Human beings are branding creatures. Businesses rely on socializing to flourish.

Wait... shouldn't that be swapped? No, not really. The two have always meant the same thing.

Social media isn't new, since social networking is something humans have done with each other since we could communicate. But online social networking is making things different, like the dissemination of information, the ease of crowdsourcing, and will ultimately demand new methods of marketing and persuasion by those who want to monetize it.

Yes, social networking is not a benefit, it's a product. And like all products, it needs to make money. But the way social media as a product behaves is quite different than others. Firstly the demographics aren't just there to be entertained, or solely to gleam info. It's something more.

So how does one market to audiences in a manner that parallels what social networking is all about?

In my last post I talked about the importance of understanding the audience.

So now let's take a closer look at what is, exactly, the "online audience." Do they think and act differently than other audiences, like those at a political rally, an academic lecture, or in front of a TV?

Do people think and act differently online than they do in so-called "real life?" Are online audiences truly different than other audiences?

Yes, and the reasons why are imperative to the success of selling to them.

Why has social networking taken off so quickly and so strongly? Are people as a whole really so self-absorbed, more engaged by ourselves than the products of professional artists and writers? Or are we prideful, preferring to hear ourselves talk and offer our own expertise over the proclamations of established authorities?

Or, are we just social creatures that like to huddle together within the company of peers, not tyrants?