DUKKY

by Kristen | July 16, 2009

The beauty of social networks rests in their ability to filter the noise of the internet and surface high quality and relevant information.

For instance, on Twitter I follow people I trust who are talking about subjects of interest like online marketing, social media, finance, and journalism. My Facebook friends keep me updated on my social circles, even when I’m living on the other side of the country. And LinkedIn’s industry groups connect me with insightful articles and discussions.

Yet social networks are constantly polluted by voices that care little for quality or privacy. Overly eager marketers, spammers, and other wily strangers often infiltrate my personal streams of information. I have to work to keep all of my accounts spam free.

Fortunately, new tools are doing more and more of the filtering for me. One of my favorites is Aardvark. Started by a handful of ex-Google employees, Aardvark is a new kind of search. I can IM a question to Aardvark and it crawls my extended social network to find a quality answer as quickly as possible. There’s no advertising and I have yet to get a spammy answer.  But it’s reasonable to believe that as the tool grows in popularity, marketers will look for ways to insert their messages into the flow of information. Fortunately, I think the Aardvark team is smart enough to build some sort of marketer repellent into their service.

Why don’t more marketers take the hint?

Consumers don’t wan’t to be  subjected to irrelevant information. We use online technologies to improve the quality and efficiency of our lives. We don’t appreciate interruptions (and we’re getting better at ignoring them.) We do appreciate tools that help us accomplish our goals (and we’re quick to adopt them.)

Marketers who understand the consumer mindset relative to social networks and who can create valuable content that improves lives (not products that improve lives) have the best shot at successfully inserting their messaging into the flow of information on social networks. But “simply being there” is not a strategy.  Loud, annoying, irrelevant information  buzzes like a mosquito. It might occasionally get a bite but most often it will be swatted away.

Dukky has figured out how to provide marketers with social networking tools to help them fit organically in the social space. But we’re wrestling with one big question: do all marketers belong in social networks? Scott Couvillion, Dukky’s CMO, likes to say  “It reminds me of the rule of spandex, just because you CAN wear it, doesn’t mean you SHOULD.”

If you’re creating high quality information and sending it to people who care then you’re probably pretty popular at the social networking party. But if you won’t take the time to figure out who to approach and how to talk to them – well then you might as well not show up.

Do you agree?

Image Source: Flickr