Something interesting happened last Sunday. Plurk, a new social network, grew it's subscriber base from a handful of beta users to over 2,000 in one day. Since then they've continued to grow exponentially. As a marketer, and one of the 2,000+, I think it's been a fascinating process to watch. In this one week we've seen some very effective marketing strategies in action. Back in March I shared my reflections on social media networking and marketing, but that was more a tale of slow growth. Plurk's rapid growth gives us a chance to look at some of the techniques they used and see how effective they can be.

Social media marketing, like other forms of viral marketing, depends on getting your customer base to help market your product or service by spreading the word among their friends. But, as with any type of marketing campaign, it helps to have a good product and a keen understanding of your target market. Plurk has both (you can learn more about the service in the Plurk resources list at the end of this entry).

Attract the attention of the media & influential users in your target audience.

Plurk did both by attracting the attention of Leo Laporte, who is both a popular technology journalist and a very active social media user—as is of this writing Leo is the most followed person on Twitter with over 41,418 followers. Last Sunday, Leo sent Plurk invitations out to his friends and followers on Twitter and Pownce and spread the word through his various media enterprises such as TWiT.TV.

When I saw the invitation last Sunday I paused briefly and asked myself, "Do I really need to go experiment with yet another social media service?" The fact that it came from Leo Laporte—rather than someone with less credibility—influenced my decision. New services pop up all the time, but if Leo had singled it out, it was probably worth exploring. So I clicked the link and there I was on Plurk.

Make it easy and compelling for new users to invite more new users.

Social networks are only interesting if you know other people, hence the term: social. After spending a few minutes exploring the service it was time to acquire more friends. In this world the best way to do that is to recruit the friends you have on other social media sites. These early adopters are more likely to play with the new toys than are your friends from the real world.

Plurk made this very easy. In addition to providing the usual "invite the friends from your e-mail address book" interface, they also provide an invitation link that you can post on your blog or other social networks. I posted mine on Pownce and FriendFeed and people started joining up. Others on Pownce and Twitter did so too. Within hours Plurk was switching servers to handle the load. (If you would like to join in the fun, here is your invitation to join us on Plurk.)

Keep them coming back for more.

Social media users aren't so much fickle as they are demanding. With so many services available, and only limited time to use them, most users stick with the 1-3 services that help them with their own goals and productivity. If a service like Plurk offers more useful features it may draw some of the crowd away from others that are lacking such features or that experience a lot of downtime.

For users to understand these features you have to get them involved fast and early—and keep them coming back for more. In doing so you will create a usage habit.

After reaching 25 Karma points I was able
to upgrade from the "rabid dog" to the
"mutant fish."

The Plurk team understood this from the start. They've included a feature called Karma that induces people to Plurk actively—and often—to accumulate Karma points. By inviting more friends and posting messages users can reach certain Karma levels that give them additional features such as the ability to pick from more choices of Plurk mascot creatures (curious critters that sit on your home stream) or additional emoticons one can include in posts.

While these features aren't necessary to the Plurk experience, they do make it more fun. The goal of accumulating Karma also taps into the competitive streak of social media users—many of whom actively try to get their stories on the front page of Digg, acquire the most followers on Twitter, and so forth. Already I've seen numerous posts from users comparing Karma points.

Conclusions

In the right market, social media marketing—in combination with a useful product, site or service—can be very effective. While I don't know how many users are on Plurk as of today, Alexa rankings show that their page rank has gone up by 619,776 in the past three months, while the percentage of global Internet users on the service increased by 2,490%.

Will this growth continue? Who knows? Perhaps in three months time we'll all be using some other cool service with a funny name, but for now Plurk's marketing efforts seem right on track.

Plurk Resources

• Plurk
• Plurk: It's Like Twitter, but Newer
• Plurk: Press/Media/Plurkalicious Goodness
• Plurk & Twitter: Two Very Different Communities
• Plurk takes on Twitter, Pownce
• Plurk: Unique or Just Another Twitter Clone?
• Top 10 Plurk Users Statistics—What’s the Karma Algorithm
• What is Plurk?

