In the spirit of trying to get a bit of discussion going in the comments section here at The Curbside Marketer once again (and to have a bit of fun), I propose to you a question: If you could make one social network just disappear from the Internet, which would it be?
Personally, just to stir things up a little bit, I’m going to go with Facebook. Admittedly, I do love Facebook and would hate to see it go for my personal use, but the thought of it disappearing is an interesting one.
On a personal level, it may encourage some people to return to that whole human interaction thing instead of poking, following, etc. (you’re right…probably not). Actual stalking complaints may rise, since cyber-stalking would be a little more difficult. We would even have to resort to other sites to store photos. All of this, I suppose, would be only until everyone found the next service to flock to, like Google+.
What’s really fascinating, though, is thinking about the brand side. Think of all of the brands that have spent thousands and thousands of dollars on ads, apps, and campaigns driven to get “Likes.” What would they do? My guess is cry a little bit.
After the tears have washed away all of the Facebook rainbows and unicorns, what is the brand left with? When a fan Liked a Page that’s in a forest that’s already been cut down, does it make a sound? (What???) It’s sort of beautiful to think about actually. What better kick in the pants by taking away a basket that so many people put all of their eggs in. The truest test of whether your brand was built on a strategy or based on a platform.
Of course, if you’ve had the right approach all along, then you should be able to regroup pretty quickly and continue reaching your customers and fans in other manners.
Or, if you’ve REALLY been doing a good job, they will come looking for you.
Image by Walt Jabsco.
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