On October 14th, 2010, the worlds largest new media event will take place at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nv., BlogWorldExpo.

The event will be joined by thousands of bloggers, podcasters, social media pro’s, internet and tv personalities, and more!

And because we like sharing, Bubblicious would like to offer our readers a special 20% discount off of registration by using the code BUBVIP. The code is good for any pass to the BlogWorld and New Media Expo. Published discount pricing ends September 15th at midnight, but don’t stress! This code applies to the pricing all the way up until the event. So register now! By going here for your conference pass and discount prices.

Discount Hotel accomodations are already filling up quickly. So make sure to share this link to the Official Hotels of the event to get your discounted pricing.

Make sure to check out BlogWorldExpo’s Official Blog for the latest announcements!

Google has its search engine, and it email client, and several other applications many of us are familiar with, such as the blogging platform Blogger. And Google also has a bunch of apps no one really pays attention to, or have yet to go mainstream. Then again, many of these peripheral apps don’t need to go mainstream; they’re just a small portion of what Google is trying to do on a rather large scale.

Recent changes and updates to some of Google’s more familiar apps are shedding more light on what Google may have up its sleeves, with some social integration that could enable the search king to better contend with the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

One such change has already taken effect. For Google users that remain logged into their Google accounts while searching the Google web, they will notice some socially driven recommendations at the bottom of their search page. Based on their Google friends network, which largely includes friends on their Gchat and those they share Reader items with, will appear with links to additionally relevant information.

Another upcoming change could be an update system to alert Gmail users as to new activity from their friends around their activity. This could include status updates for Gchat, or photo uploads to Picassa. It could even include social networking updates such as Twitter or Facebook updates, though current information on this possible new feature doesn’t suggest this level of integration upon launch.

The ability to create more of a social network around an email client is an idea that Google, Yahoo and others have been throwing around for a couple of years now. At first it seemed silly, but email is still a centralizing factor in most social media activity. The way in which the web is opening up for more cooperative interaction, there is plenty of opportunity for search engines and email clients to improve their core competencies based on this type of social integration.

What we’re seeing is a social inclusion of content into search results, such as real time trends powered by the likes of Twitter. Facebook, too, is beginning to open its content more to search engines, making it a potentially powerful database of socially relevant information that’s been shared within previously closed networks.

Google’s strength in competing and dually leveraging the realm of social networks is its ability to combine several aspects of its multiple applications. This has been a rather creepy incorporation of socially driven content prior to the popularity of Facebook and Twitter, but the adoption of open sharing and users’ ability to recognize the benefits of doing so has made it easier for Google to implement it’s over-arching plan.

Yahoo has already made several moves in this direction as well, incorporating social updates into its main email interface over a year ago. Pulling in updates and recommendations from some of its other applications, even the newer ones like Buzz, has given Yahoo some time to experiment with these tactics.

As Google furthers its own push into the social networking realm, it looks as though the company is going to focus on providing a utility instead of a replacement to what sites like Facebook and Twitter already offer. This leaves Google in a position of being needed, validating whatever efforts it’s currently working towards.

Google Friend Connect has added some new features this week, releasing an entire set of new options for end users and site publishers. The idea is to make it easier for people to connect on Friend Connect-supported sites, in a more personal way.

As Google Friend Connect adds the possibility for any website to become more social (in a Google sort of way), the ability to further connect based on these social interactions is a natural next step for Google. In doing so, users will have a more personalized experience when they visit a Friend Connect-supported site, as long they’re already signed into Google. Now they will also be able to more easily connect with other users based on similar interests. The heavy lifting for these connections is driven by the shared information between end users, Google and the site publisher. Google becomes the provider of data, with the site publisher acting as a virtual environment seguewaying individual connections.

That means if you visit a Friend Connect-supported fashion site, you could find yourself connected with another user that likes Free People tops. To further facilitate connections, Google will provide a way for you to directly communicate with each other. You’re already signed into Google. You already have a Gmail account. You already have Google Talk and gChat. Why not be friends, based on your shared love of adversely over-priced clothing lines?

