The tale of Facebook’s late, well-planned, and well-executed entrance to the geo-location space followed by Foursquare’s and Gowalla’s single-file submission to Facebook’s geo-location system reveals what Facebook has become. It is no longer the social networking website that once competed with other social media websites such as MySpace. In fact, Facebook is no longer primarily a social network at all. Facebook is now a new entity entirely which is defined by it’s social graph and the open graph protocol, a mechanism it has created by which your online behavioral information is collected, analyzed, and a platform upon which to integrate and apply those analyses into business strategy and political policy. This new Facebook has no viable competition and the anti-trust lawyers have yet to catch on.

While Facebook has extended its influence to other sites outside its proverbial walls, it has also been developing an internal economy. This economy is based upon social apps. Places has successfully positioned Facebook to be at the center of the mobile commerce and mobile gaming revolutions further securing Facebook’s position as the primary social development platform for at least the next decade. Facebook will be connecting people to people, places, and businesses both online and in the real world. The convergence of smart phone technology, geo-location, and Facebook’s open graph platform will allow the creation of a new dimension by which we understand and interact with the physical world in ways previously unimagined.

In my next post I’ll lay out what the future holds; it’s going to help people save money, help businesses make money, enable charities to raise even more money… and, oh, it’s going to be really fun.

We are off to a lovely holiday luncheon at Sole. Many  thanks to the Masconomet Soccer Boosters. The food is awesome!

The holiday season is in full force and we are ready for a bit of a break to recharge, take in a bit of skiing, paint, relax and rejuvenate. We will be on an “email/phone only” schedule for the next two weeks. Feel free to contact us with questions that arise. We’ll keep all of our current projects moving forward and we’ll be back in the office on January 4th to kick off a brand new year.

2010

For the past several weeks, we have been working with clients to develop marketing and branding plans for 2010. Our 30 clients inspire us daily with their passion, perseverence, and vision for the future.

Whether entrepreneurs, small businesses, or growing corporations, our clients’ view of successful growth goes beyond traditional headcount. Nurenu clients share a desire to grow cost-effectively through innovative and engaging communications. This approach opens up new paths and business opportunities.

With 25 websites in our portfolio, we understand how web-centric communications can be a game-changer. To help our clients realize their visions and dreams, Nurenu is committed to staying at the forefront of the industry, serving as an active, innovative sounding board and marketing partner.

In 2010, we’ll be changing and growing as well. How? By….

• Expanding our content management offerings to include Drupal development and Joomla CMS. These two technology platforms provide clients with new kinds of self-serve flexibility in website content management.
• Streamlining our office processes to better serve our clients. This means taking advantage of the latest time-tracker and project management software to make sure we are working not only creatively, but cost-effectively.
• Helping more clients establish and maintain mindshare through e-blast campaigns that integrate with CRM software such as Salesforce.com.
• Exploring Google Wave (now in beta) to see how we can use this new collaboration tool for maximum benefit to clients and Nurenu.
• Pursuing the latest SEO techniques in order to make our websites work even harder for our clients and using even better Analytics to help us track and continuously improve client website activity.
• Incorporating social media techniques wherever it makes sense for our clients’ marketing goals. In 2010, we will see a maturing of this marketing model. More will join, many will consolidate, and a few will be highly successful at benefiting from this marketing component. We will be an active participant!

As I wind up this blog and this year, I want to thank everyone who made this year so memorable. To our wonderful clients, vendors, friends, and families, I offer our sincere appreciation for your business and support.  Come January, lets do it all again! Here’s to a 2010 filled with brand new opportunities for all. Cheers!