More and more people on the Web are looking for solutions for the storm clouds of data and services cluttering their minds. It seems everyone is a member of every website or service out there. From Facebook to YouTube we see the same faces over and over again, and there still seems to be no end to the average person's daily journey through accounts after account.
Social aggregators and social media aggregators have been designed to organize this chaos, but still we scramble about wasting time with just too much "stuff".
However, the users are somehow unable to understand what social aggregators are all about. Some use them as “traffic boosters” believing that being part of such a community and submitting content will somehow boost the Alexa trafficGoogle PageRanks of their sites. While these advantages are obviously there, social aggregation has a more in-depth meaning and functionality, but there’s still a long way to go for an aggregation service to truly become a complete platform.
Just ‘Cuz it Says "Social"
The biggest problem with some of the aggregation sites is that they too are full of "stuff". Facebook is not really a true aggregator, as there is no real way to store data - only integrate or communicate with services. Even this utility does not over ride the "stuff" Facebook has "stuffed" into their platform to give people still more "stuff" to do. So, we are all stuffed with so many time consuming tasks and arrangements of data that we are becoming stifled. ranks. Other users exploit the linking functionality of the social aggregators believing that the strategy will benefit their search engine positioning or even boost the
Social aggregation sites like FriendFeed and Profilactic offer still more Twitter like utility that allows us to share our "stuff" with other people, but the stuff we share is not really data so much as snippets of a lifestream. Here we sit, stuffed with meaningless pieces of stuff in most cases, and wondering what or where to put our upcoming stuff.
Filling a Niche
Outside of primarily bookmarking/community sites like StumbleUpon, DiigoParticls, there is perhaps only one true social aggregation library out there - Secondbrain. This site fell behind some of the others early on because of unforeseen backend technical problems, but from the start the site had the potential to house not only a vast library of content, but also the tools people need to manage their library.
FriendFeed, as mentioned, is not really built for more than transitory sharing of services, while Secondbrain has cloned lifestreaming and retains the content management aspects. Particls too, could fill the next niche as an "all in one", but Secondbrain is closest to that goal. The social networking aspect is still incomplete at Secondbrain, but as the service develops further we can expect more improvement every day. and
Modified Feed Readers
We should really make startups name themselves better. Calling some of these sites social communities is really a stretch in most cases. It is kind of like calling the grocery store "the social grocery store" or something to that effect. They are only social in the aspect that they allow people to "share stuff" with others. The ways in which these "things" are shared is often not much more complex or social than emailing them. Truly sharing and within a community environment seems like it should entail more than showing someone what you had for lunch on Twitter.
Secondbrain and a couple of the others mentioned are making a nice go at this. Providing advanced tools and a space to store data is pretty much the bottom line for being a community aggregator in my book. Check out a couple of these sites and see if you do or don't agree. Most of the "feed" type sites have a way to go before being a community - they are just modified feed readers in the end.
Early Users Win on the Long Term
Social aggregation is still at its dawn, but early users always had a lot more to earn in the long term than later adopters. Social bookmarking sites like digg
What many web users still need to understand is that social aggregation is not just a “trend” but a logical step towards Web 3.0. This is the time to join such services and start building authority within the community. Authority will eventually lead to a broader reach and higher social media equity. As to how to build authority… well, that’s another story, but for now just remember: join a social aggregator (my recommendation is obviously Secondbrain), connect with other users and start contributing with quality content. and StumbleUpon are the clear proof that a top user’s contribution to the content weights more than content submitted by newcomers.
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Related Links:
5 Social Bookmarking Benefits Guaranteed To Increase Your Traffic - By Nicole
What's the Personal Benefit of Social Bookmarking? - By Steve
Tips on Choosing a Social Bookmarking Tool - By Marchall
Online Videos:
What is Social Bookmarking and How do I Use It?
Mihaela Lica, public relations and SEO expert, is the managing partner at Pamil Visions PR. She writes for several popular blogs and represents a number of Silicon Valley and other international startup companies. For public relations inquiries please visit Pamil Visions PR. You can read Mihaela's personal blog at eWritings. As a bonus, download a free SEO book for WordPress blogs .
