I WANT You To Want Me, Facebook!

Okay, maybe I don't really NEED the shirt below, but it would be fun to have :)​

As Facebook makes it entrance into the "pintrified world" one has to wonder, do people really want this?​ I would venture to guess they do. Though the interface is not as slick as Pinterest, the goal is a bit different as it is solely focused on commerce--or so it purports to be. 

Will this product fall into the bucket of understated ​clones that Facebook has created to compete with other trending start-ups? Perhaps, too early to tell. While the product makes a whole lot of sense, I think it wil come down to the adoption of the this product by retailers. I can see a future in which the "Want" button suffers the same ill fate of Facebook Places however I think this product has a bit more to it. 

​Facebook Want

Facebook Is Like A Chair

I really like this video, but the metaphor in the beginning is a bit contrived. I am all for lateral thinking, but on first watching, it just did not feel natural to me. I will watch it again. ​

Anyhow, thanks Facebook. I truly do appreciate what you have done for humanity and continue to be a user and ardent supporter, even though my stock is down 10 bucks from the time I purchased it ;)​

The Rise of The Real Time Web

map of meebo users across the world

Those of us living in the new media/tech industry, have probably postulated about lifestreaming (or lifelogging) and presence sharing from time to time-and have probably been doing so for years.

We recently lived through the rise and fall of Second Life (I still love this platform for what it represents) and are witnessing the rise of platforms such as UStream.tv and Loopt. On a much larger scale, we are witnessing the incredible success of Twitter, and for better or worse were recently graced with the redesign of Facebook, which aims to bring you the social news, as it happens.

These platforms may be different in the way they present information, but they all share a few core elements that are becoming an increasing part of all of our lives; whether we are aware of it or not (and whether we like it or not),

  • Real Time Social Interaction

  • Real Time Multi Point Experience Sharing

  • Non-Stop Streams of Social Data


These attributes have had a profound effect on early  adopters seeking ways to bring new layers of interaction to existing media, and new ways to broadcast their lives. But these platforms are not just for the diggerati anymore. All of us are slowly being inducted into this way of life. The real time web is slowly being infused into all media (and not just media on your PC).

This morning at the iMedia Breakthrough summit, one of the conference sponsors, Meebo, gave a presentation on the integration of their IM platform across multiple sites. Their message was aimed at advertisers, but something much more profound was present in the presentation. The ability to bring your friends with you across the web in real time, sharing content, ideas and experiences brought the notion of the real time, or experience web front and center.

I strongly recommend that you look at what Meebo is doing outside of their core platform, Meebo.com. I urge you to think about what Meebo is doing as more than just instant messaging; as it is, in essence a virtual world, much like Second Life. The only difference is that there are no avatars and it is not in 3D. If you disagree with me, great; but think about it a little before you simply dismiss what I am saying.
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Disruption and The Battle for the Open Web



The speed at which new business systems grow is becoming exponentially faster. Lower barriers to entry for many business sectors have made Clayton Christensen's "Innovators Dilemma" more real than ever. It feels as if, every day we hear about young start-ups achieving things that established corporations could never achieve. I have noticed this in my own career, having worked for both small and large advertising agencies, and I can tell you first hand that the small shops are more nimble and adaptive than the larger ones (no shock there). Bigger agencies have certain advantages, but in the world of advertising, the pros of the small agency outweigh those of the large one (in my humble opinion).

Now that I have given my opinion about how disruptive business models have benefited the small advertising agency, I want to address how disruptive business models are currently effecting technology companies, and subsequently the way we socialize online.Disruption and The Open Web

At the current time there is a battle going on over the ability to port social data across the web.   The way in which the combat is unfolding seems to exemplify how newer, smaller technology companies are able to get to market faster, achieve critical mass sooner -establishing themselves as the industry leaders. For the duration of this post (and when I talk about this topic in the future) I will refer to this topic as The Battle for the Open Web.