Social Media & Marketing Resources

• How to Avoid Marketing to Yourself
• Micro-blogging a hit with Web 2.0 crowd
• PR Tips for Startups - The Director's Cut
• Social Media Today
• Videos: When Social Media enters Popular Culture

June 10th update

As of this evening, according to Plurk Top Users there are 7,651 Plurkers. Thus the group has almost quadrupled since Sunday.

"Machines Like Us is dedicated to keeping you informed about the latest research in the areas of evolution, cognition, artificial life and artificial intelligence."

"Tech Dispenser is Computerworld's human powered technology blog network and news aggregator."

ScienceBlogs aggregates over 60 bloggers writing about science, education and related fields.

"Createxchange is a beta project, syndicating the best design blogs the world has to offer."

Lately I've noticed that I've been subscribing to more and more blog networks/aggregators. As a reader I like these because they help me discover blogs I might not have heard of otherwise. As a blogger and marketer I like the aggregators of which I'm a part or a similar reason; they put my blog in front of new readers—readers who already have shown an interest in my topic.

What is a blog network or blog aggregator?

The term "aggregator" is usually used to refer to tools or software, such as Google Reader, that aggregate RSS feeds to which you subscribe. For today's discussion, I'm instead referring to topically aggregated sites. Using this definition, a blog network or aggregator is a Web site that aggregates posts from multiple blogs into one central location. Simple aggregators can be made using tools such as Yahoo pipes to combine the RSS feeds from multiple blogs. More full-featured aggregators can be programmed to not only pull in the feeds from multiple sources but to also organize and archive them in a way that allows users to search or explore by keyword tags, author, blog name, date, etc.

Blog network and aggregator are often used interchangeably, but there can be some differences. Networks are usually composed of member bloggers who have joined the network to share their posts. Some networks, such as REALNEO, provide multi-authored group blogging within their own interface—rather than by aggregating individual blogs—while some aggregators simply pull in feeds from related blogs without active participation from the original writers. There are also networks that post only selected articles from their participating authors in order to focus on very particular topics.

As is true with any site, an aggregator is only as good as the content it presents. Ideally a good aggregator will pool together high-quality content from blogs that are topically or otherwise related. Well produced aggregators are like specialty stores offering a fine selection of a certain type of product. Just as one might go to a bakery, such as Lucy's Sweet Surrender, for a selection of desserts, one might go to Food Candy for a selection of posts from food blogs.

Finding good aggregators and blog networks

As aggregators have become more common, they're relatively easy to find via Google or your preferred search engine. If you search on the term "aggregator" plus a topically relevant word or phrase you are likely to find a relevant site. If nothing comes up, try combining your search term with "blog network." If you are already reading a number of blogs in your area of interest, you may find that some are already participating in an aggregating network/site. Try looking in their sidebars or links pages to see if they are participating in such a site. Professional associations, both academic and otherwise, may also aggregate content from their members. If you belong to such organizations, peruse their Web sites to see if they offer such a service.

Joining a blog network

If you have a well-established blog with a clear editorial theme you may well be ready to join a network. First find a few blog networks that fit your subject area. Read a number of the entries to get a sense of the writing styles and the breadth and depth of the subjects covered. If you think that your blog would be a good fit, contact the maintainers. Many networks will provide a submission form for prospective members. Some networks are highly selective, only selecting blogs that meet certain quality or topical requirements, while others may accept any blog pertinent to the subject area. When submitting your blog, take care to provide the required information and provide a good description of your content. Before submitting your blog, re-read your entries, checking your spelling, grammar and content just as you might if submitting an article for a professional journal or magazine.

Help! I didn't join this network, but they're aggregating my content! Is that legal? Ethical?