Google has been seeking ways in which to become more social for years now, personalizing search data, creating social networks and launching a platform that everyone got on board with. Many of these initiatives have competed directly with Facebook. But the Friend Connect updates look to make it even easier for third parties to make their sites social, bringing the platform to them instead of the other way around.
Google is permeating more areas of our lives than Facebook at the moment. Especially once you factor in Google’s mobile efforts, which have the potential to collect a great deal of data on individual users. Applications on Google’s mobile platforms can tie in with GPS and Google’s own array of applications are staking their claim on the company’s mobile platforms as well.

Tying everything back to advertising, the information voluntarily given up by end users can be helpful for recommendations and the improvement of targeted ads and search engines. As ads are becoming more integrated into our email experience, Google would do well to incorporate more market research-driven data into these types of targeted ads.

Beyond the typical Google ads, however, the company is also looking at ways to make email more interactive for marketing partners. Testing is underway for a dynamic newsletter that companies can send to registered customers via Gmail. As Google Friend Connect also enables email newsletter options (based on the data collected on site visitors) with the feature updates, this may eventually tie in with Google’s tested efforts for more direct and interactive newsletters.

This is also a way for Google to make all of its other applications, including Gmail, even more social. The reverse approach to Facebook’s Platform means that site publishers have more opportunity to appeal to users that already have a Google account. While Facebook has its own Facebook Connect that competes more directly with Friend Connect, the concepts around each approach still differ in that Facebook still has a dedication to connecting existing friends instead of fully initiating new connections. Nevertheless, Facebook’s advantage over Google is the fact that many consumers may not be comfortable with a social overlay within their typical Google App activity.

There are several factors involved when calculating the effectiveness and potential of either approach. I think they will both serve their purposes in the erection of standardized platforms, attracting consumers based on their services provided.

From PR 2.0

Source: Shutterstock

Prior to leaving Forrester to join Altimeter Group, Jeremiah Owyang, along with Josh Bernoff, Cynthia N. Pflaum, and Emily Bowen, published a report that attempted to bring the future of the Social Web into focus. If we viewed the content of his research as a social object, the conversations that would transpire could in fact expedite the development and implementation of the most valuable predictions and observations contained within.

The first part of the report observes the state of the Social Web and summarizes its direction:

Today’s social experience is disjointed because consumers have separate identities in each social network they visit. A simple set of technologies that enable a portable identity will soon empower consumers to bring their identities with them — transforming marketing, eCommerce, CRM, and advertising. IDs are just the beginning of this transformation, in which the Web will evolve step by step from separate social sites into a shared social experience. Consumers will rely on their peers as they make online decisions, whether or not brands choose to participate. Socially connected consumers will strengthen communities and shift power away from brands and CRM systems; eventually this will result in empowered communities defining the next generation of products.

In the report, Forrester documents the evolution and direction of the Social Web in several distinct stages:

1. The era of social relations – Starting with AOL and others in the mid-1990s, this era witnessed the connection of people through simple profiles and friending features that served as the foundation for online conversations through connections.

2. The era of social functionality – Evolving from friending to platforms that supported social interaction through applications and infrastructure, facilitating communities through relationships locked within the confines of a particular network.

As I’ve said before, social networks are jockeying to become our individual online OS – a Social OS essentially. Facebook released its Facebook Connect infrastructure to allow us to traverse the social web with our Facebook identity and relationships in tow, bridging our updates back to the Facebook News Feed to share with our social graph. This is a monumental furtherance as it starts to demonstrate the power of an interconnected activity and profile stream and network that makes the Social Web a much smaller place.

However, what we really need is a “Facebook Connect” within every site, not confined to or benefiting any one network. This will create the segue-way to the era of social colonization as predicted by Forrester.

This need is of particular, perhaps even consequential, interest to brands as they will spend an insurmountable amount of time, resources, and money trying to engage in noteworthy conversions across multiple networks of interest.

