And that’s great news for companies that are trying to promote their product or service, but what does this mean for the 500 million Facebook users that are doing all the liking?

When a Facebook user visits a website, they are now shown which of their Facebook friends have already “liked” what they’re looking at. This means you get reviews from your friends and personal network before anything else. It’s a company’s way of putting trust in your peers and saying, “you don’t have to take our word for it, see what your friends think.” Which, for anyone that remembers Reading Rainbow, is a pretty powerful statement.

Kind of like this...but with a computer.

Recently, Facebook launched something that takes that concept even further: Facebook Questions. Facebook Questions allows users to post questions to both friends and strangers within Facebook. Now add the launch of Facebook Places and you have a one-stop location to find information or reviews on pretty much anything – all from people you trust.

In terms of consumer behavior – trust matters above all else. The importance that social media now has in terms of delivering that trust is changing the way companies sell to consumers. Advertising will become more focused on awareness, while your social network will be looked upon to provide the details and validation. And the current economy seems to be expediting this shift with decreased marketing budgets, less travel to trade shows, and more reliance on proven products and information to ensure money is being spent wisely.

As for Facebook, it’s ironic that a company that has so many privacy concerns is quickly becoming the most trusted site on the web, no?

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Kevin Smith is an Account Supervisor at PJA Advertising & Marketing. Follow him on Twitter: @Mr_KevinSmith

This post was featured as the social media dream segment during the September 16th edition of PJA Radio.

This growth continues even in face of the recent round of attacks and threats against Facebook’s privacy policy. A policy that, at 5,830 words, is longer than the United States Constitution.

Disgruntled Facebook users – or maybe people with a stake in another social networking site – have started ‘movements’ such as, QuitFacebookDay and FacebookProtest, which ask Facebook users to make a commitment to either delete their account or not use the site on a certain day. However, the combined the membership to these two groups is miniscule compared to Facebook’s user base.

Ironically, the movement with the most members is a Facebook group that has been set-up to protest Facebook’s privacy policies (speaking of the Constitution, if that isn’t democracy, I don’t know what is).

Not surprisingly, the privacy concerns have created a competitive resurgence in the social networking market. Competitors smell blood and they’re scrambling to get up and running in order to take advantage. A recent New York Times article cited nine social networks that are trying to take advantage of the privacy backlash by providing more private social networking alternatives.

I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by saying that none of these alternatives will be successful. At least not in the way their founders would like them to be.

But where they may succeed is by reminding Facebook that it – like other businesses – needs to serve customer demand. Competition – regardless how minor – may help Facebook evolve and provide a better privacy solution.

In the meantime however, there are ways to make sure your information is secure on Facebook. By going to the site ReclaimPrivacy.org, you can use a tool that helps simplify Facebooks 170 (yes, 170) privacy options into just 5 or 6 shortcuts.

Though, like all online information, the best thing you can do is to simply put more thought into what you put online. Assume everything will be public and go from there. Don’t forget that Facebook is a company, just like Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Coca-Cola. They don’t owe you anything and they are not your friends. And, as always, the only real protection you have is your own judgment.

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This post was featured as a social media dream segment of the May 27th edition of This Week In Social Media.

Kevin Smith is an Account Supervisor at PJA Advertising & Marketing. Follow him on Twitter: @Mr_KevinSmith

Moderator:

Doug Zanger

Speakers:

Mike O’Toole, President, PJA @motoole1
Kevin Smith, Account Manager, PJA @mr_kevinsmith
Special Guest: George Krautzel, Toolbox.com, @GeorgeKrzutzel