Spam from strangers is out, trusted product recommendations from friends are in. The 90s was about the World Wide Web of information and the power of linking information. Today, it’s about the World Wide Web of people and the power of the social graph. Online social networks are changing everything we thought we knew about sales, marketing, and product development—and empowering companies with new tools, insights, and ability to transform customers and employees into true partners.

This session explores how real companies are successfully tapping the rich data and communication media on services like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace to bootstrap brand and product conversations, virally reach new audiences, and transform existing customers into a loyal sales force. Hear how new social networking concepts such as transitive trust, hyper-targeted campaigns, persona profiles, and fringe-relationship “options” are rewriting the rules of sales and marketing, and what companies and developers must do to thrive and win in the Facebook Era.

***Note: This was recorded by Steffan Antonas (@steffanantonas on Twitter) at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco, CA on 04/02/2009. The video excludes only the first 2 minutes of the entire presentation given by Clara. You can find links to Clara's slides and more information about her brilliant work at thefacebookera.com/