The popular social networking site Facebook recently made some major changes to the design and function of the site. And for a lot of people these changes are not good. Over a million people have voted against the change. But when you consider the site has 175 million users that is a small percentage of unhappy users. Facebook is standing by its changes claiming that a company must do what it thinks is right, not what its customers think is right.

This is a perfect example of why it is important to be careful how much you invest of yourself and your company into applications like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube. There has been a growing trend of people and companies sinking a lot of time and money into these various sites. The problem is they do not own these sites and at the end of the day they have no control over these sites. At anytime the sites could change drastically, allow advertising you don’t agree with, suspend your account, or shut down completely. Which is why I believe a self hosted blog is the most important piece of real estate a company can have in the world of social media.

When you have a self hosted blog you own that blog and everything that goes into. You also have complete control over the design and function of the blog. Any content you upload to your blog you still own exclusively. Which is not true of most social network sites. (Take the time to read the terms of service.) And you know your blog will be around for as long as your willing to keep it around.

When I consult with clients I tell them that sites like Facebook and Twitter do have their value but I recommend a blog to be at  the core of the company’s social media efforts. And use those applications to bring people to that blog.

What do you think? Does your company use social media? What have you found to be the most valuable?