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From: To: Subject: Jon Morgan Geeks everywhere Random Geek Notes

Google Plus and Social Media Alternatives

As Ive been watching the demonstrations and reading the reviews of Googles new social media platform, Google plus, I have to admit that I am looking forward to getting inside and seeing its features for myself. So far, the reviews have been pretty positive. It seems to match Facebooks capabilities in some cases, but surpasses them in others. One thing that has occurred to me as Ive been seeing all of the comments is that this is a great learning experience for anybody who is currently building a website of their own with heavy social media components. This is because there have already been some really good articles which talk about the parts that Google got right or wrong, and there are bound to be wish lists in the near future showing what beta testers feel is missing from Googles new social media experiment. This of course is free user testing data for development teams. Just match what Google did, or maybe a little bit of what they did, plus add some of what people are asking for, and you should end up with a strong product.

Choosing a Social Media Platform

Its safe to say that social media is not going away anytime soon. Whether you are an individual hoping to connect with friends, or a business hoping to draw customers, your choice of social media platform has become very important these days. I wanted to share some thoughts I have about different social media networks that Ive used. But, I dont want the list to end when I run out of things to say--please feel free to contact me with services or networks that youve used in the past which youd like to recommend. Facebook - Facebook is naturally the place everyone wants to be--thats why its so big right now. As a social network, it has something for everyone--individuals, students, businesses, marketers. In fact, research has shown that more and more people have started to think of Facebook as the Internet, and everywhere else is--well, everywhere else. Years ago, AOL tried to convince everybody that it was better to stay within its walled garden, but it didnt work. Go figure. Yammer - If your workplace is clamoring for a means of communicating more efficiently, but you dont want to trust your information to Facebook, Yammer is a great choice. It allows you to exchange status reports, links to documents, send direct messages. The interface looks a little like the older version of Twitter mixed with features from Facebook. You can also create communities and groups which would be great for

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project groups or departments within your company. The service is free, although there are some features which are only available if you buy the premium package. Teambox - If you are looking for a business social networking tool which is a little more project management oriented, Teambox is definitely worth checking out. Whats great about Teambox is that you have all of the aspects of social networking that you might expect from something like Facebook or Twitter, but it also allows you to create projects, tasks, and task lists much like you can on a tool like Basecamp. Compared with Basecamp (which Ive used), Teambox has stronger social media tools. There are very few limitations on the free version of Teambox to keep you from getting up and running-such as a limit on file storage space and a cap on the number of projects you can have (3). So, there are three to get us started. What do you recommend?

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