Comments on: Hold my calls! I’m trying to figure out why one brand of online network is better than another! http://www.brandsimple.com/blog/2008/03/31/hold-my-calls-im-trying-to-figure-out-why-one-brand-of-online-network-is-better-than-another/ Keeping your brand simple to succeed. Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:26:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.3 by: JDS1 http://www.brandsimple.com/blog/2008/03/31/hold-my-calls-im-trying-to-figure-out-why-one-brand-of-online-network-is-better-than-another/#comment-38 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:56:21 +0000 http://www.brandsimple.com/blog/2008/03/31/hold-my-calls-im-trying-to-figure-out-why-one-brand-of-online-network-is-better-than-another/#comment-38 Great point, Allen. I also have profiles on all the major networking sites, but find myself spending less and less time with them. Why? I think it's to your points of a.) these sites are becoming commodoties and not really offering a differentiating factor; b.) too time consuming! If I were to compare each of the popular social networking sites from a branding persepctive, I would say that LinkedIn has done the best job thus far - carving out a specific niche and, for the most part, remaining relevantly different to its core group of users. However, copy-cat sites are popping up all the time and in order to survive I think they'll need to find a more sustainable advantage. If you're looking for a basis for comparison, I think search engines are a great example. The number of "search engines" that exist is astronomical. However, when you hear "search engine," you think Google. I beleive this is becasue of it's simple, relevant nature. Google provides more information, offers more products and is one of the largest companies in the world, yet visit their homepage and all you see is their logo, a few text links and a search bar. Social networks, and many companies for that matter, should take note. As a whole, I tend to feel that networking sites will eventually become a thing of the past, especially as digital media continues moving toward mobile. You speak a lot about brand "experience," and I believe the time it takes someone to keep up on all of their profiles will become too big a pain, equating to a negative experience and forcing us to find new, quicker ways of keeping in touch. Great point, Allen. I also have profiles on all the major networking sites, but find myself spending less and less time with them. Why? I think it’s to your points of a.) these sites are becoming commodoties and not really offering a differentiating factor; b.) too time consuming!

If I were to compare each of the popular social networking sites from a branding persepctive, I would say that LinkedIn has done the best job thus far - carving out a specific niche and, for the most part, remaining relevantly different to its core group of users. However, copy-cat sites are popping up all the time and in order to survive I think they’ll need to find a more sustainable advantage. If you’re looking for a basis for comparison, I think search engines are a great example. The number of “search engines” that exist is astronomical. However, when you hear “search engine,” you think Google. I beleive this is becasue of it’s simple, relevant nature. Google provides more information, offers more products and is one of the largest companies in the world, yet visit their homepage and all you see is their logo, a few text links and a search bar. Social networks, and many companies for that matter, should take note.

As a whole, I tend to feel that networking sites will eventually become a thing of the past, especially as digital media continues moving toward mobile. You speak a lot about brand “experience,” and I believe the time it takes someone to keep up on all of their profiles will become too big a pain, equating to a negative experience and forcing us to find new, quicker ways of keeping in touch.

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