Liveblogging "How Do Social Networks Fit Into Your Communications Strategy" by Brian Reich of EchoDitto. Co-author of Media Rules. Please excuse errors from writing quickly.

Why social networks are important: tech is becoming integral to every day life. We want to stay more connected and engaged via tech. Everything we do is informed by social interactions.

Two ways people use social networks:

1. Shiny object syndrome (i.e Everyone rushes to Facebook).
2. Niche social spaces around specific topics.

Every social network, at least 3,000 exist, offers some set of unique information or experiences to that community.

Social Networking Isnt for you if:
* your audience doesn't use it
* you don't have time to participate in it
* you can't give up control

He strongly recommends that you do not build your own.

Social networking about people, relationships and "little end media" (creating engaging, meaningful content).

"Online social networking involves connecting and sharing information with other like minded people via the Web"

Creating a social networking plan.

1. Goals: What is your goal? Why do you want to be a member of a social network? You need measurable, artiiculated goals.

2. Strategy: What is your strategy to meet that goal?

3. Tactics: What tools will you use?

4. Resources: How much do you have to spend? Aside from the time working on creating media, and time to have a conversation, most networks are free. If you build it yourself, it's not free.

Examples
Amazon.com Largest most influential social network in the world.
Care2 Large and easy to use. Reason they are successful is they get out of the way of their own user-base.
Changents He thinks it is the next generation of social networks for do-gooders. There are change agents who tell us what to read, where to give money, etc. This site is networks of these changents and their networks. You can use tools on the site to organize around an issue. There is cross-polination. It is succesful because it is extraordinarily niche.
Dodgeball and Twitter Mobile-based social network. Successful because most people aren't in front of their computer all day, but they always have their phone.
Eons Social network geared towards boomers. Number one topic on Eons is death. Age-appropriate social network. Successful niche network: Interests of a particular age group.
Flickr Social networks don't have to be about text, getting together, or place based. It can be about images and it can tie to other social networks.
Facebook Holds the function of what college students want from a social network. Zuckerberg said two things at SXSW that were important: 1. It was designed to make communications more efficient. The origin of the "poke" is that you contact someone you saw in a bar, or in a class. 2. It was created to bring social communities together to bring about change in society.
Gather "Social network for really, really smart people." Gather is about long, deep discussions about literature. Conversations are moderated and guided by authors, experts, or people who know the book well.
LinkedIn LIke a big professional rolodex. It is a way to say, if I ever need to pitch you, I can claim you are my friend. He links to everyone he gets business cards from at conferences.
MySpace was created as a platform for bands and independent filmmakers to create audiences. Co-opted by the big bands. It is still very good at music and independent film promotion. It has an impact session where it focuses on social issues. Example: Burrito Project In weeks, 50,000 people gave burritos to homeless people in their communities.
YouTube It is a social network too. Pogue's video was #1 for a while because people saw it and sent it around.
Ning Community of communities. Platform where any community can be on equal footing with any other communities.

Most nonprofits try too hard on social networks. Keep it simple like the Burrito Project.

Don't get lazy with mass mailings. It is all about relationships.

Getting Started
1. Join/become a member where your audience or the people you want to communicate with are.
2. Listen/participate. Don't lurk. Participate authentically.
3. Contribute/Experiment
4. Energize/Support. You can't just do your stuff. You have to support others too.
5. Embrace/Empower. At some point the audience is going to say, "This is awesome," and they're going to start to do things for your organization that may not follow your comfort plan of how you would do it. You have to give up control.

You are only as strong as your last transaction: in this case it is relationship interactions. There are tons of things vying for people's attention and if you mess up your transaction, you go to the bottom of their attention "list."

He thinks success will come from more niche social networks and niche search engines.