In Part 1 of the History of Social Media, we covered the origins of this cultural phenomenon and some of its characteristics. In Part 2, we discussed the first social networking site, Friendster, its rise and fall and the website that took its place, MySpace.

This post presents the next major Social Media boom, Facebook. We conclude our history lesson with the significant opportunities that SM offers for brands, marketers and businesses of all sizes through Social Media Marketing (SMM).

Facebook: Finding where you belong

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If you’re passionate about blogging, chances are good that you’ve heard of all the conventional blog promotion strategies. You’ve surely been advised to comment on other blogs, submit articles to social media sites, guest blog on other blogs, use blog directories and practice effective link building. All these strategies are essential to a successful blog and can be implemented on a regular basis.

But there are several promotional techniques that seem to be left unexplored in the blogosphere. Here is a small list of unconventional or underrated promotional strategies that just might give your blog to edge it needs. Consider the following:

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As I write this, voters are going to the polls in Indiana and North Carolina to vote for the Democratic nominee for The American Presidency. The frontrunner going into the poll is Barrack Obama, one of the fastest rising politicians in the history of the country. His appeal among young and first-time voters has been unparalleled and much of his success within that demographic has been aided by extensive use of social media, including viral videos and a Facebook campaign that has truly defined the service’s seismic potential.

With the help of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, Obama has coordinated a massive following from the wired community.

Here are some facts about Obama’s Facebook Empire:
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The BBC has an interesting story recording motions by human rights organization Amnesty International to pressure Google to do more in the fight against censorship and abuses online, particularly in its relationship with China.

In the wake of the Tibetan protests and the current controversy and anxiety surrounding the Summer Olympics in Beijing, there has been tremendous pressure on Western nations to voice their commendation of China’s crackdowns on dissent. It appears that the outcry is also being directed at Western Companies who have expansive business in China, including Google who launched Google.cn in 2006.

“Google - whose shares currently trade at almost $600 (£300), more than $100 above its level a year ago - is facing two shareholder motions at its annual general meeting on Thursday.

Both insist the company needs to do more to fight censorship and support human rights.

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When you blog on a regular basis, it’s easy to forget about your old posts, especially after they’ve been off your main page for a long time. Even though your old posts may not be getting the spotlight treatment on the front page, it doesn’t mean they are going unnoticed. In fact, a great deal of your new visitors may land on your blog’s archived material through search engines or outside back links.

This is why strictly focusing on your main page, in hopes of keeping your returning visitors impressed, is only a small part of building a better blog. Sometimes, it’s worthwhile to go back and dust off your previous work. Here are some strategies for improving your blog’s archives:

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At Apollo Media Blog, we are currently mulling over a new sense of direction and purpose for our articles here. While we are still going to keep posting about blog tips, SEO and other highlights from the Web 2.0 world, we feel that there needs to be a more distinct focus for our efforts in the realm of social media. As we go through the process of brainstorming ideas and coming up with an action plan, we thought we would share some of the steps and considerations we are taking, so we can all learn together.

Whether your blog is fairly established, just starting out or on the brink of collapse, there are several pathways to lead you to a better blogging experience. Here are some of the key ideas we are currently delving into as we shift our blogging priorities:

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Everyone here at Apollo Media is infatuated with Netvibes, the personalized start page service that allows you to organize your favorite blog RSS feeds, Digg stories, Flickr pictures and more into easily manageable tabs. We previously hailed Netvibes as one of our top blog resources, and we were excited to hear about Netvibes Ginger, the newest version of the RSS aggregator.

Simply put, Ginger takes the same features that made Netvibes so accessible and adds more customizable and personal options, so you can integrate your various email and social networking services into one place. For internet addicts like us, these are incredibly valuable additions that save you the time and effort that would otherwise be spent hopping across all those pages separately.

Here is a breakdown of what Ginger is introducing to the social media world:

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In a blogosphere dependant on linking and social bookmarking, it’s all too easy to rely on other people’s information when developing content for your blog. To standout in a crowded playing field, you have to put more of yourself into your writing rather than just being a source for links and resources.

The following is a list that differentiates ideas from information, tips that will help you distinguish your blog by encouraging you to formulate and express your own ideas and opinions. It could mean the difference between a successful blog that connects with its readership and a blog that gets lost in a tide of endless information. Make the distinction.

Are you just linking and describing other articles or are you adding to its impact through elaboration? Here are some tips on getting your own ideas out there:

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What is Twitter?

Twitter is the latest social networking craze. It integrates blogging and instant messaging into one easily accessible service. Twitter has often been referred to as ‘micro-blogging’ and ‘social instant messaging’ and involves tiny blog posts (under 140 characters) that let you share and keep of track of you and your friend’s everyday activities. Basically Twitter lets you provide updates between emails and blog posts, as you respond to the question “What are you doing”, or other queries, as you go about your day.

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Getting readers to click on your RSS button is a lot harder than it might initially seem. While you may have great content and update your blog on a regular basis, getting a reader to subscribe to your blog is a matter of winning their confidence.

To build a loyal base of subscribers, you may want to consider some of the following points to make it a regular attraction to those interested in your niche: Read the rest of this entry »