502-442-7914 howdy@nowsourcing.com

The Little Things in Social Media

Even with the largest social networks, to me, it’s the little things that count.

Although I’m usually knee-deep in the latest toys of social media, I like LinkedIn.  Yes, you heard me.  For all the criticism that LinkedIn receives, I find it to be one of the most stable social sites, consistently growing, and abound with reliable information. But, back to the little things, the ones which really make Linkedin special to me.

Just yesterday I noticed an email update they had sent my way, offering an abbreviated insight into my networks recent activities. Something I just noticed (thanks to these Linkedin Updates!) is the ability to now “send congratulations” – a good idea and excellent addition to the site.

Now, every site  has things about a contact’s birthday, offering the options of sending them a quick gift or dropping them a message, but here LinkedIn capitalizes on its strengths by focusing on something entirely relevant to its network, letting you click through to a message congratulating your connection on their new position. It’s the kind of thing that stops you in your workflow tracks and makes you take action.

LinkedIn is finally getting with the program socially as well.  They have recently integrated with Twitter and opened their app platform to their developer network.   Expect good things from LinkedIn for 2010.

What are the little things in social media that you’ve noticed that have stuck out for you? Tell us in the comments.

6 Comments

  1. Phil Jaques

    Brian Wallace,

    It’s refreshing to know that sometimes in social media, where all too often you hear more about how to promote yourself to the hilt to make a buck and all too often it’s more about me rather than we, there still is opportunity to make a difference.

    Thank you for your great work, keep it up !

  2. Fat Lester

    I was unaware of the recent developments with LinkedIn. One thing I do like about LinkedIn that I don’t like about Facebook is that useful information can be seen on LinkedIn without requiring a login.

    As far a “the little things” in social media go, I don’t think I could answer the question without mentioning the customer service at Mixx. The Mixx team is by far the most dedicated, concerned, hard-working staff I’ve ever encountered at a social media-type site. They are extremely responsive, and the site and community that exists now is largely a product of listening to the users and then giving them what they want.

    Great post. Re-Tweeted and planning to submit to Mixx if no one has already.
    .-= Fat Lester´s last blog ..Is Now the Time to Register Domain Names about an Oprah Winfrey Presidency? =-.

  3. Brian Wallace

    @Fat Lester: Good to see you – indeed, LinkedIn is starting to heat things up with some changes. Thanks for submitting to Mixx and agree that the Mixx staff is top notch when it comes to listening to the community and continuing to innovate. One of my favorite “little things” out there is the trophy case – it’s a nice graphical representation on the awards a user accumulates while on Mixx.

  4. Colleen

    In our market, LinkedIn remains the only viable social medium, and I appreciate any change Linkedin adds. My husband went to PubCon a few weeks ago and many of the seminars centered around Facebook and Twitter. I think more can be said on Linkedin as for some of us, Linkedin is the primary B2B (and some B2C) social medium for marketing.
    .-= Colleen´s last blog ..Kennewick Real Estate =-.

  5. Brian Wallace

    @Colleen:

    Indeed, many businesses rely on LinkedIn as their only social media presence, especially in the b2b sector (though I’d argue that will begin to change). While I wasn’t at Pubcon, I can imagine that most conversation would be around Facebook and Twitter. Don’t let that discourage you – often social marketers equate marketing on social media to be Twitter 🙂

    As we know, it’s a much bigger world out there.

  6. James Avory

    Yes all those social networking sites have their own little things to give. Some of them give ability to give flowers or presents to others (virtual of course), some give you pictures to share, some are just spamming you from time to time with unnecessary e-mails. I don’t like when site admins are pushing me too often. I don’t need too many occasions to make me happy, sometimes I just need to be left alone and do what I want to do. Some admins just don’t understand that.