Is Facebooking Fantastic or Foolish?

My guest writer for May is an experienced marketer and publicist in the lifestyle and heritage sector, who relishes new ideas, refreshing approaches, and unconventional solutions to age-old problems. If you visit Walter Lim’s blog at Coolinsight, you will be fascinated with his candid thoughts on marketing and public relations and entertained by his many photographs taken while on business or family trips.

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Is Facebooking Fantastic or Foolish?

As anybody who has indulged in social media marketing would have known, Facebook is a fast rising star in the new media stakes. With more than 70 million active users around the world, the creation of 25 year old billionaire Mark Zuckerberg is now the 5th most trafficked site and 2nd most trafficked social media site in the world. In fact, over 20,000 applications have been built on the Facebook platform alone with 140 new applications added every day.

Facebook is hip, hot, happening and rising faster than any of its competitors for the moment. Which brings us to the question of whether we should try to muscle ourselves into the action. After all, wouldn’t it be a tragedy if you are not seen up there with the Joneses (or the Tans and Lims) with an oh-so-cool and to-die-for viral Facebook application?

Personally, I feel that the jury is still out on the effectiveness of Facebook as a marketing media. True, it is fantastic for connecting me to my long-lost ex-colleagues, classmates and old friends. It also has a huge truckload of multi-media applications, games, quizzes, wallpapers, matchmakers and goodness knows what to keep you busy for hours on end.

However, will I sign up as a member of a company’s grassroots marketing group on Facebook? Only if the benefits are exceedingly glorious. More importantly, will I attend the gazillion functions that I am invited to? Or spam all the hundreds or thousands of contacts in my list with an invitation to purchase the latest gadget, gizmo or gourmet package? Have to think hard.

At this stage, I guess the jury is still out. From what I have read, the lack of privacy for Facebook users seem to be an ongoing concern. As of now, there are already numerous Facebook groups with thousands of subscribers who declare war against companies trying to send them messages or post on their walls for commercial purposes. Relationships still matter most in Facebook, and users may be wary about “spamming” their diligently cultivated network of friends with the latest applications or games.

Having said that, there are organisations that have skillfully applied the social advantages of Facebook in furthering their agendas. Many of these are non-profit organisations, which I guess are less loathsome than the next money lusting firm on the line. Perhaps one day, people may be more open to using Facebook for transactions. For now, at least for me, just keep it strictly between me and my friends sucking the life out of each other or superpoking each other to death

[tags]Facebook, social media[/tags]