It is inevitable that that the mashable, interoperable, read/write, mixable, distributed web will be the paradigm that will lead to the future growth and maturation of the internet. The companies that best capitalize on this new, distributed web will reign supreme. The question is; who will it be? Some may think this battle has already been won--it is my opinion that the battle has just begun.

Enter the warriors:

When the Battle for the Open Web first began, the only formidable competitors were Friend Connect and Facebook Connect. I had my money on Google, as I favored their approach to open standards. Yahoo has now thrown their hat in the ring; also employing open standards (you have to love Yahoo for their adoption of open standards). It has, however, become apparent that the employment of open standards is not enough to win this war.

There is little denying that Facebook is to the social web, what Google was/is to search engines. I cannot imagine Facebook building a search brand that could overtake the all-powerful Google, and I am beginning to think that it may be impossible for Google to build their brand into something synonymous with the social graph. As far as Yahoo is concerned--I love them, but have little hope that they can become a worthy opponent to the two category leaders.

Facebook is still young, nimble and best of all, privately held. The fact that they are not a public company plays a huge factor in their ability to innovate. They can roll out, and roll back products with ease, without the extra headache of answering to a public board. The ability to employ a test and learn mindset (something that Google was notorious for, and seems to be slowing down with) can be seen in Facebook's recent announcement about how they have changed the nature of the fan page. What I love most about Zuckerberg's post which announced the shift is the following statement:
"We'll begin rolling out the new home page next week, so please check out our home page tour to see the new design and let us know what you think about it."

This statement may not seem like a big deal, or may appear to be a farce, but we know that Facebook has actively listened to its users in the past.

Am I saying that it is impossible for companies to reinvent themselves and enter new markets? No. One only needs to look at the growth of IBM, from mainframes to desktops and Apple's growth from PC's to music devices to telecom, in order to see examples of the Innovators Dilemma being overcome. It is not impossible to constinuoulsy innovate over long periods of time, but it is very difficult. With that said, in The Battle for the Open Web, my money has moved from Google to Facebook (at least for now).

The End of Social Networking as We Know It (and I feel...)


Several mobile phones
Image via Wikipedia


Furthering my series of posts about mobile social networks, I would like to present you with some statistics:

  • Users accessing Facebook on their mobile phones spent on average 24 minutes on the site compared with 27.5 minutes daily by computer users (link to story)

  • Mobile phone users accessed the site on average 3.3 times per day, compared with 2.3 times for computer users, with the most avid mobile fans 18-24 year old males who spent on average 27 minutes on the site

  • According to a survey by Nielsen Company on behalf of Tellabs, 71% of U.S. consumers plan to use some sort of mobile data service daily (the company did not have current daily usage information). Among current mobile Internet users, 55% planned to increase their usage of mobile data services in the next two years, and 48% planned to increase use over the next year. Among non-users, 29% planned to start during that same period (link)


What have we learned:

  • Mobile data access is on the rise, therefore mobile social networks will also be on the rise

  • The mobile device is perfect for social networking. While the average time spent on Facebook on a mobile phone is less than on a PC, people access it more frequently


It is my opinion that the mobile phone will be used more frequently as the device of choice for social networking; it just makes sense. Access to your social network when you are in social environments is key; these networks are becoming more utility than entertainment.

Your mobile phone is your Yellow Pages, your little black book and your compass to help navigate the seas of your social life.
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The Future: Open or Closed

The past has shown us that walled media gardens simply do not work in an age where consumers have virtually unfettered access to media. This, in my opinion, is part of the reason that the Dataportability movement was essential.  If you do not give people access to use their data the way that they want, they will find another service or media outlet; lowered barriers to entry into the media and technology sectors have made it so there are plenty of alternatives for virtually everything.


Open





The OpenID logo

Image via Wikipedia




Facebook is beginning to realize this, and it seems their realization is leading them down a glorious path; the path to OpenID. While we are not certain what it will mean, Facebook has pledged support for OpenID; the protocol that allows users single sign in access across any part of the web that has adopted it. Facebook has already created a successful product called Connect, but this product is not completely open; it does not adhere to web standards, and only sites that have implemented it, can take advantage of it.


