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Whilst on the subject of delicious.com, another example of the mainstream movement would be the depreciation of the old URL del.icio.us. This is a real shame in my view. The previous URL was more than simply a domain, it was a brand mark, a nice nod to the technology and the origins of the site. Now it’s simply another generic domain name, albeit one that more word of mouth friendly, that disappears into the noise.

I came across this on another blog under the title. “Brands Not Winning Friends On Social Nets: Report”

The report goes on to say “Many advertisers build branded social networking pages that broadcast content rather than inviting users to interact.”

And they wonder why they’re short of social buddies!

This points to a pretty fundamental misunderstanding by brands as to what’s motivating users online. As brands adapt to a new customer and communication landscape there are some lessons to be learnt along the way and this is one of the big ones.

It’s by no way a new idea in branding but still brands are getting it wrong.

Give your customers a reward, excite them, get them to enjoy spending time with you and they will. Customers don’t flock to the loudest shouter anymore, they move towards the one who’s giving the most. So don’t expect a heap of ‘friends’ if your just trailing your new TV ad on Facebook. That’s hardly even 1.1 let alone 2.0.