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I recently moved into a new apartment and experienced one of the most tedious processes — changing over all the utilities. Thinking in terms of practicality, I left switching over my cable for last.
The full impact of this decision hit me Sunday night, a week into my new living arrangement, when I realized I would be unable to watch my favorite show, “True Blood,” on HBO.
Now, this might sound like a trivial problem, but as an avid Sookie Stackhouse fan, it was a matter of great importance to me. So how does all this irrelevant information tie back to social media? Turns out, social media ended up being the solution to all my problems — well, in terms of “True Blood,” that is.
I decided there must be, somewhere out there in cyberspace, a Web site that was streaming the television series. I pride myself on being able to find pretty much anything online, so I was frustrated when I came up empty. I'm a determined gal, so I decided to turn to another search engine: my Facebook account.
But Facebook isn't a search engine! Oh, but it is! Just not in the conventional "Google it" kind of way. I was searching for a recommendation from people I trusted. I went to my Facebook account and typed into my status "No HBO means no 'True Blood' tonight. Anyone know where I can find the show online for free?"
In less than five minutes I had six different friends leave updates to my status with links that carried the show online for free. I didn't have to register my e-mail or sign up for spam e-mail for a year, download a virus-ridden video player, or pay $9.95. It was fantastic.
Once I finished watching my episodes and my world fell nicely back into balance, I began to mull over the idea of social-media status feeds being the next big thing in terms of search-engine marketing. What makes more sense? Going to Google to find something or soliciting the help of a group of your family and friends who know you and will give you the consumer point of view?
For example, let’s say you need a recommendation for a restaurant. If you go to Google or Yahoo and type in "great places to go to dinner in Chicago," sure you’ll get a list; but if you go to Facebook, MySpace or Twitter and say, "Need a recommendation for dinner with friend from out of town tonight, nothing too pricy and a nice atmosphere; good jukebox selection a plus," you’ll get recommendations from people who most likely have been to the places they recommend or know someone who has. And the best part is the people recommending these places are people you trust — almost like an interactive Google personalized just for you, by people who like you (or at least they claim to on Facebook).
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Hitting the Email Inbox
Hitting the Email Inbox