The first time I saw one of my blog entries republished on someone else's blog—without the proper attribution—I got a bit miffed. I ranted and raved at my friends about intellectual property, ethics and so forth. I composed angry letters in my head. I imagined my lawyer friends composing angry letters for me. Since then this has happened a few times, but I've mellowed out about it. Typically this happens with sites that are trying to make money by repurposing other people's content and selling advertising. Also typically the sites are a design nightmare, the content is mangled and mutilated, and they have very low rankings in Google, Technorati, etc. Most of these sites don't last because they don't provide anything useful to their readers. Their content seems to include a bit of everything and entries are truncated. So if any reader happens to stumble upon them, they'll probably have to click on the header to read the full article. In most cases that will bring them back to my blog, because I've included the link in my entry headers.

Legally and ethically this sort of thing gets a bit murky. I expect I could do a whole series of entries on this issue alone. But as a blogger who has produced an RSS feed—designed to be read through RSS readers, shared via Google Reader Share pages, republished via Facebook, Tumblr and the networks to which I belong—I think the question is more about usage. Obviously I expect my content to be shared, I just have certain expectations of how this should be done.

When I share other people's entries via my Google Share page, I'm promoting them as something worth reading, just as I would be if I were simply linking to their content. Google takes the content directly from the author feeds and clearly displays the original source and author. I think that attribution makes the difference. If someone aggregates my content in a manner that makes authorship and source clear, with a link to the original article, then readers will clearly understand the source was me. If they like the content they may visit and/or subscribe to my blog directly and I'll have gained a new reader. So from a marketing standpoint, being aggregated—whether I did it on purpose or not—serves my own goals as well as the goals of the aggregator. (This issue gets murky again if the aggregating site generates ad revenue, but let's leave that discussion for another day.)

Aggregation matches bloggers with their target audience.

As often as we talk about search engine optimization, social media marketing and so forth, our primary marketing goal is to put our content in front of readers who care about our subject matter. Having your blog included in an aggregated site on your topic does just that. Readers who subscribe or visit that site have already shown an interest in your area. They are far more likely to become long-term readers than will the teenager who found your site on Google after you mentioned Britney Spears three times in your entry on hadron super colliders.

Blog Network and Aggregator Resources

• Blog Network Watch
• Bloggers Creating Networks (NPR)
• Intranet 2.0: Blog Networks, Social Bookmarking, Mash-Ups And Wikis
• Should Newspapers Become Local Blog Networks?
• Why I Don’t Like Blog Networks

The Web Development Blog is aggregated in Planet Case, The Cleveland Web Standards Association, Blog High Ed, and other sites of which I may not be aware.

For those of you who are already in the know, try sharing these with your less tech-savvy friends. Teaching them the basics of your world may (or may not) stop them from giving you funny looks the next time you start Twittering about your Facebook status and how you're aggregating your Pownce, del.icio.us and blog feeds on Tumblr.

Here's two to get you started:

Social Networking in Plain English

Social Bookmarking in Plain English

University Web Developers

Do you ever wish you could network more easily with your fellow Web developers at Case, and beyond?

If so, how would you would you want this to work? Would you want to communicate by listserv as the writers do with wordnerds@case.edu? Would you follow discussions on the Case Forums? Or would you want something more robust?

Gretchen Denaro—from the Annual Fund Office—and I have been discussing this lately and think it may be useful to create our own social media network where anyone interested in Web development or online communications at Case could go to share ideas and ask questions. Here on the Web Development Blog it's easy to get a good discussion going in the comments, but I'm still driving the topic. In the space we're envisioning, you could take the lead, starting topics on anything of interest, from writing and content development to search engine optimization and Web marketing strategies.

Example: University Web Developers Network

I've recently joined this relatively new network (which grew out of a popular listserv) where Web developers from a variety of colleges and universities come together to ask questions and discuss Web development issues. The site currently has 353 members who converse in a central forum, join topical discussion groups and post videos and photos. Each member gets his/her own page on which he/she can provide personal/business information, include an RSS feed or even start a blog. From what I've experienced so far it seems like a great way to share ideas and discover best practices with one's peers. Whether you're running a large school or department Web site or just dabbling in the Web part time, you may find this a very useful community to join.

