AgVoice | Mapping connections is interesting
According to Wikipedia, Social graph is a term used for sociograms in the Internet context. Sociogram is a graph that depicts relations. It has been referred to as "the global mapping of everybody and how they're related". The term was popularized at the Facebook f8 conference on May 24, 2007. It was used to explain how the Facebook Platform would benefit from the social graph by taking advantage of the relationships between individuals and also with brands. Even though the definition later expanded to refer to a social graph of all Internet users, Social graph is even now synonymous with online networks like Facebook.
But….
If you were really to think about what your real life is like for a moment- Are you really closest to the people or brands whose items you like the most on Facebook? For most people its not. Sociologists say that most contacts in your friends list on a social network (like Facebook) are "weak ties": people with whom you have spent low amounts of low-intensity time but with whom
you're still friendly. A social network for most people is just a way to keep their weak social contacts alive.
Wait!
Instead, the best indicator of who we actually interact with in real life are the people we call; the people we text, the services we order from- be it your pizza or your plumber — it’s all in mobile interaction. A mobile phone is with you always wherever and whatever you do- it tracks where you go; who you call, text, and email; the apps you run; when you run them. It knows you better than anyone. The ton load of information on a mobile is priceless to any marketer- the contact list; the favorite contacts, the places visited, the pictures taken, the apps downloaded. Map a person’s
mobile phone and what he does with it- and you pretty much have an understanding of the user’s real life sociogram.
So…. Lo and Mo
Imagine if a telecom service provider mapped the real world social graph of its subscriber base and offered advertising opportunity basis the same. While maintaining customers’ confidentiality the service provider’s backend systems cull out usage and behavioral trends from this social graph, which will be shared with the advertiser. Data points shared with advertiser will always be
for the user cluster and never the individual user’s details/ preferences/ interest- this will help address privacy concerns. For instance a segmented cluster of people who call “Italian restaurants”
regularly get a promotional offer and invite to a new Italian restaurant in town. Or cellphone users who frequent a particular mall on weekends are sent offers from shops in that mall.
Now imagine if the mobile social graph gets information not just from the telecom service provider but from multiple sources like- the device maker; the places you go (basis GPS); the apps / content you consume. This will help brands reach out to the right audience in a streamlined manner that no other media (be it TV or PC) can support. Segmentation, localization and contextualization will make this possibility an exciting proposition for brands (increasing brand salience) and consumers (offers/mobile coupons for targeted user segments).
Harish was part of the first full-service digital agency in India. Over the past decade he has worked with clients across sectors in India and abroad. He has helped power many innovations in the Indian digital space.
He now leads strategy at AD2C and helps brands improve the quality of their conversations with their audience using mobile media. Harish is a trained digital trainer.
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