1. The web is transitioning from mere interactivity to a more dynamic, real-time web where read-write functions are heading towards balanced synchronicity. The real-time web, as I have argued in the past, is the next logical step in the Internet’s evolution.
2. The complete disaggregation of the web in parallel with the slow decline of the destination web.
3. More and more people are publishing more and more “social objects” and sharing them online. That data deluge is creating a new kind of search opportunity.

Via Ed Cotton

• Social media technologies have the potential to transform the way companies build and manage relationships with their customers.
• Early adopters are reporting improved customer relationships, better corporate reputation and increased sales.
• Businesses face competitive risks if they fail to embrace the technology going forward in a controlled and strategic manner.

Additionally, much of the current evolution of social software is in improving the communication between people who provide a service and people who use a service. This is what I think is meant by “social media marketing”. This is somewhat of the fourth wave…when social applications not only improve the conversations between people using the site, but between people who provide the site and those who use it. (Tearing down the firewall isn’t easy) While email has done much of the heavy lifting here for many years, the mere act of putting these conversations public changes further interaction around them, while scaring the wits out of executives who worry that negative conversation will bring down their empire. (What they don’t count on are the fans they have who defend them)

So while all of this stuff is constantly evolving, and the word “social” is bandied about in countless ways, social design is relatively concrete: it’s designing software that support social interaction.

Via ExperienceCurve

Well, for starters, unlike my experience on Grainger, many advertisers aren’t focused on building the digital applications that people want to use; they’re focused on somehow cramming marketing into them. Some kid comes up with the next YouTube, Facebook or mobile platform, and most advertisers want to figure out how to market on it. Instead of designing and developing useful applications that could give brands the opportunity to insert themselves meaningfully into our lives, we get cutesy but useless “Sprite Sips” on Facebook, ubiquitous banners in all shapes and sizes and microsites that you won’t likely return to. And I’m talking about digital advertising — never mind traditional.

As agencies and our clients strive to add value to the lives of the average consumer, user and active participant, it’s helpful to think about how we can do this in a framework I like to call the “Three U’s of Advertising in the Application Economy.” They are:

1) Usefulness. Any experience is useful when it’s meaningful and serves a purpose.

2) Utility. Utility is interaction that delights us in some way.

3) Ubiquity. We are living in a fragmented world with what seems like infinite touch points available to us.

But don’t take my word for it. You won’t want to miss reading the rest of the article here.

More people than ever can participate in culture, contributing their ideas, views, information.

The web allows them not just to publish but to share and connect, to collaborate and when the conditions are right, to create, together, at scale.

That is why the web is a platform for mass creativity and innovation.

You can also download the first three chapters of the book here.

But what about pure text?

Does copy deserve something more than a simple copy-paste?

That’s the question Anil Dash is asking:

But we’ve only been using this stuff for the most complicated parts of the web, like rich media. What about text?…But there seems to me to be something really interesting, some kind of potential, to including our posts (or parts of our posts) in other blogs that way, and while I’m no great coder, making the Movable Type templates to do this took about five minutes. I’m hoping something even more interesting comes from the world of compound objects or compound embeds, with a text post containing a video clip or image, and then being included on another page.

So: Has someone done this before? I’ve made blog templates that output widgets before, but what if we assume every blog post is a widget? How could we address the security issues? What does it mean that the included text and content can be updated remotely? What purpose does this serve, or is it just a really complicated way of copying and pasting text?

Ultimately, I’m not convinced that we need anything more than the tried-and-true method a simple copy-paste. But it’s good that he’s asking these questions, because we are learning each day that the content with the best distribution wins.

Feel free to follow/subscribe/be my new friend here.

Cheers.

That’s certainly how living in the social media era can feel. It’s ubiquitous in geography and the clock never stops running. And if you’re a company – big or small – it can feel like the world has been unleashed on your idea, product or brand. Sometimes for good, sometimes not so good.

Jon Greer at BNet.com wonders if you can put limits on social media:

One of the most intriguing and disruptive elements of the social media revolution is that the creation of social media can happen anywhere, at anytime. For instance, I recently researched, wrote and published a Catching Flack post while riding in the back seat of a taxi headed to San Diego airport. You can blog from an iPhone or other PDA with a decent web browser. I blogged on a laptop with a wireless broadband card. You can post photos and videos to the web directly from your phone. At any time.

All of this makes managing social media relations, frankly, a nightmare. Where do you draw the line? Is line drawing even possible or desirable? What are the ramifications of having social media coverage of anything at anytime?

I think he poses some good questions. For the social media relations pro, participating in conversations, cultivating online communities and engagement is a full-time job. And it can seem overwhelming. But by it’s nature, while social media creates new and untold questions and challenges, it also can bring answers and resources in the same wave.

Yes, the social media relations expert has their work cut out for them. But if they’ve done their job well, they will have also fostered a community that is quick to stand up for the idea, product or brand.

Attempting to limit social media is the wrong answer. Cultivating a community of passionate brand ambassadors can be the best solution to help ride the social media wave.