written by Achintya Gupta
9 interesting developments in the space of online communities you should not have missed
The world of social technologies moves so fast that sometimes even catching up with the necessary becomes a difficult job. Hence we thought it might be a good idea to curate some of the most interesting happenings in the world of online communities.
Here are 9 interesting developments in the space of online communities you should not have missed.
Empire Avenue – The social media exchange network
This quarter saw the launch of a unique social network called Empire Avenue, where people invest in each other depending on their social media activity. Each profile has a default value in the network’s currency called ‘eaves’ and the value increases depending on their activity on the empire avenue network or other popular networks like Facebook, Twitter etc.
What is interesting about this network? – Whereas in networks like Facebook, people connect and share interesting stuff with other people in their lives, here people connect to invest in others and people raise their value through ‘karma’ or their online activities.
This is one of the first networks with tightly knit game dynamics, since people are getting points for their activities and investments, they are buying and selling stocks and spending virtual cash to get valuable stats. It is almost like a full-fledged virtual stock market but with profiles which can be people or brands.
You can try the network here and read @jowyang’s opinion here.
Starbucks partners with Lady Gaga for a scavenger hunt
In this quarter, Starbucks went Gaga with their scavenger hunt!
The coffee brand that understands social media best – Starbucks – partnered with Lady Gaga to launch a scavenger hunt social game. The game site takes people to clue cards, where each card marks the start of a trail. Players will be visiting blogs and Starbucks digital properties, decoding encrypted messages to win the contest. No points for guessing, but the clues are closely related to Lady Gaga.
The contest is being promoted through various social channels and has its own Facebook contest page. (reference)
LinkedIn files for an IPO – valued by public at more than 8.9 billion
In what can be said as the biggest internet IPO since Google’s debut in 2004, LinkedIn IPO (May 20th, 2011) set waves in the stock market when the public valued the company at (wait for it!!) $94 / share, that is more than double the $45 value at which the share was initially priced. Now that is a lot of public confidence on social media and networking!
This evaluation puts LinkedIn in USA 500 largest companies (source) and puts it in the range of companies like Red Hat, Tiffany & Co., Electronic Arts, Hyatt Hotels etc. Way to go Linkedin!
Footlocker launches Sneakerpedia – A Wikipedia for sneakers
The American sportswear and footwear retailer, Footlocker, launched a Wikipedia for sneakers in May 2011. The sneaker community, called Sneakerpedia.com, has got the footwear fan posting pics of shoe models, information about the model, history, personal sneaker stories and community members who love or own the shoe model
This is a unique sneaker community of its kind where people are creating content and conversations around the footwear they like. This is also a smart move by Footlocker since this community would help strengthening its sneaker positioning. Moving forward the community might like to see e-commerce integration to help buy the shoes they like.
Budweiser launches online reality contest
As a move to engage its audience on social web, Budweiser launched a reality contest in May, called ‘The Big Time’. The show is aimed to be a platform for people to take a shot at greatness and realize their greatest dreams. People will be competing to play with professional players, demonstrate classy outfits on the catwalk side by side with professional models, or get professional advice from star coaches and chefs.
Budweiser is using social networks to audition people and networks like Facebook and Renren are paving way for enthusiasts into the show. (news source)
NASA embraces slideshare to curate the best of its content
In the last quarter, NASA started using slideshare to help people know more about its missions. On NASA slideshare channel, called the NASA universe, you can find many interesting presentations like Launch of the Endeavour Space Shuttle, NASA’s orbiter fleet and NASA’s social media initiatives. NASA considers this slideshare channel as a way to curate some of the best NASA contest. We are sure this would be very exciting news for NASA fans and the slideshare community.
NASA’s slideshare presence adds another initiative to their already rich social media bucket where they are connecting with people. You can see NASA engaging their world not only through traditional channels like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube but also through online communities like it’s channel on challenge.gov, NASA tweetups and learning communities.
Apple launches support community
Apple has never been the most active company on social media channels. But in the last quarter it has launched an online support community for its customers. The support community is designed to help Apple product users ask and answer support questions to other users in the community. With less than 3 months since the support community launch, you can see some heave support action and user interaction taking place. (reference)
Google launches +1 button
As an addition to its social initiatives, Google has launched the +1 button that helps people recommend websites to those in their social circles. The concept is interesting since it has a direct impact on Google search results. So when you will +1 a link, the recommendations will reflect in the search results of people in your network. However the network here consists of people in your Gmail or Gtalk chat list, your Google contacts and people you are following on Google Reader and Buzz.
Till now, Google has struggle with social technologies. It would be interesting to see how it fares with the +1 button (reference)
Snooth launches a social game to wow wine lovers
World’s largest wine site, Snooth, has launched a social game to engage its wine lovers community. The social game called wine rack revolves around three stages, where in the first stage, the wine lovers research about wines and complete quizzes to increase their wine knowledge; in the second stage, they review wines for the community and in the third stage they win trophies to showcase their expertise. You can try the game by going to the wine rack.
We think this is a really interesting way to engage the audience through game dynamics. Not only this increases the user activity on the snoot site but also makes it a one stop shop to know more about wines, get interesting information and reviews.
If you think any more developments should reach this list, please let me know. Would love to update.
[This article is a part of Kuliza's quarterly social technology report, set to release by end of this quarter. Also as a matter of fact Kuliza helps companies plan and build online communities to engage their customers, partners and employees. For more information visit our ZaSocial services page]
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