A Regular Roundup of Social Media Musings
by Anna Gerz & Mike Wilt

This month’s collection of all things Social Media sees Wall Street looking for a deal and examines big league tweets.

Groupon Goes Public, Investors May ‘like’ Facebook Better

Several months ago, we covered LinkedIn’s impressive IPO and (correctly) speculated that we would see more social sites go public within the year. So enter Groupon. Early in the month, Groupon celebrated the largest tech IPO since Google’s 1994 debut into the public.

So now it should come as little surprise (even to those of you who haven’t already figured out what we are going to say) that the Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook could become public as early as spring 2012. This is certainly an anticipated and expected move, but is it wise?

After initial success, both LinkedIn and Groupon shares are floundering. Facebook has always seemed to play by its own rules, so it would not be surprising for the IPO to be no exception as well. The Wall Street Journal also reported from its sources that the Facebook IPO has potential to be one of the largest – ever. Though we still have a few more months to wait, we will definitely keep an eye out for what’s to come.

Tweets from the Sports Section

After a high-profile work stoppage, it looks as though owners and players will give the gift of games for basketball fans. Personally, I’m a hockey fan (in case you forgot). But through tumultuous negotiations and dramatics typically reserved for reality TV, there was an interesting lesson for B2B marketers. One of the more socially active of the major sports leagues, NBA players seemed to be relatively behaved, if not united, in their social media front to the public and their fans. Whether through organized efforts, influence of collective interest or luck, the unified message was good policy and resonated with the league’s true revenue source, the fans.

Nearly all major sports entities have instated some sort of social media policy. The MLB puts a broader restriction on electronic devices during game time, whereas Major League Soccer has fined players for broadcasting their disagreements with referees on social networks.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, the NCAA seems to have the most unclear stance on social media, at times seeming to institute policy without any clear understanding of social media functionality.

Like the NHL and Twitter ambassador @biznasty2point0 or regardless of your sport allegiances it is interesting to see how these large companies regulate and still manage to effectively leverage their social media resources. This is what a thorough social media policy can do for B2B organizations as well. A policy will not control or unreasonably stifle creative content, but should hold at bay the anarchy or void that may otherwise swallow your social media efforts.  Let’s go Pens! 

And for our monthly items of note:

• Twitter Buys Bay-Area Bodyguards – Twitter purchased a small but high-profile security firm this month. Speculation is the purchase may lead to an enterprise offering for business microbloggers.
• Flash is now a stationary concept – That is, Adobe is phasing out support for their Flash product on mobile platforms. While not inherently ‘social’ in nature, the shift does highlight the continued attention HTML5 technologies are getting, even from the social networks.
• And the cat came back – And by cat, we mean the “Facebook Phone.” And by “came back” we mean “is being rumored yet again.”

What has caught your social-savvy eye this month?