Give Your Network Something To Believe In

This post is by Michael Pollock, the original owner of Small Business Branding. Yaro Starak now owns and produces the latest content for this blog.

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After reading the NYT article referenced in my last post, I made my way to Stowe Boyd’s Get Real blog. Jackpot. How did I miss Stowe for the last six months? Anyway, in one of his posts he writes about what makes or breaks a social network service, and he points to Howard Rheingold (Smart Mobs) who points to Jyri Engestrom on object-centered sociality.

(Correction 05/10/05: Arieanna Foley produced the above mentioned post on Stowe Boyd’s blog. Apologies to Arieanna who’s own blog is Blogaholics)

Here’s how Arieanna sums up object-centered socialty:

The central tenet behind both authors is that social networking
succeeds when it surrounds an object, such as a photo or URL, rather
than when it is a tool specifically created for social networking –
tools in the latter category tend to fail due to their lack of cohesion
and therefore lack of networking. (emphasis mine)

I’ve noticed that communities (i.e. social networks) only form and thrive around something of value to the members of that network. Arieanna, Howard and Jyri suggest it’s an object, like a photo (in the case of Flickr) or a URL (in the case of del.icio.us). I would take that a step further and suggest many social networks form around something less tangible but much more powerful.

THE HUGHTRAIN: "THE MARKET FOR SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN IS INFINITE."

If you want to build a strong network and become a sought-after member of that network, you have to give people something to believe in. You have to offer them a vision for who they are (or are becoming) and where you’re all heading.

But that’s not quite enough. For the network to thrive, the members must see themselves collectively and/or individually moving toward that vision – making it a reality. And you have to help them do it. It’s a big role to play. Too big for some perhaps, but that’s what it takes to be a successful small business brand. The good news is the requisite skill sets can be learned.