Closed





The entrance of the Apple Store on Fifth Avenu...

Image via Wikipedia




On the flip side, I heard some news today that made me cringe. Apple (the king of the closet) is denying access to Facebook from many of their retail outlets--what!?


Pretty bad, huh.


I realize that people are probably abusing Apple stores; hanging out and loitering, checking Facebook etc., but denying access to Facebook is not the solution. Take a look at Starbucks,where people are invited to loiter, in hopes they will buy a cup of joe. Sure, this is a little different a, s iPods and laptops are not impulse buys, but the idea of, Apple Store as experiential marketing is not something that Apple should be messing with. Honestly, I thought that was the whole point of the retail outlet to begin with.


Will the future of media and technology be open or closed; what do you think?


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Social Lead Generation Meets Cause Marketing



Question:

Social Outreach, Email Lead Generation and Cause Marketing?

Answer:

A new experiment by The Emerging Communications Conference.

My new friend Lee S. Dryburgh first approached me about the idea by telling me he had an idea for an experiment. His idea would help garner registration for the conference he is organizing, while at the same time do some social good; what could be bad about that!

I told him I loved the idea and that I would rely his efforts on to my community--so I am.

Here is how it works:

The goal is to achieve 10,000 sign-ups to the conference updates. For everyone who signs up for conference updates, eComm Media will pay 0.50 cents to The Shelter Network (charity watchdog rating here).

And Here Are the Calls To Action:

Instructions


I need help from two groups of people, the "social media gurus" and the rest of us!


The social media gurus I request help from are: Adam Broitman, Ayelet Noff, Ben Grossman, Brian Reich, Brian Solis, Carlos Hernandez, Chris Brogan, Chris Heuer, David Berkowitz, Eric Weaver, Gradon Tripp, Greg Verdino, Howard Greenstein, Laura Fitton, Jeff Pulver, Jeffrey Sass, Jeremiah Owyang, Jeremy Vaught, Jim Benson, Justin Levy, Rebecca Bollwitt, Robert Scoble, Robin Good, Steve Rubel, Susan Etlinger and Tim O'Reilly.


(if you would like to be added to this list or know somebody who should be by virtue of being considered a leader in the social media sphere please email me: Lee*eCommMedia*com).


I'd like the rest of us to blog this, Twitter this, email this to friends, IM it, Facebook share it, Digg it, Reddit - anything and everything across the social media space that you think could be effective.



Let's see what we can do!



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Santa Focuses On Bran Muffins and Soy Milk


PalmPilot, 1998
Image via Wikipedia


The digital age has been difficult for many marketers. All too often, marketers put the technological cart before the strategic horse. Facebook (and other social networks) is a breeding ground for campaigns that focus on the features of the platform, without telling a story.This is certainly not the fault of Facebook, rather it is the fault of marketers, who have not taken the time to internalize the meaning of community and conversation. It is the fault of those that thing technology, in and of itself, is the answer.

We must not forget that, in order to compel consumers, we must offer value--and that value needs to be delivered in the form of a story; advertising 101.

A few weeks ago Palm launched a campaign for it's Centro line call; Claüs. The campaign is unique for a number of reasons:

  • While the campaign has applications, they are not the centerpiece. Palm is not relying on the ever popular "viral nature of the social graph"

    • This campaign appears to be a viral success, as there are over 60k fans, and nearly a thousand wall posts--but it is apparent that the creators of this campaign new that it takes more than a one trick pony to ensure virality

      • Some of the content is good, come of the content is not as good, but overall, this is a fun campaign



    • The two applications that are offered, are not front and center



  • There is very little branding on the page (there is some, but it is not overwhelming)


  • Through various multimedia aspects, the brand tells a story in a nonlinear fashion

    • this gives people a reason to poke around the page and look for more pieces of the puzzle



  • Free downloadable music (I strongly recommend, Samba Dreidel)


Overall this is a fun and refreshing campaign. At a time when many marketers are already dismissing Facebook as a viable option, it is nice to see a truly creative effort that shows us, it is not the platform per se, it is how you use it!

