Weekend Reads: Social Networks, Marketing and Spec Work

 Can virtual communities make billions of dollars from their millions of connections?

This article put online from the print edition of The Economist, takes a look at how social networks have been faring, and how they plan to monetize in the future.

This is a good read if you are keeping tabs on the social media scene, or if you are interested in marketing on social networks.

Interview with Blair Enns’

Although written specifically for design firms, this piece is worthwhile for anyone who runs their own business or is involved in marketing. Some great quotes includes:

The only meaningful differentiator is depth of expertise

Also, increasingly it’s better to be a mediocre designer who writes well than a good designer who doesn’t write.

Success has as many variables as it does fathers. My clients’ successes that I’m most proudest of and most comfortable claiming some ownership in are the stories of personal transformation where, beyond winning new business, the owner of the firm finally feels like he is being treated with the respect he deserves.

When does a design contest actually end?

On the douche-baggery of crowd-sourcing websites, anti-spec watchdog site SpecWatch.info points out that at CrowsSPring.com a contest is never really over. The winning designer is still obliged to offer unlimited tweaks (for no additional charges).

 The Final Word On How Businesses Should Use Twitter

So enough of those social media expertz already. Twitter did reasearch on how businesses were leveraging on Twitter, and they've published their findings online for all to see. The site also contains case studies from recent successes such as Dell's.