Cashing in your Facebook

We may be witnessing the beginning of a new online ad tool at the start of 2010 with the launch of MyLikes last week in the US.  For those who already use social networking sites such as Facebook and FriendFeed, you may already be familiar with the “like” function that allows users to recommend comment, posts and other content to their network.  MyLikes, allows everyday users to get paid for liking things.  The idea is when a MyLikes account has been created, it can either be embedded onto personal websites or tweeted.  Users then get paid per click and the cost-per-click is set and constantly adjusted based on an individual’s influence and the relevance of their likes.

Tom Tops in Twits Two

Some interesting feedback and comments on our first Birmingham’s Biggest Tweeters post.

Birmingham’s Biggest Tweeters

There are a number of tools around for calculating the popularity and impact of particular twitter feeds. As a consultancy interested in helping clients to influence and engage – rather than simply promote – we were struck by TweetLevel which has been developed by Edelman, a leading PR agency (one day, people will use tools developed by Urban but we’ll live with drawing on the greater resources of more established agencies for now!).

Identifying Influential Influencers

The Guardian and The Observer have published research exploring ‘Word of Mouth’ and how to distinguish the influentials from the not so influentials. As a result of this research, a quick checklist – ACTIVE – has been created with which researchers suggest an individual’s potential buzz factor can be predicted.

• Ahead in Adoption does not necessarily mean being at the edge of discovery, but ahead of the mainstream.
• Connected means having lots of connections, but important that there is a range of them.
• Traveller means having more frequent contact with other countries, their people and most importantly their ideas and perspectives.
• Information hungry people who always want to learn more, constantly seeking out and exchanging new facts and ideas.
• Being Vocal does not necessarily mean loud and dominant; but keen to discuss thoughts and share information and experiences.
• Exposed to Media refers to people who are voracious consumers of mass media, particularly print or the internet.

Applying this concept to the online landscape, this checklist could help in the process of identifying the influencers and thought leaders in the blogosphere and twitterverse.