#4--I'm friends with Harley-Davidson.

I am concerned that my last blog was a little long-winded.

Mesa County Public Library and I have been good Facebook friends for awhile now. But I realized that I was missing out on the joys of long-lasting friendships with Coca-Cola and Harley-Davidson. I browsed through the pages of several companies (Boeing, Starbucks, IBM, etc). The common themes between these pages (and the pages of libraries, the President, etc) are exposure and a degree of connection.
Going beyond marketing and publicity, organizations and public figures declaring themselves as "friends" on social networking sites makes us feel a little closer to something that does not actually exist as a tangible relationship. More and more, these pseudo-relationships are forming. For example, on Coca-Cola's Facebook page, there are opportunities for people to "join the community," "meet" the page creators, or get in on the discussions of the delicious cyber-cola world. It's all about the connection--if these pages can get us involved enough to make us feel some sort of emotional relationship, then they have our attention.
It's traditional marketing with an interactive twist--mirroring the way humans behave and connect in relationships. And it's a brilliant and evolving form of advertising.
I didn't really become friends with Harley-Davidson--I just stumbled upon it--but their page is pretty fancy. Heh.
Sorry this post is a little disjointed. I wrote it over a few days, and it's not like I actually know what I'm talking about. Maybe this is why I've never blogged before.