I’ve been watching with great interest at friends, luminaries and publications have commented with varying levels excitement and, dare I say – passion! – about Facebook’s acquisition of FriendFeed. The headlines from articles and blog posts speak for themselves:
Facebook’s next step in crushing Twitter
Facebook Buys FriendFeed: What Does It Mean?
Facebook buys FriendFeed: Why this is a good thingFacebook buys FriendFeed: Is this a big deal?
FriendFeed Blog: FriendFeed accepts Facebook friend requestFriendFeed Buy Helps Facebook Compete With Google and Twitter
… but while I think this is significant from the point-of-view of a user who watches more conversations through my Firefox plugin than I participate in, when I put my Web strategist hat on, I don’t really share the same feelings as my colleagues on the matter.
Why?
Well, I am a strategist, and as much as I love some of the tools that are part of the job (e.g. Twitter, LinkedIn), I feel compelled to be as agnostic as possible towards them.
I see this purchase and the reactions to it, asa classic strategy versus tactics discussion that is not, in my opinion, happening enough.
The headlines that hit blogs – and later discussion with colleagues – has confirmed this for me… there is an interesting business strategy at play in the deal, but what does it really mean for businesses using social media?
My opinion? Not a damn thing.
If a business’ social media strategy includes using FriendFeed as a tool, it’s a consideration, but as a tool, the strategy any consultant or company has created for them should take the comings and goings of companies and changes such as these.
What happens to a company when they’ve put all their gusto behind Twitter, for example, and a business model emerges that makes it a less attractive means of customer service and lead generation than it is now? Every strategy and, more importantly, every strategist must be nimble and platform agnostic.
Which begs the question: How do you know who you should go to to seek counsel on your company’s social media strategy?
There’s no easy answer to this, but suffice it to say: Very carefully.
