Recently came across Flowtown, a new service which gives you social network info on folks you know or don't. It's helpful in marketing, of course, because it gives us better behaviorial insights - a tighter picture of what you really use and how you consume media. Just from an email address.This is a big deal in connecting the one to one email model and its databases with the looser modern world of social media networks. They've operated so separately, I think we can all expect to see more of these connections moving forward.
Aside: My first reaction hearing about the service before I saw it was wasn't excited; in fact, admittedly, I was a little creeped out. A guy from work told me about it in a bar and I panicked coming home to check it out and see what I could find on myself. I think it was that private eye seminar I took at the Learning Annex a few years ago. Through Flowtown, I saw my own social network memberships but frankly it's no different from what people can learn about me otherwise. One can opt-out of a lot of stuff and the service seems very much on the up-and-up and plenty of brands are starting to tap it for more sophisticated social marketing.
What was funnier was today's postings via twitter about how foursquare has begat the Please Rob Me site, which can help robbers figure out when you're not home. Now that's a social marketing backfire.
