Swiffer, Social Media's Cinderella

At the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s forum on social media, speakers tossed out examples of good social network applications. One example: a Fedex virtual gift where someone can build a package, seal it, “fling” it to a friend, who can then open it.

But finding a social application for some brands, especially consumer-packaged good companies, is tougher.

Take Swiffer, a sweeper.

“Swisher…Swiffer. I wouldn’t put that on my [Facebook] profile,” said Tim Kendall, Facebook’s director of monetization.

Don’t tell that to a dozen or Facebook groups devoted to Swiffer, although these groups are sparsely populated. “Ive Discovered The Joys of Swiffer and I Can’t Stop…” has 55 members. “I love my swiffer duster!!!” has five members who made this appeal: “Cleaning nerds that love there swiffers should join this group…because we f*ing rule!!”