Overall Scores:

Creativity: B+

Execution: A

Conversational Strategy: B

General Strategy: A-
Claus
View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: social media)


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Can Facebook Lead The Social Web?

Let's face it, the entire web is becoming social. By the end of 2009, all sites will have some social component to them--and why not?

  • Where there is content, there can be conversation

  • When there is conversation, there is engagement

    • Most great live presenters ask questions of their audience. They generally don't do so because they want to know the answer, they do so to keep the audience on their toes



  • When there is engagement, there is the potential for increased ad revenue (this is not always the case, but creative sales planners can, more easily, find ways to monetize content when users are engaged)


The questions then becomes, who will lead the charge in making the entire web truly social-

  1. Perhaps it will be a current social network that makes it capabilities extensible and lends its audience/tools to content providers

  2. Perhaps it will be new/open standards that drive the social web

  3. The last, least desirable option would be for every content provider to provide their own, proprietary social tool


Over the next few weeks Facebook Connect will be expanding to various content sites, making them more social. In the short term I think that this will be great. I think that new life with be injected into the partner sites. In the long term I worry about the fact that Facebook does not adhere to web standards, their platform is not truly open, and all of my data lives on the Facebook servers, with no way to get it out. This could be an issue.

On the other hand, Google is setting up a set of open standards that takes on these concerns. It will be interesting to see what happens first; will Open Social win the battle, or will Facebook open up more?

I can't wait to find out! What do you think will happen first?
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7 Ways to Get Me to NOT Join Your Social Network

There are a lot of social networks out there--we all know this. As someone in the industry, I do my best to join as many social nets as possible. I even join the branded social networks, as I am working with clients on a number of initiatives and I am always looking for best pratices and new ideas.

Recently, Mercedes launched their own social network; Generation Benz. The premise behind it is great--they really hit on all the right points:

  • collaboration

  • co-creation

  • user focused R&D

  • consumers insights

  • etc.


When I went actually join the network I had one of those, what the f*ck moments!

In order to join the network, which presumably is, in part, beneficial to Mercedes, I had to go through a seven step process. I realize that this is an aspirational brand, but don't make me work to be marketed to--jeez!

I had to capture this process and share with all of you (I recommend viewing this in full screen so you can read the text).
7 Ways to Get Me To Not Join Your Community
View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: social+networking mercedes)


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Starbucks is Now Following You on Twitter




Starbucks logo Image via Wikipedia



Starbucks is not new to the social media space. They have done some very interesting, yet questionably successful initiatives--mystarbucksidea.com being the most notable.

I got a message today that Starbucks was following me on Twitter. I had heard about their presence, but had not really taken a look into it. I felt that this would be as good a time as any to dig deeper.

On first glance it appears that Starbucks is doing everything by the book:

  • Transparent

  • Non-Corporate Voice (vernacular)


  • @evanhecht Hey ... Sorry, I had a bunch of stuff to do today. I wish I could spend ALL my time here with you, that'd be way more fun



  • Value Adding presence


  • Attention all voters! Come in on Tuesday after you vote, get a Free cup of drip Coffee. http://tinyurl.com/joethere


  • They are following their followers


  • My finger hurts. 1200 new Followers in the past 3 days. I just got through following the new Twitter-ers. Welcome! 1:24 PM Nov 6th from web


    • Overall I would say that Starbucks is doing a pretty good job. Starbucks also used Twitter as a way to communicate a promotion they were working on:

    Starbucks on Twitter Starbucks on Twitter

    Some may have taken issue with a brand using Twitter as a promotional vehicle. I say, as long as they are upfront and are adding value, it is perfectly fine.