3. The era of social colonization – Deemed as the next stage of social evolution, which will emerge as soon as this year, tools such as OpenID and Facebook connect will enable individuals to freely journey from network to network. Forrester believes that we will be able to do so with our social graph in tact, but I believe that the initial phase of social colonization will make a general identity portable between networks. The portability of corresponding data, social objects, and friendships we maintain in each network becomes the Holy Grail.

For consumers, surfing the Web is no longer a lonely experience. Forrester foresees the release of new browsers and frictionless, uncomplicated technologies that allow people to truly surf the Web with friends or see what they’re doing in real-time.

Like we’re already witnessing or hearing (depending on your status on the  invitation list), Google Wave represents the ability to centralize and aggregate user activities and collaboration across the Web and across multiple platforms.

Forrester also observes that this era of colonization will leverage the recommendations of peers within the communities where individuals are active. Brands can capitalize on this behavior by instilling and engendering advocacy through direct engagement, blogger relations in the magic middle, and also via sponsored conversations.

This will serve as the bridge to social context.

4. The era of social context – Starting in 2010, social networks and sites will recognize the preferences of users, but more significantly, they will also recognize personal identities and relationships to customize the experience based on preference and behavior.

While this technology already powers, at varying levels, dedicated networks such as Trusted Opinion and Yelp, this functionality will be inherent to future networks using technology similar to Baynote to leverage the Wisdom of the Crowds as it inspires the personalization of content for each individual. Baynotes believes that the Web, and sites in particular, can learn from collective intelligence to improve the experience based on the behavior of crowds over individuals.

In the near future, much of the content will be automated, but will still rely on the explicit express of individuals to improve the experience. As Forrester notes, “Portable IDs mean you’ll be able to flip a switch to tell Nike you’re a woman who runs 12 miles a week and immediately see the shoes that are best for you — along with input from experiences of your running buddies.”

I believe that the combination of semantic and collective intelligence systems will improve the content and overall interaction within sites and social networks over time.

5. The era of social commerce – In 2011 – 2012, social networks will eclipse corporate Web sites and CRM systems. Forrester believes that communities will become a driving force for innovation and as such, companies will be forced to formally cater to communities, signifying the trading of power towards connected customers.

The Dawn of SRM

While Forrester predicts the era of Social Commerce, the future of the social Web as I see it, starts to embrace a corporate philosophy and supporting infrastructure that migrates away from CRM and even sCRM to one of Social Relationship Management or SRM. This will usher in the fifth era as observed by Forrester. And, SRM is also acutely cognizant of and in harmony with VRM (Vendor Relationship Management). Championed by Doc Searls, Chris Carfi, among others, VRM is the opposite of CRM, capsizing the concept of talking at or marketing to customers and shifting the balance of power in relationships from vendors to consumers. As such, systems are created to empower consumer participation and sentiment and improve products and services with every engagement.

While some believe that relationships aren’t technically manageable, in the world of business and a vibrant and influential social Web, it is not a question. And for all intents and purposes, they’re still personable.

The Social Web is distributing influence beyond the customer landscape, allocating authority amongst stakeholders, prospects, advocates, decision makers, and peers. SRM recognizes that whether someone recommended a product, purchased a product, or simply recognized it publicly, in the end, each makes an impact on behavior at varying levels.

Therefore customers are now merely part of a larger equation that also balances vendors, experts, partners, and other authorities. In the realm of SRM, influence is distributed and it is recognizes wherever and however it takes shape.

SRM is a doctrine aligned with a humanized business strategy and supporting technology infrastructure and platform. SRM recognizes that all people, no matter what system they use, are equal. It represents a wider scope of active listening and participation across the full spectrum of influence mapped to specific department representatives within the organization using various lenses for which to identify individuals where and how they interact.

From Adoption to Sophistication, No Social Network is an Island

Forrester recognizes that the past five years of Social Media evolution have focused on growth and adoption, but anticipates that the next stage of advancement  is dedicated to improving social functionality. I would also add personalization and portability. The biggest opportunity for the expansion of social networks is to build bridges between these isolated islands to deliver a more fulfilling, meaningful and productive experience. As I see it, we will start to see a the social web not as a collection of distributed islands, but as one greater collective better known as a human network – a contextual and relationship-based network that consists of like-minded individuals no matter where their profile resides.

