Latino Rebranded: Social Media and Latinos

With the announcement of Google Buzz, I’ve been thinking a lot about the Comments feature in blogs.  I don’t want to say that Buzz is necessarily bad for blogs, but it can de-augment a very powerful pillar of blogging – the Comments section.

Let me back up a little.

In October, I talked about the importance of publishing your content on a blog that you own versus a social media site like Facebook or Twitter.  I subtitled the post as “Centralized Me,” to build on the concept of concentrating your content to one main platform.

The Comment’s section of a blog is the site’s social component, for without it a blog is only a new media site with a one way conversation void of reader interaction.

Google Buzz, in essence does to your blog’s comments what other social media sites does to your content – spreads it far and wide.  If readers use Buzz the exposure of your blog will be multiplied, which is every blogger’s dream.  But I have to ask, will those who use Buzz also comment on your blog?

Latino Rebranded integrates a button called TweetMeme and if you look, more people Tweet posts than actually comment.  On Facebook, my followers comment or “like” my blog posts, as well as Networked Blogs – a Facebook application that delivers new posts to people’s inbox and utilizes an RSS feed as well.   Now Buzz, can be added to the list.  (I just had the thought that an opportunity exists for a program to pool together all these outside conversations and dump them into one spot – the Comment section.  Maybe it already exists?)

Taking all of the above into consideration, the ‘push-button’ interaction that they all offer will subtly deter comments because in the mind of the reader they already have commented – in the form a tweet, a buzz or a ‘like’.

I’m not saying to not use any of these services, because they are great tools that leverage your blog’s exposure – and that’s what you want!  But, with the awareness of conversations happening outside your Comment section you can start thinking of ways to harness them for the benefit of your blog.

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Subtitle:  Upward and Cross Connections

As you may know, my roots are in the blogsophere, so it’s great to see continuing progression.  Latino blogs moving in upper and cross-lateral directions is great stuff.

BlogWorld 2009 had the innovative idea of hosting a multicultural panel.  A clear sign of vision and pulse of the current situation in the U.S.A.  I had the honor to be invited by Jose Villa from Sensis to represent the fastest growing group both online and offline: The Latino(a)s!

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Subtitle:  Here Come The Marketers

My eyes, ears and mouth were sealed shut.
It’s interesting to see how businesses and marketers are now paying attention to previously ignored niche networks.  By this I specifically mean low-income demographics and urban communities.

There is an entire “sub-culture” of bloggers / twitterers complete with celebrities and household names I had never heard of!

I’m sure this experience will reverberate as more marketers and brands familiarize themselves with these ’sub-cultures’ (unfortunately termed).  As a matter of fact, there are huge personalities and networks that are prevalent, but sadly unknown because of the unbalance of media attention.

I profit, so therefore YOU are.
Let’s be honest, the only reason why Latinos and other ‘minorities,’ are beginning to see engagement is because of money.  If profit was not desired via the new Latino romance, businesses would not be interested.  It’s a numbers game.

Here’s the twist:  some of these networks are hardened or better…petrified toward the monetization of their efforts.  They are suspicious and bitter because of the lack of attention and throwback that they have unduly swallowed over the years.  This wall of resistance will be undoubtedly be perplexing to the naive marketer.

I would hope that this chip (boulder if you will), on their shoulder can easily be traded for a more valuable token.  Opportunity will be knocking at the door, and it would be smart not to shoo it away.

Best course of action: set sail for the sun.
The challenge here for underdeveloped communities is NOT to rush in and haphazardly connect with businesses, but learn how to elevate themselves on more stable platforms in order to better control these opportunities and leverage their deal making abilities.  It is tenfold more beneficial to become business owners rather than remain consumers. Then, and only then can Latinos participate in economic decision making processes.

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I did a Q&A for FH Hispania Plaza, which was published yesterday. They were interested in Latinos In Social Media and blogging.

MF: How much Latino presence do you think there is currently on the blogosphere?

(…)With all the hype about Twitter and Facebook in the news these days I see little attention given to blogs as opposed to a few short years ago when blogs were all the rage.  Don’t feel sad for blogging though, because blogs hold their own.  Blogs are ubiquitous, and can be found linked to from all social media portals.  They are the tenacious opinion-platforms of individuals who seek to elaborate and communicate their point of view freely and unrestricted.  If that’s not social media, I don’t know what is.

Thanks Maribel.

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