    I would love to hear others stories about Starbucks on Twitter; as they have been around for a little while already.
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    We Agree, Brands Should Join the Conversation, but Do They Always Have To Be Nice?



    London Heathrow Airport Image via Wikipedia


    I just stumbled across an article about the formation of a Facebook group by British Airways employees. This controversial group serves many purposes, one of which is to mock passengers.

    These were employees of the company, and not spokespeople for the brand, however, this article got me to thinking about a few things.

    1. In an era where, consumers are constantly leveraging their new found empowerment in order to bash brands, what rights do brands have?

    2. How aggressively can a brand vocally oppose consumer activity before consumers begin to get irate?


    I am in no way suggesting that it would be a good strategy for a brand to create a Dell Hell type fiasco about it's consumers, but if consumers are consistently doing things to employees of a given company that create a negative work environment, should the brand have the right to talk back? One of a brand's most important assets are it' employee's, should they not be taken are of?

    One of the popular gripes of BA employees expressed in the Facebook group is the following:
    Passenger that puts boarding pass/passport in his/her mouth and then hands it back to you

    Now, I cannot imagine why that is a frequent occurrence, but if it is, it is a bit gross. The question is, what can British Airway's do about it? They can make an announcement to all passengers saying, "please do not put your passport in your mouth or any other body crevice", but somehow I do not think that would go over too well. They can add some language on their website that addresses this issue, although not many people would ever see it. It is a tough call.

    Here is my next question--what does British Airways do with these employees?

    I tried to sign up for the group, and it is restricted so, as a consumer of the brand I cannot get in to see these comments. Is it against company ethics to have an employee only forum, where consumers are ridiculed? The answer is most likely, yes.

    At the end of the day there is no excuse for berating anyone, however, over the last few years it has become perfectly acceptable for bloggers (and consumers and large) to rip brands to shreds online (for cause or not). I love the fact that everyone has the ability to effect change, but what I see happening is some citizen journalists lashing out against brands at the tip of a hat; diluting the over all pool of consumer complaints. It is no wonder that employees sometimes want to talk back--we are, after all, human beings.
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    Location, Location, Location!

    Image representing Mary Meeker as depicted in CrunchBase
    Image via CrunchBase

     cross posted from the iMediaconnection blog

    A number of years back I recall hearing an incredibly prescient quote from Morgan Stanley analyst, Mary Meeker. The quote spoke about localization and personalization-and how these elements would be key drivers in the growth of the web as a commercial platform. While these concepts are fairly obvious today-at the time (I believe it was around 2003) it was not as obvious. Needless to say Meeker's statement had a profound effect on my work. Years later these notions have become fundamental elements of online marketing and are ingrained in my day-to-day operations (both professional and personal).

    Localization Is Personal



    With the onslaught of social networks, collaborative filters and search engines-there is no shortage of personalized content online. Localized content and services however are still fairly primitive, but remain one of the largest opportunities in digital commerce and communications. A bevy of new services aim to solve this problem, and it should come as no surprise that mobile phones are at the core of many of these services.

    Geo+Social



    Back in April Michael Arrington posted an epiphany he had about mobile social networks. This concept is one that I have been interested in for a while and could not have agreed with his commentary more (see my posts on what I was referring to as Social Networking 2.M). The value mobility adds to social network activity is-freedom from the shackles of the desktop-where social activity is largely virtual and often impersonal.  Mobility adds a human element to social networks. The mobile phone adds presence and experience sharing to social networking.  For those not following the space closely, I strongly recommend signing up for a few of the following applications:

    There are a lot more out there-this is my war chest.

