Today I read a blog post by Dave Rosenberg on Facebook and how much money they are making from the sale of virtual goods. Some estimates have come in at $34.5 million of how much Facebook users have sent on virtual goods.

Virtual goods. That’s right, fake goods that you can buy for people and post in their profiles. But this line is what caught my attention:

“The vast majority of Facebook gifts are bought from the first screen of gifts in the directory–almost 80 percent of the total sales come from the group of the first 20 gifts. This points to the self-reinforcing nature of popularity (the crowdiness of crowds rather than the wisdom of crowds) when popularity data is made public.”

This “crowdiness of crowds versus the wisdom of crowds” is a very important concept to think about as it pertains to e-commerce, blogging, and establishing power users in social networks.

People like to follow the crowd. In the Facebook example, the most popular products rise to the front and this prequalifies the selections for those who are not as decisive. The thinking may be, “well others like these products so I should too.” When strategic levers are in place, marketers can leverage this phenomenon to create great results. Read more…

who else hates the new facebook?

If you visit the website for Modernista!, the advertising agency based in Boston most well-known for their ads for Hummer and Cadillac, you may be surprised. Instead of the typical flash-based website with luscious images and animation that occupies most major advertising agency websites, you are greeted with a Wikipedia entry and an announcement.

A red pop-up says, “Do not be alarmed. You are viewing Modernista! through the eyes of the Web. The menu on the left is our homepage. Everything behind it is beyond our control.”

That menu is “cute” at best. It is basic and simple. And it gives nods to various popular sites and web languages:

The “ab.ou.t” section, represented as a nod, no doubt to del.icio.us and other sites (mine included) that uses the full URL to an advantage, is the Wikipedia page and also a Facebook group. The “wrk” section links to a Flickr account displaying print advertising and a YouTube channel for TV spots. The “n3wz” section links to a Google News page displaying the latest announcements and news articles falling under the “Modernista!” keyword. Then there is a “cont@ct” page. Read more…

Social media enthusiasts can be a fickle bunch. I am no exception. Just last week I talked about how excited I was to be re-energized on Facebook. I was thoroughly enthused to park my car on someone else’s street, or to Pimp Fight my friends. But then Plurk came along. Then I joined Seesmic. Now I am trying out Phreadz. The point is, there is always something else that comes along that will grab the attention of the people always looking for the next thing. The video above sums up my feeling about Facebook now.

Remember when all anyone heard about was MySpace? That wasn’t too long ago. For me, LinkedIn and Twitter are the only networks that I have stayed heavily involved with throughout the last year. How will social networks evolve to stay competitive? What do you think?

For those who follow me on Twitter, FriendFeed, etc, you will notice that I have been super addicted to Facebook lately. It’s odd really. When I joined Facebook almost a year ago, I did the standard updates, pictures, and the occasional application. But I really just used it as a place to dump some profile info and possibly reconnect with some friends.

But last week something amazing happened to me. I finally convinced my wife to join Facebook and I haven’t been able to stop the obsession ever since. Once she joined, we started playing Scrabulous. Then, she started tagging me in photos. But the big “Wow” moment came to me when I realized that because my tweets auto-update my Facebook update, she was basically following me on Twitter.

Now, she knew that I had lunch with @schneidermike before I had time to tell her. Now she knew that I wanted to see New Kids on the Block on their reunion tour.

She was hooked on Facebook and her interest became the catalyst to my increased participation.

And let me tell you, I think that it is contagious. Once I started playing on Facebook more, my friends started playing more too. That is, after all, what makes social networks so brilliant. “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!”

So here’s to the catalytic ones. The people that cause you to re-engage with your social networks. It is time to give thanks. So, thanks @realtorlefebvre for being the catalyst to getting me back onto Twitter. And thanks Heather for being my catalyst for Facebook.

How about you? Was there a specific person that got you re-engaged to a social network? Give them props in the comments.