Boomerang

These days the only thing that gets between me and the dozens of blogs I peruse each day is my thin framed glasses. I consider social media the main focus of my work life, and it wasn’t until my recent visit to Brazil with some friends that I realized blogs and social networks are an integral part of my personal life as well.

Before leaving for my dream trip, my “travel planner” and dear friend told me countless travel tips and personal stories she read on various travel blogs. In Rio de Janeiro, we met some wonderful people who appeared to be close buddies, but we learned that they met just a few days prior through social networking sites while looking for travel companions. What a great way to have some new friends to hang out with upon arrival.

As our trip came to a close, eight of us exchanged contact information and promised to “MySpace” each other once we returned home. In addition to email addresses, we shared personal web pages, IM screen names, and the URLs to shared photo sites where we agreed to upload the evidence from our crazy time at Carnival. Of course there will be a filtered set of photos for the family and coworkers - don’t want to have any of those online persona issues.

Now that we are all back in our respective countries, I’m interested to see how our in-person friendships translate to cyberspace relationships. We started the trip using social networks to find information and people, and now we return to those same networks in an effort to maintain our connections. We’ve come full circle using social media - just like a Boomerang to Brazil and back again!

There’s no denying that Wikipedia has become the most popular encyclopedia on the web, with a collection of facts on almost every subject in the world. The site has generated over 6 million articles in more than 250 languages – truly a global phenomenon. Not bad for a site that just celebrated its 6th birthday, employs fewer than 10 people, and relies on an army of volunteers to produce content. That’s the power of Wikipedia’s “wiki” format – anyone who creates an account on the site can contribute and edit existing pages on any topic. However, a recent scandal has placed Wikipedia in the spotlight of scrutiny regarding its stance on contributors to the site.

Last month, it was discovered that Microsoft paid a blogger to edit a Wikipedia entry. Microsoft claims it didn’t want to edit the content directly, so it brought in a third party to provide “balance.” This has raised serious questions regarding the ethics of the site and what restrictions, if any, can be placed on author contributions. Brian Bergstein of the Associated Press asks “why is it so bad to pay someone to write something on Wikipedia?” After all, isn’t it about providing deep knowledge on a subject, regardless of payment?

In the past, Wikipedia has blocked PR agencies from making contributions due to presumed bias. That’s absurd. What Wikipedia needs is more authors, not less! Truth be told, mass participation is surprisingly low on the site. Eric Goldman points out that 72% of all articles on the site have been written by less than 1% of Wikipedia users. That’s not much of a democracy in terms of content created, if you ask me.

I hope that if anything comes from the Microsoft debacle, it’s that scads of people will flock to Wikipedia and post content for the first time. Just make sure content is unbiased and has validity, folks. If not, Wikidumper is waiting in the wings. Billed as the “official appreciation page for the best of Wikipedia rejects,” Wikidumper may just take your entry and show the world how ridiculous it really is – like this one about chickenology. (If you’re curious about official Wikipedia guidelines, read the “Neutral Point of View” article. )

A friend recently told me that during the interview process he does a quick “MySpace background check” on potential employees. Apparently, using that not-so-secret online identity for information gathering is a growing phenomenon. This public accessibility to online identity has some people thinking twice about how they portray themselves in social networks and for good reason.

Developing online personas and profiles prompt a new kind of self reflection where we must choose who we want to be in an explicit way. What is the best way to project oneself onto the screen in a virtual community? In the online world, each word, each photo, and each comment left from a “connection,” says something about who we are or who we’re not. The flexibility and power provided by the ability to create this “second self,” is the underlying issue for fears about online safety, questions about who is a reputable information source, and perhaps most importantly, concerns about how projective media is transforming human psychology.

Lifestyle blog, Lifehacker, reports that Facebook has recently opened its door to any and all users (it was previously limited to students) and is also in talks with businesses such as Viacom to be acquired. Early reports say a sale could start at $780 million. This could put them at the top of the heap and give MySpace a run for their money.

BBC News reports that Google has signed a $900 million deal with News Corp to become the sole provider of search and advertising on Myspace.com and other sites owned by Fox Interactive Media, excluding the FoxSports.com property. News Corp purchased Myspace.com last year for $580 million.

TechCrunch has an interesting article up about Bix, an online service (currently in invite-only beta) that allows sponsors to easily create and control contests. Sponsors can allow entrants to submit video, audio, or photo content and can even allow voting if they are really after the “American Idol” feel. For marketers, Bix provides an opportunity to interact with target customers and provides opportunities not just to increase brand visibility, but to offer such things as coupons and offers.

PaidContent reports that the National Hockey League is planning to launch a social network prior to the 2006/2007 hockey season. The site will be named NHL Connect and will allow users to create personal profile pages and share their interests and ideas with others. Users will also be able to share photos, podcasts, video casts, links to articles and content, or even RSS feeds.