University Web Developers was established using the popular Ning social network service developed in 2004 by Marc Andreessen (co-founder of Mosaic) and Gina Bianchini. Ning allows anyone to easily create a social network serving a specific area of interest. As such we could have one just for Web developers at Case Western Reserve University.

If I build it would you come? Creating such a place is fairly simple, but will you use it? If so should I make it invitation only—to restrict it to members of the campus community—or should we make it more open so that any friends of Case can join? Think about it and let me know.

In the meantime: Web Development at Case is now on Facebook

I've recently set up a Facebook page for Web development at Case. I've pulled in the feed from this blog and asked one discussion question, so there isn't much in the way of new content, but you are all encouraged to become a fan and help get things started. It's not as robust as a Ning network, but it's a place to begin. We may find that this page is sufficient to the task, we may find we want more. It's up to you, so try it out and give me your feedback. If you think a Facebook group would be more helpful, I could create that too.

Coming soon:

In upcoming posts I'll review my experiments in social media and continue our discussion regarding site navigation. In the meantime, you may be interested in Wayne Smallman's article, The Ideal Homepage design, his follow-up to my previous post on home page navigation.

This is the second in a series of posts that will discuss Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and other Web marketing strategies.

Through the course of this series, I'm going to take a broad approach to the concept of SEO, focusing on the tenet that strategies that increase the "findability" of your sites will also enhance your SEO, which in turn enhances your overall visibility. Additional information on the basics of promoting your site can be found at Raising your Web site rankings.

What do we mean by Web 2.0 & social networking

For the purposes of this discussion, Web 2.0 refers to Web-based sites, programs, services and applications such as blogs, chat, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, etc. that promote interactive and/or participatory functionality. Social networking will refer to the use of these and other online tools to connect with or share information with others. Online social networking may be done on social networking sites like Facebook, but such networking also occurs in newsgroups, topical discussion boards, the blogosphere and other venues. There's more to it than that, but for now we'll keep it simple.

A week of active and passive social networking using the tools of Web 2.0

I do not profess to be an expert on either Web 2.0 or social networking, but last week I was involved in some discussions that made me want to learn more, so I decided to jump in and do some exploring. Throughout the week, when not building Web sites, running errands, watching thunderstorms, and socializing with friends in the real world, I worked with tools I'd not used before as well as tools I use on a regular basis. Here's how it went:

One evening I decided to dust off my Facebook account to see what all of the fuss was about. While on there I added a map of places I had been and a list of some of the books I've read lately. The iRead feature was rather handy, and allowed me to rate books or let people know if I had them available to lend. I also added a few friends which led to a few more friends and Gretchen got me to join a group and a cause. I also added some information about my interests and work experience, and Gretchen and I wrote messages on each others walls. Other than that I'm not quite sure what to do with it. I guess I'm supposed to use it to learn more about the people I know, meet people I don't know, and write/chat about common interests in topical discussion groups. But I don't have a lot of free time these days, so I guess I'll have to explore that more later.

The next night I joined LinkedIn. I'd been getting invitations to do this for awhile. This is more of a professional networking site in which you can list your work experience and education to find people in your field, old classmates, and so on. It also allows you to ask and answer questions on all variety of topics. I found it frustrating because I couldn't control how much information is shared on my profile. There are different views for contacts and non-contacts, but I wanted to control the content more precisely than it would allow. I guess I'm so accustomed to building sites the way I want, that I felt hemmed in by these limitations. Next I wanted to find classmates from Colby, but whenever I tried to go past the first page, I got an error message saying the search functionality was temporarily unavailable.

With searching out of the way for the time being, I poked around the answers area to see if there were any Web development questions I could try to answer. I answered two. But when I saw my post for the second one I realized that I shouldn't have included any HTML because it was showing up as code. Thus I tried to edit it. No can do. You can add clarifying information or you can delete it. To clarify my message I would have had to say something like, "Oops, didn't know you couldn't use HTML here" which didn't seem to add much value. With or without the clarification I look like a lunkhead. So I thought I'd delete my answer and start over. But you can't do that. If you delete your answer, you aren't allowed to answer that question again. I'm sure there is some good reason for that, I just don't know what it is. I therefore logged off in frustration. I think this question/answer network is probably a very useful thing, I just found the interface to be clunkier than what I'm used to.

