What can Social Networking do for Brands?

Trend forecasters are always looking ahead to what the next big thing in business will be, but to find future trends you also need to look at whats happening in this generation. The facebook/mySpace/YouTube/Flickr generation are mainly using these web 2.0 apps like this to have fun, but it won't be long before these young people are business leaders using their skills to grow successful companies. And guess what - they'll be using all their social networking skills in the business community, by re-inventing the way these Social Networking sites work. Linkedin tried to bridge the SN/Business user gap a while ago with limited success. I recently read a copy of Contagious' report on Social Networking and User Generated Content, and I'd like to share the reading with you.

SN and UCG are definitely among the most debated topics of the moment, both online and offline. As usual, when there's a lot of buzz about something, you can hear/read a lot of good insights and relevant opinions but also a lot of bullshit (pardon my French...). When I received the report I read it with great interest and curiosity, because I love consumer studies (I like the idea of feeling predator and prey at the same time) and because I feel there is (and I have) still so much to learn about the fascinating Internet world. Contagious it's a great magazine, therefore my expectations on the report were high. And I must say that I haven't been disappointed.   READ MORE