Building Sites Around Social Objects (Web 2.0 Expo – Jyri Engestrom, Google)

Successful social sites are not just friend networks. They are built around objects that connect people with shared interests. For example, the object on Flickr is a photo, on Jaiku and Twitter it is a status update, and on YouTube it is a video. But turning an idea into a shareable object is not always so simple. We’ll ask, what makes a good social object? For instance, Dopplr is built around trips that have 3 simple elements (two dates and a location) that can be used to make social connections. This talk will deconstruct the social objects and verbs on which well-known successes and exciting new startups are built on.

This talk compares and contrasts different approaches teams have taken to build social objects. Some examples are:

* music: Last.fm vs. Soundcloud
* products: Ebay vs. Thinglink
* trips: Tripit vs. Dopplr

The talk will concludes with a set of principles for building services around social objects.

The Whuffie Factor: The 5 Keys for Maxing Social Capital and Winning with Online Communities (Tara Hunt)

Everyone knows about blogs and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. And theyve heard about someone who has used them to grow a huge customer base. Everyone wants to be hands-on, grass roots and interactive. But what does this mean? And how do you do it? The Whuffie Factor will provide the strategic map and specific tactics for success in the world of online communities.

Beyond Buzz: On Measuring a Conversation (Web 2.0 Expo 2009 – Katie Niederhoffer & Marc Smith)

What is the most meaningful way to understand and measure a dialogue? As marketing transforms from a broadcast model to a conversational one, which constructs should be captured and how do you measure them? Is it necessary to make a distinction between the metrics used to tap into the value of a conversation per se and the ROI of a social media marketing campaign?

This presentation offers new strategies to think about and tap into the depth of interactions and emotional connections people have online. Beyond buzz levels, sentiment, and other core metrics typically provided by brand monitoring solutions, the presentation will offer methods to understand a conversation: how emotional is it, how in sync are the constituents, how intimately do they relate to the brand or product? How much trust do the constituents reveal?

Marketing efforts that take advantage of technology to enable community and collaboration render traditional metrics limiting, at best. Traditional metrics have been optimized for more passive exposure to a specific message, frequency of exposure is considered a proxy for relevance; and, the premium is on reach over quality.

Primarily due to its more participative dynamic, a conversation engages constituents unlike static messaging. As many in the industry have noted, a natural development is to measure engagement. However, there is little consensus on what engagement means and how it can be measured. Often it is calculated by merely adding traditional metrics, assuming more is better.

The presentation will introduce new constructs and present case studies with empirical research demonstrating more valuable, still measurable constructs than the core metrics currently in use.

*** Note: The slide deck for this presentation can be found here: bit.ly/​gNwC1

Preparing for A New Kind of Customer Relationship in the Facebook Era (Web 2.0 Expo – Clara Shih)

Spam from strangers is out, trusted product recommendations from friends are in. The 90s was about the World Wide Web of information and the power of linking information. Today, it’s about the World Wide Web of people and the power of the social graph. Online social networks are changing everything we thought we knew about sales, marketing, and product development—and empowering companies with new tools, insights, and ability to transform customers and employees into true partners.

This session explores how real companies are successfully tapping the rich data and communication media on services like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace to bootstrap brand and product conversations, virally reach new audiences, and transform existing customers into a loyal sales force. Hear how new social networking concepts such as transitive trust, hyper-targeted campaigns, persona profiles, and fringe-relationship “options” are rewriting the rules of sales and marketing, and what companies and developers must do to thrive and win in the Facebook Era.

***Note: The video excludes only the first 2 minutes of the entire presentation given by Clara. You can find links to Clara’s slides and more information about her brilliant work at thefacebookera.com

Best Practices in Social Media Integration for Web Publishers and Content Providers (Web 2.0 Expo – Bob Buch, Digg)

Social Media sites such as Digg, StumbleUpon, and Facebook have changed the way content providers and web publishers distribute content. The traffic that social media sites send to web publishers has now become one of their most significant and indispensable sources of traffic. Increasingly, publishers are thinking of every page as a potential entry point for users and adapting the user experience on article pages accordingly. This session will explore some of the best practices employed by publishers who have been successful in gearing their brands, user experiences, and content toward increasing traffic from social media sites and providing a relevant experience to help engage those users and monetize the traffic.