Social Tools for Social Service and Communications

It’s also important to evaluate and utilize services that track conversations and relevant topics (services such as Technorati, Blogpulse, Twitter, FriendFeed, or Google Blog Search). Then you can assess which of these tools enables you to proactively monitor memes and individual instances that determine your level of engagement. Your participation also sets the stage for perception management and reduces the risk of negative discussions publicly snowballing.

Social Media isn’t limited to blogs and communities. In the new world of PR, marketing, and service, we must find and participate in the relevant and potentially influential conversations taking place across the Social Web. In fact, Social Media is fueling social networks (which are springing up everywhere as niche communities based on different topics) and enabling us to find and host conversations related to brands and products. For example, we can create Facebook groups and Fan Pages. We can find or build dedicated networks for our brands or services on social networks such as Ning. We can create and monitor a dedicated product page on GetSatisfaction. We can also search other related networks. We have incredible opportunities to converse with real people who hunger for content, information, and community (and, in the process, perhaps influence groups of like-minded people).