If you've read the blog for awhile, you've heard some of my thoughts on context. It's important. It's valuable. Context plays largely into the future of where value will come from.

One place where it could be extremely beneficial is in social networks. Some social networks, like Linked In, have explicit contexts. Others, like Facebook, are a bit more nebulous. Many people are starting to wonder what their definition of a 'friend' is. Others just want some simple buckets - friends, family, and work - so that Mom and the boss don't see their Spring Break photos and friends don't see the pics from that presentation you did in Omaha. For the latter, you'd think it would be in the social networks best interests to add context.  Context = better targeting = better monetization, an area where allot of the social networks could use some help.

In addition to providing better targeting, it will also help to avoid user attrition. Take myself for example.  I'm a technology early adopter who works with customers, speaks at conferences, writes blogs/articles/books, and does interviews with the press. I was on Facebook early, and as a result of my interactions had alot of folks 'friend' me on Facebook before my non-tech friends and family hopped on the FB bandwagon. This past year saw the birth of my first child,  a deep engagement in presidential politics, and an embrace of micro-blogging.  Do my co-workers really need my n-times daily status updates? Do I alienate customers because I aligned myself with a political party? Do I really feel comfortable sharing photos of my child with people I've in some cases never met?

The answer to these and many questions like them were no. Without context, we go through what I call the four stages of Social Network Friend Grief, and either move some of our traffic to another network or drop out of social networking altogether.

I've defined the Four Stages of Social Network Friend Grief as :

(1) Friend censorship (hey friend, don't post those videos on my wall, they might offend people at work)

(2) Self censorship ( Maybe I shouldn't post this pro-Obama article, it might be problematic with any customers who've friended me and are Republican)

(3) Anger (It's my account, why the hell can't I post what I want!?!)

(4) Acceptance (Friends stay in Facebook, business colleagues move to linked in, and I call Mom on the weekends)

The following clip from the TV show Seinfeld, shows George going through Stage 3

For myself, I reached stage 4 over the holidays and a did a manual move of a number of my professional contacts to LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/1/aa3/624) and set up a Twitter feed for those interested my micro-blogging (http://www.twitter.com/marcmercuri). When there was a question on whether a contact belonged on Facebook or LinkedIn, I asked three simple questions: Have we had a drink or shared a meal that wasn't paid for by a corporate entity? Have we ever played a game on Xbox Live? Have you ever met my wife or son? If not, I moved the connection to LinkedIn.

Let's hope adding context is at the top of the social network's new years resolutions, it's in everyones interest.