Is it me or does it seem like there is a new social network or application that is going to be the next big thing in 2012? For every “surefire hit” like a Pinterest there are two or three Google Waves or Empire Avenues.  It is always hard to read the tea leaves when deciding whether or not to jump in with two feet or sit on the sidelines and let the audiences figure it out.

If you are like me, you’ve probably played around with a number of these new networks and had to decide whether or not they are right for you or your business. Don’t try to quantify the amount of time that you spend in this research phase because it will make your head spin and probably make you sick.

As you bucket these networks into winners and losers, you’re sure to have a few that are on the fringe of either being really awesome or being a complete waste of time. So it takes an honest effort to give these networks a try. I typically have a handful of these up live and have honed into four that I am really going to give the ol’ college try this year.

Buffer App – It is really easy to get caught up in the instant gratification of Twitter and share impulsively. I know I have and I’m sure you have, too. If you think you haven’t, log onto your public stream and look for quick bursts of Tweets sharing news stories or blog posts. Buffer lets you add stories to a queue that publishes the stories at set intervals. It also allows you to go back and change the stories that you have lined up if you did an impulse share, almost like an undo button that isn’t available on Twitter.

Path – I am not going to lie, but Path is quickly becoming one of my favorite apps. It is a location-based network that offers personal sharing and intimate networks, kind of like a hybrid of Facebook and foursquare mixed with a close circle. In keeping my network small, I’ve been able to have more meaningful conversations and relationships with the folks that I’ve connected with.

GetGlue – I have been playing with this application now for the past nine months and really can’t make heads or tails of it. I like the check-in functionality for TV shows, books, movies and music; but really haven’t seen much more benefit to it aside from the stickers for the users. If I were in the TV industry I would be on this like flies on poop, but I’m not so seeing the number of folks who love a program really doesn’t speak to me. This is the one on the list that I am hoping the most for because it could really add real-time feedback on shows to help a viewer decide if they are missing out on some jokes on a show or if the show is just not funny.

Pinterest – Despite all the hype around Pinterest right now including the traffic volume that it sends to sites, I am still relatively new to the site. Actually I have only been on the site for a few weeks mostly on the urging (or was it pity and peer pressure?) from my friend Gini Dietrich. On one hand I like that I can store a bunch of cool pictures and marketing graphs instead of cutting and pasting links in a word doc. To me it’s more curation than social ecosystem.

What applications are you currently evaluating to see if they are humps or dumps? I’d love to hear in the comments below.

Image – L O O K

Is it me or does it seem like there is a new social network or application that is going to be the next big thing in 2012? For every “surefire hit” like a Pinterest there are two or three Google Waves or Empire Avenues.  It is always hard to read the tea leaves when deciding whether or not to jump in with two feet or sit on the sidelines and let the audiences figure it out.

If you are like me, you’ve probably played around with a number of these new networks and had to decide whether or not they are right for you or your business. Don’t try to quantify the amount of time that you spend in this research phase because it will make your head spin and probably make you sick.

As you bucket these networks into winners and losers, you’re sure to have a few that are on the fringe of either being really awesome or being a complete waste of time. So it takes an honest effort to give these networks a try. I typically have a handful of these up live and have honed into four that I am really going to give the ol’ college try this year.

Buffer App – It is really easy to get caught up in the instant gratification of Twitter and share impulsively. I know I have and I’m sure you have, too. If you think you haven’t, log onto your public stream and look for quick bursts of Tweets sharing news stories or blog posts. Buffer lets you add stories to a queue that publishes the stories at set intervals. It also allows you to go back and change the stories that you have lined up if you did an impulse share, almost like an undo button that isn’t available on Twitter.

Path – I am not going to lie, but Path is quickly becoming one of my favorite apps. It is a location-based network that offers personal sharing and intimate networks, kind of like a hybrid of Facebook and foursquare mixed with a close circle. In keeping my network small, I’ve been able to have more meaningful conversations and relationships with the folks that I’ve connected with.

GetGlue – I have been playing with this application now for the past nine months and really can’t make heads or tails of it. I like the check-in functionality for TV shows, books, movies and music; but really haven’t seen much more benefit to it aside from the stickers for the users. If I were in the TV industry I would be on this like flies on poop, but I’m not so seeing the number of folks who love a program really doesn’t speak to me. This is the one on the list that I am hoping the most for because it could really add real-time feedback on shows to help a viewer decide if they are missing out on some jokes on a show or if the show is just not funny.

Pinterest – Despite all the hype around Pinterest right now including the traffic volume that it sends to sites, I am still relatively new to the site. Actually I have only been on the site for a few weeks mostly on the urging (or was it pity and peer pressure?) from my friend Gini Dietrich. On one hand I like that I can store a bunch of cool pictures and marketing graphs instead of cutting and pasting links in a word doc. To me it’s more curation than social ecosystem.

What applications are you currently evaluating to see if they are humps or dumps? I’d love to hear in the comments below.

