James Burchill on Social Networks

A gentleman named James Burchill is my Obi-Wan Kenobi of Social Network Marketing. He has thought about social networking and created more practical insight than anyone I've found.

Recently, he wrote:


— "Ancient Memes and Mind Viruses

But is that all a successful social media site needs? A group of people and some cool technology - NO. The most important factor is much older and far simpler and lies buried deep within our primitive nature. Success is locked up in something called a meme, or if you prefer a more dramatic image, a “mind virus.”

Richard Dawkins introduced the concept of the “meme” and “memetics” in his book ‘The Selfish Gene’ referring to the imitative process whereby humans transmit ideas, values, beliefs, and practices to each other. The memes that catch on are conditioned by repetition and continued by subsequent generations.

Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches. Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by a process similar to how an infection spreads - ergo a mind virus.

But why did I mention ancient memes? Simply because I believe the most successful social sites leverage our oldest most ancient memes as well as our newest, and this allows us to embrace these base natures in a socially acceptable and even productive fashion. Consider how many social sites pander to aspects of our natures that as children we were discouraged from participating in: gossiping, time-wasting, forming cliques and more."

It is worth repeating my one little social networking insight here: Social Networks build "fans and friends' and it is up to you to convert them to suppliers, distributers, retailers, clients, and buyers. Build the "Fans and Friends" first, and then convert them when they and you are ready. Okay, that's the rock upon which I build everything.

James mentioned "memes" above. In another post, he suggests that Social Networks are no different from the early bulletin board systems (BBS) and service like The Source and CompuServe.

I would go further. I would contend that they are no different from the Elks, the Moose, my university fraternity, The Freemasons, and perhaps the Knights Templar. James said, Consider how many social sites pander to aspects of our natures that as children we were discouraged from participating in: gossiping, time-wasting, forming cliques and more." Yes, that also describes most of the "fraternal orders" I've ever belonged to!

So, in your attempts at marketing on social networks... something I'm doing now for my upcoming Novel "A Glint in Time" (plug plug) ... you have to swing wide and engage, engage, engage.

I will spare you ALL the details, but sufficient to say that the cycle now involves LINKED content on YouTube, Amazon.com (the two TOP social networking Websites) Facebook, Twitter, my Blogs, my Websites, LinkedIn. and other places.

Go read that stuff that Mr. Burchill writes. Feel the FORCE. -- FJD