Social Networks Should Align with Brand Strategy

Yesterday I read in The Chronicle of Higher Education online that a new social networking site has been developed for university innovation. The free social networking site for entrepreneurs is called YouNoodle and is designed to connect people who are involved in university technology and business competition.

According to the site, 'YouNoodle is a place to discover and support the hottest early-stage companies and university innovation. We provide business competition, events, and mailing lists for real-world startup communities." It appears that many have joined the network. I will have to check it out and determine its relevance for me.

I am a strong advocate of social networking. In fact that is one of the primary reasons why this blog was developed. I wanted to create a resource for those engaged in brand development to learn more, and to establish a place for brand champions to gather. Because social networking is still relatively new, I think it is a challenge for people, and especially organizations to determine if the site aligns with their brand. Or is it simply the latest cool technology?

How do you determine the relevance of a social network site?