Re: FN-FORUM: Thoughts on social tools, bookmarking and newsfeeds anyone?

date posted 25th March 2008 10:48

Duncan,

If you have a community/news driven web site, then enabling a "Post to
Facebook" type link is a good way of publicising it and is kind of the
next step up from the old email a friend links. Effectively you are
posting just one news article to the social networking site so that you
are actually providing the content and interest that can then be passed
around that community with a link back to your site.

The downside is that you *are* being driven towards Facebook et complete
with all it's games and distractions. I guess the point of balance is to
make sure you have sufficiently interesting content to pull in more
readers than you might lose. If everyone is using Facebook already, I
reckon you are on to a winner before you start.

I have a Joomla web site for my cricket team, but I have to post the
news to everyone on Facebook otherwise they don't go and look at it!

Duncan Glendinning wrote:
> Good Morning,
>
> Hope you guys won't mind me resposting this as I would really like
> your comments, and this thread has probably got lost in the hundreds
> of emails you have to get through after easter.
>
> A client of mine, whose website is a government-funded information
> type website, which has recently been tasked with increasing sign-ups
> by 5% to their site, is considering linking in with social networking
> sites and other tools such as facebook, digg, furl, stumbleupon, etc..
> I am sure you guys will be wanting far more information in order to
> provide me with a more informed response, but due to the sensitive
> nature this project this is all the background I am able to provide
> you with.
>
> Now my belief is that because of the nature of their site, they should
> be making news and creating the features that make the likes of
> facebook and others want or need to link to them, not the other way
> around...as once you haven sent your visitors away, they will go there
> direct and you have lost your traffic and all hope of signup. No? The
> key I think is in developing the features on their site rather than
> looking to other sites for them to compensate.
>
> That said, some of these social bookmarking tools are really good, and
> I am wondering what your thoughts are?
> I know the BBC as a good example is now linking to Digg and other
> bookmarking tools, and things like RSS newsfeed readers are definitely
> in, for example. Do you know of serious government-funded websites
> which use these tools that I can take as an example? Which would be
> those you recommend we tie into?
>
> Sorry for the vagueness, I assure you any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
>
> Best,
> Duncan
>
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