Wenham-based company makes sense of social media

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October 20, 2009

By Ethan Forman The Salem News Tue Oct 20, 2009, 12:38 AM EDT

Tyson Goodridge of Wenham says he "cut his teeth" on social media while managing an online community for affluent consumers for a startup.

He did that job for three years just when social networking sites were taking off. When the economy tanked, Goodridge was laid off, but that led the 37-year-old father of two to start his own company, Dialogue.

Today he consults on how businesses and organizations like the Wenham Museum can use social networking sites to their advantage.

Define for older-economy folks, what is social media?

The big three players in the business are LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. If you strip away all the bells and whistles from these different companies, I think you will find a common theme to social media is relationships and content. What social media does is spread content through relationships.

Can you give an example of that?

A perfect example of this is a company like Comcast. They are a cable company and they use social media as a customer service tool. When someone's cable is out, they'll send a Tweet, and they will respond.

Define for me the big three social media sites?

LinkedIn is the professional network for your business relationships.

So what is Facebook?

Facebook, it started off as a very informal, social, friendlier, more informal version of a social network. Now, as you have seen in the last year, companies are figuring out, "Wait a second, if all these people are on Facebook, how can I connect with them in a way that doesn't seem pushy?"

Can you do that?

The Wenham Museum was one of my clients, we set up a Facebook page for them, they have a couple hundred fans right now, but it's a great way to instantly show pictures from the last "Toy Story" reading with all the kindergartners in the local schools.

What is Twitter? If I have Facebook, and I have LinkedIn, why do I need Twitter?

Twitter is a new, burgeoning technology, but much like Facebook, is a way to update people on what you are doing and what's relevant to you and your following. The key thing to Twitter and the success of Twitter is they place a limit on it, 140 characters: You get to the point very quickly.

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Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673 or by e-mail at eforman@salemnews.com.

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