Online Social Networking & Business Collaboration World – CEO panel
I’m at Day Two of Online Social Networking & Business Collaboration World, where I’m chairing the plenary sessions and enterprise streams.
Other posts:
RIchard Kimber, CEO of Friendster, presentation
Rebekah Horne, head of Fox Interactive Media Australia and Europe, presentation
Francisco Cordero, GM Australa, Bebo, presentation
Ross Ackland, Deputy Director, World Wide Web Consortium
Laurel Papworth, Director and Social Networks Strategist, World Communities
Paul Marshall, CEO, Lassoo.com.au
Partner event: Enterprise 2.0 Executive Forum on 24 February 2009
CEO panel
RK: Friendster is also a social media network. Established media and social media contrast. In developing world great opportunities because existing players don’t have the distribution. It’s user driven – they define what we publish. Friendster won’t play editorial role like other social networks
RH: Users want on-demand. But MySpace doesn’t have a big content production budget. Work with partners who create content. We can’t rely on user generated content. Need depth of quality content. Will be tapping Oasis, Coldplay, and the discovery of smaller, niche audience artists. There is a significant investment. Have to pay content owners. So have model where share revenue wiht content owners. Existing media channels are trying to push people to their media channels – would be better to partner with social network as new distribution mechanism. You cannot compromise on the quality of content.
FC: This is a function of where technology and media are going. Hollywood producers have access to the best of everything. As the format of storytelling changes via the web, that will change how things are done. The social networks are better able to adapt and respond because of their technology. T
RK: The social network should be a destination site or anchor point, which people keep open all day. It integrates communication tools such as chat, but as you can see who’s online, it drives spontaneous communication – the immediacy of communication is compelling. Whether it’s called a portal or home page, it is a destination. In countries where people use internet cafes, they engage from a particular site. Gaming becomes interesting once it’s with your friends. The people that matter to you.
RH: The success of sites such as NineMSN was driven by tools such as IM and email, not content. The next evolution of internet enables us to engage with the content.
FC: It’s all a lot more personal. I don’t see many differences between portals and newspapers today – they’re about broadcasting. People say that they want to start their day connecting to their friends.
RH: OpenSocial isn’t complicated – it’s a set of APIs. All of the social networks are open. MySpace got kicked in the pants as we took our time getting developers on board. Now we have quality apps – it’s not just junk. The user experience is first and foremost. Developers work with whichever is the best platform.
RK: Platforms are a way to leverage development, get pool of developers – users vote with their feet. Applications will now become more sophisticated. Will see consolidation in the app space. There won’t be thousands. At what point will the social graphs inter-relate? Can foresee a day when there is interoperability between friend profiles on different sites. Some social networks will engage, some won’t.
FC: Not just about the application, but transforming the web experience.
RH: We already have an incredibly open platform. Dataportability is another can of worms. No-one wants to give their customers away. No company can survive
RK: I fundamentally agree. The asset is the customer base. We don’t want to solve a problem that isn’t a problem for the user. I see a world in which people are in multiple social networks. There will be strong geographic separation of networks. As there isn’t so much overlap within markets, happy with that. We all believe in an open internet.
RH: Nielsen says that more Facebook users have MySpace profiles than the other way around.
Responding to questions from floor:
RK: There will be a shift to intelligent apps that tap people’s social graph. Some networks have de-emphasized apps. We are encouraging Asia-specific apps, as they will have particular needs and interests.
RH/ FC/ RK: Industries are networks, and there are many platforms to allow them to connect. Look at the major networks, choose one, seed it with industry leaders, and get the network going. People will use what they are used to. Or used LinkedIn.
RH: We make a lot of money. We do have over-35s on the site, but you can’t effectively target multiple demographics, so we focus on younger groups. It takes time for the older demographic to develop.
FC: We are obsessed about 16-24 year olds, as so much of current advertising spending for them is still on TV and other old channels.
RK: We have both reach and insights. It’s very early on advertising side – it will take years until we can effectively address older segments. For now there is lower-hanging fruit in the younger demographics. Every marketer will be banging on our door in coming years.
RK: On B2B marketing, decisions are often founded on people’s networks. There will be a lot more activity on help with business decisions from social networks. You could incorporate your social network into your decisions.
RH: We see MySpace TV as several things: our entertainment, partners providing content, and behind the scenes views. Time and date model doesn’t work – it’s more archival. We are very complementary to the TV channels. In many examples, social network media campaigns have raised TV viewers. Fish where the fish are.
RH: Niche can be addressed on social platforms – they don’t need to have their own platform.Social networks have to be started from niches, and build out to be broader.
RK: The issue is finding people who are similar to you. That’s where social networks play an important role. The cost of discovery is very low on social networks.
FC: Some people will want to engage with a site that is dedicated to their interests. There are more niche social networks all the time.
