Wikification and Social Networking

    Still think wikification isn’t the most powerful force in branding today? MySpace.com, owned by Intermix Media, does no advertising and has spent almost nothing on content. Yet its music-based appeal and potential is so great News Corp., the worldwide media powerhouse, just purchased Intermix for $580 million.

    Less than two years old, MySpace.com has more than 16 million monthly users who visit the home pages of more than 200,000 music groups. It ranks five among all Web sites in terms of page views, according to ComScore Media Metrix. Visitors spend hours downloading music and checking out personal ads, blogs, video games and chat rooms. Its reach is so great that such groups as Black Eyed Peas, REM and Nine Inch Nails have introduced their latest releases on the site. "They were the biggest debuts in each band's history," says Courtney Holt, director for new media. Advertisers include Procter & Gamble, Sony Pictures and NBC.

    MySpace.com is considered to be a premier example of social networking, where those who share common interests or experiences join together in virtual communities (with an occasional offline component). Wikipedia estimates that there are more than 200 social networks, such as Friendster, Tribe.net and LinkedIn. However, that number seems low.

    In many ways, brands are much like social networks since they unite those with common interests or requirements. Often these interactions occur online. But brand aficionados can also get together elsewhere. Tupperware and Harley-Davidson confabs are just two of many examples. It is within these social networks that much of a brand’s reputation is formed, or “wikified.” How the brand is “positioned” is almost always irrelevant; people will always believe a fellow consumer much more than the corporate party line.

    The social networking aspect of wikification also represents new brand-building power. For decades, up-and-coming bands have pursued record companies for deals and that one-in-a-million shot at stardom. But MySpace.com has let bands wikify themselves into brands. For example, the UK firm Engineer Records tracked down and signed a deal with The Moirai because of their popularity and cult fandom. By the same token, Knopf picked up on Christopher Paolini’s best-seller fantasy Eregon based on its popularity after being self-published.

    In some ways, MySpace.com represents a moral for brands in the customer economy. At one time, Friendster was the leader in social networking applications. But it has faded to fewer than 1 millions views monthly, mainly because it sought to control member online experiences in order to ensure safety and trust. By contrast, MySpace.com is controlled by members, thanks to a laissez-faire spirit and multiple advanced tools that allow members to customize their Web sites and blogs.

Comments

[Bruce DeBoer]

Here's the thing: You're dead on when you talk about how consumers mold brand image. Why is this new? It's not. Why does it seem new? Because web networking give more control to consumers.

Wikification is a good way of talking about this phenomenon but the phenomenon of Wikification is – from my point of view – little more than an alternative marketing mix.

It’s one that concentrates more on product than promotion. Good marketers have always listened to customers. The difference now is that customers have more power as a result of networking so it becomes more important that ever to listen and adjust product design.

I wrote more about it here: http://brucedeboer.typepad.com/marketingandcreativity/2005/06/brand_wikificat.html