When addressing Social Networks, most users consider the most “generic” ones such as MySpace, Facebook or Hi5. Although with different functionalities and approaches, the main focus of these Social Networks is the building of a friend database with multimedia elements – photos, videos, etc… But, besides these, there are Social Networks that actually serve a purpose besides satisfying some areas of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – they are directed towards a common trait or goal that members of that particular website share and go one step ahead of “generic”. In the various examples I could mention, I decided that one that would be interesting is a Weight Loss SNW. Continue reading ‘Social Network Profiling – The Weight Loss Chapter’

Online audiences nowadays require a study of its own. That’s just how important they have become. No longer are we just limited to targeting the offline targets with the purpose of bringing them online – the online publics are actually developing a persona of their own, emphasizing the user enhanced experience that can categorize them into groups that share a culture and purpose in their surfing experience. Sure, this might be obvious for some, but considering the time that Web 2.0 actually exists and the current amount of interactions that occur in it, it is a very short time for this audience to actually have developed a behavioral pattern of their own.

Where is this most obvious? Well, in my personal opinion, I’d say Social Networking. Sure, it might sound cliché to mention it once more in a post in this blog, but face it – we’re Trendwatchers and there’s nothing trendier than Social Networking nowadays. Brands are developing strategies taking in consideration Social Networking Websites, adjusting their functionalities and presence according to two factors: the nature of the Website itself – such as a personal brand page in Myspace like it was a regular user or adding a Facebook utility to enhance the users’ interaction with the Brand – or the profile of the Social Networking users themselves. Both these factors require an article of its own, so I’ll begin with the most interesting one for me- the profile of this online audience. Continue reading ‘Social Networking Profiling Part 1 – The Consumers’