There is a problem with SNS (social networking sites) that is the ability to use the various social media sites and reach a wide audience and engage with them: “Currently, Social Media is disparate and fragmented, making the conversation difficult to track, find, and use”. What brands are developing is the ‘Social Media Press Release’ which collapses together the information of a press release with links and embedded clips to provide a technologically more interactive form of communication. The intention is that this will then be linked to and become viral across social networks. However, in many ways this is counter-intuitive to the notions of social networking. It is technologically interactive but does not stimulate conversation and is too close to the brochureware style of communication associated with the Web 1.0 website.

Jeremiah Owyang offers a solution: Friendfeed. This social network is designed to allow anyone to join and link together all their difference social networking sites to allow their friends (and friends of friends) to see their blog posts, uploaded videos and pictures, or imported links. Brands are already using it, Ford Motor Company links together its Flickr and Youtube sites to promote its brand and products. You don’t event have to befriend Ford to view their feed, if you visit their profile that is.

But this is really about individuals and here I feel this could be of interest to the various elected individuals who are au fait with technology. So if Conservative MP Grant Shapps wants to link his ‘Spy on Grant’ feature (a personal form of Twitter) with his Youtube channel and any other social networking he is doing he can link all of this together and feed things out to friends as he is doing it; even handier for Labour’s Andy Reed who appears on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Flickr and Youtube. Currently this may be one for pioneers only, it has few UK members, it cannot be linked to geographic areas and so far lacks the critical mass that Facebook has. However, there is clearly potential here and the amalgamation of all the elements of the various social networking sites is of clear use to anyone that wants to spread their message far and wide. Equally, it could be highly useful for parties and leaders between and during elections, the constant feed keeps people in touch with them. While a young application, there is clear potential I think.