Image – L O O K

Is it me or does it seem like there is a new social network or application that is going to be the next big thing in 2012? For every “surefire hit” like a Pinterest there are two or three Google Waves or Empire Avenues.  It is always hard to read the tea leaves when deciding whether or not to jump in with two feet or sit on the sidelines and let the audiences figure it out.

If you are like me, you’ve probably played around with a number of these new networks and had to decide whether or not they are right for you or your business. Don’t try to quantify the amount of time that you spend in this research phase because it will make your head spin and probably make you sick.

As you bucket these networks into winners and losers, you’re sure to have a few that are on the fringe of either being really awesome or being a complete waste of time. So it takes an honest effort to give these networks a try. I typically have a handful of these up live and have honed into four that I am really going to give the ol’ college try this year.

Buffer App – It is really easy to get caught up in the instant gratification of Twitter and share impulsively. I know I have and I’m sure you have, too. If you think you haven’t, log onto your public stream and look for quick bursts of Tweets sharing news stories or blog posts. Buffer lets you add stories to a queue that publishes the stories at set intervals. It also allows you to go back and change the stories that you have lined up if you did an impulse share, almost like an undo button that isn’t available on Twitter.

Path – I am not going to lie, but Path is quickly becoming one of my favorite apps. It is a location-based network that offers personal sharing and intimate networks, kind of like a hybrid of Facebook and foursquare mixed with a close circle. In keeping my network small, I’ve been able to have more meaningful conversations and relationships with the folks that I’ve connected with.

GetGlue – I have been playing with this application now for the past nine months and really can’t make heads or tails of it. I like the check-in functionality for TV shows, books, movies and music; but really haven’t seen much more benefit to it aside from the stickers for the users. If I were in the TV industry I would be on this like flies on poop, but I’m not so seeing the number of folks who love a program really doesn’t speak to me. This is the one on the list that I am hoping the most for because it could really add real-time feedback on shows to help a viewer decide if they are missing out on some jokes on a show or if the show is just not funny.

Pinterest – Despite all the hype around Pinterest right now including the traffic volume that it sends to sites, I am still relatively new to the site. Actually I have only been on the site for a few weeks mostly on the urging (or was it pity and peer pressure?) from my friend Gini Dietrich. On one hand I like that I can store a bunch of cool pictures and marketing graphs instead of cutting and pasting links in a word doc. To me it’s more curation than social ecosystem.

What applications are you currently evaluating to see if they are humps or dumps? I’d love to hear in the comments below.

Image – L O O K

Is it me or does it seem like there is a new social network or application that is going to be the next big thing in 2012? For every “surefire hit” like a Pinterest there are two or three Google Waves or Empire Avenues.  It is always hard to read the tea leaves when deciding whether or not to jump in with two feet or sit on the sidelines and let the audiences figure it out.

If you are like me, you’ve probably played around with a number of these new networks and had to decide whether or not they are right for you or your business. Don’t try to quantify the amount of time that you spend in this research phase because it will make your head spin and probably make you sick.

As you bucket these networks into winners and losers, you’re sure to have a few that are on the fringe of either being really awesome or being a complete waste of time. So it takes an honest effort to give these networks a try. I typically have a handful of these up live and have honed into four that I am really going to give the ol’ college try this year.

Buffer App – It is really easy to get caught up in the instant gratification of Twitter and share impulsively. I know I have and I’m sure you have, too. If you think you haven’t, log onto your public stream and look for quick bursts of Tweets sharing news stories or blog posts. Buffer lets you add stories to a queue that publishes the stories at set intervals. It also allows you to go back and change the stories that you have lined up if you did an impulse share, almost like an undo button that isn’t available on Twitter.

Path – I am not going to lie, but Path is quickly becoming one of my favorite apps. It is a location-based network that offers personal sharing and intimate networks, kind of like a hybrid of Facebook and foursquare mixed with a close circle. In keeping my network small, I’ve been able to have more meaningful conversations and relationships with the folks that I’ve connected with.

GetGlue – I have been playing with this application now for the past nine months and really can’t make heads or tails of it. I like the check-in functionality for TV shows, books, movies and music; but really haven’t seen much more benefit to it aside from the stickers for the users. If I were in the TV industry I would be on this like flies on poop, but I’m not so seeing the number of folks who love a program really doesn’t speak to me. This is the one on the list that I am hoping the most for because it could really add real-time feedback on shows to help a viewer decide if they are missing out on some jokes on a show or if the show is just not funny.

Pinterest – Despite all the hype around Pinterest right now including the traffic volume that it sends to sites, I am still relatively new to the site. Actually I have only been on the site for a few weeks mostly on the urging (or was it pity and peer pressure?) from my friend Gini Dietrich. On one hand I like that I can store a bunch of cool pictures and marketing graphs instead of cutting and pasting links in a word doc. To me it’s more curation than social ecosystem.

What applications are you currently evaluating to see if they are humps or dumps? I’d love to hear in the comments below.

Image – L O O K