• by Bryan Boettger , January 7, 2014

If last year was anything, it was certainly the year when social media became a serious business venture. Whether you are an agency, brand or vendor, “social” most definitely became strategic and financial.

As we all kick-start 2014, I thought I’d share some of the lessons I’m bringing with me: 30 of them, to be exact.

1. Facebook will defend its territory with vigor (see: Instagram, Instagram Direct).

2. I'm too overloaded on social platforms to add new ones, even if they are as fun and creative as Front Back.

3. I'm definitely way too old to use Shots Of Me. It's just plain creepy for me to be on there.

4. Snapchat is a great medium for photo tag with a friend. You take a photo, they have to take one that is related in some way. Keep passing back and forth. Try it.

5. Mark Zuckerberg might be a nerdy egomaniac, but he definitely protects his product to make sure it doesn't go the disco ball route of MySpace.

6. Social strategy is becoming less specialized and starting to merge with general marketing strategy. Thankfully.

7. Money will continue to pour into media/advertising as social properties steal share from other businesses (see: Instagram vs Canon, Nikon, Etc.).

8. There's still no good editorial planning tools for social media. Some journalists need to go build that and make the millions they deserve for the quality writing they do.

9. Photos rule the world. People sneak views of social media and don't want to be caught by the audio from video.

10. Sadly, social media marketing is influencing journalism, instead of journalism influencing social media marketing.

11. The land grab is over. Now it's time to be smart and strategic about your space in social media.

12. Facebook should stop getting cute with its timeline algorithms. Show me the content, in the order it happens, and let me decide how much I want to see from each person.

13. The glacial pace of Twitter's changes to its platform are wise and strategic (see: Multiple Timelines).

14. I was right. QR codes are stupid and don't work (see: Self-Congratulatory Pat On The Back. Also see: No One Cares. Also see: Except For The One Guy Who Will Comment Because He Makes His Living Off QR Codes).

15. YouTube has achieved the status of utility for some, social platform for others. That's some serious job security.

16. Trolls will find ways to be trolls no matter what protections are thrown up (see: YouTube Comments and Shots Of Me). That doesn't mean we shouldn't keep trying.

17. All slides used for presentations at conferences should be written in 120 characters if you want your thoughts tweeted AND cited.

18. Reddit controls the Web like the Tea Party controls Congress -- but with less malice.

19. Social media is definitely not free, Part 1 (see: You Get What You Pay For With Content Marketing).

20. Social media is definitely not free, Part 2 (see: Housing Prices In The Bay Area).

21. Being reliable and relatable, with moments of sexiness, is the true path to a long-term relationship (see: LinkedIn).

22. Social media makes strong relationships stronger and weak relationships weaker. Don't forget to build quality offline relationships with your customers, too.

23. There's a time and place for everything, and it's not necessarily when and where your best competitors are doing it.

24. My mom really needs a Facebook account separate from my dad. It'd make my life and ad targeting so much easier (see: This Will Tell Me If My Parents Actually Read My Entire Columns).

25. Social gaming should be better integrated into social media plans.

26. Google should have started with just Google Hangout, then expanded to G+.

27. No social property will ever beat Fantasy Football in terms of stickiness to its users. It's a shame more brands haven't capitalized on that.

28. Pay the extra $9.99 per month for a separate Spotify account for your wife (see: Rihanna And Miley Cyrus Invading Your Suggested Artists).

29. Bat Dad is the dad every boy wants, the husband every wife dreads, and the father every little girl prays she doesn’t have to take her boyfriend home to (see: Vine).

30. 30 things you learned are much easier than the original 50 things planned.

Here’s to a fantastic 2014!