Reading: "Tour de Source" Facebook Fairtytales
Let me start with addressing "first things first", first. I mean of course first things are first, as a civilized and cultured people we don't start with second things. For the same reason dessert is served last at every meal.
So second things second, I like this book Facebook Fairytales. In itself the book has some similarities to social media. It is easy to read in a start and stop manner, and I found it filling the lull between classes and the other things I do in my day. The only issue I could find is that I had trouble finding the t.o.c when I switched chapters, it's almost camouflaged or something, but that's just me.
On to the actual story of Peter and HARO. Peter addressed an issue I never knew existed due to my lack of insight into the news world, and turned it into a success when he initially never intended to. Peter really was the link between two social networks, his reporter friends and his clients from Geek Factory. Luckily for Peter his rolodex was so sought after that he eliminated himself and chose Facebook as his replacement. Peter should feel good in knowing that even Facebook couldn't replace him as he needed to give his group its own website.
In my opinion the things that really made HARO successful versus ProfNet and other competitors was the identity Peter brought to the website. Peter managed to maintain the personal feel and authenticity that he exuded when he was doing the connecting. That authenticity kept people on board as they switched from the Facebook group to the site. Users can sense the identity of the services and products they use and HARO certainly has it. They only send out three emails a day, recommend donations to charities versus themselves, and they ask the users to remain authentic themselves when they respond in order to keep the service useful. The one thing HARO did that showed me their identity remained was how Peter signed off with "Blue skies". All of these things I am sure were lacking in ProfNet, I mean even their name sounds cold, corporate, and revenue focused. So great job Peter you and your company represent the many good things about social media.
Before you leave think about all of the social media related websites and services out there. What makes them succeed like HARO? and I'm not looking for network effects, switching costs, etc.
Peace, Love, and Social Media
Hey Charlie,
ReplyDeleteHave you ever come across TED.com? It's my favorite social media site and it's only mission is to spread ideas worth spreading. You made a really good point that HARO really succeeded because it doesn't have that cold, corporate image and TED.com is infectious for all those same reasons. It just goes to show that customer perception is very important to a business or a site. And it's really interesting that Peter was really adamant about keeping the site very, very simple with little functions. It was only supposed to be a thread with limited functionality to stick to the original purpose.