Thanks to Mashable I came across this interesting portrayal of the current social media landscape made by xkcd. If you think social media is just Facebook and Twitter, just take a look at wikipedia’s list of social networks; there are more networks than you can imagine.
Because there are so many different social media players who are trying to accomplish different things and target different people, it is interesting to see them presented in a visual manner as opposed to the list from above. This map idea is perfect for showing the current “world” or “landscape” of social media (ok I’m done with the puns). The aspect I really like about this graphic is how they broke everything down within the technological realm and made everything fit within each other where appropriate.
Here’s the biggest take-away from this representation. It’s obvious that Facebook is the powerhouse in the current scenario, Twitter has some pull, and after that it becomes a mess. Don’t overlook the other players when trying to increase awareness. Sure Facebook and Twitter have the most users, but other smaller niche site might be better targeted to your target market. The smaller niche sites also have less users, so therefore it will be easier to get the attention of your customers.
So when it comes to gaining awareness online, try and think outside the box.
Where do you and your business reside in the world of social media? Does anyone have vacation homes in countries other than Facebook and Twitter?
