Blogging, A new l@@k

After reading the excerpt from Naked Conversations by Robert Scoble and Shel Isreal , and about Firefox, as well as Newsweek article on the subject, I now became aware of the powerfulness of blogs. If blogs can be used correctly, they can be a unbelievable marketing tool. If you think about marketing pushes that business do they often come off as annoying. Think about emails you receive, newsletters, ads, etc. Then think about stumbling across a blog that an average/random person wrote. This takes away the bias you receive from the business themselves or whomever is trying to market the product or service. A good real life example of this is that your more likely to go to a restaurant from a friends recommendation than an ad you see in the newspaper. After reading how Firefox became famous solely through blogs, I was interested in the credibility of blogs and came across this article:
How Blogs are Changing Business Journalism for the Better.

At first, one wouldn't think of blogs as a reliable/objective source of information. However, some bloggers are more trusted than reviews/articles written by news agencies. Why is this? I believe it is because bloggers can be in fact, more under the microscope than journalists are. Blogs are an open forum, and anyone in the world can comment about the validity/content of what has been written. In the article above, there is a good example of this concept. Many people trust one man, Hank Greenberg than MarketWatch. What does all this mean? I believe blogs will continue to gain popularity, and that business will have to pay more attention to what people are saying in blogs as they become more and more powerful.

A Practical Guide to Social Networks

This article was taken from the Harvard Business Review and gave an overview of the three different types of social networks, along with real examples and insights. Specifically, the article outlined the three most common types of networking; Customized Response, Modular Response, and Routine Response.

I I found this article to be very informative and useful. The main point I gathered is that although networking is vital in business, one must be careful not to abuse it. Sometimes time and money can be wasted by trying too hard. Networking should be in line with the company's goals, and should be implemented with a purpose. t seems too many companies today are implementing networking technologies that do not improve productivity or the creation of ideas.

I liked how the article pointed out that often informal relationships and networks often lead to new and creative ideas. Overall, the main point I will remember is that companies should establish and maintain social networks that fit their goals.

Six Degrees of Lois Weisburg

At first, I really liked this article. It gives real-life examples of how one can be connected with so many people, and seemingly rule the world. However, this article became repetitive to me. Aside from the repetitiveness, the article did get its point across. I found it pretty amazing how one meeting, or completely random event that occurred by chance can completely change everything.

What I actually found most intriguing was the mention of how "six degrees of separation" came about. Although it is a good start, I don't believe that Milgram's study is conclusive. What it does show however, is that often a select few provide the links to many, as occurred in the stock broker example. In society, it seems that there will always be a hierarchy of contact. As explained in the article,

"It means that a very small number of people are linked to everyone else in a few steps, and the rest of us are linked to the world through those few."

My first blog

Hello!

This is my first blog. I am a junior student attending American University and will be using this blog for my Social Networking and Business class. More blogs will follow!.

On my honor, all posts on this blog are my own.

David Rodriguez