This is going to be a little out there but I seriously think there’s got to be a way to make a sustainable social media business by paying people for their data. I don’t know why I’ve been thinking about this the past few days but a company like Google can easily turn Google+ into a service where they pay users to continuously be active and engaging on the platform.
The way I see it, Facebook and other social media networks won’t have the long-term sustainability like Google search or Twitter can, so why not make money off of highly engaging audiences by giving them a piece of the pie. I view Google+ in the same way Google views the internet – They help host and crawl the web for highly engaging blogs and then sell AdWords or ads against the content. Bloggers get paid based how many users actively come to their page, read the content and engage. Some bloggers are even working with brands to be loyal influencers, making additional money on the side. Why can’t Google+ be the social network to facilitate the same kind of environment, where users get paid to create compelling content, while still making money of their social following by creating partnerships with brands. Google can then limit the reach of new fans by getting brands to pay to reach the full potential of their followers, similar to the way Facebook does. The big difference is that users of the channel get a cut of the ad dollars, unlike users of Facebook who get nothing. I think it’ll go a long towards creating a compelling social network, where users will actively engage, fans will come to read awesome content – otherwise no one will come back, and Google can still make a ton of money. They may not make the billions up on billions they make of search but they can be the “good guys” here, by paying users for selling their data to brands for targeted ads.
I think there’s an amazing opportunity to make just a little less money while still giving users the opportunity to create marketplaces within a social network. Think about the amount of money active Google+ users can make, the same way many Facebook Pages make money from brands – we know this is actively happening. It’s the power of the internet.
In a perfect world, it wouldn’t have to be Google+ but I think they are poised to do something amazing here, while taking Google+ up a notch in a way that leaves Facebook scrambling to react.
Social Convo 