In the near-term, the future of the Social Web starts with our online identity.

Whereas in Social Media, content is still king, in the business of social networking, data is its currency. I believe that everything starts with empowering the individual with the ability to host one secure profile/identify online that would serve existing and emerging social networks across the Web. OpenID, for example, provides central and protect login credentials for users, connecting identities to other third-part networks including Google, PayPal, AOL, MySpace, among others. Perhaps the future lies with making data mobile while still providing value to the economics of social networks. DataPortability.org is working with some of the most renowned networks to enable users to bring their identity, friends, conversations, files and histories with them, without having to manually add them to each new service. Each of the services we choose to use can draw on this information relevant to the context within each network. As our experiences and connections accumulate and change corresponding data, this information will update on other sites and services if permitted, without having to revisit others to re-enter or re-create it.

The future of the Social Web must begin with data portability to accelerate proliferation throughout Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation adoption system. The lack of it might serve as either the “chasm” that hinders mainstream adoption or the monopolization of user data by a few dominant players.

How do you envision the future of the Social Web?

Connect with Brian Solis on:
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Mobile providers and device manufacturers are finally realizing the importance of platform marketplaces, and the necessity for nurturing good relationships with members of the developer community. In the past two weeks we’ve seen a handful of initiatives being announced from AT&T, Blackberry, T-Mobile and Verizon. They all have something in common–they’re making some big promises for the developer community, selling them on greater access to their respective customers.

This all comes shortly after Apple announced it had reached the 1 billion mark for downloaded apps through its own mobile marketplace, which features products for just the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Yes, that’s a lot of apps. And it’s a lot of money for Apple, as well as the creators behind the downloaded applications. As more mobile network providers shift their revenue generators from voice calls to data plans, such marketplaces only make sense.

There are several factors involved, contributing to this trend. At the core is the fact that mobile and PC devices are blurring their distinctive lines, creating a device that’s all-encompassing for just about every one of our media, entertainment, work and communication needs. That means that the mobile industry itself needs to be able to continuously shift gears, because it won’t be a service for just voice calls and basic data plans for much longer.

A major driving force in the need for mobile apps has also been the permeating presence of social networking, which easily carries over from mobile to PC devices, and from the virtual to the real world. In the past three years we’ve seen mobile integration for social networking sites limited to basic photo sharing and status updates to an unlimited number of features you can use for the main actions on these sites.
The socialability of mobile applications has also evolved to include games and many other types of apps that were once present on social networks. These marketplaces on social networks and mobile devices are making it easier for applications to bridge the gap and spur the conversion of mobile and PC devices.

Having a strong platform marketplace is going to be key for the future of all the mobile networks. It ties in with the growing virtual goods trend, the support of the developer community, and the ability to meet the demand of consumers. This all goes towards stimulating a certain economic niche which will only grow in size and customization, making mobile platform marketplaces all the more important in the near future.

by Brian Solis

Following my trip to Hamburg for the Next09 conference, I flew to Stockholm Sweden to serve as one of the keynote speakers at Disruptive Media hosted by Annika Lidne and Bjorn Falkevik. It was an incredible and inspiring opportunity to meet and learn from the catalysts who are changing the media and communications industry in Sweden. Fellow new PR and social media pioneers Steve Rubel and Chris Heuer also joined me.

Extending the discussion of the Social Economy I reviewed during Next09, I explored the separation of the “Me” from Social Media and the advantages of a holistic practice of concerted listening and ongoing observation to shape our participation in the Social Web.

Collectively, we all share the need to discover who we are and why matter to those with whom we wish to connect. But, we should also share a common desire to rise above the noise and establish a formidable and valuable online presence and defined human network that transcends from the online world to the real world.

Why is anyone better off for following or friending us?

As a digital society, we are individually investing in our social capital spurred by unconscious and also deliberate acts that unknowingly convey complacence and fuel an ambition to acquire notoriety and recognition.

