Back in the day, the issue was to humanise the cold world of cyberspace.

The social question of cocooning with your computer as opposed to socialising with “real” people and the basking in the warmth of human interaction.

Well, as the saying goes, sex sells.  Maybe images and allusions, maybe the real thing.  One particular segment of the Web2.0 world, interactive social networking and its cousin, Online Dating, seems to be selling well enough.  People are reaching out - profiling, polling their peers and publishing themselves.

The bills are paid by an advertising financed model, supplemented by subscription and/or fees for services where possible.

According to this article, interactive social networking and online dating is going to outperform Porno, a long time internet cash cow.  Make of that what you will - having visited some of the online dating sites, the boundary is certainly blurred.

So, what’s in if for me?

Every web strategy session these days begins with, “How can we make the site more Web2.0?”

In keeping with my theme, ’show don’t tell’ here is an article listing 50 examples that might provide some inspiration. Keep in mind my three pillars of web2.0 - Community, Celebrity and Creativity.

Top 50 Innovations in Social Networking and Online Dating

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As interactive marketing professionals, we constantly hear about CRM, “Customer Relationship Management.”   The core of which is the database of prospects and customers.

Find out who they are, find out what they do and what they like, develop a brand relationship and increase the customer value through loyalty or other direct marketing activity.  Cradle to grave, if you’re good.

Our brief is to collect names and demographic detail, and often the measure of success is the number - more is better.

The process is to avoid is coming afowl of the privacy legislation when you reap, and avoiding becoming unsolicited bulk email when you sow.  So many old databases of customers and clients are now incomplete.  No email addresses, no ‘opt in’ validation.

Rebuild, Renovate, Reestablish.

Ok, no problem, this is bread and butter. But is it?  I received a number of emails from what might be considered the “3″rd biggest teleco in Australia with no unsubscribe option.  I gave them a call when I got the second one.  Small oversight, but it could cost big bucks per instance, so multiply by your list number and you get the idea.

But that’s small potatoes when it comes to ‘oversights.’  As you plow through your regulations, cross off your checklist of good eDM citizenship, don’t forget,  children are different.

If your product and your message is aimed at children, you have a whole different list of requirements.  Get to know them and make sure you don’t just take the “Standard” solution or you could end up in on the floor before the emperor and the dude with the big knife.

Sony Dinged $1 Million for Child-Privacy Breach | Threat Level from Wired.com

References:

Australian Association of  National Advertisers Code for Advertising  & Marketing communications to Children: http://www.aana.com.au/childrens_code.html

Spam Act of 2003 - Australian Government, Department of Finance and Deregulation - Information Management Office: http://www.noie.gov.au/ie

Tags: Marketing by admin
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