications with Public Through Social Networking Web Sites Washington, DC — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today issued guidance to securities firms and brokers regarding the use of social networking Web sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs to communicate with the public. The guidance in Regulatory Notice 10-06 , which is presented in Q&A format, clarifies the responsibilities of firms to supervise the use of social networking sites to ensure that recommendations are suitable and their customers are not misled.

This week we have been looking at social media for small businesses . Ways in which they can use the social media tools that exist to build their brand, engage their customers and learn about their brand, market and competitors. It is as important for small businesses as it is for large brands to build a social media strategy . Image by uncle_fungus via Flickr And there are many different ways that you can start to use social media to get these benefits.

lot of people are excited about social media and think it could have a hugely positive impact on their brand, their marketing and communications, the insight they get, the way in which they deal with customer service and many other benefits it can bring to an organisation and to the way it interacts with and engages customers. They are right to be excited, the opportunities are great but brands should not hide from the fact that getting an engaging social media presence takes proper thought, some effort and may take time to embed. Image by Scoobymoo via Flickr