Self-importance versus self awareness…

While we are captivated by the ability to broadcast through the statusphere and in the process, procure friends and followers, we loose sight of the true opportunity represented by the Social Web. It’s not the ability to share what we want, when we want. It’s not the rewards of popularity and the illusion of fandom. This is a chance and a means to forge a network of influence based on the expertise and knowledge we amass and share.

Social Capital isn’t the currency of The Social Economy after all, it is merely a stature that is representative of what we share, the relationships we earn, and the perception others form based on our participation and contribution in social networks and IRL (in real life).

Attention has officially emerged as the portal to the Social Economy and in order to capture it, we must create or share content so intriguing, relevant, and thoughtful that it forces action and ideally triggers a response.

Content is still king and therefore information symbolizes the true currency of the Social Economy.

Twitter, Facebook, TweetDeck, FriendFeed, Seesmic, PeopleBrowsr, Tweetie, et al, have emerged as our attention dashboards. It’s where we share, update, consume, and learn. We click away and return based on the content that flows through our timeline.  It’s the ideas we share, the personality we portray, the stories we tell, the individuals we spotlight, and the dissemination of the things that inspire and teach us that increase our chances of capturing attention to connect and motivate.

DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION?

Sometimes we benefit from the art of practicing restraint in order to breathe in the essence of the community we wish to galvanize. The Social Web is not a right, it should be embraced as a privilege. In the end, we earn the attention and the relationships we earn and nurture.

We must transform how we participate and engage online to shift from talking “at” people to investing in the collective consciousness of those communities we wish to influence, foster, and promote.

We must believe we have something to learn.

We must have something of value to share.

None of this is Social “Me”dia, it’s about the journey we share and not the destination. This is our time to contribute to a more meaningful and mindful future of media and communications. Our culture and societal values are ours to define – for better or for worse. The question is, whether or not we take responsibility for the social physics that shape its direction and governance.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story…

Chris Heuer

Annika Lidne

Paula Marttila

Henriette Weber

Björn Falkevik

Brian Solis

Pictures of Stockholm, Sweden…

Please visit my albums on Flickr for more pictures from Disruptive Media and Stockholm Sweden.

Connect with me on:
Twitter, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Plaxo, Plurk, Identi.ca, BackType, or Facebook

by Brian Solis

I’m just returning from my trip to Next09 in Hamburg Germany where I had the privilege to serve as one of the event’s keynote presenters among a cast of some of those whom I most revere. During my session, I discussed how the event’s theme, “The Share Economy,” equated to the Social Economy and the laws of diminishing attention.

We’re constantly struggling and learning how to discover and in turn, personify our place within the perpetually evolving social universe.

It is the ongoing saga of bridging the distances between who we are and who we want to be and furthermore, manifesting this presence outward.

I believe we are creating our online persona with every status update, tweet, video, picture, review, comment, and post, we share. We’re forging networks through a fusion of traditional relationships and friendships and also contextually – following and friending those whom we admire and respect based on their ideas, vision, and experience. It’s how we share, discover and learn. The nature for how we view and establish relationships is evolving before us and eventually we will change how we interact based on the contextual network we’ve built. Most of your “friends” don’t care about your profession exploits. Concurrently, your peers and professional contact are not better off for knowing anything about your personal endeavors.

There will be a collision and ensuing fallout.

What’s next?

Multiple Personality “Order.”

Don’t be surprised if eventually, if for only a short time, we maintain multiple online personas in the networks that are important to us as a consumer and also as a producer.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story:

Next09

Andrew Keen

Stowe Boyd

Chris Heuer

Andrea Vascellari

Brian Solis and Dennis Howlett

Nicole Simon, Tobias Kaufmann, Martin Recke

Stephanie Frasco

Stowe Boyd, Matthias Lufkens, Dennis Howlett

Pictures of Hamburg and other things that caught my eye:

For more pictures from Hamburg and Next09, please visit my album on Flickr.

Connect with me on:
Twitter, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Plaxo, Plurk, Identi.ca, BackType, or Facebook