The recently renamed on-demand CRM suite from Microsoft reaches its domestic launch date.
I've been
skeptical about Facebook as a business networking and marketing medium. But in learning about Facebook groups and the new
chat feature and the growing number of RSS reader and other widgets, marketers might be able to use Facebook to their advantage. Facebook's saving grace for marketers is twofold: the audience and application platform. Widgets are the way of the world, and developers are rising to the challenge. The audience -- allowing people to find friends of friends or contacts from the past -- might someday be leveraged into effective marketing channels. Social networking requires a softer touch, customized message, and creative thinking in how to influence people with a personal touch. I don't know that Facebook has found a method of delivering that service to advertisers. Perhaps its audience will.
