Brandkeys released their annual Customer Loyalty Engagement Index – a ranking of companies by brand identity in a number of categories. In the social networking group, the ubiquitous Facebook was unsurprisingly first. But media observers are scratching their heads over MySpace’s runner-up status and Twitter’s fifth-place finish – not to mention the fact that Groupon, Foursquare, and other fast-risers in the social networking space didn’t even place.
They shouldn’t be. Despite MySpace’s current state of limbo, it does have a very distinct niche – as do LinkedIn and Flickr, numbers three and four on the list. Despite a large user base, Twitter suffers from the curse of one-time users – people who try it once and leave because they really aren’t sure how the Twitter works, and/or don’t care to learn. Foursquare is going through a similar growth movement as Twitter did – folks are signing up, but aren’t sure for what. Groupon and other community shopping sites are utilities more than networks.
Being on the list doesn’t make MySpace’s future any brighter, nor any clearer. But it shows the erstwhile leader in connecting people online did something right.
Jim Eltringham 