There is an infinite number of Social Networks that people flock to daily. Depending on your fancy, if you live in the U.S., then you might be a regular Facebook user, browse for videos on YouTube, and update your status on Twitter. However, around the world there are people on all different types of Social Networks and if brands restrict themselves to only Facebook and Twitter, they are missing the boat.

The ever-blossoming population of mothers online are engaging and playing on CafeMom and MeetUp.com. Hip young artists and emerging technology kids are often found utilizing Tumblr, iMeem, DeviantART, and searching for their daily videos at VideoSift and Vimeo. There is a Social Network for everyone and anyone. From Disaboom (an online community for people with disabilities) to Mobikade, (a mobile community for people in the U.K.) there are endless possibilities for people to interact with others who share similar interests.

Where do brands fit in to all of these Social Networks? That is where the Social Om ℠ theory comes into play. Om is defined as the whole universe coalesced into a single sound, representing the union of mind, body, and spirit that is at the heart (in this case of a brand).  Before jumping into the “chosen” networks, like Facebook and Twitter, brands should consider all networks that might apply to them and their consumer. Being present in all Social Communities that their customers are will improve brand presence and perception control.

Being present on many Social Networks does NOT mean a brand has to contribute to them all. If the brand feels it can communicate best through Facebook, but wants to be present on CafeMom, the CafeMom profile should clearly state that the main community hub is located on Facebook (with a supplied link). A unified presence across all networks should be maintained. This will control the mind, body and spirit of the brand in the eyes of the user in each community. By unifying the brand name, URL, content, tone, and voice across all Social Platforms prior to seeding and maintaining a meaningful level of engagement, the brand’s audience will become accustomed to this presence across the internet.

Through rigorous testing rolled out last May, it seems that Google has finally settled on it’s much anticipated AdSense for video model. YouTube has settled with what they call “InVideo” ads, which will follow the typical AdWords process of competing in auction. The InVideo ads are paid on a CPM basis, and text overlay ads will be paid on a CPC basis. You can view examples of all of these ad types on Google’s website.

Here’s the catch, publishers who want in on this must serve a minimum of 1 million video streams per month. Other publishers can add AdSense ads to YouTube partners’ video content though. Seems that InVideo Ads are launching with a whopping $15 CPM (which is actually down from the $20 CPM initially launched during testing).

Google has labeled this AdSense solution as combining “engaging and non-intrusive” ad formats. Advertisers, despite this hefty CPM, will be jumping at the chance to utilize this feature, because of YouTube’s larger than life video catalogue, and just for name’s sake. One engaging question will be, how will the consumer that is viewing these movies respond to YouTube “going commercial”? YouTube’s following has long lived on the notion that this is all free, and the typical user has been able to easily navigate around name-brand’s sometimes futile attempt to advertise for free (in a non-transparent manner) by building a YouTube profile. So now I ask, will the average user balk when they see these ads rolling into their day-to-day viewing routine? I strongly feel that it will be a minor disturbance at best to start, and then the average eye will be accustomed to seeing these ads in the lower-thirds. At least they didn’t move to the annoying “mute-your-speakers” pre-roll!

Another thing to note, is that they are releasing this as a “beta” product, but we all know how little that means in Google world since Gmail is still a “beta” product, and half the nation is using that.