The next day I needed to get a screen capture of people hanging out in the virtual Silver Spartan diner on Second Life. I've explored this a few times, but I'm still a newbie—more adept at walking into walls than much else. Brian Gray graciously agreed to meet me in the diner, gave me some pointers and explained how to use the camera functions so I could get both of our avatars in the shot. (Brian is also a good resource on Web 2.0, particularly in regard to libraries.) This went quite smoothly and I was able to get the images I needed. Thanks Brian!

By Friday, after tinkering with various sites and picking Jeremy's brain for ideas on best practices, I'd cut down on the experimenting if not the usage. My friend Steve had invited me to join him and others in painting a parking lot as part of his art project, "Guerrilla Asphalt Repair." I decided to take pictures rather than paint, and also used the time to explore IngenuityFest. After that I met up for cold beverages with some of our engineering faculty and various other friends.

On Saturday I uploaded my pictures to Flickr, organized them by tags and one set, and e-mailed the location to Steve. While there, I also responded to Flickr mail from some of my contacts, and posted shots to the Your Life on 20/07/2007 group. This put the photos in front of a whole new group of people including a woman in Singapore who commented that Steve's project was an amazing idea. Today another Flickr user identified a woman in one of my photos as a dancer who performed at Ingenuity.

On Sunday I decided to also post a few of the pictures to my other blog, the one I rarely update. A little while later I wandered over to Technorati to see what my favorite bloggers were up to and who, if anyone, was linking to my sites. There I discovered that George Nemeth at Brewed Fresh Daily had already linked to the posting I had made just a short while before! This in turn led me to add some more information to the original post and to send pictures to the Ingenuity Cleveland group on Flickr. Back on Technorati I also learned that a fellow in Louisiana had quoted from my turtle story. It's fascinating to see where this stuff will turn up.

Conclusions: Web 2.0 and social networking tools have increased the findability of my content...and Steve's.

While the forays into Facebook and LinkedIn have put the url of this blog in front of a few more people, and I have far more to learn about these services, the tools I was already using accomplished the most. Flickr's built in functionality let me share pictures with people from around the world as well as those specifically interested in Ingenuity. (Now I just wish I'd taken cooler pics!) My posting of photos to my blog—rather than to a static Web site—led to them being shared with the readers of Brewed Fresh Daily in addition to my own; my blog entry comes up first in a Google search of "Guerrilla Asphalt Repair" (handy for anyone who saw the project and later does a Google search to learn more); and between the blog and Flickr I've added a number of links to Steve Manka's Web site which will him keep up his Google positioning as well.

In the grand scheme it doesn't matter how much exposure these photos received, but for other Web content, it does. Using similar techniques, substituting a topical discussion forum for Flickr, posting regularly to your—or other people's blogs— or even sharing links on the right newsgroup or listserv will help you make your content more available. Many of you are using these types of tools already.

Blog Related Announcements

This Thursday at noon, Jeremy Smith and I will be giving a UCITE presentation to faculty on "Using blogs and Web pages to raise your professional profile." Register online. This will be similar to the presentation we made last year with a few updates.

Bloggapalooza takes place July 28th, as part of the Waterloo Arts Fest. I'm not involved with this, but it sounds interesting and supports ArtsCollinwood. As I understand it, many of Cleveland's more active bloggers will be there.

Web 2.0 & Social Networking Resources

• Mashable Social Networking News
• MySpace, Facebook and Other Social Networking Sites: Hot Today, Gone Tomorrow?
• O'Reilly: What is Web 2.0
• Pew/Internet: Social Networking Web sites and Teens: An Overview
• The Social Networking Weblog
• Web 2.0 Awards
• Web 2.0 Weblog
• Wikipedia: List of social networking Web sites
• Wikipedia: Social Network
• Wikipedia: Web 2.0
• YouTube: Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us (Great demo about the way the Web is evolving)