Defining Social Network Engagement Metrics, by Marshall Sponder

Engagement - how do we measure Social Network Engagement (Social Networking by the Numbers - but the problem is that Social Networks were measured by numbers of members not by engagement, even though Engagement - Social Network Engagement is what Liz Gannes was talking about)?

In New Rules of Engagement, the New York Times put the measure of "engagement" inside of us:

"...engagement "happens inside the consumer, not inside the medium," Mr. Plummer said. "All the measurements we have now are media metrics: ratings, readership, listenership, click-through rates.""

But you know what, Facebook is getting into the act (getting in "your face" so to speak) and defining what Facebook thinks Engagement for Social Network is and how it ought to be measured. Now, if I could only get someone, high up, on Facebook to join our Social Network Committee....that would very interesting.

Now, what Facebook is doing might be the beginning of some kind of standards for Social Network Engagement:

"...we want to make sure that you completely understand how we will be measuring engagement. We define engagement as the number of users who touch your application every day (measured from midnight to midnight each day).

These touch points are:
- Canvas Page Views
- Link Clicks in FBML
- Mock-Ajax Form Submission
- Click-to-Play Flash

The number of engaged users is calculated by putting all of these touch points together. We display this as the number of "Daily Active Users." Next to it we also show what percentage that is of the application's total number of users.

This change is part of our commitment to making Facebook Platform better for both developers and users. And, we hope that through this change, you continue to focus on creating engaging applications which add maximum utility to a Facebook user's everyday life."

If I'm reading this correctly, what Facebook is going to measure is not so much engagement of a user, but the engagement of an application running on Facebook.

So we might end up with a list of the most engaging applications of Facebook for the week, or the most engaging for the month, or for all time.

I'd also like to get some definitions on Canvas Page views and Mock-Ajax Form Submission events.

Engagement (defining Social Network Engagement and how it should be measured) is one of the main focuses of the new Social Media Committee of the Web Analytics Association that I'm the Director.

They're getting there - at least they are supporting the importance of "how long ago" as a primary driver when defining engagement.

Now if they would only supply this same info at the user level, they'd be getting somewhere. I'd be willing to bet most of this "widget engagement" is spread across a small base of users in any one period.

Real question is this: what percent of heavy widget users have not used a widget in the past 90 days? In other words, what percent of the user base is now dis-engaged?

That's a useful measure of engagement.

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Defining Social Network Engagement Metrics, by Marshall Sponder

Google's Secret Society, by Andy Greenberg for Forbes.com

Who's the Google of social networking sites? The obvious answer may seem to be Facebook, given its rapid growth, successful cooperation with application developers, and ever-smarter ad targeting. But by some measures, the real answer is even more obvious: Google itself.

This week, Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) is drawing attention to its often-ignored social networking site, Orkut.com, with a redesign intended to prettify the site's Spartan look. And attention is deserved: Despite its low profile in the U.S., Orkut now draws 38.2 billion page views a month worldwide, 7.8 billion more than Facebook, according to comScore Media Metrix.

In Brazil, where Facebook and MySpace are virtually unknown, Orkut has become a smash hit, with 15.6 billion page views monthly, by the count of Nielsen/Net Ratings. That kind of popularity doesn't just dwarf Facebook's Brazilian traffic, which is practically nil; it's also nearly 10 billion more monthly page views than Facebook draws from Americans.

Orkut's success in Brazil seems largely to be a fluke. The site hasn't made any special appeal to Brazilians, and only began to offer a Portuguese-language option in April of 2005, long after it had become the social network of choice in Brazil. One blogger argues that its name, which was taken from Turkish-born Google engineer Orkut Buyukkokten, is catchy in Portuguese and reminds Brazilians of a popular yogurt drink for kids.

But a bigger question than the cause of Orkut's popularity is the site's potential for profit. Facebook will earn more than $100 million this year, according to one of the site's investors, Jim Breyer of Accel Partners. And with the right advertisers, Orkut's Brazilians and other foreign users could also be a significant source of revenue, argues Greg Sterling, a consultant with Sterling Market Research. "If you've got the ad coverage, an international user is as valuable as anyone," he says.

In fact, Google's foreign advertising coverage has been spreading. The company's revenues from sources outside the U.S. and Britain, earned almost entirely from selling targeted ads, amounted to $1.24 billion last quarter, nearly twice the number from just a year ago. That brings the percentage of Google's foreign revenue to 60.8%, up from 46.7% last year.

While that spending might make Orkut an unlikely "heavy-weight" of social networking, as blogger Michael Arrington recently wrote, the site will need to gain a much larger U.S. audience to compete long-term with networks like MySpace and Facebook. MySpace still leads the social networking market by a large margin, and Facebook tripled its audience in the last year, according to comScore, while Orkut grew only 64%.

But Google, which won't disclose Orkut's revenue numbers, has recently been putting more of its massive resources behind the site. On top of this week's redesign, the company last year sponsored a social networking project at Carnegie Mellon to develop a tool meant to improve Orkut's domestic popularity. The result was Socialstream, a prototype for a site that allows users to post text and multimedia content to a single page, then syndicate that content to any social network where they have a profile.