    Geo+Commerce



    Having spent a significant amount of time focused on ecommerce, the promise of being able to search local, in-store inventory right from a mobile device is incredibly compelling. The marriage of clicks and bricks is something that marketers have sought after since the beginning of the ecommerce era. The marriage between online and offline marketing will be realized to a greater degree with the assistance of mobile commerce applications. Some applications you should be paying attention to in this space are:



    One of the newer names in the space (the company is actually not new, they simply changed their name) is a company called Shopsavvy. They are incredibly hot this month due to the way in which their application takes advantage of the new T-Mobile G1 (powered by Android). The application combines the ability to scan bar codes, comparison shop both online and off-as well as a plethora of other features that include location and social media.



    While I would never utter the words, "this is the year of mobile", I do feel that mobile devices are getting us closer to the second part of Mary Meeker's vision. Look out for further advances in the realm of localized content and services over the next year.


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    Five Golden Rules For Facebook Marketing (brought to you by eComm2009)

    Social marketing is about second chances.

    If a marketer makes a mistake and angers a consumer-through the power of conversation they can get a second chance to win them back. We have learned this through countless examples (i.e. Dell Hell) but I always enjoy bringing new, close to home examples to light.

    I recently got a Facebook request asking me to join the group for eComm Emerging Communications Conference. Having an interest in telecommunications-and all the other topics being covered at this conference-I joined the group. Next, I got a personal Facebook message from someone (who will remain nameless) on behalf of Lee Dryburgh requesting that I join the eComm FB.

    • Rule #1- Personal Facebook messages are just that-personal. They are just as, if not more personal than email.

      • If you are going to use personal Facebook messages for marketing (I only recommend you do this in a very calculated, personal manner-if at all), you should abide by the same best practices that govern email.




    While I was connected to Lee, I was not connected to the other person messaging me- and was a bit annoyed at the impersonal nature of the message-still, I was interested in the conference and saw there were openings speakers and extended myself as a potential speaker-I never heard back.

    • Rule #2- Facebook messages are not email (I know, I know-that is counter to Rule #1-but we are having fun here). If you send a personal marketing message (not a message to a group, which is totally different) and get a response with a question or nicety, you should feel obliged to respond.

      • You started the conversation. You should commit to carrying on the conversation as long as your consumer wants to. A vocal consumer is a good consumer.






    A few days later I got another personal Facebook message from yet another person on behalf of Lee Dryburgh.  The message had the exact same language as the one prior. It too was letting me know of the formation of the new FB group.

    • Rule #3- Don't use templated emails in personal messages-that is what group messages are for.

      • Also, if you think you are fooling anyone by doing a mail merge and inserting the person's name in the salutation-you are wrong.






    At that point I was sort of pissed off and was about to let the world know. I twittered and commented on Facebook about the incident. Within 10 minutes of my actions I got an irritated message from the fabled Lee Dryburgh-alas, he was real!

    He was not happy and asked me not to make accusations and slanderous statements in public.

    • Rule #4 If you are marketing in public places, expect the conversation to be public.


    I told him the story and he did exactly what I would have had him do if he were a client of mine;

    He listened!



    Not only did Lee listen, he apologized and asked for my help.  He could have written me off as a blogger with a bad attitude, but he decided to take this negative experience and turn it into something positive.

    • Rule #5 If there is a dialog going on (good or bad) there is an opportunity turn that dialog into something productive.




    Lee and I took the conversation offline and I learned he was a nice, witty guy-a guy capable of something that all of us are capable of-making a mistake.

    This was not the most pleasant experience while it was occurring for Lee and me, but through conversation and partnership we were able to turn this into something positive. As a result, eComm is the official sponsor of this post! I am going to be talking to Lee more about the conference-I will keep you posted!

    What Do You Think Of The Facebook Redesign?


    I have been doing a lot of thinking about the new Facebook design. It looks a lot to me like FriendFeed (which I use and am a fan of) but I am not sure that this will be popular with the masses. As someone in the industry, I think I may have a different outlook and I wanted to see what the rest of the world is thinking. In an effort to do that, I created this poll.

    I was asked some questions by Michael Estrin of iMedia the other day about the recent f8 announcements. Have a look at his article.