Michael Leis

Looking at the major players in social media, contrast in color and user experience controls creates meaning for the creator and the browser. How much is too much, and how can brands take these lessons back to their own Web strategy?

Social media today is really quite crude. Much like Bell’s first phone experiment it’s tedious and cumbersome. But also like those early phone models, they’re incredibly important to understand now as part of your brand strategy.

There’s nothing worse than the sinking feeling when someone with a large following blasts your brand. But it’s not a crisis, it’s an opportunity: to demonstrate that the brand is human, engaged, and helpful. Here are a few guideposts I’ve developed to turn the tide when your brand gets slammed:

The more people I talk to about social media, the more I hear similar responses about MySpace. People are actively using Facebook to connect with family and friends they have in real life. But over on Myspace, they’re not “friends” with anyone. They accept friend requests, but don’t really communicate with people there.