Combined with Orkut, Socialstream might be just the sort of Googlish innovation that breaks down the "walled-garden" approach to social networking favored by Facebook and MySpace and brings American eyeballs to Orkut. If Google could provide Orkut with a competitive advantage, it could easily build a community from the audience that uses its services like Gmail, Google Docs and Spreadsheets, Google Maps, Google Calendar and its photo-sharing site, Picasa, says Sterling.

"Until now, Orkut has been an also-ran in the U.S. because it's been neglected by Google," Sterling says. "But with just a few tweaks and redesigns, and in combination with all of Google's services, it has the potential to really differentiate itself from MySpace and Facebook."

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Google's Secret Society, by Andy Greenberg for Forbes.com

This Week in TNNW...

One Business Woman’s Experience in the World of Networking
By *RUTH GATLING, Mid-Atlantic Bureau Chief

Those of us who are lucky enough to live in the most densely populated and diverse state in the country also have a plethora of networking opportunities at our fingertips. In the three short years since I started my business I have become an avid networker. I spent my first year in business checking out different organizations in the area including Chambers of Commerce, industry specific organizations, social organizations and referral based networks. I learned that on most business days during most of the year it was possible to find at least one if not more networking events taking place somewhere in the state. Since that continues to be the case, it translates into a lot of networking! That first year was fun, stressful, educational and an overall great experience. But I went to so many events I suffered from networking overload. These days you won’t see me at a lot of functions. As a single mom and small business owner I have limited time and resources. I’ve honed my networking skills and pick and choose where, when and how I want to network.

From the Lips of a Las Vegas Networker
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Las Vegas is booming and so are the number of networking events. Networking in Las Vegas goes beyond Chambers, BNI and LeTip. It is booming in the fact that there are numerous groups and people that are forming their own networking groups with their own potential customers. Let me explain (from the lips of a Las Vegas networker)...

How to Make One Hell of a Profit and Still Get to Heaven
By MEIRA FINDEL, Financial Editor

Through my fabulous email list a few months ago I was contacted to host Dr. John Demartini for an evening in New Jersey where 50 people join us for dinner and a 2-hour seminar. After meeting John I attended his life changing Breakthrough seminar in NYC. His teachings are liberating and enlightening. John travels all over the world around 40 weeks a year changing people’s lives.He is an internationally acclaimed speaker, author and consultant who breathes life and enthusiasm into his audiences with his enlightening perspectives, humorous observations of human nature and practical action steps. When he speaks, hearts open, minds become inspired and people are motivated into action.

Getting Along
By MARIA ELENA DURON, Multicultural Networking Editor

Potter mania still burn strong and even in the wizarding world we see discrimination – from muggles to purebloods and goblins to house elfs. Of course, I’m referring to the literary phenomenon written by J.K. Rowling known as "Harry Potter".

When we think of discrimination, what first comes to mind? To most people, the word bring up the idea of a group of Caucasians attacking a certain race – may be African Americans, Hispanics, Chinese, or Filipino. Although this may be the truth in some instances, discrimination is actually closer to home for us all.

Tips and tricks for Webinars - The Webinar Experience
By MIKE O'NEIL, Technical Editor

In Part 1 of this series we got ready to put on and attend a Webinar.

In Part 2 we discussed the components of the Webinar itself.

In Part 3 here we discuss the Webinar "Experience" itself and how to make the most of it. What makes a Webinar an especially good Webinar or a bad one? It can be the tiniest details that make the Webinar go one way or another.

Most Webinars involve attendees who go to a web site and follow along with the presentation. A conference call provides the audio. As you can expect, there are plenty of bells and whistles but we will keep it to the basics here.

Creativity in Networking
By HARVEY MATHASON, Contributing Writer

Have the burdens of work ever built up inside you so much that you reached a tipping point and said, "I need a vacation?" In fact, you acted on your desire, planned and took a vacation. Welcome to the world of self-renewal. A vacation is simply one form of self-renewal. There are many other forms. Self-renewal is a way of getting your mind away from work, a way of letting go and having fun. It could be taking a walk, going for a swim in the ocean, getting together with friends, going to a play, or taking a nap. The ways of achieving self renewal are as great as your imagination will allow. In fact you can achieve it simply by alternating a different type of work with the work you do. Self- renewal will make you more productive and give you more energy. You will become "alive" with people you are networking with.

Jetnetting
By HESHIE SEGAL, Contributing Writer

What takes so little effort and yet has so much power? A compliment! You can begin or enhance a relationship simply by giving a compliment. A good compliment reaches the heart and opens it up. All you need is to look, and find a genuine reason for giving it. Be sincere and you establish a credible foundation upon which you can build. Give an insincere compliment, or one just for the sake of being give, and integrity is lost. The potential result of the latter is alienation and even mistrust.

Power Thought of the Week
By PATRICIA PARHAM, Ph.D., Contributing Writer

Strategic Alliances: Build in Milestones

Set targets and timetables for review and assessment into your agreements. These checkpoints define expectations and ensure that the lines of communication are open. Early on, make them more frequent. Be honest and diplomatic about what’s been achieved. Strengthening your relationship empowers both partners. Share your successes with your networks. Everybody loves a celebration!

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